Bonnie Brown

[Proportional Representation, May 18th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, I think there has been some kind of glitch in the proceedings. I believe on April 4 the member opposite asked a question about proposed telephone rate increases, and subsequent to that, I believe she asked a question about the consolidation of newspapers.

However, in being drawn for a late show tonight, the question that was drawn was her April 4 question which had to do with telephone rate increases not newspapers. Am I correct, Mr. Speaker?

[Criminal Code, May 17th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, in the 1998 budget the $2.5 billion Canada millennium scholarship fund was introduced. The 1999 budget built on this by investing in the development of new knowledge and by focusing on job creation in new sectors. The 2000 budget provided a $2.5 billion increase in the CHST to help the provinces and territories fund post-secondary education and health care, the highest priorities of Canadians. This is the fourth consecutive federal enhancement to the CHST.

The 2000 budget also includes a tax exemption for income from scholarships, fellowships and bursaries, giving students additional financial assistance to pursue their studies.

Such measures demonstrate in concrete terms the federal government's commitment to post-secondary education.

One statistic alone proves the Government of Canada's commitment, and that is the fact that Canada spends a larger percentage of its GDP on post-secondary education than any of the other G-7 nations.

The Government of Canada recognizes that skills and training acquired through post-secondary education are vital to the development of Canada's human resources development capacity, and hence to national economic growth.

I might point out that other kinds of training to prepare people for the labour market have been devolved to the provinces under labour market development agreements, and the agreement with the province of Saskatchewan transfers $37 million to that province every year to be distributed and allocated as that government sees fit.

[Employment, May 12th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his question and the courtesy of alerting me to the subject he wished to speak about today.

We were pleased to fund NB job corps with the Government of New Brunswick. Over the five year life of the project we will have assisted more than 1,300 workers between the ages of 50 and 65. We are also pleased with the program's track record. Lessons learned from this corps will be valuable in addressing the future needs of older workers.

We continue the discussions with our provincial counterparts to address the needs of older workers in a more general way. We will certainly consider the member's suggestion.

[Employment Insurance, May 12th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, just this week the government supported Motion No. 222 as amended by the member for Miramichi, because we are concerned about seasonal workers and their families and because we recognize the unique economic situation facing seasonal workers.

[Human Resources Development, May 12th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, the information was passed promptly to the RCMP as soon as we had our hands on it.

[Human Resources Development, May 12th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, this is the information that has been handed to the RCMP. I would ask the member how he can justify the allegations and the insinuations that he is making in the House about one of his colleagues who sits across the floor. If he believes what he is saying, I would suggest that, if he has the courage, he make those allegations outside the House.

[Human Resources Development, May 12th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, we are sharing with the House the information that we have as we have it. That is why we have sent this information to the RCMP and the particular story is in its hands now. It is the appropriate authority to deal with it.

[Human Resources Development, May 12th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, once a subject has been handed to the RCMP it is not appropriate to start talking about all the details of the particular case. That would jeopardize the investigation, and I am sure the member opposite would not want that to take place.

[Human Resources Development, May 12th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, in 1997 after officials expressed some concerns we did investigate the particular case but the conclusion was not as obvious as the member opposite says.

The conclusion was that there was no indication of wrongdoing. It is the information that has come to light of late, at the beginning of this week, which we have passed on to the RCMP.

[Human Resources Development, May 11th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, it is unbelievable to me how they can take a set of circumstances and weave such a tale. It goes on and on and it always seems to have a negative implication on an individual member of the House, one of their colleagues. People who say those kinds of things often find they come back to haunt them.