House of Commons Hansard #38 of the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was service.
Thomas Mulcair NDPLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, he said “very, very close by”; a 16-hour return trip.
Veterans in Sydney, Nova Scotia, are holding sit-ins to try to stop the Prime Minister's decision to shut down these offices. One veteran even said: “We're fighting a war here”. Veterans saying that they feel they are fighting a war with their own government; how did Conservatives let it come to this?
Julian Fantino ConservativeMinister of Veterans Affairs
Mr. Speaker, this is fearmongering at the height of all this rhetoric. The reality is that in the past veterans in need of home care have been served there and will continue to be, at their own homes or elsewhere, their choice.
As far as having to travel for regular, ordinary services, that service will be provided in some 650 locations, some of them right in the very building where the office was that is now being closed.
Thomas Mulcair NDPLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, that is the minister who said not to point fingers at him. It is not a question of fearmongering; it is a question of listening to Canada's veterans. It is the veterans who are speaking; it is not fearmongering.
The Prime Minister has repeated time and again this week that “very few” veterans are using these services. If that is indeed the case, why will the Prime Minister not accept to at least meet with those very few veterans to hear their stories?
Julian Fantino ConservativeMinister of Veterans Affairs
Mr. Speaker, at least I know who I am. I have been committed to having an open dialogue with the men and women who serve Canada in uniform, and we have made significant advancements in how veterans are served—
Veterans AffairsOral Questions
Julian Fantino Conservative Vaughan, ON
Mr. Speaker, veterans across Canada should know that I am deeply committed, as is our government, to meeting with them and listening to their issues no matter where and when that occurs. I have always reached out to veterans and I will continue doing so.
Thomas Mulcair NDPLeader of the Opposition
They felt all the love this week, Mr. Speaker.
While the Conservatives are closing veterans' service centres, we also learned that the Department of National Defence is under administrative supervision. Perhaps if they were the slightest bit capable of managing public money, they would not have to cut services to our veterans.
Julian Fantino ConservativeMinister of Veterans Affairs
Mr. Speaker, I have to reiterate the fact that we remain committed not only to working with groups across the land but also to working closely with the Department of National Defence to ensure that we have a coordinated approach and are delivering the kinds of services that either our serving members or those who are veterans will receive. That is typical of what we have been doing and will be continuing to do.
Stéphane Dion Liberal Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC
Mr. Speaker, under the Liberals, from 1993 to 2005, unemployment in Canada dropped by 29%.
Under the Conservatives, from 2006 to 2013, unemployment rose by 21%. Under the Conservatives, no less than 14 OECD countries have curbed unemployment better than Canada.
How does the Conservative government explain its mediocre record, both in relation to the performance of other developed nations and compared to Canadian performance under the Liberals?
Andrew Saxton ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, in fact, we have the best economic record and employment record of all G7 countries.
Our government is focused on what matters to Canadians, which is jobs and economic growth. Even though the global economy remains fragile, especially in the U.S. and Europe, our economic policies have helped protect Canada. Over one million net new jobs have been created since July 2009; 80% of those are in the private sector. Both the IMF and the OECD forecast Canada to be among the fastest growing G7 economies in the years ahead.
With a fragile global economy, we must stay the course with a low tax plan to create jobs—
Scott Brison Liberal Kings—Hants, NS
Mr. Speaker, for Canada, 2013 was a write-off for jobs, growth, and prosperity. Of Canada's net new jobs, 80% were part time. There were only 19,000 net new full-time jobs for the whole country. Under the Conservatives, the number of jobless Canadians has grown by 21%. In terms of growth, the U.S. and U.K. economies are growing faster than Canada's.
Will the upcoming budget finally include a real plan for jobs, growth, and prosperity?
Andrew Saxton ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, I do not know where the member of the opposition is getting his facts, because the facts are that 80% of those new jobs were in the private sector and 85% were full time. Over one million net new jobs were created, over 85% of which were full-time jobs.
It is rich for the Liberals to be criticizing our government on our job creation record. They voted against every single job creation strategy our government has put forward, including freezing EI rates, providing certainty and flexibility to workers and employers, tax cuts for manufacturers to purchase new equipment and expand their operations, $70 billion in stable and predictable job—
Scott Brison Liberal Kings—Hants, NS
Mr. Speaker, we lost 46,000 jobs in December alone. Young Canadians have lost 264,000 jobs since before the downturn.
When it comes to prosperity, Canadian households are struggling under record levels of personal debt.
The Minister of Finance has added $158 billion to the federal debt. That means that the average Canadian family will have to pay over $18,000 more in future taxes just to pay for the Conservative debt.
How can the Conservatives boast, when 2013 saw no jobs, no growth, and more debt than prosperity?
Andrew Saxton ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, we are delivering historic relief, leaving more money in Canadians' pockets, where it belongs. Total savings for the typical family are nearly $3,400 every year. We have cut taxes in every way the government collects them, cutting over 160 taxes. We increased the amount Canadians earn tax free. We introduced pension income splitting. We reduced the GST from 7% to 5%. We introduced important tax credits, including the Canada employment credit, the working income tax benefit, and the child tax credit.
It is a record we are proud of.
Megan Leslie NDP Halifax, NS
Mr. Speaker, in question period, the Prime Minister keeps insisting that Senator Irving Gerstein is not under investigation by the RCMP, but Mr. Gerstein's name comes up repeatedly in court documents. He played a role in the payoff, and the RCMP has never said that he is not a part of its investigation.
Can the Prime Minister share with Canadians how he knows that Senator Gerstein is not under investigation?
Paul Calandra ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs
Mr. Speaker, the documents submitted by the RCMP quite clearly indicate who is under investigation, and that is Senator Duffy and Nigel Wright.
Megan Leslie NDP Halifax, NS
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, when asked about Mr. van Hemmen, the Prime Minister replied:
...it is a long-standing government policy...to provide legal assistance to such individuals.
However, these fees were related to the RCMP investigation into Nigel Wright and Mike Duffy. Why are the taxpayers being left on the hook to defend PMO staff from the RCMP investigation into Conservative corruption?
Paul Calandra ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs
Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister stated the other day, it is a long-standing government policy that predates our government where ministers of the crown and their staff do have access to legal assistance with respect to the activities they undertake as part of the government function.
Megan Leslie NDP Halifax, NS
Mr. Speaker, when the news broke first through Nigel Wright and then through the RCMP that many people in the PMO were involved, did the Prime Minister confront his staff and demand answers as to why they had misled him?
Paul Calandra ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs
Mr. Speaker, quite clearly in these documents it states the leadership that the Prime Minister did show.
He went into his office immediately and insisted that his office assist the RCMP in its investigation. Staff has, of course, provided all necessary waivers to assist the RCMP. Thousands of emails were turned over.
That is the type of leadership I think most Canadians have come to depend on from this Prime Minister, and it is the type of leadership we will continue to provide Canadians.
Ève Péclet NDP La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC
Mr. Speaker, let us get back to the issue of how the Senate scandal was managed, and more specifically to David van Hemmen.
Can the Prime Minister or his parliamentary secretary confirm that Nigel Wright's former executive assistant had absolutely no knowledge of the agreement to pay back Mike Duffy's illegal expense claims, either through the party or his boss, who was none other than the Prime Minister's chief of staff?
Paul Calandra ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs
Mr. Speaker, the actions of Senator Duffy and Nigel Wright are being investigated by the RCMP, and we will let it continue its investigation.
