Jean Augustine

[Business Of Supply, February 16th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I wish I knew what was in next Tuesday's budget, but in fairness and in response to the member's question I just want to confirm what was said earlier.

We are committed to job creation. We recognize that housing and everything relating to housing is a stimulus to job creation. We are committed to ensuring that Canadian society functions. We are committed to helping people in needy situations. We are committed to responding to the needs of people who find themselves in difficult situations especially in our urban areas where there are waiting lists of thousands of people who require housing. There is a commitment to respond to those needs.

We have committed timelines and deadlines to some of the programs. We have committed to CMHC. We mentioned what we will do in the area of the aboriginal and the dollars we will spend in that area. We talked about our commitment and support to the national strategy for the integration of persons with disabilities. It is there. It is within our commitment to ensure our support. We will ensure that Canadian society and those who require assistance will be so afforded.

We have talked about how many dollars, where we are going with all of this. We spoke about partnerships. We talked about working together. The whole business of the co-operative movement is a partnership. There is support for this and I know that the minister is committed to ensuring that together with the finance minister he can come up with some alternatives.

[Business Of Supply, February 16th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I have a working as well as a personal interest in the area of housing.

For several years I was chairperson of the Metro Toronto Housing Authority, MTHA as it is commonly known, the largest public housing agency in Canada. We house approximately 125,000 individuals in rent geared to income facilities. The majority of the MTHA stock was built in the 1950s and 1960s and was characterized by large scale projects targeted to low income households.

Through my work in housing and my contact with my constituents, I am aware there is a pressing need for affordable housing especially in the metropolitan Toronto area and in other urban areas. I am also aware of the aboriginal people and the pressing and critical need there is for housing in their areas.

In the early 1970s the Liberal government introduced community based non-profit and co-operative housing programs to better integrate socially assisted housing in all communities. To this end we took a different route from that taken by the United States. These new social housing programs were developed in partnership, with municipal, private, co-operative and non-profit housing corporations and were based on the tenets of self-help and volunteerism.

I believe this progressive housing initiative by the Liberal government of the time greatly contributed to Canada's reputation as a country of relatively safe communities. Unlike the United States, Canada does not have abandoned inner city areas or communities teaming with homeless people. I fear, however, that this may change if the short sighted policies of the previous government are not reviewed.

Poverty in Canada's inner cities is on the rise and hundreds of thousands of people are living below the poverty line. The greatest proportion of their income goes toward rent, making them dependent on food banks and other forms of assistance. Since social housing makes up less than 6 per cent of Canada's total housing stock, these low income households have no other choice but to rent private market housing.

The Conservative government had no interest in investing in social housing. During its time in office it chipped away at all social housing programs. Housing budgets and programs underwent drastic cuts and culminated in the cancellation of a good many programs.

The Conservative government did this despite the knowledge that one in eight households, ranging from the working poor to those with special needs, cannot afford its housing or is in an inadequate or substandard dwelling. The cancellation of social housing programs made the chances for these households getting housing assistance equivalent to winning a lottery.

We have a different scene now. In our red book we said that the Liberal government wanted to support local communities as the source of social stability and economic strength. Canada's social housing programs go a long way in meeting these goals. We realize on this side of the House, as does everyone in the House, that adequate shelter is a fundamental need of society and a prerequisite for community prosperity.

Our government is committed to rebuilding community well-being and restoring individual dignity. We will do this by helping to house Canadians in affordable, suitable and adequate shelter. Our commitment in maintaining a strong role in housing is clear and we have made this clear. We have expressed this in several avenues. We will continue to fund and support the 652,000 households at approximately $2 billion per year.

The need for adequate housing for all Canadians is a very serious issue. The federal government recently in the throne speech reaffirmed the Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program. A total of $100 million over the next two years will be available to help low income households bring their homes up to health and safety standards.

I know of this concern and this need for government to achieve efficiency and savings in delivering an acceptable level of service to Canadians. We want to do this in the most cost effect manner.

I was made to understand that CMHC has already begun to discuss direct lending to finance and refinance social housing projects as one way of making better use of resources and reducing expenditures. We expect to save some $120 million in subsidy costs over the next four years, providing scope for new housing initiatives.

