House of Commons Hansard #15 of the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was budget.
Ron Cannan Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
Mr. Speaker, aboriginal Canadians really are a priority for the government. The finance minister included many funding announcements for aboriginals in yesterday's budget.
Could the Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs please reaffirm, for my constituents of Kelowna—Lake Country and for all Canadians, what the government is doing for aboriginal Canadians?
Jim Prentice ConservativeMinister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians
Mr. Speaker, once again the budget involves $1.1 billion of new money for aboriginal Canadians, and it has received positive acclaim from aboriginal leaders.
Jose Kusugak, the President of ITK, representing Canada's Inuit, for example, said, “This is the most we've gotten in a federal budget”. There is more for his people in our budget than he had seen in recent years. “As tax paying Canadians Inuit will benefit as all Canadians will to the tax relief measures announced in the budget”.
Also, Grand Council Chief Beaucage said, “I am excited to see the government honour the agreement to compensate residential school survivors”. This is what is out there today.
Yvon Godin NDP Acadie—Bathurst, NB
Mr. Speaker, yesterday's budget offered nothing to unemployed workers and nothing to protect pensions. It proposed only a study of older workers. They do not need a study; they need action.
We knew that the Liberals did not want to help unemployed workers, but can the Conservative minister tell us why there is nothing in the budget to help unemployed workers?
Diane Finley ConservativeMinister of Human Resources and Social Development
Mr. Speaker, Canada has one of the broadest, most generous employment programs of any country in the world. Part 1 of our EI program provides insurance. We have all our programs, work skills development and placement and those sorts of things. It is a very rich and very generous program.
We are looking at developing of a feasibility study to help older workers. Because this is a very complex issue, we take it seriously, which is why we are not going to go off and just throw some program willy-nilly together. We are going to get it right.
Yvon Godin NDP Acadie—Bathurst, NB
Mr. Speaker, the minister can go and ask the workers who have lost their jobs. We will see the difference.
It is not surprising that neither the Liberals nor the Conservatives are willing to help unemployed workers. However, what is surprising is that the Bloc Québécois has now decided to abandon our workers. Last year, it voted against the NDP budget and now sees this as a reason to vote in favour of this disappointing budget.
What did the government do to buy the Bloc's silence?
Diane Finley ConservativeMinister of Human Resources and Social Development
Mr. Speaker, I guess that is the difference between the opposition parties. Some of them recognize a really good budget when they see it, while some have not learned that lesson yet.
This is a good news budget for all Canadians, whether they are seniors, the disabled, aboriginals or families working or staying at home. There is something in this budget to help every single Canadian, including tax reduction, and I am darned proud of it.
Carolyn Bennett Liberal St. Paul's, ON
Mr. Speaker, yesterday's budget confirmed what many Canadian families were afraid of. The NDP sold out to a government that has no plan to create new child care spaces. Out of nothing more than spite, the minister has cancelled agreements that were already creating new spaces and programs across this country. In its place is a minuscule dollar figure with no workable plan attached.
Why will the minister not tell us in detail how her government will create new early learning and child care spaces, or is it that she still does not know?
Diane Finley ConservativeMinister of Human Resources and Social Development
Mr. Speaker, I hear a lot of indignation from the member opposite about our proposal to give people money. If there is cause for indignation it is because of what that member said on national television yesterday. She insulted every single Canadian who chooses to raise families at home. She insulted every one of us who was raised at home by implying that parents who want to raise their children at home will be bringing up future criminals. That is what she--
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
Order, please. We have heard enough. The hon. member for St. Paul's now has the floor. We are going to hear her next question.
Carolyn Bennett Liberal St. Paul's, ON
Mr. Speaker, the minister knows perfectly well that the research shows that if we do not invest in early learning and childhood, for every dollar we spend in that we will save $7 later in special education, corrections and all those things, and you know that. Your answer was a short--
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
Order, please. The hon. member for St. Paul's has to address the Chair. The minister heard the question. She may want to respond but the questions do have to be addressed through the Chair.
The hon. minister of Human Resources and Social Development.
Diane Finley ConservativeMinister of Human Resources and Social Development
Mr. Speaker, once again the Liberal Party's true agenda on child care is being exposed which is that it believes that parents are unfit to raise their own children.
