Thomas Mulcair

[The Economy, September 19th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, seeing the hon. member with the notes that he is reading us, we can only assume that he is the one who provided the note yesterday that said that the solution to unemployment is to bring more temporary foreign workers into Canada. At this rate, I know who the next unemployed worker in Canada is going to be: it is going to be him.

A record trade deficit of $50 billion, 500,000 good manufacturing jobs lost, and the highest level of household debt in the history of Canada, and what is their solution? It is to lower taxes even further for big business. Even the Minister of Finance recognizes that Canada is at a standstill.

When will the Conservatives wake up and start providing solutions to real problems that are affecting people's lives?

[Employment, September 19th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the other side very much for reminding Canadians about our plan to create green jobs.

Let us consider the Conservative plan for unemployed workers. A financial officer who works at a credit union in Montreal and earns $31,000 a year will have to take the first job that comes along that pays at least $10.85 an hour or he will lose his employment insurance benefits. That is what a 30% pay cut translates to.

Are the Conservatives able to understand the effect that this will have on families? Is this the only thing they have to offer unemployed workers in Canada?

[Employment, September 19th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, let us look at the facts. Consider the Conservative plan to cut employment insurance. From now on Canadians will have to choose: take a 30% permanent pay cut or be kicked off EI. That means a legal secretary in Calgary, making a little over $37,000 a year, will be forced to take any job that comes along paying at least $12.95 an hour. That is what a 30% pay cut translates to in the real world. Is that the Conservative plan for helping the unemployed?

[Employment, September 19th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, there are still over 300,000 more people unemployed today than before the 2008 recession. That is the fact.

How will bringing in more temporary foreign workers help the unemployed in Canada? We wanted to help Canadians who are unemployed. The government is obviously helping the unemployed in another country.

The Conservatives have changed the rules to make it legal to pay temporary foreign workers up to 15% less than Canadian workers doing the same job. Is that their message to the unemployed, “Work for less or we will bring in someone to replace you?”

[Employment, September 19th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I asked the Prime Minister what his government was doing to help the unemployed. The Prime Minister's answer was to bring in more temporary foreign workers.

Could the Prime Minister tell us exactly how bringing in more temporary foreign workers will help unemployed Canadians find jobs?

Can the Prime Minister tell us exactly how bringing in more temporary foreign workers will help unemployed Canadians find jobs?

[International Trade, September 18th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, this is the magic that the Conservatives are working. They took a trade surplus of $26 billion and transformed it into a trade deficit of $50 billion. The Conservatives took a budget surplus of $14 billion and transformed it into a budget deficit of $56 billion.

Meanwhile, the Conservatives have overseen the loss of hundreds of thousands of good manufacturing jobs, and all the Prime Minister can think to do is blame the NDP? People deserve better. The Prime Minister needs to open his eyes, see the problems that he is causing and take responsibility for once.

[International Trade, September 18th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is making things up and people deserve better.

We are talking about real people here: from Montreal to Toronto, from Newfoundland to the British Columbia's northern coast. The unemployment rate is over 8%. It is 15% among young Canadians. The industries are suffering and so the regions are suffering.

I would therefore like to once again ask the Prime Minister a very simple question that he avoided yesterday: can he name one specific thing he has done for the 1.4 million Canadians who are unemployed other than cutting off their employment insurance?

[International Trade, September 18th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I know the Prime Minister prefers making things up about the NDP instead of answering the questions, but Canadians deserve better.

This morning, economists at TD Bank are issuing a serious warning: Canada's economy is stuck in a soft patch. Exporters continue to feel the impact of an artificially high Canadian dollar; families are seeing the value of their homes drop as a result of a decline in the housing market; economic growth will remain anemic; and unemployment will remain high.

How can the Prime Minister be satisfied with these poor results?

[International Trade, September 18th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, we will not accept any lessons on trade from a government with a record $50 billion trade deficit.

With hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs lost, productivity growth at an all-time low, Canadian businesses sitting on over half a trillion dollars in dead money because they see no place to invest and the record trade deficit, does the Prime Minister really expect Canadians to believe everything is going just fine?

[International Trade, September 18th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, when the Conservatives took office, Canada had a $26 billion trade surplus. Today, Canada has a $50 billion trade deficit, which is an all-time high.

How can the Prime Minister explain this failure to Canadians?