Debates of Sept. 17th, 2012

The Economy

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the global economy is very fragile, but Canada has one of the best job creation records in the world with the creation of 3 to 4 million net new jobs since the recession.

We have more work to do, but we cannot create jobs by raising taxes, as the NDP proposes.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians deserve better.

The Prime Minister's well-connected friends may be doing perfectly well, but the young mother I met last week at an unemployment centre in Windsor, or the auto worker I met in Oshawa who is worried he could be the next to be laid off, or government workers all across the country trying to figure out why the Conservatives' job strategy is to cut services to Canadians are struggling.

Does the Prime Minister have anything to say to the 1.4 million Canadians who are still unemployed? Could he name one specific thing he has done for them other than cut off their employment insurance?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have done no such thing. What we have seen in Canada since the end of the recession is the creation of over three-quarters of a million net new jobs. That is one of the best job creation records in the developed world. That is why people have such confidence in the Canadian economy in spite of the incredible uncertainty. We have more work to do.

What will not create jobs are the proposals of the NDP to raise taxes, to block our trade and to shut down industries. Those things do nothing.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian economy is facing unprecedented global risks. Despite a few positive steps by the European Union, the European economy is still in crisis. The United States is poised for another dangerous showdown over its debt, the so-called “fiscal cliff”. Rating agencies are warning of another downgrade and economists are warning of another recession. The global economy is in turmoil.

What specific actions has the Prime Minister taken in the last three months to protect the Canadian economy and protect Canadian jobs?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, all those things are true about the uncertainty in the global economy, but what is interesting is that nobody is suggesting that Canada is the source of that uncertainty.

On the contrary, Canada is one of the few islands of stability in the developed world. The reason we are is because the Minister of Finance has created one of the broadest and most sweeping action plans in the history of this country, which we continue to move forward on, and also because Canadians and people across the globe know we have a government smart enough to reject dumb ideas like a $20 billion carbon tax.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, for years Conservatives have been downplaying the threats facing our economy, insisting, as the Prime Minister just did, that we are somehow an island of stability, fortress Canuck.

In an interview last week the Prime Minister let the truth slip. The Prime Minister admitted that he underestimated the “fragile state” of our economic recovery. He warned that economic turmoil in the United States and Europe should be considered “the new normal”.

If the Prime Minister now admits that the situation is worse than he thought, why is he still stubbornly refusing to take action?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, I have been saying for five years now, in fact before the recession began, that we were on very uncertain economic times, that Canada had a lot of strengths that were envied around the world, but that we must keep our focus on the economy and doing good things for the economy to keep creating jobs and economic stability here.

That is why we try to increase trade, not try to shut it down. That is why we try to keep industries open, not try to shut them down. That is why we lower taxes. We do not raise them as the leader of the NDP proposes.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has finally admitted that Canada's economy is fragile, something that we have been telling him for years now. The Prime Minister is also saying that the economic turmoil in Europe and the United States is now the norm. He recognizes that he was wrong but refuses to change his approach.

I have a very simple question. Will the Prime Minister accept the invitation from his provincial colleagues? Will he attend the economic summit scheduled for November?

If he has finally understood there is a problem, why will the Prime Minister not meet with the premiers to discuss solutions?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, for five years now, I have been saying that the global economy, of which Canada is a part, is uncertain. That is why we are focusing on the economy and we have one of the best economic track records in the world. We intend to continue to lower taxes to ensure job creation, not raise them as the NDP is suggesting.

There is not a single serious analyst in the entire world who thinks this economy would be anything but worse off if the leader of the NDP put his policies in effect. That is why we will keep expanding trade and keep lowering taxes.

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, government boasting about the economy rings hollow for many Canadians, especially young Canadians who are left painfully behind in inequality. The monotone message about austerity, kneecapping the federal government into irrelevance, is no help to families who cannot afford to get their kids into university or college. It is no help for youth joblessness at recession-like levels near 15%, and that does not even count another 165,000 young people who have just given up.

Instead of empty spin, when will we see some real economic action to support young Canadians?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again, in spite of international economic uncertainty, Canada has one of the best job-creation records in the world, and Canadians know that. That is why Canadians are supportive of the measures in our economic action plan and want to see us continue to move forward, which we will.

The one difference between the NDP and the Liberal Party is at least the NDP brings bad ideas to this debate, whereas the Liberals bring none.

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, smugness becomes him.

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation loans given to co-operatives are another example of this painful inequality. They sometimes have interest rates in excess of 13%. They cannot refinance without facing huge penalties imposed by the federal government.

Will the government help co-operatives refinance their projects under more reasonable conditions?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as I have already said many times, the economy remains our focus. This government is determined to continue to increase our international trade, promote opportunities for business owners and industries, and lower taxes. That is how Canada created one of the best job-creation records in the world. And we will continue doing so.

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, we give him a specific idea and he does not understand it.

