House of Commons photoWon her last election, in 2021, with 42% of the vote.
Taxation September 20th, 2022
Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we are a bit hesitant to take advice from that side on EI considering that when the current Leader of the Opposition was in charge of EI in 2015, workers paid 20% more into EI than they do today in a system that was not as generous as it is today.
Employment Insurance September 20th, 2022
Mr. Speaker, as our COVID pandemic economic measures wind down, I can assure everyone in this House that we continue to support workers and we continue to be there for workers. We are working very hard to modernize the EI system. EI for sickness will be in place up to 26 weeks by the end of this year.
I would also remind everyone here that we have recovered 113% of the jobs lost during the pandemic. We have an incredibly low unemployment rate. Our economic rebound has been incredibly extraordinary given everything this world is going through at this time.
Employment Insurance September 20th, 2022
Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to remind everybody in the House of our commitment to extend EI sickness benefits from 15 to 26 weeks. That will be in place by the end of the year. By the end of this year, workers will have access to 26 weeks of EI sickness benefits.
Employment Insurance September 20th, 2022
Mr. Speaker, in recognition of the fact that seasonal workers are still struggling, we are extending the seasonal worker pilot to make sure that we address the black hole. We are committed to modernizing the EI system. We are working very hard, through the consultations, to make sure stakeholders have a say. Workers, unions and businesses, everybody is at the table. I have committed to putting forth this vision by the end of this year and we will do just that.
Employment Insurance September 20th, 2022
Mr. Speaker, during the pandemic, we put in place temporary EI measures to help address the extraordinary economic circumstances at the time: shutdowns, lockdowns, job losses. We continue to move forward with our economic policies that focus on addressing labour shortages and that focus on making sure Canadians have money in their pockets, such as the one-time increase in the GST credit and the dental care program.
Workers continue to have access to EI. Workers who are currently on EI are not impacted by anything, moving forward. We are winding down COVID measures, but I can assure every worker in Canada that they still have access to EI.
Canada Disability Benefit Act September 20th, 2022
Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for her impassioned speech and for her advocacy on this really important issue. She has been a champion in poverty reduction for the community of persons with disabilities for so long.
I have heard very clearly from the House about the need to get this done and the need to get it done quickly for persons with disabilities. I am wondering if the member can reflect on some of her thinking about how we can work together to ensure that the provinces and territories do not claw back this benefit and do not deny people services or supports inadvertently because of people getting the Canada disability benefit. How can we work together to find a way to weave a system that is so diverse across the country into a coherent support network for people with disabilities? I know that is the member's expertise and I would be really appreciative of any guidance she has.
Canada Disability Benefit Act September 20th, 2022
Madam Speaker, I was concerned, in moving forward with this legislation, that we were not to impose requirements or criteria on a population that has always been imposed upon. I was concerned that we would make it more difficult for provinces and territories to collaborate and harmonize if we were to be too prescriptive.
The whole notion of moving forward collaboratively in almost a co-development fashion is novel, and it feels a little uncertain, but it is the right thing to do. At the end of the day, after we go through this, we could look back and say that we had included people, we had given the provinces and territories the flexibility they needed to stand up and deliver, and people's lives were made better.
Canada Disability Benefit Act September 20th, 2022
Madam Speaker, as I said, financial security is one part of a four-part approach to disability inclusion in Canada. The second part is employment. There are significant barriers for this untapped labour pool, and in a time of labour shortages, this is a group that could be contributing and sharing their talent and expertise with us more meaningfully.
We know that, if the available pool of persons with disabilities in this country were working, it could bump the GDP between 2% and 3%. What is stopping people is not the lack of ambition, will or talent. It is the entrenched barriers that exist within people's minds and within our systems. The exciting part is that we get to talk about it. We get to celebrate people, the contributions they could be making and the potential that exists out there. This is one piece of it.
The CDB speaks to the other piece, which is financial security, and the reality is that people are living in poverty today, and we need to get them the assistance and support they deserve.
Canada Disability Benefit Act September 20th, 2022
Madam Speaker, those are the exact points we are laser focused on as we move forward with this bill, and as we move forward into a regulatory process that would allow us the flexibility and public discourse to make sure we actually get where we want to go with this.
We know there is such an important role to be played by provinces and territories. Working-age Canadians with disabilities are the target population. It is the gap we are trying to fill between children with disabilities, who get the Canada child benefit, and seniors with disabilities, who get OAS and GIS. This is the target population.
Nobody, disability or not, deserves to live in poverty. This particular measure targets a specific cohort of the population in Canada that is disproportionately living in poverty.
Canada Disability Benefit Act September 20th, 2022
Madam Speaker, I thank the member opposite for her collaboration on this really important piece of work.
There are two fundamental reasons for proceeding in this way with framework legislation. One is because we want to include persons with disabilities and the disability community in this conversation. They are uniquely positioned to know what they need and what barriers they continue to face. The other, of course, is the reality of the dynamic, the interaction, and the need to harmonize benefits.
Absolutely, the goal of this is to reduce poverty. Absolutely, the goal is to lift people out of poverty. As I said in my remarks, we have legislative poverty reduction targets, and we have a legislative poverty line. That is the goal, which is very clear in my mind.