Maurizio Bevilacqua

[Committees Of The House, April 26th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present in both official languages the third report of the Standing Committee on Human Resources Development regarding Bill C-12, an act respecting employment insurance in Canada, which as agreed to is reported with amendments.

[Committees Of The House, March 22nd, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the second report of the Standing Committee on Human Resources Development on Bill C-3, an act to amend the Canada Labour Code (nuclear undertakings) and to make a related amendment to another Act, which agreed to report it without amendment.

[Racism, March 21st, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, on March 21, 1960 many innocent people were killed and wounded in Sharpville, South Africa for demonstrating against racial oppression. This event has come to symbolize the worldwide need to end racism.

Today marks the UN's 30th anniversary of the international day for the elimination of racism. While Canadians can be proud of the steps they have taken to help build a more tolerant and open society, more work needs to be done.

Systemic racism continues to rear its ugly head. As a government we must work with citizens to address all forms of discrimination that take place in our communities.

A particular focus must be placed on youth to ensure they gain an appreciation for the diversity of the world's peoples, languages, religions and cultures.

By cultivating a deep respect for racial harmony, we take another step forward in the battle to eliminate discrimination forever.

[Committees Of The House, March 11th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the first report of the Standing Committee on Human Resources Development regarding Bill C-11, an act to establish the Department of Human Resources Development and to amend and repeal certain related acts and, as agreed, to report it with amendments.

[Completing The Circle, March 8th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, in the Prime Minister's recent response to the throne speech, he outlined the measures our government will continue to take to ensure a strong economy and foster a positive climate for the private sector to create jobs.

In order to be successful we must forge a new and active partnership between the public and private sector. With this vision and agenda in hand, I recently launched "Completing the Circle". This York region initiative identifies available jobs in the community, provides pre-employment training and matches unemployed clients to jobs. This local initiative demonstrates the type of successful partnership that can and must be forged between the private sector and various levels of government.

Human Resources Development Canada, Tetra Pak and the Career Foundation have all joined together to enable a minimum of 100 people in the York region to greatly benefit through $200,000 in contributions by HRDC and Tetra Pak.

This is Team Canada in action.

[The Budget, March 7th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for finding my speech inspirational. One of the reasons I delivered it was to make sure people across Canada understand that when people come together and pool the resources available we can bring about positive change to people's lives.

One of the things I do not agree with is that somehow Canadians are lacking confidence. I know that when I speak to Canadians from coast to coast what they are telling me about the government is that for the first time in a long time they believe our budgets.

We are telling them we will reach 3 per cent of GDP on the deficit. We will be going down to 2 per cent. They also gain a lot of confidence from the more than 560,000 jobs that have been created since the election on October 25, 1993. That is good news for Canadians. They understand that we have low interest rates and that the fundamentals are there for small business to create those jobs.

I agree with the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance and members of my caucus who are saying to the small business sector and to the business community that they have to join with the rest of the Canadian family to generate the jobs required, in particular for our young people.

I cited a couple of examples of the type of work I have been doing in partnership with local stakeholders in my riding which is are actually creating jobs for people. We live in an era of constant change. The old rules simply do not apply. We need to be creative and innovative to generate the type of job creation Canadians are calling for.

I do not view this in a very self-defeatist way. The people in my riding of York North are quite excited about the change that is occurring. That is why initiatives like the Vaughan Technology Enterprise Centre, the York Region Strategic Alliance and the recent activities with one of our major corporations, TetraPak, are bearing fruits and bringing about change.

It is the responsibility of all members of the House to join forces with local stakeholders to create those much needed jobs for the Canadian economy.

[The Budget, March 7th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians will not be left behind. There is no question the world around is changing. Fifty years ago fax machines, cellular phones, the Canada space arm and fibre optic surgery were only seen in science fiction movies. Today they are part of our everyday life.

Fact: the world is changing. Fact: our lives are changing. Fact: some countries will be left behind. Fact: Canada will not be one of them.

