Jane Stewart

[Human Resources Development, March 15th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, I will say again that the invoices we received were appropriate with the context of the transitional jobs fund program.

Speaking about jobs, there are 159 people, who otherwise would not be working, who are working as a result of this program.

[Human Resources Development, March 15th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to the particular file to which the hon. member is making reference, I can confirm as I have before that there were administrative problems with this particular file.

I can also confirm that my department has verified that the company provided invoices for supplies and salary costs which covered the amount of the transitional jobs fund contribution, and that in fact payments to the sponsor were consistent with the terms and the conditions of the transitional jobs fund program.

[Human Resources Development, March 15th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, I have had the chance to talk to the employees of my department on a number of occasions. They are not defending themselves from me. They are defending themselves from the maligning that they are receiving from that party.

[Human Resources Development, March 15th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, again it is clear to all that there are administrative improvements that we can make in our department with regard to the management of grants and contributions. That is a fact.

It is also a fact that along with the men and women who are employees of the human resources development department we have a plan that is being implemented to improve this undertaking.

Those are the facts and that is what this story is all about.

[Human Resources Development, March 15th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, what we have done together as a department is to build the six point plan that will improve the administration of our grants and contributions.

We will apply the Treasury Board requirements. We will ensure that our employees are trained and have the resources they need to do the job.

We are committed to improving our processes for the betterment of grants and contributions that make a difference in the lives of Canadians.

[Human Resources Development, March 15th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, what is clear is that we have identified that we will make improvements to our administrative process.

What we are doing now is implementing our six point plan, and we are making serious progress. When it comes to the work of the employees of this department I can tell that party that the men and women of Human Resources Development Canada are together in committing themselves to improving the process for the service of Canadians.

[Human Resources Development, March 15th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, let us look at the facts. We have identified that we have administrative improvements to make in my department. We are implementing a six point plan.

I have had the opportunity to travel and visit offices where our employees are working their heads off to make sure this plan gets implemented and to improve the system on behalf of Canadians.

[Human Resources Development, March 15th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, this girl will answer as she has over the—

[Human Resources Development, March 15th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, we do not break the law.

[Human Resources Development, March 15th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, as is becoming usual, I categorically reject the allegation made by the hon. member.

Those members are not interested in dealing with facts, so let us review them again. We received an internal audit which said that we could improve our administrative practices with regard to grants and contributions. I asked for a tough response. We are now implementing that response.

I am glad to say that as of yesterday we closed the 37 accounts that we were reviewing as a result of the audit. Of the overpayments identified, the majority has been collected, and $600 is yet outstanding.