House of Commons Hansard #233 of the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was jobs.
Ted Menzies ConservativeMinister of State (Finance)
Mr. Speaker, I should remind you that the NDP and the Liberals voted against every tax reduction that we have put forward. Every initiative that we have made and put forward for Canadians—
The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer
Order. The hon. Minister of State for Finance still has the floor.
Ted Menzies Conservative Macleod, AB
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Apparently the truth does hurt.
We continue on that low-tax plan. That is very important for Canadians. We will continue on that path and we would like some support from the other side. Members on the other side seem to simply want to raise taxes on everything that comes before them. We will not do that.
Jinny Sims NDP Newton—North Delta, BC
Mr. Speaker, after failing to fix the temporary foreign worker program after months and months, it seems Conservatives finally realize they have a problem. This program has tripled in size under the Conservatives and Liberals, and recent changes have more to do with keeping wages down than with filling any labour shortages. Will Conservatives now rescind the decision to allow businesses to pay foreign workers 15% less than Canadians for the same job?
Diane Finley ConservativeMinister of Human Resources and Skills Development
Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear. Contrary to recent reports and indeed what the hon. member has just said, employers cannot pay temporary foreign workers less than they would pay a Canadian doing the same job. Those are the facts.
However, we are concerned with some of the reports that are coming in about the temporary foreign worker program. We want to address those to make sure that Canadians always get first crack at every job. That is why we have committed in budget 2013 to reviewing the program and making changes so that it will work in the best interests of all Canadians.
Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB
Mr. Speaker, the minister has refused to address the issue of unfairness to temporary foreign workers.
The Conservatives are also failing young Canadians who they say should consider a skilled trade job. Skilled trades and construction workers say that the government needs a wake-up call. The real barrier to skilled workers is a lack of paid apprenticeships. The Canadian Apprenticeship Forum reports that less than 50% of employers that hire skilled workers are taking on apprentices.
When will the Conservatives take real action for real training opportunities for young Canadians?
Diane Finley ConservativeMinister of Human Resources and Skills Development
Mr. Speaker, one of the first things that our government did when we first became government was to introduce the apprenticeship incentive grant. It is $1,000 a year for each of the first two years for people who sign up for apprenticeships. Then we brought in the apprenticeship completion grant, as well as tax relief for employers who take on apprentices. This will come as no surprise, but the NDP voted against all of those initiatives to help people become apprentices.
In budget 2013 there is also a new program called the Canada jobs grant. In this program we will be working with industry and the provinces to make sure that young people and those who are already in the workforce or who perhaps are not working right now get access to the training that they need for the jobs that are in demand.
Chris Charlton NDP Hamilton Mountain, ON
Mr. Speaker, the minister's answer proves that when it comes to temporary foreign workers, she never lets the facts get in the way of her question period answer.
It is the same story with employment insurance. Even the IMF, which is infamous for its austerity programs, is telling us that austerity is inappropriate for Canada and that employment insurance is particularly important in these challenging economic times. However, despite all of the evidence, the Conservatives are continuing with their ideological cuts to EI.
When will the minister admit that her reckless cuts to EI are putting Canada's economy in danger and leaving Canadian families behind?
Diane Finley ConservativeMinister of Human Resources and Skills Development
Mr. Speaker, EI is a program that is there to support Canadians financially when they have lost a job through no fault of their own. However, it is also there to help them get back to work. We have made advances in just that, helping Canadians get back to work, by connecting them with jobs that are available within their skill range and geographic area so that they and their families will always be better off when they work than when they do not.
However, if those opportunities are not there for Canadians, EI will continue to be there for them, as it always has been.
Anne-Marie Day NDP Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
Mr. Speaker, the IMF has admonished Canada for its austerity measures, and the IMF is not exactly known for its social democratic values. Now is really not the time to be gutting the employment insurance program.
It is up to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development. She can choose to continue weakening our economy by taking aim at the unemployed and driving wages down, or she can listen to the IMF and stop gutting EI. What will she choose?
Diane Finley ConservativeMinister of Human Resources and Skills Development
Mr. Speaker, we are choosing to help the unemployed find work in their field and in their region. Canada's employment insurance system is there to financially support those who are out of work while they look for another job. If unemployed Canadians cannot find work in their region or in their field, employment insurance will be there for them, as always.
Scott Armstrong Conservative Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley, NS
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has been clear that supporting Canadian families is a priority for our government. Today the Minister of Health met with families and community groups to outline actions that we are taking to support Canadian families in terms of food, drugs and consumer safety products.
Can the Minister of Health please inform this House of the steps our government is taking to protect the health and safety of Canadian families?
Leona Aglukkaq ConservativeMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for that great question.
As the Minister of Health and as a mother, I am proud to outline areas where our government will take concrete actions in the months ahead. For example, we are moving toward more plain language on drug labels, taking action on products that contain small powerful magnets that threaten children's safety, improving adverse drug reaction reporting and proposing enhanced safety standards for playpens.