We need to develop additional ideas, invigorating, inspiring and creative ideas. Those ideas can come from all sides of the House.

The need to combine cost effectiveness as has been mentioned over and over goes along with creativity in our funding approaches. We must combine creativity and funding approaches

to meet the theme which is needed and echoed on this side of the House.

The provinces and the federal government had a meeting. They came away with a sense of co-operation and a resolution that together they must provide the hard working taxpayer a return for the dollar. This is why we must work together to achieve efficiencies and savings and to address overlap and duplication.

The federal and provincial ministers of housing will be meeting at a summer conference. It is hoped the co-operation we have started in working with our provincial counterparts will be exemplified there. They will be working not only on strategies as to the cost effectiveness and efficiency of administering the existing social housing portfolio but also will be discussing the partnership required to meet the needs.

Efficiencies can be realized in the operating costs. A few examples are: improved energy efficiencies; streamlining the professional fees such as audit and legal fees, et cetera, that are done in the social housing field; reducing property and liability insurance costs; and bulk purchasing of goods and services. All those avenues offer excellent opportunities and potential for savings.

We need to build in a spirit of co-operation and partnership. We need to renew our thinking for the nineties, to find new and creative ways to meet the need before us as a country, a need facing all Canadians but especially those for whom social housing is the only answer. We need to consider innovative ways. We need to look outside our existing structures.

As Canadians we offer much to the world. I have participated in international conferences where as Canadians we stood up and participated on a level way above what a number of other countries presently involved were doing.

Partnerships among levels of government in Canada have historically worked well. They will continue to work well as long as there is co-operation within the federation. With our current fiscal reality we need to continue to do this and do it even better. Existing partnerships must be reviewed to determine how we can put them together to benefit not only the housing market but also for the jobs that could be provided in that area.

Creative new funding opportunities must include the third sector contribution, charitable organizations and all those involved in the area of meeting the housing needs of Canadians.

Housing policy can no longer be considered as something by itself isolated in a vacuum, the responsibility of a government agency, body or ministry. It cannot simply be measured in terms of public expenditures. It must be linked to other public policies and co-ordinated with them to get the most from available resources.

It is very important on this side of the House that as we speak about the ideals of what the 21st century offers to us, as we begin to review the needs of Canadians, as we begin to look at our entire social security system, that we see social housing as a very important part of that discussion.

Today's topic is timely. The input from members today will go into the discussion that will and must occur as we move forward. This type of thinking reflects what is already occurring in a number of provinces.

Demonstration projects are now under way in New Brunswick, British Columbia and other provinces. They are looking at income supplements to enable welfare recipients to enter the workforce and become self-sufficient. The emphasis is on training and education and finding jobs for those able to work.

These programs stress enabling individuals to overcome barriers to personal development and employment. It enhances their dignity and self-reliance to compete in the job market. We need to involve others to focus their energies, resources and creativity in developing solutions to housing problems.

I worked quite closely with individuals in my last occupation as chair of metro housing in the empowerment of individuals. Residents had a say on the issues that dealt with their quality of life in the places in which they lived.

I look forward to building on this spirit of co-operation as we extend the provision of housing to all Canadians in need, as we look at the innovative and cost effective ways in which we can provide housing for all Canadians.

[Prince Edward Island Fixed Link, February 15th, 1994]

Madam Speaker, on February 2, 1994 the member for Wetaskiwin questioned the Prime Minister on the issue of free votes.

The hon. member should realize that this government has done more to champion the cause of House of Commons reform in the first 100 days of its mandate than the previous government did in nine long years.

On Monday, February 7, the government House leader placed before this House a framework for renewal. This framework addressed a wide range of issues this government believes will reinstate the trust and respect that Canadians want to have in their institutions.

On the subject of free votes it must be noted that this is not a matter dealt with now by the standing orders of the House. Instead it is a matter to be dealt with by each party and each party's members themselves.

This is why the hon. member will note that in part VII of the government House leader's motion there is a reference to the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs to examine free votes in the House of Commons and other important matters.

