Gérard Asselin

[Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act, May 3rd, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, it is with pride that the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance rose in the House this morning to make his speech and say that the federal government has been generous in giving money back to the provinces. The government feels generous because, among other things, it gave Quebec $489 million in equalization payments.

If the federal government is returning money to each province through the equalization program, it is primarily because these tax revenues from the provinces and workers have increased, while government spending has decreased. The government has now eliminated its deficit, but not because it is a good administrator, not because the Minister of Finance is better than his predecessor. Rather, it is because the Minister of Finance decided to take $6 billion a year from the employment insurance fund. It is because he decided to make cuts to transfer payments to the provinces for health and education. The federal government has relinquished all responsibility for the maintenance of airports and piers.

This money is not a present from the government, it is money owed to us. In a sovereign Quebec, we will manage the $33 billion that is collected through taxes and we will tell the federal government “Keep your equalization program”. I am prepared to trade $33 billion for $489 million.

[Employment Insurance, May 1st, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, during the election campaign, the Prime Minister himself acknowledged that the changes to employment insurance had had negative impacts on seasonal workers in the regions.

Instead of proposing measures that cannot be carried out, like extending the working season, is the minister going to reach the same conclusions and recommend special status for seasonal workers?

[Employment Insurance, May 1st, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday in Baie-Comeau, during the lightning tour on employment insurance carried out by the Bloc Quebecois, the seasonal workers, who are still awaiting the outcome of the parliamentary committee promised by the Liberal Party, called for the minister to assign a special status to seasonal work regardless of the region.

Will the Minister of Human Resources Development comply with this request, or is she going to ask them to adapt to the changes in employment insurance, as she did last year?

[Employment Insurance Act, March 29th, 2001]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased today to speak to Bill C-2 which really hurts seasonal workers.

During the election campaign the Prime Minister claimed loud and clear throughout Quebec that as soon as he was back in office in Ottawa his government would undertake an indepth reform of the EI plan.

In some regions Canadian voters believed him and in others they did not. In the Gaspé peninsula people believed that the Prime Minister, having finally wiped out the deficit, was promising in his red book to completely overhaul the EI plan.

The citizens of the Gaspé and the islands were fooled again. They were wrong in voting Liberal, even if the Liberal member made a heartfelt appeal to the Prime Minister during the campaign, asking him to finally listen and keep the election promises he had personally made.

The Prime Minister will not be easily moved by the heartfelt cry from my colleague from Bonaventure—Gaspé—Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Pabok. The Prime Minister has been in politics for 35 years. He has seen and done all kinds of things. He made promises and even acknowledged that he was mistaken when he had seasonal workers, women and students pitch in to help wipe out the deficit by cutting their EI benefits from 55% to 50%. This had a double effect.

The Prime Minister thought these cuts in their benefits would encourage them to improve their skills and work longer.

Several members mentioned that in several areas of Quebec such as Charlevoix and the North Shore there were a lot of seasonal jobs. Workers would like to have permanent jobs. Employers would like to be able to give them permanent jobs. As we know, if employers cannot guarantee a high enough number of hours of work to allow workers to qualify for employment insurance benefits, they tend to leave. It is very expensive for employers to have to constantly train new workers for these seasonal jobs.

Bill C-44 was on the table before the election campaign. The Prime Minister promised an indepth reform when parliament reconvened. He introduced Bill C-2. Bill C-2 is a photocopy of Bill C-44. If Bill C-44 was not acceptable, Bill C-2 is even less so because again it does not meet the commitments made by the government during the election campaign. The government was re-elected on these promises.

It would take some major changes right away. There was no need for Bill C-2 to go through all the stages: introduction and first reading, second reading, committee review to hear witnesses, back to the House for third reading and finally royal assent. I am convinced the Prime Minister would have had the unanimous consent of the House, of both government and opposition members, to split Bill C-2 into two separate parts.

We would have unanimously agreed to it if only the government had promised to immediately and retroactively give back all the money it took from the unemployed through the intensity rule, to bring in an increase from 50% to 55% to eliminate the clawback effect, and to bring in an increase from $28,000 to $38,000 to allow, mothers to stay on maternity leave instead of being unemployed for two or four years. We would have agreed unanimously to split the bill.

