House of Commons Hansard #104 of the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was budget.

Topics

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:20 p.m.

NDP

Robert Chisholm NDP Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS

Mr. Speaker, I would like to seek some clarification.

I sit in this House as an active member. From time to time, I have been known to use my outside voice and respond in a way that is not meant to be distracting. I know that if you or other members found me distracting you would say so. However, I did not know that, if even that was not the case, I would not be permitted to say things to myself that people near me might hear.

Perhaps you could clarify that for me. I do not want to infringe upon the rules of the House or in any way try your patience. I certainly want to do my best to adhere to whatever rules--

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:20 p.m.

Conservative

The Acting Speaker Conservative Barry Devolin

Order. In order to respond to the member, I would like to make two points. As this member knows, there are microphones in the chamber. For those who are sitting particularly close to the member who is speaking, the microphones pick up everything, so that is an issue for those sitting immediately closest to the member. When people are offering free advice and commentary to a member who is speaking, it often comes from the other side of the House.

I am just asking for co-operation from all hon. members. The hon. member for Burnaby—New Westminster does have the floor. I would like the opportunity to hear everything that he has to say and would appreciate the co-operation of all members in that regard.

The hon. member for Burnaby—New Westminster.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:20 p.m.

NDP

Peter Julian NDP Burnaby—New Westminster, BC

Mr. Speaker, I would like to say that the advice of the member for Dartmouth—Cole Harbour is priceless. It is of great value to Canadians and to the House of Commons. He does a phenomenal job as deputy finance critic and as the member of Parliament for Dartmouth—Cole Harbour. We all appreciate that he is in the House of Commons offering advice and speaking out on behalf of Canadians.

Moving now to some of the Facebook postings. First, we have one from Ms. Chen from British Columbia. As members may know, Burnaby—New Westminster has the highest concentration of Canadians of Taiwanese origin in the country. A member from the Taiwanese Canadian community says, “I strongly disagree with this budget, especially with the government's decision to eliminate 284,000 federal skilled workers' applications that have been waiting for 5 to 7 years.”

Another, Ms. Sacca, says that she “....hates the cuts to the CBC, the National Film Board, and that cuts to culture are cuts in the voices of the people. It seems that this Conservative government does not like people expressing themselves on important issues.”

Another comment from Ontario, “Is this what you call job creation?”

Another from Markdale, Ontario, “This budget provided nothing for youth. It does not address youth unemployment...” Youth unemployment is over 15%. It is absolutely tragic that it has gone that high. Unfortunately there is nothing in the budget that addresses youth unemployment. As we know, with this fewer jobs, less growth and less prosperity budget, we are actually going to see a spike up in unemployment rates, particularly among the youth. I know my colleague from Scarborough—Rouge River is listening attentively as the critic for post-secondary education. This Canadian, Mr. Walker, says, “It does not provide aid for the rising tuition for and debt from post-secondary education.” I know the member is aware, as I am, of the importance of addressing it.

Another, Mr. Legault, says, “Canada's reputation as a compassionate country on the world stage took another hit... in this Conservative budget which slashes $377.7 million in international development funding aimed at reducing poverty overseas.”

Another, from Sault Ste. Marie, wrote, “Very sad, as a statement at home and in the world. They also shut down the National Council of Welfare because they do not want anyone reporting on how much poverty there really is. This is amazing, to think they will actually get away with this. First, the dissolution of Stats Canada, then an attack on organizations, both at home and internationally, that actually advocate on behalf of those at risk. Now substantial cuts to aid and the demise of the National Council on Welfare.”

Mr. Speaker, if you are wondering why we are spending hours criticizing the mean-spirited decisions by the government, I think that particular Facebook posting shows to what extent Canadians feel the same way. The decisions are ideologically based. They are not based on the character and values that Canadians share.

The fact that the government is shutting down the National Council of Welfare, which provided key information to ensure that Canadians were aware of the extent of poverty in this country, is quite frankly shameful.

I would say we all think that Canadian families deserve better than that.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:25 p.m.

Some hon. members

Hear, hear!

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:25 p.m.

NDP

Peter Julian NDP Burnaby—New Westminster, BC

I thank my colleagues for their applause. They have been working all weekend in their ridings. They have worked very hard over the last few weeks without taking a single day off. NDP MPs work very hard. It is amazing they have that much energy on a Monday afternoon. They are concerned. All of us are concerned about the impact on Canadian families. That is where we get our energy from. We know full well that Canadian families are concerned about the budget, which is why we are speaking out.

We have lots of Facebook postings. I will warn you right now, Mr. Speaker, in the interests of mixing things up, I will be coming back to the tweets and the Facebook comments later on.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:25 p.m.

NDP

Robert Chisholm NDP Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS

I will remind you.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:25 p.m.

NDP

Peter Julian NDP Burnaby—New Westminster, BC

The member for Dartmouth—Cole Harbour will remind me later on.

A constituent from Ontario said, “This budget cuts $2 million from Elections Canada. I wonder why”.

