This bill was last introduced in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session, which ended in September 2013.
Lisa Raitt Conservative
This bill has received Royal Assent and is now law.
This is from the published bill.
This enactment provides for the resumption and continuation of postal services and imposes a final offer selection process to resolve matters remaining in dispute between the parties.
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.
The Acting Speaker Barry Devolin
Is the hon. member for Oakridges—Markham rising on the same point of order?
Paul Calandra Conservative Oak Ridges—Markham, ON
It is actually funny, Mr. Speaker. That member has gotten up a number of times and has said these types of things. He likes to play for the camera and pretend that this side is saying things it is not. So I am wondering if he could repeat for me, since we are being so loud, what things on this side of the House are bothering him.
Some hon. members
Oh, oh!
The Acting Speaker Barry Devolin
Order. First of all, in terms of the point of order raised by the member for Selkirk—Interlake, this is feeling like déjà vu in so many ways. The issue of relevance has been raised many times and the Chair has said consistently that while there is a rule of relevance, the Chair recognizes that many members take a circuitous route to connect what they are saying to the business before the House. The Chair does have confidence that all members, including the member for Windsor West, will in fact do that.
Secondly, in terms of the point of order raised by the member for Timmins—James, and subsequently by the hon. member for Oakridges—Markham, the Chair recognizes there are other conversations taking place. I would urge all hon. members wanting a side conversation to either sit together or take it to the lobby.
While they are in the chamber, I would urge all hon. members to give the floor to the person who has the floor. I appreciate that we have all been here a long time, but I think it is important that we maintain decorum and mutual respect in this place.
On that note, I will give the floor back to the hon. member for Windsor West
Brian Masse NDP Windsor West, ON
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that advice, and I will. I think I have been.
What I am trying to demonstrate here are the economic benefits from a healthy, productive Canada Post that has paid billions of dollars back into the federal coffers and then what we are doing with that money as choices. I'll read for members a few of those choices.
When we look at the oil and gas industry, one choice is the flow-through shares tax subsidy. Another is the Canadian exploration expense subsidy. There is also the Canadian development expense subsidy. There are also the Canadian oil and gas property expense subsidy and the capital cost allowance and accelerated capital cost allowance subsidy.
The point is that when we have a healthy Canada Post and we have the opportunity to have a successful crown corporation, it is a net benefit to the rest of Canadians when the government makes choices about where those economic resources go.
Also, this lockout is so important for small business because when workers return to Canada Post, we need it to be to be a good healthy environment, not only in regard to them wanting to go to a place of work every single day and to feel that pride, to feel that they are contributing to a country and its productivity, but also to feel that it is a healthy workplace.
We know that at Canada Post, like we do for many other physical jobs for employers, we have different types of issues relating to the body. The fact is that sometimes they have to use their bodies on a repetitive basis and workers can get strains and a number of different ailments. That is why some of the benefit packages are important: to keep people healthy.
For example, I used to work for persons with disabilities. In Ontario when we saw a delisting of chiropractic services, I witnessed how the quality of life of some of the persons I used to support was reduced, because they could no longer afford to get some of that necessary preventative work done through chiropractic services. They could not afford it because the support was not there.
That is why, when we are looking at this contract and at this lockout that is taking place, it is really unfortunate, because it is setting up an environment that is going to reduce the strength of the overall system. The strength of the overall system is really critical to ensure that we are going to have that good service for businesses. That's why some of the small businesses are hurting right now: it is because of the good quality service they were getting from Canada Post.
Yes, there are always issues in any workplace and there are always improvements to be made, but in Sandwich Towne in my riding of Windsor West, when they tried to look at closing down the post office service that had been available since the 1800s, the businesses and the seniors were the first ones I went to in order to get support to rally around stopping that closure. Ironically, it is so far the only outlet where closure has been stopped.
It was interesting. I have the documents here showing that Canada Post had gone by itself and drawn up a study to move postal services into the University of Windsor. It did not even tell the University of Windsor that. It drew up a business plan that included costs that were not even at the Sandwich Towne post office. That is important, because that was disingenuous of them to do so. Canada Post was going to present that to the University of Windsor to show the university how it could make so much money on this service, while meanwhile reducing the services at the Sandwich Towne outlet to the point that it would actually collapse upon itself.
We caught Canada Post on that, and I am so proud of the president of the university and the faculty there for immediately saying no to this, because they understood the necessity of community. They understood the connection to the business there. They understood the connection to the seniors. They said no. They would have had personal profits, but instead they said yes to the community and yes to strengthening Canada Post in Sandwich Towne and making sure that it is going to be there for another 100 years.
Dick Harris Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC
Mr. Speaker, I can understand why the member for Oak Ridges—Markham might get upset when he hears some of the things that the member for Windsor West is talking about, probably because he does not understand. In fact, guess when the manufacturing business in Ontario started to decline? It was back in the early 1990s when the NDP government was led by Bob Rae--
The Acting Speaker Barry Devolin
Order, please. I would encourage all members to not refer to other members by their given names.
Dick Harris Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC
Mr. Speaker, it was in the 1990s when the Ontario NDP government was led by the then premier who is the other NDP leader in the House. That is when the manufacturing business started to decline: when Ontario was run by an NDP government.
These subsidies to the oil and gas that the member was talking about are not subsidies, for the information of the member, but investments. They return hundreds of thousands of jobs to the Canadian economy and billions in tax revenues.
I imagine that this member makes investments in stocks and maybe in mutual funds and gets an investment back. Does he call those subsidies? If he does, then he has a misunderstanding about how his money is going in.
Third, the reason that Canada Post is healthy and profitable is that it is being run well and the people who run Canada Post are continually trying to keep it that way. It is not the federal government that runs it; it is the people who are in the management capacity.
Brian Masse NDP Windsor West, ON
Mr. Speaker, I must have said something to get this member on his feet for a change.
I think what is important to recognize here, though, is that Canada Post is controlled by the crown corporation and the minister. I think it is incredibly important that they recognize their role in this.
They support two-tier wages. I wonder why the new members of the Conservative Party, when they came in during this last session of Parliament, did not accept an 18% reduction—
Ted Menzies Conservative Macleod, AB
Mr. Speaker, on a point of order. We know that people are sleep deprived in here, but there is no rightful reason for that hon. member to attack someone's character. He should at least apologize for that derogatory comment.
The Acting Speaker Barry Devolin
The Speaker agrees with the sentiment that all hon. members should show respect for their colleagues in this place. Nerves are increasingly frayed, but I would encourage all hon. members to do that.
The hon. member for Windsor West can quickly complete his answer.
Brian Masse NDP Windsor West, ON
Mr. Speaker, I would just like to finish by saying that the hon. member suggested in his opening remarks that I was misinformed, or something of that nature, and that passed their smell test.
Brian Masse NDP Windsor West, ON
I was not attacking character in talking about the fact that the member actually got on his feet. That is a compliment, because the member actually got on his feet.
The reality right now is that we have a number of different subsidies going out to the oil and gas industry at a time when we are borrowing a record amount of money, and we are going to pay interest on that right now. I view that as a subsidy.