Pierre Pettigrew

[Newfoundland, September 30th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, our government is very committed to all Canadians' having a fair opportunity.

I do not accept the claim that Newfoundland will be left behind by this government which has been standing very well for all regions of the country. We are investing a lot more money in transitional job funds in Newfoundland than anything that was done before. We are doing a lot more in Newfoundland through the transfer payments as well. We are the ones who are fighting very hard to maintain an equilibrium in this country in favour of Newfoundland and the other maritime provinces.

[Post-Secondary Education, September 30th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, it is not up to me to determine the tuition fees in the provinces. The government of Canada is already meeting about 60 percent to 65 percent of the cost of students in the universities and colleges through the transfer payments in this country. We are already going a long way to do what we can.

As far as the debt is concerned, we are working with the provinces and the lenders to find solutions that will be adequate as soon as possible to assist the students because we are very concerned about the debt situation right now.

[Post-Secondary Education, September 30th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, the member's question is very important. We as a government are very concerned with the situation of student tuition fees and debt.

We are working with the provinces, students and lenders. There were some measures in the finance minister's budget last year which provided for improvement to RRSPs and savings that parents could do for their children. In the Speech from the Throne we have again committed the government to continuing to reduce the barriers to post-secondary education.

We are doing it with the provinces and with the lenders as well as we can.

[Government Expenditures, September 29th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question, and I can tell him in reply that, of necessity, governing implies assuming responsibilities in a great many areas.

Of course we have responsibility for defence, since we are a large country with defence responsibilities. We also have a foreign policy, and social responsibilities.

As for the youth situation, I believe that the youth employment strategy announced by 12 of my colleagues and myself this past February is beginning to show some very promising results. I am extremely pleased to see the Prime Minister of Canada and the premiers have specifically addressed the situation of our young people—

[Speech From The Throne, September 25th, 1997]

Don't be arrogant.

[Speech From The Throne, September 25th, 1997]

Per hour of programming?

[Speech From The Throne, September 25th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, what the reform has done was to respond to a need, specifically the need to ensure that there would be pensions in the next century, without having to pay an exorbitant price for them. That is what we have done. We have penalized no one, on the contrary, particularly not those women they speak of. Nine out of ten women will benefit from this reform. This is a reform which was necessary.

We are the first industrialized country faced with these changing demographics to address this problem with such courage. I believe that this government's courage in solving problems by addressing needs, not only for the next few years but for the next generations needs to be recognized.

[Employment Insurance, September 25th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, what we do know is that workers everywhere in this country want to retain jobs and have social systems which help them adapt to the labour market.

That is what we have done with the transitional job fund. It has helped thousands of workers in the Atlantic region work in dignity instead of being limited to continual dependence on an income coming from outside. Our respect for these workers is what has prompted us to commit to active measures with enhanced budgets which give them the dignity of real jobs, by moving from a system of passive measures to active measures.

[Employment Insurance, September 25th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, our employment insurance reform came into effect a year ago. We have been monitoring its implementation very carefully and closely and we are measuring its impact to make sure the interests of Canadians from coast to coast are well served.

I can tell you that, after 25 years of an employment insurance system that did not keep up with changes in the job market, it was imperative that it be reviewed, upgraded and brought up to date because it served Canadians very poorly.

I can also tell you that we are watching the system's results very closely but we feel that, for the time being, it is in the interest of Canadians to move from passive to active measures within the system.

[Employment Insurance, September 24th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, we are very concerned about the situation the member describes and I would appreciate it if he listened to the reply, because it is important that he tell his constituents and all those living in his riding what to do.

We have set up a transitional job creation fund. We do not believe in passive income support. Our preference now is for active job creation measures, which we have transferred to the Government of Quebec. We are talking about $800 million in active job creation measures and a $95 million transitional job creation fund for Quebec alone, precisely so that people can have real work and not rely on passive income support. That is what our workers want.