Bonnie Brown

[Millennium Scholarships, May 3rd, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, first allow me to restate that the interests of all Canadian students are paramount with this government.

As for last week's proposal from Quebec, we are pleased to see that the Government of Quebec has restated its commitment to the three principles of the Gautrin motion. This is much more promising than the opting out with compensation that Minister Legault has been talking about.

However last week the minister did raise some concerns about the proposal in the letter because under the law, the foundation has the funds, it is responsible for the funds and has the responsibility to administer them.

[Orphan Clauses, May 3rd, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I am not aware of the meaning of the term orphan clauses in the EI act. All we know is that our EI reform is working. It is accomplishing the goals we set out for it.

The unemployment rate for youth last year hit an eight year low. We are happy with that.

[Employment Insurance, May 3rd, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, we are hearing the same attitude from Bloc members as we hear every day.

They are people who think that youths should receive more employment insurance. On this side we think young Canadians should be given the opportunity to have access to a good education and a good job. That is how we on this side are trying to help them.

[Employment Insurance, May 3rd, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I remind the member opposite that the number of jobs created for youth rose by 7% last year. That was the best performance in 20 years. Since we were elected the youth unemployment rate has gone down by over 3%.

Youth employment is still something that our government is focused on. To address it we have a two pronged approach: the youth employment strategy to get youth to work and the Canadian opportunities strategy to enhance their educational opportunities.

[Employment Insurance, April 23rd, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, we are as concerned as the member opposite about these findings from the EI monitoring and assessment report. That is why officials of HRDC are now investigating the situation to try to gain a clear understanding of the reasons for these numbers.

We have also accepted the generous offer of the Canadian Labour Congress to help us by bringing to us some of its frontline examples and stories to assist officials to get to the bottom of this issue. We do not want to start making changes until we really understand the whys and wherefores of these numbers.

[Patricia Picknell Elementary School, April 23rd, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, next Saturday I will have the great pleasure of taking part in the official opening of the Patricia Picknell Elementary School in my riding of Oakville, in Ontario.

After numerous years of lobbying, the francophone community of Oakville can be proud of its achievements.

Jointly selected by the school board, the students and the faculty, the school is named in honour of Patricia Picknell-Arseneault, who regrettably passed away last July.

A tireless defender of francophone rights, Mrs. Picknell's legacy to the Franco-Ontarian landscape will endure for generations. To her family and friends, she will be remembered as the very embodiment of French Canadian joie de vivre.

As a former school board trustee for Halton, Waterloo and Wellington, Mrs. Picknell promoted and defended the francophone rights to a quality education in their mother tongue.

I am sure members of this House will join me in congratulating the Franco-Ontarian community in Oakville.

[Supply, April 19th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the government shares the hon. member's concern for the workers affected by the closure of the British Canadian mine operation at Black Lake, Quebec.

He compares the situation of the BC mine workers to that of the Phalen mine workers in Nova Scotia. While the workers in these two cases faced different circumstances, the government treated both groups with equal fairness and equal consideration.

Let me explain the measures we have undertaken to help the 300 BC mine workers in Quebec. We reacted quickly and, in total, provided some $4 million.

As early as September 1997, close to $3 million was set aside to help the 300 workers quickly re-enter the labour market and this help is showing some signs of success: nearly 70 workers have found work; nearly 60 are pursuing training and skills development to help them find different work; and half a dozen are trying to establish their own businesses. We know these people want to work and we hope our assistance will continue to help them.

In addition, in June 1998 the government also announced $1 million in funding intended to help workers between the ages of 55 and 64. The Government of Quebec gave its approval to move forward and put this program in place for older workers from the BC mine last fall.

Meetings were held with former workers and representatives of Emploi-Québec and federal officials to exchange information and accept applications.

I am happy to report that eligible workers will begin receiving early retirement benefits, cost shared by the two governments, in the upcoming months. The government will continue to offer support to all Canadian workers through programs to help them participate fully in the Canadian labour market.

[Supply, April 19th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the money of which the member speaks belongs to Canadians. Canadians expect us to make intelligent choices in deciding how to spend their money effectively.

We are working to help the unemployed, but we are also committed to investing in health care, skills and higher education, job creation and helping young families through such measures as the Canada child tax benefit and changes to the Income Tax Act.

As well as spending wisely, Canadians want us to report clearly on how their money is being handled. That is why EI funds are tracked openly in a separate column in the government's books, just as the auditor general recommended.

While the EI program covers most people who recently lost their jobs or quit with just cause, there are also many unemployed people looking for their first job or those who have been out of work or out of the labour force for a long time. For these Canadians EI is supported by a number of other programs to help them get a job. For example, there is $2.1 billion for those who need help re-entering the workforce; $155 million to help youth obtain experience; $110 million every year in communities with high unemployment; and $430 million a year with the provinces to help Canadians with disabilities find work.

The careful management of public funds is important, but getting the government's books balanced is just the starting point. Our goal is to help Canadians achieve secure futures through good jobs.

I must remind my hon. friend that unemployment is at an eight year low, at 7.8%, and that the deficit has been eliminated. I hope most Canadians will say that we are going in the right direction.

[Government Services Act, 1999, March 22nd, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, like almost all industrial countries other than the U.S.A., Canada does not have an official measure of poverty.

Since the early sixties Statistics Canada low income cutoffs have often been used as measures of poverty by journalists and by advocacy groups. These cutoffs calculate low income as compared to the average family income.

In 1990 Statistics Canada introduced a second measure called the low income measure which calculates income levels both before and after income taxes relative to the median or middle income level. This is comparable to the way the United Nations calculates international comparisons of poverty.

Today many in Canada favour the development of a third measure, a market basket measure that takes into account the cost of people's essential needs like food, clothing, shelter and essential services.

To adopt an official measure of poverty in Canada, parliament would have to agree on the form such a measure would take and at what income level the measure would be set.

Currently there is no consensus about how to appropriately measure poverty. Most people seem to agree that we need to broaden our understanding of poverty. We believe it is prudent to have a number of complementary measures based on different concepts of poverty. Trends using these various measures can then be followed over time.

Any new measures that we would look at would complement, not replace, existing measures like the LICOs or the LIMs and would build on our knowledge of the real conditions of low income Canadians.

[Employment Insurance, March 19th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, of course the report is giving us the information with which to analyse the results of our EI reform. We will do that. We have to find out exactly why in certain areas the number of claims did go down. We want to do that.

I think the member is wrong on his maternity description. The birth rate went down 4.6% but the number of claims, and therefore benefits, went up slightly. As a percentage rate the number of women receiving maternity benefits from the EI system has increased, not dropped.