Hon. Barbara McDougall (Minister of Employment and Immigration):

Mr. Speaker, the program that we announced provides $15 million more for the Province of Newfoundland.

Right Hon. John N. Turner (Leader of the Opposition):

It is unacceptable when a quotation like this is read in the House of Commons to the Prime Minister and the Minister for International Trade, both of them present at that meeting-I doubt whether the Minister of Employment and Immigration was there-and neither of them deigns to stand up and reply to this particular quotation.

Oral Question Period

Hear, hear!

That is out of order.

Mr. Speaker:

I remind Hon. Members that there is no obligation on any Minister to answer.

We know that.

Mr. Speaker:

I am reminding Hon. Members of what the rule is. Comments along that line are very close to being out of order. The right hon. gentleman may put his question.

Mr. Turner (Vancouver Quadra):

It is not often we hear in this House about a $1.3 billion falsehood.

That is right.

Mr. Turner (Vancouver Quadra):

Yesterday the Minister of Employment and Immigration was asked why the Government did not tell the truth during the election campaign. This is what she said to the House: "We were somewhat pre-occupied during the fall in terms of the kind of attention we were paying to ongoing issues". Too preoccupied to tell the truth!

My question is directed to the Prime Minister. When is he going to admit candidly that his Government lied to Canadians during the last election?

Hear, hear!

Hon. Barbara McDougall (Minister of Employment and Immigration):

Mr. Speaker, because the Hon. Member cannot find any substance in this policy that is not in the interests of Canadians, he is becoming singularly abusive.

Hear, hear!

Mr. Jean-CIaude Malepart (Laurier-Sainte-Marie):

Mr. Speaker, it is sad that the silence of the Prime Minister and the Minister involved prove beyond any doubt that working people were misled during the last election campaign.

I will give our national "Charlie Brown" a chance to correct himself.

My question is for the Right Hon. the Prime Minister. Following the statement by the Minister for International Trade that mentions beyond any doubt that he consulted you and that the people could be reassured that nothing would be changed in the unemployment insurance program to penalize them, why- Can the Prime Minister answer this question?

April 13, 1989

Oral Question Period.

Hon. Barbara McDougall (Minister of Employment and Immigration):

Mr. Speaker, it improves the unemployment insurance program for Quebecers, among other Canadians. It is time that this Hon. Member admitted it.

Mr. Jean-Claude Malepart (Laurier-Sainte-Marie):

Mr. Speaker, my supplementary question is for the Minister of Employment and Immigration, since the Prime Minister, by keeping silent, admits that he misled the people. The Minister of Employment and Immigration and the Minister of State are trying to convince the Canadian people that the only ones to be penalized are dishonest workers who cheat unemployment insurance.

Can the Minister explain to us why a man or woman in Quebec City who has worked for 30 years and paid unemployment insurance premiums will have 9 weeks of benefits or $3,267 cut off with her new program?

Why are the workers of Hamilton, St. Catharines and Windsor losing ten weeks of benefits, or $3,000?

Hon. Barbara McDougall (Minister of Employment and Immigration):

The Hon. Member is ignoring that there is a value in training for the people of Quebec and other Canadians. Yes, we have changed some things within the unemployment insurance system just as that Government did when it went from a flat entry of eight weeks to a variable entry of 10 to 14 weeks. There is nothing different in what we today from what they did then, except we provide benefits for all Canadians.