Certainly our labour market is changing. Machines are doing some of the jobs people used to do. However, people are doing some jobs we never thought would be possible. We are building the robots that now do the heavy lifting and exploration of mines. We are designing the fibre optic cables that allow people on different continents to conduct meetings and exchange ideas. We are developing the vaccines to combat disease that had previously wiped out entire populations. Certainly, the world is changing but we are leading the revolution.

The 1996 budget tabled yesterday by the Minister of Finance will allow us to continue to set the pace for other countries to follow. This Liberal government recognizes that Canada is a rich country, a country rich in resources: natural resources, its people, its youth. We also recognize it is our responsibility to create opportunities for present and future generations of Canadians, and that is what we have done.

The challenges that face our youth are clear. The youth unemployment rate is roughly double the national average. Roughly 45 per cent of new jobs created between the year 1990 and the year 2000 will require more than 16 years of training and education.

What is the federal government doing to offer young Canadians a brighter future? More than any other government in Canadian history, we have been devoted to achieving positive change in the lives of young people. To quote the Minister of Finance: "The economy of the future will belong to our young people. The success of our economy will depend on them, just as their success will depend on their ability to fully participate in all that the economy has to offer".

Post-secondary education is an important step toward achieving meaningful full time employment. Our government recognizes that. That is why the 1996 budget announced measures to increase Canada's investment in our youth. After all, if our future is to be brighter, we must invest in it. To that end we have introduced a learning package. These measures will provide an additional $165 million in tax assistance to students and their families. However, getting the tax system to work in favour of education is just the beginning.

In addition to these measures we have further improved access to post-secondary education by providing more flexible repayment terms for Canada student loans. That, plus our previous $2.5 billion increase in the amount of federal assistance available through our Canada student loans program clearly demonstrates our government's commitment to providing Canadians with the opportunity to pursue lifelong learning.

As chair of the Liberal Party's task force on youth, as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources Development, as a member of the human resources committee and as the member of Parliament for the riding of York North I have spoken to tens of thousands of young people across the country.

I spoke with high school dropouts who still have dreams to one day have good paying jobs. I spoke with a 19-year old single mother who wants to be an accountant. I spoke with a young man from Newfoundland who wants a job he can go to year round. The desire to work, to grow and to succeed is there. It just needs some help to flourish.

How many times have we heard a young person say that he or she cannot find a job because he or she does not have experience: "How can I gain that experience if I do not have a job?" That is the paradox in the lives of so many young people in our country. These are indeed tough questions. Our government has attempted to find some answers.

In April 1994 our government announced the youth employment and learning strategy involving, among other initiatives, the youth internship program and Youth Service Canada. Our government is maintaining its $700 million in funding over the next three years for these programs. While past governments have run make work projects for young people, Youth Service Canada and the youth internship program focus on providing participants with tangible, hands on experience.

Youth Service Canada provides employment skills built on community needs. Students gain valuable work experience that will help them make that very important transition from school to work. The community gains the energy and enthusiasm which only the young can bring to their work. The youth internship program works because it builds partnerships between employers and educators, teaching hands on skills to young people. The focus is on jobs and careers with a future. The theme is innovation.

For example, last year I announced a special program for the automotive industry. When we look under the hood of a new car we see how technology has changed the industry. I read recently that the computers in new cars are worth more than the steel. This requires people with up to date skills. It requires a new generation of highly skilled workers. In turn, that requires a new partnership with the private sector.

The youth internship program is an excellent example of partnership and co-operation. Chrysler Canada and other major car manufacturers donated engines and guaranteed on the job training spots to participants. We brought on board a major corporation to do its share to help tomorrow's workers.

In addition to maintaining funding for Youth Service Canada and the youth internship program, this year's budget announced the government's plans to reallocate $315 million in budget savings for additional on the job training which includes doubling the funding for student summer employment placements. It is a wise investment. In 1995 alone more than 52,000 jobs were created thanks to the student summer job action. Our Canada employment centres for students placed over 175,000 students in jobs during that summer.

