Rick Norlock

[Business of Supply, March 7th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member does bring up some very salient points.

What are we doing? The $1 billion community trust is specifically for those communities which are totally reliant or significantly reliant on an industry such as the forest industry.

She mentioned the pine beetle. This government has contributed millions upon millions of dollars that will help communities that are affected by the pine beetle infestation.

I know something about the pine beetle infestation from personal experience in British Columbia, visiting my son who lives there. When I first flew out to see him some years ago, as we entered into B.C. airspace, we could see the vast green forests. A few years ago those green forests had patches of rust. Now there is just simply too much of it.

What caused the infestation? Climate change. We know that at -30° for two or three weeks helps control the pine beetle. Forest fires have also been mother nature's way of keeping control of the pine beetle.

It is a terrible scourge on the forest industry that we know is moving into Alberta. We are working with the provinces to do something about it.

The hon. member is right that it is a problem, but she is wrong when she said the government is not doing anything about it. As I said, there is the $1 billion community trust and the huge amounts of money being poured into the communities with regard to how we are fighting the pine beetle.

She mentioned the things that do make us sick, the real pollution, the things that cause asthma. The government is taking action there, not just voluntary action, as the previous government did, but we brought in some of the toughest environmental legislation. It will not be voluntary. There will be significant fines for people who produce too much greenhouse gases and significant fines for those who pollute our air.

Right now as we speak, the Minister of the Environment is working with industry to develop ways, in a cooperative stance at the present time, on how they can meet those reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

Very shortly, those numbers will be released by the industry and the minister will be making some significant announcements with regard to what the government will do in the next step in reducing those greenhouse gases by 20% by 2020.

[Business of Supply, March 7th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, upon reflection of this government's record on greenhouse gas reductions and the actions taken by the Minister of the Environment, in particular our reductions of 20% by 2020 and 60% to 70% by 2050, Canadians will see that this country has finally taken aggressive steps toward achieving reductions on greenhouse gases.

For 13 years under the Liberal government these reductions were not only nonexistent but actually plunged further down to a negative situation. Emissions actually went up by 35%.

Our government has done something about that, but we have also done more. CO₂ is not considered to be a pollutant. It is a greenhouse gas but not considered a good one. This government has decided to reduce those things that make us sick and has identified over 220 negatives in the environment.

Canadians are applauding that and they will continue to applaud what our government is doing. They will see some concrete action, some direction.

We heard earlier this morning the NDP ranting and raving, and complaining about inaction. What they should really be talking about is a way of working collaboratively with the government to make sure that we reach these achievable goals.

One of the things that Canadians really need to know about all the bluster that we have been hearing from the NDP is that it will cost literally thousands of jobs. Yes, we have to do something about this, but it goes down a path that I do not think any reasonable Canadian wants to go down.

We heard during question period and during questions from the NDP in debate this morning about some of the serious threats we are under from the global economy vis-à-vis our manufacturing jobs and the actions that the finance minister has taken to stop that flow.

I fear that the action that the NDP is taking will have an even more negative effect not only on manufacturing jobs, jobs in the forestry sector, mining jobs and other sector jobs but on Canada's ability to be a world provider of energy. I refer specifically to things like nuclear energy, natural gas and petroleum that are actually helping to drive the economy.

On Saturday we had a town hall meeting in my riding and we discussed industry and jobs and manufacturing. ESCO is a company in my riding makes furnaces and items such as that. It ships a huge percentage of its products to the oil sands in Alberta and to Saskatchewan. I wonder about this preoccupation by the NDP members. How can those members tell companies like ESCO that it has to do away with its huge market that is providing jobs to people in my riding who have lost manufacturing jobs? I caution the NDP from going down that road.

In my previous intervention, I talked about some of the statements made by environment ministers in the previous government. That should send a signal to Canadians. No matter what official opposition members say about the environment, they should be ashamed of their track record. Once they come to that realization, they should then work with the government to make this better. I do not see that from them right now.

[Business of Supply, March 7th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, as members know, the world met in Indonesia for the 13th United Nations climate change conference in December last year. The meeting was an important step in the ongoing international process under the UN to address climate change. The meeting in Indonesia was also another opportunity for Canada to demonstrate its international leadership on this issue.

From the very beginning of these discussions, Canada's position has been that we must have an effective, binding international framework that leads to real greenhouse gas reductions. To reach that goal, all major emitters, such as China and India, need to be on-board. The world moved closer to reaching that goal in Indonesia.

Our government is proud of the principled position we have taken. With the United States now signed onto this framework, results of this conference can show progress. We see that as an important first step.

