House of Commons Hansard #134 of the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was jobs.
Murray Rankin NDP Victoria, BC
Mr. Speaker, things have gotten so bad at the Canada Revenue Agency that people cannot even understand the letters it is sending out. Just think about that. The letters are so poorly written that fully one-half of the people who receive them do not know what to do when they get them.
Would the Minister of National Revenue explain why she spent over $100,000 on consultants to figure out that this might be problem and what she intends to do to fix it?
Kerry-Lynne Findlay ConservativeMinister of National Revenue
Mr. Speaker, I am a strong believer in plain language. As I said, clarity is essential in communications. This third-party evaluation was initiated by CRA as part of our effort to provide critical input into reducing red tape, and to support taxpayers in compliance.
The CRA is aligning with best practices for effective correspondence. We are taking action now. That action was started before this evaluation. It continues now through these recommendations.
Frank Valeriote Liberal Guelph, ON
Mr. Speaker, the veterans affairs committee was unanimous in its recommendations to improve the new veterans charter because eight more years of inaction for our veterans is unacceptable. The minister said he agreed with all the recommendations, yet in the nearly 500 pages of the government's recent omnibus budget bill, there is nothing in there for veterans—nothing at all.
Why, when these men and women were willing to sacrifice everything for us, will the minister not act on the things veterans actually need?
Julian Fantino ConservativeMinister of Veterans Affairs
Mr. Speaker, contrary to the comments just made, our government agrees with the spirit and intent of the vast majority of the committee's recommendations. Our response was positive, and is positive, that we would be bringing forward a phased approach and we accepted a significant portion of the committee's recommendations.
The work is going on. It is continuing. We care deeply about supporting our veterans. If that member would only have a moment of thought, the committee agreed on the recommendations and we are following through on them.
Judy Sgro Liberal York West, ON
Mr. Speaker, the depths to which the Conservatives will sink to attack our seniors is shocking. Conservatives started by taxing income trusts and then delaying old age security, but now they want to go even further. Finance officials confirm that the budget bill would hit not-for-profit health centres' facilities with a bill for HST. That is right. After taxing investments and delaying pensions, the budget is again targeting seniors for collection. We know that winter is coming and Conservatives clearly have their hands in our seniors' pockets.
Did they really think that nobody was going to notice this?
Joe Oliver ConservativeMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, our government has, over the years, reduced taxes for Canadians to the point where they are lower than they have been in the last 50 years. We will continue in this next budget, because we are expecting a surplus, to reduce taxes further for hard-working Canadian families, including seniors.
Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet NDP Hochelaga, QC
Mr. Speaker, in Canada, there are at least 235,000 homeless people.
According to a report on the state of homelessness in Canada published today, with little effort we could practically eliminate homelessness. It is time for the federal government to stop withdrawing support for social housing and start funding new units. To govern is to make choices.
When will the government truly make social housing a priority?
Candice Bergen ConservativeMinister of State (Social Development)
Mr. Speaker, our government renewed our homelessness partnering strategy with a focus on Housing First, which is an evidence-based model that takes those who are chronically homeless out of this situation.
Experts across the country have lauded our approach. In fact, the most recent report on homelessness said that the federal government's shift to focus on Housing First is a transformational change to Canada's response to homelessness.
We will continue to use evidence-based facts. The NDP unfortunately opposes that approach.
Mike Sullivan NDP York South—Weston, ON
Mr. Speaker, the fact is that federal investment in housing has declined by 46% over the last 25 years, leading to a shrinking supply of affordable housing. Communities and municipalities are struggling to meet the demand for affordable housing, which is essential to ending homelessness in Canada.
Why will the Conservatives not restore long-term housing funding to address Canada's growing homelessness and housing crisis?
Candice Bergen ConservativeMinister of State (Social Development)
Mr. Speaker, together with our homelessness partnering strategy, we also are investing in affordable housing with the provinces. With our partners, we have helped almost one million individuals and families with affordable housing.
We know that the NDP wants to create big, bureaucratic Ottawa programs to increase taxes on Canadians. We are going to make smart investments. We are going to work together with provinces and municipalities. We will address these issues not with big programs but smart investments.
John Carmichael Conservative Don Valley West, ON
Mr. Speaker, today we learned yet again of another act of barbarism committed by ISIL. In the town of Hit just west of Baghdad, 30 Sunni men were paraded through the city before being summarily executed by ISIL. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident but another example of the brutality and inhumanity of ISIL that we have seen in the past few months.
Could the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration please comment on this latest incident?
Chris Alexander ConservativeMinister of Citizenship and Immigration
Mr. Speaker, the truth is that ISIL is conducting a campaign of unspeakable atrocities that represents a threat to the people of Iraq and Syria as well as Canada. In response to this threat, this government has introduced Bill C-44, which would strengthen the hand of our security agencies. We have passed the Combating Terrorism Act and we have introduced Canada's first strategy to address terrorism in all its forms.
