Michael Savage

[April 20th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments of my colleague, but just the simple fact of what he recited, all these things the government says it is doing, having a call centre open on Saturdays and bringing back workers who are retired and extra hours for people, shows it has completely mishandled this crisis. We told the government in November that there was a problem, but it said there was no problem. We told the government in December there was a problem, but it said there was no problem. It was not just me, but the member for Madawaska—Restigouche and the member for Cape Breton—Canso told the government there was a problem. It ignored the fact that there was problem, it stonewalled it and then, finally, it scrambled.

The government talks about other countries. The United States is adding up to a year of employment insurance for people who are losing their jobs. Other countries are doing much more.

We can do more for Canadians who are losing their jobs. It should start with processing their claims in an expeditious manner, without having to panic at the last minute. It provides no faith for Canadians to think that the government knows how to handle this crisis, and we are not sure the crisis is yet at its bottom.

[April 20th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I am following up on a question I asked about employment insurance. Since I asked that question, as members in the House know, the situation has only become worse. While we were away from Parliament, Canadians continued to be laid off in record numbers and employment insurance continues to be a huge issue for many Canadians.

Last week I had the opportunity to be in Toronto with my colleague from Don Valley West where we talked with people in his riding about employment insurance, people in organized labour, people working in anti-poverty, people who are being laid off from their jobs. They simply cannot understand why they do not have benefits. The Conservative government has abandoned them. The government does not seem to care. On the issue of access to EI, the Conservative government is silent.

The minister speaks quite often about 82% of people who are eligible to get EI are getting EI. That is a false argument which totally ignores the fact that people are being excluded from being eligible to get EI.

The Caledon Institute, which has done a lot of work on employment insurance, has a chart which shows that right now less than 44% of Canadians who are unemployed are receiving regular EI benefits. That has changed in the last number of years.

There are many who would say that it was changed for a good reason back in the 1990s. The government under Mr. Mulroney left the country in terrible shape. There is no question that changes had to be made and those changes were made. In the 1990s nobody was talking about stimulus. We never heard the word “stimulus” mentioned. It was the opposite. It was contraction. We wanted to get the debt and the deficit under control.

According to the December 2008 Caledon Institute report, “The Forgotten Fundamentals”, at last count only an estimated 44% of unemployed Canadians qualified for benefits under the so-called social insurance. Those were 2007 numbers. In Alberta 24% and in Ontario 29% qualified for benefits.

The report stated:

Some of Canada's most vulnerable groups--older workers, part-time workers, recent immigrants, new entrants to the labour force, persons with disabilities and low-wage workers generally--are typically excluded from EI.

We have a big problem. People are not qualifying for EI even though they have paid into it. It is a false statement by the minister and her acolytes when they say that 82% of people who are eligible for EI are getting EI. It just ignores the problem.

Another problem Canadians have, and this is one that I raised in the House last year on November 27, is the delay in getting employment insurance. The minister said it was not a problem, that everything was under control and claims were being processed in 28 days. We knew that was not the case. On December 19 I sent a letter to the minister to follow up on that. First of all there was denial and then I was told it was being handled. A few weeks ago the minister finally came out and said that the government has to put in $60 million to bring back people from retirement and hire more people to process EI claims.

This problem has been ignored. It has been put aside. Workers in Canada are paying the price. They cannot access EI when they want it. They cannot even get support from the government to get their claims processed. It is a shame. It is an abomination. This problem has to be fixed. When is it going to be fixed?

[Education, April 20th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, this is Global Action Week for education.

Some 774 million adults around the world cannot read and 75 million children are denied the chance to learn to read and write. According to the World Bank, education is one of the most powerful instruments for reducing poverty and inequality.

UNESCO's Education for All campaign has helped to provide a pathway out of poverty for 23 million children.

In 2000, Canada committed to ensure that everyone realizes the human right to education by 2015. Initially, Canada and other donors rose to that challenge and increased their aid to help another 40 million children go to school. However, recently aid levels have plateaued and the government is showing signs of faltering on that commitment. Currently, Canada provides less than half of its fair share of the global requirement to meet these goals.

In honour of Global Action Week, we call upon the Conservative government to honour its commitment to the Education for All goals by contributing Canada's fair share and increasing Canadian funding to the full Education for All agenda.

Education is a key route out of poverty. Canada must do its share.

[Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, March 27th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, I listened to my colleague's comments and thought they were very good. We may have some issues with the differences in how our parties are dealing with this bill, but I suspect that we share the same belief that we should be doing more to look at the causes of crime, addiction and what one might call the social ills of society.

