Navdeep Bains

[Supply, June 2nd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad to have an opportunity to share my remarks today. I do have a question for my hon. colleague, but I will defer it.

The debate today is on EI. I am going to make sure that in this debate the context in which I make my remarks emphasizes transparency and a balanced approach. I am pleased today to share my thoughts on the motion presented by the hon. member for Acadie—Bathurst.

In February, the government announced a pilot project, which, over three years, will test whether a new method of benefit rate calculation will encourage workers to accept available work that could otherwise lower their weekly EI benefit.

This approach to benefit rate calculation involves using the best 14 weeks of income from the previous year in order to determine the employment insurance benefits paid to workers in areas of high unemployment. The hon. member's motion, as we have heard, would instead involve using the best 12 weeks of income.

As this House is well aware, EI is a key element of Canada's social safety net and economy. Last year, the EI program provided over $13 billion in income benefits to over 2 million Canadians.

The government is committed to ensuring that the EI program stays responsive so that Canadians can count on it when they need it. This is why we monitor and assess the program each and every single year. This ongoing analysis, published annually in the monitoring and assessment reports, confirms that the labour market is strong. It also confirms that the EI program, including the active measures to help people to develop their skills, is working well for the majority of Canadians.

The government also recognizes that labour market conditions vary across the country and within some sectors of the economy. Since 1996 we have been making improvements in our EI program to reflect the ever-changing labour market. These investments now total over $2.5 billion, the same number mentioned by my colleague. I think that is a substantial improvement.

These improvements have been based on the findings of the annual monitoring and assessment of the program and on the recommendations of various stakeholders.

The Government of Canada has pledged to address the most pressing challenges facing Canadians who turn to the EI program. That is why we have done what we are doing in our recently announced enhancements. These enhancements are significant measures that will invest an additional $300 million annually and benefit more than 220,000 Canadians each year from coast to coast to coast.

Our new EI benefit enhancements include three pilot projects in areas of high unemployment.

The first pilot project will test the labour market impact of reducing the eligibility threshold for newcomers to the labour market. It will enable individuals new to the workforce or who are returning after an extended period of absence to access EI benefits after 840 hours of insurable employment, rather than the current 910 hours, when linked to the EI employment programs. This pilot project is expected to benefit more than 16,000 individuals each year.

In the second pilot project, we will test the labour market impact of calculating individuals' EI benefits based upon the highest 14 weeks of income during the 52 weeks preceding a claim for benefits, or since the beginning of their last claim, whichever is shorter. I should add that this is similar to the standing committee's recommendation for a “best 12 weeks” approach to calculating benefits, but the government approach balances the need to ensure income adequacy while maintaining incentives to work.

For Canadians with sporadic work patterns, this enhancement means that EI benefit levels will better reflect their weeks of full time work. This initiative will test the labour market effects of improving incentives for individuals to accept all available work, including weeks of work that are shorter than their normal weeks. It is expected that more than 200,000 Canadians will benefit from this measure each year.

Our third pilot project will increase the “working while on claim” threshold. As this House is aware, the working while on claim provision allows Canadians receiving EI benefits to earn a certain amount from their employment without a deduction from their benefits.

To encourage people to take available work, our three year pilot project will increase this amount, allowing claimants to earn the greater of $75 or 40% of their weekly benefits before their benefits are reduced. More than 220,000 Canadians in regions of high unemployment are expected to benefit from this initiative each year.

In addition, we are continuing for a second year the pilot project introduced in 2004 that provides five additional weeks of EI benefits in areas of high unemployment. The aim of the project is to help address the annual income gap faced by workers with limited work alternatives.

We are also extending for an additional year until October 2006, the EI transitional boundaries provisions in the EI economic regions of New Brunswick and Lower St. Lawrence-North Shore, Quebec. Under these provisions, claimants in the two regions require fewer hours to qualify for EI and receive benefits for extended or longer periods.

