Jean-Claude D'Amours

[Petitions, March 28th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to present in this House a petition from several citizens in my riding regarding the elimination of the early learning and child care program by the Conservative government.

This program would have resulted in lower costs for parents, higher wages for day care workers, and better facilities and books for children.

This petition is being presented because $116 million was proposed for the province of New Brunswick. An agreement was signed in good faith by the former Liberal government and the Province of New Brunswick. We are asking the government to honour this agreement.

[Clair Chamber of Commerce, March 28th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, on March 25, I had the honour of attending the annual general meeting of the Clair chamber of commerce in my riding of Madawaska—Restigouche. At this event, I underscored the importance of the small and medium businesses in the region that have developed and have considerably diversified our local economy.

Today I want to acknowledge in this House four local businesses that are celebrating their 25th, 30th and 40th anniversaries this year.

I want to congratulate Homérilde and Nicole Michaud, owners of Méril Garage, which has been open for 25 years; Guilles and Sandra Corriveau, owners of Industries Corriveau, open for 25 years; Robert and Madonna Michaud and their son Marco, owners of Mich Meat Market, open for 30 years; Nelson and Marie-Paule Soucy, owners of Nelson Soucy Transport—Soucy Brothers Ltd., which has been open for 40 years.

All of these people have put their energy into ensuring the vitality of our region by starting businesses in order to contribute to the success of our region.

[March 27th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary secretary should be ashamed for saying such things, since it was the Liberals who had invested $5 billion to ensure early learning and childhood development in Canada. Yes, $5 billion.

What did the Conservative government do? It cut the money that was allocated to the provinces to help child care centres across the country. It is shameful to produce figures and make references the way the Conservatives do, since it was a Liberal government that invested $5 billion, not them. The Conservatives cancelled the money that we had allocated.

What is even more shameful is that $116 million was earmarked for the rural regions of New Brunswick, where we need it most, thanks to an agreement signed in good faith between the federal Liberal government and the provinces. A $116 million agreement was signed.

In their new budget, the Conservatives presented $6 million. What happened to the other $111 million in the agreement for families signed with the province of New Brunswick?

[March 27th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be able to speak during the late show and to express my concern about the future of child care centres in Canada.

Child care services play an essential role in our communities and help children to fully develop. In addition to offering quality service to working parents, child care centres make it possible for children to acquire learning techniques and to develop social connections.

Unfortunately, the Conservative government refuses to invest in child care centres. In addition, there is no measure to increase the number of places available in child care centres or to ensure appropriate pay for workers. The Conservatives have dealt a terrible blow to these institutions, which are essential to early childhood development.

Let us remember that the previous Liberal government signed bilateral agreements with the provinces and territories, and reserved $5 billion over five years to create a national child care program. We signed agreements with all of the provinces and territories to create up to 250,000 places in affordable, accessible and quality child care centres for Canadian families. However, the Conservative government decided to terminate that program.

A new report indicates that Canada is ranked last among industrialized countries for early childhood education spending. This clearly proves that the Conservative government has abandoned Canadian families. The report by Dr. Fraser Mustard, Companion of the Order of Canada and internationally recognized expert in early childhood development, ranks Canada against 20 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which includes most European countries, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Mexico. According to this report, Canada invests 0.25% of its GDP in early childhood education compared to 2% by other industrialized countries.

Another report, Making Space for Child Care, deplores the fact that the Conservative government has not created a single day care space since it was elected. This report calls on the government to restore funding agreements signed by the previous Liberal government with the provinces in order to provide Canadian families with access to quality child care and early childhood education centres.

A third study published by the YMCA found that Canadian families, irrespective of where they live or the size of their communities, want their child care needs met by a nationally-funded public system and not a federal cash payout. As many parents have pointed out, the Conservatives’ payment amounts to only $8 a week—a sum that will come nowhere close to meeting basic child care needs. Furthermore, even if parents have money to buy child care services, there is still a shortage of services to buy. Canadians want a plan that will guarantee every child—regardless of parental income or geography—will get a quality, affordable and accessible space offered by a licensed professional.

Parents understand, as we do, that a cash payout is not the answer to the country’s very real need for child care. The Conservatives promised the creation of more child care spaces and have reneged on this promise. The success of Canadians families depends on having access to affordable, quality child care.

Can the minister tell us, once and for all, where these new child care spaces are that he promised in 2005? This Conservative government promised child care spaces, but in the end, has not managed to give even one additional child care space to Canadian families for children who live in either urban or rural areas. The Conservative government's promise to create 125,000 new spaces has been a complete farce. In truth, not a single new space has been created in Canada. No new spaces have been created for families—

[March 1st, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, clearly the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development did not answer my question.