Make no mistake, the next two years will be a challenge, with long and intense negotiations. Canada looks forward to meeting that challenge and to working with our international partners to develop a global solution in the fight against climate change.

Climate change is a global program, requiring global solutions. We see that with the agreement we reached in Indonesia. Let me be clear. Canada is committed to the United Nations process. We are committed to an international framework driven by science. We are committed to taking action with our turning the corner plan. Unlike the Liberal Party that sat around and did nothing for 13 years, we are taking action.

For a moment, though, let us look at the performance of the Liberal leader in Bali. He said that he would never criticize his government while abroad. He did, several times. The Liberal leader intentionally came to Bali to undermine and sabotage the work of the government at an international conference. That is a shame.

Canada understands the global threat to climate change requires a truly global solution. The scientific work of the International Panel on Climate Change, or the IPCC, tells us that we must stop the rise in greenhouse gas emissions and make significant cuts in emissions over the next 50 years if we are to prevent drastic consequences. This government supports the conclusions of the IPCC as the world's pre-eminent scientific body on climate change. The science is clear. The world must take immediate action on climate change.

Therefore, this government is taking action, with Canada's national plan “Turning the Corner: An Action Plan to Reduce Greenhouse Gases and Air Pollution”. Our plan will continue to deliver realistic and achievable results on cleaning up our environment. It is focused on broad action here at home and continued international leadership on the world stage.

Our agenda includes: absolute reduction in greenhouse gases of 20% by 2020; further reductions of 60% to 70% by 2050; a domestic carbon market; a comprehensive strategy for the Arctic, including a world class Arctic research station; national air pollution regulations; an action plan on clean water to protect our rivers, lakes and oceans; and tougher enforcement that will make polluters accountable.

Over the last year, Canada has been at the forefront of international action on climate change, including the leadership shown by the Prime Minister at the G-8, at the OPEC summit and at the United Nations.

Canada was also proud to play a leading role to achieve historic success at the Montreal protocol conference, where over 190 countries agreed on eliminating substances that would harm the ozone layer and would contribute to climate change.

Canada will continue to play an important role in this negotiation process. Specifically, Canada continues to articulate that a post-2012 climate change agreement should include: a target date for stabilizing emissions and goals for global emissions reductions by 2050; the strongest action and commitment by all major emitters; adequate consideration for national circumstances so as not to unduly burden the growth of any single country; consideration of a sectoral approach to appropriate cases where countries agree on specific targets for emissions reductions from highly globalized industries, such as concrete and fertilizer; the elimination of trade barriers to green technology to support the demand for this new technology; a clear price signal on carbon to support the use of market mechanisms; a mechanism to provide credits for reduced emissions through reductions of deforestation, as more than 20% of global emissions result from deforestation; and due consideration for the need to adapt to the warming that scientists tell us will occur, regardless of immediate action.

What the government will not do is mislead the international community like the Liberals did for 13 years. When the Liberals signed on to Kyoto, they had no idea of the costs to the Canadian consumer, or the impact it would have on the Canadian economy. They wrote a number down on the back of a napkin in an attempt to trump the Americans, and now we find ourselves 35% above our Kyoto targets.

I agree 100% with the Toronto Star columnist, Chantal Hébert when she said:

Among the opposition leaders, only [the Liberal leader], who sat for a decade in government, stands to be called to account for how far behind Canada has fallen on the road to Kyoto.

The Liberals had no intention of meeting the Kyoto targets. Instead, they were prepared to send billions of hard-earned taxpayer dollars to buy hot air credits from Russia. Members do not have to take my word for it. Let us hear what former Liberal environment ministers had to say.

Former Liberal environment minister Christine Stewart said, “The Minister of Finance could never find money for Kyoto which was a terrible disappointment to me”.

The article goes on to say:

Stewart today says that Prime Minister Jean Chrétien...“didn't get environment”. She also says Natural Resources minister [the member for Wascana] accompanied her to “reassure,” the domestic oil industry because of the tremendous amount of “pushback,” Kyoto was getting”.

Let us hear what former Liberal environment minister Sheila Copps had to say:

I remember very well when (Chrétien) actually endorsed Kyoto, he called me before he went to South Africa because he was getting tremendous push back from the bureaucracy, the department of finance, the former minister of finance...and all of those attached to the natural resources…including [the member for Wascana] and Anne McLellan. (They) were viciously against Kyoto.

Sheila Copps went on further to say:

We burned thousands of pounds of paper with briefing notes from the department of Natural Resources and the Department of Finance showing us why we could do nothing because it was an economic disaster.

Yet for all those years, Canada deceived the international community. The Liberals talked and talked and never backed it up with action. Only the Liberal leader can be held to account for that.

