France Bonsant

[Business of Supply, November 1st, 2006]

Mr. Chair, in order to help people, one of two things is needed: either the sovereignty of Quebec or the correction of the fiscal imbalance. As you know, I wish for the first with all my heart, but in the meantime, the Bloc Québécois will fight to correct the fiscal imbalance.

Despite the government's lofty promises, the federal withdrawal from the field of human resources is only adding further to this imbalance. As far as the Bloc is concerned, skills training is a matter of Quebec jurisdiction.

Rather than cutting funds related to skills training, why were they not simply transferred to the provincial governments?

Does the minister understand that, with the most recent cuts, her government is only adding to the fiscal imbalance?

[Business of Supply, November 1st, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I received an open letter to the Prime Minister from 24 organizations that were never consulted on literacy. The minister may not be able to produce a list of the people she contacted, but I can provide her with a list of the people she did not contact.

The Minister of Human Resources and Social Development has specific objectives, but with the cuts announced over a month ago, it will not be possible to achieve all those objectives. I want to come back to the department's priorities, because with the cuts made on September 25, it will be impossible to improve Canadians' quality of life, build a highly skilled workforce, eliminate barriers to work and learning and ensure that programs in place produce the desired results. On the contrary, the government's plans are nothing less than impediments to the most vulnerable in our society, who are trying to get ahead.

The $13 billion surplus, $2 billion of it from the employment insurance surplus, does not seem to have been enough for the current government, because it has cut another $1 billion from programs that benefit the poor and the most vulnerable in our society.

How can the minister explain that she is cutting funding for employability programs, when $2 billion from the employment insurance fund is already being used for a purpose other than the one it is intended for?

[Business of Supply, November 1st, 2006]

Mr. Chair, I am very happy.

The government announced that it was cutting funding for unnecessary and inefficient programs. From what the ministers said, the government was trimming the fat. If the government had consulted a bit before making the cuts, it would have understood that the programs it gutted have a positive impact on organizations in Quebec including tourist centres, non-profit organizations and many others.

In light of this, can the minister tell us why she decided to slash nearly $18 million from adult learning, literacy and essential skills development programs? Does she feel that literacy is no longer necessary to acquire the skills needed to enter or re-enter the labour market?

[Business of Supply, November 1st, 2006]

Mr. Chair, the minister rejected out of hand the 14 recommendations of the committee on the summer career placement program. Can she tell us why she rejected outright these 14 recommendations even though members of her own party supported them?

[Business of Supply, November 1st, 2006]

Mr. Chair, just yesterday, the minister gave an uninspiring account of her department's plans and priorities to the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities. Today she is giving us more of the same.

Yesterday, at least, the minister spoke of allocations for child care, old age security, affordable housing, training, the fight against homelessness and older workers. However, I have a string of regrettable examples from this department. I only have to think of the cuts announced on September 25, cuts in the order of $55 million to investment in youth.

Can the minister explain how she intends to provide skilled labour when she is cutting programs that allow thousands of youths to have an interesting first job experience leading to a future career?

[Older Workers, October 19th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Employment, Michelle Courchesne, also said, and I quote:

—excluding Montreal when we are talking about the garment industry, when we are talking mostly about women from the cultural communities, there is some concern—

Does the Minister of Industry not realize that not only does his program include no income support measures, that being the main problem, but it also excludes Quebec City, Gatineau and Montreal—half of Quebec, no less?

[Bobby Hachey, October 19th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, it is with great sadness that Quebec mourns the loss of one of its country music idols, Bobby Hachey. Mr. Hachey became a living legend of country music and had an exceptional career that spanned nearly 50 years.

He was originally from New Brunswick and began his career at the age of 14. Very early on he appeared on popular programs of the day and joined forces with Willie Lamothe. In 1975, the two friends went on tour in Louisiana at the invitation of the Ministère des Affaires culturelles du Québec and the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana. The duo had the great privilege of performing in Nashville, the country music capital.

Bobby Hachey began pursuing his solo career in 1976 and won the Félix award for best country artist at the ADISQ gala in 1979. They called him Monsieur Sourire, Mr. Smile.

The Bloc Québécois offers Quebeckers and Bobby Hachey's friends and family its sincere condolences.

[Older Workers, October 18th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I give you the example of the Cardinal clothing company, where hundreds of workers were laid off. These are good seamstresses who are over 55 years old and many of them are immigrants with only a limited knowledge of French or English and a limited education.

What reasons is the government going to put forward to explain to these workers that not only is the program inadequate, but also that they are not eligible for it?

[Older Workers, October 6th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, after leading us to believe that her department was working on an income support program for older workers, the minister has not delivered the goods and has confirmed, with this delay, that the workers' expectations will not be met.

When will the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development realize that what is needed is a program that would apply immediately to all regions and all sectors—particularly the forestry, clothing and textile sectors—and that this is urgent.

[Older Workers, October 6th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development stated yesterday that the plan proposed by the Bloc Québécois to assist older workers who are victims of massive layoffs would result in all older workers being taken out of the workforce. The Bloc Québécois is not proposing an early retirement scheme but rather a program to help workers who have difficulty re-entering the workforce in order to bridge the time between the layoffs and retirement.

Given the new reality in the work world, does the Minister agree that such a program has become a necessity?