Ben Lobb

[The Budget, June 9th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his hyperbole. I also remind him that a couple of months ago, when his party was on this side of the House, it had an opportunity to make an investment of $300 million for our low income seniors. That member voted for another option for the $300 million. He voted for a wasteful, unnecessary election. He voted for election signs.

This side of the House voted for seniors and low income seniors specifically on this initiative, yet he has the audacity to get up today and ask about this government's commitment to low income seniors.

He had better look in the mirror tonight when he goes home and ask himself this question. Was the $300 million better spent on low income seniors or on his wasteful $300 million worth of election signs?

[The Budget, June 9th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the member will note that my speech was not written, so I have no dollars invested in speech writers. This comes from the heart.

I would ask the member opposite how he feels about the per vote subsidy and if he is willing to look at that as a possible opportunity to reduce partisan spending. That would save Canadian taxpayers $30 million year in and year out. I would offer that up for that hon. member, to take a long hard look at that and perhaps support our commitment for saving taxpayer dollars.

[The Budget, June 9th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I too congratulate the member on his re-election.

This is my first opportunity to address the House since my last election. First and foremost, I would like to thank the constituents of Huron—Bruce for putting their faith in me in yet another election. These elections are hard work, and it is an honour and a privilege to serve such a great riding as Huron—Bruce.

As well, I note that we were able to achieve some historic results in the last election, receiving the largest number of votes ever in the history of Huron—Bruce's riding as well as the largest margin of victory. Certainly the government's actions over the last number of years have made a significant impact on the voters in Huron—Bruce.

I would be remiss if I started my speech without thanking my wife, Andrea, for her support during the three elections I have participated in. As well, I thank my parents and my in-laws. They provide tremendous support.

I would also like to thank the great number of volunteers who help day in and day out, year in and year out, to carry on these election campaigns. Volunteers are important not only for our party but for the other political parties. They help carry on the democratic process, so we certainly owe a big thanks to all those who have volunteered.

I would like to highlight some aspects of the budget.

Much of the budget presented June 6 was also captured in the budget that was presented on March 22. We have heard much debate in the last number of days, but I thought it would be important to highlight a few pieces in the budget that would have an impact on rural Canada, rural Ontario and even perhaps the riding of Huron—Bruce.

First and foremost would be the commitment again to the eco-energy retrofit program. This has been a popular program coast to coast and certainly in the riding of Huron—Bruce. It provides a great number of economic opportunities. It allows citizens in Huron—Bruce to upgrade their homes, whether through insulation, windows, doors, a new furnace or what have you. It provides them an opportunity to make their homes more energy efficient.

The other opportunities it provides are economic. We have a few manufacturers in the riding of Huron—Bruce. An example is Dashwood Industries, which manufactures certified and approved windows that would go into retrofitted homes from coast to coast. I would encourage all Canadians who are thinking of using this program to make sure they ask their contractors to install Dashwood Industries windows. As well, MDL Doors provides a great quality product and is located outside of Brussels, Ontario. It would provide insulated doors for homes.

These are great opportunities, and the economic spinoff always follows through to the individuals who audit the households as well as to the contractors who provide the work. In spite of the fact that it has been a wet spring, a program such as this is going to be another stimulus to the construction industry and is certainly welcome.

We also know Huron—Bruce is a very significant agricultural riding, and this government's commitment to agriculture in many consecutive budgets has certainly been appreciated.

There have been a few highlights in this budget for new money in agriculture. Foremost is the $100 million investment over five years to the CFIA to help implement the Weatherill report that came out of the listeriosis outbreak a couple of years ago. This investment will help the CFIA to fully implement the recommendations in that report.

As well, there is $50 million over the next two years for innovation and research in agriculture. We know the agricultural community welcomes these dollars. It realizes the importance of innovation and research in continuing to push along the agricultural products we produce in Canada. The riding of Huron—Bruce welcomes those dollars for innovation because we know we have taken great advantage of those investments, as our yields certainly indicate.

There is also about $24 million over two years committed to the hog industry. These are vitally important dollars that are going to address some issues around disease. The circovirus issue a number of years ago caused great strain to the hog industry, so added dollars to help the hog industry in Canada are certainly welcome.

