House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2011, with 38% of the vote.
Employment Insurance April 20th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, as I just said, there is a much broader perspective. Obviously the hon. member wants to point out problems. However, the truth is that, in the past, the government established a partnership with the regional authorities and thus also with the provincial authorities. The government has transferred $597 million every year, in part to deal with these problems.
Employment Insurance April 20th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, it is obvious that Ms. Ringuette is studying the shortcomings in the employment insurance system. It must be noted, however, that, while there are still shortcomings causing problems, there is also good news. The good news is that the unemployment rate, the number of people without work in Quebec and in the whole country, is still declining.
Parental Leave April 1st, 2004
Mr. Speaker, I am not in the habit of negotiating in the House. I have just said that the Quebec minister remained in agreement with the action plan we have established. Therefore, we will let the two groups of representatives do their work.
I am ready to build, unlike the Bloc who want to tear apart and destroy.
Parental Leave April 1st, 2004
Mr. Speaker, I have discussed this subject with my Quebec provincial counterpart. We continue to agree on the fact that our representatives should sit down together to discuss problems, seek solutions, and present an action plan to the federal and provincial ministers. We are still agreed. The Quebec minister is pleased with the situation. He sees the federal and provincial—
Employment Insurance March 31st, 2004
Mr. Speaker, perhaps the hon. member did not understand: the Prime Minister has already created a task force to examine this situation and come up with long-term solutions to it. There are, moreover, men and women, members of all parties in this House, who are aware of the problem. We will be presenting long-term solutions. When recommendations are presented, I am prepared to—
Employment Insurance March 31st, 2004
Mr. Speaker, programs have been implemented to solve the problem of the Sans-chemise and the unemployed. For instance, we already have made over $600 million available to the provincial government to resolve this problem.
We have made an additional $450 million available to the provincial governments for this purpose. We have also made another $77 million available to resolve this—
Employment Insurance March 31st, 2004
Mr. Speaker, we have already said many times in this House that the Prime Minister and the government are very concerned about the issue of seasonal workers.
We have already started working on finding a long-term solution. In the past, we have taken short-term measures to address local problems by working with the provinces and regional and community authorities.
Therefore I am sure that the solution—
Older Workers March 29th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, we are now going into the facts rather than into rhetoric. There are solutions, but there are no effective short-term solutions. We are working to find long-term solutions. In order to find these solutions, we must work with the provincial and regional jurisdictions.
I am now working to finalize a package of measures that will, in the coming weeks, help both seasonal workers and older workers.
Older Workers March 29th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member opposite knows very well, the government is investing nearly $3 billion per year to help seasonal workers. For example, with the recent changes in the Employment Insurance Act, over the last three years, the government has invested nearly $500 million per year.
We are aware of the problems being experienced by seasonal workers. We are ready to find long-term solutions to better manage the challenges facing seasonal workers.
Human Resources and Skills Development March 24th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, I reject outright the allegation.
Under our system any employers that cannot fill a job with local employees and workers must submit an application for job validation to HRSD before they can submit for a minister's permit in order to bring these workers over. That situation is always temporary.
In other words, the moment that a Canadian worker can fulfill that position, then that job lapses.