Raymonde Folco

[Committees of the House, May 10th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to be able to respond to the speeches made by members of one of the opposition parties, to inform the House and the general public of exactly what has happened, and what the government's initiative has been regarding the guaranteed income supplement.

First, I would like to say a word or two about the concern of the government and the Minister of Human Resources Development to respond to the needs of the poor, not only in Quebec, but throughout Canada, and I include Quebec in Canada.

In fact, this government has created several programs to help them. One of them, being discussed today, is the guaranteed income supplement. It is an amount given by the government to help people who have an extremely small income. This amount is added to the benefits paid out by the Canada pension plan.

The purpose of the guaranteed income supplement is, as its name indicates, to help reduce the poverty rate among seniors. This is a purpose that is important to highlight, because this government is committed to this.

For the benefit of those listening, I would like to add that the percentage of low income seniors is decreasing. This is partly due to the fact that the Canadian economy is doing better and better. Allow me to provide some figures.

One senior in 12 needed the guaranteed income supplement in 1999, compared to one in five in 1980. This is a figure that demonstrates that seniors are better off today than they were 20 years ago.

This is not to say that seniors do not have problems. That is not what I am saying, to the contrary. We know that some people need this supplement. This is why the supplement exists, and it will continue to exist as long as it is needed.

The government wants all seniors who are eligible for the guaranteed income supplement to receive the benefits. We know that there was a lack of information among the general public, and we acted very swiftly to meet this information need.

Let me take a few minutes to clearly explain to the House what this government did to inform the people. The government is required to do so and it met that requirement.

For example, since February, more than 30,000 documents have been sent to the eligible seniors in Quebec, to inform them about the guaranteed income supplement; I am talking about Quebec since all the members who have raised the issue up until now were from that province. Of these 30,000 documents, 23,500 were application forms sent by the department and 6,300 were letters sent by the the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, for Quebec.

This is why I say that two departments are responsible. Thanks to the co-operation, thet partnership with the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, we can identify seniors with a very low income, since the agency gives us data on the income tax paid by these individuals.

However, and that is extremely important, we abide by the law, which prevents us from intruding into the private lives of citizens. This is why it was hard to get the information. Until now, we have been unable to match the data from Human Resources Development Canada to the data from the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, in order to know how much income tax was paid by certain individuals. However, we have been able to find out about the income tax without contravening the Privacy Act. So that is one measure we took. I must say that 30,000 documents is no mean feat.

Second, and this is very important, we obtained the partnership, co-operation and help of the Conseil régional de l'âge d'or, not only through its main office but also through its regional branches throughout Quebec, to organize conferences given either by the minister, myself or officials of the Department of Human Resources Development of Canada who work in those regions.

So we used what Americans call the outreach approach, which means that there were special, particular and specific initiatives to go into all the regions of Quebec to allow people to get the information.

We also distributed the information at various activities, in community health centres, to senior organizations and volunteers who help these people to fill out their income tax return. Clearly, some people have difficulty understanding all the details contained in these returns, which can be complicated for certain people.

However, we specifically sought the co-operation of people who do this kind of volunteer work and organizations that work with these persons, so that they could pass the information on to those who need it. I am thinking here not only of seniors who may already be sick or in dire straits, but also the illiterate who have trouble reading an income tax return.

We also contacted some 2,000 service providers and senior groups. I will name only two, since the list is very long. There was the Fédération des centres d'action bénévole du Québec and the Conseil des aînés du Québec. The list being quite long, I will not read it in the House.

All of that to say that the Canadian government assumed its responsibilities. It is aware that there are difficulties with the guaranteed income supplement and with the information that must be given to the public. The government acted rapidly and took steps so that the information could reach people and that they could understand how the system operates and file their own applications.

Second, I would like to remind my colleagues on the other side that when those efforts were made by the minister, the member for Champlain stated, and I quote:

The minister has made efforts to locate these people.

