Pierre Pettigrew

[Ice Storm, February 2nd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague in the Bloc Quebecois for asking me this question, which gives me a chance to point out that it is not completely true to say that there was little in the way of results.

We have already invested $3.5 million in job creation programs in the areas affected by the storm in order to help people rebuild, to improve the situation; $3.5 million is something.

Many of the programs available to employers, communities and municipalities are already 100 per cent in job creation partnerships, as provided for under the legislation.

I think that, right now, the measures are meeting the needs of communities.

[Ice Storm, February 2nd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, we allowed people to receive a cheque within 14 or 15 days after the problem began, that is as soon as we realized that some people needed that help.

People received money two weeks sooner than they normally would have under the employment insurance program. It was very important for these people to get that cheque and this is why we were quick to act. It was important for people without heat and power to get their cheque two weeks earlier than normal. We managed to do that and we are very proud of our initiative.

[Ice Storm, February 2nd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Quebecois is always creating confusion, and I hope it is not doing so deliberately.

I will be very clear. The first two weeks are not covered, because I do not want to unload all of Montreal's downtown onto the system. Given that four or five days were not worked, it is important for businesses and workers to take measures to make up for the lost time, through overtime or by working on Saturdays. I believe this is the best solution.

As for the waiting period, the workers got cheques in advance, as in the case of the Saguenay and Manitoba disasters, regarding which the waiting period was never waived. We will act humanely in each and every case.

[Ice Storm, February 2nd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, what we eliminated was the two- week waiting period. In other words, I asked our officials to allow people who had been without work for five days to apply for EI and to receive within three, four or five days their first EI cheque, that they could therefore receive within the first two weeks, but for the following week.

That is why there may have been some confusion, but I think it important that this be known, because workers obtained assistance much more rapidly than they normally would have.

[Ice Storm, February 2nd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the leader of the Bloc Quebecois for his question.

Naturally, I share his sentiments about storm victims and I would like to tell him that the Government of Canada, including the Minister of National Defence and all my other colleagues, did everything it could to help resolve the problems.

I would like to be very clear, and I thank him for giving me an opportunity to do so today. There is confusion between qualifying period and waiting period. What we did as a government, and I used the powers accorded me by the legislation in these exceptional circumstances, was to eliminate the two-week waiting period so that people could receive EI payments much more quickly, but I maintained the qualifying period. The qualifying period remains, and I think it important that it remain.

[Singer Retirees, December 11th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member ought to know that the Federal Court acknowledged a few weeks ago, as indeed it does each time, that this could be a class action. This is nothing new and the government has not had its case dismissed, not in the least. The court itself is the one that wanted to clarify the matter of representativity.

As for the rest of the matter, it is before the courts and we have to wait for this extremely important decision.

[Education, December 11th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, we have direct grants to students in need and we will continue to build on the system we have. The leader of the NDP is asking us to set tuition fees, which is a provincial jurisdiction, and we respect provincial jurisdictions in this country.

[Education, December 11th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, we on this side of the House are well aware of the difficult situation faced by a growing number of students in this country. We began to tackle this situation in the budget of last year. The Minister of Finance is helping parents to save money toward education. He has increased the interest relief period for student loans.

A few weeks ago I held in Ottawa the first ever conference of stakeholders on this very subject. Many very good propositions were made to us.

[Transfer Payments, December 10th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Shefford for her question.

I must tell her that we have already raised by $1.5 billion the cash floor of the provincial transfers. This means that, instead of going down to $11 billion, cash transfers will remain at $12.5 billion.

We also made a commitment to help low income families with children by spending an initial $850 million starting July 1, 1998, and an additional $850 million during that mandate.

In last year's budget, my colleague, the Hon. Minister of Finance, allocated $100 million to the Minister of Health for the Community Action Plan for Children, which we are implementing in partnership with the provinces. I would say we are off to a good start—

[Employment Insurance, December 10th, 1997]

On the contrary, welfare in Quebec has been dropping for some time now.

Perhaps we need to see how Quebec is looking after these people through welfare, since many of the people in those bread lines need to be looked after by welfare. Everything is blamed on this reform, while we know very well where mistakes may have been made elsewhere and where other cuts have been made.