Lucienne Robillard

[Pay Equity, October 19th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the government is clearly committed to the principle of pay equity for women and men.

The ruling was issued today. It is only normal that we take a few days to look at it, to discuss with the various stakeholders, including the attorney general, so that we can make the best possible decision.

[Pay Equity, October 19th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, let us be clear. We have just received the judgment. We are looking at it.

There is a big difference between the government's position and the position of the Reform Party. The Reform Party does not believe in pay equity. We believe in pay equity.

[Pay Equity, October 19th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, we read the decision this morning and we are in the process of analyzing it.

It is an important decision for all federal employees. We will take the time we need before reaching a decision.

[Speech From The Throne, October 18th, 1999]

Now that we have a budget surplus, we want all Canadians to benefit from it, first through a tax reduction and, second, by making strategic investments to help those groups that need it most, whether in eastern Canada, in Quebec's Gaspé Peninsula or in western Canada.

[Speech From The Throne, October 18th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I also said in my presentation today that, if we have come this far in Canada, it is because we asked huge sacrifices of Canadians, not just workers but all Canadians.

In 1993, when we were faced with an incredible debt, a $42 billion deficit and a stagnant economy, what did we have to do? We had to put in place a very restrictive plan for the use of all our resources and we had to make major cuts. The public was behind us, it was supportive.

Now, I do not think Canadians would ever again allow a government to accumulate such a huge deficit. So, Canadians agreed with our initiatives and they are the ones who made these sacrifices. There is no question about that.

In spite of these circumstances, we were able to get the economy going again and keep our inflation rate very low while maintaining interest rates at an acceptable level. The national unemployment rate has gone down and we have managed to preserve social programs, although they had to be redefined. Clearly, that redefinition of our social programs affected some groups more than others. This is why the government, in its throne speech, demonstrated its commitment to making investments wherever necessary.

The impacts of our employment insurance reform were significant, because that was a comprehensive reform. We are currently looking at these impacts with a view to making improvements.

What do we find in the throne speech? It deals with the parental leave for women, for example. Did I not hear the hon. member for Acadie—Bathurst say “Congratulations on extending the parental leave from six months to one year and making it more accessible”?

[Speech From The Throne, October 18th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, what we are doing today is very clear: we are analyzing a throne speech. What is a throne speech? It is the outline of the government's vision for the future. This does not preclude us from focusing on short term problems, on everyday problems.

In a throne speech, we look at where we have been, where we are now and where we are going. I hope the member for Frontenac—Mégantic will agree with me that, if one looks at the progress made over that last five or six years, from 1993 to 1999, the situation has improved in several areas in Canada. That does not mean that there are no problems here, even though we are fortunate enough to live in such a great country.

Canada is far from being a perfect place. There are still some major problems. We talk about improving the quality of life and not only the standard of living—and we must make a distinction here in that the quality of life also implies looking at the social aspect of life in our society. This is what matters.

When we talk about improving the quality of life, it means improving the welfare of families, children and any person living in Canada. Poverty levels in this country are clearly unacceptable. That is why, for example, the Speech from Throne shows that we have a vision for the future with regard to families and children.

First and foremost, we want to focus our attention on early childhood, to give our young children a good start in life, to help families with children, to reduce their tax burden. Then, we will increase the child tax benefit, which is paid to low income families to help them meet their children's needs so they do not have to rely on welfare.

This is a clear commitment to help children, to give some people a chance to break free from poverty. Moreover, the throne speech leaves the door open for further improvements.

Our government's commitment to improve the quality of life of Canadians says it all. We recognize the fact that our country is great compared to others, but we still have to work together to improve the quality of life of Canadians.

[Speech From The Throne, October 18th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I was greatly pleased with the major policy thrusts of the Canadian government as set out in the Speech from the Throne by her Excellency the Governor General and later in more detail by the Prime Minister.

The focal point of this vision we wish to share with our fellow citizens is quality of life; it will be the main thrust of our activities as a government and must be constantly at the centre of our daily concerns.