The Conservative Party believes in parents. We believe that parents will make the right decisions for their children and for their very unique family circumstances.
Wayne Easter Liberal Malpeque, PE
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the budget was deceptive on assistance for farmers. In reality, the budget has less money for farmers than the previous government's commitment. This budget has no cash for farmers for spring planting. The income crisis is now and the minister knows it.
Will the minister restructure this money so that it gets into the hands of farmers for spring planting? They need the money now.
Chuck Strahl ConservativeMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board
Mr. Speaker, I am obviously pretty happy with this budget announcement on agriculture. For instance, there is $200 million to help chicken farmers fight and prevent the avian influenza, but there is much more. There is the $500 million we committed during the campaign and yesterday we delivered, but there is much more. There is billions of dollars in infrastructure for highways and port facilities to help farmers get their product delivered on time and make a profit.
There is an additional billion dollars that no one ever saw that will go to farmers, for a total of $5.6 billion, money that the previous government not only never even promised but never delivered during its entire tenure in office.
Wayne Easter Liberal Malpeque, PE
Mr. Speaker, the minister knows that the government's budgetary commitments do not come up to what this government had committed last year.
Let me quote from the Library of Parliament document dated today:
Even if the $1.5B additional funding announced yesterday was added, the total cost does not reach the amount mentioned by the Minister.
It is one thing for the minister to have his numbers wrong, but it is another for the minister not to put cash out to farmers. They need it now.
Will he tell us now that there will--
Chuck Strahl ConservativeMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board
Mr. Speaker, of course there is going to be money for the short term, medium and the long term, money that the government opposite never offered during its 13 years.
I am particularly interested to know whether the member stands behind the statement he made in something called “Empowering Canadian Farmers in the Marketplace”, where he said:
[We want to] assure that child-care is extended to parents who choose to stay on the farm while raising their young children.
Yesterday, we let farm families make that choice to raise their families.
Bernard Bigras Bloc Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC
Mr. Speaker, in the budget speech, the government states that it is maintaining the funding earmarked for the environment in the 2005 budget and reallocating $2 billion to a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which it intends to announce this fall.
Can the Minister of the Environment guarantee that the Conservative plan she introduces this fall will be in keeping with the objectives of the Kyoto protocol and take a territorial approach?
Rona Ambrose ConservativeMinister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, our government made a clear commitment to invest in the Canadian environment right here at home. Our Prime Minister has shown the courage and the leadership to address this pressing issue with a strong commitment to a made in Canada plan to clean up Canada's environment.
We will continue to work with industry, the provinces, environmental groups and Canadians in the development of our plan to ensure that we can show real action on Canada's environment.
Bernard Bigras Bloc Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of the Environment is abandoning the Liberal plan because under the Liberals, Canada increased its greenhouse gas emissions by 24% between 1990 and 2003 instead of decreasing emissions. She prefers the model of the United States, which increased its emissions by 13%. Yet the European Union reduced its emissions by 1.4% in the same period.
If the minister is serious about reducing emissions in Canada, why does she not model her plan on the European Union, which is at least adhering to the Kyoto protocol objectives and taking steps to attain them?
Rona Ambrose ConservativeMinister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, the only model I am interested in is one that benefits Canadians first. Under our made in Canada plan, Canadian taxpayer dollars will stay right here in Canada and will be spent on our own environment here at home. Our made in Canada plan will invest in Canadian solutions, Canadian technology and Canadian communities.
In our plan, Canadians come first. I would just like to tell the hon. member that my Canada also includes Quebec.
Mauril Bélanger Liberal Ottawa—Vanier, ON
Mr. Speaker, in yesterday's budget the Conservative government completely neglected the official language communities. There was no mention of any increase despite the obvious needs.
Furthermore, the government intends to reduce its spending by $1 billion this year, and another billion next year.
Since the President of the Treasury Board is getting ready to slash budgets, can the Minister for La Francophonie and Official Languages assure us that funding through 2008 for the official languages action plan will not be drastically reduced?
Josée Verner ConservativeMinister of International Cooperation and Minister for la Francophonie and Official Languages
Yes, Mr. Speaker.