Debates of May 6th, 2013

Government Expenditures

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Minister of Citizenship]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition knows full well that nothing is missing. He knows what the Auditor General said: “We didn't find anything that gave us cause for concern that money...was used in any way that it should not have been”. He knows that all funds expended by the government are tabled in the public accounts in this House and that every dollar is approved by Parliament through the estimates process. Perhaps the member needs a remedial course in public accounting.

Labour

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, back in 2002, the Conservatives talked about the fact that a billion dollars missing by the Liberals was trying to be swept under the rug. The only change now is that the rug is blue.

Now, another little surprise for everyone who likes freedom of the press, who likes the CBC, is to find out that there is now going to be somebody from the Conservatives sitting at the negotiating table. Our only question is this: Is the President of the Treasury Board now responsible for determining whether Peter Mansbridge is allowed to be paid more than Ezra Levant?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Minister of Citizenship]

Mr. Speaker, of course, it is not surprising that it is the position of the NDP that its union boss buddies should be able to make demands on public money and have no accountability to this Parliament and to the duly elected government of Canadians. I note that the Leader of the Opposition's position was different when he was a member of a Quebec government, which actually brought in a bill requiring that the provincial government be informed of collective agreements happening within the context of crown corporations. I guess what was good enough for Quebec then is not good enough for Canada now.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, it is very interesting because the very quote that the member just gave about being informed proves our point, that in Quebec there is no way Treasury Board sits at the negotiating table with crown corporations.

That is how far the Conservatives have taken this. They are the ones who will be seated at the negotiating table and who will dictate the conditions. Every time we asked questions about the post offices, their Minister of Transport told us that had nothing to do with them, that Canada Post was at arm's length from the government and free to do what it wanted.

Which is it? You cannot blow hot and cold at the same time.

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Minister of Citizenship]

Mr. Speaker, the leader of the NDP needs to calm down. He is getting angry again. He has to be careful.

The bill he voted in favour of when he was an MLA in Quebec stated:

Before undertaking the negotiation of a collective agreement with an association of employees, a government agency [including crown corporations] submits a draft establishing, generally, the components of a policy on remuneration and conditions of employment to the minister responsible.

How hypocritical.

Taxation

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, in budget 2013 the government increases taxes on middle-class Canadians by close to $2 billion every year. For example, on page 335, the Conservatives take $550 million more every year from the profits of small business owners. On page 289, there is a recurring payroll tax hike of another $600 million every year, an escalating, job-killing Conservative tax on every job in this country.

Why does Conservative tax policy attack the middle class and all those who are working so hard to join the middle class?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Minister of Citizenship]

Mr. Speaker, our economic policy does the opposite, which is why through some $200 billion in tax relief we have taken more than one million Canadians off the tax rolls, providing cumulative tax relief of some $3,200 to average families. We will continue to do so while the Liberals have called for a 45-day work year, which would cost an additional $4 billion in EI premiums.

We will continue to cut taxes even though those members want us to raise them.

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian economy has doubled in size over the past 30 years but median household income has grown only by 13%. Middle-class Canada is falling behind and Conservatives are making it harder by imposing more and more middle-class taxes, small business taxes, payroll taxes, new tariff taxes on everything from cancer wigs to the kitchen sink. We cannot blame the Chinese. They do not impose these taxes and they do not pay them. This is a made-in-Canada Conservative attack on the middle class and all those trying to get there. Why?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Minister of Citizenship]

In point of fact, Mr. Speaker, the total federal tax burden as a share of our gross domestic product is at its lowest level since 1965. Some $200 billion in tax relief, $3,200 for the average family and almost all of those tax cuts opposed by the member for Wascana and the Liberal Party.

Why does the member not just 'fess up? We know the Liberals want to raise the GST back from 5% to 6% to 7%. Do they not?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after creating the largest deficit in Canada's history and running up six consecutive deficits, the government is now going to raise taxes on Canadian families in order to pay for its incompetence.

With their 2013 budget, the Conservatives are increasing taxes on almost 1,300 goods that Canadians use on a daily basis. This is a tax on everything, from baby strollers and kitchen gadgets to toothbrushes.

Why is this government bombarding Canadian families with all these taxes?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Minister of Citizenship]

Mr. Speaker, the reality is quite the opposite.

In fact, this government has reduced Canadians' tax burden by $200 billion, or $3,200 per family.

We have reduced the tax burden to its lowest level in terms of percentage of GDP since 1965. The Liberals, however, want to raise taxes, including the GST.

Government Expenditures

[Malcolm Allen, NDP, Welland, ON]

Mr. Speaker, another question period, and again the Liberals do not want to know where the $3 billion disappeared to. Perhaps it is hanging out with the $1 billion they lost the first time.

Clearly, a $13-billion fund allocated to the Conservatives and $3.1 billion cannot be accounted for. Of the money that was tracked for the Auditor General, he noted that the money went to an array of other things, including “...the services of a security expert to advise a host country on security matters related to the staging of an international sporting event.”

