House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2006, with 80% of the vote.
Older Workers February 4th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, this government has stood up for workers like no other government. Today, not only are we there with employment insurance benefits, with $4.4 billion last year in Quebec alone, we have invested heavily in new training arrangements with the provinces and the targeted initiative for older workers.
One thing we will not do is adopt every measure the Bloc proposes and drive this country back into deficit. We simply will not go there.
Older Workers January 29th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, I am shocked at how little faith the member has in the people of Quebec. The truth is that these training arrangements are put in place so that people who do not necessarily have the skills can get the skills and step into other jobs or other sectors.
The good news is that this is exactly what they are doing. In Quebec they are enjoying extraordinary success. Older workers made up more than 50% of all the successful job applicants in the last year. I say to the member that he should have some faith in the people of Quebec. This government does.
Employment Insurance January 29th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, I think every member in the House is concerned for the well-being of workers who are facing layoffs around this country, but the good news is that overwhelmingly the economy is extraordinarily strong. Jobs are being created.
That said, we did commit in the budget to improving the governance and management of the EI account. I point out that last year we spent $4.4 billion through employment insurance in Quebec. We have supplemented that with all kinds of new training arrangements, with $3 billion in new training arrangements across the country and $800 million a year more in support for post-secondary education so people can get skills.
Questions on the Order Paper January 28th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, the government’s effective spending measures with literacy affected the adult learning, literacy and essential skills program, ALLESP.
In implementing these measures, the Government of Canada honoured all signed agreements and commitments with respect to the local and regional priorities agreed upon between the ALLESP and the provinces and territories in 2006-07. In addition, all project proposals submitted through the ALLESP calls for proposals, CFP, that concluded on or before September 15, 2006 were reviewed and considered for funding, including those received for local and regional activities through the provincial-territorial stream. All applicants were informed in writing of the outcome of their applications.
No literacy programs have been cancelled. ALLESP was created in April 2006, and brought together the Office of Learning Technologies, OLT, the national literacy program, NLP, and the learning initiatives program, LIP, under a single set of terms and conditions. The program is delivered by the Office of Literacy and Essential Skills, OLES. The ALLESP, and the effects of the expenditure review on this program, have not yet been evaluated. An implementation evaluation of the program is, however, scheduled for the 2008-09 fiscal year.
Questions on the Order Paper January 28th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, in response to (a), all families with children under the age of six, including those families living below the low income cut-off, are eligible to receive the universal child care benefit, UCCB. 2005 data from the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics indicates that 263,000 families with children under the age of six were living below the after tax low income cut-off.
In response to (b), the UCCB is intended to help offset the costs of whatever form of child care families choose.
In response to (c), the UCCB is not intended to support the creation or provision of child care services and that is why the government is transferring an additional $250 million per year to the provinces and territories to help support the creation of new child care spaces.
In response to (d), the most recent data available show that the number of regulated child care spaces in Canada increased from 370,000 in 1992 to over 811,000 in 2006.
In response to (e), since 2004, federal transfers for children’s programs have increased and provinces have made their own direct investments. It is expected that the number of spaces will continue to rise accordingly.
In response to (f), provinces and territories have primary responsibility for programs and services for families with young children, including child care, and are accountable to their citizens for their investments.
In response to (g), budget 2007 introduced two new measures to support the creation of child care spaces: an investment tax credit for businesses that create spaces for the children of their employees; and a $250 million per year transfer to provinces and territories to support the creation and expansion of child care spaces. It is expected that the number of spaces will rise as a result of these investments.
In response to (h), in October 2007, approximately 1,473,000 families received the UCCB for approximately 1,967,000 children under the age of six.
In response to (i), following is the number of recipient families on a monthly basis 2006: July, 1,384,000; August, 1,394,000; September, 1,412,000; October, 1,430,000; November, 1,442,000; December, 1,445,000; 2007: January, 1,452,000; February, 1,450,000; March, 1,460,000; April, 1,464,000; May, 1,467,000; June, 1,462,000; July, 1,469,000; August, 1,471,000; September, 1,472,000; and October, 1,473,434.
