Jobs and Economic Growth Act

An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 4, 2010 and other measures

This bill was last introduced in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session, which ended in March 2011.

Sponsor

Jim Flaherty  Conservative

Status

This bill has received Royal Assent and is now law.

Summary

This is from the published bill. The Library of Parliament often publishes better independent summaries.

Part 1 of this enactment implements income tax measures proposed in the March 4, 2010 Budget. In particular, it
(a) introduces amendments to allow a recipient of Universal Child Care Benefit amounts to designate that the amounts be included in the income of the dependant in respect of whom the recipient has claimed an Eligible Dependant Credit, or if the credit is not claimed by the recipient, a child of the recipient who is a qualified dependant under the Universal Child Care Benefit Act;
(b) clarifies rules relating to the Medical Expense Tax Credit to exclude expenses for purely cosmetic procedures;
(c) clarifies rules relating to payments made to a Registered Education Savings Plan or a Registered Disability Savings Plan through a program funded, directly or indirectly, by a province or administered by a province;
(d) implements amendments to the family income thresholds used to determine eligibility for Canada Education Savings Grants, Canada Disability Savings Grants and Canada Disability Savings Bonds;
(e) reinstates the 50% inclusion rate for Canadian residents who have been in receipt of U.S. social security benefits since before January 1, 1996;
(f) extends the mineral exploration tax credit for one year;
(g) reduces the rate of interest payable by the Minister of National Revenue on tax overpayments made by corporations;
(h) modifies the definition “taxable Canadian property” to exclude certain shares and other interests that do not derive their value principally from real or immovable property situated in Canada, Canadian resource property, or timber resource property;
(i) introduces amendments to allow the issuance of a refund of an overpayment of tax under Part I of the Income Tax Act to certain non-residents in circumstances where an assessment of such amounts has been made outside the usual period during which a refund may be made;
(j) repeals the exclusion for indictable tax offences from the proceeds of crime and money laundering regime; and
(k) increases the pension surplus threshold for employer contributions to registered pension plans to 25%.
Part 2 amends the Excise Act, 2001 and the Customs Act to implement an enhanced stamping regime for tobacco products by introducing new controls over the production, distribution and possession of a new excise stamp for tobacco products.
Part 2 also amends the Excise Tax Act and certain related regulations in respect of the Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST) to:
(a) simplify the operation of the GST/HST for the direct selling industry using a commission-based model;
(b) clarify the application of the GST/HST to purely cosmetic procedures and to devices or other goods used or provided with cosmetic procedures, and to services related to cosmetic procedures;
(c) reaffirm the policy intent and provide certainty respecting the scope of the definition of “financial service” in respect of certain administrative, management and promotional services;
(d) address advantages that currently exist in favour of imported financial services over comparable domestic services;
(e) streamline the application of the input tax credit rules to financial institutions;
(f) provide a new, uniform GST/HST rebate system that will apply fairly and equitably to employer-sponsored pension plans;
(g) introduce a new annual information return for financial institutions to improve GST/HST reporting in the financial services sector; and
(h) extend the due date for filing annual GST/HST returns from three months to six months after year-end for certain financial institutions.
In addition, Part 2 amends regulations made under the Excise Tax Act and the Excise Act, 2001 to reduce the interest rate payable by the Minister of National Revenue in respect of overpaid taxes and duties by corporations.
Part 3 amends the Air Travellers Security Charge Act to increase the air travellers security charge that is applicable to air travel that includes a chargeable emplanement on or after April 1, 2010 and for which any payment is made on or after that date. It also reduces the interest payable by the Minister of National Revenue to corporations under that Act.
Part 4 amends the Softwood Lumber Products Export Charge Act, 2006 to provide for a higher rate of charge on the export of certain softwood lumber products from the regions of Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba or Saskatchewan. It also amends that Act to reduce the rate of interest payable by the Minister of National Revenue on tax overpayments made by corporations.
Part 5 amends the Customs Tariff to implement measures announced in the March 4, 2010 Budget to reduce Most-Favoured-Nation rates of duty and, if applicable, rates of duty under other tariff treatments on a number of tariff items relating to manufacturing inputs and machinery and equipment imported on or after March 5, 2010.
Part 6 amends the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act to provide additional payments to certain provinces and to correct a cross-reference in that Act.
Part 7 amends the Expenditure Restraint Act to impose a freeze on the allowances and salaries to be paid to members of the Senate and the House of Commons for the 2010–2011, 2011–2012 and 2012–2013 fiscal years.
Part 8 amends a number of Acts to reduce or eliminate Governor in Council appointments, including the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act. This Part also amends that Act to establish the Canadian Section of the NAFTA Secretariat within the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. In addition, this Part repeals The Intercolonial and Prince Edward Island Railways Employees’ Provident Fund Act. Finally, this Part makes consequential and related amendments to other Acts.
Part 9 amends the Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985. In particular, the Act is amended to
(a) require an employer to fully fund benefits if the whole of a pension plan is terminated;
(b) authorize an employer to use a letter of credit, if certain conditions are met, to satisfy solvency funding obligations in respect of a pension plan that has not been terminated in whole;