The government would have also made the commitment to proceed to a true reform of the employment insurance plan. The Prime Minister knows what a true reform of the EI plan is, and so do the Minister of Human Resources Development and the Minister of Finance since there was such a reform in 1996, the Axworthy reform, when drastic cuts were made to the plan.

In 1996, when the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance and the then Minister of Human Resources Development decided to reform the EI plan, their goal was to take in as much as possible and give out as little as possible. With eligibility requirements set at 910 hours, six persons out of ten who paid EI contributions were not eligible for benefits.

The need is in our ridings but the money is in Ottawa. The unemployed need the money but the Minister of Finance has it in his pockets. Of course the intensity rule made no sense at all. The Prime Minister recognized that fact following a question from the Bloc Quebecois and undertook to review the rule and change it. However we are asking for a lot more than that.

At least 60 to 70 witnesses came to say unanimously to the Standing Committee on Human Resources Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities that Bill C-2 did not go far enough. The two week waiting period should also be abolished. We know that employment insurance is an insurance that employees and employers pay into in case there is a job loss or termination. It is part of the social benefits.

It is not because people apply for EI benefits that they must be penalized with a two week waiting period. Why keep the 910 hour requirement for seasonal workers? Whether they are temporary or part time employees, these people pay premiums and never receive benefits.

A seasonal worker status should be recognized. This would prevent regions from quarrelling among themselves. This would also somewhat prevent businesses, employers and employees from being in a difficult situation compared to others.

On the ferry, the boat belonging to the Société des traversiers du Québec which sails between Baie Sainte-Catherine and Tadoussac in my riding, I have seen Tadoussac and Baie Sainte-Catherine residents who did not have the same EI coverage. This is illogical because they have the same employer.

Also, when a seasonal employee was lucky enough to get some work in the last two or three years, he needed 420 hours to qualify for 32 insurable weeks. The minister wants to come back with her project in 2003-04. However this is done increasingly. In 2000-01, today, 420 hours are required to qualify for 32 weeks. In 2001-02 someone will have to work 420 hours to qualify for 28 weeks. Already next year four weeks will be cut. In 2002-03 it will be 455 hours for 24 weeks and in 2003-04 525 hours for 21 weeks.

At this time of year, at the end of March, we will be reading in the papers or hearing on the TV that according to Statistics Canada the unemployment rate has dropped in Quebec and Canada. Why has the unemployment rate dropped? It is because people are no longer covered by employment insurance. The government is not paying money out any more. It is paying out a lot less. Statistics Canada says the unemployment rate has dropped. It is not because people have entered the labour market. It is because they no longer get employment insurance cheques. At this point it is something like the principle of communicating vessels.

If people do not get EI cheques social assistance goes up. Who pays for social assistance? The workers do, through their taxes. The workers of Quebec pay for this assistance which provides some income security.

Thirty-six billion dollars have been in the government coffers since the 1996 reform. Six people in ten are not entitled to EI. The needs are in ridings and the money is in Ottawa. The unemployed need money, and the money is in the Minister of Finance's pockets.

There have been multiple demonstrations, at least 10,000 signatures on petitions—I have tabled some 10—and meetings with native communities, unions, Charlevoix—Côte-Nord coalitions in an effort to appeal to the minister. We almost had to wring her arm to get a meeting.

She promised a bill, training and programs, but unfortunately the transitional measures were empty because there is no money in the program.

In closing, we want a thorough reform by the government as soon as possible, because the unemployed have been penalized enough by Liberal government reforms.

[Supply, March 15th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier in my brief remarks, I would have had much more to say.

Softwood lumber is a chief resource of the north shore and the Charlevoix area, and many workers draw their income from it. The generations that preceded us also drew the bulk of their income from forestry.

If we are talking about civilized wood cutting today, it is because at one point in time logging companies were given access to the forest and allowed to do whatever they wanted with it. Today we are talking about selective cutting and the need to protect habitats and the environment, and there is a better framework for operations.