The government recognizes that EI can only ever be part of the solution for responding to specific employment related issues that Canadians face. We know there is a need to build communities' capacity and to stimulate local economies to provide sustainable employment opportunities.

To this end, we work closely with regional development agencies, employers, community groups and labour representatives to explore new ways and new ideas to address these issues over the long term.

For all those reasons, I believe the government's approach to benefit rate calculation is a well-balanced approach that responds to the needs of Canadian workers. I can assure the House that the Government of Canada recognizes the challenges certain EI clients face on a daily basis.

We are committed to ensuring that this important program remains responsive to the needs of Canadians.

[The Budget, May 31st, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, mayors from across Ontario, including Mississauga and Brampton, want the 2005 budget passed. They want better roads, improved transit systems and more sustainable infrastructure.

This explains why the mayor of Toronto and the mayor of Ottawa appealed to all parties to pass the budget. Similarly, this explains why mayors issued a statement which said, “Cities across the country have worked too long and too hard to see the new deal wiped out by political posturing”.

There are billions of dollars already spent in the 2005 budget for child care and money for economic development for communities in northern and rural southern Ontario.

I agree with the mayors that the interests of Ontarians must come before political posturing. Rather than sit on the budget in committee, let us get the budget adopted so cities and communities across Ontario can start to reap the benefits of the 2005 budget.

[Petitions, May 31st, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition with respect to an organization called STAND Canada, Students Taking Action Now: Darfur. Between March 16 and April 7 they put together signatures from universities across the country and from various high school campuses as well. The petitioners call upon Canada and the Government of Canada to take a leadership role in Darfur by broadening the AU mandate, gathering international support for the African Union, bringing criminals to justice at the ICC, and considering intervention with like-minded states.

[Petitions, May 19th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I am presenting a petition to the House of Commons with respect to Jaswant Singh Khalra, an internationally respected human rights defender. It was alleged that he was brutally murdered by the police in the Punjab state of India.

On March 25, 2005, a leading Indian newspaper, The Tribune , reported that one of the accused police officers of the Jaswant Singh Khalra murder said he tried to kill a prosecution lawyer, Mr. Brijinder Singh Sodhi, in front of the court.

Many Canadians have signed this petition with respect to assistance for the human rights action committee. They want Parliament to intervene to protect the life of Mr. Brijinder Singh Sodhi, so justice can prevail. There are many petitions. I hope Parliament can intervene on behalf of these individuals as per their request.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2005, May 18th, 2005]

Madam Speaker, the question has two components. One had to do with taxation and the notion of taxation with respect to the government. The other had to do with the track record of the government when it comes to tax reduction.

It has been brought to my attention that the government has reduced taxes approximately 21% for individuals since it has been in power and 27% collectively for families.

With respect to child care, I can only speak for the constituents of Mississauga--Brampton South. When I knocked on doors and met with families, young couples with children, they truly valued the program that we had put in place. My job as an elected member of Parliament for Mississauga--Brampton South is to reflect the views and concerns of my constituents who do appreciate, value and want the government program when it comes to child care.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2005, May 18th, 2005]

Madam Speaker, first I would like to acknowledge the remarks made by the member. I think he again speaks to the major theme in the budget and of this government.

As I said, these were tough decisions, which we made to eliminate the deficit and put ourselves in the position where we have surpluses. Making these investments in the areas of post-secondary education, health care and the cities is a sound thing to do. Also worth noting is that we also have a plan in place to make sure that we continue to reduce our debt, to make sure that we have a plan in place in which we reach the goal of 25% of debt to GDP ratio.

I think that again shows the balance. It speaks to our track record when it comes to balancing the books and it speaks to the Prime Minister's track record. If the opposition has an issue with that, so be it, but I think Canadians really value this and they expect this from the Liberal Party.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2005, May 18th, 2005]

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the question as I think it speaks to what I was trying to highlight. In my remarks I made it very clear that today we stand to have surpluses as the reflection of very tough decisions made by the government to eliminate a deficit of billions of dollars, $42 billion or $43 billion, if I recall correctly, which we inherited from the Progressive Conservative government.

