Jane Stewart

[Softwood Lumber, April 12th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, again I would remind the hon. member that the employment insurance system is structured so that it can respond to different levels of unemployment region by region.

I would also remind the hon. member that earlier this week a number of the cabinet met with the Premier of British Columbia. When he left he said “The message I'm taking back...is we've got a future in forestry and that the federal government is working with us to have a forest industry in B.C.”

The same is true for Quebec.

[Softwood Lumber, April 12th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, that is not at all the case. In fact, the employment insurance system is there and it is working now. I would remind the hon. member of the changes the government has made to the employment insurance system that specifically support seasonal workers.

I would also remind the hon. member that I have travelled to the province of Quebec to announce community solutions for seasonal workers that really make a difference in expanding the shoulder seasons for those particular industries. Our record is clear and we will continue to be there for Canadians.

[Softwood Lumber, April 12th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the government is acting now. We are acting through the employment insurance system. The premiums are there for those who, through no fault of their own, find themselves without income. The part II funds are there. The provinces are administering those on behalf of Canadians.

We are working very closely together. There are programs like work sharing and other strategies and we want to ensure they are flexible, efficient and useful to those who may find themselves in difficulty as a result of this trade dispute.

[Softwood Lumber, April 12th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, let me reassure the hon. member that the government is working closely with our partners, monitoring the impact and potential impact of the softwood lumber dispute on Canadian workers. That means we are working with the provinces, the industry itself, their unions and individuals. We will continue to do so.

However at this point we feel and are encouraged that the strength of the employment insurance system is there for these workers, as it has been for other workers in other sectors like the airline industry. It has worked well for them and I anticipate it will work well for the softwood lumber industry.

[Softwood Lumber, April 11th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, we have worked very effectively in the communities the hon. member mentioned. We have particular programs and strategies that are there to help those who work in the natural resource sector, whether it be tourism or the forestry industry.

We will continue to do that and I would ask him to suggest to his counterparts in the government of Quebec that they work effectively with us, using the close to $600 million that it receives every single year for purposes like this.

[Softwood Lumber, April 11th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I would remind the hon. member that the employment insurance regime is a comprehensive regime with a number of different tools that can be used and brought to bear in times like this.

I would remind him that we were able to use these tools successfully in supporting the airline industry through a very difficult patch and it is my expectation that we will be able to use them flexibly and efficiently in this case as well.

[Employment Insurance, April 10th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, again, the employment insurance system is sound. Over $500 million is transferred to the Government of Quebec every year to assist with issues facing unemployed workers.

We continue to work at the community level, through my department and other departments of government, to follow the initiatives and the issues that come out of this trade dispute and make sure we are there to assist Canadian workers in the softwood lumber dispute.

[Employment Insurance, April 10th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, let me reiterate again the concern that the government has for those workers who may be affected by the trade dispute in softwood lumber.

We are very pleased that the employment insurance system is sound. It is strong, it is there and ready to respond to the needs of the vast majority of those working in the industry who may need the support of income benefits as well as active measures.

[Employment Insurance, March 21st, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, what the auditor general said at committee is exactly what she said in her report in December. What she indicated is that she thought there was a better way of setting employment insurance premium rates. We agree with her. That is why in Bill C-2 we included that as part of the act. I would remind the House, the hon. member and his party that they voted against that bill.

[Employment Insurance, March 21st, 2002]

No, Mr. Speaker, I will not.

Let me be clear. If individuals honestly or mistakenly fail to declare their earnings, the only amount that they are expected to pay back is the amount equal to the benefits that they received for which they were not eligible.