Debates of Oct. 24th, 2014

National Defence

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

Mr. Speaker, two weeks ago the minister testified at committee that there were 80 individuals known to have returned to Canada after being involved in terrorist activities abroad. Section 83.181 of the Criminal Code, brought in under the Combating Terrorism Act, makes this a criminal offence. Why have they not been charged?

[Roxanne James, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, as the member knows, law enforcement comes forward with these types of requests, and of course the government is always willing and able to facilitate these efforts. We are always examining tools to make the system more effective in protecting all Canadians.

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

Mr. Speaker, the deputy director of CSIS raised concerns about the agency's ability to effectively monitor the 93 people who are currently identified as potential threats to Canadian security. Yesterday, the RCMP commissioner also spoke about the lack of resources for carrying out these national security investigations.

Could the minister tell the House what plans are in place to ensure that our security agents have the resources they need to effectively carry out their responsibilities?

[Roxanne James, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, to make all parliamentarians aware, we have actually increased funding and investments to our national security agencies, for both the RCMP and CSIS. As well, the director of CSIS recently stated that today's terrorist threats are diffuse and they develop rapidly.

CSIS will continue to dedicate its resources to investigate the threat posed by terrorist travel and radicalization. Our government has brought forward a number of measures since forming office to give our agencies the proper tools they need. We will be doing that more so in the future.

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

Mr. Speaker, the deputy director of CSIS raised concerns to Parliament about the agency's ability to effectively monitor the 90 people who are currently identified as potential threats to Canadian security. Yesterday, the RCMP commissioner said that if they put all of their resources on the 93 people being tracked they would not be able to do anything else.

Could the minister inform the House whether new measures, new resources have been put in place recently to ensure that we can effectively carry out these important responsibilities?

[Roxanne James, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, as I just mentioned, we have actually increased investment in our security agencies, for both the RCMP and CSIS, and of course we are looking at new measures in the future, always examining ways that we can provide better tools for them to do their work.

The Budget

[Chris Charlton, NDP, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Conservatives tabled yet another mammoth budget bill. It is 458 pages, with more than 400 clauses, dozens of laws repealed, rewritten, or amended, and all in a single omnibus bill.

Canadians expect us to study, debate, and deliberate on their behalf, and to make thoughtful choices. Will the government agree not to shut down debate with closure or time allocation on this large piece of legislation?

[Andrew Saxton, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, our government is moving forward with important measures to create jobs. For example, the bill creates jobs and opportunities across Canada through the new small business job credit. The budget implementation bill makes life more affordable for Canadian families by doubling the children's fitness tax credit to $1,000 and making it refundable, and ending pay-to-pay billing practices by telecommunications companies.

I urge the opposition to support this important legislation.

[Chris Charlton, NDP, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about that jobs credit. The Conservatives are using their omnibus budget bill to push through changes to EI, a jobs plan that will not create jobs. The Conservatives' proposal has been panned by experts, economists, and the Parliamentary Budget Officer, who found it would create just 800 jobs while actually discouraging small businesses from growing.

Given all of these concerns, would it not be prudent to separate this proposal from the mammoth budget bill so that it gets the scrutiny it deserves?

[Andrew Saxton, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the budget bill will connect Canadians with available jobs, support families and communities, and improve the fairness and integrity of the tax system. The bill contains important measures, like creating a national DNA-based missing persons index, reducing administrative burden on charities, improving the temporary foreign worker program, and expanding eligibility for the accelerated capital cost allowance.

The bill is a further step to returning to balanced budgets while keeping taxes low, creating jobs, and improving the economy.

[Ruth Ellen Brosseau, NDP, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are champions of secrecy.

As a piece of legislation, the new omnibus bill makes no sense. This is what we have come to expect from the Conservatives. The content of the bill is even more concerning. The tax credit for small businesses will cost $500 million for just 800 jobs.

Seriously, why is the government proposing such an ineffective program that will not truly create jobs here in Canada?

[Andrew Saxton, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the CFIB says the small business job credit will in fact create 25,000 person-years of employment. They call it, “fantastic news for Canada’s entrepreneurs and their employees, and as such, can only be a positive for the Canadian economy”.

We are lowering EI payroll taxes by 15% and saving small businesses over $550 million over two years. In contrast, the opposition are supporting a 45-day work year that would drastically increase premiums by 35%, adding a $4 billion tax burden on Canadians.

