Lynne Yelich

[December 5th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I am not exactly sure what the member was asking, but we do take seriously the protection of the personal information of Canadians and protecting them from the possibility of identity theft.

We know it is of great importance in this electronic age, which is why we introduced Bill C-27. It would create the new Criminal Code provisions for the unlawful possession and trafficking of personal information and government documents of another person.

I hope that has answered his question, if that is what he intended with the question. We definitely created the new Criminal Code provisions for unlawful possession and trafficking of personal information. I hope the hon. member will encourage his colleagues to vote in support of this initiative as well.

[December 5th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to respond to the questions raised by the hon. member on the theft of the government computer. I would like to take this opportunity tonight to set the record straight on the actions of this government and the actions we have taken to address this unfortunate incident.

Maintaining the security of personal data is important to all of us in this House and I want to thank the hon. member for Egmont for raising this matter again. It gives me an opportunity to allow all Canadians to know what we are doing to protect them from incidents such as these.

The hon. member should know that the government has very stringent security policies in place to protect the privacy of each Canadian and to ensure their personal data remains secure. Security breaches are rare but when a breach does occur, our government takes swift and decisive action.

Contrary to the hon. member's suggestion, Service Canada has taken a number of steps to reach out to all those who were affected. We have notified, in writing, each and every person who has been affected. We have also notified the banks and the credit agencies in writing and by telephone. As he expressed, he was concerned about that, but they have all been notified. We are also maintaining additional security measures through the monitoring of individual old age security accounts. Again, there are those additional security measures and, as he expressed, that was also a concern.

In addition, Service Canada has set up a special 1-800 line for people to call and it is staffed by specially trained agents ready to answer questions and suggest measures people can take to further protect themselves.

Service Canada is also making trained client service agents available to meet personally with individual clients.

We have followed up our letter campaign with proactive efforts to contact people who have not been in contact with Service Canada to offer them additional information.

Not only has the government acted quickly to respond to this specific situation, we have also taken steps to prevent such an incident from occurring again.

We are setting up additional information security and privacy awareness sessions for Service Canada staff. We are reviewing our policies and procedures to determine what improvements may be needed and whether staff have the tools they need to ensure the security of information and the privacy of every Canadian.

The security of personal data in this age of cyber crimes and identity theft is something that concerns us all. That is why we are committed to taking decisive action when breaches do occur and that is why we are committed to making sure they do not happen again.

I would like to again thank the member. The answer was not adequate for the seriousness of the crime and tonight allowed me to express exactly what I was told was part of the process.

I believe the member has announced that he will be retiring this year. I congratulate him and wish him well. I know he will be missed in the House.

[Poverty, November 30th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have to know that while the Leader of the Opposition talks about poverty, this government takes action.

Our government has invested billions to strengthen vital social programs like income assistance, the working income tax benefit, disability supports, support for seniors, skills training, post-secondary education, affordable housing, $5.6 billion per year to support early learning and child care, three times more than the Liberal government ever spent.

It is not easy for the Liberal Party leader to make priorities--

[Budget and Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2007, November 29th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the member. Mr. Lavoie from the Laurentian Bank of Canada stated that Quebec had added 70,000 jobs this year. This accounts for more than one-third of the country's total employment gain this year.

I wonder if Quebeckers would like to hear something a little more optimistic from the Bloc who do not paint a very pretty picture? He never recognizes that there are some really good things happening in Quebec.

Also, due to some of the challenges facing older workers and vulnerable communities, would the member recognize the targeted initiative for older workers that this government put in place? There is a total investment of $70 million in the targeted initiative for older workers and 11 of the projects worth $27 million have been announced in Quebec.

Our government is concerned and has shown empathy. I wonder why the member never recognizes some of the important things that this government is doing.

Would the member help the government in one other area? Through Human Resources and Social Development Canada we have sector councils. Sector councils are beneficial in helping workers in such transitions from forestry to mining. Does the member not also think these initiatives will help the residents of Quebec?

[Bill C-303, November 23rd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, it is because the NDP did not want parents to hear how this bill would remove real choice in child care and limit the options available to them.

I think the New Democrats are afraid that the public will realize that the only thing that the bill would do is remove the provinces that do not support this one size fits all model. They do not want Canadians to know that the provinces oppose the bill because it would put a halt to the creation of tens of thousands of child care spaces across the country.

