Debates of Dec. 11th, 2012

Employment Insurance

[François Choquette, NDP, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to follow up on a question that I asked about employment insurance reform on September 28. At the time, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and to the Minister of Labour did not even bother answering my question. Instead, she began to praise the supposed and hypothetical benefits of their economic action plan, the flaws of which we are now all aware. However, let us not do like the Conservatives; let us get to the heart of the matter.

Incidentally, just to give an idea of the public's frustration with this reform, yesterday officials from several workers' unions in the Atlantic provinces came to the nation's capital, right here in Ottawa, to speak out against this bad reform. Because they feel the employment insurance reform will make it hard for the unemployed to put food on the table this winter, they made cans of beans bearing the face of the Minister of Human Resources. And that is just the tip of the iceberg.

That reform will force people in my riding of Drummond to travel up to 100 kilometres on highways, and in harsh winter conditions, to take jobs at 70% of their current salary, which means a 30% loss of income.

People in Drummond are very upset and offended. Dozens and even hundreds of them have reacted. My constituents in Drummond sent me letters saying that the changes to the employment insurance program are terrible, that they cannot accept them and that they do not support them. The Conservatives must go back to the drawing board and try again. This is really a botched reform, and people are truly upset.

Other measures were also condemned by Drummond's Regroupement de défense des droits sociaux, the RDDS, represented by Mr. Lamontagne.

At a conference held on October 12, Mr. Lamontagne, the RDDS coordinator, pointed out that the Conservative Prime Minister was now advocating cheap labour and seemed to be capitulating to the cheap labour demands of large employer organizations. That is what he observed. Mr. Lamontagne also condemned changes to the appeal system. This is very serious because the process will become much less impartial than it used to be. Incidentally, Mr. Lamontagne used to sit on the appeal tribunal. In the past, the tribunal's way of operating was excellent. People who were the victims of bad decisions could appeal those decisions. It worked very well. Unfortunately, the Conservative government changed that.

Here is what Mr. Lamontagne said:

By abolishing the existing appeal system at the Employment Insurance Commission and replacing it with a social security tribunal, [the Conservative Prime Minister] is forcing the unemployed into a precarious financial position and even poverty.

Mr. Lamontagne works every day with people who have problems with employment insurance, with the system. Unfortunately, he realizes that this reform is going to have a major negative impact in that respect.

That is why I want to know what the Conservatives will do to ensure Drummond's economy is not adversely affected by this bad reform.

[Kellie Leitch, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and to the Minister of Labour]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to take this opportunity to respond to the hon. member for Drummond regarding employment insurance benefits.

The purpose of the employment insurance plan is to provide temporary financial help for unemployed Canadians who have lost their job through no fault of their own.

It is intended to tide them over until they can find another job or while they are upgrading their skills. Canadians are always better off working than being on employment insurance. That is why, in economic action plan, 2012, we introduced a new national working while on claim project, among many other benefits for Canadians.

Previously, EI claimants could earn the equivalent of 40% or $75 of their weekly benefits without seeing a reduction in their benefits. However, if their earnings were above that threshold, their benefits would be reduced dollar for dollar. This provided a disincentive to accept additional work beyond the threshold.

Under the working while on claim benefit pilot project that came into effect on August 5, eligible claimants are able to keep EI benefits equalling 50% of every dollar they earn while on claim up to 90% of the weekly insurable earnings used to calculate EI benefit amounts.

This project seeks to encourage claimants to accept any available job at the same time as they are receiving employment insurance benefits, and thus obtain additional income.

We know some concerns have been raised about the new pilot project and we have listened. That is why we have recently announced adjustments to the new pilot project. On October 5, the government announced its intention to amend the current working while on claim pilot project. This amendment is aimed at providing the option of reverting to the rules that existed under the previous pilot project to recent EI claimants who were on claim and had earned between August 7, 2011 and August 4, 2012. It will allow these claimants time to transition to the new rules. This pilot project is just one of many improvements our government has made to the EI program. In making these changes, we are striving to find a balance between providing adequate income support and giving people all the support they need to quickly reintegrate into the workforce.

Our top priorities are creating jobs, supporting economic growth and ensuring long-term prosperity for all Canadians. Of course, if there are no employment opportunities available, EI will continue to be there for Canadians when they need it. Through our targeted, common-sense changes to EI, we are helping Canadians connect with available opportunities and giving them opportunities to remain connected while they look for a new job.

