Eugène Bellemare

[Department Of Human Resources Development Act, November 10th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I find it funny that the hon. member for Kamouraska-Rivière-du-Loup has finally admitted that he is a no-good separatist.

[Department Of Human Resources Development Act, November 10th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, here again we have a Bloc member, a separatist member, who is babbling away in true separatist fashion, in a parochial manner, focusing exclusively and constantly on Quebec.

He should be talking about Canada as a whole, and considering how we can advance the cause of young people, single mothers, single parent families, and senior citizens. We are debating a bill providing the federal government with a structure to maintain and develop partnerships with the provinces and territories, management, labour, community groups and those involved in education, in order to reach common social and economic goals.

We are talking about giving young Quebecers, since he is only interested in Quebec, the opportunity to find out, via computers in their own area or community, if there are jobs outside their own parish, town, or province. They are given access to the labour market anywhere in Canada, and mobility throughout the country.

[Department Of Human Resources Development Act, November 10th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak to Bill C-96, the act to establish the Department of Human Resources Development.

The main object of this bill is to lend unified legal status to the department, enabling it to continue to assist Canadians in getting back to work. This is a housekeeping bill and is not intended to implement any major reforms. It does not call for any new organizational changes or new expenditures, and does not affect federal-provincial relations.

Bill C-96 draws together and consolidates the legislative foundation of the new Department of Human Resources Development. It does not add anything new or subtract from the foundation. It merely puts everything in one place. That in itself is important. It is plain common sense. For administrative reasons alone, it is far more efficient to have a single legislative basis for the department. However, there is more to this than mere administrative convenience.

When the government launched the department under the name of human resources development, it set the stage for a real change not just in name but in direction, in the way Human Resources Development Canada serves Canadians.

Over the past two years, HRDC has been changing, innovating and adapting to the realities of today's economy and today's labour market. It is modernizing the way it does business, the way it delivers the services Canadians need, the way it works for Canadians in the changing world. For the nine million Canadians who come to HRDC for help this is why Bill C-96 is so important. The bill provides the solid foundation the department needs to keep moving forward.

It is important to Canada's seniors. Last year the department completed the first year in a three-year income security program redesign project. Phase 2 is already well under way. The department is streamlining rules and procedures, developing the best technology available. The end result will be a fully modernized, efficient network for delivering services to clients of the old age security and Canada pension plan programs.

Once fully implemented, the new system will save taxpayers up to $100 million yearly in operating costs. Moreover, it will also provide faster service to seniors, the people who really depend on these programs for their security. For their sakes, let us ensure that the bill stays on track and is passed as quickly as possible.

Income security program redesign is only the start. As the minister has already announced in the House, Human Resources Development Canada has undertaken a complete review of its service delivery network, with a view to making it decentralized, integrated, user friendly and flexible. It will serve a greater number of Canadians everywhere in the country better than before. In reality, because of the new network, the number of departmental service points will be increased from 450 to 700 within three years.

These will include 300 Human Resources Development Canada centres, which will provide quality one-on-one counselling to clients; self-serve mechanisms such as telephone, interactive television and computer services, which will broaden access to HRDC services; up to 400 electronic kiosks, which means self-serve terminals will be available in communities throughout the country.

The department is already creating the most advanced, efficient service delivery network in the federal government. Work on developing new technologies for this new network is well advanced, with things like a national on-line labour market information system incorporating an electronic job search bulletin board. The system will help people do their own matching between their skills and the jobs available anywhere in Canada.

Pilot testing a new system called TELEDEC lets unemployment insurance claimants submit their bi-weekly report over a touchtone

telephone instead of by mail or in person. TELEDEC allows people to get their cheques two days faster.

TELE-APP, a new system being tested in partnership with NBTel allows people who have collected UI in the last 52 weeks to reapply using a touchtone phone.

APPLI-SYS, a touch screen computer program helps people apply for UI benefits more quickly.

Pilot testing document imaging begins the movement toward paperless claim processing.

Early results from these new systems are promising. They are just the first of a range of technologies from the Internet application to software training packages that HRDC will explore to provide faster, more efficient service.

