Belinda Stronach

[Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act, October 4th, 2005]

moved that the bill be read the third time and passed.

[Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act, October 4th, 2005]

moved that the bill, as amended, be concurred in at report stage with further amendments, and read the second time.

[Grants and Contributions, September 28th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, a call for proposal was put in place for contracts over $500,000 because we are spending and investing taxpayers' money and we want to ensure that it is done wisely.

As I mentioned, we put a task force in place over and above the committee's recommendations to take a look at how we can streamline the administrative process and make it fairer to the voluntary sector.

[Grants and Contributions, September 28th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, we take the work that the voluntary sector does very seriously and we have put certain steps into place. We have put a task force in place that involves the deputy minister, the parliamentary secretary, the hon. member for Peterborough, and the voluntary sector to take a look at how we can streamline the process and make it fairer to the voluntary sector.

In addition to that we have put together an office for client satisfaction, and a fairness adviser to facilitate and strengthen the process, so that we have a stronger relationship with that voluntary sector.

[Older Workers, September 26th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, there has been follow-up. The department is working with the province of Quebec in particular and with other provinces and numerous departments to develop a strategy for older workers. That includes temporary income support measures.

[Service Canada, September 26th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, it is providing better service to more Canadian communities. It is outstanding service delivery organization with a view toward continuous improvement. It has a service charter and an office for client satisfaction, all with a view to creating a culture of one stop service delivery and continuous improvement for Canadian services.

[Service Canada, September 26th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, if anyone looks at the service Canada details, I think it is a fantastic story. It is about better service to more Canadians in more Canadian communities. In fact, we are expanding our points of service in the next couple of years from 300 to 600. Therefore, this is a great news story.

There are many layers of accountability factored in, including an advisory board, an office for client satisfaction and a service charter.

I am very proud to be associated with service Canada. It is a great news story.

[Citizenship and Immigration, June 23rd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the program is still under review, and we will report back in a couple of weeks. We review each case on a case by case basis. No new applications have been approved since the review has been completed.

[Bell Canada, June 22nd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out that this is within provincial jurisdiction and we should not be promoting replacement workers. From time to time we need to review the programs to ensure that they do not have unintended consequences.

[Employment Insurance, June 20th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, in fact I think great steps have been taken in the last budget to strengthen the independence of the EI commission, the way it sets its rates, the independent actuary in the process, and the way it reports that information. I think great steps have been taken in the last budget to address those items.