Erin Weir

[Canada Labour Code, September 23rd, 2016]

Madam Speaker, the member across the way quite correctly expressed concern that these regressive Conservative bills created an imbalance during work stoppages.

Another thing that creates an imbalance during work stoppages is the ability of employers to bring in replacement workers, because it allows the employer to lock out its employees and not incur the consequence of having to operate without the labour.

Therefore, based on the professed concern by the member for Newmarket—Aurora for balance in labour relations, I wonder whether the government would support anti-scab legislation.

[Canada Labour Code, September 23rd, 2016]

Madam Speaker, it is always interesting in the House to hear Conservatives rise and talk about the importance of voting and democracy in the workplace. Their interest in this topic only starts after workers indicate that they want to join a union by signing cards. The Conservatives are never going to propose a system where all workers and all workplaces in Canada get to vote periodically on whether or not they would like a union. The Conservatives' interest in voting is just an obstacle to workers who want to join unions. I wonder if my colleague from Saskatoon West could maybe speak to the record that the Conservatives had in government and whether she believes their professed concern for workplace democracy is genuine.

[Public Services and Procurement, September 23rd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the implementation of the Phoenix pay system was a real failure.

Five months after its launch, tens of thousands of federal employees have still not been paid what they are owed. The government has no problem paying its political staff's relocation expenses. Why can it not pay its public servants?

[Democratic Reform, September 23rd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, Regina is one of the only Canadian cities to have elected MPs from all three major parties. When the House asked all MPs to host town halls on electoral reform, I invited my Liberal and Conservative colleagues to co-host a city-wide event. Unfortunately, they declined to host town halls. Fortunately, the people of Regina have been more engaged. Over 200 came to the town hall I held on September 7, and many also attended the Minister of Democratic Institutions' consultation on September 11.

As the only local MP to have attended these public meetings, I can report that most people at both events expressed a preference for mixed member proportional representation. When the electoral reform committee kicked off its cross-country tour in Regina on September 19, they heard the same message.

The people of Regina are engaged on electoral reform and they want a proportional system to make every vote count equally.

[Canada Labour Code, September 23rd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, certainly working people need access to collective bargaining in the workplace, but they also need access to employment insurance when they are laid off.

Yesterday, Statistics Canada reported EI figures for July, the first month in which extended benefits took effect. As one would expect, that led to an overall increase in the number of beneficiaries across Saskatchewan, except in Regina, which the government excluded from extended benefits, where the number of recipients went down as laid-off workers ran out of benefits.

I did an adjournment debate on this question on Monday. The Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour and her parliamentary secretary did not show up, so instead I got a response from the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs, which really did not explain the decision to exclude Regina from extended EI benefits. I am wondering if the minister could let us known why the government is continuing to keep Regina out of extended EI benefits.

[Public Services and Procurement, September 20th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Minister of Public Services appeared before committee to discuss the Phoenix boondoggle. The minister was very clear about one thing: it is not her fault. She tried to blame the previous government, her own officials, and pay centre employees—anyone but her. Today, the entire Phoenix pay system crashed.

My question is simple: whose fault is it this time? When will the minister take responsibility and ensure that all federal workers are properly paid?

[Employment, September 19th, 2016]

Madam Speaker, I would thank the member opposite for that laundry list of changes that the federal government is making to employment insurance. However, I really did not hear an answer to the question of why Regina is being left out of the benefit extension. We did not hear on what criteria seven EI regions across Alberta and Saskatchewan are getting extra weeks of benefits and Regina is not. We really have not heard an answer to the issue that I raised at all.

What we did hear was a suggestion that the government is continuing to monitor the situation and will take action. I would interpret that as meaning that the government might be willing to extend benefits to Regina at some point in the future, which is a very hopeful thought.

However, the Prime Minister, in extending benefits to three additional regions beyond those in the budget, indicated that no more regions would be added. Therefore, I would like to hear some clarification on that, and we should end discrimination against—

[Employment, September 19th, 2016]

Madam Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to ask again why the federal government continues to exclude Regina from extended employment insurance benefits.

The federal budget extended employment insurance for certain regions in response to the drop in oil prices. However, it left out Edmonton, southern Saskatchewan, and Regina. The NDP challenged those exclusions, and the government eventually added Edmonton and southern Saskatchewan. However, it still left out Regina.

Of eight EI regions across Alberta and Saskatchewan, seven are now receiving the benefit extension. Regina is the only one that has been kept out. This anomaly has real consequences for laid-off workers and their families.

I spent the summer knocking on doors in Regina—Lewvan and talking to constituents. I spoke to many people who were out of work or on employment insurance and about to run out of benefits. If they lived in any other part of the province, they would have several extra weeks of benefits available, but because the federal government has left out Regina. they are now at risk of running out.

These are not just anecdotes. Statistics Canada's most recent report indicates that EI use has increased more in Regina than in the rest of the province. Specifically, over the past year, the number of workers receiving EI was up by 32% in Regina, 25% in Saskatoon, 20% in smaller Saskatchewan cities, and 13% in rural Saskatchewan. Despite experiencing the sharpest jump in EI use, Regina remains the only part of the province left out of extended EI benefits.

On June 24, Evraz steel, Regina's largest private sector employer, wrote to the Minister of Employment and copied Regina's members of Parliament. The company explained that it has laid off workers due to the drop in energy prices and asked the government to help these workers by including Regina in extended benefits.

On June 27, the minister's office acknowledged receipt of the letter. However, as of today, the company reports not having received a response from the minister or from her department.

When I say that the government is ignoring Regina, that is not an overstatement or a metaphor. It is a literal description of what has happened.

I want to ask the government to reconsider whether it makes sense to exclude the part of Saskatchewan that has suffered the sharpest increase in employment insurance use.

The government eventually did the right thing by including all of Alberta in extended EI benefits. It should do the same for Saskatchewan.

[Income Tax Act, June 17th, 2016]

No, Mr. Speaker, I do not have to agree. In fact, I would note that there are many other differences between the two provinces.

For example, the Canadian oil industry really started out in Saskatchewan. It was the discovery of the huge reserve of oil at Leduc in 1947 that caused that industry to shift to Alberta. That was not about government policy; that was about geology.

Also, we see now that with the downturn in commodity prices, both Alberta and Saskatchewan have been hit with layoffs and cuts in investment, and the right-wing policies at the provincial level in Saskatchewan certainly have not saved our province.

[Income Tax Act, June 17th, 2016]

Madam Speaker, if nine million Canadians are getting some benefit from the tax change, that means that 20-odd million Canadians are getting no benefit at all. Of course, many of those nine million Canadians are not receiving much benefit.

I look forward to debating this matter again after question period.