Jean-Claude D'Amours

[Petitions, April 25th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, today I want to present a petition from people in my riding and neighbouring regions.

The petition pertains to employment insurance and workers who lose their jobs because of lack of work. It calls for the elimination of the waiting period. The signatories believe that the waiting period is unacceptable for people who need employment insurance benefits.

The signatories also ask Parliament to hire enough staff for the Service Canada centres to ensure that people who need employment insurance can either complete the form or apply on-line. Parliament also needs to make sure that people get what is coming to them.

Eliminating the waiting period is vital to people who need employment insurance at some point in their lives.

[Petitions, April 23rd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to present a petition on behalf of the citizens in my riding, who condemn the Conservative government's decision to cut the youth employment initiatives program by $55 million.

As we know, this program also includes the career placement program, which is extremely important to the students in my riding, as it is to students in ridings across the country.

A cut like this to the career placement program is extremely harmful to young people in our society, and to young people in rural areas. These citizens think the government's decision to cut funding is wrong and unacceptable.

The petitioners are calling on Parliament to reinstate the necessary funding, which suffered a $55 million cut, to ensure that the career placement program and the youth employment initiatives program can continue as they were under the Liberal government.

[April 19th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, it is clear that the Conservative government does not understand the situation at all. The parliamentary secretary says that there was an announcement that $2.7 million may be allocated over the coming year. However, he forgot to mention that during the Liberal government's last year—2005-06—nearly $6.4 million was lent through the seed capital program. Now they are talking about $2.7 million.

It is unacceptable for the government to provide so little money to Atlantic Canada entrepreneurs, to entrepreneurs in New Brunswick. They are not asking for handouts; they are asking for fair treatment. Cutting the program from $6.4 million to $2.7 million will certainly not help entrepreneurs in New Brunswick.

This is unacceptable for entrepreneurs and it is unacceptable for workers. This is about creating jobs and work for our people, but this government has completely failed to understand that.

[April 19th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to take part in this adjournment debate and to express my concerns regarding the lack of funding provided by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency for the SEED capital program.

This programs serves to help Atlantic Canadians acquire the business skills and capital they need to start, modernize and expand their businesses.

Entrepreneurs are vital engines of growth in the Atlantic area. In addition to creating job opportunities in all sectors, local entrepreneurs further stimulate the economic performance of all Atlantic regions. However, we know that the ACOA continues to cut funding to these programs.

Operating one's own business certainly has its rewards, but also has its challenges. For a business to reach its full potential, a certain number of elements must be mastered, including planning, finances and marketing.

Entrepreneurs in rural areas in the Atlantic region face the considerable challenge of funding.

Through ACOA programs, these people can get the funding they need for successful start-up. Many of them depend on ACOA's SEED capital program, which provides loans to start or improve a small business, as well as acquire business skills training.

In 2005-06, the SEED capital program was a real success. It provided $6.3 million in loans— not grants, but repayable loans, and more than 469 of them—to New Brunswick entrepreneurs. Thanks to these loans and this funding, more than 663 jobs were created or maintained in New Brunswick. That is 663 jobs created or maintained in only one year.

However, ACOA recently reduced funding for this program and will only provide $1.5 million in loans for 2006-07. This amount represents less than 25% of the total loans for the preceding year under this same program.

Since this government was elected, several projects have been refused or delayed simply because of funding.

For the second year in a row, the Conservatives did not even mention ACOA in their budget.

The previous Liberal government had invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the Atlantic region through ACOA programs. In the 2005 budget, my Liberal government devoted a complete section to the Atlantic region.

In 2005, the Liberals increased funding for regional economic development organizations such as ACOA by $800 million.

I am asking the government to ensure that communities in Atlantic Canada will not be penalized owing to a lack of leadership by this government.

We know that small and medium-sized businesses are the lifeblood of Atlantic Canada. I am asking ACOA to take action in order to help Atlantic communities and business people whose development relies on funding programs.

Why did the minister abandon entrepreneurs and job creation in New Brunswick?

Will the minister continue to do so or will he restore the funding required for the seed capital program to continue providing assistance?

Entrepreneurs are not asking for charity. Entrepreneurs in Atlantic Canada and New Brunswick are demanding their fair share. They are not asking for grants. They are simply asking for loans to develop their businesses. But this government, this Conservative government, has completely destroyed this program.

This is a disastrous situation and we need to restore the program. I hope the government will listen to the Liberals.

[Saint-Quentin Arc-en-ciel Choir, April 19th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, on April 6, I had the honour of attending a concert by the Saint-Quentin Arc-en-ciel choir at the Maple Capital of Atlantic Canada Festival.

After an 18-year hiatus, the Arc-en-ciel choir made a comeback with a retro show that was sold out for three days. The 40 or so artists impressed the audience by playing old French and English hits.

I would like to congratulate Louiselle Connors, the concert producer, and all the artists who put on such a moving and lively show. I also want to thank Jocelyne Bossé Querry and the entire organizing committee of the Maple Capital Festival, who presented me with a bird's-eye maple tie that I am proudly wearing today.

The Festival organizing committee and the Arc-en-ciel choir made this event a success throughout the entire region.

[Taxation, April 18th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the decision concerning the deductibility of foreign interest charges, along with the decision on income trusts, should have prevented the flight of income tax revenues from Canada. On the contrary, Canadian companies are being gobbled up by foreign companies that pay income taxes in jurisdictions other than Canada. The action taken in regard to interest deductibility has been described as the worst fiscal policy produced in Ottawa in the last 30 years.

When will the government reverse this disastrous decision? When will the minister decide to really tackle this issue?

[Taxation, April 18th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the removal of foreign interest deductibility and the disastrous Conservative income trust tax are crippling Canadian companies in a way that is making them ripe for foreign takeovers. So far it has resulted in at least 15 takeovers of Canadian companies by foreign interests, and that is just after a few short months.

Why does the government want to help foreign firms take over Canadian companies? Should the government not have thought about this before the budget? Will it spend some time on it now, like the Finance Minister said?

[Petitions, April 16th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour this afternoon to introduce a petition signed by many citizens from the riding of Madawaska—Restigouche, who are outraged by the cuts the Conservative government has made in the literacy program. One of the things that these citizens are saying is that it is important to support the literacy program because it allows young people and older people to learn to read and write and thus be able to take part in Canadian society and also to improve their quality of life.

These people are always trying to improve their quality of life. However, they are outraged to see that the Conservative government is showing no support towards the literacy program. Consequently, the petitioners are asking Parliament to restore 100% of the amounts that were cut from the literacy program.

[Justice, April 16th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Justice knows very well that a Charter case costs millions of dollars, which most Canadians do not have. Unless there is proper access to legal aid and to the court challenges program, only the rich will have equal rights, which is unacceptable.

If the Minister of Justice refuses to budge and does not save the court challenges program, will he at least improve access to legal aid to provide Canadians with the justice they are guaranteed in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms?

[Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, March 29th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, in order to create jobs, we have to help small businesses. The ACOA seed capital program is specially designed to help businesspeople with their funding and to create jobs. However, ACOA reduced the funds available for the seed capital program in New Brunswick by over 75% as of March 31, 2007. This cut will have a negative effect on jobs in rural regions.

Why did the minister abandon businesspeople and drop job creation in New Brunswick? Why did the minister abandon the citizens of the Atlantic Region?