[François Choquette, NDP, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I was quite certain she would come back to Canada’s economic action plan, whereas here we are talking about the employment insurance program. The employment insurance fund belongs to the unemployed, not to the Conservatives. That is why the unemployed, who save their money and contribute to the fund, want the money to come back to them. It is not normal that a large percentage of people are now excluded. This reform is a bad thing.

There was a reason the representatives of workers in the Atlantic region brought cans of beans to their offices. People are angry, and they feel that the reform is not working. It is not right for the Conservatives to have stolen from the employment insurance fund, while they continue to reduce services.

The people of Drummondville have written to me about the situation of those who work in the Village québécois d'antan, the recreation of an old-time Quebec village, who are seasonal workers. They are professionals, interpreters, blacksmiths and people who can work a loom. These trades no longer exist, because the equipment used is old. If these people have to find another job, there will be no one left to guide visitors at the village. That is why we have to continue to support seasonal workers. These people have skills. They have worked hard for this enterprise, and they do not want to work elsewhere.

What will the parliamentary secretary do to ensure that the economy of the Drummond region will not be affected and that the people who work at the Village québécois d'antan can continue to work there, without having to travel 100 km to work—

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and to the Minister of Labour.

[Kellie Leitch, Conservative, Simcoe—Grey, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would remind the hon. member that this is the government that has created nearly 900,000 jobs since the end of the economic recession, in fact, 90% of those have been full-time jobs, and our unemployment rate is at the lowest point since before the recession. That is because we have had an effective economic action plan that includes a number of initiatives that provide opportunities to Canadians.

As I mentioned previously, our top priorities are job creation and economic growth. Our improvements to EI are meant to support workers in returning to work. As I mentioned earlier, if there are no jobs available, employment insurance will be there as it always has been for Canadians. I wonder why the NDP and the Liberals continue to vote against all of these initiatives that create jobs for Canadians.

Search and Rescue

[Philip Toone, NDP, Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out that the unemployment rate is rising in the Maritimes and eastern Quebec.

The Conservative government is closing the Quebec City marine rescue sub-centre, the only officially bilingual search and rescue centre in Canada. Consequently, there will no longer be a centre that can respond satisfactorily to the distress calls of fishers, mariners and boaters in Gaspé, the Magdalen Islands, and other communities in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Why endanger the lives of the inhabitants of Gaspé and the Magdalen Islands?

The Commissioner of Official Languages was very clear in his investigation report: Fisheries and Oceans Canada did not consider the language requirements of maritime search and rescue coordinators. The Commissioner has recommended that the Quebec centre remain open until the language requirements are met.

Furthermore, he recommended that Fisheries and Oceans Canada inform coastal communities of the measures that will be taken to respect their language rights. To date, we have not heard what the department will do to ensure that language rights will be respected. Why the delays? Does the department not want to implement the recommendations of the Commissioner of Official Languages ?

The Conservative government stated more than once that it was sure its closure procedure would be able to ensure the necessary language services, and that everything would go ahead with no problems. Considering the fiasco of medical calls transferred to Italy, which happened because of the hasty closure of the St. John's centre, I very much doubt it.

I am very worried indeed about the closure of the Quebec City centre. Imagine the situation: the Conservatives’ search and rescue system depends on a backup service in Italy. It defies all the laws of logic. To ensure they will be understood, will people in the Gaspé and the Magdalen Islands have to learn Italian? Frankly, people in our region are wondering about that.

The Conservative government is closing the Marine Communications and Traffic Services Centre in Rivière-au-Renard. As a result, there will be a great loss of local knowledge. The people who work in Rivière-au-Renard do not want to be relocated. They will try to find work locally, in an area that already has a very high unemployment rate, as I said at the beginning of my speech. Once again, the unemployment rate is going up, not down.

We lose local expertise when we lose people who are familiar with the geography and the local resources that can respond to a distress call. Clearly, this is going to increase the time it takes to assist people in the Gaspé and the Magdalen Islands who are in distress. I would like the government to tell us how it is going to offset this clear loss that will jeopardize the lives of fishers and pleasure boaters.