Therefore I ask the hon. member and his party to fully participate in this process. I am sure he agrees with me when I

say that the task ahead is to reinforce the fundamentals of the system and restore a more active role for all members of Parliament.

[South Africa, February 11th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, four years ago today Nelson Mandela was released from Robben Island in South Africa after spending more than 27 years in prison. South Africans, Canadians and people around the world are celebrating the anniversary of his release and the road to democracy which has been followed in South Africa.

I would like to pass on greetings to those who gather in Toronto tonight as part of a fundraising effort for voter education in South Africa. We wish our friends in South Africa well as they prepare and educate themselves about their democratic right to vote, a right which has until now been denied to 80 per cent of the people of South Africa.

All South Africans will have the opportunity to exercise this right for the first time on April 27, 1994.

[Supply, February 10th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, on January 21 the opposition House leader stood in this House during question period and accused the Prime Minister of vacillation on the subject of fighting the contraband cigarette trade. In fact the member for Roberval said and I quote: "His hesitation is the main reason for the growing revolt among Quebec convenience stores".

In response to this unfounded accusation I would like to share with the House what the Leader of the Opposition, the member's boss as it were, said about the Prime Minister's leadership on this issue: "I think that Jean Chrétien behaved like a Prime Minister-and as such guardian of the integrity of the law". This was quoted in the Toronto Star .

The opposition House leader and his party are trying to take the credit for the Prime Minister's decisiveness and his national action plan.

Canadians know the truth. Canadians understand the complexity of this issue and that the plan including enforcement crackdown, a reduction of consumer taxes, special action on tobacco manufacturers and the largest anti-smoking campaign in Canadian history is not thrown together in a couple of weeks. Months before members of his party were on national TV breaking the law openly, this government was working diligently to put together balanced public policy.

As the Prime Minister said in his statement on February 8, there is no perfect solution but we have come up with a fair, workable and decisive action plan. We must put an end to the terrorizing of entire communities. Canadians are counting on all members from all sides of this House to accomplish this very important task.

[House Of Commons Standing Orders, February 7th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I will respond to the member's question of January 21, 1994, when the member for Richelieu asked the Prime Minister a question regarding native self-government and the Constitution.

Let me begin by saying that the Prime Minister has stated unequivocally in this House and elsewhere that the priority of the government is job creation and not the Constitution.

The Liberal position on the nature of self-government was made clear in the red book. We said that the inherent right of self-government is an existing aboriginal and treaty right. To that extent the federal government is involved in a series of meetings with national and regional aboriginal leaders, provincial and territorial governments and other parties.

The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples interim report said it was possible to implement native self-government without changing the Constitution. That is what we are working on at this point in the discussion. I hope this satisfies the member's questions which seem to have gone beyond his question of January 21.

[Social Security System, February 3rd, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question and for the opportunity to share some of his experiences that we have in common.

I do care about equity issues. I think we are on the road to equity. If we look around the Chamber we can see that there are opportunities for us to work in a fashion that would reflect the nature of Canadian society.

Canadian society is not just English and French, or people from Quebec and people from the rest of Canada. We are multicultural and multiracial. We must be in every place in society. We must aspire to be the best Canadians that we can be and every opportunity must be given to individuals. It is a waste of talent and ability when every individual is not given the opportunity to reach their full potential.

That is why I am here. That is why the hon. member is here. We are all here to work in the interests of Canadians to make sure we have a society that is equitable, that is working, a society where each and every individual is a person of dignity, of worth and able to participate fully in Canadian society.

[Social Security System, February 3rd, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I join in this debate on the motion of the Minister of Human Resources Development because it is one which will deeply affect the people of my riding and deeply affect all Canadians.

Etobicoke-Lakeshore has fallen on hard times recently. Many of our industries have packed up and left town leaving empty plants and office spaces and many unemployed people in their wake.

We have people capable of providing highly technical knowledge but with little infrastructure for support. The youth in my riding are facing an ever bleak future and it seems that no matter what their training is there are no jobs for them. There are many seniors in Etobicoke-Lakeshore who are living on the edge of poverty and they are all concerned about the quality of life they will have in their remaining days.

