Tony Martin

[Poverty Reduction, March 11th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties and I believe you would find unanimous consent for the following motion. I move:

That this chamber encourages the government to do everything possible to ensure that the G8 and G20 meetings scheduled for April 2 in London, address especially the court challenge of redressing, among all member states, the increased and enduring poverty and its social and economic effects on individuals and nations, recognizing that critical income security initiatives and social infrastructure investments protect human dignity, the common good, equality of opportunity and economic prosperity, and the Senate be invited to join with this chamber in this encouragement.

[Health Care, March 2nd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, what responsibility does the federal government have for the implementation and enforcement of the Canada Health Act? In my constituency, health care is in crisis. The hospital is running a $13 million deficit and it is running its operations on a $32 million line of credit. One of the outcomes may be the closing of a very important district hospital.

What responsibility does the federal government have to ensure, under the Canada Health Act, that every Canadian has access to health care when they need it?

[Service Canada, March 2nd, 2009]

Madam Speaker, I would also indicate that the seconder of this amendment will be the member for Outremont.

[Service Canada, March 2nd, 2009]

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the chance to speak on the motion this morning. It is an issue that has been close to my heart for some four and a half years. Ever since I was elected, passports and how they are processed have been a big challenge for both my office and my community.

When I first took over, my office was the passport office in Sault Ste. Marie. The previous member was processing literally thousands of them a year and had three people working full time at it.

I decided early on that this was not the role of the office of a member of Parliament. We had many other things that we needed to do. However, we continued to help people with passports, particularly in emergency situations such as not being able to get passports or having their date of travel coming up and not having passports or needing their ID back or whatever.

Being far away from a passport office makes all that very challenging and very difficult, so we moved very aggressively to ask the government to open up more passport offices and to open up passport offices in regions of the country where there were none, such as northeastern Ontario. We suggested that in the case of northeastern Ontario, it would make sense for the new passport office to be in Sault Ste. Marie, in my constituency, since we are an international border community.

I have colleagues from northern Ontario who are facing the same challenges in the distances we have to travel to get a passport. From Sault Ste. Marie alone, the closest passport office is eight hours.

People point out that there is one in Thunder Bay and that people could be sent there. Thunder Bay, for those who have not looked at the map and who do not understand the distances we have to deal with in northern Ontario, is as far away as Toronto, so that is not an answer for us in northeastern Ontario.

We appreciate the opportunity today to speak to this motion brought forward by the member for Brossard—La Prairie. I want to put a couple of thoughts on the record concerning this issue.

First of all, we will support the bill in principle because we want to have further opportunity at committee to talk about it, to perhaps bring forward amendments that would make it better, and to speak to the government about both the inadequacy of the services that are now being delivered through Service Canada and about how difficult it is, particularly given the economic climate that we are in.

In some instances we are okay with this as an interim measure and as a step toward a full passport operation in our region. It is better than what we had. The government has set up a passport intake office where workers are working very hard to make sure, when a passport is sent forward, that it is filled in properly, that the money is collected, that the ID is in place, that there are not going to be any more holdups with that passport, and that it will come back quickly so that people can get on with their work and with their business.

We support that initiative, but it is not the end that we had in mind, which is a full passport office. We support the notion of passport offices in regional Service Canada centres. We also support the amendment by the Bloc that those Service Canada offices that have already been dedicated to deliver passport services be included in the motion, meaning that passport offices would not only be open in regional passport offices, which in our area would be Sudbury, but that the Service Canada offices now delivering those services would also have a full-fledged passport service placed in those offices.

That solution is short of setting up brand new Passport Canada offices, which I think the government still has a very clear responsibility to do. One of the things we do as a federal government is to make sure we are taking care of the relationship we have with other countries and that when people from Canada travel, they have the proper documentation with them, both for the security of the person travelling and for the security of the other countries looking at that passport to know that this is a bona fide citizen of Canada.

