House of Commons photoWon her last election, in 2019, with 47% of the vote.
Child Care March 4th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, I am aware that the provinces claim to have created over 60,000 spaces, thanks to the money that we provided them, which his government never did.
When that gentleman was minister in charge of child care spaces, how many spaces did he create? Zero.
Employment Insurance March 4th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, he is wrong. Here are the facts: 82% of people who have paid into EI receive EI benefits and are eligible. In these difficult times when the economy is deteriorating, we are making it easier for people to access employment insurance.
They can get access to EI benefits earlier with less work qualifications and for a longer period of time. That is helping Canadians.
Employment Insurance March 4th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday and numerous times before then, we consulted Canadians before we prepared our budget. They told us that they wanted more weeks at the end of their regular benefits. So we provided five extra weeks as part of our economic action plan. That is what Canadians asked for and that is what we will give them. The Bloc Québécois should support Canadians, including Quebeckers.
Employment Insurance March 3rd, 2009
Mr. Speaker, I have always believed that using the wrong statistics is nothing but scaremongering. That is totally unacceptable.
What we also find unacceptable is that anyone should have to wait for his or her EI benefits. That is why we are dealing with record numbers of applications by bringing back recent retirees. We are pulling back people from other departments. We have extended our operating hours for the call centre. We are working overtime. We are increasing automation. We want these people to get the money that they need and deserve.
Employment Insurance March 3rd, 2009
Mr. Speaker, it is very simple: people who have the biggest need should have the most benefits. That is why we have added five weeks at the end of the employment insurance benefit period. It means that those with the biggest need will have benefits for a longer time, just when they need it most.
Employment Insurance March 3rd, 2009
Mr. Speaker, as I have explained many times to the hon. member, we held cross-country consultations before preparing the budget. We asked employees and employers what they wanted to see in the budget in terms of employment insurance, and they told us that they wanted a longer eligibility period. That is what we did. We have provided these additional five weeks in response to their request. Why can he not accept these five weeks as an answer?
Canada Grain Act March 3rd, 2009
moved that Bill C-13, An Act to amend the Canada Grain Act, chapter 22 of the Statutes of Canada, 1998 and chapter 25 of the Statutes of Canada, 2004, be read the second time and referred to a committee.
Employment Insurance March 2nd, 2009
Mr. Speaker, that is exactly what we have done. We want to help people receive their EI benefits. We have already rehired retirees who worked in the EI office. We have called back people who had moved to other departments. We have improved the automation of the system. We want people to get their benefits as quickly as possible.
Employment Insurance March 2nd, 2009
Mr. Speaker, we are trying to take care of these people because they need it and deserve it. That is why we are stepping up overtime. That is why we are increasing automation. That is why we are being proactive in reaching out to companies that indicate they may be having layoffs. That is why we are expanding our work-sharing program, our targeted initiative for older workers and significantly expanding the training to help these people get back to work in jobs that will last.
I thank the member for his support of the budget on that.
Employment Insurance March 2nd, 2009
Mr. Speaker, the fact is we are very engaged in trying to ensure that those who have been unfortunate enough to lose their jobs get the EI for which they qualify as quickly as possible. That is why we have already been bringing back recent retirees who are skilled at handling EI. We have extended our hours. We are adding automation to the system to make processing go faster.
We are processing up to 50% more claims now than we were a year ago. We are doing most of those, unfortunately not all, on time. We are getting better at it too.