Jane Stewart

[Employment Insurance, October 3rd, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the employment insurance system is there now to help Canadians who are facing layoffs. Our annual monitoring and assessment report indicates that the program is working and working well for Canadians. The hon. member might be interested to know that only about one in five Canadians utilizes or exhausts full benefits.

I just want to point out that the system is there because we have made changes. It will be there for Canadians who are facing these difficult times, to help support them with income.

[Airline Industry, October 3rd, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I disagree with the hon. member. Workers are not being shunted from one minister to the other.

We met yesterday. The union officials put their case to me. We will be discussing it, but most important is to ensure that the programs that do exist are there and readily available to Canadians who need them. We will ensure that that is the case.

[Airline Industry, October 3rd, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I had the pleasure of meeting with union representatives yesterday. We discussed the issues facing their workers in a number of different occupations.

We have agreed that the right first step is to ensure that the employer, the unions and the government are there to talk about the programs and services that do exist and to make sure they are readily available to any employees who need them, and we will do just that.

[Human Resources, October 2nd, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, we do not want individuals to apply for social insurance numbers anonymously. We want a system so that Canadians can be assured of integrity in the system.

We have a plan of action, which I outlined previously in the House, and the committee is dealing with that. The auditor general reviewed it and supported our approach.

[Human Resources, October 2nd, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians expect a high degree of integrity in this social insurance number program. That is why we continue to invest and increase strategies to protect the integrity of the system. That is why we tripled the number of investigations into fraud and abuse of the social insurance number.

The auditor general has reviewed our approach and concurs with the strategies that we have in place.

[Employment Insurance, October 2nd, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the programs are there. Through EI part 1 income support is there. When employees lose their jobs what they need to know is they have access to income. It is there.

We transfer almost half a billion to the province of Quebec every year for it to use to assist workers as they move from one point of employment to another. I would hope the hon. member is talking to his colleagues there to ensure that the money is being used wisely at this time in support of his constituents.

[Employment Insurance, October 2nd, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, we are not waiting. We have an employment insurance program that is sound and is there for employees when they need it. There is no doubt these are very difficult times for employees in the airline industry. That is why today I was pleased to meet with union representatives to hear about their plans and their suggestions for support for their employees.

First and foremost, they agreed with me that we need to sit at the table with the employers, with the union representatives and with the government to ensure that the employment insurance programs which are there for their workers can be accessed by them in an efficient way.

[Employment Insurance, September 27th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, we have made changes to the employment insurance program. The program is sound. Our priority now is to make sure that those employees who are eligible have access to the benefits they need. That is why we remain available to meet with employers, as we did with Air Canada. That is why we remain available to meet with employees and union representatives who want to talk to us about these programs.

We are there to support these Canadians when they need help.

[Employment Insurance, September 27th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the employment insurance program is there to help Canadians when they need it. Unfortunately for some workers in certain sectors that time is now. I want to assure the hon. member that we have mass layoff provisions so we can process employment insurance claims quickly, so workers who need income support can get it.

We transfer well over half a billion dollars to the government of Quebec every year so it can assist employees move from one employer to another. We also have agreements with that government to support older workers. Perhaps the time is now to expand those pilots.

The employment insurance system is sound and it is there for Canadians now.

[Employment Insurance, September 26th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I remind the hon. member that in our monitoring and assessment of the program, which is done every year, the program is indicated to work for those for whom it is intended; employees who are in paid employment. Eighty-eight per cent of that population will be eligible for employment insurance benefits if they need them.

Again, we are prepared to make changes as necessary, where information warrants it, and our track record is clear in that regard.