That is a rhetorical question she is asking. She is saying that we know full well why the government is cutting Elections Canada. We just have to look at Elections Canada investigating the robocall scandal to know why the budget is punishing Elections Canada. She said, “This budget makes my heart feel very heavy”.

Moving on, another Facebook posting says, “So much news about services being cut for the disadvantaged and disenfranchised. We seem to be moving backwards in the world, while we hear so much about exorbitant amounts being paid to sports figures and celebrities. I wonder how this budget will read in the history books”.

Another constituent commented, “Without accurate data, then who is to say there is a problem? It becomes speculation and opinion, which can be argued or dismissed as agenda. The social security that Canada offers its citizens is a jewel of civilized society worldwide. What power does government actually possess if service to its people disappears?”

Someone from Algoma University said, “Should charities lose their status for simply disagreeing with the government's agenda?”

A constituent from Vancouver said, “With this government and this Prime Minister's divide and conquer tactics, they are saying that they don't want to have Canada be united”.

Someone from a university in southern Ontario, in Guelph, said, “Our CBC is one of the things that makes us Canadian. We have to preserve it and not let this government bleed it to death”.

A constituent from Quebec said, “Private banks and businesses can be supported by taxpayers, but there is no money for the CBC”.

A New Brunswick constituent commented, “Just to put this in perspective, the cuts which the Conservative government would like to see even deeper, of $115 million, are about equal to the estimated cost of just one new F-35 jet”.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:25 p.m.

NDP

Robert Chisholm NDP Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS

With or without the engine?

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:25 p.m.

NDP

Peter Julian NDP Burnaby—New Westminster, BC

Mr. Speaker, that would be without the engine. I would remind my colleague from Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, part of the F-35 fiasco is that the F-35s would be delivered without engines, which would almost be humourous if it were not so sad. After that the jet engines are put in, and following that, we have the maintenance costs.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:25 p.m.

Payne

Such a tale.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:25 p.m.

NDP

Peter Julian NDP Burnaby—New Westminster, BC

I did raise this on Friday. I believe my colleague opposite wants me to raise it again.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer, on whom I rely and on whom I wish the government relied as well, even before these latest revelations said that the full cost of the F-35s would be over $30 billion. Now it is somewhere between $30 billion and $40 billion. As my colleague from Dartmouth—Cole Harbour accurately pointed out, that includes bringing the planes here without the engines, putting the engines in, and then all of the maintenance costs after that.

A constituent, who I should mention is from a Conservative riding, thinks that perhaps $40 billion for F-35s for an untendered contract is a bit excessive and perhaps we should be putting Canadian families first. Another constituent from a Conservative riding in southern Ontario--

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:30 p.m.

Robert Sopuck

Moving right along.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:30 p.m.

NDP

Peter Julian NDP Burnaby—New Westminster, BC

I thank my Conservative colleagues for encouraging me. There is nothing I like more than getting encouragement from the other side of the House. I appreciate their comments.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:30 p.m.

Conservative

Chris Alexander Conservative Ajax—Pickering, ON

We can give you some facts too.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:30 p.m.

Ron Chisholm

Facts would be really good.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:30 p.m.

NDP

Peter Julian NDP Burnaby—New Westminster, BC

My colleague on the other side of the House said, and I think I can quote him accurately and it is parliamentary, “We can give you some facts”.

I want to mention the statistical organizations. I will put aside Facebook for just a moment. The issue of facts and the Conservative government is pretty profound. What is the government going to cut? What are the facts that it is going to cut in the budget?

The First Nations Statistical Institute is going to be eliminated. This organization produces facts on what is a crisis situation in many aboriginal communities. The Conservative government does not like the facts so it is going to cut its funding.

The National Council of Welfare produces information on poor Canadians. The Conservatives are going to axe the funding for this organization. They do not want to hear the facts.

Let us look at Statistics Canada, which unfortunately produces facts. The government does not seem to like facts too much. It is going to see an $8.3 million cut for the current fiscal year, $18.3 million the following year, and $34 million the following year.

When the Conservatives cut the First Nations Statistical Institute, when they cut the National Council of Welfare, when they gouge Statistics Canada to the point it can no longer produce facts, it is fair to say it is a fact-free government. It opposes the facts. The Conservatives do not want to hear the facts. They cannot live with the facts.

When a member opposite says that they will give us some facts, my question would be, where are they going to get the facts when they are killing all of the fact-finding organizations? Canadian families deserve better than that.

I will move on to another comment that is exactly in that vein. The budget eliminates funding for the National Council of Welfare, a government advisory body and the premier resource for information on poverty in Canada.

There is another posting which deals with this. It is from another Conservative riding, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. This constituent said, “This budget is absolutely appalling. Keep this government's feet to the fire for having put in place more information suppression”.

I mentioned the elimination of those fact-finding bodies as something Canadians feel intensely about. They oppose the idea that the government should be in a fact-free zone, that the government should manufacture its own facts.

The facts come out of the PMO but they are not facts that come with any foundation. It is a fact-free zone and the government is eliminating the few agencies that actually produce facts which should be the basis on which a responsible government takes decisions.