(c) permit a pension plan to provide for variable benefits, similar to those paid out of a Life Income Fund, in respect of a defined contribution provision of the pension plan;
(d) establish a distressed pension plan workout scheme, under which the employer and representatives of members and retirees may negotiate changes to the plan’s funding requirements, subject to the approval of the Minister of Finance;
(e) permit the Superintendent of Financial Institutions to replace an actuary if the Superintendent is of the opinion that it is in the best interests of members or retirees;
(f) provide that only the Superintendent may declare a pension plan to be partially terminated;
(g) provide for the immediate vesting of members’ benefits;
(h) require the administrator to make additional information available to members and retirees following the termination of a pension plan; and
(i) repeal spent provisions.
Part 10 provides for the retroactive coming into force in Canada of the Agreement on Social Security between Canada and the Republic of Poland.
Part 11 amends the Export Development Act to grant Export Development Canada the authority to establish offices outside Canada. It also clarifies that Corporation’s authority with respect to asset management and the forgiveness of certain debts and obligations.
Part 12 enacts the Payment Card Networks Act, the purpose of which is to regulate national payment card networks and the commercial practices of payment card network operators. Among other things, that Act confers a number of regulation-making powers. This Part also makes related amendments to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada Act to expand the mandate of the Agency so that it may supervise payment card network operators to determine whether they are in compliance with the provisions of the Payment Card Networks Act and its regulations and monitor the implementation of voluntary codes of conduct.
Part 13 amends the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada Act to provide the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada with a broader oversight role to allow it to verify compliance with ministerial undertakings and directions. The amendments also increase the Agency’s ability to undertake research, including research on trends and emerging consumer protection issues. Finally, the Part makes consequential amendments to other Acts.
Part 14 amends the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act to confer on the Minister of Finance the power to issue directives imposing measures with respect to certain financial transactions. The amendments also confer on the Governor in Council the power to make regulations that limit or prohibit certain financial transactions. This Part also makes a consequential amendment to another Act.
Part 15 amends the Canada Post Corporation Act to modify the exclusive privilege of the Canada Post Corporation so as to permit letter exporters to collect letters in Canada for transmittal and delivery outside Canada.
Part 16 amends the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation Act to allow the Governor in Council to specify when a bridge institution will assume a federal member institution’s deposit liabilities and allow the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation to make by-laws with respect to information and capabilities it can require of its member institutions. This Part also amends that Act to establish the rules that apply to the assignment, by the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation to a bridge institution, of eligible financial contracts to which a federal member institution is a party.
Part 17 amends the Bank Act and other related statutes to provide a framework enabling credit unions to incorporate and continue as banks. The model is based on the framework applicable to other federally regulated financial institutions, adjusted to give effect to cooperative principles and governance.
Part 18 authorizes the taking of a number of measures with respect to the reorganization and divestiture of all or any part of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited’s business.
Part 19 amends the National Energy Board Act in order to give the National Energy Board the power to create a participant funding program to facilitate the participation of the public in hearings that are held under section 24 of that Act. It also amends the Nuclear Safety and Control Act to give the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission the power to create a participant funding program to facilitate the participation of the public in proceedings under that Act and the power to prescribe fees for that program.
Part 20 amends the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act to streamline certain process requirements for comprehensive studies, to give the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency authority to conduct most comprehensive studies and to give the Minister of the Environment the power to establish the scope of any project in relation to which an environmental assessment is to be conducted. It also amends that Act to provide, in legislation rather than by regulations, that an environmental assessment is not required for certain federally funded infrastructure projects and repeals sunset clauses in the Regulations Amending the Exclusion List Regulations, 2007.
Part 21 amends the Canada Labour Code with respect to the appointment of appeals officers and the appeal hearing procedures.
Part 22 authorizes payments to be made out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for various purposes.
Part 23 amends the Telecommunications Act to make a carrier that is not a Canadian-owned and controlled corporation eligible to operate as a telecommunications common carrier if it owns or operates certain transmission facilities.
Part 24 amends the Employment Insurance Act to establish an account in the accounts of Canada to be known as the Employment Insurance Operating Account and to close the Employment Insurance Account and remove it from the accounts of Canada. It also repeals sections 76 and 80 of that Act and makes consequential amendments in relation to the creation of the new Account. This Part also makes technical amendments to clarify provisions of the Budget Implementation Act, 2008 and the Canada Employment Insurance Financing Board Act that deal with the Canada Employment Insurance Financing Board.

Elsewhere

All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from the Library of Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.

