Debates of Feb. 25th, 2013

Employment Insurance

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development]

Mr. Speaker, let us be clear. The department was able to stop half a billion dollars in ineligible payments last year, but the employment insurance system still lost hundreds of millions of dollars due to fraud. If the opposition stops us from rooting out EI fraudsters, the only people who lose are Canadians who follow the rules.

That being said, if the unemployed who are on EI cannot find a job in their area and in their realm of competence, then EI will continue to be there for those who qualify.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal resumes its hearings on the unacceptable gaps in funding for child and family services on reserve versus off reserve. Rather than fixing the appalling discrimination, the Conservative government has spent more than $3 million dragging the case through the legal system.

Will the new minister do the right thing, settle this matter and redirect the millions of dollars being wasted on lawyers to the first nations children who need the help?

[Bernard Valcourt, Conservative, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, let me repeat what I said earlier. The best way to ensure that first nations children and families get the support and services they need is by working together, first nations, provinces and territories, and that is what we are doing. We have introduced a new enhanced prevention approach in dealing with the rights of first nations children and we will continue to work with our partners to improve the situation.

Employment Insurance

[Nycole Turmel, NDP, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have nothing but contempt for job seekers, seeing them as the bad guys. They are sending inspectors to job seekers' homes to spy on them, so the inspectors can meet their individual quotas for cutting benefits. And then the government tries to make us believe that these reforms are for workers.

Workers will not be pushed around, and we will not abandon them.

Instead of cutting $485,000 at the expense of the poor, why do the Conservatives not start by sending inspectors to visit their senators?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development]

Mr. Speaker, last year, the employment insurance program lost millions of dollars as a result of fraud and ineligible payments. That is unacceptable.

When the opposition prevents us from rooting out employment insurance fraud, the only people who lose are Canadians who follow the rules.

Eligible unemployed workers who cannot find another job in their region in their field will have access to EI, as always.

[Philip Toone, NDP, Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, quotas are quotas. Let us call a spade a spade.

People have had it with threats, intimidation and the minister's reluctance to tell the truth. She is saying that her reform is good for workers, but the people in the regions are feeling abandoned.

Why have they been demonstrating for months to save their way of life and the regional economies?

The productivity of seasonal businesses is in jeopardy because they are going to lose their workers.

Will the minister do away with the reform and the quotas?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development]

Mr. Speaker, the opposition should stop fearmongering. This is not just about seasonal workers.

Employment insurance will be there to help them find another job, perhaps during the winter, so that they are better off. People are better off working than not. It is very important.

If there is no work in their region and in their field, employment insurance will be there for the unemployed, as always.

[Pierre Nantel, NDP, Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we can also talk about cities.

People in the cultural sector are sometimes unemployed between contracts and occasionally have to claim employment insurance benefits.

Thirty-five thousand people in Quebec and 132,000 people in Canada make a living from the cultural industry. For example, Toronto composer Mychael Danna, who won an Oscar last night for his music in Life of Pi, has a job in the cultural industry. The same is true of artistic director Jim Erickson, from Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, who also won an Oscar for his set decoration in Lincoln.

With the EI reform, the Conservatives will force film industry workers to change jobs.

Why threaten our film industry?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development]

Mr. Speaker, our government and the Minister of Canadian Heritage support these artists. The reformed employment insurance system supports them as no other government has.

Let us be clear. These workers are now, if they are self-employed, available for special benefits through the EI system, such as compassionate care, sickness leave and parental leave. That has never been available to the self-employed before. Unfortunately, the NDP opposed those new programs.

[Nycole Turmel, NDP, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Mr. Speaker, people are tired of hearing the minister say anything and everything but the truth.

This reform is scandalous. On Saturday, people in Quebec and the Maritimes were in the streets saying no to the gutting of employment insurance, protesting this attack on seasonal workers and denouncing the fact that the regions are being abandoned.

We do not need quotas and investigators for the unemployed, we need them for the senators.

When will the minister stop attacking workers?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development]

Mr. Speaker, it is the exact opposite.

Our government is supporting unemployed people by increasing access to special benefits and also by offering them a larger job bank system than before to inform them of positions available in their area of expertise and their region.

We want to help them find work and ensure that they are better off working than not working. If there are no jobs available and they cannot find work, employment insurance will be there, as it always has been.

The Environment

[Parm Gill, Conservative, Brampton—Springdale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to the environment, our Conservative government has a track record of which to be proud. The failed policy pronouncements of the former Liberal government saw an actual increase in greenhouse gas emissions by over 30%. The proposed policy of the NDP, a $20 billion job-killing carbon tax, would stand to cripple the Canadian economy and not reduce a single tonne of carbon.

Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment update the House on our government's latest announcement to regulate heavy-duty vehicle emissions?

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, with the tough new measures that we have announced today, greenhouse gas emissions from heavy-duty vehicles will be reduced by up to 23%. The regulations will also include fuel efficiency and will save truck drivers up to $8,000 a year.