The fact is our government cannot take responsibility for the inaction and mistakes of the past 13 years under the Liberals, but what Canadians can expect is that we will take action to clean up the mess left by the Liberals. That is why we are moving aggressively to cut greenhouse gas emission and fight global warming in our country.

When it comes to failed international agreements, it is only the Liberals that know failure. Unlike the Liberals, we are getting the job done on the international stage.

[Visitor Visas, March 6th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, on March 1 our Conservative government waived visa requirements for Poland, Slovakia, Lithuania and Hungary. This means that citizens from these countries will no longer require a temporary resident visa to visit family and friends in Canada. Canada has strong ties with each of these countries and lifting the visa requirements will help build better relationships.

Recently, the member for Etobicoke Centre has been trying to take credit for the Conservative government's hard work on this issue. The fact is that he and the Liberal Party had their chance, and guess what, they did not get it done.

In April 2005 that member put forward a motion on this issue. That motion stayed on the order paper for seven months. It stayed there until his government was thrown out of office. His motion was ignored by his party. The member for Etobicoke Centre and the Liberal Party did not get the job done.

I am proud to say the Conservative government got the job done.

[The Budget, March 4th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I listened intently to my friend talk about what the $3,500 could be used for. I would like to tell my friend what it can be used for, not necessarily just to go out to work.

How about some of those seniors who call me and tell me that last year they lost their GIS because their refrigerator went on the blink and they had to go into their savings account and draw some money out, which made them ineligible for some of the GIS, so it went down. Those are the people we are listening to.

We are also listening to some of the people who say that we need more jobs in our country. The way to create more jobs in our country is to develop a climate where companies want to invest.

For the gloom and doomers in here, I want to say that 7,000 jobs will be created in Baie Comeau over the next little while because ALCOA is investing in an aluminum smelter plant on the north shore. This is a move, the company says, that will help safeguard thousands of jobs in that province. That did not just happen by accident. We are making Canada a place to invest, a place where 7,000 jobs can be created because a company is expanding in an area.

What is so wrong with a budget that creates 7,000 jobs? What is so wrong with a budget that does not want to claw back seniors' GIS because their refrigerator is going on the blink? What is so wrong with that kind of budget?

[The Budget, March 4th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, in addition to the $358 million for Ontario for the community development trust, the $195 million in the public transit trust that goes to Ontario, and the extra money for the 2,500 police officers, are there any other items in the budget that will benefit the members of our ridings in the province of Ontario?

[The Budget, March 3rd, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, my brothers and sisters in uniform across this great country of ours have been waiting a long time for additional members in their ranks.

I want to thank the member for bringing up some of the matters we have been addressing with regard to post-secondary education. He left out the fact that we are providing $250 million over five years to support strategic, large scale research and development projects in the automotive sector. The enhancement of Export Development Canada's guaranteed program to support the automotive and manufacturing sectors is great news for his riding and mine.

[The Budget, March 3rd, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is 100% wrong. This budget and previous budgets do very much for the environment.

I thank her for mentioning the nuclear industry, to which the government committed $300 million. Nuclear power generation, especially in the province of Ontario, reduces by millions of tonnes the amount of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, so an investment in nuclear technology is a good investment when it comes to the environment.

In this budget, we are providing $500 million for modern public transit, $250 million for three carbon capture and storage demonstrations, and $66 million over two years to implement binding national regulations on greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants across all industrial sectors.

The member has it very wrong. We are doing a lot for the environment and there is more to come.

[The Budget, March 3rd, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, what I personally have done and what most Canadians would do is both.

We would take part of the excess money, or the extra money we had after budgeting for the year, and put some toward our children's education, perhaps through an RESP, and we would also put money down on our debts, or our mortgages.

That does two things. That reduces the amount of interest we pay on our mortgages, which makes us more able to pay later on for our children's education.

It is worth knowing that since coming to office, this government has increased post-secondary education funding by 40%. This goes toward what the member just mentioned. We do both and that is what this budget does.

[The Budget, March 3rd, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, budget 2008 is balanced, focused and prudent. It builds on decisive pre-emptive action taken in the 2007 fall economic update and during winter 2008 to lower taxes for people and businesses, pay down debt and provide targeted support to troubled industries.

Budget 2008 contains more than 100 new measures, including a tax-free savings plan, the most significant personal savings vehicle since the introduction of RRSPs. For Canadians this is a powerful tax-free incentive to save.

Unlike our opponents, we are providing decisive leadership. Four months ago in the fall economic update, we provided $60 billion in tax relief to strengthen our economic fundamentals, including historic reductions to corporate income taxes and a further reduction of the GST to 5%. This budget prepares Canada and Canadians for the challenges ahead. It continues reducing debt and taxes, focuses government spending and provides additional support for sectors of the economy that are struggling in this period of global uncertainty.

