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Results: 136 - 150 of 195
View Mario Simard Profile
BQ (QC)
View Mario Simard Profile
2020-09-29 12:23 [p.238]
Mr. Speaker, some may find it puzzling that debate needs to be limited because of the urgency of the situation, especially since Parliament was prorogued for six weeks. Before then, the Liberals did not believe the situation to be urgent.
During a pandemic, we must apply a rather simple principle, the precautionary principle. We must act in the initial stages to prevent problems from occurring later on. Clearly, the government did not do that. The leader of my party stated some time ago that the government perhaps did not have the focus to manage the current crisis. The Prime Minister was mired in the WE scandal. We suggested that the Deputy Prime Minister take the reins. That might have prevented a six-week prorogation. Today, we might be at a different point and we might be discussing the recovery plan.
I am struck by the fact that when my Liberal colleagues speak about collaboration, I sometimes think that they are confusing their own interests with those of the general public. Collaboration means working with the other parties, and not putting one's interests before the interests of Canadians. I would like to hear what one of my Liberal colleagues has to say about that.
View Carla Qualtrough Profile
Lib. (BC)
View Carla Qualtrough Profile
2020-09-29 12:25 [p.238]
Mr. Speaker, we have been working together for a long time to help Canadians during this pandemic. It truly is an emergency. We all agree on that.
My government colleagues and I are listening to the opposition parties. We are aware of their concerns about the CERB and we understand what they wanted in this bill. When we created the new benefits, we tried to include what all the opposition parties wanted to see in there.
We do not want to discourage people from working. We want to be sure that there are integrity measures in place. We want to be sure that people are looking for work and that they accept employment when it is offered to them.
The three benefits really reflect that.
View Brian Masse Profile
NDP (ON)
View Brian Masse Profile
2020-09-29 12:26 [p.238]
Mr. Speaker, I am glad the minister mentioned fraud. Before prorogation, the industry committee had a motion from the NDP, which was supported by all parties, including hers. It is a really good report on fraud and I hope we get that released in the House of Commons. We will need unanimous consent and I hope that happens.
Specifically on supplementary employment benefits, the minister and her colleague know that many people might have their CERB clawed back or be punished by employer incentive programs that were negotiated, which might increase their benefits over that amount.
I would like to hear from the minister what she is doing about that to ensure the sub benefits, as she has been made aware of several times, do not affect workers. Their benefits should not be clawed back and they should be made ineligible for some of the benefit programs that have been rolled out. Could she please update the House?
View Carla Qualtrough Profile
Lib. (BC)
View Carla Qualtrough Profile
2020-09-29 12:27 [p.238]
Mr. Speaker, I certainly can. In fact, I can advise the House that we are working with every employer that has a sub plan to ensure that it is as seamless as possible, working with individual employees, and that nobody is put in a situation that is untenable, given their individual circumstances. This is an excellent example of the changes that one will see in the new benefits.
In transitioning so many people to EI, we are back to a system where sub plans are in place. We are back to a system where people can seamlessly be on both EI and earn an income. It is an excellent example of why we and officials have been working so hard to transition people back to EI.
View Dan Albas Profile
CPC (BC)
Mr. Speaker, I want to hold the minister accountable, because in March we gave her incredible powers to assist people, like parents who were seeking parental benefits, and to deal with sub-plans. The minister sat by and did absolutely nothing until the EI system resumed. Retroactive or not, she let people down and she is letting Parliament down by having a press conference with the Deputy Prime Minister, now finance minister, saying that somehow this is sharing the plan without offering any specifics. She has let this place down.
Is this the way she wants to be remembered, as a minister who let people down, including the House?
View Carla Qualtrough Profile
Lib. (BC)
View Carla Qualtrough Profile
2020-09-29 12:28 [p.239]
Mr. Speaker, we made a lot of effort and took a lot of time in the past six weeks telling Canadians what the plan was to transition from the CERB to EI, what the new benefits would look like, and I would say “retroactive or not”. A lot of women out there, because of the credit of EI hours, will be able to get retroactive maternity leave and parental leave. That is not just a thing one says, it is an important aspect of this transition.
We all know that the EI system was clunky and unable to serve us well when the pandemic hit. People have been working flat out to make changes and fix the system so we can now offer these better situations for Canadians. It is incredibly unfair to the people who have worked so hard to get us here to say that somehow they were not working hard enough.
View Ginette Petitpas Taylor Profile
Lib. (NB)
Mr. Speaker, unlike the previous member, I would like to thank the minister for the tremendous work she and her officials have done over the past months. They have really moved mountains to help Canadians.
With the devastating impacts of the global pandemic, we have seen the many tragedies families have had to go through. We have seen families experiencing budget shortfalls. Also, about 50% of Canadians are saying their household income has been impacted by this global pandemic. Would the minister not agree that Canadians are anxious about wanting to see what services and future programs we are going to be able to offer Canadians as we face a possible second wave?
