Debates of April 15th, 2013

Employment

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, regardless of their intentions, that is what is happening.

It was David Moreau, a courageous employee dismissed by the Royal Bank, who informed Canadians about how companies are getting rid of Canadian workers and replacing them with temporary foreign workers.

It is the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism who is in the wrong here, whether the Prime Minister likes it or not. Unlike the Royal Bank, the minister is still trying to shirk his responsibilities.

Will the Prime Minister show the same courage as David Moreau and insist that his Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism apologize?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, it is clear that using this program to replace Canadian workers is wrong. The government did not have such information.

Obviously we are going to investigate the matter, but as we have already said in the budget, we intend to reform this program.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, 340,000 temporary foreign workers: That is 40% of the jobs created in Canada since the recession. Under the Conservative government, temporary foreign workers are not being used to fill a shortage of highly skilled labour; they are replacing clerical workers in Ontario, fish plant workers in Newfoundland and Labrador, food service workers in Alberta and miners in British Columbia.

There are still 1.4 million unemployed Canadians. Can the Prime Minister tell them what specific skills are required to work at a Tim Hortons counter that he thinks Canadian workers do not have?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, there are certain cases in Canada where there are absolute shortages of workers, and the temporary foreign workers program exists for those circumstances and not for other circumstances. We have been very clear that we will make sure the program is reformed so it cannot be misused in any such way. However, I would point out that I have in my hand letters from not fewer than eight NDP members of Parliament asking the government to approve additional temporary foreign workers for their ridings.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, when we are talking about a Tim Hortons counter, we are not talking about highly skilled jobs that cannot be filled by Canadians. We have 1.4 million Canadians without work. They want to know why their jobs are being taken by temporary foreign workers. That is not the purpose of the program. Why has he allowed it to happen?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, there are labour shortages in some parts of the Canadian economy. That is why, for example, the government has introduced the Canada jobs grant in the budget. It is also why we are reforming the temporary foreign workers program to make sure it sticks to its purpose, which is to provide temporary help when there is an absolute skills shortage. But the leader of the NDP can explain why in some regions of high unemployment his members are writing to the government asking for temporary foreign workers

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance will phone the banks to make them charge more for mortgages for Canadian families then allow Canadian workers in those same banks to be replaced. They have the answering to do.

Let us look at their record: attacking collective bargaining rights; forcing seniors to work an extra two years; kicking workers off EI unless they take a 30% pay cut. Now they are taking jobs away from Canadian workers and legislating lower pay for the foreign workers who replace them. It seems that the Prime Minister's message to Canadians is clear: work for less or you will be replaced.

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, there are so many falsehoods in that preamble, I do not know where to begin.

The facts are the following: This country, this government, has an outstanding job creation record compared to most of the developed world. More Canadians are working. More Canadians need work, and more employers need workers. At the same time, we are clear that we will make sure that the temporary foreign workers program will be used only as it is intended. We promised that in the budget. In spite of that, the NDP voted against it and then writes us to ask for more temporary foreign workers. They are the ones who have to explain their contradictions.

Taxation

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this government lacks judgment on international trade, particularly when it comes to its new $350 million tax on the middle class.

Does the government not understand that increasing the price of hundreds of basic necessities will be a huge burden for Canadians who are struggling?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate the member on being elected the new leader of the Liberal Party.

The government has reduced Canadian tariffs by over a half a billion dollars a year, which is one of the ways we are reducing taxes for Canadians. Of course, the Liberal Party voted against all of these measures to reduce taxes for Canadian families.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as a result of these new tariffs on imports, middle-class Canadians will have to pay more to buy tricycles, school supplies and children's clothing.

How can the government justify this senseless new tax to the millions of Canadians who are struggling to make ends meet?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the government has lowered tariffs for Canadians considerably. We do not think it is effective or fair to give companies from emerging countries like China advantages at the expense of Canadian taxpayers.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, according to Collins English Dictionary, a tariff is “a tax levied by a government on imports”. The Prime Minister can couch this in any terms he likes, but the facts are that when middle-class Canadians go into a store to buy a tricycle, to buy school supplies, to buy a little red wagon for their kids, they will pay more because of a tax in this government's budget.

Now that the PM knows what is in his budget, will he show good judgment, admit it is a tax and repeal this tax on middle-class Canadians?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, this government has made enormous reductions in tariffs and custom duties, and of course, in taxes generally, including sales taxes, for the Canadian people. Every time we have done that, the Liberal Party has voted against those reductions.

What the Liberal Party seems to stand for is that somehow we should give special tax breaks to emerging economies like China. We think that is inappropriate. That is why we will make sure there is fair taxation for all companies and lower taxes for Canadians.

