Debates of Oct. 9th, 2014

National Defence

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, some countries, such as the United Kingdom, have explicitly ruled out the idea of going to Syria, and said that they would return before their parliaments for authorization if they had to carry out a military operation there.

That is in stark contrast to the Conservatives, who refuse to tell us whether Canada will conduct operations in Syria and what measures will be taken to protect civilians during air strikes in Iraq. Why is the government rushing to proceed with such a poorly defined combat mission?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, that is the opposite of what her colleague just said about our operational readiness.

We are moving forward. We have been very clear. What we did was get Parliament's support. I think that is something different, something that we never saw before. I think it was very important to do that.

Yes, we will work with our allies to degrade the capabilities of ISIL. It is the right thing to do.

Citizenship and Immigration

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government is talking about carrying out air strikes in Syria. Civilians will be affected. Even so, it is refusing to work faster to help refugees. The minister is fiddling with the numbers to cover up his failure to take action.

The government has not yet welcomed the 1,300 Syrian refugees that it promised to bring to Canada. Refugees are waiting months because of administrative issues. Why is the government abandoning Syrian refugees to their fate?

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

Mr. Speaker, since the start of the conflict, Canada has provided protection to more than 1,645 Syrians, all of whom are now safely in Canada. We have met our commitment to resettle 200 government-assisted refugees.

We will continue to process applications out of this region without compromising the safety and security of Canadians.

Employment Insurance

[Sadia Groguhé, NDP, Saint-Lambert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Budget Officer's report on the hiring tax credit shows just what poor planners the Conservatives are. They cut the employment insurance program, and now they have created a tax credit that is supposed to stimulate job creation, but they have done nothing to make sure it will work. According to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, the tax credit will create barely 800 jobs. Each of those jobs would cost $550,000. That is ridiculous.

How can the Conservatives justify using workers' contributions to pay for a program that will not create jobs?

[Kevin Sorenson, Conservative, Minister of State (Finance)]

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the opposition should listen to the groups that actually create the jobs. Those are groups like the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. The small business job credit, it says, will create 25,000 person-years of employment.

I will quote the federation. It said:

This...is fantastic news for Canada’s entrepreneurs and their employees, and as such, can only be a positive for the Canadian economy.

Our small business job credit will lower EI premiums by 15% and save small businesses over $550 million.

While we are keeping payroll taxes down, they are—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. The hon. member for Saint-Lambert.

[Sadia Groguhé, NDP, Saint-Lambert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I can sum up the Conservatives' budgetary policy in three words: cut, cut and cut. They have made such deep cuts to employment insurance that over 60% of workers who find themselves out of work collect no benefits.

Instead of covering up its incompetence by launching a useless job creation program with money that belongs to unemployed workers, why does the government not use the fund surplus to improve employment insurance benefits and coverage?

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Minister of State (Social Development)]

Mr. Speaker, the member has the facts absolutely wrong. The facts are that those who are unemployed and have paid into the EI system are collecting. Eighty-two per cent of those are collecting EI and are eligible.

I do not know if the opposition is suggesting that individuals who have never paid into EI, never been part of the program, should collect EI. I do not think that is how Canadian taxpayers want their dollars spent.

[Robert Chisholm, NDP, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Mr. Speaker, unemployed Canadians sure know that under this scheme they are not going to be getting back to work very soon. This is at a time when fewer than 40% of unemployed Canadians are even eligible for EI. That is a historic low.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer says the government could easily afford to expand coverage to another 130,000 unemployed Canadians. Instead, the Conservatives have chosen to raid the EI account for a program that is clearly designed to fail.

Why will the Conservatives not respect workers and start using the money to fix EI?

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Minister of State (Social Development)]

Mr. Speaker, the EI system is designed to help Canadians who are out of work through no fault of their own. In this system, though, people who are working and pay into the system then qualify for that EI program. Eight-two per cent of those who are unemployed have qualified for it.

The suggestion from the opposition that those who have not actually paid into the system should somehow collect EI is preposterous.

[Jinny Sims, NDP, Newton—North Delta, BC]

Mr. Speaker, at $550,000 per job, it is the Conservatives' proposal that makes no fiscal sense.

The PBO has shown the Conservatives' lack of transparency when it comes to EI. First they built up a surplus by cutting benefits while keeping premiums high. Then, like the Liberals before them, they dipped into the EI fund to use it for their own pet project, funding a tax credit that does not do what it is supposed to do.

When are the Conservatives going to quit playing games and get serious about helping unemployed Canadians?

[Kevin Sorenson, Conservative, Minister of State (Finance)]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians know that they are better off with our Conservative government.

The NDP members clearly do not get small business. They should listen to people who do understand small business. Let me quote what Jay Myers, of the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, said. He said:

The Small Business Job Credit will help a powerhouse — the thousands of small businesses — of the Canadian economy become more competitive.

Unlike the NDP, we will continue to keep taxes low to create jobs and we will also create opportunities for Canadians.

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it will cost $550,000 to create a single job, but Conservatives think they are brilliant at the economy.