It is the responsibility of all of us in the House to protect Canadians and defend our citizens.
Adam Vaughan Liberal Trinity—Spadina, ON
Mr. Speaker, since coming to power the Conservative government has increased spending on outside consultants by almost $2 billion a year. A report that was released today on homelessness identifies that if they had spent that money on housing, they would have drastically and dramatically reduced homelessness in this country. Instead, they have hired their friends.
With respect to housing wait times, does the minister want some evidence? Housing wait times across this country are growing. In Vancouver, close to 5,000 people are waiting. In Montreal, it is close to 10,000. In Winnipeg, over 4,500 people are waiting for housing.
Instead of bringing consultants in-house, when is the government going to start building housing for Canadians who need housing now?
Candice Bergen ConservativeMinister of State (Social Development)
Mr. Speaker, that is completely false. In fact, under our homelessness partnering strategy, we are working with community entities in each specific community. They look at their area and they look to see what needs are required.
I would encourage that member to familiarize himself with our homelessness partnering strategy and our focus on Housing First. The report on the state of homelessness in Canada report said, “The federal implementation of Housing First is easily the most important development in homeless services in Canada this year....”
Pierre Nantel NDP Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher, QC
Mr. Speaker, let us talk about safety.
Half of all Quebeckers get their drinking water from the St. Lawrence, and a number of them are calling on the federal government to ensure that it has the capacity to deal with a major oil spill caused by one of the supertankers leaving Sorel-Tracy. What is more, the environment commissioner seriously doubts that Transport Canada and the Coast Guard are equipped to handle such a spill.
How could the government authorize such a significant increase in tanker traffic on the St. Lawrence, when, by all accounts, it is not prepared to deal with a major oil spill?
Lisa Raitt ConservativeMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, last year my colleague, then minister of transport, set in place a world-class tanker safety panel, chaired by a very eminent captain and former CEO of Port Metro Vancouver. The panel found that we were prepared to respond to spills in the country, but we could do better. We have taken its recommendations and we have been implementing these recommendations and have been announcing this as we go along.
We want to make sure that people are prepared for a spill and that we try to prevent spills as well, and in the case of a spill that has happened, that the taxpayer is protected from having to cover the price of the entire spill.
Patrick Brown Conservative Barrie, ON
Mr. Speaker, yesterday UNICEF released a report showing that Canada's child poverty rate decreased during the recession, pulling nearly 180,000 children out of poverty. Could the Minister of State for Social Development please explain to the House what specific actions our government has taken to help lift children out of poverty?
Candice Bergen ConservativeMinister of State (Social Development)
Mr. Speaker, that is right. This is great news. During the recession, under our government's low tax incentives and with support that goes directly to families, we have been able to pull 180,000 children out of poverty. Why is that? What UNICEF said is it is because of things such as our universal child care benefit and our tax incentives.
Under our Prime Minister and our government, we will continue to put money back into the pockets of hard-working families.
Hélène Laverdière NDP Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC
Mr. Speaker, for years the City of Montreal and the public have been asking Canadian Pacific to install new level crossings to ensure the safety of pedestrians and cyclists. The problem is particularly dire in Laurier—Sainte-Marie and Rosemont. However, despite repeated requests, CP is not co-operating.
When will Transport Canada require railway companies such as CP to actually co-operate in good faith with municipalities and consider the safety of pedestrians and cyclists?
Lisa Raitt ConservativeMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, indeed we have been working very hard on this particular issue. It is this government that has brought in grade crossing regulations in order to deal with the situation the hon. member has outlined, which is a case in which the municipality and the rail operator do not agree on where, when, or how a grade crossing separation could be put in place.
We encourage the parties to work with these regulations, and of course we at Transport Canada will be there to facilitate if we can.
Maria Mourani Independent Ahuntsic, QC
Mr. Speaker, today the Minister of Transport announced new safety measures for rail transportation. There was nothing about creating a minimum distance between railways and the construction of new buildings.
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities recognizes the problem and made recommendations in 2013, but it does not have the authority to establish mandatory standards.
What is the government waiting for to take action and to establish a standard for a minimum distance between the construction of new buildings and railway tracks in Canada?
Lisa Raitt ConservativeMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, Transport Canada has a ministerial advisory council that deals with matters like this. This matter is being considered by that advisory panel at the moment, which is making sure that they cover off all issues with respect to operation and are incorporating it with respect to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. We will continue to have that discussion and move along.
In the meantime, we continue to work on rail safety and measures associated with rail safety. Our government has a great track record in that area and will continue in that way.
The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer
I would like to draw to the attention of hon. members the presence in the gallery of His Excellency Manuel A. González Sanz, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Costa Rica.
The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer
I would also like to draw to the attention of hon. members the presence in the gallery of the Right Honourable Edward Richard Schreyer, 22nd Governor General of Canada.