Jane Stewart

[Parental Leave, February 5th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the government realizes that workplace family challenges can be dealt with through appropriate legislation. One of those is recognizing that a great percentage of families are two working families.

We are very proud to have been able to double parental leave for all Canadians, including Canadians living in Quebec, within the very short period of time of one year. The program is now in place and all Canadians are eligible to benefit from it.

[Human Resources Development, February 5th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I am not aware of such undertakings in my department. Again I would ask the hon. member that if he wishes to bring that information forward I would be glad to look into it.

[Human Resources Development, February 5th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, let me first congratulate the hon. member in his new role as critic to the files in my department. If he would like to share the details of that with me, I would be glad to look into it further.

[Employment Insurance, February 5th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, we want to make sure that the Employment Insurance Act is comprehensive and speaks to Canadians in the best possible way.

From our point of view, we did consult Canadians. It was called an election, and the results are clear today.

[Employment Insurance, February 5th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, what we promised to the Canadian public was that should we be elected we would reintroduce these amendments as quickly upon our return as possible. The bill was introduced on Friday. The debate continues today.

Canadians had the opportunity to look at those amendments. What did they do? They returned a Liberal government in greater numbers to this place.

[Employment Insurance, February 5th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, from our point of view, the best way to help youth is to ensure that they stay in school and get an education to build a strong career.

The hon. member might be interested to note that youth have enjoyed the most significant job growth since 1990. Their employment rate today is 12.5%. In 1999 about 80,000 full time jobs were created.

From our point of view, benefits are only one piece of the puzzle. Getting a job is the most important.

[Employment Insurance, February 5th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, we did consult Canadians on the need for change in the employment insurance bill. We coupled that with our own research. We believe that we have presented a balanced package that speaks to the concerns and the needs of Canadians.

I am sure, as the bill makes its way through the process here in the House and in the Senate, that the hon. member and his party will participate fully in the debate.

[Employment Insurance Act, February 2nd, 2001]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-2, an act to amend the Employment Insurance Act and the Employment Insurance (Fishing) Regulations.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[Employment Insurance, February 2nd, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, employment insurance is there and provides a very important support for Canadians who through no fault of their own find themselves between jobs.

For us the most important social program is a job. That is why we are so glad to see levels of unemployment at record lows. Canadians are employed in numbers that we have not seen in decades. There are other strategies that we engage along with employment insurance to help Canadian families so that they can contribute to the success and benefit from the prosperity of the country.

[Employment Insurance, February 2nd, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to see in the Speech from the Throne the commitment from the government to redouble our efforts to ensure that no Canadian child suffers the debilitating impact of poverty.

We have a number of strategies in place to work co-operatively with the provinces and territories to eradicate poverty in Canada. They include the national child benefit, the recent agreement on early childhood development, changes to the Employment Insurance Act, and other measures. I am glad to see the hon. member is interested and will work with us on this very important national undertaking.