This is some of the most fundamental and essential work we do as a government and as a service to the people of Canada. To be shortchanging people in the way we do and to be suggesting that people from Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury or Timmins might have to travel five to eight hours to get to a passport office is just not fair. It is not equitable. It is not what we should be asking our citizens to do.

In the big centres, the big cities where there already are passport offices, people simply get in their cars, walk down the road, take a taxi or grab a subway, and in a matter of a few days they have their passports. That is not the case for people in rural and northern Canada.

Anybody who understands the geography of this country will understand that rural and northern Canada are a very important part of this country. Very essential activities happen there. Lots of people live in those parts of our country for very important reasons, and as full Canadian citizens, they want full access to those services, particularly the ability to acquire a passport quickly so they can get on with their business or travel.

However, I raise some red flags. Service Canada, in my community, is already inundated with the kind of work it is being asked to do, for two reasons. One is that there has been a regionalization of Service Canada services, which has depleted some of the offices that exist, not at the regional centre, but in places such as Sault Ste. Marie and Timmins. Now those workers, who work very hard, who are committed, dedicated and trained to work in those offices, are finding themselves stressed to the max and under the gun to deliver a whole array of services that were delivered in different ways until the Conservative government took over, and until the previous government began to downsize its operations across the country.

Literally thousands of passports are processed through the Service Canada service desk in Sault Ste. Marie. The week of December 12 of last year, there were 171 passports processed; the week of December 19 there were 179; and the week of December 26, the week between Christmas and the new year, there were 70.

Then we get into the new year, and as March break approaches, anyone who deals with passports knows that activity will increase exponentially. So far this year, in the week of January 2, there were 160 processed; the week of January 9 there were 322; the week of January 16 there were 314; the week of January 23 there were 372; and the list goes on. The week of February 6, there were up to 349 passports being processed in the Service Canada office in Sault Ste. Marie. That is a lot of work.

When someone has to sit down with each one of those individuals, work through the application process, explain all the things that need to be filled out, send them off sometimes to have pictures taken or find someone to be a guarantor or whatever, it is very time consuming and difficult work, and the workers want to do it correctly. That was added on top of the work they already do.

For example, the Service Canada office in my riding, now with a reduced number of people, is being asked to process ever-expanding numbers of EI claims, applications for Canada pension, Canada pension disability, old age security, the guaranteed income supplement, social insurance numbers, boat licensing, common experience payments, employment programs, job banks, et cetera. Summer is now approaching, a time when Service Canada will be dealing with youth employment and all the work that goes with that.

What I am saying this morning is that the we in the NDP can support this in principle, but we will not support it if we do not see some commitment from the government to actually deal with the problems that already exist in the Service Canada offices across the country, so that if this happens, it does not just load on top of those workers more work that is extremely difficult to do and requires a level of involvement that does not exist already.

I would like to suggest a friendly amendment to this private member's motion, as was done with the Bloc, which the NDP agrees with, concerning the existing Service Canada offices that deliver passport services across the country, that we include Service Canada offices in communities that are at international borders. That would be really important.

Madam Speaker, I move:

That the amendment be amended by adding the words “and all international border communities” after the words Service Centers.

I would ask the member if she would be agreeable to a friendly amendment of that nature, which I would like to move at this time.

If it is not accepted as a friendly amendment, and if this private member's motion, which we are supporting in principle, is successful and moves on to committee, we will be bringing this amendment to that committee to have it discussed further.

We will also be bringing to that committee, as we talk about this, the very difficult challenges that face those who work in Service Canada offices right now without the imposition of a full-fledged Passport Canada requirement on them.

[Youth Voluntary Service, February 25th, 2009]

Yes.

[Youth Voluntary Service, February 25th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, could I get a ruling from the Table officers as to what that means to them?

I want to substitute “November 16, 2009” for “October 2009”. Is that possible?