[Mathieu Ravignat, NDP, Pontiac, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the budget implementation bill introduced yesterday shows this government's complete lack of vision.

The bill is 458 pages of fiscal nonsense. It makes no sense to include measures dealing with beekeeping, cable television, employment insurance and refugee health care in a single bill.

Will the government split its bill so that members can study it properly?

[Andrew Saxton, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, Canada leads the G7 with more than one million jobs created since the global economic recession, but we are not immune to the challenges beyond our borders. That is why our government supports economic growth and job creation while keeping taxes low and returning to balanced budgets in 2015.

The budget bill will connect Canadians with available jobs, support families and communities, and improve the fairness and integrity of our tax system. I urge the opposition to get on board and support this important new legislation.

[Djaouida Sellah, NDP, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, if words still mean anything, a budget bill should contain budgetary measures.

Once again, the Conservatives have used a budget bill to secretly introduce some reprehensible measures. This time, they are going after refugees by allowing the provinces to restrict access to social assistance.

Do the Conservatives feel bad at all that they are trying to conceal their schemes in an omnibus bill?

[Andrew Saxton, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, this bill continues our plans for supporting growth and long-term prosperity by strengthening Canada's intellectual property regime to promote job creation and to improve conditions for business investment and access to international markets while reducing costs and red tape by making the tax system simpler and fairer for farming and fishing businesses, and by extending the existing tax credit for interest paid on government-sponsored student loans to interest paid on Canada apprentice loans.

I encourage the opposition to get on board and support this important new legislation.

[Craig Scott, NDP, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, that obviously did not address the question. Hiding a private member's bill to strip refugees of social assistance in an omnibus bill is both unjust and a serious abuse of parliamentary process. The government knew its proposal to pull support from people who have survived persecution would be unpopular with Canadians. It is using an omnibus bill to try to escape and avoid a public backlash.

Will the Minister of Finance agree to withdraw this measure from the budget bill?

[Costas Menegakis, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, to continue Canada's tradition as a leader in international refugee protection, our government has increased the number of refugees resettled annually by 20%. Canada welcomes one in ten refugees resettled around the world, more than almost any other country in the world.

Our government is working to improve refugee outcomes as we will be able to better plan for their arrival.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in response to the confusing and frightening events we have experienced, Canadian news coverage is being praised around the world, including the great work of the CBC. However, CBC employees were told this week about 400 more lost jobs. This brings the total number of job cuts at CBC and Radio-Canada to 1,057.

Will the government now agree to reinvest in CBC and Radio-Canada so they can continue doing the vital work of informing the people of our country?

[Rick Dykstra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, the CBC already receives significant taxpayer funds and it can operate within its existing budget. While the CBC must adapt to changing technology and demographics in the broadcasting industry, our government believes the CBC can and should do so within its existing budget.

[Pierre Nantel, NDP, Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am seeing people laugh when I talk about these cuts.

The majority of those watching pointed out how professional Canadian networks were, particularly CBC/Radio-Canada. However, this week—

[Some hon. members]

Oh! Oh!

[Pierre Nantel, NDP, Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher, QC]

Are they going to quiet down? Their lack of respect is unbelievable.

This week, the president of CBC/Radio-Canada, Hubert Lacroix, announced to employees that 400 jobs will be eliminated between now and March 2016. There is even talk of getting rid of satellite trucks.

Her government's ideology aside, does the minister not see that budget cuts are having an even more devastating impact that anticipated?

[Rick Dykstra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, the strategy that was implemented and is spoken about by the member opposite was announced in June of this year. This is a continuing and ongoing process that the CBC has undertaken and will continue to work through. I would add that Hubert Lacroix, the president of the CBC, also said:

...a weak advertising market across the industry, lower-than-expected schedule performance in the key 25-54 year-old demographic on CBC Television, lower than expected ad revenues...and the loss of the NHL contract...have combined to create an important revenue shortfall....

The CBC is doing what it is supposed to do: dealing with it.

[Pierre Nantel, NDP, Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher, QC]

Mr. Speaker, there is no question that too many jobs have been cut at CBC/Radio-Canada in recent years, and this continues.

In June, CBC/Radio-Canada announced that 25% of its workforce would be let go between now and 2020, but things have gotten worse. It is our responsibility to respond. There is no way that one in four workers can be laid off without affecting the public broadcaster's mandate. It is impossible.

Can the minister stand up, show respect for the artists and journalists of our public broadcaster and ensure that Canadians get to keep the public broadcaster they cherish?