Jane Stewart

[Employment Insurance, September 22nd, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, we on this side of the House are all of one mind. We are here to help Canadians who do not have the benefit of work to find work.

As I have said on a number of occasions in the House, as part of the 1996 amendments there is an annual review of the Employment Insurance Act to see if the changes are doing what they are supposed to do. If there is evidence that changes need to be made, we will make them.

[Employment Insurance, September 21st, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, let us look at some of the facts. Since 1993 when this government was elected, the unemployment level in the province of Quebec has been reduced by 4.5%. Since that time almost 400,000 Quebecers are working today that were not working. Finally, in the past year the rate of job creation in the province of Quebec has reached 3.2% which is higher than the national average. These statistics are worth celebrating and we will continue to do more.

[Employment Insurance, September 21st, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, there are many ways that the government helps Canadian workers. We help them get the tools and the training they need to participate in the new economy. We help them in their pursuit of lifelong learning. Indeed we help them through the employment insurance program. As I have said on a number of occasions in the House, we monitor that program on a regular basis. If there is evidence that changes need to be made, there will be.

[Employment Insurance, September 20th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, the member talks about immediate action. Let me describe to him the things that we are doing in his community in the Acadian Peninsula. I was there with the Minister of Labour and together we met with employees and employers. There are very active community groups in that part of New Brunswick where the unemployment levels have been significantly high. We are getting real results.

[Employment Insurance, September 20th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, we have acted quickly. We are phasing in the changes to the EI boundaries. We will be announcing a committee working right in the community to look at opportunities there. I, along with my colleague the Minister of National Revenue, will be investing and supporting that undertaking.

The real question is if that party understands that the issue of employment is about more than just employment insurance. It is about finding new opportunities and work for the people in that region.

[Employment Insurance, September 20th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, I met with the hon. member and constituents from his area just a few days ago on this very issue.

He knows full well that we have agreed to phase in the changes for employment insurance boundaries in his part of Quebec. As well we have offered and are very anxious to start a community group to look at expanding the employment opportunities in that part of Quebec.

The workers want to work. The workers want new opportunities. Through you, Mr. Speaker, I ask the hon. gentleman if he would join us in that undertaking to make sure that the workers get what they really want.

[Human Resources Development, September 19th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, I accept that the hon. member agrees that the Government of Canada has a role to play in areas where we want to help find opportunities for employment for Canadian citizens. I am unfamiliar with this particular circumstance but I would be glad to take it under advisement.

[Employment Insurance, September 19th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, again last week, we announced measures that will help seasonal workers adapt to the changes over the next four years.

But all levels of government must also work with them and with employers in order to create new opportunities for these workers.

Unlike the Bloc Quebecois, we on this side of the House want to work with employers in order to help improve the situation of these seasonal workers.

[Questions On The Order Paper, September 18th, 2000]

With respect to the proposed regulations to change the employment insurance boundaries based on statistical data on unemployment rates in New Brunswick, the response is as follows:

(a) The statistical data was provided by a public source; (b) The name of the public source is Statistics Canada. (c) The data was evaluated using regression analysis and mapping of aggregated and disaggregated indicators. (d) The data came from the 1996 census, from neighbourhood income and demographics data for 1997 and from labour force survey data up to April 2000; (e) No analysis was made of which federal ridings will be affected by these changes; (f) Basic census data are collected for all households in Canada and from one out of every five households on topics such as education, ethnicity, mobility, income and employment; neighbourhood income and demographics data are produced by Statistics Canada on an aggregated basis from all income tax returns filed; the Labour Force Survey is a monthly survey which is based on over 50,000 households in Canada; (g) All areas of New Brunswick were covered by the data. (h) All workers in Canada were covered by the data, numbering 15,047,895 workers; (i) There was no analysis done on full time workers compared to other workers; (j) There was no analysis done on part time workers compared to other workers; (k) Seasonal employment was approximated on the basis of whether workers were employed for 26 weeks or less in the year, producing an estimate of 3,016,430 seasonal workers in Canada and 114,075 in New Brunswick. (l) There was no special data collection or cnsultation aimed at major employers in New Brunswick or elsewhere, aside from the overall opportunity for public comments.

[Employment Insurance, September 18th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is wrong. In fact the transition period is over four years. It recognizes that indeed one side of the employment coin has to do with employment insurance, but the other side has to do with diversifying the economy.

I am looking forward to working with my colleague, the minister of revenue, and I hope with members on the opposite side, their constituents and employers, to broaden the economic diversity of that region so that indeed the people of the north shore of Quebec can benefit from the great economy we have here in Canada.