Peter Stoffer

[Speech From The Throne, February 6th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I listened to the member for Guelph—Wellington who seemed to think there was no farm crisis. Then I heard my good friend, also with a farm background, mention that there was a farm crisis. It is refreshing to have someone on the backbenches with an incredible amount of backbone to tell it exactly like it is. I do not think a member on this side of the House could have said it as eloquently and as passionately as he did.

The hon. member understands that farmers in Ontario and western Canada are going through exactly what fishermen in the coastal communities of Atlantic Canada went through and exactly what the fishing communities of western Canada went through. Conservative and Liberal policies have put the main producers of the food on our tables in a state of continual crisis.

I consider the hon. member to be a great friend and a great member of the fishing community. Will he take his comments directly to the agriculture minister and the industry minister, because they are the ones who need to hear them?

[Speech From The Throne, February 6th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I have great respect for the hon. member. For her to stand in the House of Commons and say that the Liberal Party cares about the family farmer is simply not on. It is simply ridiculous.

The facts are that 22,000 farm families left the farm last year in western Canada alone. Those are the facts. They are undeniable. When we speak to the children on the prairies about whether they are interested in the farming community, they say they want nothing to do with farms. Who does she think will be the farmers that will feed Canadians in the future?

[Speech From The Throne, February 6th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I agree with the hon. member for Medicine Hat that we need a stronger military in terms of Sea King replacements, money and compensation benefits for the valiant men and women in our armed forces.

The feeling that I am getting on this side of the fence is that a while ago they argued to put Canadian flags on their desks and now it sounds as if they want to put U.S. flags on their desks. It is obvious by his comments that Alliance members will support the nuclear missile defence shield which leads us all down the path to nuclear madness.

It is also quite obvious by his comments that the Americans plan to open up the Alaskan oil reserves in Alaska and on the east coast. President Bush also indicated a year ago that he would lift the moratorium on the Georges Bank on which Canada has placed a 12 year moratorium.

Would the member support the lifting of the Alaskan oil reserve, which has a great effect on our aboriginal people, on the porcupine caribou herd and on our fishing communities, if the moratorium is lifted off the Georges Bank?

[Employment Insurance Act, February 5th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, that shows the attention the Liberals pay to very important issues throughout the country. I thank you for correcting that error.

It is unfortunate that the government has no understanding of what it has done. I notice my new colleague, the member for Bras d'Or—Cape Breton, is in the House today. I welcome him to the House. No offence to him personally, but I do wish that Michelle Dockrill was back. Now that he is here, however, I am sure he will stand up for the good fishing communities of Cape Breton.

It is simply scandalous that he can sit in the House and say his Liberal colleagues will do a good thing with EI. I would love to tour with him in his riding after the bill gets through. I know the Liberals will rush the bill through with no positive amendments from our side. They will see exactly what happens a year from now, the devastation that the bill will continue to have on the good people of Cape Breton.

It is most unfortunate that this is happening. In fact, my hon. colleague from Winnipeg Centre has clearly pointed out the fact that the two week penalty for employees who wish to go back and get training at vocational school is still in effect.

We hope the government will accept this amendment. By taking away that two week clawback, the government will not penalize any person in this country who wishes to upgrade his or her skills. We would like the government to eliminate that penalty against workers so that they can have the opportunity to upgrade their skills, especially in aspects of the new economy.

It is most unfortunate that the government members in the House of Commons think that because they have 170 seats they have a mandate to do whatever they please. We in the NDP, although we may have been reduced in numbers, will continue to stand up in the House for the workers of the country and for the small businesses of the country, because these are the backbone of our society, the backbone of the outer regions of our society.

I could not help but notice that one of the members from Prince Edward Island is here. It is an unfortunate shame that a lot of the shell fishers in his area have gone through a personal hell over the last four years due to what HRDC, Revenue Canada and DFO collectively have done to his good people in his riding.

Now we hear from the member for New Brunswick that the same thing is happening to the clam fishers in New Brunswick. The same thing is happening to shell fishers in the Gaspé region as well and in other areas of New Brunswick. It is unfortunate that the government continues to punish those people in our society who make under $10,000 a year. It is absolutely criminal that the government can stand up and say it is going to do what is right.

To do what is right is, first of all, to respect these people. Although they do not make an awful lot of money, they are still Canadian citizens. The last time I checked, they had a right to be governed in a respectful way. It is a shame that the federal government, through its departments, can display such arrogance toward these hardworking Canadians, when in actuality all they really wish to do is look after their families and live in the communities of their ancestors.

My colleague from Acadie—Bathurst went across the country a couple of years ago and came up with an EI report. My colleague from the Conservatives gave a lot of credit to Angela Vautour, who, by the way, was a former member of the New Democratic Party before she crossed the floor, and I give her credit as well for raising this issue, but I believe the fact that the government is even talking about EI is due to the incredible hard work of my colleague from Acadie—Bathurst. He deserves an awful lot of credit for bringing the issue to the House and shaming the government into doing something right.

