Thursday, January 31, 2008

Judy Questions the Labour Minister on Protecting Workers

Hon. Judy Sgro (York West, Lib.):

Mr. Speaker, workers at Ledco Limited in Kitchener learned recently that their company filed for bankruptcy and that there was no money left to pay them the $1.2 million owed in severance. This situation clearly points out the need for the Wage Earner Protection Program Act, a bill passed by the Liberal government in 2005 and again passed in revised form in the current Parliament. However, the government has been stalling implementation.

Now the workers at Ledco are victims of the government's indifference and neglect. Why does the government continue to let important workers down?

Hon. Jean-Pierre Blackburn (Minister of Labour and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, CPC):  

Mr. Speaker, in fact, that bill was passed here in the House of Commons and received royal assent. The purpose of the bill is to protect wage earners in case of employer bankruptcy.

We are now at the regulatory stage. As a general rule, it takes three to six months for the regulations to be completed. However, the process is well under way.

Hon. Judy Sgro (York West, Lib.):

Mr. Speaker, I hate to think about the number of workers who are going to be suffering while they wait for that to happen. The situation at Ledco is part of a larger problem: the government's laissez-faire, “I don't care”, attitude to the crisis in manufacturing.

It is clear that the finance minister intends to put Canada into a huge deficit just like he did in Ontario. Thousands of Canadian jobs are being lost and the finance minister just does not care.

Will the government put forward a plan to deal with this crisis in manufacturing or will it continue to thumb its nose at the manufacturing sector?

Hon. Jim Flaherty (Minister of Finance, CPC):

Mr. Speaker, the economic fundamentals in Canada are good. They are the best economic fundamentals in the G-7 and that is after two years of government led by this Prime Minister.

What have we done over two years? The government of the day will reduce business taxes by in excess of $50 billion.

Hon. Ralph Goodale:

You blew the fiscal framework. That's what you did.