Debates of Feb. 28th, 2008

A message was delivered by the Usher of the Black Rod as follows:

Mr. Speaker, it is the desire of Her Excellency the Governor General that all hon. members attend her immediately in the Senate chamber.

Accordingly the Speaker with the House went up to the Senate chamber.

And being returned:

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

I have the honour to inform the House that when the House went up to the Senate chamber, Her Excellency the Governor General was pleased to give, in Her Majesty's name, royal assent to the following bills:

Bill C-8, An Act to amend the Canada Transportation Act (railway transportation)—Chapter 5.

Bill C-2, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and to make consequential amendments to other Acts—Chapter 6.

Bill C-44, An Act to amend the Agricultural Marketing Programs Act—Chapter 7.

The House resumed consideration of the motion that this House approves in general the budgetary policy of the government, and of the amendment and of the amendment to the amendment.

Financial Statement of Minister of Finance

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Before we were interrupted by the message, the hon. member for Cape Breton—Canso had the floor to respond to a question or comment made by the hon. member for Dartmouth—Cole Harbour and he has a minute or so to respond to our colleague.

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

Mr. Speaker, during the course of my presentation, it was interesting to note the heckling that was coming out of the cerebral cortex of the House, the aisle of sanctimony down in the corner, and the wisdom of the member from Hamilton Centre making meowing sounds and catcalls.

However, I thought it would have been more appropriate if he had made a barking sound like a dog because the NDP represent the proverbial dog chasing the bus. Those members could not drive it if they caught it, and Canadians know that.

NDP members can make those accusations and those unparliamentary gestures--

[David Christopherson, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Meow.

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

There you go boys. We have elevated the debate.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Resuming debate. The hon. member for Tobique—Mactaquac.

[Mike Allen, Conservative, Tobique—Mactaquac, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with my colleague from Sarnia—Lambton.

I first want to thank and acknowledge the Minister of Finance and my colleagues for creating such a prudent and responsible budget during these unsettled times. This budget is mature and forward-thinking and it reflects our desire to not only promote saving for the future at home but also a more countrywide view. Never before did “a penny saved is a penny earned” mean so much to the people of this great country.

I am proud to be part of a government that keeps its promises, that takes sensible, proactive initiatives for Canadians, and that makes responsible use of taxpayers' money. During this period of economic uncertainty, taxpayers are trusting in us to keep our country successful.

In the short time I have, I will focus my comments on the impact that budget 2008 will have on the day-to-day lives of the people of Tobique—Mactaquac and New Brunswick.

We are supporting families and seniors with the tax cuts we made last fall. I know we are on the right track, because people have told me so.

As a lifelong New Brunswicker, I know how important forestry, agriculture, transportation and international trade are to our province. Industries are important to our continued prosperity. Our way of life depends more on just the top down, heavy tax methods of the past. Our very livelihood needs solutions to questions before they become problems.

As a result of innovations like the permanent gas tax transfer and hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to stimulate R and D and innovation, I am pleased to support our government's third budget as it addresses the issues close to us.

From Woodstock to Keswick, Douglas to Grand Falls, Plaster Rock to Napadogan, everywhere in between the riding, this new investment in forestry is very welcome. It is one of the biggest employers in the province of New Brunswick, representing over $1.3 billion to the GDP of the province. Forestry needs to remain competitive so as to ensure our working families can afford the things they need.

By investing $127.5 million in the forest industry, a long term competitiveness initiative, the government is working toward ensuring that New Brunswick will be prosperous and visible in the forestry sector, ensuring job stability for many years to come. We are facing many challenges in the forest industry right now and these types of investments innovate our way out of these issues.

Yet another $10 million will go to marketing forestry outside of the country. I am confident that when foreign buyers see the quality and product diversity that New Brunswick has to offer, we will enjoy all the positive aspects that come with new markets.

Some time ago I had an opportunity to talk to one of the mill owners in my riding. He echoed the problem with softwood lumber and the challenges in the U.S. market. He said that six months ago he would never have imagined exploring a market in Europe.

As he spoke to me, he talked about how Europe was now a new market and how six months previous to that, he would not have thought that would even have been possible.

In addition, the extension to the accelerated capital cost allowance for three additional years is a very important investment for the forest industry to get caught up from the past number of years.