I will give the Liberals some credit. I do not often give them credit, but a couple of things in the EI changes are positive. The unfortunate fact is that the government has the money and the time to move forward, invoke all the changes and make sure that an awful lot of people can access EI funds for many positive reasons, but it does not.

There is one thing the government could do, which I offer to it. I could not help but notice in the throne speech the situation of parents who look after children needing palliative care. The parents may be able to access income security and job protection at the same time. That was taken right out of my private member's bill. The only unfortunate part is a lot of it was missed.

I am going to give this advice to the Liberal government and to my good colleague from Cape Breton. Here is what can be done. Any person that looks after an infirm relative, one under rehabilitative or palliative care, should be able to take time off work, access EI funds and have job protection for up to a year. This gives the person the opportunity to look after a loved one, be it under a palliative care or rehabilitative care situation, and to care for him or her with some dignity. It also relieves our health care system and gives great relief to other medical concerns out there.

If the Liberals would have taken up that one, they would be getting a lot of support and high praise throughout the country. They did not. They just took a little bit. In order to move this issue forward, I am offering them the entire private member's bill. We all know that when we care for a loved one or an individual under a palliative care situation in our own home, it gives that individual a lot more care and dignity than would be the case if the person had to be institutionalized.

I want to say once and for all that the government does not have the right to use the EI money as it pleases. It belongs to businesses and the workers in Canada. Before it invokes any major changes, the government should consult Canadians to see what should be done with the burgeoning surplus.

[Employment Insurance Act, February 5th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, let us completely ignore that man and carry on. The Liberals wish to rise on a point of order simply because they do not understand what their devastation has done to the EI system.

[Employment Insurance Act, February 5th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise in the House in the final minutes of this debate on the very important issue of unemployment insurance.

It is interesting to see the arrogance ooze from the pores of the Liberal members. It is absolutely incredible that the government thinks for one second that it has not only the legal authority but the moral authority to tell businesses and workers what to do with their money.

This is not government money. This is not Liberal money. This belongs to the hardworking members of both the working class and the business community. It is their money. I doubt very much that an ounce of consultation went on with the various businesses or union organizations throughout the country.

It is absolutely astounding that in 1989 the Liberals agreed with an Ed Broadbent motion to eliminate poverty by the year 2000. Since 1993 when the government took power, poverty has increased four times. More and more food banks are opening across the country because parents do not have the funds to look after their children's daily needs.

It is an absolute scandalous shame that government members can tell us that they are doing is a good thing. They need only come to my riding, come to areas of Newfoundland and come to other areas throughout the country to see the devastation their policies have invoked across the country.

[Employment Insurance Act, February 5th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, one of the problems with what the Liberals have done with the draconian cuts to EI is that they have increased child poverty in this country. They have also increased the number of food banks we have in this country. It is absolutely criminal that this government can get away with that. In my own riding, in Chezzetcook, they opened up another food bank the other day because people simply do not have enough money to buy their own food.

This is what happens when we have a centrally based government that ignores the regions of the country.

Could the hon. member from St. John's East tell us what effect it has in his communities in terms of the children of his riding when parents do not have enough money to clothe or feed their children?

[Employment Insurance Act, February 5th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague from New Brunswick, the province which neighbours the beautiful province of Nova Scotia. We already know that the Progressive Conservatives will support the waiver of the two week rule when it comes to labour training. We thank the Conservative Party for its support of that initiative.

We already heard the member from Mississauga admit that EI funds come from employers and employees and not from government. It comes from the businesses and the workers. The member from Mississauga clearly stated that the money was used for purposes other than labour training or income security.

Would he comment on the revelation of the longstanding member from the Liberal Party as to why the Liberal government was able to get away with using funds other than for the purposes they were intended?

[Employment Insurance Act, February 5th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I admire greatly the member from Vancouver Island who just spoke, but I have a couple of concerns.

The member from Mississauga finally did admit on behalf of the Liberal Party that EI funds were used for other purposes. That is simply unacceptable.

I want to give the member from Vancouver Island one opportunity and one opportunity only to apologize to Atlantic Canadians for the disparaging remarks made by John Mykytyshyn, and by a certain leader of his party who indicated in Acadie—Bathurst that better EI was needed but who immediately upon leaving New Brunswick changed his mind.

He should also apologize for comments the member for Calgary—Nose Hill made before the last election. They were disparaging remarks against the EI system and workers in Atlantic Canada.

I will give the member the opportunity, being the honourable person that he is, to once and for all apologize to Atlantic Canadians for remarks made by the Canadian Alliance Party over the last few months.

[Employment Insurance Act, February 5th, 2001]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-219, an act to amend the Employment Insurance Act (persons who leave employment to be care-givers to family members).

Mr. Speaker, my last bill for the day basically states that any person who gives care to an infirmed relative or a relative in palliative care should be able to collect employment insurance and have job protection while caring for the individual at home.

The bill would allow those with serious illnesses or under palliative care to avoid becoming institutionalized. It would allow them to stay at home for the remainder of their lives and to die with some sense of dignity.

It addresses financial concerns and would give remuneration to thousands of caregivers throughout Canada while they care for their loved ones at home and prevent their institutionalization. In addition, it would save millions of dollars in our health care system.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)