Votes

June 8, 2010 Passed That the Bill be now read a third time and do pass.
June 7, 2010 Passed That Bill C-9, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 4, 2010 and other measures, be concurred in at report stage.
June 7, 2010 Failed That Bill C-9 be amended by deleting Clause 2137.
June 7, 2010 Failed That Bill C-9 be amended by deleting Clause 1885.
June 7, 2010 Failed That Bill C-9 be amended by deleting Clause 2185.
June 7, 2010 Failed That Bill C-9 be amended by deleting Clause 2152.
June 7, 2010 Failed That Bill C-9 be amended by deleting Clause 2149.
June 7, 2010 Failed That Bill C-9 be amended by deleting Clause 96.
June 3, 2010 Passed That, in relation to Bill C-9, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 4, 2010 and other measures, not more than one further sitting day shall be allotted to the consideration at report stage of the Bill and one sitting day shall be allotted to the consideration at third reading stage of the said Bill; and That, 15 minutes before the expiry of the time provided for Government Orders on the day allotted to the consideration at report stage and on the day allotted to the consideration at third reading stage of the said Bill, any proceedings before the House shall be interrupted, if required for the purpose of this Order, and in turn every question necessary for the disposal of the stage of the Bill then under consideration shall be put forthwith and successively without further debate or amendment.
April 19, 2010 Passed That the Bill be now read a second time and referred to the Standing Committee on Finance.

Jobs and Economic Growth ActGovernment Orders

April 15th, 2010 / 11:45 a.m.
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NDP

Jim Maloway NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB

Mr. Speaker, once again we are in our third day of speeches on an 880 page omnibus bill, which has a number of measures that do not belong it, and not one government member has spoken to it. The debate is just among the opposition parties. We are not debating the government. We cannot ask the government questions on aspects of the bill. We have a lot of backgrounder notes that need clarification, but there is nobody here to answer for the government.

The Liberals say that they will vote against the bill, but not in sufficient numbers to defeat the government. The other day, their postal critic talked about how important it was to stop the remailer issue, which the Conservatives have tried to get through the House over the last couple of years, under Bill C-14 and Bill C-44, but have been unable to it. They knew they could not get it through the minority Parliament, so they dumped it into this bill, where it does not belong. It has nothing to do with the budget. They are basically defying us to defeat them and have an election.

How can the Liberals defend the issue of postal remailers knowing full well—

Jobs and Economic Growth ActGovernment Orders

April 15th, 2010 / 11:45 a.m.
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Conservative

The Deputy Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer

I am going to have to stop the member there to allow the member for Lac-Saint-Louis enough time to respond.

Jobs and Economic Growth ActGovernment Orders

April 15th, 2010 / 11:45 a.m.
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Liberal

Francis Scarpaleggia Liberal Lac-Saint-Louis, QC

Mr. Speaker, the member is correct in the sense that the government should be putting up speakers. It is a sign of disrespect for our parliamentary democracy that it has not done so. Is the member surprised by this disrespect for our national Parliament?

We just came back from six weeks of prorogation, where the people were denied a voice through their elected representations so the Prime Minister could attend the Olympics and try to avoid some difficult issues, which are still dogging him.

I also remind the hon. member that we do not get much better answers in question period. One wonders if having the government debating us would really add much to the conversation. At least we have the opportunity to raise issues like the ones the hon. member has raised and the ones I have tried to raise in my speech.

Jobs and Economic Growth ActGovernment Orders

April 15th, 2010 / 11:50 a.m.
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Bloc

Thierry St-Cyr Bloc Jeanne-Le Ber, QC

Mr. Speaker, I am going to start by digressing for a moment to respond to the answer that the hon. member for Lac-Saint-Louis gave to the question posed by my colleague from Hochelaga. When asked how they could possibly not vote in sufficient numbers to defeat this bill, he said the Liberals needed more time to prepare an alternative to the government. It is true the Liberals have only been in the opposition for four years and it takes them a lot of time to prepare alternative plans. It does not take us that long, though, in the Bloc Québécois. Every year when a budget is about to be tabled, we draw up a presentation. We bring our ideas forward in the context of a serious, credible budget. This year, it was done brilliantly by no other than our colleague from Hochelaga. That goes to show there is no need to sit around for four years on the opposition benches in order to present alternatives.

Turning to the budget, I want to say a few words today on environmental issues. Next April 22 is Earth Day. It is a good opportunity to look at what there is in the budget for the environment, or unfortunately, what there is not. We cannot ignore the fact that this government has no vision at all when it comes to the environment. There is not the least desire to make Canada a country where the environment is taken seriously, with all the consequences this obviously entails for future generations as well as for Quebec from an economic standpoint. I will return to this point later.

First, we should remember what the issue is here. The Conservatives often say we should not bring too many environmental measures forward or fight too hard against greenhouse gases because it could harm the economy. I will come back to that later because I think this claim is utterly false. Quite to the contrary, we have an incredible economic opportunity here, especially in Quebec.

