International Day Of The Worker  Mr. Speaker, as a trade unionist myself, it gives me great pleasure to rise on this the day we celebrate the International Day of the Worker. On this occasion we should think about the situation facing working men and women on the verge of the 21st century. Production methods and changes in the workplace present Canadian workers and governments with new challenges but also with new opportunities.

Questions On The Order Paper  The figures quoted from public accounts represent the value of overpayments established during the reporting year related to suspected offenses. The reported increases from 1993/94 to 1994/95 for both old age security and the Canada pension plan are due to the following factors: Increased awareness of the potential for fraud and its subsequent detection by regional and headquarters program integrity officers-there were 11 more cases of suspected fraud found in each program in 1994/95 than had been found in 1993/94, a total of 22 more cases than were found the previous year; detection of some older cases, which tend to have higher values because benefits have been in pay for an extended period; detailed review of benefit files in preparation for the conversion to income security program, ISP, redesign system, which revealed eight cases of suspected fraud with an associated value of $154,000; enhanced reassessment activities related to CPP disability which resulted in an increase in the number of cases detected in which fraud was suspected.

Department Of Human Resources Development Act  Mr. Speaker, I will not spend a lot of time on these two motions because they are exactly the same as the last grouping we considered. These are again just technical amendments. I want to read for the record what they are and give a short explanation of Motions Nos. 9 and 10. That will explain to opposition members what they are for.

Department Of Human Resources Development Act  Mr. Speaker, we are now on Group No. 4. I would like to give everyone in the House an explanation and general remarks as they relate to the amendments to Bill C-11, an act to establish the Department of Human Resources Development now being considered at report stage. Bill C-11 had a life before prorogation.

Department Of Human Resources Development Act  Mr. Speaker, we are in the process of debating an amendment by the Reform Party which is Motion No. 5 under the third group. What the member is asking in this motion is that we go back to the old process of the issue of annual reports to the House. I would like to suggest to the House that the proposal put forward by the Reformers is somewhat bizarre in that they located this particular amendment in part II of the bill.

Department Of Human Resources Development Act  Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to have the opportunity to speak to this motion. I will start out by asking where the member has been. She must have been away for the last number of weeks since the speech from the throne and the budget which outlined the commitment of the government as it relates to negotiations with the provinces in areas of provincial jurisdiction, for example in training and education.

Department Of Human Resources Development Act  Mr. Speaker, I enter this debate to talk a little about Bill C-11 and what it means for the government's labour programs. I will deal with it right off the bat because the main thrust of the Reform Party's amendments is that there is no need for a minister of labour, that the role of a minister of labour in the Government of Canada and in the overall lives of people in the country who relate to federal jurisdiction is not important.

Canada Transportation Act  Mr. Speaker, I am going to speak against this motion for some very obvious reasons. The NDP are still stuck about the 1920s. Its members do not seem to have been able to take a good look at what this bill intends to do. The bill is intended to take the public interest out of a mode of transportation.

Canada Transportation Act  Mr. Speaker, I would like to speak to the amendment by my colleague from the NDP and to the support he has received from the Reform Party. This is an important discussion. I sat on the committee and from my railway experience I can say that this is obviously something that has stacked up against the railways for a number of years.

Criminal Code  Mr. Speaker, I take great pleasure in having the opportunity to comment today. As a unionist myself, one of the problems I encounter on a regular basis is which hat does Bob White really wear? Does he wear the hat of the CLC or does he wear the hat of the NDP? That is probably one of the reasons union movements in Canada today are in such disrepair and have so little time for governments to listen to them.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, what the hon. member asks is very similar to what I always ask when I stand up in the House. I come from a region very similar to his in a lot of respects. It is not part of the Torontos of the world or the Montreals; it is in the outlying regions. The hon. member might not have had an opportunity to read the bill in its entirety.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the member for Gaspé a question as it relates to the gap. That is a very important issue. He has many fishermen in his riding who work different portions of a season and therefore have a gap. The minister has made it very clear there is some concern in various regions based on that issue.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, under the EI changes and the family supplement some 350,000 claimants and low income families will be guaranteed a supplement. That works out that all claimants and low income families with children will average 7 per cent more in benefits. I ask the member if he thinks that is a bad thing for low income Canadians and whether his party agrees that is a necessary step under these legislative changes.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, the member did a great job of dancing around the question. I can understand his reluctance to try and deal with it. I am aware that his party is trying to dance between two interest groups, one which is in favour of the hourly system and another which is not. Let me put it to him based on questions from some women in his caucus over the last couple of days relating to women's issues.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, in the speech made by the hon. member's leader, the comment he made was that the Bloc is opposed to the new system of every hour counting, what we call the hours based system. The present system is based on weeks where one has to work so many weeks in order to qualify.