Debates of Nov. 4th, 2014

Member for Peterborough

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as elected members of this House, we are the law makers of this country, and so it is incumbent upon us to follow the law and to respect the court.

The member for Peterborough has been convicted of electoral fraud, and the law is clear: someone convicted shall not be entitled to “sit in the House of Commons”. This is an issue for the House to take action.

The ruling of a judge should carry more weight than the opinion of a convicted criminal. Yet, the member for Peterborough tells us that he disagrees. Therefore, the question is this. Does the government stand on this in terms of there being one set of laws for Conservative insiders and another set of laws for everyone else?

The Prime Minister has previously stated his full support for the member for Peterborough. He needs to stand in this House today and answer questions about what he thinks of a convicted criminal sitting in this House of Commons and drawing a salary from the Canadian people.

Taxation

[Joyce Bateman, Conservative, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, our government makes good on our promises. That is why we continue to cut taxes, saving the average family nearly $3,400 this year alone. Since we were elected, that means thousands and thousands for Canadian families. It is a record of which we are proud.

For example, millions of Canadians have benefited from the children's fitness tax credit and the universal child care benefits. Now our government has introduced the family tax cut plan. As Knowledge Bureau president and MoneySense tax expert Evelyn Jacks said, “It begins to address the real economic cost of raising families in Canada...”.

The family tax cut plan will benefit every family in Canada with children. That is more than four million families. We are putting money back in the pockets of Canadians. That is our commitment, and we will continue that legacy.

Ethics

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, this morning the government surprised everyone. In parliamentary committee, they were studying Bill C-518 that would remove the pension of any member of Parliament convicted of an offence.

The amendment would make a new exception: it would no longer apply to convictions under the Elections Act. That amendment proposed by the government, and approved by all the government members of that committee, would only help one person, the member of Parliament for Peterborough.

Does the Prime Minister consider that moral?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition should realize that the government has already passed legislation indicating that, should a member be suspended from the chamber, the case is that he ceases to participate from that point forward in the MP pension plan.

That has been the fact. I guess the NDP does not remember that because, in fact, it voted against doing that.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Actually, Mr. Speaker, Bill C-518 is in committee precisely because it has yet to be voted on in this House, and the amendment brought in by his government this morning would only be to the advantage of the disgraced member from Peterborough.

Our question was whether or not that was moral. We have all taken note of the fact that the Prime Minister cannot answer.

In 2011, robocalls, judged to be mostly Conservative database; 2006, in-and-out fraud; 2008, Peterborough. Every time he is elected, there has been a vote problem.

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Again, Mr. Speaker, the legislation I was referring to was passed in the budget implementation act in the first half of this year, which the NDP—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, order. The Right Hon. Prime Minister has the floor.

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Calgary Southwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, my point, once again, is that the government has already dealt with this matter through legislation already passed, not affected by anything at the committee today, that the NDP opposed.

When we are talking about NDP opposition, maybe the reason they oppose it is that the hon. leader and his party still have not done anything to repay the over $1 million they took improperly from the House of the Commons.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, order. This is taking up a great deal of time, and we are only a few questions into question period. We might have to make up that time if members continue with this kind of behaviour.

The hon. Leader of the Opposition has the floor.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister assured the House that the member for Peterborough's campaign had paid back all the money.

The Prime Minister also assured the House that there was no problem with Pamela Wallin's expense accounts.

The Prime Minister also assured the House that absolutely no one in his office was aware of the $90,000 cheque given to Mike Duffy.

Why is the Prime Minister prepared to say anything to defend people like that?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that the member in question has not been a member of the Conservative caucus for some time.

Our position in these kinds of matters in the past has been absolutely clear. When there is this kind of case, we expect the member will be suspended without pay. I know you, Mr. Speaker, are going to rule later, and that is our position. Other matters will be referred to the committee.

In the meantime, while we take the appropriate moral actions on these cases, the NDP tries to keep the money.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, on June 13, 2012, the Prime Minister told the House:

...as we all know, the hon. member for Peterborough has submitted all of his information to Elections Canada.