Even if they were right, we are talking about our planet. We are talking about the future. We are talking about what we will leave to our children and grandchildren. They say that if we are not able, especially under a Conservative government, to meet the economic challenges involved, we should not take any chances and should continue to pollute and degrade the environment to the point where we would leave our grandchildren a very sad planet indeed. It is shameful. It is hardly surprising, though, given that many members of this government, former Reformers, simply do not believe the science of climate change, starting with the Prime Minister himself. He even said that Kyoto was a socialist plot without any basis in reality.

We still see this regularly in the comments of various members. Recently the member for Beauce, with his party’s support, even wrote to the Quebec media to say that this was alarmist, that that these predictions of global warming could not hold up, and that by way of precaution—I see that you agree, Mr. Speaker, that it is a little shameful to say this—what ought to be done is nothing. By way of precaution, in case the predictions of almost all the scientists are wrong, let us do nothing. If they are wrong, we will have done nothing. Obviously this is totally ridiculous. It is the opposite of the precautionary principle, which says that when you are in doubt, refrain; when in doubt, make sure you do the right thing.

In the end, we have a government that does not believe in science. Personally, I trust the scientists and the scientific consensus. The only scientific statement that I am starting to doubt is the statement that dinosaurs are extinct, because from the behaviour of the Conservatives one has the impression that there continue to be quite a few dinosaurs on this planet.

Second, I would say that even though the environmental challenges facing us are substantial, they also represent a substantial economic opportunity. For Quebec, in any case, this is clear. Oil and the oil economy that Canada is developing are weakening and impoverishing Quebec.

There are various mechanisms to explain this: for example, the upward pressure on the Canadian dollar caused by exploitation of the oil sands. Every time the price of oil goes up, people have to procure more Canadian dollars to buy oil in Alberta, thereby creating an artificial increase in the value of our dollar. This has an impact on Quebec’s manufacturing industry, which is a major source of exports. Since the dollar costs more to buy abroad, the products we export cost more and we become less competitive. Far from making us richer, this situation is making us poorer and weakening us economically.

In general, this is not very complicated. Every time a barrel of oil enters Quebec, money leaves Quebec, making us poorer. Let us be clear that the oil is not coming from Alberta. People sometimes say that if we are not nice to Alberta, they will cut off our oil supply. However Quebec does not get its oil supply from Alberta, but from the Middle East.

If we fill up at a service station, we do not get richer, we get poorer. That is the same thing. The federal government’s refusal to put measures in place to reduce our consumption of oil makes us poorer still.

The government of Quebec has some latitude, but there are things that can only be done at the federal level. The lack of such measures is preventing us from moving toward a petroleum-free economy.

What measures could be introduced? One would be carbon exchanges, which are starting to crop up in countries around the world. In a carbon exchange system, companies, countries, governments and institutions that exceed their emission reduction targets can sell greenhouse gas emission credits to others that fall short of their targets. This sort of system rewards effort and penalizes lack of effort and would open up attractive economic opportunities for Canadian companies.

There are not even any tax benefits to offset Quebec's economic weakness. A few weeks ago, the media said that we should not complain too much about the Alberta oil sands, because that is what funds equalization payments for Quebec to make up for its lack of revenues. But one cannot say that anymore, for the simple reason that it is not true.

Because of the way oil resources are treated, 50% of revenue is excluded from the equalization calculation, which is very favourable treatment indeed.

I would like to read an excerpt from Mr. Bachand's most recent budget. I am not going to criticize his budget, because you do not kick a man when he is down, but it does contain some interesting points:

As a result of the caps imposed on the equalization program in November 2008, Québec will receive $8 552 million in 2010-2011, whether or not Alberta’s oil sands are included in the program.

This means that even if the tap were shut off tomorrow morning and oil sands development in Alberta came to a halt—which the Bloc Québécois obviously is not suggesting—Quebec would receive the same equalization payments.

It is therefore wrong to say that oil sands revenue funds equalization for Quebec. And it is not the evil separatists who are saying so, but the staunchly federalist government of Jean Charest in Quebec City.

In conclusion, I do not believe that this policy would be any different under the Liberals. The Leader of the Opposition has gone on record as supporting oil sands development. That will always be the case in Canada, because a country defends its interests. The problem is that the interests of Canada and Quebec are once again different. Ultimately, the solution is for Quebec to become a sovereign nation. Then, Canadians will keep on defending their interests and Quebeckers can defend their own environmental and economic interests.

Jobs and Economic Growth ActGovernment Orders

April 15th, 2010 / noon
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Liberal

Larry Bagnell Liberal Yukon, YT

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate some of the comments on the environment, which is what I would like to ask the member about.

I do not know if he remembers, but when we were children, or at least when I was a child a long time ago, there was a game where we would take a little step forward and a giant step backward.

