Francine Lalonde

[Questions Passed As Orders For Returns, February 7th, 1995]

What have been the monthly unemployment rates from September 1993 to October 1994 in each of Canada's 295 federal constituencies?

(Return tabled.)

[Committees Of The House, February 6th, 1995]

Madam Speaker, we in the Bloc Quebecois wish to thank the Canadians and Quebecers and all the groups who came to testify before the committee in difficult circumstances. We thank them for their welcome.

I must add, however, that the Minister of Human Resources Development did not publish most technical discussion papers in time, something which we and the groups who appeared before the committee find unfortunate.

I also wish to commend the work done by all committee members and say that the report was produced and the consultations held in difficult conditions. In closing, I want to add that the good will that was in evidence at the beginning made it all the more painful to conclude that it was impossible to come up with a common report.

[Social Program Reform, February 6th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, if we compare December with December, the figures are accurate, but the Minister of Finance is supposed to know that the figures we are referring to represent the annual average, which is 261,000 jobs, including 70,000 in Quebec.

Does the Minister of Finance not realize that such actions on his part would be totally irresponsible since he would be reducing transfer payments for education, health and social assistance, leaving the provinces with the extra burden while imposing national standards that are more and more restrictive under the circumstances? Is this what you call flexible federalism?

[Social Program Reform, February 6th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Finance.

Let me just say quickly that, contrary to what the Minister of Finance just said, it is not 400,000 jobs, but an annual average of 261,000 jobs, a total which has been verified over and over again. Rumours are spreading about the upcoming budget.

It is even being said that a document from the Department of Finance proposes that the federal government completely withdraw from financing some social programs without, of course, transferring to the provinces equivalent financial resources allowing them to take over from the federal government. I remind you that Ottawa has deprived the Quebec government of more than $12 billion since 1982 by cutting into transfer programs.

Does the Minister of Finance confirm his intention of transferring responsibility for some social programs by putting an end to his financial contribution without full financial compensation for the provinces, which would effectively amount to offloading his deficit onto the provinces once again?

[Social Program Reform, December 5th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure that the Minister of Human Resources Development is not pleased that 1,364,000 people are still without work, not counting all those who are looking for work and are not declared as unemployed.

Does the minister admit that if he had wanted to do just one thing to help create jobs, he should have reduced unemployment insurance premiums in September, when he knew that the fund had ten times as much as he wanted when he promised to reduce UI premiums: $2.7 billion compared to $240 million?

Young people would have benefited the most from these new jobs.

[Social Program Reform, December 5th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Human Resources Development. Yesterday, the Minister of Human Resources Development greatly disappointed the young unemployed people who had come to discuss his reform of social programs with him. A participant asked him: "Where are these jobs? Tell me; I am ready to work".

Why does the minister have nothing else to offer young people who want to work, who want real jobs, than a so-called reform whose main purpose is to make cuts at their expense? They will be the second-class unemployed. They will have to go into debt to pay their tuition fees, which will double. Why?

[Social Program Reform, November 24th, 1994]

Does the Prime Minister not agree that the consultation is thus being rushed because the only purpose of the reform is in fact to lower the federal deficit, despite what the finance minister said about social programs not being the cause of the deficit or the debt?

[Social Program Reform, November 24th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, only four of the nine technical papers on social program reform have been tabled to date, a few weeks before the consultation ends.

[Social Program Reform, November 24th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister.

The Minister of Human Resources Development said yesterday that the technical papers on social program reform which he has tabled in recent weeks answer the concerns expressed by the Auditor General in his report. Nevertheless, at a press conference two days ago, the Auditor General said that several issues are outstanding, even though these additional documents have been presented:

Some information has already been published on that. I think there is a lack of credible evaluation of the effect or the results produced by those programs so far.

Can the Prime Minister tell us what he intends to do to answer the Auditor General's concerns about the incompleteness of the information which has been made public?

[Starred Questions, November 14th, 1994]

With respect to the new projects announced for the current year under the strategic initiatives program, ( a ) which programs have experienced cuts as a result of the reallocation of funds within the 1994 budget, ( b ) how much was cut from each program and ( c ) what is the breakdown of the cuts by province and territory?