France Bonsant

[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?

[Business of Supply, October 5th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, of course, there is still time to help these people.

People who lose their jobs are not lazy or afraid of work; they are victims of their jobs in the textile sector. These people have worked all their lives, they have worked 40 years and it is unacceptable to ask them to lose everything they worked for all their lives, be it their assets or their house. They only need temporary relief until they find a second or third job, but we absolutely must help them. They are very important socially and from an environmental and economic stand point. If we do not help them, they could slip into utter poverty and that is unacceptable for any human being in Quebec or in Canada.

[Business of Supply, October 5th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I almost sensed a bit of emotion in that question, but perhaps the translator got it wrong.

They want to organize a Canada-wide activity in some of the oil-producing areas. There is no oil in my riding. However there are people losing their jobs because the previous Liberal government and the current Conservative government were inactive vis-à-vis protectionism. There was talk about bicycles, about furniture, about agriculture, about everything.

I do not think it is a good idea to send families in motorhomes to other provinces so they can survive the shortage. I think it would be better to develop their village, have them stay there and basically develop what is there. People choose to settle in a location and it is not by ignoring them and sending them elsewhere that we are going to solve the lack of training problem.