Rick Dykstra

[Manufacturing Industry, February 28th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, with economic difficulties in global markets and a slowing U.S. economy, some Canadians who work in our industries, especially in manufacturing, are being affected.

In response, the government created the community development trust. It will create opportunities for workers in segments of the economy facing difficulties and help vulnerable communities to refocus their economy and create new jobs. Budget 2008 further addresses manufacturers' concerns.

Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry confirm and elaborate on what we have in the 2008 budget for our manufacturing industry?

[Leader of the Opposition, February 25th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, it appears that the leader of the Liberal Party has bought himself a new pair of glasses, and just in time because he has been making spending promise after spending promise. He is at the point where his tax and spend announcements would cost taxpayers at least $62.5 billion and those are just the ones he has priced. He still has 33 of them that he has not priced out yet.

He even sent his finance critic over to my riding and left everyone there shaking their heads, wondering what his plan was.

Therefore, we will see if the new glasses give the leader of the Liberals a clear view of his spending promises and his deficit budgets. Come to think of it, perhaps a new pair of glasses is not enough to take care of that massive sea of debt. What the leader of the Liberal Party really needs is a swimsuit so he can do the front crawl in his own ocean of debt and broken promises.

[Starred Questions, February 13th, 2008]

With regard to government initiatives affecting seniors, what is the estimated annual cost: (a) to end the 10 year residency requirement for Old Age Security; and (b) to expand the full benefits of the Veteran’s Independence Program to widows who currently do not qualify for the program?

[Starred Questions, February 13th, 2008]

With respect to Canada's international development commitments, what is the estimated annual cost to increase Canada’s international aid expenditures by 10% instead of the 8% currently that is currently committed by the present government?

[Questions on the Order Paper, February 13th, 2008]

With respect to Canada's tax system, what is the estimated annual cost to create an “Angel Investor Tax Credit” along the lines recommended by the Conference Board of Canada’s Leaders Roundtable on Commercialization?

[Taxation, February 11th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal leader is fond of making promises and concocting schemes that make absolutely no sense to average Canadians but he is not fond of explaining how he plans to pay for all his schemes and promises.

Will the Liberal leader raise taxes, including the GST? Will he push our country back into deficit? He even said that the Liberals will take away the universal child care tax credit. There is not a tax they did not like and a tax they would not hike.

Could the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development please explain how raising the GST and taking away--

[PREBUDGET CONSULTATIONS, February 8th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, this is the same member who stands up every day in question period and demands money for farmers. Now, when we put money in for farmers, when we commit to the provinces, and when we commit to the territories, he stands in his place and tells all of us not to give anybody any money because we do not know what they are going to do with it.

The provincial treasurer in Prince Edward Island thinks we are spending money just fine and making the needed investments. Treasurer Wes Sheridan of the new Liberal government had nothing but praise for the Conservative finance minister's mini budget. He said:

It's very exciting. It's tremendous news for Islanders. This is money in our back pockets and that means money to be spent on Island businesses--

[PREBUDGET CONSULTATIONS, February 8th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the member for Victoria's presence at the hearings in Victoria was appreciated. It is good to know when we travel across the country, that members have the opportunity, such as was provided to her, to sit in, encourage, listen and advise on the state of their communities.

With respect to homelessness, there is not a government that has paid more attention to homelessness and dealing with this issue. As my colleague, the member for Peterborough, stated, we have done more in the last two years than in the previous twenty years to ensure we are committed to addressing the issue of homelessness. For example, in the 2006 budget $800 million in a third party trust account for the provinces and territories.

I know the member would like to take credit for having that in the budget, and she can. However, the fact is the Conservative government put it in the 2006 budget to commit the $800 million for the provinces and territories. It was not only a commitment, but we put the money in a third party trust account. Some provinces still have not accessed those funds to deliver on homelessness. We again acknowledged it as an issue to be dealt with in the 2007, budget by allocating $1.4 billion to address affordable housing and to address homelessness in the country.

We are not only prepared to talk the talk, we are prepared to walk the walk.

[PREBUDGET CONSULTATIONS, February 8th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, it is good to see you in the House on a Friday morning. It seems like everyone is in a festive mood. It must be Friday, when we have a chance to get back to our ridings and talk about the budget.

The budget will be coming up soon. Some excellent work has been done by a number of my colleagues on the finance committee, from all parties. They have come together to put together a prebudget submission, with some 36 recommendations. for the finance minister's consideration. If the finance minister, the finance department and our government see action items that should be implemented in the next budget, they will be in there. Those that are not will be considered in the future.

I have been honoured to participate in two prebudget consultation processes over the past two years and have travelled across Canada to hear from hard-working Canadians. Last year we heard from over 400 groups and we made 52 recommendations to the Minister of Finance. Some people say that good work does not come out of committee. In fact, good work does come out of committee. Seventeen of those 52 recommendations were in the 2007 budget. These consultations do matter.

This year we heard from 166 groups and individuals. The report prepared by the committee contains 36 recommendations. We flew from Vancouver all the way across the country to Halifax. We listened to the concerns of people from all walks of life.

In 2006 there may have been a bit of a hangover from a long and tired government. We faced a number of presentations from people who were upset and who felt that they had not been heard over the past number of years. These people had made their presentations to the finance committee. They put the work and effort into their presentations. Time after time and year after year they felt no one had listened to them.