From my perspective, the budget delivered a couple of days ago addresses these issues and will help push agriculture forward.

Also vitally important to agriculture are our export markets. It is important that we continue to push forward with our international bilateral free trade agreements.

The minister has been working hard on two vitally important trade agreements, the Canada-EU trade agreement and the Canada-India trade agreement. These will give farm exporters the opportunity to provide their goods tariff-free to nearly two billion people. They have a combined GDP of nearly $20 billion.

These are certainly welcomed by the agricultural community, especially in Huron—Bruce. The white bean capital of the world is located in Hensall in my riding of Huron-Bruce. It is the white bean capital of the world due in large part to the producers and the heads of co-ops. These agreements provide us with a great opportunity with respect to trade.

Our government has completed eight bilateral free trade agreements since 2006. We have more than 50 on the go right now that would provide Canada with a great competitive advantage on the world market. In addition to that, we are working closely with the countries to educate them on the great regiment that our producers and our processors maintain in Canada to produce world-class food and commodities.

The Conservative government's 2011 budget addresses a great number of these issues. The Minister of Agriculture and the Minister of International Trade have worked very hard abroad to continue to open these markets.

There are a great many manufacturers in Huron—Bruce. Another important aspect in the budget for manufacturers is the two year extension of the capital cost allowance that will allow manufacturers to do an accelerated 50% straight line depreciation on new plants and machinery. This is important because it will allow our manufacturers to continue to make investments in plant and plant machinery to continue to make Canada more competitive. This is an area we need to address. The government is committed to reduce tariffs on machinery bought outside of Canada. This is a tremendous opportunity.

I worked in the automotive parts manufacturing sector for many years at Wescast Industries. This company has really taken advantage of the opportunity in recent years to upgrade its machinery to make its products more competitive so it can produce a product at a lower price, which allows it to add more employees. The manufacturing community coast to coast appreciates this and I certainly appreciate this because it helps manufacturers in the riding of Huron—Bruce.

In addition, we have provided a hiring credit for small businesses. It will help offset the employment insurance premiums that small and medium-sized businesses will pay when they hire new employees. This will help about half a million small businesses from coast to coast. The economy is recovering. Canada has come through the recession better than any other developed nation. This is another way to help businesses create new jobs and not impede the hiring of new employees. Canada was built by small business. The backbone of rural communities such as Huron—Bruce are agriculture and small business. This is another tool in the tool box of small business to allow it to be competitive and not afraid to hire new employees.

Huron—Bruce is a beautiful tourist community located along the coastline of Lake Huron. It is a place where people come to retire. The commitment in this year's budget to add another $300 million to the guaranteed income supplement is welcome and appreciated. This will increase the income of low income seniors, and they will appreciate that. They appreciate a government that looks out for seniors.

The government brought in pension splitting in past budgets and that has also been a great tool for seniors to make their retirement dollars spread forward.

The budget document is 375 pages. I could on for days, but I realize I only have 10 minutes.

[Business of Supply, March 10th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, again, if I go back to the motion where it mentions “advance its partisan interests and oppose its regressive ideology”, perhaps the member may want to get off her high horse. She may remember a ten percenter which she would have signed off on and which she sent into a riding in northern Saskatchewan. There were pictures of body bags on the ten percenter. Perhaps when she is thinking about her speech about truth and ideology and all these highbrow concepts, she may think back to her own actions. Maybe she would have a response to that. We need to see both sides here.

[Business of Supply, February 17th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I represent a rural riding and it may be a surprise to the opposition coalition that many of the businesses in rural Ontario today are incorporated, such as feed mills, grain elevators, large farms, dairy farms, chicken farms, pork farms and many more. They are the job creators in our communities and the opposition wants to raise taxes on the job creators that are vital to rural communities, such as rural Huron—Bruce.

Would the member for Saint Boniface explain to the House and Canadians watching how our government is helping job creators in rural Canada?

[Abolition of Early Parole Act, February 16th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I have two questions for the member. The member for Ajax—Pickering stood in the House and said he believes that drug mules and people who are involved in grow ops should be allowed accelerated parole. What is the member's position on whether those people should be eligible for accelerated parole?