Our government is providing responsible leadership. This is the third straight balanced budget. It is both responsible and realistic. Our fiscal projections are based on the most up to date private sector economic forecasts.

We are planning surpluses over the entire budget horizon. After accounting for measures proposed in the budget, we are planning to reduce the debt by $10.2 billion in 2007-08, $2.3 billion in 2008-09 and $1.3 billion in 2009-10. By 2012-13, we will have reduced the federal debt by more than $50 billion since coming to office.

We will not leave our children or grandchildren with the burden of paying for excessive spending, as in the past. Unlike the previous government, we will not be going on a year-end spending spree. Instead, we are giving Canadians a direct stake in and a direct benefit from debt reduction through our tax back guarantee.

Under the tax back guarantee, the government dedicates the effective interest savings from federal debt reduction each year to permanent and sustainable personal income tax reductions. As a result of 2009-10 tax reductions provided under the guarantee, this will amount to $2 billion.

Reducing the country's debt is sound fiscal management. It reduces the amount of money allocated to paying interest on the debt, it helps to keep interest rates low and encourage investment, it improves our ability to cope with economic surprises, it reduces our foreign debt while keeping Canadian dollars at home, and lastly, it ensures that our children will not have to bear the burden of a national debt created by former governments.

In the fall of 2007, we gave $60 billion in tax assistance to strengthen our economic base. That was what needed to be done. We also supported workers and communities in need.

Budget 2008 prepares Canada and Canadians for the challenges ahead. It continues reducing debt and taxes, focuses government spending, and provides additional support for sectors of the economy that are struggling in this period of global uncertainty.

My opponents here in Ottawa have been telling the media and Canadians that we are blowing the surplus. It takes a certain kind of Ottawa politician to view giving people their hard-earned money back as blowing the surplus.

What our opponents fail to understand is the government has no money. The money belongs to taxpayers. We have taken a balanced approach by providing sustainable tax relief, spending on the priorities of Canadians and reducing debt.

Budget 2008 is good for Ontario. Federal support for provinces and territories has reached unprecedented levels. For Ontario this totals $13.9 billion in 2008-09, an increase of $1.4 billion from last year and almost $2.7 billion since 2005-06.

Budget 2008 provides Ontario with: $358 million over three years through the $1 billion community development trust to support efforts to help vulnerable communities adjust to global uncertainty; $195 million over two years through the $500 million public transit capital trust; $156 million over five years for the $400 million police officers recruitment fund to recruit an additional 2,500 new front line police officers across Canada.

Ontario will also benefit from continued targeted support in 2008-09, including: $515 million for infrastructure initiatives, which will total $1.6 million for all provinces and territories, including significant support under the building Canada plan. This includes the gas tax refund, the building Canada fund, increased GST rebate from municipalities and the provincial-territorial equal per jurisdiction fund which will be $25 million in 2008-09. A further $117 million is being made available through the public transit capital trust.

Budget 2008 extends the gas tax fund to $2 billion per year nationally beyond 2013-14 and makes it a permanent measure. We are providing $195 million for labour market training as part of a commitment of $500 million a year in new funding to provinces and territories which begins this year, $303 million as its share of the following: $1.5 billion for the clean air and climate change trust, $300 million for the HPV immunization trust, and a $612 million patient wait times trust.

In addition to these measures, Ontario will continue to receive support through major federal transfers in 2008-09: $8.6 billion through the Canada health transfer, an increase of almost $523 million from last year, for a total of $22.6 billion for all provinces and territories, and this funding will continue annually through a 6% escalator; $4.1 billion through the Canada social transfer, which will provide provinces and territories with $10.6 billion, including an additional $800 million for post-secondary education.

This funding will grow annually through a 3% escalator, which takes effect this year. For Ontario this payment represents an increase of $931 million since 2005-06, which is a 29% increase. This is due mainly to an increase per capita cash allocation of the CST.

Budget 2008 builds on decisive and timely tax reductions for individuals, families and businesses which was introduced in 2006. Since coming to office, this government has provided $74.8 billion in tax relief to the people and businesses of Ontario.

Over this and the next two fiscal years, additional tax reductions in budget 2008 will provide the people and businesses of the province with tax relief of $199.3 million, including $24.1 million through the new tax-free savings account and $74.9 million through the extension of the accelerated capital cost allowance.

Ontario will also benefit from $22.1 million nationally to support changes to provide for easier access to credit through the agricultural advance payments program and $50 million through the cull breeding swine program.

It is obvious. This government is getting things done for the people of Canada and in particular for the people of Ontario.