Debates of March 22nd, 2013

Employment

[Isabelle Morin, NDP, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the Minister of Finance does not want to answer questions because he knows that his botched budget does not meet the employment needs of Canadians.

Seventy per cent of jobs created in the coming decade will require post-secondary training, but what does the budget do to ensure that education will be more affordable? Nothing. What does it do to reduce the burden of student debt? Nothing. What does it do to create jobs that match the skills of young graduates? Nothing.

Why is the Minister of Finance ignoring the lack of employment for our young people?

[Kellie Leitch, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and to the Minister of Labour]

Mr. Speaker, economic action plan 2013 puts forward a number of initiatives to make sure that Canadians have opportunities for jobs, whether that be the Canada job grant or the creation of 5,000 new post-secondary internships. We are moving forward to make sure Canadians have the skills they need to get the jobs they need.

The Association of Canadian Community Colleges had this to say:

Federal commitments in Budget 2013 will encourage a reduction in barriers to Canada’s economic success, while maximizing the talents and advanced skills of Canadians....

ACCC congratulates the government for making investments designed to address Canada’s skills gap.

Pensions

[Élaine Michaud, NDP, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it seems as though the Minister of Finance is trying to run away from his budget as quickly as possible. This is not surprising: his budget does nothing for seniors.

The Conservatives are moving forward with their brutal changes to income security for seniors by raising the age of eligibility for old age security and the guaranteed income supplement from 65 to 67.

The Conservatives had an opportunity to help the one-quarter of seniors who live below the poverty line, but their budget only makes things worse.

Why are the Conservatives abandoning our seniors?

[Kellie Leitch, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and to the Minister of Labour]

Mr. Speaker, seniors have contributed so much to building this country. That is why this government has been focused on supporting them, whether that be through the increase in the GIS, the largest increase in the last quarter century, which the opposition did not support, or through our investments that have lowered poverty rates down from the over 5.2% under the Liberals.

We are focused on making sure that seniors are supported, unlike the opposition parties.

[Mike Sullivan, NDP, York South—Weston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, instead of defending his budget, the Minister of Finance has run away from it in his new shoes. There is no action in this plan for seniors. The Canadian Association of Retired Persons said that seniors “will be disappointed that the federal budget contained little to address their priority concerns”. Too many Canadian seniors are struggling. Cheaper hockey gear will not put food on the table, a roof over their heads or pay for prescription drugs.

Why are Conservatives failing Canadian seniors and pushing ahead with their reckless cuts to income security?

[Kellie Leitch, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and to the Minister of Labour]

Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear. The opposition has not supported any of the initiatives we put forward to support seniors, whether that be the increase in the GIS, the guaranteed income supplement or the creation of a minister of state to support seniors.

This government has been focused on making sure seniors are supported. We will continue to do that. We ask the NDP why it never supported any of these initiatives that we put forward.

Aboriginal Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, every young Canadian deserves an equal chance in life, but first nation students attending on-reserve schools receive 30% less funding than their peers in provincial schools. The budget does nothing to close this gap, not one extra dollar for first nations' K to 12 education. Instead, first nations get a punitive workfare program to which no other Canadians are subject.

Why are Conservatives ignoring the real need for education?

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, not only did our government reaffirm our consultations and our process through the first nation education act, we also committed to new resources for scholarships, bursaries and training for aboriginal students.

These investments build on last year's budget investments in new resources for new schools, literacy programs and administration of aboriginal education. The opposition members voted against all of these. I urge them to stop voting against improvements for aboriginal education and vote in favour of this year's budget.

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

Mr. Speaker, the NDP will continue to vote against budgets that do not get the job done.

The workfare program for first nations people is not only insultingly paternalistic, it is a waste of taxpayer money. The government would spend more money enforcing compliance than on the actual training. This sounds like more bureaucrats in Ottawa, not more jobs on reserves.

When will the minister start providing first nations with the education that they need and the respect that they deserve?

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

Mr. Speaker, we want to ensure that young aboriginal Canadians have access to personalized job training to help them secure a job. Provinces have been doing this kind of programming successfully for many years.

The outrageous comments by the Leader of the Opposition yesterday remind us how out of touch the NDP is with the potential of the aboriginal workforce and the Canadian economy. While the NDP betrays Canada's interests at home and abroad, we are creating jobs and growth for aboriginal Canadians.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives promised to make aboriginal issues a priority in the 2013 budget.

Although the word “aboriginal” is used a lot, there is no real commitment. Once again, these are broken promises.

The money announced for the first nations infrastructure fund will not be enough to address the housing crisis and the lack of drinking water in the communities.

When will the Conservatives keep the promises they made to aboriginal peoples and treat them as equal partners?

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

An interesting question, Mr. Speaker, because every time we make substantial moves forward with our aboriginal partners and communities and leadership, the NDP votes against.

We have been focusing on education. We have been focusing on water and waste water treatment on reserves, the ability to have the capacity to maintain these state-of-the-art facilities, continuing to replace infrastructure and bringing forth the kind of legislation that deals with these major infrastructure commitments and shared priorities with first nation communities.

[Romeo Saganash, NDP, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, $132 million to manage a $109 million program. Only the Conservatives can come up with that.