How does this Team Canada approach apply locally in my riding? I will tell the House about another effective partnership between government and the private sector which I announced last week.

The government teamed up with Tetra Pac Inc., a forward thinking company in my riding. We each contributed $100,000 to an initiative called "Completing the Circle". The Career Foundation, an active training establishment in York North, is using these funds to match unemployed residents with available jobs in the riding. One hundred participants will receive pre-employment and on the job training, followed by a placement in a job with a future. This, my friends, is co-operation. This is team work, this is Team Canada in action.

Speaking of jobs with a future, there is no greater growth area than high tech. Look in the career section of any paper. Where are the jobs? Computers. Look at page 76 of the budget plan and what do you see? Computers.

The 1996 budget outlines a plan to enlist the help of 2,000 students to help connect 50,000 small businesses to the Internet. What a great idea, students and small business owners helping one another.

Another successful program I helped develop in my riding, one that I am extremely proud of, is VaughanTec. It is truly an employment strategy with a future. VaughanTec recruits young entrepreneurial residents of York North with an interest in technology and provides them with the skills and knowledge required to become successful high tech entrepreneurs.

Through classroom training, skills development and concrete work experience, these young entrepreneurs develop the tools they will need to seek employment or create new businesses in this rapidly developing sector.

As these local examples demonstrate, the private sector is our greatest and most appropriate medium for innovation. Canada's youth are our strongest foundation for our future. The framework is in place. The economic environment is improving. The partnerships are proving successful. We are following through with our commitment to providing opportunities. Canada will not be left behind.

[Finance, December 14th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, a budget captures society's priorities. That is why the prebudget consultation process is so important. It is an opportunity for Canadians to share their perspectives with us. From those views and from our principles as a government we can find the path that will work best.

This consultation process has proven to be much better than the old ways of doing business. The road to budget day was once a darkened one. It was full of secrecy. Canadians suspected some special interest groups had ways to get their opinions into the process but that for most of us it was a closed system. Canadians

had no way to contribute to this essential part of our democratic process. Gladly that has changed for the better.

The budget deserves to be the subject of debate well before the late winter afternoon when the Minister of Finance tables it here. And so it is. The government has used a comprehensive prebudget consultation process. It is open, inclusive and fully in keeping with our commitment to govern with honesty and integrity.

Everybody recognizes we face a fiscal crunch. I hosted several town hall meetings and consultation meetings in my riding on the nation's finances. Hundreds of people came together to talk about economic and fiscal issues facing the nation. Together we discussed the steps the government has taken thus far and made recommendations for future change.

We looked at where the government was going with its fiscal agenda. We considered questions of jobs and growth. We discussed government spending. For all the diversity in the detailed comments there was a surprising degree of consensus on the big picture. People were quite supportive of the steps the government has taken to get our fiscal house in order.

A message that came through loud and clear was that people support budget cutting but not mindless budget cutting. The people who took part in my consultation process felt we all benefit from government programs and services. We all benefit from an activist government, a government present in communities. That is true whether we are rich or poor, young or old.

The people of York North want what most Canadians want, fairness, balance and a government that responds to people, one that can support initiatives that spring from communities.

Let us be clear. We live in a time of immense change in society, in the economy. Canadians are trying hard to adapt to that change but they want to know that if needed, the support of government is there to make it happen. This view is echoed throughout society. I have heard it continuously since I have been a member of Parliament. When I co-chaired the joint House of Commons-Senate task force on youth I heard young people asking for vehicles of opportunity to help them make the transition from school to work. We followed through on the very firm commitment we made in the red book by establishing Youth Service Canada and youth internship programs. Today I am pleased to say over 30,000 young people are benefiting from these programs.