I think the decisions were sound decisions. They were tough decisions. Now, because of a strong economy, political stability and the fact that we are no longer bankrupt or about to become bankrupt, we are in a position of surpluses. What are we doing with those surpluses? Yes, we are paying down the debt, but we are reinvesting that money in our seniors, our health care system and our cities.

If the member has an issue with that, I guess that is why he might choose to oppose it, but I think most Canadians support our strategy.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2005, May 18th, 2005]

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the budget. I have had time since this budget was presented in the House in February to really reflect on it. I have also had the opportunity to speak to many constituents in my riding of Mississauga—Brampton South. I believe that as a government we are in a position to make difference.

I want to remind members across the way and other individuals listening of how we got to the position of having surpluses and thus can invest. If I recall correctly, in the early 1990s the Liberal government inherited billions of dollars of deficit. The Prime Minister, the finance minister at the time, showed great leadership, not only in eliminating the deficit but in putting us in the position of also being able to reduce our debt. And we did reduce the debt.

In the past few months I have talked to many constituents in Mississauga—Brampton South. They have given me much positive feedback on this budget. I also have talked to municipal councillors and my provincial colleagues. All levels support this budget. Why they do is very simple: this budget addresses their concerns. It addresses their concerns with respect to health care, cities and urban development, child care, seniors, including the seniors in my riding, the environment, which is very important, and international assistance.

I want to talk about sound fiscal management. That is the first area I want to address in my remarks today. As I indicated, there is a reason why we are in a position to spend money today. The opposition will argue that the government is spending billions of dollars. It is true that we are spending billions of dollars. The reason we are spending it is that we have saved approximately $3 billion annually due to the fact that we reduced the debt.

We conducted an internal expenditure review and saved $11 billion. That is billions of dollars of savings because of sound fiscal management. That has put us in a position where we can invest in our social infrastructure. Not only that, but in the budget development process and fiscal framework we have put in contingency funds to allow us the flexibility to deal with concerns such as BSE. It provides us with the cushion we need for any emergency and allows us to deliver on our promises. This budget is all about delivering on commitments.

It is a budget that speaks to the commitments we made during our campaign. It is a theme that I think resonates well among all Canadians. The first commitment we made, and the concern that many Canadians brought forth, was to health care. We invested $41.3 billion over a 10 year span and, on top of that, $33 billion for equalization. That is approximately $75 billion over a 10 year period to help the provinces and municipalities. I see nothing wrong with that.

I do not have a hospital in my riding, but there is one hospital just south of it and one just north. When I knocked on doors last weekend and spoke to my constituents, they told me they were concerned about the waiting times and the state of our health care system. They truly felt that this budget was very important to investment in our health care system, to sustainable investment for a long period of time. The health care investment in this budget also addresses the Romanow report, the same report that many people across this country appreciate and which reflects the type of health care system we want to develop and maintain in this country.

The second area in this budget that really pertains to the constituents of Mississauga—Brampton South is the cities and communities agenda. Highways 401, 403, 410 and 407 are in my riding. Gridlock and infrastructure concerns are a major priority for the constituents of Mississauga—Brampton South. Many people live in that riding and travel to downtown Toronto or further west to Oakville and so forth. They want to make sure that there is sound investment in our infrastructure.

I want to remind the members sitting opposite me and all members in the House that the government committed $7 billion in the GST rebate in last year's budget. That is a GST rebate of $7 billion.

What did we do in this budget? We allocated $5 billion over a five year period in gas tax transfers. Not only does that speak to the commitment we have for municipalities, but it speaks to developing the new relationship that we want to build with cities, a relationship that we consider very important.

On top of that, another issue that has been brought forth is child care for the children in my riding. There is a portion of my riding between Highways 407 and 401 and Mississauga Road. A lot of new homes have been developed in that area. When I went door knocking, I had the opportunity to meet many young couples, young individuals who both have jobs and want to raise their kids. These individuals really valued the input that we had in terms of our early learning and child care program. They felt it was paramount in their lives.

