Debates of April 18th, 2013

Taxation

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, York West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the government's attack on the middle class continues to expand. First, there was shampoo, deodorants and dishwasher detergents. Now it is blankets, toothbrushes, hairbrushes and even pillows. These are things that families use every day and the government just cannot keep its hands out of the pockets of Canadian families. The government has mismanaged the economy, we all know that, and now it wants to balance the books on the backs of families that are struggling to make ends meet.

When are the Conservatives going to cancel this nothing short of a tax hike on middle-class families?

[Ted Menzies, Conservative, Minister of State (Finance)]

Mr. Speaker, every time we bring forward a tax reduction for Canadians, the Liberals vote against it. It is rather odd that they stand in the House and argue for special breaks for Chinese companies and companies from India that are providing products to Canada that Canadian companies could actually be manufacturing. It is unbelievable that the NDP and the Liberals would be fighting for jobs offshore instead of fighting for jobs in Canada.

[Judy Foote, Liberal, Random—Burin—St. George's, NL]

Mr. Speaker, the government is levelling hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes on everyday items used by Canadian families. The reality is that middle-class families cannot afford to pay more for necessities, such as playpens, carriages, bicycles, tricycles, school supplies, and the list goes on, just because of a Conservative tax.

When will the Conservatives cancel this new tax on Canadian families?

[Ted Menzies, Conservative, Minister of State (Finance)]

Mr. Speaker, once again, it is unbelievable that the Liberals and the NDP are actually fighting for, as they say, offshore jobs.

Chinese products are coming into our country at a discount and we are going to change that. We need to remember that the Chinese do not need special breaks for products coming into Canada.

I wish the opposition would stand up for Canadian jobs.

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are obviously weary of being used as props in deceitful Conservative publicity stunts. Just ask that bicycle shop owner.

Tariffs are taxes. The government is raising taxes by $333 million every year, and do not blame China. The Chinese did not impose the taxes and the Chinese will not have pay them.

This is a self-inflicted Canadian tax grab on the Canadian middle class, draining Canadian disposable incomes, driving Canadian businesses and consumers across the border.

Why does the government not just cancel the tax increase?

[Ted Menzies, Conservative, Minister of State (Finance)]

Mr. Speaker, we do continue on our low-tax plan. That is what we have run all of our campaigns on. All of our budgets have ensured that we make taxes affordable for Canadians and that the programs we put in place actually reduce costs for consumers and for taxpayers.

Actually 150 different times we have reduced taxes for Canadians and the Liberals and the NDP voted against it every time.

Ethics

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is now 1 month and 27 days since Mike Duffy offered to pay back the taxpayer.

However, last night we saw Prince Edward Island's most famous summer tourist once again ducking and weaving from accountability. He gets asked a simple question by a reporter, “Have you paid back the money?” and he runs away.

How long will the government allow this ripoff of the taxpayer? What will it do to get our money back? Will it at least send a collection agency to the red chamber down the hall? What about it?

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, as we have said, we want to see that the expenses incurred by senators are appropriate and that all the rules are followed. That is what the Senate review has been seeking to do.

The more important question is we also want to see fundamental change to the Senate. This week, taking his seat is one more elected senator actually chosen by the voters of his province, Scott Tannas. We are pleased to see he is there.

What Canadians want to know is why is the NDP is standing in the way of having real democracy and having all senators selected by the people of Canada?

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians want to know why the Conservatives promised reform and gave us Patrick Brazeau.

The Conservatives promised to clean up the Senate. Instead they are defending their entitlements in the worst political spending scandal in memory. They refuse to tell us how many are being investigated. They refuse to tell us how much money is being paid back and why the senators are allowed to police themselves when they pay out their expenses based on a pinkie swear. That is not accountability.

Will the government demand that its Conservative-dominated Senate hand over the audits and come clean with Canadians so we know how much taxpayers are being ripped off? That is accountability.

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, we have made it clear throughout that we want to see respect for Canadians' tax dollars.

Canadians work too hard to have their tax dollars taken by excessive and irresponsible government spending. We want to see the Senate apply the rules. Canadians do not want to see the tax-and-spend approach by the NDP.

What Canadians do want is a chance for them to actually be treated with respect by political parties. They want to see an opposition NDP, instead of saying Canadians do not have the maturity to select their own representatives in the House, actually support real democracy and support our legislation to give Canadians a say in who actually represents them in the Senate. That is what Canadians want to see.

Democratic Reform

[Alexandrine Latendresse, NDP, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the example of Mike Duffy, who is feigning remorse, only goes to show that there is one rule for the Conservatives and another rule for everyone else.

The delay in tabling reforms of the Canada Elections Act raises some troubling questions. We are wondering why the Conservative caucus blocked the introduction of the new bill. We know that the Conservatives refused to provide the powers that the Chief Electoral Officer was asking for. We know that their lawyer dragged out the investigation into the fraudulent calls for months and that the minister dragged his feet for over a year to avoid changing the legislation as promised.

