Pierre Pettigrew

[Atlantic Groundfish Strategy, June 10th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, first I must say that our government's regular programs are excellent and have been considerably improved in recent years. Moreover, hundreds of thousands of Canadians are very happy with them.

I can assure you that license buybacks are among the options available to us. We can apply economic development measures. We can apply adjustment measures. We have options open to us and we will make sure, jointly with the provinces, that they meet the needs of the individuals and communities affected according to the priorities we have set for development.

[Atlantic Groundfish Strategy, June 10th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, our people went to meet with provincial officials, with a specific mandate and topics to discuss regarding the communities and the people who live in those communities. We have specific matters to discuss at this point and we will be in a position to take appropriate decisions when the time is right.

I think it is entirely normal that the minister begin talks with the provinces through his officials, but we will take a decision when the time is right, once consultations are over.

[Atlantic Groundfish Strategy, June 10th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I can assure members that there have been meetings between officials and that my assistant deputy minister is in contact with several directors general and representatives of the Atlantic provinces.

The discussions are lively and are going very well, because we are determined to work together. This is a very important problem; we are aware of the difficult situation faced by fishers who must contend with greatly reduced fisheries, and this is a problem we wish to address with the provinces.

[Ice Storm, June 9th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I receive a number of memos and recommendations from my department. I always look at them carefully and with respect. I do the necessary follow-up in the best interests of my fellow citizens.

In this matter, as in others, I think we are considered to have been vigilant. We are following the situation very closely.

I think we acted quickly and efficiently in the case of the ice storm. We have invested between $45 million and $50 million from the employment insurance fund to help people through it. If more needs to be done, we will consider the matter with an open mind.

[Atlantic Groundfish Strategy, June 9th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, as you know, we have worked very hard on this issue recently. I sent my own associate deputy minister to meet with provincial officials in the Atlantic region. We believe that the post-TAGS challenge to communities and individuals should be addressed in partnership with the provinces.

Now I am hearing the Bloc tells us “This is your responsibility, not ours”. It is always like that with the Bloc. It is either Ottawa's responsibility or a provincial jurisdiction, depending on what suits them at the time. We are going to work on this issue in partnership with the provinces.

[Employment Insurance, June 5th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, as the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration said earlier, Bloc members probably do not have many questions this morning, because they keep coming back to the same ones.

If the hon. member has a specific question regarding the very useful role of the postman and what an employee of Canada Post can do, I am very pleased to see that the postman is helpful to people.

However, if the hon. member has a more specific question on how my department is run, he can come to see me and we will do our very best to provide good services to North Shore residents.

[Employment Insurance, June 5th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, all I can say is that, as far as I can tell, the reform is good for Canadians. Employees in our offices across the country are now familiar with the new legislation and they do a very good job of serving their fellow citizens whenever they call upon them.

I can even see an improvement in the services provided, since the management of active measures was more difficult at the beginning. I can assure you that I have not yet heard any criticism from the North Shore to the effect that the quality of service has diminished, quite the contrary.

[Maple Syrup Industry, June 5th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, we have already done a lot to help maple syrup producers. We are aware of certain difficulties.

It is well known that many of these measures are now the responsibility of the Government of Quebec. The measures we took to help the producers during the storm were the ones taken over by the Government of Quebec on April 1.

We spent the money we had set aside for this and, if we can do more as a government, we will, because we always want to help our fellow Canadians.

[Maple Syrup Industry, June 5th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I am stunned to hear the Bloc Quebecois criticizing us now for looking after people who were in the middle of the ice storm crisis. We had three months to run this program—from January to April—and we are being criticized for taking the “first come, first served” approach.

When a crisis occurs, you generally try to deal with the most urgent matter, that of helping people. I can assure you that our fellow citizens were very happy to have the Government of Canada—as represented by the Canadian army, my colleague responsible for Canada's economic development and the Department of Human Resources Development—help them, compared with what other governments did.

[Atlantic Groundfish Strategy, June 5th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I too have seen what Premier Tobin is calling for. All I can say at this time is that dialogue produces results.

Dialogue will certainly lead us to see how we can best serve the people in our communities, in a post-TAGS context.

For the time being, I will not comment on a totally arbitrary figure thrown out without any indication as to whether it is for all provinces or just Newfoundland.