The member has probably asked the government questions on the environment. The government will respond by giving examples of a couple of things it has done which are little steps forward, but it has taken giant steps backward.

I wonder if the member could comment on some of the programs the government has actually cancelled for these giant steps backward.

My other question relates to the government's cancellation of the funding for the scientists at the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences. I will not use the term “dinosaur”; I will not be as pejorative as that, but the government must be living in the dark ages to cancel funding for scientists in Canada who are studying climate change and drought. This work is very important for farmers. It is closing the PEARL station, which is the northernmost station, which will hinder Canadian sovereignty. Weather and temperature records are very important to the functioning of any country in the world. It is bizarre that the government would cancel this entire foundation. Now all the scientists across Canada will have to go to the United States and elsewhere and we will not have the data.

Jobs and Economic Growth ActGovernment Orders

April 15th, 2010 / noon
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Bloc

Thierry St-Cyr Bloc Jeanne-Le Ber, QC

Mr. Speaker, I wonder whether calling the Conservatives dinosaurs is more insulting to the Conservatives or to the dinosaurs. That remains to be seen.

I will answer the question regarding programs that encourage people to reduce energy consumption. These programs are effective. In fact, some have been cancelled because they were extremely effective and the demand was too great. I want to stress that they were working. It is a good sign when these programs are popular.

I recently converted to a geothermal heating system, which uses the energy in the ground for heating in winter and for cooling in summer. This is a very efficient system. Government grants helped me to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Such programs benefit society and help our country reach its objectives. As an individual, I also benefit by reducing my heating costs.

It was unfortunately these types of future oriented programs, which benefit everyone, that got cancelled. That is unfortunate. I hope they will be restored as quickly as possible.

Jobs and Economic Growth ActGovernment Orders

April 15th, 2010 / noon
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NDP

Jim Maloway NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB

Mr. Speaker, I have a friendly request for the member. As he knows, the Bloc, the Liberals and the NDP all supported Bill C-310, the air passengers' bill of rights, but when it got to the transport committee, the Bloc critic, the member for Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, basically turned against Quebec air travellers and joined forces with the Conservatives and recommended that the bill not be proceeded with. I know that most Bloc members are very progressive people, so I was quite surprised by this development.

I would like to ask the member whether he would investigate why his party's critic joined the Conservatives and effectively attempted to kill the bill. It still has to be dealt with in Parliament and I just want to make certain that all members are aware of what actually happened at the committee.

If he would investigate this, that would be a very positive step.

Jobs and Economic Growth ActGovernment Orders

April 15th, 2010 / 12:05 p.m.
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Bloc

Thierry St-Cyr Bloc Jeanne-Le Ber, QC

Mr. Speaker, this is not the first time that my colleague from Elmwood—Transcona, who is very active in the House, has asked me questions during a debate.

It is also not the first time that he has asked a question that has nothing to do with my comments. I know that this is a very important matter for him, but out of respect for voters and those who place their trust in me, I will not comment on a discussion that took place in a committee in which I had no part. I am certain that he will understand, as would any member, that we are trying to stick to the topic at hand.

I am out of time and cannot elaborate further on the previous question but I will have other opportunities to do so.

Jobs and Economic Growth ActGovernment Orders

April 15th, 2010 / 12:05 p.m.
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NDP

Megan Leslie NDP Halifax, NS

Mr. Speaker, here we are having returned to the House. We have had a throne speech. We have had a budget announcement, and now we are discussing the budget implementation bill. Like other budgets before it, I was hopeful about this budget. I was hopeful that it would be bold and visionary and that it would actually steer Canada toward a position of strength, but unfortunately, like other budgets, I was left disappointed.

The piece I am maybe the most disappointed with is the disconnect between the throne speech and the budget. In the throne speech, we actually saw some pretty interesting language about an innovation and productivity agenda. That really caught my eye. I was pretty excited about that language, but to even take that language at face value, we would have to ignore recent history.

If we just think about the Nortel experience very recently, the government essentially allowed Nortel to collapse before our very eyes. That company did the bulk of private sector research and development. It made Canada a leader in telecommunications. We just stood by and watched it fold and watched all of that research, all of that knowledge, all of that innovation get bought up by other countries.

That knowledge was our knowledge. That knowledge is our knowledge and now it is gone. If we add to that the fact that the government has utterly failed at least to try to protect the pensions of those knowledge-based workers, it does not bode well for any future innovation and productivity agenda the government purports to have.

Despite that recent example, in thinking about the future I was still optimistic about this productivity and innovation agenda. If we think about how best to accomplish that agenda, the moment was the stimulus budget and it was another lost opportunity. Innovation requires basic infrastructure such as broadband Internet access and investments in energy infrastructure. Last year's stimulus budget was the perfect time to invest in those infrastructure basics. It would have created jobs. It would have laid the groundwork for a real innovation and productivity agenda, but the government did not act then and this budget actually makes things worse.