My constituents and all Canadians are in a state of despair. They are having a hard time not only finding but keeping their jobs. Many who have jobs are underemployed or work only part time and intermittently.

During the campaign I promised and I committed according to the red book. I committed together with all the members of the Liberal Party who were campaigning at the time that we would invest in people; that we would help individuals to make better choices for themselves and for their families; and, that we would help individuals to establish new ways of participating in a social and economic structure that would make a difference for them.

We talked about rebuilding the security system, offering employment, offering hope, creating a more productive economy through better use of human resources, their skills, their talents and their abilities. We also spoke about education reforms, about our young people and the way in which we would have to prepare our young for the future ahead of them.

This despair is felt; and this minister's commitment to a review of the system is exactly what we need to do. We want to ensure that our children are well trained and educated and we want jobs for ourselves and for our future.

We recognize the contribution of senior Canadians. They spent their lives working to make a better place to live. They contributed to the development and funding of social programs. They should be able to live in security and enjoy retirement. The Canada pension plan, old age security, and guaranteed income supplement are meant to contribute to their security. These programs are no longer working as they were meant to.

By the year 2020 it is predicted that 20 per cent of our population will be seniors. Maybe many hon. members will be in that category. If we do not work on these programs now there will be no support for those Canadians then.

There is really one course of action. That is to involve Canadians in a full review of the system, a review that includes unemployment insurance, social assistance, training, education, looking at our young people, looking at our children and families or single and lone parent families, and all those who are presently experiencing difficulty in the system.

We must involve all Canadians in this dialogue. We must involve as many Canadians as possible because these programs affect each and every one of us from the cradle to the grave. We each have an interest, a shared concern in the system, because we are all stakeholders. This is why we have embarked on this.

The hon. members of the Official Opposition would have us believe that what we are about to do is what the Tories did: slash, burn, and cut and somehow walk away from the realities of the lives of the people we are here to serve.

The Liberal Party founded most of today's social programs. These programs were designed for a different time but they were based on the same values which we hold dear today. They were based on the beliefs that each and every Canadian has a right to live with dignity, that each and every Canadian should be able to earn his or her own living. They were based on the knowledge that we do not all have equal opportunities in life and that we should work to ensure a certain standard of living for all. That includes unemployment insurance for those encountering difficulties in the workplace, social assistance for those facing poverty, and a pension plan for those in their senior years.

We want to protect those values. We want to ensure those values continue to exist in our social security system. We can only do so with a comprehensive review such as the minister has proposed.

I commend him for this ambitious plan and encourage all members of this House to work and to work steadfastly to ensure that we provide the environment and the kind of security that is needed in our country.

I extend my own support and pledge I will do everything in my capacity to ensure that the residents of Etobicoke-Lakeshore and all Canadians participate in this endeavour.

We have recommitted through the red book that this must be done to ensure that our commitment is met.

[Immigration, February 3rd, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration on his announcement yesterday in the House of the 1994 immigration levels. His announcement is in keeping with the pledge in the red book to maintain an immigration level of approximately 1 per cent of Canada's population.

Immigrants bring a great many riches to our country. They bring new skills and talents, expertise and experience. They enrich our cultural diversity.

As an immigrant to Canada I had the opportunity to pursue a career as an educator and to use my knowledge to the betterment of our community.

By honouring our pledge in the red book the minister affirms that immigrants have a lot to offer. I firmly believe that we need their skills and talents to meet the economic challenges we face as a country in an increasingly global society.

I wish the minister well as he embarks on a broad consultation process on immigration policy. I offer my full support to him to ensure the success of this initiative.

[Black History Month, February 1st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, today, the first day of February, marks the beginning of Black History Month. This month highlights and acknowledges black Canadians and African Canadians who have struggled to advance the causes of their people. Black Canadians have been part of Canada's history since 1603.

There will be many activities taking place throughout Canada to celebrate Black History Month. These activities will show the colourful and rich heritage of black people.

I invite hon. members to join with me not only to recognize Black History Month, but to have an understanding of the trials and jubilations that our people have experienced.

Not only is this month a recognition of the contributions of black Canadians but it is also for all Canadians to understand different heritages which will foster a better relationship within this wonderful diverse culture of Canada.