The other question is this. Madam Naltchayan, one of her constituents, testified at committee last night. I know that the member has had a lot of dealings and interactions with her. I wonder if the member could shed some light for the House on the costs that Madam Naltchayan has had to endure as a victim, as well as Mr. Gravel, who also testified at committee last night.

[Abolition of Early Parole Act, February 16th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I made note that at the beginning of the member's speech he talked about the desire to take the debate to a higher level and to have an honest question and an honest answer. I am going to ask a fair question and I hope he will provide a fair answer.

With regard to the accelerated parole review, I know he supports the area around fraudsters but that he has a problem with regard to first-time non-violent offenders.

Last night in committee, one of the witnesses, Ms. Lanctôt , described two of the non-violent offenders. One was a drug mule and one was an individual who had a drug operation in his house. Those are the ones with the accelerated parole that the member for Ajax—Pickering thinks works well.

I wonder if he could just provide an answer to the House as to whether he thinks those types of crimes warrant accelerated parole review.

[Abolition of Early Parole Act, February 15th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, after the last speech, I think we have heard it all now. Apparently England hosted the G20 summit and spent $50,000 for security. That was an exceptional feat. Certainly, if they were able to hold a summit and spend $50,000 on security, then yes we do have something to learn from them.

The victims of Earl Jones in Quebec are calling for action. Victims of white collar crime from coast to coast are calling for action. The victims said yesterday that they are petitioning all political parties in Ottawa to stand up for the victims of Earl Jones and to do the right thing and act now and support the passage of Bill C-59. Those parties even include the Liberal Party and the NDP.

Let me quote a letter that one of Earl Jones victims sent to the NDP member for Outremont:

We don't want to see this man out on parole as early as next December.... Please work with the other parties to come to a good conclusion for all of us that have been victims—

The letter continued that criminals who preyed on the most vulnerable members of our society should not be released just to save a buck. Was the cost of keeping criminals behind bars worth it? Absolutely.

That is an important comment, because we have heard a fair bit from members about costs, but that is a comment by a victim who says that in some cases perhaps the costs of reparation are suited to the victims.

I would not mind commenting on a speech from yesterday given by the member for Ajax—Pickering. In his speech he advocated 10 times for keeping white collar criminals out of prison. He quoted former U.S. congressman Newt Gingrich at least four times. He seems fixated on Newt Gingrich. The member made reference to the U.S. State of California six times. Not surprisingly, he mentioned victims zero times. As a member of the public safety committee, I have grown accustomed to members on the other side not referring to victims.

Another thing that I heard from the last speaker and from others is that we need to get this bill to committee, that we need to have a debate, that we prorogued this and we prorogued that. However, the fact of the matter is that all of these bills that would help victims, that would fight crime, that would get tough on criminals, just like the bill we are talking about today, could have been dealt with long ago.

Bill C-39 had its first reading back in June. It was referred to committee on October 20. We could have dealt with Bill C-39 before Christmas, but the coalition was more intent on a witch hunt against the RCMP, the Canadian Forces and the Toronto Police Service, the men and women who go to work every day to provide safety and security to our families, friends and neighbours. That was the coalition's priority. Last fall that was what it spent its time focusing on, when it could have focused on legislation that would have actually done something for victims. We could have got tough on crime.

We can go down the list of bills before the public safety committee right now. Bill C-5, the bill dealing with the international transfer of offenders, has been sitting in committee since the fall. It has been at committee for months. Bill C-17, the bill dealing with combatting terrorism, has been before committee for months as well. All of these bills could have been dealt with and been brought back to the House and been voted on and gone all the way to royal assent long ago. Bill C-23B, the bill to eliminate pardons for the most serious crimes, is still hanging around. No action has been taken. They are dragging their feet. Bill C-39 would have addressed the very issues we are dealing with today, but has evolved into Bill C-59.

When the opposition, specifically the Liberal Party, start talking about this and that and the other thing, these are the facts. They can be checked. They are all on the record.

The fact of the matter is that Bill C-39 could have been dealt with long ago. It was first read in the House in June. As I said, it was referred to committee in October, and because of the coalition's agenda and the witch hunt against the RCMP, the Canadian Forces and the Toronto Police Service, we have not heard much of these bills at all.