In a recent appearance at the Standing Committee on Natural Resources, Avrim Lazar, president and CEO of the Forest Products Association of Canada, stated that Canada can compete, but that “we actually have to do it”.

After budget 2008 was released, FPAC issued a release stating that the accelerated capital cost allowance was a step in the right direction and that a bright spot in the budget was the millions in support for marketing Canadian forestry abroad.

I believe that these Conservative budget commitments will perfectly complement the tax cuts that Canada has enjoyed since we formed government in early 2006. The Conservative government is also adding an impressive $25 million to assist forest-based communities make the best decisions on how they can use their land to the greatest potential. This is on top of the previously announced $1 billion for the community development trust that will help single-industry Canadian communities turn around their fortunes.

There are a number of those in my riding who are actually undertaking these, and from this money that is being advanced to the province of New Brunswick under the trust, I am very hopeful that some of these small communities like Juniper will benefit from the province taking active action in their communities.

This is how a strong government provides support for Canada, by offering funding and programs instead of merely throwing dollars to the wind and hoping that problems will solve themselves. We are rebuilding the very foundation on which the industry stands. As I said, we cannot continue being a commodity business. We have to innovate. We must innovate to survive.

This morning, in one of the commentaries that came out of the natural resources committee by Ian de la Roche, the president and CEO of FPInnovations, he made a number of statements about the forest sector, very much along the lines of Mr. Lazar's comments. He said, “There has been limited sector investment. They have minimal receptor capacity to undertake new innovations and they need to foster innovation. It is time for that industry to take hold of things and get going forward on the innovation”.

Currently in 2008, as we face our challenges from an environment standpoint, nuclear energy will become necessary and a standard for an environmentally focused world.

I am happy we are providing $300 million in funding to advance and develop safe maintenance in nuclear technology such as the ACR reactor. Nuclear power holds tremendous potential for the province of New Brunswick and I am excited to see the potential for this new Canadian homegrown technology come to life in my province.

We all understand going forward that New Brunswick is a major power provider to the New England states and the northeastern U.S. through its strong link and interconnection capability, as it is situated in a strategic location between Quebec, P.E.I. and Nova Scotia.

There are many advantages going forward to see how the development of this could possibly play in the future. I am looking forward to seeing New Brunswick Power go forward, as it does its capability assessment, along with the province of New Brunswick and realize tremendous economic opportunities.

New Brunswick is a province that desires to grow and prosper. My riding of Tobique—Mactaquac borders the United States and this frequently means travel and commerce between the two countries. Our budget provides $14 million to expand upon the NEXUS program which allows low-risk frequent travellers across the border quickly and efficiently.

We are also looking at investing in a new 10 year passport. We run six or seven passport clinics in my riding and one of the common questions that came back from people was why we could not get this secure, why we could not get to a 10 year passport like other countries? It was really comforting to see that in this budget. We are actually going to be investing to go forward with those kinds of initiatives.

My constituency also happens to depend on immigration to grow its workforce, and I speak of agriculture and the temporary foreign worker program, which is very important. I also speak of trucking, which is a major industry in my riding. In fact, Carleton County probably has one of the highest per capita trucking industries in Canada.

These companies are growing and with the absence of rail, whether it be agriculture, forestry or any other product produced in my riding, if it goes anywhere, it goes by truck. These companies are hard pressed to find the workers they need.

The investment that we are taking to streamline the immigration process will help that and I am hopeful the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration will move forward on some other initiatives to streamline this in the future, but also to look at how families can be integrated into communities.

There is a major organic farm in my riding by the name of Jolly Farmer Products. It has actually used a lot of temporary foreign workers and that is a key element of its success factor. Our initiative to help embassies in other countries to streamline the immigration process will also help that.

A couple of years ago I had an opportunity to talk to a potato producer in my riding. Agriculture is very important. There are some 300 potato producers in my riding. It is a struggle this year, there is no question about it. I was speaking to one a couple of years ago with regard to the harvest. I had an opportunity to spend a few days there during the harvest on some of the machinery. What was really interesting was the number of temporary foreign workers because of the shortage of labour but also the number of seniors that were actually working on the farm. This is by necessity.