We have seen the Prime Minister travel across the country, working on and signing the child care deal with various provinces. It is something that is very important to the people in my riding of Mississauga—Brampton South. It speaks to the commitment that government makes in terms of our role in regard to families. It speaks to the concerns that have been raised by constituents in my riding.

I have about eight seniors centres in my riding. I travel to a few of them each month. I make an effort to speak to seniors and listen to what they have to say. I make an effort to listen to their concerns. Many of them said they were very happy with the $2.7 billion investment in guaranteed income supplements. They recognize that it works out to about $400 per person and $700 per couple on an annual basis.

They recognize that this is not sufficient, but it is a step in the right direction. They believe it is a sound commitment. They also value the leadership of the Prime Minister when it comes to seniors' issues. I have also had the opportunity to have the minister responsible for seniors come to my riding to speak to them and listen to their concerns.

Another element in the budget that I think is very important and needs to be highlighted is the environment. On the weekend I was at a youth awards presentation in Mississauga with the mayor of Mississauga. The mayor said that Mississauga is probably one of the safest places in Canada, but she wants to make Mississauga one of the cleanest places in Canada. She wants it to be the cleanest city in Canada. That is a bold initiative and I think it is one that speaks to what is put in our budget. This is a green budget, and not only because I say it; this point has been raised by many experts across this country who have said that it is a sound investment to make sure we have clean air and clean water.

I believe that the residents of Mississauga will really value that, especially the clean fund that the mayor talked about. She said that is something that attracts her and she wants to make sure that Mississauga can make a presentation for a special project to invest in that.

I have quite a few university students in my riding. In Erindale there is a university campus. Many of the university students and college students who travel to York and so forth live in the riding of Mississauga—Brampton South. They really have a desire to make sure that Canada continues to play a strong role in the world.

They were very much impressed by the recent Darfur announcements made by the Prime Minister. This speaks to the commitment we made in our budget of $3.4 billion for international assistance. Not only that, we invested $13 billion in our Canadian armed forces, which now will enable us to further our reputation as a nation of peacekeepers and to go into nations where we can make a difference.

In conclusion, I note that this is a balanced budget, a budget that is fiscally sound and socially very progressive. I know that the opposition members will stand up and say they will not support the NDP-Liberal budget. Let me remind the members opposite: $4.6 billion over a two year period amounts to 1% of the base amount of our budget annually.

Over 1%, the opposition wants to bring down the government. Over 1%, the opposition members want Canadians to pay millions of dollars. Over 1%, they want to align themselves with the separatists. I want to remind the House that this is not the way to go.

This budget is very important. It is a budget that I believe reflects the type of Canada we want to build. It is a budget that many people can be proud of for generations to come. It is a budget that delivers on key commitments on health care, cities, children, seniors and the environment and makes sure that we have a better role to play in the future.

[Petitions, May 18th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition signed by 450 individuals from the greater Vancouver area. They are asking Parliament to amend the Canada Health Act to include, as medically necessary, therapy for children suffering from autism.

The petitioners also ask Parliament to contribute to the creation of academic chairs at Canadian universities dedicated to the research and treatment of autism.

[Volunteerism, May 11th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize an outstanding Canadian from Brampton, Ontario.

Today, at the city of Brampton's annual citizens award ceremony, Mr. Bill Burrell will be receiving the citizen of the year award. Mr. Burrell's contribution to his city and to Canada is beyond words. As an 18 year old, he fought in the second world war. In his 32 trips over Germany as a gunner in a four engine bomber he received his operational wings.

Later in life, Mr. Burrell continued his community work. He was instrumental in developing local hockey in Brampton and he was a driver for the Red Cross. Today, he serves in various capacities for the Brampton First Baptist Church and he devotes his time to branch 15 of the Royal Canadian Legion.

I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Burrell a few times over the past few weeks. I can assure members that no one is more worthy of this honour. I hope the House will join me in recognizing the outstanding work by this volunteer.