We are bringing service delivery into the 21st century. In the process we are empowering more Canadians to help themselves.

One of the main objectives of the new service delivery network is to facilitate decentralization of the entire structure of departmental operations, to put into place programs and services within the community, to move decision making centres as close to the client as possible, and to get those most affected by programs and services actively involved in them.

For instance, the network will include community-based mechanisms which will involve input from provincial governments and business, municipalities and community groups, working as partners with Human Resources Development Canada.

With the human resources investment fund, we integrate these partnerships with our programs and services. Partnerships work, as seen from what has been achieved by sector councils that bring together entire industries and promote strategic initiatives with the provinces and co-operation with community groups across the country.

Take one of the youth internship projects, in Winnipeg, where 45 young people go to work every morning and go to school every afternoon. They acquire practical experience while taking courses that are relevant to that experience, and they are guaranteed a job when they finish the course.

What is really interesting about this project is that five major private sector firms in Winnipeg, for example, are not only taking part, they are taking the lead enthusiastically. It is not a case of government and business working on separate tracks; it is a case of partnership in action. And this year alone there will be 25,000 young interns in similar projects across the country.

That is where the department is headed. It is a new direction for Human Resources Development Canada and it is getting real concrete results for Canadians, for seniors, for young men and women, for people working hard to develop new skills for a new economy. It is getting results for the single mother, who for the first time can now get a grant to help care for her children while she goes to school. It is getting results for the older worker who finds a lifetime job taken over by technology but now has a real opportunity to prepare for new work and find a new job. That is why this bill is important.

Over the past few years the transitional arrangements put in place to create the new Department of Human Resources Development have worked well. They have helped to put HRDC and our labour market and social programs on a new course. It is up to us to make sure the department can continue on that course. It is up to us to ensure the department moves forward and does so with a solid foundation. Bill C-96 provides that foundation. We need to pass the bill and get on with the work of serving Canadians.

[Radarsat, November 6th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has just launched Radarsat, its first earth observation satellite. With Radarsat, Canada undertakes a new international business venture using satellite imagery to monitor our environment and manage our natural resources.

In addition to providing us with exclusive images of our planet, Radarsat will allow us to follow the movement of ice in the Arctic, monitor the risks of forest fires, and detect pollution in coastal waters.

Radarsat is among the first symbols of the evolution of our knowledge-based society. It also provides concrete evidence that space science can have major commercial benefits on earth.

[Customs Act, October 31st, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, there are close to 1 million small and medium sized businesses in Canada. Many of them are manufacturers; others are exporters or importers.

To stimulate the economy and promote job creation, the government has considered the demands and needs of small business and introduced Bill C-102, an act to amend the Customs Act and the Customs Tariff and to make related and consequential amendments to other acts.

I am pleased to support this bill. In summary, the bill before us would reduce tariffs on a broad range of goods used as inputs in Canadian manufacturing operations, which would bring our tariffs closer to those of the U.S. It would also reduce tariffs on certain finished goods, as requested by Canadian manufacturers. In addition, this bill would enact changes to streamline and consolidate Canada's duty deferral programs-duty drawback, bonded warehousing and inward processing-and to make them more accessible to all manufacturers. These changes are aimed at making Canadian industry more competitive by reducing input and administrative costs and easing the pressure on business cash flow.

The changes to duty deferral programs will allow the regions to market more effectively the programs competing with U.S. free trade zones in order to bring investors to Canada and keep them here.

This enactment also increases the value of goods travellers can bring back to Canada with them after an absence abroad. This will bring Canadian travellers' exemptions into line with those of our major trading partners and, for administrative purposes, ease border congestion so that customs is able to focus on smuggling and the growing number of commercial importations. It is also a positive step toward the recently signed Canada-U.S. accord on our shared border.

Other amendments to the customs tariff and the Customs Act contained in the bill are aimed at clarifying the intent of certain legislation or involve changes to make the tariff framework clearer and more predictable for Canadian companies and the importing community. These changes should improve efficiency and reduce the cost of doing business in Canada. One change will result in higher tariffs and the withdrawal of the duty free British preferential tariff rate on rubber footwear to protect Canadian production and jobs.