The government's strategy is not to build infrastructure but actually to deregulate. Deregulation has proven to stifle innovation, whereas investment has proven to boost it.

We are on the wrong track. Members might wonder why. What I see is that the government has its head stuck in the tar sands and is unable to look beyond a tar sands growth strategy. This is what is going to impede any innovation agenda no matter how strong it is.

Canada has a history of resource dependency which has led to a tendency toward lower rates of productivity and innovation. Canada has done fairly well as a hewer of wood, drawer of water and pumper of oil, but we have paid the price with a less productive economy. This is an economic history that is catching up to Canada.

We have an ageing population. Add to that the growing importance of innovation to participate in a world economy, as well as the ecological cost of a resource-dependent economy, and we find ourselves in a very difficult position when considering the future. It is one that demands vision and bold action, but sadly, the government's economic strategy thus far has been to get rich off the tar sands.

We still offer subsidies to these companies, making the Canadian dollar a petrocurrency that fluctuates. These fluctuations make long-term value-added investments very difficult. That does not sound like very much of an innovation strategy to me.

We have been told the problem is that Canada's business class was lazy and that reducing the tariffs through free trade would whip them into shape. Free trade, corporate tax cuts and deregulation were supposed to solve our productivity problem, but they have not. What they have done is reinforced our nation's dependence on resource exports. It has hampered the government's ability to facilitate real innovation strategy.

Innovation almost by definition means doing something different. It means experimenting. It means promoting diversification of our economy. A laissez-faire approach will actually do the opposite. Giving tax cuts will increase profits to sectors that are not a part of the cutting edge, but they are actually a part of Canada's resource track.

A real strategy would provide direct support to entrepreneurs in the communities they are a part of. It would nurture them in early experimentation. It would help them network with other sectors and industries to facilitate knowledge exchange. It would give them basic infrastructure, and this does include social infrastructure, such as access to family security and strategies to gain community support for their endeavours.

An innovation strategy for Canada needs to include social infrastructure that will support communities and support hubs of knowledge sharing and innovation. This basic infrastructure must include housing. We are a country in desperate need of a national housing strategy. We are the only G8 country not to have this strategy.

My colleague from Vancouver East has introduced Bill C-304. This would create a national housing strategy for this country, a strategy that would also incorporate the very latest environmental and energy efficiency standards into this framework. We could transform communities across Canada, by providing not just stable and affordable housing, but sustainable and energy efficient housing as well. A stable community, a housed community, a community that has the means to survive: this is a productive community and yet the overwhelming majority of Conservative MPs do not support our housing bill.

While the U.K. is committing to retrofit all homes by 2030 with firm interim targets, our government just announced that it is going to cancel the very successful eco-energy home retrofit program. According to Green Communities Canada, which was actually the first organization to deliver the national home energy efficiency program, this program has stimulated hundreds of millions of dollars in energy savings for Canadians. A program like this generates huge savings. It also creates green jobs and improves our competitiveness, yet the program is being cancelled.

We are fed the line that the answer is to cut taxes, that if we cut taxes, we will instantly become productive and competitive. I recently attended a showing of Poor No More, a Canadian documentary. It was shown here on the Hill. It did a great job of dispelling this myth. It took a look at Ireland.

Ireland is often held up as being an example of a country that cut all of its corporate taxes and then succeeded economically, providing a model to follow. However, the example of Ireland is much more complex and nuanced than that. One piece of the puzzle is that Ireland has free post-secondary education. Ireland is committed to educating its citizens, inspiring them and creating a strong competitive and knowledgeable workforce that is the perfect breeding ground for innovation and productivity.

We need to take that kind of bold action in Canada. We need to ensure that every generation of Canadians has access to training and education in order to maximize the nation's productivity and responsiveness to new trends in research. We need to remove barriers to post-secondary education and stop the year-to-year increases in debt that graduates are laden with.

As the NDP critic for first nations, Inuit and Métis affairs focusing on urban aboriginal issues, it is of particular interest to me that aboriginal friendship centres have again been left out of this budget. Friendship centres need increased funding to provide services, to renovate their crumbling buildings and to better their technological capabilities. They are the heart of the urban aboriginal community. We have learned that about half of our first nations people live in urban centres. The friendship centres are vital to Canadian urban centres. They are a hub of activity and culturally appropriate programming and community collaboration. They deserve a fair shake. They are an economically sound investment.

If we invest in social infrastructure and add to that investment in other infrastructures that will specifically support innovation, we can start to piece together an innovation strategy for Canada. Imagine that. It can be done.

We know historically that certain technologies have created waves of innovation and that nations can position themselves strategically within these dynamics to achieve economic performance. In the last century we saw growth position around oil, and automobile and mass production, as well as a move toward an economy based on information and communications technologies.