That is, people who did not know about the guaranteed income supplement. Let me continue:

For example, she sends letters to those who are not collecting the guaranteed income supplement, or even the old age pension.

There are some 65,000 people not even collecting the old age pension, and the minister has made an effort.

That is what the MP for Champlain had to say. Clearly, in spite of their invective, even the party opposite recognizes--grudgingly, but this is normal--that this government made an effort and succeeded in its effort to reach the public, since most people now know what they can do to get the guaranteed income supplement.

My colleague also spoke about retroactivity. IIf I may, I shall say a few words about this very important point.

The problem is that my colleague would like retroactivity to go back, obviously--as the term indicates--ad vitam aeternam. Clearly, that is not possible. We suggested that retroactivity be for 11 months before the application, plus the month in which the application was submitted, for a total of 12 months.

As my colleagues pride themselves on representing a certain government here in the House, I would like to bring to their attention several programs of the Quebec government.

For example, there are no retroactive payments in the employment assistance program, the provincial program run by the Quebec government.

Second, there are no retroactive payments in the Quebec rent subsidy program.

Third, there are no retroactive payments in the low cost housing program.

Fourth, there are no retroactive payments in the housing allowance program.

I am not saying that we should not make any retroactive payments, on the contrary. I think that the government has acted properly. It showed how much it cared for the seniors and recognized the difficult situation they were in and it granted 11 months of retroactive payments, which is 11 months more than what the provincial government is giving, this government that is so close to the member opposite who represents a riding from Quebec, where I also come from.

Finally, I would add that the fact that the individuals had no access to the information or did not know how to request the guaranteed income supplement is not a problem unique to Quebec. The members opposite who are from Quebec should not think that there is a movement against them. On the contrary, this was a weakness in the system. We admit it. This weakness has had an impact across Canada.

To give the House a couple of bits of information, we have sent all across Canada 4.5 million information sheets with the T4 statements. I do not want to bother the members with figures, but I do want to emphasize that this is now a thing of the past. We have recognized that there was a flaw in the system. Unfortunately, this happens in any system. We have reacted. We reacted quickly and we wanted to show once more how concerned the government was about the economic well-being of Canadians. This is what we have done.

[Children, May 10th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Louis-Hébert, but I am merely a parliamentary secretary, not a secretary of state.

Her question provides me with the opportunity to indicate how pleased the Government of Canada was to take part in the special United Nations session devoted to children.

Since another member has already asked that same question, this gives me the opportunity to remind hon. members of how much Canada has done for its children, particularly concerning the child tax benefit, assistance to the provinces and territories for early childhood development, and—

[Child Poverty, May 10th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her question, because it provides us with an opportunity to tell the House exactly what the government has done and will continue to do.

In 2001-02, for instance, we made available approximately $7.8 billion—yes, billion—under the Canada child tax benefit, including some $2.4 billion for the national child benefit.

I would add that these two benefits are fully indexed and non-taxable.

[Laval Chamber of Commerce and Industry, May 10th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, on May 2 the Laval Chamber of Commerce and Industry celebrated its 35th anniversary with the Dunamis 2002 gala.

For the 21st consecutive year, awards were given out at the event to Laval businesses contributing to the expansion of that city's business sector.

Awards were presented in a number of different categories: young entrepreneurs, women in business, communications, social and cultural animation. I should point out that there was also one for research, a field of great importance to Laval.

This initiative focused attention on the hard work and major contribution Laval's businesses make to our community.

I join with the people of Laval once again in highlighting the exceptional contribution our local businesses to the economic health of our community.

Congratulations to all the winners.

[Species at Risk Act, May 8th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I think that it has become clear for all of us here in the House over the course of this debate at report stage, that the majority of the members, regardless of their party affiliation, share the same goal: to improve the protection of species at risk in Canada. I think that everyone agrees that this is a noble goal, and I am happy to share this goal with my colleagues.