The concept of quality of life is a hard one to define clearly. The International Society for the Quality of Life Studies defines quality of life as the result of interaction between social, economic, environmental and health factors affecting human and social development.

For many Canadians, however, it is clear that the concept of quality of life cannot be confused with the concept of standard of living. Our fellow citizens see a marked difference between the two concepts and do not attach the same value to both.

Quality of life is not measured solely against our objectives and successes on the economic level. It is, of course, important to have a healthy economy. Without one, we would find it impossible to make strategic choices for improving our quality of life. Equally important, if not more important, however, to Canadians is the fact that quality of live involves human investment, that is in health, education and skills development and in our children.

In fact, economic growth and an improved standard of living must involve good social programs and good social policies.

What do our fellow citizens want, then? They want to live in a country where quality health care is accessible. They want to live in a country where all children can receive not just a basic education but one that will prepare them for the realities of the 21st century.

They want to live in a country where all of us can improve our quality of life by improving our skills. They want to live in a country which understands that children are our greatest asset and which has chosen to invest in their development.

They want to live in safe communities with green spaces, where their health will not be threatened by a deteriorating environment. Canadians want their government to achieve a consistent balance between social and economic objectives.

They want their government to understand these needs and to be able to meet them in a concrete fashion. Our government understands that message. This is why it has chosen to make the improvement of Canadians' quality of life the central theme of its vision for the years to come.

However, investing in social programs alone is not enough. Our investments must be in strategic areas, they must be targeted. They must achieve the objectives that we set for ourselves as a society. While it is relatively easy to measure economic results, it is more difficult to establish social performance indicators.

How do we measure quality of life? A number of factors may give some indication, including life expectancy, the quality of one's physical environment and the crime and poverty rates, but other factors are subjective. For example, how do we measure social exclusion? In the coming months, therefore, we must work to improve our performance indicators.

I should point out that, for the first time, the report on departmental performance that is to be tabled in a few days will include a number of social indicators.

The government is driven by a will to improve the quality of life of Canadians and has made a number of commitments regarding strategic investments, which include, of course, economic investments, but also social ones.

We are investing in our young people and in our children, because they are tomorrow's adults. We hope to provide them with the best possible start, both from a family and an educational perspective.

We are also investing in families through various tax measures that will allow them to better meet the needs of their children. It is our hope that parents can have a real opportunity to improve their situation. To that end, we want to ensure that the development of skills is not only a priority, but also a reality.

The government also supports various sectors through research. Investing in research and development will allow us to remain competitive and to continue to develop state of the art technologies. We will also strive to ensure Canadians get the best possible care and a healthier environment. We also want to provide Canada with modern infrastructures, so that our country is ready to meet the challenges of the new century.

Clearly, we will work on modernizing physical infrastructures, and it is my firm intention to initiate quickly the dialogue that will enable us, by December 2000, to provide clearer details of this new program.

If Canada is to affirm its prosperity in the context of global trade, it will have to have the means to do so, that is, ensure transportation safety, protect the environment and encourage tourism and telecommunications. The list could be long and will, no doubt, have to be shared with other public or private partners.

Thought must be given to culture as well. Canada draws much of its national identity from the diversity of its people. Writers and artists are recording our heritage in the archives of history daily. We must give them the means to do so.

As well, new technologies lend themselves to all sorts of innovations. It is up to us to discover how to use them to reduce the huge distances between people across the country. The Internet must be used to serve Canadians and in both official languages. It must also serve the economic and cultural interests of Canada as a whole.

The immense possibilities offered by the information highway must be mastered and put to use. It is not only a useful tool, but a vital one. It may be of particular benefit to the population of Canada spread between the two oceans and across the vast northern territories. It eliminates distances and thus opens to all who dare previously impassable trade borders.

This is why the government wants to develop in all sectors a new infrastructure program in co-operation with our provincial and private sector partners. This, clearly, involves strategic investments for the future.

Our government intends to build on our successes. The previous infrastructure program enabled us to revitalize our economy in several key areas. The next one will enable us to equip Canada with all the tools it will need to remain competitive and on the leading edge of economic and social development. With the budget surplus we can consider making strategic investments that will help us in meeting our objective of improving the quality of life for Canadians.

