House of Commons Hansard #176 of the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was seniors.
Tarik Brahmi NDP Saint-Jean, QC
Mr. Speaker, the NDP is proud to oppose this reform, and it will continue to do so.
We are in a tough economic situation. There are fewer and fewer full-time permanent jobs and increasingly more temporary and unstable jobs. Tightening the EI eligibility criteria is unjustified. Statistics Canada recently announced that women and people aged 25 to 44 were the hardest hit.
Why is the minister attacking workers in such uncertain economic times?
Kellie Leitch ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and to the Minister of Labour
Mr. Speaker, let us talk about the facts again. Ninety per cent of the new jobs created have been full-time jobs. To be very clear, with respect to youth employment, the youth employment strategy is a $50 million investment to ensure that young Canadians have opportunities for jobs. That is what we put on the table in budget 2012 and the opposition members voted against those opportunities.
The facts are very simple. We want to ensure that Canadians are employed. The opposition members obviously do not.
John Rafferty NDP Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON
Mr. Speaker, Conservative mismanagement of employment insurance means fewer and fewer Canadians are qualifying. There are 1.35 million Canadians out of a job and 60% of them do not qualify. This is the real story.
Conservative changes to EI would only make the problem worse. Hard-working Canadians have paid for EI their entire working lives. When will the government start helping unemployed Canadians get the protection they have already paid for?
Kellie Leitch ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and to the Minister of Labour
Mr. Speaker, as I have mentioned already in the House, in fact three times today, eight out of ten Canadians do qualify for employment insurance. I guess—
The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer
Order, please. The hon. parliamentary secretary has the floor.
Kellie Leitch Conservative Simcoe—Grey, ON
Mr. Speaker, as I have mentioned, over 820,000 net new jobs have been created by the economic action plan since the downturn of the recession in July 2009.
Whether it be the targeted initiative for older workers, apprenticeship grants or the youth employment strategy, all of which are helping to create jobs for Canadians, the opposition continues to vote against these.
Francis Scarpaleggia Liberal Lac-Saint-Louis, QC
Mr. Speaker, the minister is telling us that the Navigable Waters Protection Act deals only with navigation. Using the same logic, he says that the Fisheries Act only deals with fish.
Is he aware of the regulations governing mining discharges, under the Fisheries Act, that allow mining companies not only to kill fish but also to kill entire lakes? In other words, the Fisheries Act affects the entire environment.
Will the minister soon be claiming that the regulations governing automobile emissions affect only automobiles and not the environment?
Denis Lebel ConservativeMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member certainly knows how to complicate things.
Public servants at Transport Canada consulted the provinces and territories in order to create the list of waterways. None of the provinces or territories expressed any problems or concerns. I understand that the opposition wants to create problems. No studies were needed in 98% of the projects. We have saved money for all Canadian taxpayers. All departments apply the regulations that fall within their portfolios.
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
Mr. Speaker, last week Hurricane Sandy tore through the U.S. causing enormous suffering and $20 billion in damages. I then received the government's two-sentence answer to my order paper question regarding disaster risk reduction and preparedness in Canada. Apparently my answer requires “extensive manual research and analysis”.
Why has the research not been done? Why did the Minister of Public Safety not deign to answer any of my questions, which are fundamental to the health and safety of Canadians?
Vic Toews ConservativeMinister of Public Safety
Mr. Speaker, let us just put that into context. The question that was posed by the member cost taxpayers in excess of $1,300, just to examine whether an answer was possible. In order to—
The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer
Order, please. The hon. Minister of Public Safety has the floor.
Vic Toews Conservative Provencher, MB
Mr. Speaker, the question cost taxpayers in excess of $1,300 just to examine whether an answer was possible. In order to answer the 55 subquestions, it would cost untold tens of thousands of dollars.
Glenn Thibeault NDP Sudbury, ON
Mr. Speaker, Canadian businesses pay $5 billion a year just to process credit card payments. These costs are then passed on to consumers. Now, credit card companies have announced that fees are set to increase again, this time by 33%. This will have a major impact on small businesses in Canada, and it underscores how the government's toothless voluntary code of conduct has failed to reign in credit card fees.
Why do Conservatives refuse to regulate this industry, and protect consumers and small businesses?
Ted Menzies ConservativeMinister of State (Finance)
Mr. Speaker, imagine what a $21 billion carbon tax would add to the cost of businesses.
This is certainly something that has concerned businesses and it has concerned our government. That is why we put in place a code of conduct that, if I recall, the NDP did not even support.
We need to make sure that businesses know exactly what they are signing on to when they sign agreements with the credit card companies, as do consumers. We would appreciate a little support in the House in protecting businesses.
François Lapointe NDP Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Mr. Speaker, small and medium-sized businesses are not protected by the code. The Conservatives’ voluntary code of conduct does not work.
In addition to a 33% increase in processing fees, the cost of foreign-card transactions would double in 2013. Moreover, Visa will be issuing ultra-premium cards for frequent users, which will cost merchants even more in fees. There is no end to it. The Conservatives must take action, at last, to protect small business and stop hiding behind their so-called code of conduct.
When will there be regulations to protect the profit margins of Canada’s small and medium-sized businesses from abuse by the credit card companies?
Ted Menzies ConservativeMinister of State (Finance)
Mr. Speaker, as I said, we do have a code of conduct that was put in place, with no help from anyone on the other side of the House, that actually does put in a lot of protections for businesses. The debit and credit card protectors must be upfront about fees. The businesses now know that, whereas they did not before. They also have to know upfront what the rates are. Small businesses can actually cancel contracts without penalty if those fees change.
Those are common sense changes in the code of conduct, not common sense enough for dippers, I guess.
Ted Opitz Conservative Etobicoke Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, the more Canadians learn about senior Liberal, Joe Fontana, the graver concerns become. First, there was the senior Liberal's alleged misuse of $20,000 taxpayer dollars. Now we have learned that a charity run by that senior Liberal issued tax receipts totalling $72 million in 2011, despite receiving only $72,000 in donations three years earlier. Those numbers do not add up.
Will the parliamentary secretary please advise the House as to what our government is doing to crackdown on tax cheats?
Rick Dykstra ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration
Mr. Speaker, our government strongly condemns those who would use charities as a way to steal money to enrich themselves. Sadly, those who steal once often steal again.
While we will not stand by and watch anyone fleece the taxpayers, Canadians want to know what the Liberal Party of Canada has to say about the issue.
Will the Liberals assembled here, including the member for Papineau, join with us in condemning this activity or is their silence a representation of protection?
Hedy Fry Liberal Vancouver Centre, BC
Mr. Speaker, last week we learned that 90% of cancer patients and their families suffer severe hardship, often bankruptcy, to pay for prescription drugs and home care.
In the 2004 health accord, former Prime Minister Martin and the premiers agreed to fund and develop a national pharmaceutical strategy for medically necessary drugs. The current government abandoned that strategy, forcing patients to go on social assistance to get their medication.
Is the government saying that Canadians should go bankrupt to stay alive? If not, what is its plan to help them?
Leona Aglukkaq ConservativeMinister of Health and Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency
Mr. Speaker, unlike a previous government that balanced its books on the backs of provinces and territories, we have committed to long term, stable funding that will see—
Leona Aglukkaq Conservative Nunavut, NU
Mr. Speaker, as I said, unlike previous governments that balanced their books on the backs of provinces and territories, we have committed to long term, stable funding that will see health transfers reach historic levels by the end of the decade.
Since we have formed government, health transfers from Ottawa to the provinces and territories have grown by nearly 35%. Our investments will help preserve Canada's health care system so it is there when Canadians need it.