The government is trying to advocate on behalf of victims by pushing this agenda forward. However, it is being roadblocked at every turn and every step of the way .

Another point I would like to come back to is the costs. We have heard questions about the costs of this and the costs of that. I would also like to talk about victims. I have never heard anything from the coalition about costs when it comes to bills. This is the first time. It is great to hear. It is enlightening that it is starting to look at costs. It may want to consider the costs of the tax hikes it is proposing. However, that is a whole other topic for debate.

These schemers and fraudsters are not fools; they are highly intelligent individuals who are lacking moral fibre and who prey on their victims. They realize that if they are caught, they will get out. They know that. Therefore, when we look at costs, we have to complete the loop and follow the full circle and realize that once these fraudsters and schemers know that accelerated parole is no longer available for them any more, they will think twice before they go down the path of Earl Jones. There is no doubt about that.

Unfortunately, the coalition does not want to talk about that, as it does not suit its argument. As with everything else that I have mentioned in debate this afternoon, it does not suit its needs. However, the facts are right here; the facts can be checked. The fact is that when someone like Earl Jones or Lacroix knows that there will no longer be accelerated parole available, they will think twice. The next offender out there will take a long hard look and a second thought.

While we are talking about parole, let us take another look at what some of these changes will do.

Here is the current situation. Fraudsters who fleece hard-working Canadians of their savings are guaranteed to have their cases reviewed in advance by the Parole Board of Canada, so they can be paroled earlier than other offenders. That does not sound fair to a victim. White collar offenders, who might have destroyed the lives of hundreds of Canadians, are not in fact even required to apply for parole.

Can one imagine that? We have members here who are against this and are having an issue with it. We are just trying to say that we should have some fairness, that we should think about the victims before we send someone back out into the public.

The offenders do not need to lift a finger when they are trying to get back into society. Offenders who qualify for accelerated parole are not required to notify the Parole Board of Canada. In fact, the current Corrections and Conditional Release Act requires that the Correctional Service of Canada refer the cases of the offenders who are eligible for accelerated parole to the parole board before their day parole eligibility date so that they will be released as early as possible.

The other tragedy in all of this is that we do not hear one word from the victims. They are not allowed to make impact statements as to the effects of these offenders' actions on their lives, even the ruination or vaporization of their 30 or 40 years' of savings for their retirements with their families. That is shameful.

This bill needs to be passed today.

[Abolition of Early Parole Act, February 15th, 2011]

Madam Speaker, that was certainly a thorough answer, if I have ever heard one.

The member for Selkirk—Interlake is obviously very passionate about this bill and the possible benefits it will have for victims and victims' rights. The member for Elmwood—Transcona, though, is dead wrong.

It is a minor point, but the meeting does not start at 10 o'clock. It starts at 6:30 p.m. just down the hallway. He is welcome to sit in and watch, if he would like to.

What is interesting is that we never hear about the victims from NDP members. Nothing in his question was about victims. We never once hear about the victims from them. Then they talk about sending the bill to committee or something else, but the fact is that they drag their feet. I am on the public safety committee and at least three bills have been dragged along by the coalition since the fall, and we cannot move them along.

I would like the member for Selkirk—Interlake to tell the House and viewers at home a bit more about how this bill will help the victims and victims' rights, and also about the antics of the coalition in dragging its feet on these bills in committee. It is outrageous.

[Abolition of Early Parole Act, February 15th, 2011]

Madam Speaker, my question is with regard to the expediency behind moving the bill to committee.

I would like to point out the lack of speed with which the Liberal Party coalition on the other side deals with bills. Bill C-5 has been in committee since the fall. Bill C-17, the terrorism bill, has been lingering in committee, as has Bill C-23B, concerning pardons for offenders. All of these bills have been in committee for months and months and yet there has been no action from the opposition to help us move them along. Instead, in the fall those members spent time going on a witch hunt against the RCMP, the Toronto police department and other good men and women who do a job every day.

I wonder if the member could say why she has not been able to push the law and order mandate to get these things through. That is what we are trying to do and every day we fight roadblocks from her party and the critic for public safety.