Generations pass their farms down to their sons and daughters and now these seniors want to return to work. The challenge with this is that farmers are really impressed with the quality of work done by the seniors. They move pallets in potato sheds. They say they are not the kind of people operating machinery that will drop the pallet from five and six feet and damage the produce. The challenge is that seniors do not want to work on the farm because for every dollar they are making, they have their GIS clawed back.

The initiative in this budget that talks about the increase in the exemption for the guaranteed income supplement is going to be key because it provides an extra $3,000, which will basically help seniors earn money through the harvest season and not have to worry about a clawback. That is a very positive development. In the fall it was very evident by watching the harvesters and the number of people who were actually working.

Tobique—Mactaquac is a riding rich with tradition and resources. It consists of modest people with humble backgrounds, who just want a chance to raise a family in a province they love. Therefore, I am proud that we are providing money for the targeted initiative for older workers to allow them this transition, an opportunity, and we hope to keep many of them at home.

On the other end of the spectrum, we are also looking at students and the contribution to post-secondary education. We allocated $350 million for the new consolidated student grant program.

After this session of Parliament ends and the history books are written, I know our government is going to be viewed by children today as one that addressed the challenges, continued our convictions and represented our values.

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, I listened to the member for Tobique—Mactaquac quite closely and was wondering what he would say about his riding. I know because I get lots of calls from farmers in his riding--

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Provencher, MB]

Really? Why don't you give us the names?

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

The President of the Treasury Board wants me to name them. If there was time, I certainly would.

I can understand why he did not mention anything about the agricultural portfolio in the budget because there was absolutely nothing there.

[Gerry Ritz, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

It was a separate bill, Bill C-44.

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

The minister talks about Bill C-44. Liberals first recommended it a week before. The only way he could get Bill C-44 passed was by asking for unanimous consent to get it through the House. It went through the House, but the thing about Bill C-44 was that--

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order. I would ask hon. members to allow the hon. member to finish his question. If other members have something else to say or make a comment, they can do so afterwards.

The hon. member for Malpeque.

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, the thing with Bill C-44 was that it was needed because the minister's announcement of December 19 would not flow the money like the parliamentary secretary and the minister said it would.

The money was not getting out there. All that was in the budget, with the assistance of Bill C-44, was more loans for beef and hog producers. One cannot borrow oneself out of debt.

I ask the member, first, why he did not stand up for his producers against this voiceless Minister of Agriculture and try to get real money out there for farmers?

Second, what about the PVYn that the member promised money to producers as far back as four years ago? Have they received that money yet?

[Mike Allen, Conservative, Tobique—Mactaquac, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I had a feeling the member for Malpeque was going to get up and that is why I held back a little on agriculture. I knew he would give me an opportunity and I knew he would wade right in. It is interesting because the government has given $4.5 billion in additional money.

I was at a meeting today with some pork and beef producers who said that the program in Bill C-44 is exactly what they wanted.

It is interesting that this member can get up on his hind legs and talk about this. Many years ago this member was a minister and a parliament secretary. He actually dealt with the PVYn initiative and said he was going to solve it. Guess what? We did not get this way in agriculture and forestry overnight. We got this way because of a lack of action from members like that.

[Patricia Davidson, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for sharing his time with me this afternoon. It is a great feeling to stand in the House and to proudly speak on a budget that will not only help so many people from coast to coast, but will also strengthen the foundation of our economy in the face of global uncertainty. In these times of economic downturn in other jurisdictions, the hon. Minister of Finance has tabled a strong fiscally conservative budget. Our nation is very well positioned to weather any difficulties that may lie ahead. That is what I want to speak on today.

I want to share with my fellow parliamentarians what I think the strong vision put forward by the hon. Minister of Finance will accomplish for this nation. I want to share with my fellow members today the strong support shown toward our budget from the community of Sarnia—Lambton.

However, first I want to make a statement to clear up any misunderstandings that may be held in my riding regarding a particular situation. Last week I had the dubious honour of the member for Don Valley East visiting my riding. She was in Sarnia—Lambton to address a small group of individuals. Regrettably, I was unable to attend the event at which she delivered her remarks. However, if the media have quoted the member properly, the statement she made needs to be corrected. The report states, “The last time the Tories balanced the budget was in 1912 when the Titanic sank”.