Could any minister on the other side explain to Canadians what this involved and why, indeed, it was approved?

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

Mr. Speaker, I will be very accurate with my quotations from the Auditor General. He said a number of things, both in public and to the committee as well. He had said, “We didn’t find anything that gave us cause for concern that the money...was used in any way that it should not have been.”

He confirmed that opposition characterization of these funds as “lost” is inaccurate. He confirmed that this money went through due diligence at the departmental level and was conveyed to Parliament for review and approval.

Those are the facts. Everything else is just their--

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. member for Pierrefonds—Dollard.

[Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe, NDP, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when we ask the Conservatives questions about the billions of dollars they have lost track of, they respond by twisting the words of the Auditor General.

The Auditor General also said that it is important for Canadians to know how the money was spent and that the reporting has been incomplete.

At the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, the parliamentary secretary said that it was a question of internal management of departmental affairs.

If the information exists, when will it be made public?

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

Mr. Speaker, this is a direct quote from the Auditor General, “We didn't find anything that gave us cause for concern that money was used in any way it should not have been.”

He confirmed at committee that the anti-terrorism fund that he was reviewing was purely an internal government reporting process and that the shortcomings, which we acknowledge, did not prevent parliamentarians or Canadians from scrutinizing spending through the estimates process and through the public accounts process.

Those are the facts.

[Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe, NDP, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is funny how the Conservatives like to pick and choose their quotes. That does not help us find out where the money went.

The Auditor General suggested three scenarios to explain the $3.1 billion discrepancy: first, the funding lapsed and was never spent; second, the money was used in anti-terror efforts; or third, the money was spent on other things.

Which one of these options is it? We do not know, and that is the problem.

Do the Conservatives have the paperwork to prove how the money was spent, or did they really lose track of the $3.1 billion?

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

Mr. Speaker, the answers to the hon. member's questions are found in the public accounts and the estimates in the years 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Those were tabled before this chamber. They were debated by parliamentarians. Either she or her predecessors took part in those debates. It is a matter of public record and the Auditor General's findings speak for themselves.

Government Advertising

[Mathieu Ravignat, NDP, Pontiac, QC]

Mr. Speaker, since they clearly have no idea where that $3.1 billion went, let us talk about the money they have wasted on their propaganda.

When it comes to government advertising, the Conservatives are like little pigs: they always want more. Calls for tender show that the government has decided to continue its budget propaganda until 2016.

The more time goes by, the less effective their advertising is. I did not make this up: this is from an internal government poll.

Why are the Conservatives wasting millions of dollars of taxpayers' money?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I have already indicated, advertising is an essential means for informing Canadians about important issues, such as temporary stimulus measures, tax credits and public health issues.

We have been very clear. It is an essential part of any government's job to communicate to the public. This represents 0.3% of government spending.

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the fact is, these ads are simply partisan propaganda. The Privy Council Office survey proves they work for that purpose.

Government poll results on budget advertising are no longer public. However, it is only through to access to information that it has been revealed that Canadians themselves think these ads merely promote the Conservatives. Independent polls reveal Canadians find these ads a waste of money, Conservative propaganda or simply junk.

With so many essential services cut, how can the Conservatives defend wasting yet more taxpayers' money on yet more partisan propaganda?

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

Mr. Speaker, in fact, government spending on advertising was 46% lower in the last year reported than in 2009-10. That is a fact. I find it curious that the hon. member would raise these issues since, when the Liberal Party wanted to do advertising, it took illegal funds from the public sector and other unions.

Search and Rescue

[Christine Moore, NDP, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, instead of investing in propaganda, the Conservatives should be investing in equipment.

Since 2006, the Conservatives have been promising to replace search and rescue aircraft that are 45 years old.

Back then, they said it was a priority, but seven years later, they have yet to keep their promise. People in distress have to cross their fingers and hope that a plane is fit to fly.

Can the Minister of National Defence tell us when, exactly, search and rescue aircraft will be replaced?

[Chris Alexander, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, like the Auditor General, our government recognizes that quick and efficient search and rescue service is critical to many Canadians across the country. We, too, see the replacement of our search and rescue fixed-wing aircraft as a priority. We are committed to an open and transparent process to replace our aging Buffalo and Hercules aircraft fleets. The process will result in the best outcomes for search and rescue, with a modernized replacement fleet as soon as the procurement process allows.

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, in 2006 the Conservatives promised to make replacing search and rescue aircraft a priority. Seven years later, the Conservatives have failed to get the job done. When asked about the delays, the defence minister responded, “That's a good question.” The Auditor General reported that on 119 separate occasions in 2011, Buffalo aircraft were not available to help Canadians in distress.

Why is it that Canadians in distress are paying the price for Conservative inaction and poor management on search and rescue?