These people were not there to complain. In the process we went through of 166 presentations. Not everyone was there to say exactly the same thing or to say that they would not like to be included in the budget. It was a very positive experience from Victoria to Calgary, back to Ottawa, to Halifax and then back to Montreal. The outlook from the people and organizations on the future of their communities and our country was nothing less than stellar and positive.

I mentioned the locations where we went. I thought I would highlight a couple of the presentations that were made because they left an impression on me in the approaches they took and about what they spoke.

The Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce commended the fiscal update and its benefits to Canadians. The organization asked all members of Parliament to continue to be responsible and to ensure that we provided opportunities for small businesses, individuals and entrepreneurs, hard-working families and Canadians so they too would have an opportunity to continue to grow their small businesses.

The Canadian Sport Centre in Calgary reminded all of us of the importance of physical fitness and Canada's stature in the world. It was interesting because representatives from the centre explained the 2010 Olympics. This week we celebrated the two year countdown to those Olympics. Athletes from across the country, including the great riding of St. Catharines, are in Calgary now training and getting ready for those Olympics. The slogan is “Own the Podium”. We are using that slogan to ensure we will be at the top of the podium in 2010.

One of the comments made was Canadians were changing a little. A number of years ago that slogan may have been “share the podium”. We have come a long way. We no longer think of ourselves as not rightfully having a spot on any podium, whether it is the environment, sports or finance. We can own the podium.

Halifax was the only available opening for a representative from Assembly of First Nations to make a presentation to us. It touched me that he had travelled all the way from my home riding of St. Catharines to Halifax to make that presentation. He put forward a plan and a vision for young aboriginal people in our country. He told us that there was a positive road for them as well.

In Montreal we heard from a company that recommended a tax incentive for employers that developed their own pandemic preparedness plan.

The 2006 budget included $1 billion over five years to fight future pandemics. People have said that we made the right investment in 2006. They have asked that it be extended to allow small and medium sized businesses to set a plan in place for their companies, their employees and their families.

It is not only government that should be responsible for these types of issues. All of us need to be responsible. When Canadians see it in the budget, they come back with ideas and concepts that take it past bureaucracies and government having to pay for or be responsible for this. There is another way to deliver health care on behalf of Canadians.

There are a number of recommendations that I want to briefly highlight.

We have suggested that the Income Tax Act be amended to extend the accelerated capital cost allowance for a five year period for manufacturing and processing, machinery and equipment. This is one of the most positive components of the 2007 budget. Whether in Abbotsford, British Columbia or in Peterborough, Ontario, companies are investing in their shops. They are buying equipment that they could not afford before this. They can purchase it now because they can write the depreciation off over a two year period.

There was not a stop that we did not make. Companies and organizations said that this was one of the most positive things they had seen in a budget in years. They did not ask us to reinvent it. They did not ask us to come up with a different way of delivering it. All they simply asked for was an extension.

My community of St. Catharines has been hit hard with manufacturing closures, as have other communities. We have worked hard to assist this sector through policies in the 2007 budget. This week we voted on providing $1 billion to the provinces and territories so they could assist companies in their communities, which really need help.

We also recommended amending the Excise Tax Act to permit people arriving in Canada to make duty free purchases at Canadian airports. Members may not think this is a big deal. This would not take any money out of the ministries at the federal level. It would simply be an opportunity to create and support jobs in Canada.

We also recommended amending the Income Tax Act to give enhanced incentives for charitable giving. We heard from many not for profit organizations. They wanted the opportunity to increase the donations from Canadians. We can compete with anyone in the world in this regard. We own the podium when it comes to charitable donations. The potential to add to this is something we hope will find its way into the budget.

We heard many times about the child fitness tax credit and what a great benefit it was to many Canadians. We heard from the new Olympic committee on the summer Olympics. It talked about preparing our summer athletes to own the podium. More than that, it is about preparing our children to become physically fit, to learn about working in a team atmosphere and having the positive influence of coaches and leaders.

I am proud to be a member of the finance committee. I am proud we have put forward an opportunity and a report for the finance minister. I am sure some of it will see its way into the budget.

Again, it was good to hear the valuable input and presentations across the country. This is a valuable report that will do good work for Canadians.

[Committees of the House, February 5th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I can think of no better sustainable decision than the 2007 budget. Whether we talk about the infrastructure investments in it, whether we talk about equalization, whether we talk about specific investment in Quebec, the 2007 budget did all of those things.

The member spoke about going back to the stone age. I certainly do not advocate it, but if he is a fan of the Flintstones, I will not criticize or go there. I do not have the time to do it. However, I will say that the important word in the stone age is “stone”. Across this country we had seen a lack of investment in infrastructure over the past number of years.

In the 2006 budget there was an investment of over $16 billion in infrastructure. In the 2007 budget there was an investment of $17 billion in infrastructure, not including the $1 billion in the 2006 budget for universities, specifically for infrastructure. There is over $33 billion to partner with the municipalities, to partner with the provinces to rebuild an infrastructure system.

As the member mentioned the word, a lot will be made out of stone. If he believes that is not an important component of this country and the infrastructure that we certainly rely on, I would argue that sadly, the member is mistaken.

I would suggest that the hon. member be careful about the words he uses, because I can assure him there are communities, companies and people across this country who are waiting for bridges, for investments in roads, for sewer and water--