Industry Committee on Dec. 4th, 2014

[Raymond Côté, NDP, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Minister, you have recently submitted a report entitled “Fresh Start: A Review of Canada's Insolvency Laws”. In Beauport—Limoilou, this matter directly concerns a large group of employees and retirees from the White Birch Paper mill, which is still under the protection of the Companies Creditors Arrangement Act.

In your view, should the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology go over the report, quickly review the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and the Companies Creditors Arrangement Act, and conduct a background study on the issue?

[James Moore, Conservative, Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, BC]

The decision is up to you. The study would be valid, no doubt.

When our economy is in trouble, the retirees of today and tomorrow want to know whether their investments are protected. Let us recall that this is a concern not only for the federal government, but also for the provinces.

If you think that your constituents, your regions and Canada could benefit from it, the study would definitely be valid.

[Raymond Côté, NDP, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Very well.

I will now turn to basic research.

In light of the 2012 cuts, your government announced a moratorium on the major resources program, which had a huge impact. Several groups of researchers are now deprived of the resources they need to move forward.

Let me give you as an example the magnet from the National Ultrahigh-field NMR Facility for Solids, which is still state-of-the-art equipment even though the centre opened 10 years ago. It received a public investment of $11.8 million. However, the centre is threatened with closure since the program has not been reactivated yet.

On behalf of the researchers, my question is this: what are you waiting for to reinstate the program so that they can do basic research, which generates a lot of economic benefits?

[James Moore, Conservative, Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, BC]

There are a lot of economic benefits, no doubt. I pay attention to the debates in the House of Commons. However, as you know, this matter is not the responsibility of Industry Canada, but of Natural Resources Canada. I am sure Minister Rickford could come here and talk about the issue. You could even address him directly in the House of Commons. In short, this is not a matter for Industry Canada.

To get back to the substance of the question, science investments, I know that the Prime Minister will make an announcement about that today in Toronto. He will specify what we are currently doing to ensure that we have both economic spinoffs and opportunities in education. There will be a major announcement about that today.

As for the situation in your region specifically, I am sure that Mr. Holder and Mr. Rickford would be available to come and talk about it here. They could also talk about the future and the changes anticipated to our policy, our commitments and future investment opportunities.

[Raymond Côté, NDP, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

I will move to another topic.

In an interview with The New York Times in May, you said:

Members of the middle class in Canada worry about whether they can afford college for their children and whether their children will find jobs afterward. Housing costs are a major concern, as are everyday costs for transportation and mobile-phone plans. Middle-class Canadians worry about inequality.

Thank you for making such an accurate observation. It must be said that the Toronto-Dominion Bank also indicated that inequality was a major issue for our economy. I was a member of the Standing Committee on Finance last year and the committee conducted a study on inequality.

The purchasing power of the Canadian middle class is eroding. After nine years in power, how do you explain this rather dismal record?

[James Moore, Conservative, Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, BC]

I don't agree. Actually, I agree with half of what you said. The middle class certainly has concerns and, frankly, it always will.

[Raymond Côté, NDP, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Minister, you did make an observation to an American newspaper.

[James Moore, Conservative, Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, BC]

Yes.

[Raymond Côté, NDP, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Your observation showed that the middle class is struggling, even after nine years of your government being in power.

[James Moore, Conservative, Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, BC]

I have always said, and I will say it again now, that yes, there are always concerns and needs. That is why we do what we do.

[Raymond Côté, NDP, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

I agree, but these are more than concerns. We are talking about the ability of middle-class children to have a future and to find a job in the labour market.

[James Moore, Conservative, Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, BC]

Let me respond to your statement.

Yes, that is always a concern. There is always a need. As I just said, one of our greatest concerns as a government, in our economy, is to make sure that future prospects are as good as they are today, and that they will always be good. We must always strive for policies, commitments, investments and approaches that protect the middle class and families.

That's why, yes, of course I said that, because we want to make sure. I come from a community where the average price of a house was about $250,000, about 15 years ago, and today it's close to $700,000.

Incomes haven't gone up proportionately at that scale, but the cost of living has gone up, which means property taxes have gone up, car insurance has gone up, cost of heating your home has gone up. Everything has gone up. This is why we want to make it easier for the middle class and actually put a little bit more money in their pockets, and lower taxes.

