Bonnie Brown

[Human Resources Development, April 14th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, we have made it clear in the past and it continues to be true. If a review of a file indicates that there has been an overpayment, we will ask for the money back. We have done that in some cases and the money has come back.

If one cannot establish an overpayment, one cannot ask for the money to be returned, and that is the case with this particular file.

[Human Resources Development, April 14th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, it is unbelievable to me the opposition claims that grants and contributions are a serious subject. It has co-operated with us in investigating them in the committee for months now and those people across the way can only ask about one file out of tens of thousands.

I think it is time to grow up and to realize that when there are 10,000 projects there are probably 100,000 partners and among those 100,000 partners there will be a few people for whom—

[Human Resources Development, April 14th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, that party always wants to point out things that might be wrong with every project that we help to bring to the workers of Quebec.

I emphasize the good news about this company, which is that it just signed a five year contract worth $8 million with a major aeronautical company, Bell Helicopter, and there are 78 people working at that firm.

[Human Resources Development, April 14th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, we have been clear that there were different numbers of people working at different times as the business cycle rose and fell. To the best of our knowledge the combined workforce at Techni-Paint and Placeteco is now 170.

[Human Resources Development, April 14th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, the minister did not reject the need for a public inquiry. We are having one. It will be done by the auditor general and it will be done during this calendar year.

The public has not asked for this. It is the only thing that the four opposition parties could agree on in trying to put forward a dissenting report to the committee's majority report.

[Human Resources Development, April 14th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, employees within HRDC are free to come forward at any time and state what they have to tell us without fear of reprisal.

[Human Resources Development, April 14th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, what is and what is not a matter of police investigation is the business of the police. To comment could impede the investigations, and I am sure the member opposite would not want that to happen.

[Human Resources Development, April 14th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, it seems that this party can never get itself out of the gutter trying to pick up those projects with which there have been problems.

Canadians have benefited. In one program alone, under grants and contributions, 28,000 new jobs have been created which employ Canadians. The main thing is that with our investment of about $300 million we have leveraged $2.7 billion to partner with us, for a net gain of $3 billion of economic activity in regions of high unemployment. The people who live in those regions know that these programs are valuable to them.

[Human Resources Development, April 14th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite seems unaware of the fact that mobile vehicles have purposes other than that which she cited yesterday, a luxury motorhome.

This mobile vehicle was purchased to provide access to technology, information, seminars and workshops in rural areas around Strathroy. Access to computers was available as well as information on business start-up, employment training and education. It served the community from May to October 1999.

The next thing we will find out is that the member is opposed to bookmobiles.

[Human Resources Development, April 14th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, it is true that the opposition did unite in its efforts to have an independent public inquiry.

However, by that suggestion it knows full well that the auditor general has HRDC grants and contributions on his list for audit this very year. By that suggestion are the opposition parties also suggesting that the auditor general is not an independent official?