However, one thing is clear. She said that the program meets the needs of workers. As far as meeting the needs of workers, let us be clear. A family must pay rent, grocery bills, electricity, telephone bills and car payments.

Once again, I would like to know if, at the end of the day, the program is valuable. Is it a valuable program for workers or not?

I am wondering if the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development thinks that earning $312 on average per week in New Brunswick on employment insurance makes a person rich. I am wondering if that is enough to pay a family's everyday expenses, when the head of the family is receiving employment insurance.

[March 1st, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to take part in this adjournment debate and to express my concern about the future of the employment insurance program.

Last week, the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development clearly stated that employment insurance was a rich and worthwhile program for workers. However, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development denied that he had made any such comments. Clearly, the minister is not aware of the reality of the unemployed. The minister and the government are insensitive to the plight of Canadians who have to apply for employment insurance to support their families. Perhaps the minister should come to our regions to see for himself what these workers' lives are like.

Contrary to what he thinks, people who receive employment insurance benefits are by no means well-off. In fact, these people have to support their families on next to nothing. We need to remember that family expenses include groceries, rent, mortgage payments, insurance, car payments, hydro, phone service and much more.

The Conservative government's ideology is of no help to seasonal workers and unemployed Canadians faced with this reality. If the minister still insists that employment insurance is a rich program, can he tell us how he would support his family on so little money?

The Conservative government has done absolutely nothing to help the economy of Atlantic Canada. On the contrary, it has imposed major cuts to economic development programs. We have learned just recently that more than $15 million will be slashed from the ACOA budget. The government ought to be investing in the Atlantic provinces instead, in order to ensure that the same employment opportunities are available to all. I cannot say that this has surprised me, on the contrary. After all, the government in power has a regional development strategy that seems to be nothing but a forced relocation strategy, with no addressing of the employment insurance issue.

Last week, the minister described the EI program as rich and generous to workers., and I do not want to go into the comments made by the parliamentary secretary. I would like to know which workers are being enriched by EI. What they should be saying instead is that not one worker is enriched by such a program. Does the minister still believe that employment insurance is enriching for the workers? That is my question.

I certainly hope that the government will be in a position to say instead that it wants to improve the EI situation and the lot of workers, in order to provide help to those who need it the most. Does the minister still maintain that the program is a rich program for workers?

[Passports, February 27th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the premiers of New Brunswick, Ontario and Manitoba have travelled to Washington to persuade American authorities to relax their new rules requiring Canadians to present a passport in order to enter the United States by land or water.

Premier Shawn Graham has met with governors to discuss how the new rules will affect employment and the economy. The Canadian premiers are suggesting that an improved driver's licence could be used instead of a Canadian passport.

I therefore ask the Conservative government to support these measures and to take action to reduce the negative impact that the new passport rules will have.

The requirement to present a passport in order to enter the United States by air has already caused problems for hundreds of Canadians, as well as the passport offices. Things will only get worse when passports become mandatory for people entering the United States by land. These new rules will undoubtedly have a negative impact on Canada's economy.

It is the federal government's responsibility to ensure that efforts to improve border security do not affect our country's prosperity.

[Fisheries Act, 2007, February 23rd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for his speech.

About Bill C-45, I can say that the protection of fish habitat is very important for Atlantic Canada. There are some facts to consider and if we really want to conserve those habitats, we need legislation that protects them from invasive species and limits pollution risks.

Let me give a quick example. When someone wants to build an incinerator near a body of water, like Chaleur Bay, in my area, it seems that the Fisheries Act of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans offers absolutely no regulations to protect nearby habitats. I do not see in Bill C-45, which we are debating, the improvements that could guarantee the protection of fish habitats.

In spite of that, could the hon. member reassure me in this regard or could he simply say that, all things considered, there is nothing in the act to protect the projects situated near a body of water when new infrastructures are built?

[Employment Insurance, February 23rd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government has done absolutely nothing to help Atlantic Canada's economy. The government abandoned the industries and workers when the plants closed. The minister and the government remain clueless about the reality of people who have to apply for employment insurance in order to feed their families. We are not talking about living; we are talking about surviving.

How can the minister have the audacity to say that the EI program is a rich program for employees? How can he say that?

[Employment Insurance, February 23rd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I was shocked to hear the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development say that EI was a rich program for employees. This program helps thousands of seasonal workers in Atlantic Canada and throughout the country. These workers have families to feed and bills to pay, however, they have to wait up to eight weeks before they receive their first cheque.

How can the minister justify leaving thousands of families without any income for so long?