The difference, frankly, between us and your party is that we actually follow through. We put $35,000 more in the pocket of the average Canadian family—

[Raymond Côté, NDP, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Minister, you are not solving the problem.

[James Moore, Conservative, Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, BC]

—than they otherwise would have had if Stephen Harper had not become the Prime Minister of this country.

[Raymond Côté, NDP, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

We must recognize that the problem is still there.

[James Moore, Conservative, Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, BC]

I make no apologies, no apologies—

[The Chair, Conservative, David Sweet]

We're out of time, Minister.

[James Moore, Conservative, Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, BC]

—for following through on the campaign commitment that we made—

[Raymond Côté, NDP, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Chair—

[James Moore, Conservative, Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, BC]

—to stand up for the middle class and put more money in their pocket.

[The Chair, Conservative, David Sweet]

We're out of time, Minister.

We have about two minutes left now before the minister's schedule....

Mr. Lake.

[Mike Lake, Conservative, Edmonton—Mill Woods—Beaumont, AB]

I'm just going to continue on that for a second. I find that last question absolutely unbelievable. The fact of the matter is, a responsible government can both do what we've done over the last nine years, which is significantly improve the financial situation of middle-class families in this country—and the objective facts point to that—and say we still want to do more for those who are still struggling. Absolutely, we can do both. I find that question unbelievable.

If you look at the statistics, as the minister was saying, we have families with $3,400 to $3,500 more in their pockets today than they had in their pockets when we were first elected. You have 1.2 million people working today who weren't working in July 2009, a vast majority in the private sector, a vast majority full-time. We have a balanced budget. We're one of the few countries with a balanced budget moving forward. We have these huge competitive advantages in Canada because of measures that we've taken over the last nine years, quite frankly.

Maybe, Minister, with the last minute you have with us you could speak to those competitive advantages and where you see us going moving forward.

[James Moore, Conservative, Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, BC]

Canada has the best job numbers in the G7 since the recession. We have the lowest taxes in Canada in 55 years. We stand alone at having a balanced budget in 2015. We're providing $4.6 billion in new tax relief for Canadian families starting next year. I'm very proud of where we are.

Again, reverse engineer where we are to where we would have been had we not taken the steps that we did. We wouldn't have a GST at five points. We'd have a GST at seven points. Canadian families wouldn't have $3,500 more in their pockets. That money would be sitting here in Ottawa to be disbursed through an assortment of government programs. We wouldn't be anywhere near a balanced budget. We wouldn't be anywhere near implementing the Canada-Korea free trade agreement, nor giving Canadians access to 500 million new customers for their goods, services, and products with the Canada-European Union free trade agreement. None of these things would be happening.

The automotive innovation fund, which has created those thousand new jobs in Oakville, above the thousand jobs that were created as a result of that investment, that automotive innovation fund never would have existed.

So, I'm very pleased with where we are. We are growing as an economy. It was estimated we were going to grow at 2.1% this quarter. We're now growing at 2.8%. We have, as I said, the best job numbers in the G7. Eighty-two per cent of those jobs are full time, and 78% of them are high-paying jobs. We're continuing to go in the right direction.

I'm very pleased with the reports that we get back from observers who point time and time again.... When you have Shinzo Abe, Angela Merkel, President Obama, and Hillary Clinton, whom you cited earlier, all saying that Canada has the approach that the world should look to and that they should aspire to copy, I think we're doing the right thing.

I think equally it's true that the public knows this, which is why you see, frankly, the official opposition and their party collapsing in public support, collapsing in their provincial governments, and collapsing in federal support in the federal byelections.

[The Chair, Conservative, David Sweet]

Thank you, Minister.

We are going to suspend now for two minutes while the minister departs and then we'll come back with the officials.

[The Chair, Conservative, David Sweet]

Colleagues, we are back. We'll proceed now and with the time being a little under 45 minutes, we'll proceed a little bit more informally. That way there may be some who have questions and some who do not. I'll try to keep some balance. We'll begin with the opposition first.

Ms. Nash.