Last year we found ourselves in a recession. Well, this was an opportunity because typically recessions are periods of change, when new periods of technology break through. This is why the Conservatives' scattershot stimulus spending was so short-sighted. They have run up a deficit, with nothing to show for it, and they failed to position Canada for the next wave of innovation, and the next wave is very likely to be one based on ecologically friendly technologies, and it needs to be if we are going to avoid catastrophic climate change. This is where Canada should be building new knowledge and expertise and encouraging entrepreneurship.

The NDP has already fostered successful co-operation with our green car industrial strategy. The Conservatives, on the other hand, are pushing against this wave, as we have seen in their attempts to--

Jobs and Economic Growth ActGovernment Orders

April 15th, 2010 / 12:15 p.m.
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Conservative

The Acting Speaker Conservative Leon Benoit

Order, please. The member is out of time. We will go now to questions and comments. The hon. member for Yukon.

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April 15th, 2010 / 12:15 p.m.
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Liberal

Larry Bagnell Liberal Yukon, YT

Mr. Speaker, I am very happy the member mentioned social infrastructure. I chaired a forum during the prorogation on the Arctic and one of the issues raised was the need for more women's shelters and residential substance abuse treatment centres in the north.

The question I want to ask her relates to health care. The member appropriately mentioned that we have a quickly aging population that will put huge strains on our health care system. She also said that this budget and the throne speech should be a vision and bold action. What vision and bold action is there in the throne speech and budget to do with this huge increase in demand on the health care system?

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April 15th, 2010 / 12:15 p.m.
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NDP

Megan Leslie NDP Halifax, NS

Mr. Speaker, where is the bold vision for health care? I do not see one. As the member very rightly points out, we do have an aging population, so there are opportunities to be bold about the future. However, it is not just opportunities. I think it is necessary for us to do that.

I would like to give one example. I have talked a lot with various associations working on Alzheimer's. We do have this aging population. More and more people are being diagnosed with dementia and Alzheimer's. This group has said that if it could get the federal government to take on a leadership role and actually have a strategy about how to deal with dementia and Alzheimer's, then it could save what could be an impending collapse of our health care system trying to deal with this issue.

Let us be bold and visionary and let us plan for the future. Let us have a summit and bring together the great minds on dementia and Alzheimer's to actually plan out what our future will look like. It is not just Alzheimer's and dementia. It is so many other aspects of our health care system that will be pushed to the very brink because of our aging population. This budget certainly does not have a vision for that.

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April 15th, 2010 / 12:15 p.m.
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NDP

Jim Maloway NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB

Mr. Speaker, I am sure the member is aware that last year the banks made record profits, in fact $15.9 billion, and the CEOs of the banks received record salaries and benefits as well. The presidents and CEOs of the RBC and the TD made roughly $10.4 million. One would think that the Conservatives would be supporting President Barack Obama to overhaul the financial institutions given what we have seen with a world recession over the last year. We have The Globe and Mail reporter, Tara Perkins, today reporting that the bankers in Canada are concerned about these international rules that are coming from the G7 and G8. In fact, they have the finance minister of Canada out there acting basically as an unpaid lobbyist for the banking industry in Canada.

As a matter of fact, I have been told that guidelines are being put forward by the G7 and G8 on compensation for bank CEOs and presidents. We have the banks lobbying actively against it and we have the finance minister of Canada looking out for those banks trying to make certain that for whatever the G7 and G8 want to put forward in terms of guidelines that he exempts the Canadian banks. He is supporting this laissez-faire approach to free enterprise, which, by the way, got us into this mess in the first place. It is basically a throwback to the George Bush Republican days in the United States.

Does the member have any comments about why the Conservatives would be actively promoting the interests of the banks at the international level?

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April 15th, 2010 / 12:20 p.m.
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NDP

Megan Leslie NDP Halifax, NS

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Elmwood—Transcona for his passionate question.

What intrigued me the most was when the member likened the finance minister to an unpaid lobbyist for banks. All I could think about was, what if we had a finance minister or, God forbid, a human resources and skills development minister who was an unpaid lobbyist for people living in poverty, for Canada's most vulnerable citizens.

We do have in the budget an increase to the child tax credit of $3.23 a week. No one will say no to that, but the way that people are forced to live when they are low income Canadians is shocking. If those ministers could actually see what is going on in the households of Canadians, I am sure they would act. They would need to.

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April 15th, 2010 / 12:20 p.m.
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Bloc

Claude Guimond Bloc Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC

Mr. Speaker, I rise again in this House to speak out against the implementation of the recent budget and to show how much the Conservatives have once again failed to meet their responsibilities to the Canadian public, and especially how badly they have failed the Quebec nation.