Let there be no misunderstanding. We are not talking about wasting the gains that have been so dearly paid for. Each investment will be carefully assessed in terms of its effectiveness, its relation to our needs and our ability to pay for it.

We must never lose sight of the fact that we are talking about taxpayers' money. In recent years our government has asked the people of Canada to make the necessary and sometimes difficult sacrifices so that we could restore the health of our public finances. While the time has come to reap the benefits of our collective efforts, it is also clear that the government is committed to never returning to the days when we put ourselves deep into debt. Never again will we live beyond our means.

Before going any further, allow me to quote the Prime Minister: “Today I have set out a comprehensive strategy, for people, for opportunity, for excellence, for success, for a high quality of life, for sharing, dignity and mutual respect, for creativity and innovation”.

Simple logic holds that this strategy which centres on the quality of life applies to everyone without exception, including government employees. As a public sector employer, it is incumbent upon us to attend to the development of what is undeniably the greatest asset of any government, the public service. It is time to reaffirm our commitment to our employees. Everyone, public service employees, carpenters and musicians alike, need to feel appreciated for their efforts and in the work they do.

Our employees are the representatives of the government, the very government that imposed budget cuts, that took away what had been gained, that demanded sacrifices, that caused belts to tighten. It was often our employees who dealt with the public who had to face the backlash from angry Canadians.

A better quality of life for the people of Canada will have a twofold impact on our government employees. They too will benefit from the overall improvement in addition to being granted greater recognition for their work by a public that has been reassured.

I will of course see to the well-being of our public service employees' needs through the Government of Canada's overall strategy. I will also see to it much more directly through the implementation of a series of new measures throughout the public service.

Improving the way in which we deliver our services to the public is obviously a commendable objective, but we must have the means to do so. That presupposes that our public service is properly equipped and it will be. We will modernize our public service. We will renew it. We will tailor our management to the needs of the next century.

In Canada we want to create an exclusive public service, but time is of the essence. In a little over four years, 40% of our senior managers will be eligible for retirement and it is not clear who will ultimately replace them. Almost half of our public service employees are over the age of 45.

I reiterate my personal commitment. We will start by providing stimulating work in a positive environment. We must recognize and acknowledge the importance of front line staff in the delivery of services to the public. We will recruit the best and most outstanding employees.

We will do everything we can to make sure that our public service regains the prestige once associated with it. The Public Service of Canada, similar to those countries emerging from major transformations taking place throughout the world, will be less cumbersome, more technology based and, as a result, more alert.

This will benefit everyone: the employers through better performance, the public through more efficient services, and the employees through acknowledgement of their work and the resulting sense of personal satisfaction from a job well done.

Naturally, the primary responsibility for this transformation lies with the federal government, which is well aware of the needs of its public service.

I realize that our union partners may be skeptical of these commitments by the government. I can only reiterate my firm desire to undertake the necessary discussions we will need to have on the methods to be used to meet our mutual objectives in an atmosphere of partnership and dialogue, not confrontation.

By the end of our mandate, when the application of the measures announced has taken shape and when the new quality of life has made itself felt in Canadian homes, the federal government will regain its place at the top of the list among employers of choice. We will have a modern, efficient and motivated public service that will be able and happy to assume responsibility for the destiny of the Canada of tomorrow.

[Supply, October 12th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I move:

That the House consider the business of supply at its next sitting.

(Motion agreed to)

[Immigration, June 9th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, if we are uncomfortable with the term head tax it is because of the history of this country.

Part of that history is that we had a head tax once for the Chinese people. It was based on race. That is not the case any more. We are proud to have a country without any discrimination. It is a privilege for people who come here to share those values with us.

[Immigration, June 9th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has no head tax. We are one of the most generous as far as our policies concerning refugees and immigrants are concerned.

There is a landing fee in this country, and no one has been refused the protection of Canada because of inability to pay that fee. Let us be perfectly clear: Canada remains a country that is very open to refugees from every part of the world.