The bill would also amend the Access to Information Act in order to protect the confidentiality of information on taxpayers provided by importers pursuant to the Customs Act, the Customs Tariff, and the Special Import Measures Act.

Some of the provisions in Bill C-102 result from the government's review of Canada's tariff system, as announced in the 1994 budget. Their purpose is to ensure that Canada remains a good place for producing goods and that Canadian investors and businesses, including small businesses, are in a better position to benefit from the free trade agreements between Canada and other countries.

Some changes such as the improvement of duty deferral programs and the reduction of tariffs on manufacturing inputs are designed to lower the cost of inputs for business and to maintain and increase the competitiveness of Canadian business on domestic and international markets.

Bill C-102 contains some technical changes to simplify, clarify and update the Customs Tariff and its administration and to make tariff reduction programs more accessible to and cheaper for business.

The changes to facilitate the processing of travellers at border crossings will allow Revenue Canada, Customs to focus on other important border issues such as smuggling and the need to process an increasing volume of Canadian imports.

Several of the amendments in Bill C-102 were made following consultations with business and meet their demand for help in facing the competition.

The measures adopted in the bill will provide $60 million in import tariff relief to Canadian manufacturers to level the playing field with NAFTA trading partners in tariff reductions.

They will position Canadian businesses with the duty deferral program to more easily attract investment and compete in expanding world markets with a minimum of custom overhead. They will provide opportunities for provincial and municipal governments to enrich the duty deferral program with local incentives.

They will improve service to travellers through the simplification of customs procedures and allow customs to focus on smuggling and commercial importations.

In the current economic context and given the value of the Canadian dollar at this time, we have here a tremendous opportunity to encourage our industries, our small and medium sized businesses, and our people as workers and consumers. Everyone would benefit from this bill and I am pleased to see that on this day, the day after the referendum, all the parties sitting in this House support this bill.

This bill will benefit all Canadians, including small businesses and manufacturers in my riding of Carleton-Gloucester, and I commend all those who worked on it in committee. I will gladly vote in favour of this bill.

[Quebec Referendum, October 26th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, the polls indicate that a number of people are set to vote Yes in the October 30 referendum thinking-can you imagine-that this will lead to the renewal of Canadian federalism.

Nothing could be further from the truth. A Yes vote in the referendum will not bring constitutional changes. Instead, it would bring change and development to an end. It would spell the end of Canada.

On October 30, those who want to remain Canadians and who want Quebec to remain a part of a modern and prosperous Canada will vote No.

Change will come from the No side; this option is the only one allowing Quebec to remain in Canada. The Yes side has nothing to offer, except breaking up our country and tearing it apart, and Quebecers do not want that to happen.

[Franco-Ontarians, October 25th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, after being insulted last week, when the Bloc member for Rimouski-Témiscouata said: "The francophones-poof!", we, Franco-Ontarians, have decided to speak up. After countless press

conferences and all kinds of protests, the French speaking community of Ontario is now mobilizing and organizing a rally to be held tomorrow at La Cité collégiale, in Ottawa. This rally will be an opportunity to proudly show that the French language is alive and well in Ontario and that La Francophonie wants Quebec to remain in Canada.

Tomorrow, it will be our turn, as francophones living in Ontario, to say "Poof!" to everyone who wants us gone for the sake of justifying Quebec's separation.

[Referendum Campaign, October 23rd, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, in a week it will be October 30, and Quebecers will have to vote in the referendum on Quebec's separation.

Before they vote, they should ask the following questions. Do you want Quebec to separate? Do you want Quebec to stop being part of Canada? Should Quebec become a foreign country? Do you no longer want to be represented in Canada's Parliament, that is, no longer elect members in a federal election? Do you want to give up all that you, your parents and your grandparents have built in this country?

Quebecers know Canada. It is their country. They have always had their place here. They know that Canada can be improved to better meet their aspirations and they will prove it by voting no on October 30.