I think the New Democrats have a hidden agenda. I think they and the opposition parties all have hidden agendas. The government realizes that and that is why we cannot support such a flawed bill.

[Human Resources and Social Development, November 23rd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, we take this quite seriously. There is a process in place and we are doing everything possible to ensure this is taken care of.

[Guaranteed Income Supplement, November 23rd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I remind the member that this happened under the Liberal watch and nothing was done about it. Since we formed government, we have taken actions. We are committed to modernizing and strengthening the guaranteed income supplement, old age security, the pension plan, and that is exactly what we have done.

After years of being neglected by the Liberals, seniors can rest assured that the government is listening and we are delivering results.

[November 22nd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, Canada does continue to make significant progress in achieving equality for women in all areas, as covered in the World Economic Forum's “Global Gender Gap Report 2007”, which is what I understood the question was about. We continue to distinguish ourselves on the international stage.

Nonetheless, women in Canada still earn an average of 71¢ to every dollar earned by men. Women still experience high rates of domestic abuse and violence, and the gender gap persists. Therefore, I ask my colleagues to renew their commitment to bringing about women's full participation in Canadian society. Let us close the gap once and for all.

[November 22nd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has not lost ground on gender equality. In fact, the figures in the 2007 Global Gender Gap Report actually show that Canada either held steady or marginally narrowed the gap between women and men in all areas considered. In fact, the report states that Canada continues to rank well on economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, and is performing above average on political empowerment and health and survival.

I am sure everyone would agree that mores needs to be done to improve the situation for women in Canada and around the world. We have achieved a great deal in recent years, but our work is far from over. Over the past 18 months the Government of Canada has undertaken numerous initiatives to advance equality for women in all of the areas covered in the report.

The member said that she wanted to see tangible action. Well, this is tangible. The initiatives we have taken include such things as introducing the universal child care benefit. That benefits every child under the age of six. We cannot help but think that the Liberal Party would take it away.

We are putting more money into the hands of older women by increasing the pension income credit and modernizing the guaranteed income supplement to make it more accessible. We are improving living standards among older Canadians. We are improving employment opportunities for vulnerable groups of women, including older women, women living in abusive relationships, women with intellectual disabilities and aboriginal women living on and off reserve.

Yes, those are initiatives to advance equality for women.

We are supporting women's work and family choices through a variety of measures, including creating the working income tax benefit. We are modernizing the federal labour standards and expanding business opportunities for women. We are creating special initiatives for women entrepreneurs. We are providing affordable housing and helping to reduce incidences of low income.

We are supporting Canadians in the lowest income bracket, the majority of whom are women, aboriginal women, senior women and female lone parents, by introducing a .5% reduction in the lowest personal income tax rate. We are increasing the basic amount an individual can earn before taxes apply.

We are increasing crime prevention, justice and security measures to protect children from exploitation.

The minister spoke about some of the projects that she would like the members of the House to know were created, such as projects for official languages and for minority women's organizations. We are providing almost $24,000 to promote women's entrepreneurship; almost $50,000 to support Prince George New Hope Society, to help women start new lives; $110,000 to the Second Story Women's Centre for training workshops in Nova Scotia; $165,000 for art projects aimed at improving the lives of at risk women and girls; $85,000 to the Single Women in Motherhood Training Program Inc.; $200,000 to the Saint John chapter of the Urban Core Support Network; almost $60,000 to the Arising Women Place for the independent women project; over $185,000 to the West Central Women's Resource Centre for its multi-year women's economic security and housing project; and $300,000 to the Canadian Women's Community Economic Development Council--

[November 21st, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, our government's approach to EI has been to ensure that specific changes address specific issues. We have a record to be proud of when it comes to supporting unemployed and seasonal workers.

I would like to remind my hon. colleague that it was this government that acted within months of taking office to put in place: an investment of $70 million in the new targeted initiative for older workers which will help unemployed older workers in vulnerable communities; a pilot project that gives seasonal workers in areas of high unemployment up to 37 weeks of benefits with the equivalent of 12 weeks of work; and lowered EI premiums and increased benefits for all Canadian workers including seasonal workers.

This is our record and this is one of which this government is proud.