In fact, they had time to listen to the people, because to conceal their incompetence, the Conservatives suspended the work of Parliament. They wanted to silence criticism about the Afghan detainees affair, about the environment and about a number of other important issues, rather than accept the recommendations of the three opposition parties, which, I would note in passing, represent 60% of the members of the House of Commons. What is the result of all that, of this whole fine farce? A budget that in no way reflects the interests and aspirations of Quebecker.

To ensure that Quebec was respected in this budget, the Bloc Québécois travelled to the four corners of Quebec. My colleagues and I met with numerous organizations, community groups and socio-economic groups, and numerous individuals, throughout the time Parliament was prorogued.

After analyzing those meetings, we sent the Minister of Finance a complete list of recommendations. Because we had done all the work for him, it would have been easy for him to include measures in the budget to meet the needs of the Quebec nation, but once again, that has not been done.

When we go back to our own ridings, people talk to us about the injustices in the budget, and they are shocked at the lack of measures that benefit them. This is particularly true for regions like mine, for the riding of Rimouski—Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, in the Lower St. Lawrence region, because we have to admit, development in regions like mine and others in Quebec, and keeping the land populated, are certainly not priority issues for the Conservative government. That is unfortunate, because those regions are an essential part of our communities.

During my 2008 campaign, I made high-speed Internet access one of my priorities. Today, this issue is still high on my list, because I think it is crucial to the maintenance and development of a region like ours. High-speed Internet access is not only an indispensable means of communication, it is also an essential tool for business management and development.

I will give just one example. I am a dairy farmer. I am lucky because my farm is located not too far from an urban centre and I have had access to high-speed Internet for a long time. Many of my fellow dairy farmers do not have access to it, and to manage their herds—which is essential in the competitive world we now live in—they have to take their farm data to their neighbour's in order to transmit it to a network centre. It is very difficult for these people to be on the cutting edge.

In my region there are also a lot of sugar bushes and maple syrup producers. They need this tool to market their products worldwide. They do not even have high-speed Internet access. This is very regrettable. It is a curb on economic development. Appropriate investment in high-speed Internet would not be an expense, but an investment.

I am talking about high-speed Internet service because insufficient funds were allocated to its expansion in the last budget. Everywhere we went, in all the regions and sometimes even in a few urban centres, this demand for better access to high-speed Internet was constantly being made to us, every day. So this demand should be given priority.

I don’t know if the Conservatives are aware of it, but the era of tom-toms and smoke signals as modes of communication is over.

Where I live in the Lower St. Lawrence region, the regional conference of elected officials has headed up and submitted a very complete project to the broadband Canada program, requesting a grant which would enable the great majority of all the people in the Lower St. Lawrence—eight RCMs—to have access to this service. Only $7 million dollars is needed. I myself have supported this project, and I have called upon the minister responsible for an update on the decision on granting the money for this project. The incredibly long delay is leaving far too many citizens, businesses and communities in distress.

It is not surprising to see the Conservatives acting this way. They seem to delight in announcing their intentions at the very last minute. Such delays are often harmful to the management of organizations and businesses. One need only consider the announcement in the last few hours about the renewal and funding of the CFDCs. One need only consider as well the incredible delay surrounding the semi-announcement of the employment insurance transitional measures. All of these delays are creating uncertainty and distress for those who need this project.

The CFDCs are very important to certain regions in Quebec. These organizations work hard every day in support of their communities, and this delay has been very worrisome to them. Over the last few weeks, we have had the opportunity to question the government about these provisional measures, and as might be expected, the answer came in the last few minutes before the expected deadline. Once again, unfortunately, it was only half an answer. This is very unfortunate for these people who are suffering and need the small amount of support the government provides.

Returning to high-speed Internet, my colleague the hon. member for Sherbrooke asked an excellent question of the government yesterday, when he asked why the decision-making process surrounding the broadband Canada program was so slow. Unfortunately, the answer was not as interesting as the question. However, it enabled us to conclude—even though we already knew—that the regions are not very important to the Conservative government. If things were different, they would not put off the deadlines and would put more effort into these grants.

As the Bloc critic for private woodlots, there is another matter of great concern to me. Owners of private woodlots were also totally ignored in the last budget. Despite the economic situation in which forestry producers find themselves, for the third budget in a row, the Conservative government totally ignored their needs, especially owners of private woodlots, of whom I am one.

The government does not seem to realize that Quebec’s private forests are owned by 130,000 people, of whom 35,000 are legally recognized as forestry producers. Even more important, 20,000 of these producers sell lumber, and of them, 3,000 have silvicultural work and the sale of lumber as their main source of income. Nothing was announced to help them, even though what the Bloc Québécois wanted was not very complicated. They could be helped through certain tax arrangements, including a registered silvicultural savings plan, so that they could spread out their income from forestry operations and reinvest it in their woodlots. The 3,000 producers who live off Quebec’s private forests have received nothing at all since the start of the forestry crisis. These people have equipment and investments and so we wanted a program for them.