The Environment

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

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Natural Resources still has doubts about the impact of climate change. He thinks that people are not worried about the earth becoming two degrees warmer. On the contrary, people are extremely concerned to see glaciers melting, polar bears disappearing and our oceans being drained of their resources.

By denying the existence of climate change, the Conservatives have once again embarrassed us on the international stage.

Will the minister finally recognize that climate change is real and has been proven by science or not?

[Joe Oliver, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said many times, I accept science.

However, the deputy leader of the NDP is disagreeing with a 2,000-page independent, objective scientific study on the Keystone XL pipeline conducted by the U.S. State Department. We are matching the United States' greenhouse gas emissions targets, which involve a 17% reduction in emissions by 2020. We are halfway to meeting our commitments.

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

The minister accepts science, Mr. Speaker, but does not believe it. The minister made an outrageous claim and has failed to name a single scientist to back it up. These anti-climate-change beliefs are relics of a bygone age. Worse still, the government is sending clear signals to industry that it will do nothing to fight climate change, that it will do nothing to make polluters pay. The Conservatives are happy to leave the cleanup bill to future generations to pay. That is wrong and irresponsible.

Will the minister apologize for his ill-informed and outrageous comments?

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

Mr. Speaker, the people who should apologize here are the NDP, which is a party filled with job-creation deniers.

It is the first time in Canadian history we have seen the stoppage of growth in greenhouse gas emissions, while the economy continues to grow. This is because our sector-by-sector regulatory approach actually reduces greenhouse gas emissions while saving Canadians money, unlike the NDP, which proposes an approach that would raise the cost of basic goods and everything for all Canadians.

Taxation

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

Mr. Speaker, in addition to denying the existence of climate change, the Conservatives are also denying the existence of their new iPod tax.

However, Canadians are not fooled. They know that the Conservatives have imposed a real tax on iPods and other electronics.

Living in denial and having it in for the economist who discovered the tax is not going to change the facts.

Will the Conservatives keep their election promise and remove their tax on almost all consumer goods from their budget?

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

Mr. Speaker, that statement is absolutely false. The iPods that have been coming into Canada have been coming in for many years tax-free. I am not sure where the NDP dreamed this up. Our government will ensure that they continue to come into Canada tariff-free.

We need to remind Canadians that we are talking about taxes. I actually had to watch some paint dry yesterday, so I did not get to watch the NDP convention. I understand that there are all kinds of new ways to raise taxes on Canadians.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is executives from Sony who are saying taxes are going up on MP3 players. Does the minister think Sony is part of some NDP conspiracy?

In their budget, Conservatives chose to spend more on the Senate, while raising taxes on already squeezed families. They are raising taxes on the price of coffee, the price of iPods, and now, we learn, even of coffins.

The minister promised Canadians he would not raise taxes. When will he admit he broke his promise and is now even raising taxes on coffins?

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

Mr. Speaker, Canadians understand that since we formed government in 2006, we began on a low-tax plan, and we continue on that. We have reduced 150 different taxes to Canadians—for businesses, for individual taxes. The average family of four in Canada actually gets to keep $3,200 more of their own hard-earned money. We think Canadians agree with that.

Canada Revenue Agency

[Murray Rankin, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Mr. Speaker, instead of admitting the truth, Conservatives are yet again making things up to attack the NDP.

The people, for example, who make and sell iPods agree that they are raising taxes on many items, including iPods. The Conservatives are simply making life more expensive for Canadians and are refusing to admit it. No one is being fooled by the Conservative talking points.

While families pay more, wealthy investors using tax shelters are getting away with not paying their fair share. Why is the minister cutting the Canada Revenue Agency's enforcement branch?

[Gail Shea, Conservative, Minister of National Revenue and Minister for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, that is not true. We are not cutting the enforcement branch whatsoever. We are keeping tax rates low by closing tax loopholes and making the tax system fairer for Canadians. We have introduced over 75 measures to improve the integrity of our tax system. Shamefully, the NDP has voted against every single attempt by our government to close tax loopholes since 2006.

[Murray Rankin, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Mr. Speaker, while families are being squeezed, the Conservatives are making life more expensive for Canadians and are simply refusing to admit it.

The Conservatives, for example, are relying on billionaires to report their income in tax shelters and are pretending that this is a serious policy. Self-policing by tax cheats is no way to run a G8 economy.

The minister should be investing in enforcement, not cutting it, as she is. When will the minister agree to act and accept the practical measures the NDP has been proposing so we can crack down on tax cheats?