On Friday, a judge of the Superior Court of Ontario found that the member for Peterborough was guilty of providing a:

....campaign return containing a false or misleading material statement in omitting to report a campaign contribution and election expense....

Would the Prime Minister like to take this opportunity to correct his previous statement to this House and to Canadians?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the member has not been a member of the Conservative caucus for some time.

On this side of the House, we act promptly on the facts, the real facts that are available to us, not on speculation, not on rumour. We have taken the appropriate action. It is now up to the leader of the NDP to take the appropriate action on the money he and his party took improperly from this House.

Taxation

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, today there is more evidence that the government's unbalanced approach to the economy is just not working, when 1,500 Scotiabank employees were fired. With record profits and huge corporate tax cuts, the net result was 1,500 job losses. While the Minister of Finance pushes his income-splitting scheme that will only benefit the wealthy few, what is the government doing concretely to help the 1,500 people, including over 1,000 Canadian families, who are now without a way to earn a living?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, obviously we never like to see job losses. These are the decisions of individual companies. It does not, of course, change the reality that we have had 1.1 million net new jobs created in the Canadian economy since the recession.

While we are talking about help for Canadian families, last week I announced an important series of measures that benefit every single family with children in this country. Of course a big part of that is reducing taxes for Canadian families. That is what Canadian families want. What Canadian families know does not work, will not work, and what they do not want are the tax hikes proposed on them by the NDP.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, oil prices are below $80 a barrel and Canada's job market has stalled. In response, the Conservatives are putting forward an income-splitting program with a very basic problem: 85% of Canadians will get absolutely nothing from it.

Why is the government making the middle class pay for tax credits for well-off families like mine and the Prime Minister's?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the leader of the Liberal Party is just simply wrong on every fact that he mentioned in that particular statement. The reality is that the measures I announced last week will help every single Canadian family.

We know that the Liberals are against those tax reductions for families, just as they were against the same tax reductions for senior citizens. We know they want to take them away from our families and our senior citizens, and we will never support that on this side of the House.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives' income-splitting proposal will give a big tax credit to some of Canada's wealthiest families. Forgotten are single parents, forgotten are parents in the same tax bracket, and forgotten are families with kids over 18 who need help going to college or university. They all get nothing.

Could the Prime Minister please explain to Canadians why families like his and mine deserve a $2,000 tax credit, while all of those other families get nothing?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, that is 100% wrong. Every single one of the four million-plus Canadian families with children will benefit from this plan. When the Liberals go to the people of Canada and tell them they are going to take away all of those benefits, they are going to find that out.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives' income splitting plan would give a tax break to Canada's wealthiest families.

There is no tax break for single-parent families, parents with similar incomes or families with children in university.

Can the Prime Minister explain why someone like him or like me will be entitled to a $2,000 tax break, while 85% of Canadians will get nothing?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, that is absolutely not true.

Every family with children—more than 4 million Canadian families—will benefit from the announcements I made last week. That is the truth.

The truth is that the Canadian public will object to the Liberal Party's plan to take away not only the benefits for families, but also the benefits for seniors. Canadians want money in their pockets, and that is what the Conservatives will give them.

Citizenship and Immigration

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

Mr. Speaker, in July, the Federal Court ruled that the changes to the refugee health care program were not only unconstitutional, but also cruel and unusual.

On Friday, the Federal Court of Appeal rejected the government's bid for more time to remedy the situation. This morning, the minister tweeted that he was going to reinstate the program. That is all well and good, but not a lot of information can be provided in 140 characters.

Could we have some more information? Could the government make an official announcement?

[Chris Alexander, Conservative, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, we have been saying for weeks that we are disappointed with the court's recent decision and the one it handed down in the summer. We will continue to pursue our appeal. In the meantime, we will continue to protect the interests of taxpayers and refugees. We will provide more details shortly.