Debates of Jan. 29th, 2013

The Economy

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, it would help at the outset if the hon. member got her facts straight. In fact, debt on credit cards declined nearly 4% in the last year, with demand for new credit at its lowest level in five years, down 11% from 2007.

With respect to corporate taxes, I understand the CLC supports the NDP. I understand it supports the NDP high-tax agenda. However, our Conservative government is focused on leaving more money in the hands of investors and entrepreneurs and ultimately growing the workforce, at which we have been incredibly successful.

[Peggy Nash, NDP, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, talk about denial. It is unbelievable. The fact is that Conservative policies leave individual Canadians with higher debt and bearing more and more of Canada's tax burden, while corporate tax freedom day is now months before everyone else's. It is no wonder that the minister wants to turn the Parliamentary Budget Officer into his own personal cheerleader. So much for fiscal accountability.

We all know the minister just does not like criticism, so why would he not just admit his plan is to gut the role of the Parliamentary Budget Officer and turn the Conservatives' back on the Federal Accountability Act that they themselves brought in? When is he going to admit that?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, President of the Treasury Board and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, in the first place, it is this Minister of Finance, this Prime Minister and this government that cut the average tax for the average Canadian family by $3,000, and we are very proud of that.

When it comes to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, we created that office, we are committed to that office's continuing to exist and we want to ensure that in the future we have a Parliamentary Budget Officer who is non-partisan and credible.

[Guy Caron, NDP, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about credibility. Every time the Parliamentary Budget Officer released a report and the Conservatives publicly contradicted him, they had to do an about-face and admit that he was right.

The Conservatives want to get rid of the Parliamentary Budget Officer so he will not shed light on some of the Conservatives' bad decisions. Take the example of the Conservatives' corporate tax policies. They have obviously not had the desired effect because the profits resulting from these tax cuts have not been reinvested in the economy.

Why do the Conservatives insist on staying the course to the detriment of our public services and infrastructure?

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, contrary to what the Canadian Labour Congress and the New Democrats say, business investment across Canada has actually rebounded since 2009. It is 6.2% higher than before the recession. No other country in the G7 can match that record.

[Guy Caron, NDP, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out that the Minister of Finance himself criticized businesses for failing to reinvest profits made as a result of lower corporate taxes.

The most recent economic news is troubling. Canadian household debt is much too high and that was a significant factor in the decision to downgrade the ratings of six major Canadian banks. The Conservatives' laissez-faire approach to public finances is hurting our economy.

Will the minister replace failed policies with new initiatives to respond to the challenges faced by our economy, or will he just repeat his same old attacks on the NDP?

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, there are two aspects to personal indebtedness, and one is mortgage insurance. We have moved four times to tighten that market and the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions also has in the past year. That has had a moderating effect on mortgage interest, which is important in Canada, and on the real estate market.

On the other hand, on credit cards, I have already explained. The facts are that credit card debt is going down in Canada. Canadians are getting the message to be careful about personal debt because interest rates are bound to rise inevitably.

National Defence

[Christine Moore, NDP, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after being harshly criticized by the Auditor General for not having a management plan for National Defence's real property, now, the Conservatives are getting involved in a risky experiment: privatizing the management of the department's real property across the country. The Conservatives are taking a leap into the unknown without a business plan or an impact study.

Why are they still undertaking risky experiments at the Department of National Defence?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud of the significant investments we have made through the Canada first defence strategy to infrastructure on bases across the country. The Department of National Defence continues to ensure that members of the Canadian Forces and their families have the necessary infrastructure to train, to live, to do the important work that we ask of them. The department will leverage private sector capabilities with the realignment of internal resources to oversee the right mix of in-house and external delivery options.

We also continue to work with our partners, including the construction dialogue, in appropriate consultation forums with the employees' unions.

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, the poor management of buildings and infrastructure at National Defence is so bad that many locations do not even meet the national fire code.

Blindly giving up the management of military bases to the private sector with no clue on how it will affect military communities or the bottom line is not a plan. It looks more like an ideological solution, not sound management.

Could the minister tell Parliament what services will be transferred to the private sector and how much it will cost Canadians?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, ignoring the usual inflammatory and ignorant language of the member opposite, what I will do is ensure him that the investments that we have made have significantly improved the infrastructure across the country. This is a clear attempt to work with the private sector to ensure that we have the proper mix and the proper balance when it comes to the necessary needs of the Canadian Forces, the members and their families.

Search and Rescue

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, the minister should know I was quoting the Auditor General and the national fire code.

Another case of blatant mismanagement by the Conservative government is the failure to improve search and rescue in Canada despite its claims to the contrary.

A year after the tragic death of young Burton Winters in Labrador there has been no improvement in search and rescue response times. In fact, the search and rescue role in Goose Bay has actually been downgraded. The Conservatives even defeated our common sense motion to improve the response times in line with other countries.

When will the government finally take action to fix search and rescue?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I note, and the member opposite would know coming from Newfoundland and Labrador, this is the week of the anniversary of the death of young Burton Winters. Our thoughts are with his family and the community of Makkovik at this time.

