Raymonde Folco

[Economic Policy, October 18th, 2000]

Madam Speaker, in response to a comment made by the hon. member for Kings—Hants I would like to remind him that the auditor general's report was tabled yesterday.

As the member knows full well, this report treats mainly the same concerns as those we have been examining since the HRDC minister published in January the results of an internal audit conducted by her department.

I would like, and allow me to do it in English, to show how the auditor general, in his report, sees the way things are done in the department. I would like to remind the hon. member for Kings—Hants of these quotes.

The auditor general said “HRDC has initiated quite extraordinary corrective action to address these serious problems. We concluded that the department is on the right track”.

He says further:

—we did in fact spend a fair bit of effort to assess the adequacy of their implementation or corrective action plan and we found that the plan is serious, is working, is going in the right direction.

He says further:

We have not in the past had too much difficulty obtaining information that we wanted. Certainly, in the audits on which we are reporting today, we're not reporting any such difficulty...I think the main factor was that was there was an imbalance between the desire of the Department to provide fast service to the applicants and the need to have sound control over the spending of public funds.

He then said that he thought, and I am still quoting the auditor general:

...we believe that the department's plan to address the deficiencies that were identified is acceptable.

I would simply like to remind the hon. member—

[The Francophonie, October 17th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, the secretary general of the Organisation internationale de la francophonie, His Excellency Boutros Boutros-Ghali, is visiting Quebec from October 16 to 18.

He will give a speech on the new political, economic and cultural dimensions of the Francophonie. Later in the week, he will address the theme of the Francophonie and democracy.

By placing emphasis on this important visit, Canada and Quebec are strengthening their ties with other parts of the world that share the same ideas on the protection and growth of the French culture. In addition, we are continuing in our determination to share the wealth that comes of living in French with the people of the Francophonie.

We therefore extend a welcome to His Excellency Boutros Boutros-Gali in the knowledge that Quebec will continue to take the lead in its role as home of the Francophonie in North America.

[Taxation, October 5th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure there is a question in the comment made by the member for Beauséjour—Petitcodiac, but there are a few things I can clarify.

First of all, Bill C-44, which was introduced by the Minister of Human Resources Development, is designed to help people. This bill is the result of the program evaluation process that took place in the maritime provinces and across Canada.

This process made us realize that we had to make some adjustments to help workers across Canada.

Bill C-44 brings necessary changes to the employment insurance program, changes that will benefit seasonal workers and millions more in Canada.

For example, the bill proposes the elimination of the intensity rule because it has not been effective and because, according to many, it is just a punitive measure. That is the first answer I can give the member.

Communities that depend on seasonal work will benefit from this new measure as they will benefit from other measures proposed in the bill.

I would like to add one basic element, namely, long term solutions. The government is looking for long term solutions. Solutions to the problems of seasonal workers call for more than what the employment insurance program can provide.

It is hard to say this, but it is the truth, because the solutions will require better co-operation among governments, businesses, community leaders and individuals so that we can improve job opportunities.

We know life is not easy in several regions of Canada, but that is something we have to really work on.

Gilbert Dumont is the chairman of the local committee on employment insurance in Charlevoix, a region in Quebec that relies a lot on seasonal work. On September 13, he said “We must look for lasting solutions to the unemployment problem in our region, instead of relying on employment insurance”.

He is right, and as I said earlier, in partnership with communities and businesses, we can solve this problem, which is a concern not only for the hon. member for Beauséjour—Petitcodiac but also for the government.

[Employment Insurance Act, October 5th, 2000]

It is a comment, and I think I am allowed a comment.

[Employment Insurance Act, October 5th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I am going to respond briefly to the comments of the Bloc Quebecois member.

I find the tone of her comments very surprising. She is a little condescending, I must say with her remarks about these three very small measures. To say these three very small measures is misleading to start with; there are more than three measures, regardless of their size. It should also be pointed out that the Bloc Quebecois does not seem to be united in its response to Bill C-44, since the Bloc Quebecois member who just spoke has described, in detail, all the aspects she thought were particularly negative.

But on September 18 in Chicoutimi, her boss, the Bloc Quebecois house leader, said—and unfortunately I do not have the text before me, so I will have to rely on my memory—that he welcomed this bill, because it would create jobs for seasonal workers and women. So I would ask the hon. member across the way to start singing from the same song sheet as the other members of her party.

As for women and young people, let us not forget that women in particular will be affected by this new legislation, because in most cases they are the ones who stay at home. They are the ones who will be able to continue to receive 80% of their salary from the time they stay home with their children. So I do not think that there is really anything to criticize about this bill as far as women are concerned.

As for young people, let us remember the context in which the bill was drafted. It is part of a large number of measures being proposed by the Department of Human Resources Development, that is, that—

[Points Of Order, October 5th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, I do ask the House for consent to table the letter I referred to during question period. It is in fact a letter sent to the treasury board secretary.

[Human Resources Development, October 5th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, may I say that a number of people in the field have told us that the government's programs for students were more than acceptable and that they were very satisfied with them.

I would add, however, that the program to which the hon. member refers is a provincial government program and she ought to address her comments to provincial representatives.

[Human Resources Development, October 5th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, I will say it in French so that the members opposite get it.

I hoped that the opposition would stop playing games, because they are well aware that this was an unintentional error. The Deputy Minister of Human Resources Development has been in touch today with the secretary of the treasury board about this and has also asked her to inform the chair of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts.

I can table this communication in the House, if members wish.

[Human Resources Development, October 5th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, I would suggest that the opposition members should stop playing games. They should know that the crown reimburses—

[Human Resources Development, October 5th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table the government's response to the report tabled on June 1, 2000 by the Standing Committee on Human Resources Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities. This report is entitled “Seeking a Balance: Final Report on Human Resources Development Canada Grants and Contributions”.