It is under this government's leadership that we have seen a real reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. It has been under this government that we have seen this while our economy has continued to grow. It has been under this government that we are using this policy to help save Canadians money, such as savings of up to $8,000 for truck drivers through these regulations. It is our Conservative government that is reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The Budget

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

Mr. Speaker, the most recent Conservative budget gutted public service jobs, health care, old age security and the environment. The upcoming budget should be dedicated to building a fairer, greener, more prosperous economy for all Canadians, and not just for those who qualify for patronage-based tax credits.

Will the Minister of Finance get out of his bubble and consult with all Canadians, rather than just his cronies, as he prepares his budget?

[Shelly Glover, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we will not speculate on what is in budget 2013, but let us talk about the NDP's record when it comes to budget 2012. Let us talk about the measures the NDP opposed, measures meant to help Canadian families, like the youth employment strategy, which would have created jobs for young people. Fortunately, our government voted in favour of that measure.

The NDP opposed economic opportunities for young aboriginals. The NDP opposed funds to help handicapped people participate in the workforce—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. member for Parkdale—High Park.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives' last budget failed to tackle the serious economic challenges facing us, it failed to create jobs, and it failed to bring in a long-term skills training strategy. Instead, Conservatives rewarded their well-connected friends and attacked essential services like health care and old age security, and there will always be millions for their unaccountable senators.

When will the government change direction and stop pretending that giving away billions to profitable corporations is somehow a real job creation program?

[Shelly Glover, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, as I listened to the NDP member talk about the plans that we put forward for well-connected colleagues, we are talking about aboriginal youth who are benefiting from the programs that we put forward in budget 2012, which the NDP voted against. We are talking about handicapped people who needed a hand up to get into the workforce, which they could not count on the NDP to vote in favour of. It took this Conservative government to put it forward and make sure it got through to them. We also put forward funds for families to succeed.

We are going to continue in that vein to create jobs for them and secure our long-term prosperity.

Infrastructure

[Olivia Chow, NDP, Trinity—Spadina, ON]

Mr. Speaker, across the country roads are full of potholes, bridges are crumbling, commuters are stuck in gridlock and transit riders are packed in like sardines, yet the Conservatives have no plan.

Municipalities are responsible for over half of all the infrastructure, but receive only eight cents per tax dollar. Will the minister work with us, together with municipalities and businesses, and say yes tomorrow to our motion for a long-term infrastructure plan?

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, our government has made unprecedented investments in infrastructure since forming government in 2006. We continue to work to balance the budget, but we do not have control over the fragile global economy, such as in Europe and the U.S. No decision has been made, but any decision will be made in the context of the current fiscal situation and the capacity of taxpayers.

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it seems clear that the Conservatives want the people of Montreal's south shore to pay for the construction of the new Champlain bridge. Toll booths could be installed on every bridge and tunnel leading to the south shore.

The problem with the minister's plan is that it leads to the federal government abdicating its responsibility for infrastructure.

Before implementing a tax on transportation in the Montreal area, why not work with the municipalities on coming up with a stable, predictable strategy for funding infrastructure on an ongoing basis?

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, as I was saying, never, in the history of Canada, has a government invested as much as ours has in supporting infrastructure.

It is interesting to hear the hon. member talk about what we should do. We are investing, at the request of the Province of Quebec, $700 million in Autoroute 30. A number of choices were made throughout the region. We are going to deliver a new bridge across the St. Lawrence based on the capacity of Canadian taxpayers to pay for it. If there are no tolls, there will be no bridge. We are going to deliver a bridge and continue to do our job.

We made the gas tax permanent, but the members opposite voted against that.

Now they want to give us lessons? I do not think so.

Government Expenditures

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

Mr. Speaker, last night Canadians watched with pride as Life of Pi won four Oscars with its Canadian crew. However, Canadians' pride turned to disgust as they had to sit through extravagant Conservative ads paid for by Canadian taxpayers, so the Oscar for actors in a leading role in wasting Canadian tax dollars goes to the Conservatives.

During their acceptance speech, could the Conservatives please tell us when they will stop wasting tax dollars to pay for Conservative ads and when they will finally show some respect for Canadian taxpayers?

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

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member gets a Razzie for that kind of remark.

It is our obligation to inform Canadian taxpayers on important government programs, and we do so, and not at the clip of the former Liberal government, I might add. It is certainly well below that by tens of millions of dollars. We will continue to inform Canadians on important programs because it is necessary that we continue that dialogue on issues that will create jobs, opportunity and growth in our economy.

Citizenship and Immigration

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, today the Canadian Doctors for Refugee Care and the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers went to Federal Court to challenge the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration's reckless health cuts to the most marginalized and vulnerable people in Canada. They are arguing that the cuts are unconstitutional, illegal and a breach of obligations under international law. The cuts were announced last June without consultation.

Will the minister listen to the front-line health care workers and fix his mess?