Our government is taking action to support the health and safety of Canadians and their families.
Libby Davies NDP Vancouver East, BC
Mr. Speaker, incredibly, it was 17 months ago that the Auditor General alerted the Minister of Health to the problems with drug safety. It has taken that long to get any action.
Now we have over 1,000 patients in Ontario and New Brunswick who have received diluted chemotherapy drugs from a company operating in a legal loophole. Incredibly, Marchese Hospital Solutions has no provincial or federal oversight, and its products were never inspected. Surely this cannot be allowed to go on, putting the patients' health at risk.
Why is this minister not taking immediate action to ensure a safe supply of chemotherapy drugs?
Leona Aglukkaq ConservativeMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, my thoughts and prayers are with the individuals and families who have been affected by this situation. I have written to the Ontario health minister to voice my concerns. I have also instructed Health Canada officials to co-operate fully with the investigation which the Wynne government is leading.
Djaouida Sellah NDP Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC
Mr. Speaker, prayers will not raise the dead.
We want to know what the minister is doing to protect Canadians' health. We want to know how, in consultation with the provinces, she is ensuring that pharmaceutical companies take responsibility for their actions.
More than 1,000 cancer patients in New Brunswick and Ontario received incorrect chemotherapy doses. We need to find a solution now so that this does not happen again.
What is the minister's plan?
Leona Aglukkaq ConservativeMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, the issue of patient care in hospitals, the practice of pharmacy and admixing all fall under provincial jurisdiction. I have written to the Ontario health minister to express my concerns. I have also instructed Health Canada officials to co-operate fully in the investigation. If the review determines that there is a federal role, we will seriously consider any changes that are recommended to prevent this from happening again.
Raymond Côté NDP Beauport—Limoilou, QC
Mr. Speaker, let us continue to talk about people's health.
The Minister of Transport claims that ports are not his responsibility, that the Port of Québec is independent and that people are appointed to the board of directors to take care of the port.
I would like to tell the minister something. While the Port of Québec directors, who were appointed by the Conservatives, are watching nickel dust fall on Limoilou and Lévis, the health of the people in these communities is being affected.
Incidentally, does the hon. member for Lévis—Bellechasse, like the minister, also not care that people are breathing in high concentrations of nickel?
Denis Lebel ConservativeMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, on March 27, the public health authority for the Quebec City area issued a press release signed by Dr. François Desbiens, which indicated that the situation did not pose a public health threat requiring immediate action.
People need to understand that the hon. member is making interpretations and wants to judge the whole matter. The Port of Québec must manage the Port of Québec. A board of directors is in place, and the Port of Québec responded to this situation yesterday.
Although the Port of Québec continues its investigation, as of right now, we are committing, for the benefit of the public and all the stakeholders involved, to ensure that the tenant in question—because we are talking about a tenant here—will put the necessary measures in place. It is already done.
Robert Aubin NDP Trois-Rivières, QC
Mr. Speaker, there is a big difference between being unable to do something and not wanting to do it.
By law, the Port of Québec is part of the Canada Port Authorities, which fall under Transport Canada. Therefore, although a board of directors manages the port's day-to-day operations, the minister is still politically responsible for the current nickel dust situation and its potential effects.
He is responsible here and now in the House. The question is simple.
Can the minister tell us what he intends to do to resolve this crisis and reassure the people of Limoilou?
Denis Lebel ConservativeMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, of course we have been in contact with the Port of Québec administration many times.
However, unlike the NDP, we are not going to try to take over the management of the port's day-to-day operations when there are people in place to do that work. We know that the NDP wants to manage everything from Ottawa and wants to centralize everything.
We respect the boards of directors that are in place. We are ensuring that all the work is done. As I said, as of yesterday and even as far back as November, the Port of Québec has been helping to deal with this matter. We hope, for the public's sake, that the problem will be resolved quickly.
Rodger Cuzner Liberal Cape Breton—Canso, NS
Mr. Speaker, since the Conservatives came to power seven years ago, one in seven jobs created have been filled by a temporary foreign worker, while at the same time a quarter of a million new Canadians have found themselves unemployed.
Blaming rogue companies, feigning concern, and promising reviews just does not cut it anymore. Canadians do not trust the government to run this program, to review this program, and certainly not to fix this program.
My question is to the minister. Will she let Parliament do its job and let it fix this Conservative mess?
Diane Finley ConservativeMinister of Human Resources and Skills Development
Mr. Speaker, the goal of the temporary foreign worker program has always been to help provide labour where there is an acute and extended shortage of skills within the country, because we believe that Canadians should always have first crack at Canadian jobs.
Let us face it, the hon. member is blowing out of both sides. Right now he is saying that the program is not there, and it should work, yet he is asking for more people to be brought in under the temporary foreign worker program for his own riding.
Stéphane Dion Liberal Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC
Mr. Speaker, the program is very poorly managed and that is why workers are losing their jobs and employers cannot find—