[Foreign Affairs, October 19th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, my question is directed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The American Secretary of State has made a statement on the significance the U.S. attaches to its special relationship with Canada. What are we to understand from Mr. Christopher's words when he says that we "should not take it for granted that a different kind of organization would just obviously have exactly the same kind of ties"?

[Employment Equity Act, October 16th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to rise in the House to participate in the debate on Bill C-64, an act respecting employment equity.

When I listen to hon. members opposite, I sometimes have the impression that to them, employment equity is just a numbers game. That is not the case, The government has taken a holistic approach to employment equity. Contrary to what members of the Reform Party seem to believe, we are not just in the business of adding or subtracting numbers.

To the contrary, passage of Bill C-64 will enhance implementation of the Employment Equity Act so that we can continue to fight systemic discrimination and build a federally regulated workforce that reflects the diverse composition of Canadian society.

It is important to note it is not just the government which is concerned about diversity in the workforce. We know there are a growing number of employers who are getting behind employment

equity. They are not treating it as some kind of statistical exercise, which seems to be the way members of the Reform Party look on it.

Employment equity is helping us to build a harmonious society. Employers are learning how to manage diversity. Being able to manage a diverse labour force will help business to draw on the broad expertise of people from many different social and economic backgrounds.

There are some fine examples, such as the employer's leadership skills course, which is helping managers to understand individual differences and how to lead teams made up of diverse members. Another employer gathers information on his employee's negative experiences to determine the best way to improve their situation.

Some employers are providing video training to upgrade the computer skills of employees with learning and visual disabilities. Some employers are introducing flexible holiday arrangements for employees who wish to participate in their own religious ceremonies on specific days each year.

The point I am making is that employers are working with all of their employees to create a productive and harmonious workplace which represents the diverse nature of the Canadian population.

I submit it is the Reform Party that has a fixation with numbers, not the government. The bill refers not to quotas but to equal treatment. For example, let us look at the amendment on self-identification that the government accepted during the report stage of the bill. The amendment accepts the right of the employer to make the case that under-representation of a group is due to a lack of self-identification and there is a requirement for compliance officers to take such information into account.

I want to tell the House something about self-identification. Self-identification has encouraged individuals in the designated groups to come forward. In the past many of these individuals have tried to hide their minority status from society. We must remember that for years people have felt that they had to keep their disability secret and their racial origins to themselves. That is now changing.

Since 1987 more people in the designated groups are self-identifying because they feel more comfortable about doing so.

We know that representation of women and members of visible minorities in the labour force has increased considerably. In the case of aboriginal peoples and persons with disabilities, the process has been slower but there has been an improvement.

Employment equity is not about adding a bunch of numbers and throwing them into a statistical report. The Reform Party is misleading Canadians by referring to employment equity in that way.

Bill C-64 accents reality. Its implementation will help us to use scarce resources in a way that will enable all Canadians to contribute their knowledge and skills to making a better Canada.

Many companies are already taking positive steps in that direction. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has a wide range of measures to reach a representative workforce, including special initiatives for aboriginal people and for persons with intellectual disabilities.

Orth-McNeil, a drug company in Don Mills, Ontario, introduced flexible hours so that its female employees can either work at home or work part time after their maternity leave. York University in North York, Ontario, is always trying to increase representation of designated groups on its campus.

Even small and medium businesses recognize the importance of employment equity. On my way to the House of Commons from my riding office in Orléans at noon I stopped at a fast food restaurant for a quick lunch. The lady who served me had a speech impediment. I was served with politeness, speed and in a business-like manner. I commend the manager for recognizing employment equity and putting it into practice in the frontline of his business.

Bill C-64 is not about adding up a bunch of numbers and patting ourselves on the back because they look impressive. It is about doing the right thing and allowing all Canadians to feel they belong and can participate actively in a just and caring society. It is about ending systemic discrimination in the workplace and opening the labour force to all who are deserving based on ability. That is the thrust of the legislation and I am pleased to give it my wholehearted support.