House of Commons Hansard #120 of the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was workers.

Topics

TaxationOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Some hon. members

More, more.

TaxationOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken

Order, please. Members are crying out for more and they are going to get it but we need to have order to have more. The hon. member for Etobicoke—Lakeshore now has the floor and we will hear more now from him this time and from someone else later. However, we will have a bit of order, please.

TaxationOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Liberal

Michael Ignatieff Liberal Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON

Mr. Speaker, in the run-up to the budget, the Prime Minister simply cannot be trusted to tell the country the truth about income tax. He continues to deny that he raised income taxes but Canadians know very well that he increased taxes for the lowest paid.

Economist, Dale Orr, said today that the first priority for the Conservatives on personal income tax should be “to bring the system back to where it would have been had the Liberals won the election instead of the Conservatives”.

Why is the Prime Minister continuing to deceive Canadians by saying one thing and doing the opposite?

TaxationOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Calgary Southwest Alberta

Conservative

Stephen Harper ConservativePrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, this is the government that brought in the tax cut to the GST. This is the government that brought in tax cuts to immigrant landing fees. This is the government that brought in tax cuts for small business. This is the government that brought in income tax cuts for transit users, for kids sports, for senior citizens. Every single time that party opposite voted against those tax reductions.

There is only one party that supports lower taxes and it sure is not the Liberal Party of Canada.

TaxationOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Liberal

Michael Ignatieff Liberal Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON

Mr. Speaker, every taxpayer knows that what the Prime Minister has just said is false.

Dale Orr, an eminent economist who is often consulted by the Conservatives, has said that millions of people with low and moderate incomes are, and I quote, "losers" under the Conservatives' tax plan.

When will the Prime Minister be honest with Canadians and tell them that he has raised taxes for people with low and moderate incomes?

TaxationOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Calgary Southwest Alberta

Conservative

Stephen Harper ConservativePrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, this government's track record is clear. We have cut taxes, we have cut the GST, we have cut taxes for immigrants, we have cut taxes for SMEs, we have cut taxes on personal income for seniors, for children's sports and for students.

The Liberal Party opposed these measures. We are giving the public tax cuts. They gave money to Liberal advertising companies.

Aerospace IndustryOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Bloc

Gilles Duceppe Bloc Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC

Mr. Speaker, we learned this morning that the federal government is about to sign new military contracts with Boeing and Lockheed Martin.

Although the spin-offs from these contracts are estimated at $7.3 billion, the Prime Minister refuses to impose conditions to ensure that Quebec receives its fair share, which is 60%, since that is the percentage of the aerospace industry that is concentrated in Quebec.

Will the Prime Minister finally assume his responsibilities and add a clause to the contract that guarantees a regional distribution of the spin-offs?

Aerospace IndustryOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Calgary Southwest Alberta

Conservative

Stephen Harper ConservativePrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, our goal is to rebuild the Canadian Forces after many years.

We are in the process of drawing up contracts for a number of military procurements. There will be economic spin-offs for all national defence industries across Canada. This is only the beginning.

Aerospace IndustryOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Bloc

Gilles Duceppe Bloc Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is letting Boeing decide where it would like to invest.

Does he really believe that Boeing will invest money in its competitors, that it will give money to the competition? The Prime Minister has not learned from his past mistakes. Once again, his laissez-faire attitude will be very costly for Quebec.

Does the Prime Minister realize that his refusal to assume his responsibilities will cost Quebec thousands of jobs in the aerospace industry?

Aerospace IndustryOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Calgary Southwest Alberta

Conservative

Stephen Harper ConservativePrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, what will be very costly for Quebeckers is the Bloc Québécois' policy, which is against all procurement for our armed forces.

The leader of the Bloc is contradicting his own policy. He is merely trying to campaign for the Parti Québécois, just as the Leader of the Opposition is campaigning for the Green Party. We, on the other hand, are campaigning for the Canadian Forces.

Aerospace IndustryOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Bloc

Paul Crête Bloc Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC

Mr. Speaker, I would like to say to the Prime Minister that the contract is a federal contract given by the federal government at Quebec's expense.

Instead of using its purchasing power to consolidate the aerospace industry, nearly 60% of which is located in Quebec, the Conservative government adopted a laissez-faire attitude and the Conservative ministers from Quebec shirked their responsibilities.

How can the government justify that after awarding billions of dollars in contracts to Boeing, it is now up to the company, and not the government, to decide where to develop Canada's aerospace industry? This attitude is nothing more than surrender.

Aerospace IndustryOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Beauce Québec

Conservative

Maxime Bernier ConservativeMinister of Industry

Mr. Speaker, I am surprised by the Bloc Québécois' sudden interest in the economic spin-offs from our military procurement.

I am surprised because in the Bloc Québécois election platform, there is no mention of investing in our armed forces. With the Bloc Québécois there is no army in Canada, no military procurement and therefore no economic spin-off for Quebec. That is where the Bloc Québécois stands.

Aerospace IndustryOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Bloc

Paul Crête Bloc Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC

Mr. Speaker, what surprises Quebeckers is that the Minister of Industry is not taking his responsibilities as a minister from Quebec and that he is setting aside the interests of Quebec's economy.

The Minister of Industry keeps saying he does not intend to impose conditions. However, he did impose conditions when he required that at least 50% of the economic spin-offs be directed to the aerospace industry, including 30% in nine key sectors identified by the government.

