Debates of Sept. 19th, 2012

Employment

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the other side very much for reminding Canadians about our plan to create green jobs.

Let us consider the Conservative plan for unemployed workers. A financial officer who works at a credit union in Montreal and earns $31,000 a year will have to take the first job that comes along that pays at least $10.85 an hour or he will lose his employment insurance benefits. That is what a 30% pay cut translates to.

Are the Conservatives able to understand the effect that this will have on families? Is this the only thing they have to offer unemployed workers in Canada?

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP leader's problem is that his commitment to Canadians involves a carbon tax.

It is in black and white. He denies it and pretends it does not exist, but the problem for him is that it is here. It is $21.5 billion and it goes up every year. He ran on it in the last election and he pretends it is not there now. Then, when he wanted the leadership of his party earlier this year, what did he say? He said that he would go even further. That is something he has to explain to Canadians because that will kill jobs and will kill growth. That is a dangerous, reckless plan for Canada's economy.

The Economy

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, seeing the hon. member with the notes that he is reading us, we can only assume that he is the one who provided the note yesterday that said that the solution to unemployment is to bring more temporary foreign workers into Canada. At this rate, I know who the next unemployed worker in Canada is going to be: it is going to be him.

A record trade deficit of $50 billion, 500,000 good manufacturing jobs lost, and the highest level of household debt in the history of Canada, and what is their solution? It is to lower taxes even further for big business. Even the Minister of Finance recognizes that Canada is at a standstill.

When will the Conservatives wake up and start providing solutions to real problems that are affecting people's lives?

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, there actually is one thing the Leader of the Opposition has right. We actually believe the solution is lower taxes, not higher taxes and a carbon tax. That is why we have lowered taxes for the average Canadian family by $3,300, because that is what affects families and their personal pocketbooks and improves their standard of living.

We finally got details of the NDP plan for the economy above and beyond the carbon tax. Tomorrow in its opposition day motion the NDP has set out its detailed economic plan. He has been asking for point-by-point details. What is the NDP plan? It is to have a meeting in a couple of months. That is his idea: more meetings. That is not going to solve the economy.

We have a plan. We are delivering. We are delivering jobs and growth for Canada.

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Beauséjour, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister once said that providing for the poor is not a federal responsibility. He does not think it is his job to help those people. The Prime Minister was clearly having a Mitt Romney moment.

EI recipients are worse off if they try to work. The government has failed to improve CPP while rolling back OAS. There are crippling mortgage rates on social housing. The Prime Minister does not care about those people.

Why is the Prime Minister trying to balance the books on the backs of the most vulnerable Canadians?

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, what we have been doing is helping Canadians. Indeed, we have been helping taxpaying, working Canadian families. That is why today they pay $3,300 less in taxes on average than they did when he was in government under the Liberal Party.

In fact, we are doing a great deal to help vulnerable Canadians, those who are seeking that assistance. We have done it through reducing taxes, through taking hundreds of thousands of Canadians off the tax rolls by increasing the basic personal exemption. We are helping seniors by taking them off the tax rolls with increases to the age exemption and the age credit. We have introduced the universal child care benefit, the child tax credit, the working income tax benefit. We have been taking action. They have opposed--

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order. The hon. member for Beauséjour.

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Beauséjour, NB]

Mr. Speaker, economic inequality in Canada is continuing to grow, and the Conservatives' solution is to punish people who are receiving employment insurance benefits and who are looking for part-time work. What is more, the unemployment rate among young people has reached 15% and the Conservatives' solution is to close the employment centres that help them to find jobs.

When will this government realize that it must govern on behalf of all Canadians and not just on behalf of those it thinks voted for the Conservatives?

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, once again, we have taken measures to help all Canadians. For example, we have established the Canada child tax benefit, the universal child care benefit, labour market agreements for persons with disabilities, the working while on claim project, the working income tax benefit, and more. We have delivered results for all Canadians.

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Beauséjour, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the minister can continue, but the reality is 165,000 young people have simply given up looking for work. EI recipients who want to work while on claim are worse off financially. They suffer from a secret clawback. Millions of Canadians are without a pension plan and the government is rolling back the OAS.

For our economy to thrive, all Canadians must be the object of federal government policy. When will it reverse these destructive policies and begin to govern for all Canadians, every one of them?

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, indeed, we are doing that. That is why we are happy to see that Canadians, 770,000 more of them, have jobs today than after the economic downturn. That is 770,000 people whose families are benefiting from an income, who have a job, who are benefiting from the prosperity, notwithstanding a global economy that remains uncertain. When we look south of our border, when we look across to Europe, we see conditions far worse than ours. They are thankful for our measures. However, the Liberals keep voting against them, against the youth employment strategy, against the EI hiring credit, against the apprenticeship incentive grant, against the targeted initiative for older workers. I could go on, but we can see who is really taking it out on vulnerable Canadians. It is the Liberal Party.

Foreign Investment

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is now only 24 days until the deadline for the proposed takeover of Canadian Nexen by CNOOC.

The China National Offshore Oil Corporation has poor environmental and human rights records and has left behind massive contaminated sites in Burma. Yesterday, the Minister of Industry had no answer for people concerned about this deal. He is refusing to consult and is even ignoring growing concerns from within his own caucus.