When it comes to EI, Conservatives and Liberals seem to sing from the same songbook. They both love to raid the EI fund, they both love to cut millions of Canadians off the insurance program, and they both love to invent these hare-brained schemes that just do not work. It has gotten so bad for the Conservatives that the finance minister has to borrow Liberal math to justify his bad programs.

Half a billion dollars to create 800 jobs is outrageous. When is the government going to withdraw this terrible scheme and bring in a plan that actually puts Canadians back to work?

[Kevin Sorenson, Conservative, Minister of State (Finance)]

Mr. Speaker, beginning in 2017, premiums will be set according to a seven-year break-even rate, ensuring that premiums are no higher than they need to be.

Clearly the NDP does not understand small business. They should listen to those who do. Monique Moreau, from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, said that small businesses in Canada should be thrilled with this announcement because they have said time and time again that payroll taxes like EI are the biggest disincentive to hiring.

Public Safety

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, at the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security meeting, the minister confirmed that the government is aware that 80 individuals have returned from overseas after participating in terrorism-related activities. The minister told us that those individuals pose a threat to our society, that they have broken Canadian law, and that they all should be put behind bars.

What is he waiting for? What exactly is it going to take for those individuals to be put in jail?

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, it is very clear: those who try to engage in terrorist activities here and outside the country pose a threat. That is why we passed the combatting terrorism act and that is why we are revoking passports. We are prepared to go as far as removing dual citizenship when people in that situation are found guilty. We live under the rule of law. My colleague will agree with me that the courts are doing their job and police investigations are ongoing.

What are the hon. member and his party doing to support the fight against terrorism here and elsewhere?

Employment

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, York West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today the Parliamentary Budget Officer disputed the Minister of Finance's claim that the government's so-called small business job credit will create 25,000 jobs. According to the PBO, this tax credit will create 800 jobs over two years and is going to cost taxpayers more than $550 million. That is $700,000 per job.

When are the Conservatives going to drop their flawed tax credit plan, admit they are out of ideas, and adopt the Liberal plan?

[Kevin Sorenson, Conservative, Minister of State (Finance)]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians understand that they are better off with this Conservative government.

The Liberal EI agenda includes such measures as EI for prisoners and a 45-day work year. The Liberal EI plan has 50 weeks of sickness pay that would in total add up to a whopping 44% increase in EI premiums. That would cost Canadians nearly $6 billion. We cannot afford to listen to that type of Liberal idea.

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal EI idea is actually endorsed by Canadian manufacturers, the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association, and by the CFIB, because it works.

The Conservatives are killing jobs by keeping EI taxes high just to pad their books on the eve of an election. Today's PBO report tells us that the Conservatives' artificial EI tax rates will actually cost the Canadian economy 10,000 jobs over the next two years. That is 10,000 more Canadians who will be out of work because of high Conservative EI taxes.

When will the Conservatives stop putting Conservative politics ahead of Canadian jobs?

[Kevin Sorenson, Conservative, Minister of State (Finance)]

Mr. Speaker, just last week the Liberals had to stand and apologize in this House for trying to find support that was not there for their Liberal plan.

Let us listen to what Dan Kelly, head of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, said in regard to our credit. He just released this today. He said that small firms' number one concern is the total tax burden, that the number one most harmful form of taxation is payroll tax, and that the $550 small business job credit helps.

Public Safety

[Françoise Boivin, NDP, Gatineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Correctional Investigator tabled his annual report. Less than 5% of Correctional Services' total budget is allocated to correctional reintegration programs, and that despite clear evidence that offenders who participate in rehabilitation are less likely to reoffend.

Offenders are being sent back into communities without proper rehabilitation. Why does the minister continue to ignore, year after year, recommendations from the Correctional Investigator that would improve community safety? Why is he putting communities at risk?

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, we welcome the report of the Correctional Investigator. One thing that is clear on this side of the House is that while we keep criminals behind bars, we also have a serious concern for victims. That is why this government has tabled a victims bill of rights to ensure that our justice system achieves a balance through restoring the rights of victims throughout the system. We will continue to do so.

[Françoise Boivin, NDP, Gatineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, that is what it is all about. It is about balance, and there is a part that is missing.

There will be offenders on our streets who will not have had access to reintegration programs. Given that less than 5% of the Correctional Services budget is allocated to reintegration programs, it seems to me that this should be a priority.

Will the minister implement the recommendations of the Correctional Investigator in order to reduce the risk of reoffending and encourage reintegration, thereby protecting our communities?

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said, we welcome the recommendations of the Correctional Investigator.

However, we will not do what the New Democrats want to do and give inmates pensions. We see no sense in that.

We are going to continue to ensure that the Correctional Service of Canada works to keep criminals behind bars and we are going to ensure that those with mental health problems are dealt with appropriately.

I have implemented a strategy precisely in order to improve the services provided to inmates with mental health problems, and I look forward to seeing Correctional Services' report in response to the report on the investigation conducted by the Ontario coroner.