She comes from an area that is very close to mine. Last week I had a meeting with poverty advocates in my constituency. I know that she has done some work in this area. I would think that if one really wanted to make a difference in the streets of Halifax, rather than invest in more prisons, one would invest in Phoenix Youth Programs, Lang House, the North End Community Health Centre, Boys and Girls Clubs Canada, and things that would help to provide a solid foundation.

This may not seem directly related to this bill, but I think it is. I would like to ask her specifically about the impact that early learning and child care could have in making sure that kids get off to a better start so that they do not find themselves in trouble with the law. There are people in Halifax, such as Sue Wolstenholme, who have been champions of early learning and child care for many years in our community.

I wonder if the member would comment on what kind of impact it would have if Canada had a real early learning and child care program that was based on quality, that was universally available, accessible to all and developmentally based. Canada is at the very bottom of the OECD nations in terms of how much we invest in early learning and child care. I wonder if she could comment on how much of a difference that might make as opposed to coming at the back end of the problem.

[Controlled Drugs and Substance Act, March 27th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague. She has certainly brought a lot of wisdom, life experience and elegance to this House. She is doing a wonderful job for her constituents. I want to talk a little bit about the last part of her speech where she talked about how important it is that we deal with this through sentencing through the criminal justice system.

My brother is a vice-principal at a school in my own community. Through community organizations in Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, kids who have a better opportunity in life, who have an opportunity for early learning and quality accessible child care and who have complete community social infrastructure supports, such as the Dartmouth East Boys and Girls Club, the Cole Harbour Boys and Girls Club and the Dartmouth North Boys and Girls Club, stay out of trouble. These kids are mentored. They have opportunities to provide leadership and to learn from others.

I wonder if the member would comment on how important it is that we not neglect the social infrastructure that provides opportunities for all young Canadians. It might save us a lot of money in the criminal justice system if we were to invest at the front end as opposed to just dealing with it at the back end.

[Employment Insurance, March 25th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, that does not do anything for those who do not qualify.

Everybody else seems to know there is a problem here. It is not just opposition parties, it is social policy groups, anti-poverty organizations, labour. Even the C.D. Howe Institute said it was surprised that the government did not do more in the budget to address EI access. Who is left? Apparently, just the Conservative government.

Why will the minister not stop denying the problem, stop the excuses, throw away her misleading statistics, and think of Canadian families who are sitting at kitchen tables abandoned by the government, out of options, and wondering why the EI they paid into for years is not there when they need it now?

[Employment Insurance, March 25th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, Canada is shedding jobs and fast, faster in fact than the U.S. We have a government in disarray, scrambling to make up for its inaction. We saw that clearly in its delayed response to dealing with delays.

The big question is access to EI. The minister denies the problem exists. That would be funny if it were not so sad. She uses misleading statistics to defend a system that excludes hundreds of thousands of people from qualifying, even though they have paid into EI for years.

These are real Canadian families who are scared to death, wondering how they are going to feed their children. What does she have to say to them?

[Employment Insurance, March 24th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the government has no sense of the urgency of this situation. Before Christmas, I raised this issue of unacceptable wait times with the minister. First, she ignored the problem. Then she denied it. Then she delayed it. Then she took baby steps. Now, the government is in full scramble mode.

If she takes months to address that single issue, what hope do those who are getting laid off now have? Excuses and promises do not feed families. They need action. How long will Canadians have to wait for the government to seriously address EI issues in our country?

[Employment Insurance, March 24th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, today's employment insurance numbers highlight very serious job losses in Canada. They are, indeed, sobering and Canadians are hurting.

Some 24,000 new EI recipients were processed in January but over 100,000 Canadians lost their jobs in January alone. That means tens of thousands of unemployed Canadians either do not qualify for EI or, if they do, are experiencing unacceptable delays in having their claims processed.

What does the minister have to say specifically to the many thousands of Canadians who have paid into EI for years but are unable to get it when they need it and when they deserve it?

[Employment Insurance, March 11th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, on December 19, I wrote a letter to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development about EI claimants facing unacceptable processing delays. Last week, I received a letter from the minister apologizing for her delay in responding to my letter about delays.

I accept her apology but will the minister now apologize both to the thousands of laid-off workers who are still waiting due to her political mismanagement and to the hard-working staff at Service Canada who are bearing the brunt of Conservative incompetence?