More than 60% of Canadians live on incomes below $40,000. Fully one-third of Canadian tax filers earn incomes so low they cannot pay taxes. The median income in Canada is getting smaller, not larger. For the 5% of Canadians earning more than $100,000, disposable incomes may be rising. However, for the other 95%, the hard truth is the opposite.

Does the government have any plan to tackle income inequality? Is there any plan for jobs in Canada's suffering manufacturing sector? Complacency does not work.

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal member talks about lower-income Canadians. That is one of the reasons why we lowered the GST for all Canadians, including lower-income Canadians, by 2%. It is why we brought in the biggest increase in the guaranteed income supplement in a quarter century and why we continue to pursue policies that create jobs for Canadians across the country, because they need those jobs. It is just disappointing to see the Liberal Party complain about these things and then vote against every policy to help low-income Canadians.

Foreign Takeovers

[Hélène LeBlanc, NDP, LaSalle—Émard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, if a Chinese state-owned enterprise takes over Nexen, an oil sands development company, there could be serious consequences. Canadians are worried, but with the deadline just 26 days away, the Conservatives are refusing to hold public consultations. Moreover, they have been refusing to revise the Investment Canada Act or to define the notion of “net benefit” for the past two years.

Why are the Conservatives breaking their promise? Why are they hiding behind closed doors?

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Minister of Industry and Minister of State (Agriculture)]

Mr. Speaker, with respect to the transaction the member mentioned, we will certainly determine whether there is net benefit to Canada. We will be conducting a detailed review and will be looking at the matter very closely.

We have already made a number of amendments to make the legislation clearer and more transparent. The NDP, whose policies would halt all forms of investment in Canada, is certainly not in a position to teach us anything with respect to this matter.

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we know what is happening behind closed doors because the lobbyist registry shows extensive meetings between CNOOC lobbyists and the government. Canada's twelfth largest oil company is at stake and meeting with lobbyists is not consulting with Canadians. On this side, we believe Canadians must be consulted about this deal, about the impact on jobs and the economy and on our communities.

After the broken promises, fiascos and scandals of the government we understand that it is afraid of the public. I have a simple question: When will there be a public review of the Nexen takeover deal?

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Minister of Industry and Minister of State (Agriculture)]

Mr. Speaker, this transaction will be scrutinized very closely. Unlike the other side of the House, it is not the intention of the government to put the oil industry out of business.

We do not have any lessons to take from his party. What it advocates for would deter any form of investment in the country, and this is certainly not the path we will take.

National Defence

[Christine Moore, NDP, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about another file where the rules were never clearly set out. Letters exchanged by the Auditor General and National Defence were recently made public by the NDP. They show how the government stubbornly objected to the devastating report by the Auditor General on its complete mismanagement of the F-35 file.

How can the Conservatives proclaim with a straight face that they accept the Auditor General's findings when just a few months ago they were demanding that the report be completely rewritten?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, it has been made very clear by the government that it accepts the recommendations of the Auditor General, which is why it set up the National Fighter Procurement Secretariat, to ensure transparency and due diligence is done in the replacement of our CF-18s.

No money has been spent on the purchase of any new fighter aircraft and no money will be spent until the secretariat independently verifies the cost and the requirements necessary to replace the CF-18s. We await KPMG's report on the cost of the F-35, and, of course, that report will be made public.

[Matthew Kellway, NDP, Beaches—East York, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives claim to be in full agreement with the AG report on the F-35, but since the Auditor General found that they did not “demonstrate due diligence” they have decided to rewrite the report. For this creative writing assignment they have hired the auditor to a major F-35 contractor, a contractor that is making everything from fuselages to weapons systems to the new pilot helmets, because the other ones do not work. Everyone sees the conflict here. Why do they not?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, we have no conflicts with the Auditor General's findings and his recommendations. We agree with him. We think that the Department of National Defence needs to update its cost estimates to Parliament and to the government. In fact, we would like them to be independently verified, which is why we set up the secretariat, to ensure this level of transparency and due diligence is done.

The secretariat has hired KPMG to do that particular portion of the seven-point action plan, which is to independently verify the cost of the F-35 and also look at the cost assumptions that the Department of National Defence has used.

Ethics

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Before the summer break, the Minister of Industry was being investigated for a number of concerns and the government was appointing its friends to the Senate. There will be no hockey this year, but the Conservatives will carry on their traditions.

The Ethics Commissioner recently opened an investigation into the role of the Prime Minister's chief of staff in lobbying by his friends from Barrick Gold. This again shows that there is one set of rules for the Conservatives' friends and another for other people.

Will the Conservatives finally promise to follow the rules and restore a culture of ethical behaviour in their government?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the chief of staff, Mr. Wright, is a man of integrity who has followed all the rules. The allegations made by the opposition are unfounded and seek to tarnish the reputation of a man of great integrity.

It is incredible audacity for a party that covered up $340,000 in illegal donations. Those members had an opportunity to admit what they did after being asked time and time again. It is the biggest political donations scandal in Canadian history. The leader of the NDP knew about it and he covered it up. He should stand up and apologize for it.