In response to (j), the universality of the UCCB means that the demographic composition of recipients mirrors the composition of the general population of families with children under six.
In response to (k), the UCCB provides direct financial support for all families with young children regardless of income level, family type, marital status, where they live or whether one or both parents work outside the home. A breakdown of family type for UCCB is not available although, according to census 2006 of the 1,486,065 families with children under six, 955,915 were married couple familes, 282,755 were common law families and 247,400 were lone parent families.
In response to (l), in October 2007, of 1,473,434 families receiving the UCCB, 21,265, or 1.4%, are from Newfoundland and Labrador; 6,150, or 0.4%, are from Prince Edward Island; 38,127, or 2.5%, are from Nova Scotia; 31,170 or 2.1%, are from New Brunswick; 335,336, or 22.8%, are from Quebec; 576,593, or 39.1%, are from Ontario; 57,617 or 3.9%, are from Manitoba; 49,449, or 3.4%, are from Saskatchewanl 174,148, or 11.8%, are from Alberta; 175,757, or 11.9%, are from British Columbia, 2,507, or 0.2%, are from Northwest Territories; 1,454, or 0.1%, are from Yukon; 2,831 or 0.2%, are from Nunavut; and 1,030 or 0.1%, are people living on "Canadian soil" abroad.
In response to (m), the target population for UCCB is the child, not the parent. Therefore, given the universality of the UCCB, it can be assumed that the demographic composition of the recipients mirrors the composition of the general population of families with children under six.
In response to (n), the UCCB is taxable in the hands of the lower income earner spouse.
In response to (o), the UCCB is a new initiative introduced in July 2006. The federal government has not undertaken any studies on the use of the UCCB since that time.
In response to (p), the federal government has not undertaken any public opinion polling on the use of the UCCB since its introduction in July 2006.
In response to (q), the UCCB is not directly intended to support the creation or provision of child care services although our investments have been used by the provinces to announce the creation of more than 32,000 new spaces.
Questions on the Order Paper January 28th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, the amounts of funding provided to national, provincial and local organizations in the years in question are as follows:
* The distribution of funds by number of organizations is not available for the earlier years.
** Please note that 2006-07 was the first adult learning, literacy and essential skills program, ALLESP, call for proposals and, as such, was launched later in the year than calls for proposals under the former national literacy program. Therefore, fewer projects began and less money was spent in the 2006-07 fiscal year. The funding amounts for some of these projects will, as a result, appear under the 2007-08 fiscal year spending.
The government honoured all signed agreements and commitments with respect to the local and regional priorities agreed upon between the ALLESP and the provinces and territories in 2006-07. It is important to note that no projects were cancelled.
Seniors December 13th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, I do not think we need to call them. I think she just did.
The fact is we are doing very aggressive outreach. The member has pulled these numbers out of the air. I can tell the member, though, we are deeply concerned about making sure that all Canadians who are eligible for benefits do receive them.
Seniors December 13th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, the member is simply uninformed on this issue. The fact is the government is constantly doing outreach. We advertise. We inform seniors of the benefits that are available to them through senior centres. We go to homeless shelters. We are actually physically on reserve to tell people about the benefits that are available to them.
The fact is there are now 597 Service Canada outlets around the country that explain all the benefits that seniors and all Canadians can receive from their government.
Seniors December 13th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, the member is completely wrong. The fact is the government has moved on a number of occasions to improve things for seniors. Recently, NDP members had the chance to show that they really support seniors and failed to do it.
We have moved as a government to lift 385,000 Canadians right off the tax rolls, low income Canadians, many thousands of whom are seniors and the NDP of course voted against it.
Seniors December 13th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, it is precisely because of this government that seniors today have more money in their pockets, lower taxes, better programming, and an enhanced new horizons program.
As the member says, they have an outstanding minister representing their point of view at the cabinet table, something the NDP has always voted against.