Lost her last election, in 2006, with 23% of the vote.
Agriculture May 26th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, we are taking the situation in the beef industry very seriously, and workers can count on the employment insurance plan if they lose their jobs.
Moreover, if the situation warrants, those in charge of employment insurance can sign a worksharing agreement. The Government of Canada is there for Canadian workers and is working very hard to find solutions to this difficult situation.
Agriculture May 26th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, we are taking the risk of job loss in the beef industry very seriously, and the department will continue to monitor the situation very closely.
If there are layoffs in meat packing plants or in related areas of the beef industry, workers will be eligible for employment insurance and can count on it.
Post-Secondary Education May 9th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, in the latest budget, $60 million was earmarked for the Canada Student Loans Program to help provide students in difficulty with better debt reduction measures.
The support we provide to research and post-secondary education in the budget helps to ensure that Canada remains a world leader in investing in the knowledge of its citizens.
Student Employment May 9th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by thanking my colleague for this question, because this year is the 35th anniversary of the “Hire a Student” program and the creation of human resource centres of Canada for students.
Last year, with the cooperation and active involvement of employers and the remarkable work done by summer employment officers, we helped Canadian employers fill more than 189,000 positions and provided employment assistance services to more than 280,000 young Canadians so that they could gain experience and ease their integration into the labour market.
Employment Insurance May 9th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, the situation is certainly not easy for people who work in the fishery, but we are trying our best to help them. That is why we are working for the good of the fishers, in conjunction with the ACOA, Economic Development Canada and the other governments in order to find solutions to this difficult situation.
Employment Insurance May 9th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, as I explained earlier, workers can count on the government's help. That is why we are transferring $600 million to the provinces under this agreement, in order to help workers find jobs.
What workers want is work; they do not necessarily want to rely on EI benefits.
Fisheries May 9th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, as my hon. colleague said, we are already transferring $600 million to the Province of Quebec to help those who have lost their jobs. In addition, the Department of Human Resources Development is making available to the workers its full range of programs, including employment benefits, support measures, the Youth Employment Strategy and initiatives under a pilot project for older workers.
Fisheries May 8th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, I wish to state that the government is greatly concerned by the situation of the fishery workers and that the employment insurance program is operating well, overall. It is there to meet the needs of workers who lose their jobs temporarily.
As has been stated on numerous occasions, workers can count on the assistance of our government. This is why the department is working in conjunction with ACOA and the provinces to find solutions to the problems being experienced by fishers.
Employment Insurance Act May 2nd, 2003
Madam Speaker, I am pleased today to speak during second reading of Bill C-406 to amend the Employment Insurance Act.
First, I want to set the record straight. Some people live in difficult circumstances, but overall, employment insurance works well. According to Statistics Canada, the labour force participation rate is now 67.5%. This figure is for March 2003 and nears the high for the past twelve months.
For adult women, the participation rate is 60.6%. Furthermore, the government pays over $2 billion each year to the provinces and territories so that they can take the necessary steps to help Canadians find and keep employment.
Since 1997, we have invested over $1 billion in the youth employment strategy, which helps young people gain valuable work experience through programs such as Youth Service Canada, Youth Internship Canada and Summer Career Placements, which have created 96,000 jobs each year just since 1997. Our goal is to promote labour force participation.
That said, the hon. member for Acadie—Bathurst knows just how important the employment insurance program has been, for the past 60 years, to Canada's safety net. The government wants this program to continue to help the workers who need it, and so it will to the best of its abilities.
The goal of the employment insurance program has evolved over the years to suit the changing needs of Canadian workers.
Employment insurance now provides temporary income support to Canadians who have no employment income for a particular period, due to job loss, illness, the birth of a child or because they must care for a seriously ill child or parent. Furthermore, employment insurance provides unemployed Canadians with guidance and training so they can reintegrate the labour market.
In 1996, following broad consultations of Canadians, the Canadian government replaced unemployment insurance with employment insurance so as to meet the new needs of the economy, the labour market and workers. Furthermore, the Canada Employment Insurance Commission committed to monitoring the impact of this system on individuals, communities and the economy.
Following up on the annual monitoring and assessment activities, the government has readjusted the program to respond better to needs. Since that time we have, as the member for Acadie—Bathurst has pointed out, improved parental benefits, adjusted the small weeks, eliminated the intensity rule, changed payback provisions, modified the rule on undeclared earnings, and provided a new six-week compassionate benefit for eligible workers who will be looking after a seriously ill parent, child or spouse once this comes into effect in January 2004.
As hon. members are already aware, the most recent annual report, the 6th annual Employment Insurance monitoring and assessment report, came out at the end of April.
It indicates that the EI program continues to work well and that the changes made allow it to serve clients and their families better.
I will provide some examples from 2001 and 2002. The program provided sufficient coverage. According to the figures, 88% of salaried workers would have been eligible for benefits had they lost their job.
More Canadians received assistance, 1.9 million people receiving a total of $11.5 billion in employment insurance benefits.
Active re-employment measures were also successful. Over that period, $2.1 billion was invested in employment benefits and support measures via such programs as employment assistance, and skills development, which enabled 570,000 individuals to improve their skills, and another 190,000 to get back into the work force quickly.
I would like to draw the attention of the House to that last figure. It is a clear indication that the best support we can give unemployed Canadians is not higher EI benefits, but employment. We are making some progress, because the employment rate rose 3.7% in 2002, the highest annual rise since 1987.
The employment insurance program clearly reflects the balanced approach adopted by this government, combining improved EI benefits and constantly decreasing premiums.
It is important to remember that the government must cover the costs of employment insurance under any circumstances, even when there is a deficit, as was the case during the recession at the beginning of the 1980s and the 1990s.
Bill C-406 proposes creating a separate unemployment insurance trust fund in addition to an independent commission to administer the act. This proposal would be incompatible with the government's limitless responsibility to pay employment insurance benefits. It would also go against the government's objective to consolidate its revenues and expenses, an objective recommended by the Auditor General in 1986.
I would remind the House that the process for setting EI premiums is currently being reviewed. This review will be guided by certain key principles: transparency is critical in setting the premiums; these premiums must be based on the advice of independent experts; revenue levels from premiums must correspond to the expected costs of programs; premiums should be set at levels that reduce the impact on economic cycles; and finally, the premiums should remain relatively stable.
The government has made every possible effort to reduce the cost of employment insurance for both workers and employers. In fact, we have reduced premiums every year since 1994. Employers have told us that these reductions have stimulated employment.
As for workers, they have the safety net of employment insurance without having to assume the financial burden. I do not think that Canadians would view any considerable increase in premiums very positively.
The employment insurance program is working well. We continue to monitor and assess it. We do not hesitate to make required changes when there are compelling reasons to do so.
I believe the approach proposed in this bill raises several questions. Why move backwards? Why give up on an accounting system that is open and transparent? Why spend billions of dollars more on a new system when we have one that meets the needs of workers?
This government is working toward the future, as our proposal for new EI benefits for compassionate care leave demonstrates. However, this bill seems to me to be a major step backwards.
Social Programs May 2nd, 2003
Mr. Speaker, I would like to inform the hon. member that I am not familiar with this, but I will make a note and get back to her as soon as possible.