What is behind these tactics? When will there finally be changes to the Canada Elections Act?

[Tim Uppal, Conservative, Minister of State (Democratic Reform)]

Mr. Speaker, we have some serious concerns over what the Supreme Court of Canada has called the Liberals' attempt to disenfranchise entitled voters and undermine public confidence in the electoral process and the fact that the NDP has accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal union donations.

We are going to make changes to Canada's election laws and we are going to take the time to get it right.

[Craig Scott, NDP, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we have gone from “in due course” to “in the near future” to “we will take the time to get it right”. The fact is, Conservatives have dragged their heels on giving Elections Canada the tools it needs to combat election fraud, just as their lawyer ran interference for months to prevent interviews of Conservatives by Elections Canada investigators.

On Tuesday the democratic reform minister said he would introduce legislation “on Thursday”. Today is Thursday, so could the minister please tell Canadians which Thursday he was talking about?

[Tim Uppal, Conservative, Minister of State (Democratic Reform)]

Mr. Speaker, we are making changes to Canada's election laws and we will take the time to get it right. We are concerned about what the Supreme Court of Canada said about the Liberals' attempt to disenfranchise entitled voters and undermine the public confidence in the electoral process and the fact that the NDP accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal union donations.

Justice

[Scott Armstrong, Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley, NS]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are concerned about crime, which is why our government has passed over 30 measures cracking down on violent crime and—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. The hon. member for Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley has the floor.

[Scott Armstrong, Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley, NS]

Mr. Speaker, our government is cracking down on crime by passing over 30 measures that stand up for the rights of victims. My constituents are particularly concerned with the case of Herbert John Hawkins, a convicted murdered who was recently granted escorted leave. He was convicted of murdering beloved Cape Breton musician, Mr. Sheldon Boutilier.

Could the Minister of Justice please inform the House our government's reaction to this decision by the independent parole board?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I do not comment on specific cases, but we are concerned. If violent criminals are released in the community, we believe that to keep our streets and communities safe, dangerous criminals must be kept behind bars.

My colleague, the Minister of Public Safety, is currently reviewing the laws with respect to escorted leave and our government will soon bring forward legislation to ensure that victims' rights are respected and that their voices are heard at parole hearings.

I hope for once that all opposition members will support our efforts to stand up for victims of crime.

Taxation

[Andrew Cash, NDP, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the GTA is already one of the most expensive places to live in Canada and Conservative GTA MPs are just not getting the job done. They just sit here quietly, while unemployment goes up. Youth unemployment in the GTA is over 15%.

Now Conservatives are raising taxes on over 1,200 everyday items, from brooms to bikes to iPods. Why are Conservatives delivering less and less for cities, while taking more and more money out of the pockets of already squeezed urban Canadians?

[Ted Menzies, Conservative, Minister of State (Finance)]

Mr. Speaker, the only thing the NDP would deliver is a $21 billion carbon tax. I do not think that is what Canadians want.

The NDP continues to fight for special breaks for companies from China and India. We will stand up for Canadian jobs. It is about time the NDP did.

[Annick Papillon, NDP, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, if they were truly standing up for Canadians, they would not have created the conditions to allow Canadian workers to be fired and replaced by temporary foreign workers. Many people living in large Canadian cities are already deep in debt and can barely make ends meet. They will have to work even harder to pay for the Conservatives' tax hikes on all manner of everyday consumer goods such as bicycles, coffee makers, umbrellas and so forth.

The Conservatives promised not to raise taxes. Why did they break their promise?

[Ted Menzies, Conservative, Minister of State (Finance)]

Mr. Speaker, I might remind the hon. member that Canadian taxes are at the lowest they have been in 50 years. That is no thanks to the NDP. Every time we put forward a tax credit for Canadians, or lower their taxes, the NDP votes against that. It is time NDP members started recognizing that Canadians drive this economy. They should stop beating up on Canadians.

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

Mr. Speaker, outside of large urban centres, many people enjoy fishing for sport. I, myself, have been known to fish for walleye, northern pike and yellow perch in the many lakes and rivers that are no longer protected in my beautiful riding.

However, with the tariff increases, the price of fishing rods, reels and lines will also go up.

Why do the Conservatives want to go after the sport fishing industry by taxing it?

[Ted Menzies, Conservative, Minister of State (Finance)]

Mr. Speaker, that is a good question to a fly fisherman, but let me talk about what the NDP have actually voted about.

We are talking about reductions in taxes for Canadians. The NDP voted against reducing the GST twice. The NDP voted against the universal child care benefit. It voted against the children's arts tax credit. It voted against the children's fitness tax credit. It voted against the family caregiver credit and the textbook tax credit. I can go on and on.