Sheila Copps

[Pulp And Paper Industry, May 6th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased today to announce that I signed with my Quebec counterpart, the Minister of Environment and Wildlife, the first agreement in Canada to bring regulations on the pulp and paper industry together in one place.

But harmonization does not limit itself to the province of Quebec. We expect to sign a similar agreement with all the Atlantic provinces at the end of May. Negotiations with Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan are going well and we expect to have a similar agreement with these provinces within the next two months.

[Health Care, May 6th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I had a conversation with Mrs. Clinton, and Mrs. Clinton expressed broad support for the approach that Canada has taken in ensuring that universal health care is a cornerstone of public policy in this country.

As a result of that conversation we have agreed to share information. I have been in discussions with our Minister of Health. In fact I am receiving from Mrs. Clinton some good ideas about how their operations are going to work once they are able to break through the kinds of logjams of lobbies that have unfortunately stymied the American health system to date.

[Employment, May 6th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I am thankful that for probably the sixth or seventh time in the last six months the Reform Party has actually stood to ask a question about unemployed people. We are not happy with the statistics.

However, what we hear every day from the members of the Reform Party is that we are supposed to cut back on support for the unemployed, cut back on programs for medicare, cut back on payments for senior citizens.

The member should join us in a solid attack on unemployment and help create jobs for Canadians through small business, through wise investments, through government getting its act in order. We are on the right track. We are not where we want to be and we are going to keep working.

[Employment, May 6th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I think the member should be very careful about characterizing the issue of employment or unemployment as a Quebec versus Canada issue.

If he will review what I answered, what I said was that there were 115,000 new jobs created since February across the country and that in the province of Quebec since August of 1993 there were 74,000 jobs created. Those numbers are not for the same period: 74,000 jobs in Quebec since August 1993; 115,000 jobs created across the country by the government since February. That is what I said. That is what I stand by.

Unfortunately the member continues this vicious attack on unemployed people, whether they be in Quebec or any other part of the country. We want to find jobs for every unemployed Canadian.

[Unemployment, May 6th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, it has not been a failure. In fact since the month of February, we have created 115,000 jobs. We do not think enough has been done but we do feel that with the signing of the infrastructure programs and with the budget of the Minister of Finance, we are on the right track.

This month 65,000 Canadians thought that the job prospects were getting good enough that they decided to get back into the market. We see consumer confidence on the rise. We see the sale of houses up over 30 per cent.

We are on the right track but we are not going to solve the problems in six short months. We need more time and we need continued consumer confidence, something that we see as the bright light at the end of a very long tunnel for a lot of unemployed people.

[Unemployment, May 6th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, since the month of February we have created 115,000 jobs. In the province of Quebec since last August there have been 74,000 jobs created.

That is 74,000 jobs in Quebec alone. We are not satisfied. We tried to do something in the first six months. We presented the Budget, we have the infrastructure program, and we are trying to do better than that.

The good thing though, if you can look at these statistics in a positive light, is that Canadians and Quebecers are now starting to look for a job because they feel better about the economy as a whole. That is why 65,000 more people have joined the labour force this month when they realized that there was work to be had.

[Unemployment, May 6th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we are not pleased with these numbers, not so much because of the numbers per se, but because they are a blow to the unemployed.

However, it is interesting to note that if there are 65,000 more people looking for a job this month, it is because they believe that the economic indicators are favourable. For instance, house sales have gone up by 30 per cent, consumer confidence is up by 13 per cent. People are regaining hope in increasing numbers and we are hoping that, as our economic recovery program is taking hold, the unemployed will keep on finding jobs.

[Business Of The House, May 5th, 1994]

Yes. Absolutely.

[Employment, May 5th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I think what the Minister of Human Resources Development is recognizing is what many Canadians are recognizing and that is the workforce is changing drastically.

In the old days we could expect to work specific hours of the week but that does not always work in every particular occupation. What he is suggesting is something we should all be looking at. Is there a possibility for us to be examining flex time? Is it possible for us to look at job sharing so that for example women who may have home responsibilities could comfortably combine those with paid work outside the home?

These are all creative ideas that the minister is examining. I wish the member would open his heart and examine some of those positive solutions with us.

[Employment, May 5th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, in the month of February the Minister for Human Resources Development launched an analysis of the whole issue of how we work.

In fact not only limitations on overtime, but job sharing, flexible work hours and different ways of working are challenges that we have to face to meet the needs of the real workforce.

I happen to know in my own constituency at the steel company there are many people who would like to be called back to work, but unfortunately overtime sometimes prevents that. That is one of the things that the minister's panel is looking at but there is certainly no legislation proposed at this time.