That is a statement that is totally incorrect. In 2006, our balanced budget passed without dispute. In 2007, once again a strong, balanced budget was tabled and passed in this Parliament. Our fall 2007 economic statement passed. Now we arrive at yet another strong fiscal statement by our government and once again we see a strong, balanced budget.

However, there are much more important things to discuss here today and I have limited time, so please allow me to share the many positive features of this budget and how I feel it strongly helps my riding of Sarnia—Lambton.

My riding of Sarnia—Lambton shares the border with Michigan on the American side and our border is ranked second in terms of total volume at the crossing. Sarnia—Lambton is one of the pistons in the economic engine that is Canada.

Budget 2008 deals with border issues in a sweeping, effective manner. Specifically, we see five areas of key support from the federal government in budget 2008. These initiatives include the following: ensure that the CBSA has the resources it needs to deliver innovative border services, given current economic realities in a new security environment; provide Canadians with access to better and more secure travel documents to cross international borders, specifically the Canada-U.S. border; ensure the integrity of Canada's immigration programs so our borders, and thus our communities, are safer; enhance the security of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway region; and address obstacles to cross-border trade in a more efficient and expedient manner.

In Sarnia—Lambton we realize that stronger borders require a stronger on the ground presence. By increasing the number of on-site border services officers and streamlining services at our border locations, we see an evolving strategy to meet operational demands stemming from increased trade and travel.

One of the major complaints I hear on an ongoing basis from constituents is in regard to passports. Budget 2008 effectively deals with this important issue. Streamlining the border requires better travel documents. Document validity and expiration timelines are consistently addressed as concerns to me in conversations regarding passports.

Specifically, the document itself is expensive to renew and can be a financial burden to individuals with limited income who are expected to have such documentation for cross-border travel. In addition to the cost, a Canadian passport is valid for five years, yet due to the fact that a passport must be valid for a minimum of six months in advance, this pushes the true validity of a Canadian passport to four and a half years.

As such, budget 2008 has taken the initiative to introduce a higher security electronic passport by 2011. The validity period of this passport will double in time from five to 10 years. This brings Canada in line with the validity timeline shared by the U.K. and the U.S. and certainly addresses the issue of extended validation period that has been put forth many times to me by constituents in my riding.

Documentation fraud, a process engaged in by criminals, is a high-priced racket. The efforts by fringe elements who engage in documentation fraud are becoming more advanced and increasingly well funded on a growing basis.

In 2007 the Government of Canada completed field trials across Canada for the use of biometric data to enhance official travel documentation and the issuing of travel visas. Fingerprinting and live photographs enhance identity verification and prevent criminals from forging our most precious personal documents. Budget 2008 provides $26 million over two years to combat this issue. Canada is currently striving to join other countries, such as Australia, the U.S. and the U.K., in bringing biometric technology to the forefront of our document enhancement plan.

The Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway region is a marine security priority for both Canada and the United States. Budget 2008 provides $15 million over two years to implement a permanent marine security operation centre in place of the current interim facility.

The operation centre will provide the ability for multiple departments and agencies to collaborate on security measures across the region relating to our ports, our Great Lakes and other navigable water systems in the greater St. Lawrence Seaway corridor.

Organizations like Blue Water Bridge Canada in my riding have been instrumental in the success of NEXUS. First and foremost, my congratulations go out to their management team for their continued leadership.

The NEXUS program was successfully initiated within Sarnia—Lambton, and due to the success of the program, hours of operation for NEXUS were extended along the Sarnia—Lambton border with the United States. The extension in hours alone is testament to the positive influx of participation in the NEXUS program by my constituents.

Budget 2008 will strategically invest $14 million over the next two years to expand the joint Canada-U.S. NEXUS program by adding much needed dedicated infrastructure, increasing the number of users from the current 160,000 to an impressive 350,000, and better targeting of frequent cross-border travellers.

By streamlining this process we will see increased capacity to get our important business travellers across our shared border, while at the same time cracking down on security risks. This is accomplished by speeding up the time associated with border crossings for low risk frequent travellers, which frees up valuable resources to improve clearance of regular traffic, henceforth improving border security while at the same time reducing border congestion.