[Youth Voluntary Service, February 25th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the amendment should substitute “November 16, 2009” for “October 2009”. I want it to read “November 16, 2009”, not “October 2009” so could that be reflected in the record?

[Youth Voluntary Service, February 25th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity tonight to speak on this important piece of business and would like to indicate how pleased I am that it seems to be getting such an encouraging reception in the House, except perhaps from the Bloc. I am sure once it gets to committee, since it sounds like the Conservatives are going to support it with some caveats attached, we will have a very good discussion and debate. It is an important piece of public business for us to lend ourselves to at this particular point in time in our history and as we look at what is coming at us economically.

I want to first congratulate the member for Papineau for being elected to this place and also for having the good fortune to be the first one in this Parliament to bring a private member's motion before the House. It is in keeping with his past experience and work in this country that has been admired by many. It is only right that he should lend us his knowledge and experience as we try to order the business of the country in support of our young people as they become the leaders of the future.

It is a good piece of business and in keeping with the spirit with which his father gave great leadership to the country many years ago. Certainly, I was an admirer of his father's quest for a just society and his focus on social justice, things like the Canada assistance plan which is in keeping with the values of my party and caucus.

I am happy to be able to say that the New Democratic caucus in the House will be supporting this motion but with a friendly amendment which I will move at the end of my 10 minutes this evening, which the member for Papineau has already agreed to. It will hopefully be the beginning of some further debate around the timing of how this will work its way through the committee and when it will actually get done.

I heard from the member for Souris—Moose Mountain that there is some concern about the timing, but I think we can work that out. We have already had some discussion about that and, in the spirit of co-operation that seems to be prevalent in the committee at this time, we will find a way to get this done in a timely fashion. To begin that, I will be moving a friendly amendment.

We already have before the standing committee on human resources, skills and social development a bill that I have been working on for the past two Parliaments to study poverty. Particularly at this time in our economic history, it is important to bring forward to the House something that could be considered and might be helpful in that sense. That is why I have some concern about the timing, but I think we can work that out and I will be tabling an amendment.

For us to be focusing some time both in the House and in committee on this issue of youth and volunteerism is very helpful. It is a very positive and constructive thing to be doing. I know there are groups out there trying to do what they can with some very limited resources and it is time that we at the senior level of government look at it and respond to their experiences and requests for more support.

I was sharing with the member for Papineau that just the other night I had dinner with the Katimavik group in my own city of Sault Ste. Marie. There were young people from across the country sharing culture, language, experience and learning from each other and the communities in which they are now engaged in volunteer activities. It was very positive and it impressed me. As a matter of fact, it was not the first time that I have had dinner with that group. In my memory, as a federal member it is the third year that I have done that.

I also remember growing up in northern Ontario, living in Wawa and working with the ministry of natural resources in parks, in the junior ranger program at that time. We used to bring literally hundreds of young people from the big cities into the wilderness to provide them with the experience of working in that wonderful part of our province and country, an experience that I am sure many of them never forgot and took with them. I am sure some of them actually went on to study natural resources and everything attached to it. It lent to them becoming professionals and volunteers in their own right by looking after our environment.

I also looked at some research that has been done going back to 2004, the Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating. There is some wisdom in that, remembering and noting the amount of time that youth in volunteering give to working in communities and building communities. Youth, age 15 to 19, tend to volunteer with different types of organizations than other volunteers, for example, education, research and social services organizations.

They engage in different types of volunteer activities, for example, coaching, refereeing, officiating or fundraising. Their motivations also differ from others. They are more likely to volunteer to improve their job opportunities, to explore their own strengths, and because their friends volunteer as well.

There is some potential, and I think the member has spoken about this, to use the Internet for this program and this may become part of the study as well.

This same study of 2004 speaks of the Internet playing an important role of volunteering of any individuals. About 20% of volunteers said that they used the Internet in some way during their volunteer activities, while about 8% said they used the Internet to seek volunteer opportunities. That I am sure will be far greater for our volunteer program serving youth because they are so adept with that.