We also kept our word that we would enhance summer employment programs for young people. As a result of the government's policy, the youth employment development services budget has actually been increased to $236 million, an increase of $43 million. When we consider we are living in fiscally challenging times, this speaks volumes to the fact that the government does not simply say young people are our future but actually acts by giving young people sound financial support and programs that not only get them working but make our country work.

As a member of Parliament I have had the opportunity to be a member of the human resources development committee. I travelled throughout the country listening to what Canadians had to say about our social security system. In that role I found Canadians wanted to modernize and restructure our social security system, a system which needs a complete overhaul since we are living in a time quite different from the time when the system was created.

Our goal was to meet three objectives: to help Canadians get jobs and keep jobs; to help the most vulnerable in society; and to make the system sustainable. In large measure this has been achieved. I point to the announcement by the Minister of Human Resources Development a few weeks ago in which he outlined a program of employment insurance which focuses on getting people back to work. The net impact of this program is the creation of approximately 100,000 to 150,000 new jobs for Canadians.

More important, it is not the old income support measures program of the past; it is a program which embodies two very important elements. One is income support, which will give people the security they need in their everyday lives as they face the challenges of unemployment. There is also an active element which speaks to the re-employment measures, the five tools under the $800 million human resources investment fund. The five tools are the targeted earning supplement, the wage subsidy, skills and loan grants, self-employment assistance, and job partnerships, which will be done with local governments and organizations. It is a way to empower local communities and individuals to make the type of decisions which better reflect the local reality.

I will talk a bit about the self-employment assistance program initiated a few years ago. It has been extremely effective. Since we formed the government in October 1993, 34,000 people have participated in the program. These formerly unemployed Canadians have created jobs for themselves and have created jobs for an equal number of Canadians. That means 68,000 jobs have been created through this very active program which the Government of Canada instituted.

This is the type of positive change Canadians have been calling for, empowering individuals to make the right decisions which better reflect their reality, their needs and their aspirations as responsible Canadians.

This is where we are turning the corner as a government. We are returning a great deal of faith to the people. We are returning faith and hope to the communities. We are telling people we have faith

in them and know they understand what it takes to make things happen as individuals and as communities.

We have taken other measures. We have modernized the delivery of services. We have increased the points of service for Canadians. We have moved from approximately 400 to 700 human resources development centres so that the needs of people at the community level, rural and urban Canada will be better met.

Returning to young people, we have increased funding for the Canada student loans. As institutions increased their tuitions, it is extremely important for the federal government to help our young people attend universities and colleges, to make sure they have an opportunity to acquire the required skills to compete in a very competitive global market.

That was an increase of $2.5 billion over five years, an increase of approximately 57 per cent in funding. Those are positive measures that speak to the needs of Canadians as they try to adapt to the change I spoke about earlier.

One of the most interesting aspects of being a member of Parliament, whether we are talking about the red book or federal government policies, is to make those things living documents in our communities. I will share with the House some of the initiatives through the partnership of local stakeholders at the community level I have been able to adapt to my community.

My community has been blessed with affluence, good schools, a good educational system. We are also blessed with a vibrant community that understands the new economy really speaks to technology, making sure people have the skills to adapt to the technological change that has occurred.

Therefore we initiated in partnership with local stakeholders colleges, local schools boards and community organizations the York North technology strategy which has been extremely successful in making sure our local businesses are now on the global web to attract business from abroad, to generate jobs locally and engage in the production of high value added products. At the same time through the investments we have made in human resources investment funds we can provide people with world class skills so they can compete in the global environment.

The people of York North are certainly behind the government to continue on the course it has charted so far.

[Constitutional Amendments Act, December 13th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately I was detained. As always I will be voting on behalf of the-

[Canada Pension Plan, December 13th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians ought to know what the Reform Party's plan will do. Over 800,000 disabled Canadians would have lower benefits; 600 widows would have lower benefits; and 1.8 million pensioners would have lower benefits than now. That is not the Liberal way.