Candice Bergen

[Intergovernmental Affairs, February 4th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Employment is currently meeting with the provinces regarding the Canada job grant. We have listened to provinces, as well as stakeholders, and we have built a number of flexibilities into the Canada job grant.

The Canada job grant is good for the Canadian labour market because it will train Canadians for jobs that are available and will also include employers, not only in the decisions, but in the financial investment. We know that kind of notion is foreign to the NDP, which wants to build an economy around EI benefits. We want to build an economy around jobs and skills.

[Employment, December 6th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that our economic action plan is delivering results for young Canadians. This year alone, over 70,000 jobs were created for youth. What our strategy does goes beyond anything that has been done before. We are training young people for jobs that are available, whether it is skilled trades, whether it is apprenticeships, or whether it is some of the skills they need to even get into school. We are providing that kind of training.

The results are there. Canada remains strong. In fact, under our action plan, we will continue to have one of the lowest youth unemployment rates in the G7. We know the youth unemployment rate is still high. We--

[Employment Insurance, December 6th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, is the opposition suggesting that EI benefits should be paid to people who are not in the country looking for work? We absolutely do not believe that. Those people who are paying into EI benefits—employers and employees—do not believe that. We want to make sure that EI remains there for Canadians who, by no fault of their own, find themselves out of work. We do not believe in the 45-day work year. We do not believe in paying EI benefits to people who are outside of the country. We believe in integrity in the EI system so that it is there for Canadians who have paid into it.

[Employment Insurance, December 6th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the member is wrong. The modest changes we have made have not affected the availability for individuals who are on EI. Whether it is persons with disabilities, whether it is youth who are looking for jobs, or whether it is aboriginal people, we are creating more jobs and more opportunity so that people can work. However, if they cannot, EI is there. It is there for those who have paid in. That is what the changes have attempted to do so that, as well, employers who are looking for workers have people available who want to work. Eighty per cent of those who are disqualified are outside of the country on holidays. We are not--

[Post-Secondary Education, December 6th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for the question. Under our government, we have done more to support young people when it comes to their education or getting the skills they need to get the jobs that are available. It is under our youth employment strategy, and it includes our Canada student loans program. It includes summer jobs, about which we just made recent announcements regarding the application process starting sooner. It also includes our skills link, which helps young people get the needed skills to either go back to school or to get jobs in their area.

Whether it is student loans, whether it is grants, the funds we are providing are targeted, and they are creating more jobs.

[Employment Insurance, December 6th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that 80% of individuals who are disqualified for EI benefits disqualify because they are not in the country. Maybe the opposition members, including their 45 day work week, now want to start paying people EI benefits when they are outside of the country.

On this side of the House, we are responsible with taxpayers' dollars, and more importantly we want Canadians who want to work to have jobs. That is why we have created over one million net new jobs.

CETA, for example, is helping farmers across this country, in my riding, in Quebec, and in provinces across the country. We are acting to get Canadians to work. They just want to bring in temporary foreign—

[Employment Insurance, December 6th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, this kind of fearmongering is frankly very irresponsible. The fact is that the changes we made to EI are modest. They will only impact 1% of recipients. In fact, no changes to the rules have had any impact on the process whereby individuals can apply for, or qualify for, EI.

While the opposition wants to build an economy around temporary foreign workers and EI, we want to build an economy around jobs and opportunity for Canadians across the country.

[Housing, November 27th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, that member knows what she said is completely false. We have renewed our investment in affordable housing; we provided $2 billion in previous investments for social housing, as well as our investment in our homelessness partnering strategy, with a focus on housing first, which is an evidence-based model. Experts across the country, programs across the country, and community groups are praising our efforts. The investments we made to actually produce results, to help those individuals who are vulnerable get into homes, to get help, whether it is for their addictions or mental health issues, so that they can get—

[Housing, November 27th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, this government has invested more in affordable housing than any other government. We are working together with our partners, the provinces and the municipalities. We are providing the funding, but working together with them, we are providing housing for over 880,000 individuals and families.

Do you know what else we are doing, Mr. Speaker? We are helping vulnerable Canadians to get out of the situation of vulnerability by creating jobs and opportunity, by giving them skills through our youth employment strategy, our aboriginal training programs and our opportunities funds to help people with disabilities, so they can afford housing in their regions.

[Poverty, November 26th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about what our government has done to help families and children: job creation, tax reduction, the universal child care benefit.

Every time we bring forward a measure to put more money in the pockets of families and of the families who are raising children, the opposition members vote against it. We know that regarding the universal child care benefit, which families count on, the opposition members think parents would spend that money on beer and popcorn. We know they spend it to take care of their children. We will support it and we will always stand up for Canadian children.