However, it is important to note that after nine years of studies, consultations, drafting of documents and fine-tuning, after having seen what works and what does not by assessing results that are already being seen in the field, the time has now come to act, instead of talking about goals.

This bill before us has been very carefully prepared and it is very balanced. It must now be adopted in order to produce good results for Canadians and for our cultural heritage.

We sought the help of countless individuals and groups to arrive at what we have been able to achieve as far as Bill C-5 is concerned.

Allow me to take a few moments to highlight the important contributions made by so many Canadians. For more than eight years we have been working to shape the Species at Risk Act. We have worked closely with many people, our provincial and territorial partners, and individuals who may be personally affected by the legislation, such as aboriginal peoples, rural landowners, resource users and other interested parties.

We must realize that the protection of species at risk has become an issue that concerns people across the country. However no one person can respond to this issue alone, because it is an issue to which all of society must respond.

The fact that species at risk have survived on private lands speaks to the good sense of stewardship that Canadians have. I am thinking in particular of the river banks at Sainte-Rose, in my riding of Laval West, only a few kilometers from intense urban development, where there is a park that remains in a wild state. One can see ducks and white heron when walking the banks of the Mille-Îles River, thanks to the Government of Canada's program.

Therefore, it is important to continue to enjoy the support of those who live and work on the land, in the forest and on the water. We all want the protection of species to be ensured by those who live near them: farmers, ranchers, fishers, landowners and land users. Much more than mere wishes, this is the best solution, because this major piece of legislation is predicated on a co-operative approach. And this approach works, we know it does.

In fact, individual Canadians working on their own or through conservation agencies, industries or governments are already co-operating on a daily basis to protect the species at risk. Initiatives to recover more than a hundred endangered or threatened species are currently under way. These will make all the difference.

I would like to remind the House once again that the provinces and territories, aboriginal people and many other stakeholders were involved in the drafting of Bill C-5. Their efforts must be encouraged.

In closing, I know I do not have much time left, but I want to reiterate that Bill C-5 was made possible thanks to the co-operation of all the stakeholders, Canadians working on their own or through organizations.

[Laval West Liberal Association, May 7th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, it is my great pleasure to draw attention to the visit to Ottawa by the members of the Laval West Liberal Association, who have come to visit this House and see it in operation.

Thanks to the ceaseless work of its members, the Laval West Liberal Association is a driving force behind the continued success of Liberal ideology among the people of Laval and Canada. It is thanks to the work of these people that so many Liberal members were elected in the last election right across the country.

The devotion of these people represents what is truly good in Canadians.

A big thank you goes to them.

[Employment Insurance, April 26th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I do not want to get into a big argument with the hon. member opposite. I think that she herself should look at the file.

These are people who collected money from the government by resorting to fraud. The hon. member should read the Canada Gazette and make suggestions. She has until next week to make suggestions to the Government of Canada as to which changes could be made to the regulations.

[Employment Insurance, April 26th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I think that the hon. member opposite did not quite understand the legislation and the regulations.

The idea is not to exclude these people from the employment insurance program. Rather, it is to impose fines on those who fraudulently collect money from the government by lying.

[Guaranteed Income Supplement, April 26th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, there was always a provision for retroactive payment of the guaranteed income supplement.

As I said last week, this 11 month retroactive payment is perfectly normal under the circumstances. Last week, I mentioned the fact that the government of Quebec makes no retroactive payments in its employment assistance program, nor in its rent subsidy program.

[Guaranteed Income Supplement, April 26th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to point out that the department has taken all the necessary measures to inform the eligible clients. We have said this in the House on several occasions.

Allow me to provide two examples: the first is that more than 30,000 articles were sent to eligible seniors in Quebec to provide them with information on the guaranteed income supplement.

Also, the Conseil régional de l'âge d'or was a major partner in conferences held on the guaranteed income supplement, which means that people are well informed of this problem.