Employment Insurance  Mr. Speaker, this kind of fearmongering is frankly very irresponsible. The fact is that the changes we made to EI are modest. They will only impact 1% of recipients. In fact, no changes to the rules have had any impact on the process whereby individuals can apply for, or qualify for, EI.

Employment Insurance  Mr. Speaker, the fact is that 80% of individuals who are disqualified for EI benefits disqualify because they are not in the country. Maybe the opposition members, including their 45 day work week, now want to start paying people EI benefits when they are outside of the country.

Housing  Mr. Speaker, that member knows what she said is completely false. We have renewed our investment in affordable housing; we provided $2 billion in previous investments for social housing, as well as our investment in our homelessness partnering strategy, with a focus on housing first, which is an evidence-based model.

Housing  Mr. Speaker, this government has invested more in affordable housing than any other government. We are working together with our partners, the provinces and the municipalities. We are providing the funding, but working together with them, we are providing housing for over 880,000 individuals and families.

Poverty  Mr. Speaker, let us talk about what our government has done to help families and children: job creation, tax reduction, the universal child care benefit. Every time we bring forward a measure to put more money in the pockets of families and of the families who are raising children, the opposition members vote against it.

Poverty  Mr. Speaker, under our Conservative government, we have seen major progress in reducing child poverty. Since we took office, there are 250,000 fewer children in poverty than under previous governments. Why is that? I will give members one example. We have the universal child care benefit where we give $100 per month to every child under six years old.

Passport Canada  Canadians continue to benefit from the high quality of service they have always received from the passport program, now at Service Canada offices. There will be no staff reductions as a result of this change. Some of the changes that have occurred mean that there are Service Canada passport offices very close by.

Intergovernmental Affairs  Mr. Speaker, we believe that the best people who know what kinds of skills are required are employers. That is why we introduced the Canada job grant. It brings employers into the whole equation as to what skills are required. We are focused on jobs, the economy and growth. One of the ways we can continue to do that is to fix the mismatch of people without jobs and jobs without people.

Intergovernmental Affairs  Mr. Speaker, I do not understand why the opposition is opposed to a program that would train Canadians for jobs that are available. That is what the Canada job grant program will do. Let us talk about who is supporting this. We have been consulting over the summer and indeed currently the minister is meeting with the provinces in good faith.

Employment Insurance  Mr. Speaker, the opposition is purposely misleading Canadians about the facts. In fact, their fearmongering is trying to score cheap political points. The fact is, our modest and reasonable changes have not changed the rules around applying for and qualifying for EI. In fact, EI remains strong for those Canadians who have paid into it and when, through no fault of their own, they need to count on it.

Employment Insurance  Mr. Speaker, the fact is, EI recipients have always been required to look for work while they are receiving benefits. What is disappointing is when the opposition continuously asks us to enable temporary foreign workers to come into areas where people are unemployed, where Canadians need work.

Employment Insurance  Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the member for reading the budget implementation bill, because three days earlier it seemed like no one in his caucus had read it. I congratulate the member for reading it and knowing what is in the budget implementation bill. I want to be clear that the modest and reasonable changes that we have made to EI have not changed the rules around applying and for qualifying for EI.

Housing  Mr. Speaker, I think the member is confused. She should know that CMHC is providing mortgage subsidies for long-term, 25 to 50-year agreements. Those agreements are coming to an end. There is no cut. What we have done is renewed our agreements with the provinces for affordable housing.

Canada Pension Plan  Mr. Speaker, the fact is that the social security tribunals have made it more efficient. The people who are working at Service Canada are making it faster. I do not know about this individual situation. If that member would like to speak with us, maybe he can help his constituent.

Housing  Mr. Speaker, we are committed to helping vulnerable Canadians to become self-sufficient and to fully participate in our economy. In fact, budget 2013 renewed our commitment to affordable housing, with our agreement for investment in affordable housing. Every year, together with our partners, we have helped over 880,000 individuals and families with subsidized housing.