Debates of Jan. 30th, 2013

Aboriginal Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, there is still no explanation why first nation schools receive about a third less than other schools receive.

Yesterday the minister refused to answer who will be shepherding the high level talks promised by the Prime Minister, and today a judge in Ontario ruled against the government's attempts to hide information from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

When are the Conservatives going to stop stonewalling, stop fighting the commission, and start respectfully working with first nations on a nation-to-nation basis?

[John Duncan, Conservative, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, I reject the premise of the member's question.

Our Prime Minister delivered an historic apology to Canada's first nations on our role in the residential school system. That was in 2008. Since then federal departments have disclosed nearly one million documents to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as part of a court supervised process. We are reviewing the judge's decision that was rendered today. It certainly does not say what the member across states.

We will continue to fulfill our obligations under the—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. member for Nanaimo--Cowichan.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are having trouble providing information, and not just on this file. An Ontario judge ruled today that the government must give the Truth and Reconciliation Commission access to Library and Archives Canada documents.

Is the minister prepared to abide by this court decision and finally provide the commission with access to the documents it needs to carry out its important mandate of reconciliation?

[John Duncan, Conservative, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, we are reviewing the decision. The decision is anything but clear-cut. The discussion, in terms of relevant documents, was left somewhat open by the judge. We believe that we have been meeting the spirit and intent, but if there is a slightly different interpretation, we will obviously meet the spirit and intent of the judge's decision.

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the graduation rate on reserve is way below the graduation rate anywhere else in the country. The government has now announced that it has a policy where, over the next five years, it wants that graduation rate to increase by 8%. That means it will take about 20 years to bring the reserve population up to the same rate as the rest of the country.

I wonder why the Prime Minister is satisfied with that. If aboriginal issues are such a priority for the government, why were they not mentioned in his speech to his caucus today?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, when we talk about making the economy the number one priority for Canadians, in this party that includes all Canadians.

This government is involved in a historic consultation process with first nations across this country to develop a more effective education system. We recognize the tremendous potential that aboriginal people of the next generation will have, and that is why we want to make sure that we make investments in our education system that will get us the results we need.

Employment Insurance

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have a question about employment insurance for the Prime Minister. I wonder if he would listen to this quote: “where I live and where I travel there is often very limited access to public transit. Where I live there is no public transit”.

Who said that? It was the minister responsible for EI explaining why she has to bill for limos.

I would like to ask the Prime Minister, if that excuse is good enough for a high-spending minister, why is it not good enough for a single, unemployed mother in Prince Edward Island?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the government has been very clear in its reforms to EI that employment insurance will continue to be available for all people who cannot find employment close by that they are able to get to and that is within their qualifications. We have been very clear on that. That is this government's policy. EI will always be there for people who need it.

Parliamentary Budget Officer

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister knows that the budget will be before us in a few weeks. Meanwhile, the Conservatives have announced that the Parliamentary Budget Officer will be leaving his post.

Does the Prime Minister not agree that it would be a good idea to extend the Parliamentary Budget Officer's term so that he will be there for all the parliamentarians who need his advice when examining the Prime Minister's budget?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we created the position of Parliamentary Budget Officer to ensure that parliamentarians from all parties have credible and non-partisan analyses. We are looking for someone new to fill this position so that this mandate can be fulfilled.

The Economy

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Finance tried to dismiss the staggering debt burden facing Canadian families. So let me remind Conservatives of the facts: personal loan debt is up, line of credit debt is up, mortgage debt is up, household debt is at a record high and Canadian households have the worst debt to asset ratio in the entire OECD.

In the face of these damning facts, is the Minister of Finance really still downplaying this problem?

[Ted Menzies, Conservative, Minister of State (Finance)]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance has recognized that there are some problems out there with household debt. That is why we acted.

However, we do need to clarify the misinformation that was part of that question. Equifax actually has reported that credit card debt has fallen by nearly 4% in 2012, so it was rather misleading information in the question.

We have also moved four times to tighten mortgage lending and introduced new credit card rules to protect consumers. We are on consumers' side. We are not just trying to frighten them.

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

Mr. Speaker, if the demand for new credit is at an all-time low, as the Minister of Finance and now the minister of state are saying, it is because household debt is at an all-time high and Canadians simply cannot borrow any more money.

For the first time ever, Canadian households are deeper in debt than our American neighbours. On average, each Canadian household owes $26,000 more than its income. We are headed for disaster. When interest rates go up, the minister will have to assume full responsibility.

Why did the minister allow household debt to reach this record high?

[Ted Menzies, Conservative, Minister of State (Finance)]

Mr. Speaker, speaking of responsibilities, it was rather irresponsible of the NDP to vote against all of the tax reductions we have provided to Canadians, which actually put back in consumers' pockets, a family of four, some $3,000.

I would remind the NDP that it actually voted against that. Every time we attempt to leave more tax dollars in people's own hands so they can spend it as they wish, the NDP votes against it. I cannot even imagine what a $21 billion carbon tax would do.

Parliamentary Budget Officer

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

Mr. Speaker, we are talking about household debt and he is talking about a budget we voted against because it offered Canadian families nothing useful.

The Minister of State should realize that household debt has reached dangerous levels and that the Minister of Finance will be responsible for leaving Canadians buried in debt.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer's mandate is to review government spending and provide an independent analysis of public finances. Earlier this week, the Minister of Finance said that the budget officer's mandate should be changed.

Can he explain exactly what changes he intends to impose on this independent institution?

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

Mr. Speaker, there will be a process to replace the budget officer. As I said yesterday, we created this office. We are committed to maintaining the office and supporting it. The government will ensure that Parliament is able to find a credible replacement.

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

Mr. Speaker, yes, way back in 2006 the Conservatives were in favour of accountability. They worked with us to create the PBO for credible, non-partisan economic analysis, but then they started hearing inconvenient—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order please. The hon. member for Parkdale--High Park has the floor.

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

Mr. Speaker, then they started hearing inconvenient truths about their own economic mismanagement. Now the Minister of Finance wants to turn back the clock on fiscal accountability.

Will they now stand and explain exactly what changes they want to make to the Parliamentary Budget Officer?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I have said before on many occasions in the chamber, we actually created the office. We are committed to the office continuing to exist and we will ensure that Parliament will be able to consider a credible, non-partisan replacement.

May I say to the hon. member opposite that we are proud of our economic record, a record that has guaranteed more than 900,000 net new jobs for people across the country. We are proud of our economic record.

Consumer Protection

[Andrew Cash, NDP, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I asked a very straightforward question, but the Minister of Finance's answer showed that he was more than a little confused. I understand that he is distracted these days, writing letters on behalf of his friends, so I am going to give it another shot.

Many federally regulated businesses are now charging their customers an extra fee just to receive their bill in the mail. It is like a tax on bills. Can someone over there tell us clearly what they will do to protect Canadians from this—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. Minister of Industry.

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

Mr. Speaker, since 2006, our government has taken tangible action to address consumer concerns about issues under federal jurisdiction. For example, we created a code of conduct for the credit card industry.

I also remind my colleague that the CRTC is currently working on adopting a voluntary national wireless code.

That is tangible and fortunately far from being a $21 billion carbon tax that would very negatively affect Canadian consumers.