Marcel Massé

[Public Service, February 16th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, we have negotiated at table two. We have negotiated terms that are equivalent to the terms accepted by 80% of civil servants.

I think Canadians will make their own judgment about the tactics of the blue collar workers. Up until now these workers have always accepted the fact that a member of parliament is paid differently if he sits in Fredericton than if he sits in Ottawa, in the same way plumbers and electricians have provincial rates that apply because of local market conditions. These regional rates will continue.

[Pensions, February 16th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I am quite glad to give the explanation which by the way is accepted by the actuaries, by the accountants, by the lawyers, by the auditor general. It is very clear that the government guarantees the outcome to its civil servants. The outcome is that they will be paid a pension once they retire, and we continue to guarantee these benefits.

The deficits and the surpluses which are in the accounts are created by accountants. They do not belong there and in fact have to go back to the taxpayers who paid for them in the first place.

[Francophones Outside Quebec, February 12th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the Savoie report is an important report, and we are currently studying it.

However, I would like to reconfirm at this point the government's firm commitment to the official languages and its intention to honour it.

[Public Service, February 12th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, regional rates of pay are there for a good reason. The good reason is that we respect not only provincial regulations about trades such as plumbers and electricians, but because if we offer more or less than the local market conditions in for instance Fredericton, we will create problems of recruitment, or we will simply not be able to get the tradesmen.

These regional rates of pay are fair. They respect provincial regulations. They have been there for a long time. They are what should be the rule and we will keep them.

[Agriculture, February 12th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, we are in the process of negotiating with the union. It has taken a long time. It has taken a long time because the two parties have been trying to get the best possible conditions. We are offering to the table two blue collar workers the same amount of money that we have offered to the rest of the public service. Eighty percent of them have accepted it. I hope this will be settled very quickly and that the grain farmers will not suffer the consequences.

[Public Service Of Canada, February 11th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, we are trying to solve the problem of rotating strikes for the blue collar workers as quickly as possible.

We have been offering rates of increase in pay that are exactly the same as those which have already been accepted by 80% of the public service.

In terms of regional rates of pay, it is normal and correct that we would reflect not only local and provincial regulations, but also the state of local markets. In markets which have higher costs we would pay more, as stated, by the way, in provincial regulations.

[Year 2000, February 10th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the international group, the Gardner Group, is universally known and has been assessing the various countries. It has for the last few months repeatedly been saying that Canada is now the second country in the world, behind the United States, in terms of preparedness.

Also for January we now have the latest report for the level of preparedness of departments for their government-wide mission critical systems and the departments are on average at 84% of preparedness. They give us assurances that they will be ready for the year 2000.

[Year 2000, February 9th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the systems that apply to senior citizens, in particular those that affect their pension cheques, are of course critical to the government and we have been dealing with them. The department of human resources has spent millions of dollars reviewing its systems. They now indicate that these systems are ready and will work on January 1, 2000.

[Year 2000, February 9th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, these government-wide mission critical systems, as they are called, are being tested regularly. In particular, those mentioned by my hon. colleague have already been tested and we have been told they will work perfectly well, so there should be no fearmongering, especially among senior citizens because their federal pension cheques will be paid.

[Y2K Problem, February 2nd, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, on this subject we have a report dated December 1998 which indicates that the government is now ready up to 82% for its mission critical government-wide systems. This compares to about 43% last June. Considerable progress has been made in that field.

From now on, there will be monthly reports, which will keep the House up to date on what is being done in the government. Our reports will be available on the Year 2000 web site.