In response to that particular incident and the necessity to make improvements, we did place another helicopter at the base in Goose Bay, Labrador. We have also changed the protocol. We are working much closer now with provinces and territories to coordinate ground search and rescue. We will continue to make necessary investments in improvements to search and rescue. Our SAR techs do a spectacular job in that regard.

The Economy

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, with the Finch report on the personal debt bubble in Canada, it is clear that Canadians are struggling just to get by and meet their obligations with $1.67 of personal debt for every $1 of annual income.

The minister just boasted of having tightened the rules recently. Will he admit that it was under his reign as Minister of Finance that the rules were loosened in the first place? It was under the present minister that 40-year mortgages with no down payment were brought in to Canada. Will he admit for the first time in the House his own personal responsibility for helping to create the personal debt bubble in Canada?

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians value their homes. They like to invest in their homes. It is the most important investment that most Canadians will ever make in their lives. With interest rates being where they are, we are pleased that they have been able to afford more in the way of housing.

Having said that, we have tightened the market with respect to residential insurance four times because of excessive demand and some price spirals that we saw in certain markets, particularly condo markets in Vancouver and Toronto.

Parliamentary Budget Officer

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance does not like to be reminded of his mistakes and he has just made that clear once again. No doubt that is why he has such a grudge against the Parliamentary Budget Officer.

Does he have a grudge against the Parliamentary Budget Officer for pointing out his mistakes regarding the cost of old age security at age 65, the F-35s, the elimination of the deficit for 2013, the projections for employment insurance premiums and the budget transparency to which all Canadians are entitled?

Is that what the Minister of Finance is so worked up about?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, President of the Treasury Board and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, I repeat: we created that office and we are committed to keeping it in place. The government will ensure that Parliament is able to find a credible replacement.

Search and Rescue

[Judy Foote, Liberal, Random—Burin—St. George's, NL]

Mr. Speaker, experts warned that closure of the maritime rescue sub-centre in St. John's would result in a critical loss of local knowledge and put lives at risk.

A call to the search and rescue centre in Halifax today about a hunter missing on the Port au Port Peninsula was recorded as a hunter missing off the Port-au-Prince peninsula. The problem is that Port-au-Prince is in Haiti. Port au Port is in Newfoundland and Labrador.

No helicopter available for Burton Winters, medical calls routed to Rome, mixing of locations, when will the government reinstate the search and rescue centre in St. John's?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, with respect to the incident in question, there was a Royal Canadian Air Force Cormorant helicopter dispatched. It searched the area for two hours in search of the hunter. Unfortunately, that hunter has not yet been located.

The ongoing search, in coordination with the RCMP and local fire and rescue, continues and our thoughts and prayers are with that family and those who are conducting the search.

Regarding the reference to the misspeaking of an official, this individual is an experienced navigator who had spent a lot of time in Haiti and simply misspoke when he said Port-au-Prince. He clearly meant Port au Port, and he corrected that as soon as it was noted.

Ethics

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is sad and upsetting, but the Conservatives keep getting away with murder.

The ethics commissioner made it clear that the Minister of Finance broke the rules by trying to influence the CRTC on behalf of a radio station. This is odd because he should have been aware of the rules, seeing as they are his own government's—his own Prime Minister's—rules. If the Conservatives cannot even follow their own rules, things are looking pretty grim.

Will the Minister of Finance own up to breaking the rules, and will he please apologize for trying to influence the CRTC?

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

Mr. Speaker, I think we have noted that the minister personally added a line to the letter to ensure it was clear he was writing as the member of Parliament for Whitby—Oshawa and instructed that the letter be put on MP letterhead. He fully intended the letter be sent in his capacity as a member of Parliament.

He has acknowledge the administrative oversight, and we again thank the ethics commissioner for the advice she has provided in this case.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, they just cannot admit that sometimes they are wrong.

Also under dubious ethics, the NDP has learned that flying the Prime Minister's armoured cars to India—for reasons that remain somewhat unclear—cost taxpayers over $1 million. The Conservative aristocracy wasted that million dollars even though the Indian government offered to provide armoured vehicles. The Conservatives are not interested in saving taxpayers' money. Belt-tightening is for everyone else, not for them.

How can they say that they are managing public funds soundly when they wasted $1 million to send limousines halfway around the world?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, we trust the RCMP in such matters.

The NDP has decided to reopen the national unity debate with a bill to scrap the Clarity Act and set out a process for a referendum on the breakup of the country.

Now that NDP members have raised this debate, this divisive question, I would like to invite the hon. member to rise now and indicate that in such a referendum, how would he vote?

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this is a government that has the nerve to tell senior citizens that the cupboard is bare, but money is no object when it comes to their cabinet perks, like Bev Oda, like the Muskoka member who lived like the limo king over in Davos, like the fact that taxpayers paid over a million dollars to fly the Prime Minister's limo to India and that the Globemaster fleet was used to carry this personal Taj Mahal taxi.

India offered high security armoured vehicles. It was good enough for the prime minister of Australia, but not good enough for our leader. Where is the accountability?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the people of India have paid a very heavy price when it comes to the war on terror. They have lost 2 prime ministers in the last 25 years and more than 11 people were killed in the terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

When we look to the security of our Prime Minister, we consult the experts, those who are experts in security. When it comes to the national security and the security of our Prime Minister, we will take advice from the RCMP over the NDP every time.