In addition to the many supportive comments my office has received regarding our spending in budget 2008 on increased border services, other community leaders, ranging from the local mayor to the warden of county council, have shared their enthusiasm for a multitude of other announcements, including education, infrastructure moneys and research and development investment.

Of particular note, Lambton College, our local community college, has generously acknowledged the foresight of our government response to requests for money to be allocated for education. The $350 million toward the new Canada student grant program is essential in my riding, where academic leaders are actively seeking more programs associated with skilled trades.

The five year $250 million automotive innovation fund will greatly spur investment in Sarnia—Lambton as well, due to the large influence the auto sector has on companies within our industrial area that produce rubber and plastic utilized in vehicle manufacturing in Ontario. When the auto sector thrives, so does business in Sarnia—Lambton.

The benefits of budget 2008 are quite obvious to me, to the community leaders in Sarnia—Lambton and to my constituents who have already taken the time to contact my office to voice their support of such a positive, fiscally conservative and insightful budget.

I call on all members of the House to fully support budget 2008.

[France Bonsant, Bloc, Compton—Stanstead, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as I listened to my colleague's comments, I felt as though I was back in the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security talking about passports.

I would like to ask her a simple question. Female members of Parliament receive the same salary as male members of Parliament, and 80% of unionized women in Canada have pay equity.

As a woman, a member of Parliament, and the representative for her riding, why did she not rise to ask the Conservatives what their budget has to offer in terms of pay equity between men and women?

I would like her opinion on the Conservatives' utter failure to address pay equity between men and women in their 2008 budget.

[Patricia Davidson, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, certainly the majority of my speech centred on border security. At the beginning of my presentation I said that was what I would be discussing, since my community is a border municipality.

There are a lot of other comments. Local newspapers are all saying that they welcome the budget. The warden of the county said that the fact the federal government is permanently extending the transfer portion of the gas tax to municipalities for spending on infrastructure projects is good news. He said, “It's money to spend on roads, bridges, water and sewers....it's definitely good news that it's going to become permanent. Municipalities like to see long term sustainable funding, year after year so they can plan things better”. He is also pleased with the fact that Ottawa will provide more money to help Ontario's struggling automotive industry.

The local mayor said that the federal decision to introduce 10 year passports is also good news. It will help ease congestion in the flow of traffic on the bridge. He said, “I've been pushing for that for four or five years”.

We also have comments from our local college. “Tuesday's federal budget was an investment in the future”, said the president of Lambton College--

[David Christopherson, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order.

I seek your assistance, Mr. Speaker, as to whether or not it is in order for us to be debating a budget when there are no members of the official opposition present in the House. Is that still within the rules, or do we have to have at least one member of the official opposition to have a proper budget debate?

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

That is not a point of order.

We will take another question or comment. The hon. member for Windsor West.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask my hon. colleague a question. I share the border as well. Windsor is very close to Sarnia.

The budget did mention a 10 year passport which is important. I have had a motion for a 10 year passport for the last couple years. I have been pushing that forward as well as reducing the price so it is free for veterans and half price for seniors. It is disappointing that it could not be added in the budget, when that is done in other nations. I do not understand why it is taking three years, given that the United States has a 10 year passport as does the United Kingdom. I would like the member to expand on that question.

Coupled with that, there was no discussion related to border policy. There are concerns regarding emergency vehicles and historic agreements between our communities. I know her community has one. In the past for example, firefighters were able to travel on both sides of the border in times of emergency. Our city was saved from a fire once by Americans coming across the border. Likewise we have helped them out in the past.

The Minister of Public Safety is taking the position that this is a municipal issue and we should work individually with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, whereas we know there are several communities across Canada that actually need an agreement.

I ask for the member's comments about those subjects.

[Patricia Davidson, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the member has worked long and hard on border issues. I certainly appreciate the work that he has done on passports. The new 10 year passport is a good thing for both his riding and my riding. It is an electronic passport. It will be a much higher security passport than the existing one and it takes a while to put that into place.

The other issue of cross-border emergency responses between the two countries is definitely an ongoing issue. I also have been working with the minister on this issue and will continue to do so. I am also working with my counterparts in Michigan on this issue and will be glad to keep the member up to speed on it.