The hon. member certainly noticed, like me, that we have had uncontrolled forest harvesting because clear cutting was allowed. Today we have to bear the consequences of that.

[Supply, March 15th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to see that the Canadian Alliance will support the amendment and the motion to allow the free trade of a product such as lumber.

As long as Quebec remains part of the Canadian federation, as long as Quebecers continue to be dependent on the goods and services tax and on personal income taxes, we must work as one to let foreign countries know that Canadian products are good. These issues are not mutually exclusive.

If the past is any indication of what the future holds, then the Liberals missed their turn in various negotiation processes and I am not sure that they have adequately protected Quebec's interests.

If the hon. member for Joliette in his capacity as the Bloc Quebecois critic on international issues is using this opposition day to propose a motion, it is because Quebecers are once again adversely affected by the free trade agreement that the federal government negotiated while allowing them to impose quotas on us.

Who is most affected? Quebec for one and Quebecers. Bloc Quebecois members represent Quebecers and wish to take advantage of this opposition day and say “As long as we are in this situation, we will be asking the government and the Prime Minister to be our spokespersons at the Summit of the Americas”.

We are also asking them to have the Minister of Foreign Affairs negotiate so that lumber is recognized in the free trade agreement and so that we are not adversely affected by quotas. However these two issues would not be mutually exclusive.

When Quebec becomes a sovereign country, it will be a partner under the free trade agreement and we will be negotiating for ourselves.

[Supply, March 15th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to take part in the debate on the motion by my hon. colleague. The Charlevoix riding depends largely on the development of the Charlevoix and north shore forests. In Quebec we have more than 30,000 workers in the forest industry.

The motion before us during this opposition day will no doubt get the unanimous support of the government and opposition parties. All regions of Canada, the ten provinces and two territories, have a forest industry producing lumber.

Our forest is a natural resource on which many workers depend for employment. In the past these workers were often referred to as lumberjacks and considered as second class workers. Today we have to make a special effort to recruit and train people to work in our forestry industry.

This motion and the amendment must receive the approval of the House of Commons in the vote to come because it is vital for our economy. We accepted the free trade agreement in Canada. This agreement has had advantages but also disadvantages.

The issue was on the agenda of a meeting between the Canadian Prime Minister and the U.S. president. They discussed free trade in softwood lumber. I hope that discussion was preparing the way for the summit of the Americas to be held in Quebec City, where free trade in softwood lumber, among other things, will be discussed thoroughly and extensively.

Why did they limit Canada's trade in softwood lumber on international markets by imposing quotas on Canadian and Quebec lumber producers? We have a high quality product, and we have the workers and resources necessary. The U.S. senate and even Americans in general were afraid that we might flood their market because Canadian softwood lumber is produced in larger volumes and at a better cost. That is when they introduced quotas. They said to Canada: “This is your yearly quota”. I think it was in the 1996 agreement.

Strangely enough in the free trade agreement the United States accepted that Canada export as much electricity and agricultural products as they wanted to meet their needs. However, if we consider another product traded under the free trade agreement, textile for example, we find that the FTA was not so good for us in Quebec, especially in Montreal. As we know, immediately after we opened up our market to textiles from other countries under FTA several productive textile firms in Montreal went belly up.

We could have done like the U.S. and say that we would allow imports to Quebec and Canada once we have taken stock of our needs.

Forest products like softwood lumber come from natural resources. Why are we penalizing the softwood lumber industry and not the mining companies, for instance, or those who produce iron on the north shore? It is because we know that there is a demand for the iron produced on the north shore, that the doors are already wide open and that we need this product.

Softwood lumber producers are overregulated and overlegislated. Even before they can access the international market lumber producers in Quebec and Canada have obligations to fulfil. They have to worry about the environment. Clear-cutting is no longer an option and forest workers have stopped harvesting without worrying about the impact of their operations.

Lumber producers must learn to share the resources. They must work in partnership with the people who live on the land they want to develop. They also have to work with native communities who have some land reserved to them. They have to take into account resort areas in some parts of the country and even protected areas in parks near rivers and lakes, as well as areas where the department of energy and resources has set quotas. They must live and work in partnership with the aboriginal communities and the people they share the land with.