The Minister has often said that local expertise would be retained. How does he plan to arrange for the knowledge of people at the MCTS Centre in Rivière-au-Renard to be retained, if many of them refuse to be relocated to other service centres that are staying open?

The Trenton Centre will take years to develop expertise in local conditions, and even then, the employees will never have a better understanding of the situation than the people who live in our region. It is a question of logic. Why does the government not see it? The MCTS Centre in Rivière-au-Renard and the marine rescue centre in Quebec City are crucial elements of the marine rescue service. They have been tried and tested many times. The people of the Gaspé and the Magdalen Islands depend on them.

Will the Conservative government take into account the fact that the loss of local expertise and the insufficient language requirements at the Trenton Centre will endanger the lives of people in distress?

[Kellie Leitch, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and to the Minister of Labour]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to respond to the member opposite on the consolidation of the maritime rescue sub-centre located in Quebec City with the joint rescue coordination centres located in Halifax and Trenton. This is an issue that we have discussed repeatedly in the House and there seems to be quite a bit of confusion over the facts.

Let me begin by reiterating that Fisheries and Oceans Canada remains steadfast in its dedication to the safety of all Canadians from coast to coast to coast. Canada is a national and international leader in marine safety and the Canadian Coast Guard search and rescue program is among the best in the world. As we have stated many times before, this change does not affect the availability of search and rescue resources.

Coast Guard ships and the Coast Guard Auxiliary will continue to respond to emergencies as they have previously with the joint rescue coordination centres maintaining the current levels of service provided by the Canadian Coast Guard. We will continue to ensure that timely and appropriate marine search and rescue coordination and response services are available to all mariners.

With regard to the report by the Commissioner of Official Languages, the Canadian Coast Guard is well positioned to respond to the recommendations and have already taken action to address the key issues raised in the report. However, the blanket statement that distress calls made in French will not be handled properly if they are handled in Halifax or Trenton is simply unfounded. In fact, the national level of bilingual capacity will be enhanced over time, above and beyond that which is already provided.

Here are the facts. Currently, bilingual services are provided by two rescue centres: Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Halifax and the Maritime Rescue Sub-Centre Quebec. The consolidation team has taken great care to ensure that the capacity is enhanced before the Quebec centre is fully consolidated into the joint rescue coordination centres. First, our ongoing campaign to recruit successful bilingual applicants continues to bring forward motivated professionals who are dedicated to ensuring public safety. Second, we are providing existing maritime search and rescue coordinators with additional language training, and third, we have added additional bilingual coordination positions and increased the current level of language proficiency.

With such enhanced bilingual capacity, French-speaking mariners can be confident that their calls for assistance will be answered by trained and capable French-speaking coordinators, as has always been the case. Let me reassure the member that this transition will have no impact on existing search and rescue coordination service standards. Coordination services will still be provided 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in both official languages and will be delivered by the joint rescue coordination centres in Halifax and Trenton. The provision of bilingual services is critical.

We understand that change can be a bit difficult as the future can be difficult to predict. However, in this case, there is no cause for concern as we have taken careful steps to address these requirements. The Canadian Coast Guard prides itself on providing reliable services that Canadians can be confident in and this will not be changed. Such is the pledge of this government and will continue to be.

[Philip Toone, NDP, Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the parliamentary secretary for participating in tonight's debate.

I appreciate her answers, and I hope that the service will improve, but I have a question. If it is true that the service is going to improve and that services will still be available in both official languages 24/7, how did a rescue call get routed to Italy?

[Kellie Leitch, Conservative, Simcoe—Grey, ON]

Mr. Speaker, public safety is this government's first priority, as I mentioned before. As we have stated many times before, the provision of bilingual coordination services will not be compromised by the consolidation of the Maritime Rescue Sub-Centre Quebec into the joint rescue coordination centres. In fact, the Canadian Coast Guard plans to enhance the bilingual capacity of coordination services over time with the levels currently in place. With such enhanced bilingual capacity, French-speaking mariners, as I mentioned before, can be confident that their calls for assistance will be answered in the language of their choice by highly trained professional search and rescue coordinators.

We recognize that some people are concerned about this transition. However, I stand before you to reassure Canadians. Bilingual search and rescue services will always be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Such is our commitment now and our pledge for the future. The safety and security of Canadians will not be compromised.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

The motion to adjourn the House is now deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly, this House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 2 p.m., pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 7:01 p.m.)