Obviously, in giving our support we hope we can agree that participation in any volunteer program for youth will reflect the racial, regional, economic and gender diversity of Canada. We, at the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, are currently engaged in examining the federal role for a national poverty reduction strategy. I see how this idea of volunteer service may also fit within a poverty plan. It might be a good recipe in this time of recession. It could mobilize an entire generation of people, who may find themselves out of work and with little to do, to participate to make their communities better and to learn new skills.

It can give young people the experience to appreciate the value of community service and capacity building; that there is more to life than making more and more money or consuming or buying things. Volunteer programs, like what is imagined here, can do the extraordinary work of twinning our seniors and young people in projects where we honour the seniors' wisdom, skills, and put these two generations together to learn from each other and grow our communities even more.

It is an opportunity, for example, for possible incentives for volunteers. In Australia, for example, as part of its 2020 summit there is a program where youth and student volunteers put in hours of community service to help the elderly and the homeless, and clean up environmental problems. In return they get some assistance and discounts on their student debt.

We see in the United States now some fledgling initiatives under President Obama where he is beginning to talk about volunteer neighbourhood and community organizations that will be the underpinning of what he sees as the new hope and new change that will come to that country and will be necessary in that country.

I want also, before I move my amendment, to give credit to the member from my own caucus, the hon. member for Skeena—Bulkley Valley, who soon after he came here in 2004, being one of the youngest members of the House, took on an initiative to go across the country to speak to young people and their organizations to see what we could do as the federal government to assist and to help them grow and be even more effective.

I believe, in listening to the question he asked of the member for Papineau, that he spoke to the member for Papineau in his role as the head of Katimavik at that particular point in time. I think it is important that we give credit where it is due.

I know that the member for Dartmouth—Cole Harbour will probably speak later and he will have some important things to offer to this discussion as well.

At this time I would like to put my friendly amendment. I move:

That motion M-299 be amended by substituting the words “November 16, 2009” for “October 2009”.

[Human Pathogens and Toxins Act, February 23rd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Winnipeg for her thoughtful and well presented case in terms of our support for this kind of oversight and her concern about whether the government will actually implement all of it and do the things that will be required to protect us.

As a member of Parliament in Ontario, I will never forget the Walkerton scandal and the scenario that unfolded in front of us in the days of the Mike Harris government. I think the member might have been around in those days. That was as a result of, yes, some human failure but also the fact that over a number of months into the Mike Harris government there was a moving of oversight on the environmental front of laboratories to the private sector. There was also a reduction in the number of people working for the ministry of the environment which all came together to present to us a very tragic circumstance in which people lost their lives.

In bringing this, obviously wanted, needed and important legislation forward, is the member confident that the government, within which there are many from the Mike Harris days, will actually implement it and not, at the first opportunity, shift it all over to the private sector again and/or reduce the number of people in the ministry of the environment in terms of oversight and reporting on this kind of very important public business? Does she believe the government may continue to cut staff to the point where even the best of legislation and oversight will not actually be effective?

[Employment Insurance Act, February 12th, 2009]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-318, An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act (self-employed artists and authors).

Mr. Speaker, this is another bill whose time has passed and should be in place.

The purpose of the enactment would be to allow self-employed artists and authors to participate in the employment insurance scheme and obtain such advantages as maternity, parental and sickness benefits and access to publicly funded training programs.

This is a group of people who typically earn very little wages and are unemployed, not just periodically, but often in any given year and when they are not employed they need access to training, re-training and upgrading. They also need to look after themselves and their families when they get sick.

Without the artists and authors, how would we capture the story that is Canada, those wonderful pictures, both in books and on canvas that these people put before us that we come to appreciate and which serve us so well.

I think it is time that we as a government moved to protect the well-being, the income and the families of these very important professionals in every one of our communities.

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