Note that we no longer do clear cutting but rather a very selective type of logging in order to promote forest regeneration. Moreover, considering our climate and the rugged terrain in certain areas where it is not easy for the producer to harvest lumber using very specialised equipment, we must make sure this regeneration is possible. I will indicate you in a moment about the cost of lumber on the international market.

Also often at its expense the logging industry must build access roads which are used as well by vacationers and others who use the land. Lumber producers must also meet environmental standards.

Today it is well known that lumber producers get their licences or logging quotas after a feasibility and yield study has been made. They must also determine how the lumber will be harvested and moved. Will noise or water pollution standards be met? Likewise studies will be made on the habitat of the moose, deer and other species living on the land. Their habitats are in these forests.

Lumber producers must also conform to the Canadian legislation regarding the quota system as well as to the provincial legislation. In Quebec, as in other provinces, there are quotas for exporting, harvesting and renewal. This causes certain problems.

However if we want the resource to be there for the next 50 or 100 years, we must make sure that it is harvested in a civilized manner and that it is allowed to grow back. With our climate on the north shore, a spruce tree planted in 2001 cannot be harvested in 2010 when it has reached a diameter of six inches. It will be another generation, maybe two, after us that will reap the benefits.

Account must also be taken of the cost to producers of transportation. The more we log, the more the forest recedes, and the further the lumber must be transported. In addition to the costs of transportation and logging, there are processing costs. Recently there has been a terrible increase in the price of diesel and gasoline, but truckers have not been compensated by the mills or the producers. These are often individual operators with a firm contract who have had to absorb the increase in gasoline and diesel prices.

There are also the roads, which often deteriorate during frosts and thaws and which have weight restrictions. At this time of the year the trucks are either half full or half empty, depending on whether one is an optimist or a pessimist.

Consideration must also be given to the costs of processing, investment, equipment and manpower training. Today logging requires more than a saw and an axe. It requires specialized equipment and very expensive tools. In my riding there are more than six sawmills.

It is sometimes difficult to see the forest for the trees. We are asking the Prime Minister, at the summit of the Americas, to allow Quebecers to have free trade and to maintain their position on the logging and processing of softwood lumber.

In closing I wish to move an amendment. I move:

That the motion be amended by adding after the word “process” the following:

“for example the establishment of quotas or tariff barriers.”

[Supply, March 1st, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the speech of the member for Compton—Stanstead has neither interest, substance or odour.

In 1997, when he was a candidate for the Progressive Conservative Party, his speeches defended the policies of Mr. Mulroney's Conservative government and condemned the actions and promises of the Liberal Party and of the current Prime Minister.

How can the member, who has been here since 1997 and was elected, at the time, by condemning the Liberal Party's policies, now be on the other side of the House and defend a position outlined in a speech that was probably drafted by the Liberal Minister of Public Works and Government Services?

[Supply, March 1st, 2001]

Madam Speaker, first of all, I think my colleague is being very hard on the Lada when he compares it to the sort of helicopters the government has in mind. But he also compares the EHs to a Cadillac, when I would compare them to a Lincoln Continental, which is a much better vehicle.

That having been said, before any decision is taken, I would like the member for Saint-Jean to get across to all members of the House the importance of that decision for job creation as well.

We know that if Bombardier is chosen, direct and indirect jobs will be created in Quebec and in Canada. We are concerned about the quality of products and services if we buy outside Canada. If one buys a car which is no longer on the market and for which one can no longer find parts or get after sales service, this becomes a worry. Equipment that has cost the government billions of dollars may have to be scrapped. There is also the question of maintenance and safety.

The government made a promise during the election campaign, at the time, blaming the Progressive Conservative government of Mr. Mulroney. It said all sorts of things, spoke out against free trade and the GST. Now it is even worse than the Progressive Conservative government that preceded it.

Is the member for Saint-Jean taking into account job creation, quality of services, productivity, maintenance, and the safety of these helicopters? Will we have better service and better flight safety?

[Supply, March 1st, 2001]

It is like the GST.