Will the minister admit that he did indeed impose conditions when it suited him, but refuses to impose any to make things fair for Quebec because he gave in to the Prime Minister?

Aerospace IndustryOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Beauce Québec

Conservative

Maxime Bernier ConservativeMinister of Industry

Mr. Speaker, I am proud of our record. I see that the Bloc Québécois is still asking questions and getting excited, but the Bloc Québécois will never be able to take action for the people in Quebec's aerospace industry. I was flabbergasted to see the slogan on the Bloc Québécois website, with the picture of the leader of the Bloc Québécois. The slogan reads, “I invest in Quebec”. I will let you in on how much the Bloc Québécois invests in Quebec: nothing. And that means nothing in economic spin-offs for Quebec.

Government PoliciesOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

NDP

Jack Layton NDP Toronto—Danforth, ON

Mr. Speaker, we all know that under the Liberals the prosperity gap widened dramatically, but under the Conservatives, that prosperity gap is getting wider and wider.

Earlier this week we learned that the government is afraid to go after profitable corporations that owe taxes to Canada. Then yesterday in the estimates we saw that the government is taking targeted cuts against women and affordable housing.

When is the government going to stop with Liberal-style corporate tax giveaways and holidays and start standing up for the hard-working families and the middle class of this country?

Government PoliciesOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Calgary Southwest Alberta

Conservative

Stephen Harper ConservativePrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, no such thing is true. This government, as the Minister of Finance has made clear, wants to close corporate tax loopholes where they exist and also make sure that everybody pays their fair share of tax. That remains the policy of this government.

Government PoliciesOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

NDP

Jack Layton NDP Toronto—Danforth, ON

Mr. Speaker, it may be a policy, but it is not happening. It is not happening. As so much that we hear from the government, it is cold comfort to the people who are waiting for the things they need.

The reality is that the government does not have its priorities right. We are talking about sharing revenue. We are talking about an excessive increase in military expenditures for the war in Afghanistan. That is not the way to go.

Does the Prime Minister realize that his budget strategy is leading us straight to a deficit, just like in the days of Brian Mulroney?

Government PoliciesOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Calgary Southwest Alberta

Conservative

Stephen Harper ConservativePrime Minister

Not at all, Mr. Speaker. This government had a budget surplus last year.

I am expecting a balanced budget from the Minister of Finance, a budget that will invest in essential services, lower taxes for Canadians, and reduce the national debt. These are the policies of our government and they will be reflected in the next budget.

Income TrustsOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Liberal

John McCallum Liberal Markham—Unionville, ON

Mr. Speaker, in executing the Prime Minister's broken promise on income trusts, the finance minister has inflicted a huge hardship on hundreds of thousands of ordinary Canadians, not fat cats on Bay Street, but ordinary Canadians on main street. That is why CARP, representing 400,000 seniors, came out today in support of the Liberal proposal. The minister acted with negligent incompetence. Why did he act decisively wrong?

Income TrustsOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Calgary Nose Hill Alberta

Conservative

Diane Ablonczy ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance

Mr. Speaker, I am sure that Canadians are very interested to see, I think it was the third income trust policy from the Liberals opposite. I do not know if it is the final position, probably not.

In fact, what the Liberals want is more uncertainty for investors, more uncertainty for the market, more uncertainty for the sector.

Why can the Liberals not support a good solution, one which the member himself said was absolutely the right thing to do?

Income TrustsOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Liberal

John McCallum Liberal Markham—Unionville, ON

Mr. Speaker, the remarks of the Prime Minister were totally wrong, partly because his finance minister is incompetent.

Why should our government have done what the Prime Minister did, which was to disastrously and unnecessarily destroy billions of dollars of savings of hard-working Canadians? That is what he just recommended.

Why for once does the Prime Minister not do the right thing, admit that he did not think it through, and support today the Liberal proposal on income trusts?

Income TrustsOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Calgary Nose Hill Alberta

Conservative

Diane Ablonczy ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal proposal on income trusts has been all over the map, and that has been one of the problems.

This government has taken decisive action, action which the Liberal Party should have taken, knows it should have taken, and which that member himself said was absolutely the right thing to do.

Income TrustsOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Liberal

Diane Marleau Liberal Sudbury, ON

Mr. Speaker, today, the Canadian Association of Retired Persons reminded Canadians of the terrible letdown of thousands of small investors who, because of this government, lost their savings. The income trusts fiasco continues to reverberate across the country.

How can Canadians trust this incompetent and deceitful government that was responsible for ordinary Canadians losing billions of dollars in savings?

Income TrustsOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Calgary Nose Hill Alberta

Conservative

Diane Ablonczy ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance

Mr. Speaker, in fact, the Canadian Association of Retired Persons applauded the government's tax fairness plan. It applauded the pension splitting that came in and allowed seniors to split pension income. It applauded protecting more pension income for seniors.

This plan has been applauded by seniors and seniors groups, and members opposite know that very well.

Income TrustsOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Liberal

Diane Marleau Liberal Sudbury, ON

Mr. Speaker, CARP does not applaud the fiasco of the income trusts.

This morning the finance minister announced that his ill-conceived income trust legislation will be a part of his upcoming budget. I want to point out that the minister's first official budget announcement was a $25 billion slam on the pockets of ordinary Canadians. MPs deserve a clear vote on this so they can effectively represent those who lost so much money.

Will the minister at least have the courage to table this in stand-alone legislation?