Kellie Leitch

[Persons with Disabilities, November 6th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to respond to the hon. member for Montcalm on persons with disabilities.

Our government is investing in empowering Canadians with disabilities. We are helping to remove obstacles and are creating opportunities for these Canadians to fully participate in their communities and in the labour force.

Our goal is to create a truly inclusive society in which everyone can participate and contribute to their communities.

Let me mention some of the specific measures our government has undertaken to support people with disabilities.

We are helping individuals with disabilities and their families save for the future through the registered disability savings plan, the Canada disability savings grant and the Canada disability savings bond. We support students with disabilities by helping to finance their post-secondary education through special grants and loans. We have employment programs, such as the opportunities fund, which has helped over 60,000 Canadians with disabilities get into the job market. We continue to support the full participation of people with disabilities in their communities through the enabling accessibility fund, which contributes to projects that improve accessibility and that remove barriers to facilities, activities and services. Our government has provided accessibility funds to more than 835 projects throughout Canada.

The Office for Disability Issues in HRSDC is promoting coordination across the government on disability policy and is the federal focal point on matters relating to the convention.

Our government has a steadfast commitment to ensuring the full inclusion of people with disabilities in Canada and will continue to promote ongoing compliance with the convention moving forward.

Unfortunately, the NDP continue to vote against all of these efforts that we have put forward for persons with disabilities. It is exceptionally disappointing for an individual like me, who has spent time as a professional dealing with families and particularly children with disabilities, that the NDP continue to not support these initiatives.

[Employment Insurance, November 5th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, as I have mentioned, over 820,000 net new jobs have been created by the economic action plan since the downturn of the recession in July 2009.

Whether it be the targeted initiative for older workers, apprenticeship grants or the youth employment strategy, all of which are helping to create jobs for Canadians, the opposition continues to vote against these.

[Employment Insurance, November 5th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, as I have mentioned already in the House, in fact three times today, eight out of ten Canadians do qualify for employment insurance. I guess—

[Employment Insurance, November 5th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about the facts again. Ninety per cent of the new jobs created have been full-time jobs. To be very clear, with respect to youth employment, the youth employment strategy is a $50 million investment to ensure that young Canadians have opportunities for jobs. That is what we put on the table in budget 2012 and the opposition members voted against those opportunities.

The facts are very simple. We want to ensure that Canadians are employed. The opposition members obviously do not.

[Employment Insurance, November 5th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about making it up as we go along. As I just said and will say for the third time, which is sort of like Groundhog Day, eight out of ten Canadians have qualified for employment insurance. That number is a little different from what the member opposite stated.

Let us be clear on what the facts are. We have a number of initiatives that we have put forward to ensure Canadians are employed. In fact, 820,000 net Canadians are newly employed. The opposition members continue to vote against these things and want to increase taxes, in fact with a $21 billion carbon tax. Just think what that would do to the economy.

[Employment Insurance, November 5th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned before, this report continues to show that around eight out of ten individuals in Canada qualify for employment insurance. What is scandalous is that the New Democrats continue to vote against opportunities for Canadians to be employed. Whether it be the hiring credit for small businesses, apprenticeship grants or the targeted initiative for older workers, the New Democrats just want to tax Canadians and ensure they have no opportunity for employment, as opposed to supporting great initiatives for employment.

[Service Canada, November 5th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, Service Canada continues to improve and update its operations to ensure that Canadians receive service effectively, efficiently and, in the best case scenario, in a way that uses taxpayers' dollars effectively. Unlike the NDP, which wants to put in place a $21 billion carbon tax, increase taxes and therefore not provide opportunities for Canadians, we are focused on what Canadians need: efficient and effective service.

[Service Canada, November 5th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the report continues to show that 8 out of 10 individuals in Canada qualify for employment insurance. Let us be very clear: This government is focused on making sure that those who are unemployed have an opportunity to have a job. We have created 820,000 net new jobs since the downturn of the recession. We have a number of items that we put forward, whether they be the targeted initiative for older workers or apprenticeship grants, or an opportunity for individuals to support the hiring credit for small businesses. These are all things that the opposition members vote against time and again.

[Employment Insurance, October 26th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, let us be very clear. The government is focused on job creation and economic growth. The minister has done everything to help facilitate that. Whether that be ensuring we lower taxes to ensure we create jobs, or increasing the GIS to ensure those low-income seniors are provided for, or changing EI to ensure Canadians have opportunities for jobs, the minister is focused on the thing that Canadians want, job creation.

[Employment Insurance, October 26th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, our government is focused on job creation and economic growth. This pilot project was a temporary measure put in place during a downturn of the recession in 2008 and 2010, in the economic action plan, to aid those people who needed to have jobs.

We have a job creation plan. We have numerous initiatives, whether that be the targeted initiative for older workers or apprenticeship programs, all of which help Canadians find employment. The Liberals vote against all of them again and again, let alone the NDP.