A constituent in a Conservative-held riding commented, “What we are seeing is a government that is demonstrating divisive politics. Instead of talking about reality, they are refusing to actually follow that reality. Instead the reality is that many older people are struggling. They cannot afford to keep their homes, are working more than one job, cannot afford vacations, cannot afford to retire. Many in the older and middle-age generations fought and worked hard to make life better. It is the older working generation who fought for public health care, pensions, the 40-hour work week, paid vacations, weekends and more. It is the likes of the right wing, not the older and middle-age generations, that are ruining things for every generation. Let us retire in dignity, instead of the work until we drop philosophy of this government. It seems that we have forgotten why pensions were established in the first place: to ensure people did not have to work through their old age. They are a good thing, not something to play politics with. This is the Prime Minister's budget. It is not my budget. Raising the age for OAS which will delay retirement for many people will also lessen the availability of some of the better paying jobs for young people. If they want to create jobs, they should give retirement incentives”.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:35 p.m.

NDP

Robert Chisholm NDP Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS

It used to be we did that in this country.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:35 p.m.

NDP

Peter Julian NDP Burnaby—New Westminster, BC

Yes.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:35 p.m.

NDP

Robert Chisholm NDP Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS

Great opportunities for young people.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:35 p.m.

Robert Sopuck

Feed him some more lines.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:35 p.m.

NDP

Peter Julian NDP Burnaby—New Westminster, BC

Mr. Speaker, we are hearing more comments. I certainly encourage people to provide their comments. If they would like me to read them into the record, they could send them to me on Facebook or Twitter or send an email to an NDP MP. I must admit the vast majority of the comments we are getting are from Conservative-held ridings. People in Conservative ridings are saying they disagree with their Conservative MP. They may have sent this information to their Conservative MP as well, but very clearly they are saying they want to ensure the NDP brings forward these points of view, which is what we are doing. In the spirit of back and forth, that is members' right and I would not discourage them from doing that. However, since the vast majority of comments I am reading are from Conservative ridings, it behooves those members to listen to Canadians who are speaking out. These Canadians who live in Conservative-held ridings are saying that they think Canadian families deserve better than the budget the Conservatives delivered. Canadian families deserve better. That is what they are saying.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:35 p.m.

Some hon. members

Hear, hear!

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:35 p.m.

NDP

Peter Julian NDP Burnaby—New Westminster, BC

I thank my colleagues. My goodness, what an enthusiastic bunch of NDP MPs we have at the House of Commons, despite some of us struggling with colds and flu.

A constituent from Elliott Lake, Ontario said that the budget demonstrates that the Conservatives are out of touch with the priorities of most Canadians.

Here is another comment from Surrey, British Columbia: “Our tax dollars are not being properly spent on the needs of average families. This budget does not address problems with the increasing gap between rich and poor”.

A constituent of my colleague for New Westminster—Coquitlam says: “I'm very disappointed that this government has chosen to make needless changes to old age security that will punish our most vulnerable seniors. I'm also appalled that they've done it in a way that will impact on future generations”.

From Vancouver, Mr. Lahay writes: “Born late '58. I'm fifty-three what about me?”

From a Liberal riding in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ms. Wade writes: “I was born in early 1958, but that doesn't make it any less wrong! It's wrong on many levels and wrong for us all.... [W]hat's next, work and pay into it until we're 90? Looks like they want their money and they hope we 'expire' before collecting. Shame on the [Prime Minister's] government!”

Another comment from Facebook is this: “They're cutting the pensions of my generation too”.

A person from British Columbia notes that “Attempting to force the northern pipeline through will cause larger concerns on the west coast. B.C. residents are unwilling to accept the risk of harm without proper environmental assessments”.

As members know, we have seen fundamental cutbacks in environmental assessments throughout the course of this budgetary process.

From a Liberal riding in Kingston, Ontario, a constituent states: “I am so disappointed with what's going on with this Conservative government”.

From Halifax, Nova Scotia, Mr. Chambers writes: “The Prime Minister is destroying what makes Canada unique in the world”.

These are the comments that are coming in. I could go on just with the Facebook comments alone, because there are pages and pages of them. People are posting on Facebook across the country. They are saying that they want to be heard on this. That is why we are getting so many Canadians writing, phoning, emailing and faxing us. They are providing feedback that the government should have heeded prior to putting forward and tabling this budget.

Each Canadian here is important and their voices are very important. That is why we are raising them in the House of Commons because that is our job. The member for Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing is absolutely right that we raise the voices of these families across the country because we believe their voices should be heard in the House of Commons. That is why we do it.

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:40 p.m.

Some hon. members

Hear, hear!

Financial Statement of Minister of FinanceThe BudgetGovernment Orders

12:40 p.m.

NDP

Peter Julian NDP Burnaby—New Westminster, BC

I heard a question from my colleague across the way, which I think was about how long I was going to speak. Well, obviously I have a cold and I do not know how long my voice will hold out, but in my party our tradition has been to speak out until the job is done—