Pierre Pettigrew

[Atlantic Groundfish Strategy, April 30th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, as soon as the problem was identified in the Atlantic region, our government was the first to go to the people.

The program you repeatedly denounced and criticized was a generous one. I can tell you one thing: it ends in August, and my colleagues and I are working very hard to ensure that we will be able to provide collective and individual assistance in an intelligent and responsible way given the situation the workers will be confronted to come August, since the fish are not coming back.

[Atlantic Groundfish Strategy, April 30th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, in 1993, as soon as we realized there was a problem, our government implemented an extremely important program. The members opposite are now calling for a similar program after criticizing the original one. So they should not ask us for something similar.

We are aware that the situation is a serious one, because the fish did not come back as we had hoped. The ministers in our government concerned by this problem are working very hard at this time to ensure we will have a humanitarian approach to helping the people in this difficult situation after the month of August.

[Atlantic Groundfish Strategy, April 29th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, when there was a crisis in the fishery in 1993 because of poor management by the government that preceded us, we set up a $1.9 billion program to come to the rescue of over 40,000 workers.

We are obviously fully aware that this contract had a certain number of conditions, which were implemented and which helped people in recent years.

Now that we see that the stocks are not returning as we had hoped, my colleagues and I are working very hard to make the decisions that will help people cope with the environment in which they will find themselves in August.

[Fisheries, April 29th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, we have been working very hard. We brought in a $1.9 billion program to help the people when we realized there was a cod crisis in Atlantic Canada.

We are looking at the post-TAGS environment as we realize the fish are not coming back. There is a problem. We realize it. We are addressing it and we are working very hard. When we are ready we will be making an announcement.

[The Atlantic Groundfish Strategy, April 28th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, TAGS was originally designed to provide temporary help to individuals in communities in Atlantic Canada that were facing a very difficult situation.

We now realize that there is a problem and the fish are not coming back to the levels we had hoped for and had expected. Our government is working very hard and consulting with the communities and individuals and the province of Newfoundland to identify the right kind of approach to take in this post-TAGS environment.

[B.C. Mines In Black Lake, April 28th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I want to be clear. I never said that only 40 to 50 workers could benefit from active measures.

What I said is that, so far, 40 of the 300 miners have already been hired in two other mines. Ten have retired. I said that 40 to 50 are interested in training for other jobs. That training will be given in August and September. Five or six were placed by the workers assistance committee thanks to targeted wage subsidies, and four or five are interested in starting their own businesses—

[Atlantic Groundfish Strategy, April 27th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, we have no announcement on this subject today. The hon. member is correct in that the Prime Minister did ask a number of ministers to look at the post-TAGS situation.

As we know, there has been a crisis in the industry. We set up a program that provided help over several years to those hard hit. The program concludes this August.

We are looking at various angles to see how we can help people and communities live comfortably afterward and return to the labour force.

[B.C. Mine In Black Lake, April 27th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, last week I met with representatives from the mine that is unfortunately closed. Six former employees have already benefited from the active measures, while 40 to 50 are interested in training for other jobs. The courses will begin in August and September.

Our government was the first to take action following the mine closure, by allocating $3 million for active measures designed to help these workers. There are other possibilities, and we will help workers, because they want to work.

[Questions On The Order Paper, April 22nd, 1998]

a) The First Nations and Inuit child care initiative is designed to overcome a major hurdle for aboriginal parents by providing affordable and quality child care in First Nations and Inuit communities. With improved access to child care, aboriginal parents will be better able to work or participate in employment training to improve the financial prospects of their families, thereby contributing to the development of their communities.

b) The Government of Canada is committed to providing developmental funding of $72 million over three years. The budget breakdown is $6 million for 1995-96, $26 million for 1996-97, $40 million for 1997-98.

c) All funds were utilized through this program. Ongoing funding of $36 million a year will be available after the initial three-year start-up period.

d) The First Nations and Inuit child care program will support the creation of 4,300 new aboriginal child care spaces and the improvement of 1,700 existing spaces for a total of 6,000 quality child care spaces.

e) Annex A is the list of organizations that have received funding under this program in 1996-97.

f) Funding was granted to aboriginal bands and tribal councils. These funds may have been broken down and redistributed within each band or council. However these funds were, as stated in section (a), used to improve and create aboriginal child care spaces. Proposals are received at Human Resources Development Canada stating the purpose of the grants and subsidies, but are not entered into our databases. This information is kept on file and may be retrieved manually if required, but it is very costly in terms of time and manpower.

g) Annex A is the list of organizations that have received funding under this program in 1996-97.

[Employment Insurance, April 22nd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I am saying very clearly that we are concerned about this situation.

On that side, they like to say that the problem is easy to fix and that this figure is essentially linked to the eligibility criteria. I say that there are also changes in labour market conditions. The economy has also undergone changes. Seen overall, the situation is rather more complex and we will not make decisions blindly, as the opposition would like us to.