Why will the minister not allow Canadians concerned about this deal to be heard?

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Minister of Industry and Minister of State (Agriculture)]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's investment review process is sound and ensures that foreign investment is a net benefit to Canada.

Our government has a clear track record of encouraging economic growth, job creation and prosperity in Canada. I will take the time required to carefully examine the proposed acquisition.

We will not take lessons from the NDP, whose reckless economic policy would deter investment, kill jobs and hurt Canadian families.

[Hélène LeBlanc, NDP, LaSalle—Émard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives keep making things up, but the fact is that in 2011, there was a major spill in a CNOOC oil field off the coast of China. The public was kept in the dark for a month. And that was not the only incident. This company has been involved in several oil spills recently.

Are the Conservatives okay with that kind of behaviour? Has the oil spill issue come up behind closed doors with CNOOC and Nexen lobbyists?

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Minister of Industry and Minister of State (Agriculture)]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's investment review process is watertight, and we make sure that every proposed transaction will provide a net benefit to Canada. That is what we assess. Every single transaction is scrutinized very closely, and this proposed transaction will be no exception.

As I said before, the NDP is not in a position to tell us how we should do things because its irresponsible economic policies would result in job losses and negative outcomes for Canadian families.

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Mr. Speaker, instead of taking all this energy just to make stuff up, the government should invest energy in listening to Canadians. That is what it should be doing.

The minister is refusing public consultations. He refuses to say how it will define a net benefit to Canada. He will not address CNOOC's human rights record or its history of oil spills and environmental devastation. This type of takeover needs more than this kind of shoddy backroom treatment.

Other than company lobbyists, who is the minister talking to? Why will the government not take advice from Canadians? Why will it not consult with Canadians?

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Minister of Industry and Minister of State (Agriculture)]

Mr. Speaker, we all know that the NDP policy is to get away from trade tables. The NDP wants to put certain types of industries out of business. We will not do it. We will make sure that each transaction that is proposed here in Canada will provide a net benefit for this country. Each single transaction will be scrutinized very closely.

We will not go down the path proposed by the NDP that would kill jobs and hurt Canadian families.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, today is the final day for residential schools survivors to apply for compensation for abuse that they suffered. We know that many survivors, for many reasons, have not been able to apply. We also know that in the last three months we saw a huge increase in the number of claims.

How will the government ensure that the survivors who could not make the deadline still have the chance to access compensation for the abuse they suffered? Will the minister extend the deadline to cope with this last-minute rush?

[Greg Rickford, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, our government remains committed to achieving a fair and lasting resolution to the legacy of Indian residential schools.

The Indian residential schools settlement agreement is court supervised and was agreed to by multiple parties, including legal counsel for most students and the Assembly of First Nations. The most important thing our government has done and will continue to do is respect the terms and honour its obligations under the Indian residential schools settlement agreement.

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we have seen flexibility in these deadlines before and we call on the government to have that flexibility once again.

This compensation is an important part of reconciliation. Survivors need more than just words from the government. Instead, last week first nations organizations across this country were stunned to hear about the across-the-board cuts to their core funding. This will affect their capacity to deliver programs which, among other things, support the healing process for residential schools survivors.

Where is the commitment to building a new relationship with first nations? Will the Conservatives reverse these reckless cuts?

[Greg Rickford, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, we want to ensure that funding for aboriginal organizations is focused on the delivery of essential services and programs in key areas, such as education, economic development and community infrastructure. That makes sense. After all, we have developed these shared priorities with aboriginal leadership. Our government will continue to take concrete steps that create conditions for healthier and more self-sufficient, self-sustaining aboriginal communities.

[Jonathan Genest-Jourdain, NDP, Manicouagan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister can continue to avoid answering these questions, but it is clear that the Conservatives are refusing to take rebuilding a constructive relationship with first nations seriously. The minister made ill-considered cuts to first nations organizations across the country, and now residential school survivors have to wait while the government processes a backlog of 16,000 cases.

When will the minister start taking these first nations issues as seriously as they deserve to be taken?

[Greg Rickford, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, whether we are talking about Indian residential schools or our ongoing commitment to support healthier, self-sustaining communities, we remain committed to shared priorities. Flowing from the Crown–First Nations Gathering, we will continue to work with first nations community members and with their leadership to ensure that our shared priorities are met.

[Carol Hughes, NDP, Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives like to talk about partnership, but first nations in my constituency and throughout Canada feel ignored by the government.

Aboriginal people face unique and serious health challenges linked to traumatic effects of residential schools, yet the government has slashed funding to the few organizations in the country that specifically address challenges faced by our aboriginal communities. Now these groups face additional cuts to their core funding.

How could the minister think that the best way to solve this problem is to further reduce resources to these organizations?

[Greg Rickford, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, as I have already said, we want to ensure that these aboriginal organizations which have done great work in the delivery of essential services and programs continue to place the priority on just that, the delivery of essential services and programs, particularly in the areas of education, economic development and community infrastructure. As I said earlier, that makes perfect sense, because over the past couple of years we have identified these shared priorities with first nations leadership, and we are taking concrete action to move forward on those shared priorities.