Lost her last election, in 2006, with 34% of the vote.
Canadian Heritage October 7th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, the Banff festival is the most important festival for Canadian television and new media. It was the role and duty of the Minister of Canadian Heritage to attend, particularly as she had been invited back on January 9. As far as I know, we are still ministers, even during an election campaign.
Acton International Plant May 7th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, as you know, the minister is working extremely hard on finding a solution to these matters. I know that he is focussing particular attention on the older worker issue, as he is on the issue of part time workers and, in the longer term, the entire employment insurance file.
Employment May 7th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the hon. member, is he against equal opportunity for everyone? I would also like to ask the hon. member, is he against immigration?
Child Poverty May 5th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, we are aware that there are still obstacles with regard to child poverty. That is true. Statistics Canada has said that child poverty decreased from 16.7% in 1996 to 11.4% in 2001, the lowest rate since 1980. We still have work to do.
We invested $8.1 billion in 2002-03 in the Canada child tax benefit, and of that amount $2.5 million on the national child benefit. We will reach $10 billion by 2007-08.
Social Development May 4th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, I remind the hon. member that, in her 2002 report, the Auditor General indicated that 2.6 million social insurance numbers were inactive. Following this report, an interdepartmental committee was set up and made recommendations that were approved by the federal-provincial-territorial council on identity in Canada. Following these recommendations, we no longer accept the passport, because it is not a primary document.
We have stricter requirements for issuing a social insurance number. We need the original of a birth certificate or an immigration document.
Question No. 74 May 4th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act garnishment amount is established each month by Justice Canada and applied at “month end” when the old age security and Canada pension plan payments are issued. It is not a recurring withhold.
As a result, on March 1 there were no Canada pension plan disability accounts subject to Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act garnishment as the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act withheld amount had not yet been determined for the March 2004 old age security and Canada pension plan payments.
However, when the February 2004 Canada pension plan disability accounts were distributed to clients on February 25, the payment due date for the February payments, we have confirmed 1,220 Canada pension plan disability benefit clients were subject to garnishment due to the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act.
Question No. 70 April 19th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, in response to (a), no new space was acquired in regard to the creation of Social Development Canada, SDC. To date, all related office space requirements have been satisfied from existing inventory, through the relocation of existing personnel, and the renovation of certain spaces. In response to (b), some renovation work has been undertaken at Place Vanier to provide office space resulting from the creation of SDC. As of March 29, 2004 approximately $382,000 in expenditures have been incurred for renovating office spaces at Place Vanier. In response to (c), all renovations have been performed through Public Works and Government Services Canada, PWGSC, under a memorandum of agreement. PWGSC, as the client service delivery organization supporting Human Resources and Skills Development Canada and SDC, contracted the work on a competitive basis through the building landlord, BONA Building Management. In response to (d), the following assets were purchased for the offices of the minister and the deputy minister of SDC and their staff:
In response to (e), the department has not received additional funding for the creation of the department nor has an operational budget been established for this purpose.
Guaranteed Income Supplement February 5th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, we need to rewind a bit. In 2002, a wide-scale awareness campaign was conducted to assist seniors and tell them about the income supplement.
Today, 1.4 million seniors receive the guaranteed income supplement, for a total of $5 billion. Obviously, we are trying to reach as many seniors as possible, to ensure they receive what they are entitled to.
Social Programs February 4th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question.
First, I think it is worth repeating that the lives of seniors were greatly improved through the public pension plan which, I must add, was secured by the current Prime Minister when he was the Minister of Finance.
It should be pointed out, and the hon. member failed to do so, that between 1980 and 2000, the percentage of low income seniors dropped from 20.8% to 7.3%. Obviously, we are aiming for 0%; still, I think this is pretty good.
Mental Health Week October 9th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, Mental Health Week is a time to remember that one in five Canadians suffers from mental illness. A study published by Statistics Canada last month confirmed this.
According to this study, as many Canadians suffer from a mental health disorder as from other chronic conditions, such as heart disease and cancer. Mental illness can often lead to long term disabilities and suicide.
This week, the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health is recognizing a group of exceptional Canadians who are working to make mental health a national priority.
I ask the House to join me in recognizing the efforts of these Canadian champions: all the members of the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology; Dr. Rémi Quirion, Scientific Director of the Institute of Neuroscience, Mental Health and Addictions; Dr. Carolyn Bennett, hon. member for St. Paul; John Hunkin, CEO of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce; and Rona Maynard, Editor-in-Chief of Chatelaine Magazine.
Congratulations to all these individuals.