What we do see in this budget is the frequent use of the word “aboriginal”, but no real investments.

Aboriginal peoples reached out to the government and were hoping for real change.

Instead, they are offered insulting, paternalistic measures with not enough funding to attack the problems they are facing.

When will the Prime Minister establish a respectful relationship? I can tell the House that we are not waiting.

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

Mr. Speaker, we have to ensure that aboriginal youth have access to personalized training that will help them find work. That is exactly what the provinces have been doing successfully for many years.

Yesterday's comments by the Leader of the Opposition demonstrate once again how out of touch the NDP is with the Canadian economy and the potential of the aboriginal workforce.

While the NDP betrays Canada's interests at home and abroad, we are creating jobs and prospects for the future.

Ethics

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister will go to any length to blame others and cover for the disgraced former minister, Peter Penashue. The Conservatives threw Reg Bowers, his former campaign manager and official agent, under the bus, even though they appointed him as a highly qualified member to the offshore petroleum board.

That has not stopped the controversy over Penashue's law-breaking deeds. Is that why the Prime Minister has spent thousands of taxpayers' dollars to pay back Penashue's illegal donations, and now uses the PMO to promote him?

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

Mr. Speaker, in addition to being a question filled with falsehoods, I do not know why the Liberals would pick that particular member to ask ethics questions. After all, he was forced to repay money that he illegally collected from taxpayers for his housing allowance. Members cannot reimburse rent they have paid to themselves through a House of Commons taxpayer-funded housing program, as that member can now attest, having paid the money back.

By contrast, we on this side of the House are proud to support a hard-working and honest future member of Parliament in Peter Penashue.

National Defence

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, it is not unusual to see mud as a diversion from that member. However, we could get into the parliamentary secretary's robocall company, 3D Contact Inc., that violated CRTC rules, if he wants to go down that path.

Let us get to the administration and the management of government. That is what the question is about.

Let us remember the promise of 650 troops for Goose Bay, the promise for a rapid reaction battalion and the UAV squadron promise. They never came through. The Prime Minister never delivered, nor did Mr. Penashue.

Why did the—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. The hon. Minister of National Defence.

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, as the parliamentary secretary has said numerous times in the House, Mr. Penashue has not only delivered for CFB Goose Bay, he has delivered on many fronts, whether it be the Labrador highway or his efforts to ensure the long-term sustainability of the seal hunt. Unlike the member who has just asked the question, he kept faith with his constituents when it came to the dismantling of the wasteful long gun registry, which was set up under this member's government.

Therefore, when it comes to the lessons learned about delivering for constituents and getting the job done, there is nothing to be learned from the member for Malpeque.

Fisheries and Oceans

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Cardigan, PE]

Mr. Speaker, after slashing DFO by $80 million last year, the government is now gutting another $100 million out of the departmental budget this year. That will certainly not fix the problems at DFO. It would not bring back the Coast Guard stations, the ELA or protect fish habitat. The budget also includes a cut of around $16 million a year for small craft harbours.

Does the government not realize that by continually slashing the budget of the department and continually slashing the small craft harbours budget, it is destroying our Canadian fisheries?

[Randy Kamp, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and for the Asia-Pacific Gateway]

Mr. Speaker, I thought the member opposite would be rising to congratulate our government on the significant investments in the Canadian fishing industry in economic action plan 2013. If he reads it, he will see that it includes support for first nation fishing enterprises, improving the conservation of fisheries and enhancing regulatory certainty for the agricultural sector. All of these enhance the sustainability of commercial, recreational and aboriginal fisheries, to which we are fully committed.

Small Businesses

[François Lapointe, NDP, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, increasing the capital gains exemption to $800,000 and indexing it may seem like a step in the right direction for small and medium-sized businesses, but the government is actually taking more than it is giving. By changing the dividend tax credit, this government will rob small and medium-sized businesses of $2.3 billion even though these businesses are key to our very fragile economic recovery.

Why not offer them genuine help with their attempts to invest in the real economy?

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

Mr. Speaker, as the member knows, this is just a minor change to ensure that the dividend tax credit is appropriate.

Rather, the issue is this: how does our record compare to the NDP's? We have done a lot for small businesses in previous budgets and in this one. The NDP, however, told Washington that Canadians' jobs are worthless. We stand with Canadian businesses, and we will always do so.

[Dan Harris, NDP, Scarborough Southwest, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives give with one hand and take back more with the other. Changing the dividend tax credit in the budget will hurt small businesses everywhere across the country, especially since there are no measures in the budget to completely offset this. Small businesses represent 48% of private sector jobs in our country. If we want them to create jobs and grow we should not be stifling their efforts.

Can the Conservatives explain how they expect small businesses to create jobs when they take $2.3 billion out of their pockets?

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

Mr. Speaker, the member knows very well it was a simple, technical fix on that credit.

Here is what the Canadian Federation of Independent Business has said about economic action plan 2013:

Overall, this is a good budget for small business. [The minister] has done a solid job by remaining on course to eliminate the deficit while announcing some important measures for Canada's entrepreneurs[....] We're particularly pleased the government publicly acknowledged taking some of these measures—such as the expansion of the EI Hiring Credit—at the recommendation of CFIB's 109,000 members.