Jane Stewart

[Human Resources Development, March 21st, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, we have looked at these files. I have made reference to the fact that there were incorrect administrative application processes applied. I have made that public in this House on a number of occasions.

Fundamentally, the important point is that we have 78 people working at Placeteco and 170 people working in the two companies.

I remind the hon. member that the Government of Quebec supported us in this undertaking. From our point of view, having people working is the right thing to do.

[Human Resources Development, March 21st, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, let me reiterate the facts. In the early going there were issues and problems at Placeteco. There were 64 people employed there. Over the course of time there were upwards of 135 people working for this company. Today there are 78 people working there and there are prospects for increased opportunity.

Is the hon. member saying that he would have had us take our money away and have this opportunity taken away from those employees?

[Human Resources Development, March 21st, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, for the umpteenth time, I will clarify for the House that we have received invoices from the company which justified its investments in salaries and overheads. These were consistent with the transitional jobs fund program.

[Human Resources Development, March 21st, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, what is clear is that we have two companies that continue to employ citizens in areas of high unemployment. In the case of both Techni-Paint and Placeteco, there are 170 people who are working today thanks to our partnership with headquarters, the Government of Quebec.

[Human Resources Development, March 21st, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, both the clerk and myself talked about the issue and the use of flexibility in this program to ensure that Canadians who needed the opportunities provided by this government got them.

What is most interesting in all this is that when we look at the investments of transitional jobs fund money we find the majority of them in the ridings of opposition members.

[Human Resources Development, March 21st, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, brochures describing the transitional jobs fund were available to all members of parliament for a good long period of time. Any member of parliament who was worth his or her salt went to the HRDC office and talked about these programs to see if they applied.

In the undertakings of this program we were intending and actually did create opportunities, along with partners in communities right across the country, for Canadians who otherwise would not have had opportunities to work.

[Human Resources Development, March 21st, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, clearly the Canadian public does not believe that party. The leader said that all we need to do is reduce taxes and everything will be fine.

Canadians know that it is not just through a reduction of individual taxes that will ensure that Canadians with disabilities get opportunities in this economy. Canadians know that trickle down economics will not ensure that young people get their very important first job in our economy. They know that trickle down economics will not improve the levels of literacy in this country. That is why we on this side of the House believe in grants and contributions.

[Human Resources Development, March 21st, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, the whole point of the transitional jobs fund was to help communities where the levels of unemployment were significantly high and where they were stagnant and were not going to be reduced without assistance. We know that party would just like issues that go along with unemployment to fester and for these communities to have to struggle on their own. That is not the view on this side of the House.

[Human Resources Development, March 21st, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, as I said on a number of occasions, it is the flexibility in the transitional jobs fund that has allowed for the majority of the investments to be made in opposition ridings. I ask the hon. leader to confer with and talk to members on his backbenches about how much they appreciate the investments that they have seen in their own communities.

[Points Of Order, March 17th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, I would be glad to have the letter translated and present it.