View Carla Qualtrough Profile
Lib. (BC)
View Carla Qualtrough Profile
2020-09-29 12:30 [p.239]
Mr. Speaker, we have been dealing with this in real time, course correcting and working very hard for Canadians. One of the benefits of the plan we have put forth is it is a longer-term plan. The world changes every two to four to six to eight weeks. We have given Canadians a year-long runway so they know they will have access to these benefits for 26 of the next 52 weeks. They will have continuity, certainty and a little breathing space, because we do not know what is going to happen. Absolutely, Canadians are anxious and this recognizes that.
View Louise Chabot Profile
BQ (QC)
Mr. Speaker, I will be brief.
I think there is some confusion. The government is extolling the virtues of the new measures, the new benefits and the transition from the CERB to a more flexible EI system. The government said that it informed us of all that and that Canadians have known about this for a month. The problem is that the government announced all of this to us in a press release two days before proroguing Parliament. Three of these measures really need to be examined by parliamentarians, by elected members. As parliamentarians, our role is to vote. What we take issue with is the process that we are dealing with today. Yes, the measures were announced, but we have to hastily vote on them on the pretext that they are good for us. However, the government is not giving us the right, as legislators, to take the time to examine those measures.
View Carla Qualtrough Profile
Lib. (BC)
View Carla Qualtrough Profile
2020-09-29 12:32 [p.239]
Mr. Speaker, I understand. I am here today, we will be here tonight, and I will be before the Senate in a few days. Frankly, this is an urgent matter. We decided to include these benefits in legislation that will help Canadians much more than the CERB did. It is far better to make the transition to employment insurance. The changes to EI are not legislative, they are regulatory. They do not involve legislation, but rather the regulations. Everything has been done. Over three million people are now making the transition to EI. The goal is to help Canadians and all workers.
View Peter Kent Profile
CPC (ON)
View Peter Kent Profile
2020-09-29 12:33 [p.239]
Mr. Speaker, obviously, in its desperate rush to get NDP support, the government did not consult with the provinces, which have jurisdiction over most workers in Canada. Does the minister realize that Ontario workers who take two weeks of federally paid sick leave could lose their jobs? Provincially regulated workers with three job-protected unpaid sick days could be dismissed if they take two weeks of federally paid leave without the permission of their employer.
View Carla Qualtrough Profile
Lib. (BC)
View Carla Qualtrough Profile
2020-09-29 12:34 [p.239]
Mr. Speaker, let me correct the record. I recently had a meeting of all employment ministers in provincial and territorial governments and spoke with them directly about the three new benefits we intended to create. I respectfully requested that they amend their labour codes so they would parallel the changes we would like to make to the federal labour code to offer worker protection in both provincial and federal jurisdictions.
This happened during the CERB and I expect it to happen again. I have every confidence that the ongoing constructive relationships we have with provincial jurisdictions will result in worker protection in job to job to job, whether provincial, territorial or federal, it will not matter.
View Leah Gazan Profile
NDP (MB)
View Leah Gazan Profile
2020-09-29 12:34 [p.239]
Mr. Speaker, so many people are left out. As I mentioned the other day, many people are unable to work or should not work, including seniors, for example. Because of the pandemic, students were unable to work. We know that with the WE scandal, any sort of support that was supposed to be provided for students is not there. I still wonder where those monies are.
There are many people in our society who fall through the cracks. Not addressing this is also a public health and safety issue. I think of the many people in my riding who are dealing with very complex trauma and mental health issues and who cannot hold a full-time job. We need to beef up our guaranteed income programs in this country. They are not livable. OAS is not livable. Motion No. 46 certainly offers a path forward for guaranteed livable income programs so that all human beings can live with human rights and dignity in this country.
View Carla Qualtrough Profile
Lib. (BC)
View Carla Qualtrough Profile
2020-09-29 12:36 [p.240]
Mr. Speaker, if one thing this pandemic has certainly laid bare, it is the massive gaps in our social safety net and how many of our systems do not respond to the needs of our citizens, workers and most vulnerable. It has also given us an opportunity to, as a legacy, do better by Canadians.
One of those systems that is dear to my heart is the employment insurance system, but we only need to look at our systems of delivering, or lack thereof, directly for our citizens with disabilities. There is a lot we need to fix. There is a lot we need to do working with provinces, as many of these programs are in other jurisdictions, but we have a mutual interest to support.
The benefits we are talking about today are for workers, for people who have lost employment income, but in no way does that diminish the importance of addressing the poverty and isolation felt by so many of our citizens who are vulnerable, at risk and for whom the pandemic has taken an incredible toll.
View Jeremy Patzer Profile
CPC (SK)
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are grateful for the programs the government has been able to roll out, whether it was the CERB or the wage subsidy, and now we are here to talk about the CRB. Can the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion add one important piece that is missing? How are we going to get people back to work safely? What is the plan? The throne speech did not outline a plan. I am wondering if the minister has a plan, seeing as she is the minister for employment and workforce development. Can she elaborate on what that plan might be for Canadians when they elect to transition off CRB and EI?
Results: 136 - 150 of 195 | Page: 10 of 13

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