Debates of Feb. 13th, 2014

Financial Statement of Minister of Finance

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I want to pick up on the member's comments on disabilities because a fairly important issue affecting all Canadians was recently decided upon. Canada Post now wants to make significant changes, for example, ending door-to-door letter carrier services. It is interesting; the CEO at the time said it allows people to get exercise, as if that is a justification for ending it.

When the member referred to individuals with disabilities, the other component that came to my mind right away was seniors. There are many vulnerable people within society and the cancellation of door-to-door delivery services will have an even more profound impact on them. Allowing Canada Post to do this is something the government seems bent on supporting, when in fact Canada Post over the last decade has made hundreds of millions of dollars. It has been an outstanding corporation and there really is no need to make that change.

Perhaps the member could bring a disability perspective concerning Canada Post’s decision to end this important service to Canadians.

[Manon Perreault, NDP, Montcalm, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I find that absolutely appalling. I have said it before in an adjournment debate, but I will repeat it nonetheless. It is inhuman to tell disabled people that they have to walk along an icy sidewalk to fetch their mail. Everyone knows that it makes no sense. It will certainly be a hardship for them.

I called Canada Post personally and spoke with a woman there, who told me that in order to accommodate persons with disabilities, they are going to be offered a second key for their mailbox which they can give to a neighbour willing to pick up their mail at the same time as their own. If the neighbour asks them for money to do so, then people who generally have very little money will have to pay to receive their mail.

Canada Post also told me that there was a special service for persons with disabilities and that mail could be delivered to their home on request. I tested this out twice, in Sainte-Marie-Salomé and Saint-Jacques. It has been over a week and a half now, and I am still awaiting a reply. I can only guess that there is no such service.

[Françoise Boivin, NDP, Gatineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate my colleague from Montcalm, first of all for her speech, but also for the work she is doing in her riding and on behalf of persons with disabilities. She is a source of inspiration.

I very much appreciated what she said in her speech. In my district, we sense the same discouragement among people who have been talking about the budget since it was announced. For example, the mayor of Gatineau told us that the budget was disappointing in several respects, particularly on social housing and infrastructure. He had great expectations for social housing subsidies, which are desperately needed in every Canadian city, but there is nothing for that. The same is true for infrastructure. People working for community agencies had a great deal of hope for social housing, and they too are discouraged. There are many retirees in the riding of Gatineau who are discouraged because of the frequent unilateral changes made to their conditions and agreements. It is shameful.

My colleague spoke about it, but I wonder if the need is as critical in Montcalm as it is in Gatineau.

[Manon Perreault, NDP, Montcalm, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would be happy to reply to my colleague.

When we talk about a budget, we are talking about choices. This morning, I was speaking with a man from my riding by the name of Jean-Guy, who told me that he did not want to see a passive budget. He was particularly keen on seeing the government take action to make life more affordable and to reduce the excessive cost of everything. He wanted to look forward to a secure retirement and to see job creation for young people, neither of which were addressed in the budget. It is deplorable.

[Bernard Trottier, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence.

There is a lot to talk about in the budget and, in the limited time I have available, I am going to focus on three areas. I am going to talk about what we are doing in research and development. I will talk about what we are planning to do with infrastructure and transportation, because that is a critical element of the budget for all of us, especially in my city of Toronto. Finally, I would like to talk about the need and the plan to return to a balanced budget.

First of all, when it comes to research and innovation, I do not need to convince members that research and innovation are key to building a 21st-century economy. It is a way to develop differentiated products and services, it drives productivity, and it drives a long-term, sustainable competitive advantage. That is how we are going to compete on the world stage as a country.

We want Canada to be a country where the best and brightest from around the world come to innovate and showcase their talent. Here, they can enjoy the benefits of their hard work, dedication, and creativity. When we support innovation, our businesses continue to fuel job creation and economic growth in Canada.

Economic action plan 2014 introduces many new measures to support risk-taking, entrepreneurship, and innovation. The first one I will mention is the Canada first research excellence fund, with $1.5 billion over the next 10 years. This is a really important measure. It builds Canadian leadership in science and innovation, and it works through our world-class post-secondary institutions.

Another important pillar of our research and innovation agenda is the continued support to advance scientific research granting councils. There is $46 million in new annual funding for organizations like the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

Another very important item in this budget is the announcement of $222 million in funding for the TRIUMF physics laboratory, which supports leading research and launches cutting edge spin-off companies. I should also mention the support for the Institute for Quantum Computing, which has some really leading-edge research being done in the field of quantum technologies. There would be $15 million allocated for that.

Another initiative that I am very close to, through my work with the government operations and estimates committee, is the creation of the Open Data Institute, which has all kinds of opportunities for using government data to create businesses and start-ups and to provide good services to Canadians.

There is ongoing and continued funding of $500 million over two years for the automotive innovation fund, which is really critical for re-platforming and for leading Canadian and Ontario-based automotive industries into the 21st century. Something else that would also be very important all across the country is $90 million in the forestry industry transformation program to advance new technologies in Canada's wood products and the pulp and paper sectors.

Economic action plan 2014 plans to reduce the interprovincial trade barriers, which are really important. We can have great products and services, but we need to be able to sell these things across Canada. That same thinking applies to our plan to launch campaigns to promote high quality and high value Canadian-made products around the world, which is well aligned with our very ambitious and very successful trade agenda. All of these new markets opening up for us because of our trade agreements with Europe, around the Americas, and now into Asia, will be leveraging some of the developments we have through R and D.

These research and innovation measures are not new. We are building on some of the past successes. I should mention that since 2006, we have provided over $2 billion for universities and colleges for construction and repairs through the knowledge infrastructure program. We have also provided $2.3 billion to support advanced research through the federal granting councils. There was also $800 million to support post-secondary research through the Canada Foundation for Innovation. All these measures add up to a strong support for the R and D space in Canada.

I should mention one specific measure, which is $1.5 billion to support private sector R and D in Canada's aerospace sector through the strategic aerospace and defence initiative. Last year, members of the House might recall that we launched the venture capital action plan to increase private sector investments in early-stage companies.

Canadians are innovators. We have been throughout our history, and we can compete with anybody around the world. Economic action plan 2014 gives us that shot in the arm that we need to succeed around the world.

The second item I would like to talk about is infrastructure and transportation. One of the most common conversations I have in my constituency office and with my constituents in Etobicoke—Lakeshore is the need for the city of Toronto especially, as well as other cities in Canada, to build more infrastructure, to get people moving, to get goods moving, and to help build the foundation for a strong economy.

In 2007, we launched the $33 billion building Canada plan, which supported over 12,000 infrastructure projects across Canada. In 2008 and 2009, in the stimulus phase of Canada's economic action plan, we supported an additional 30,000 infrastructure projects across Canada. In 2013, we announced a new building Canada plan, even bigger and longer, a $53 billion investment in predictable infrastructure funding over 10 years, which is the largest and longest federal investment in job-creating infrastructure in Canadian history.

Since 2006, I should add, when I talk about the greater Toronto area, we have invested $4.5 billion in GTA infrastructure in major projects such as the Toronto-York Spadina subway extension. We have enhanced GO Transit and invested in the revitalization of Union Station. Now we are going to support Toronto with its plans to bring much-needed mass transit to Scarborough.

The economic action plan maintains these promises in the new building Canada plan and delivers new measures that benefit Canadians from coast to coast to coast, including $40 million to accelerate the repair and maintenance of small craft harbours and a $200 million fund to establish a national disaster mitigation program.

I would be remiss if I did not mention how we provided increased and ongoing support through the gas tax fund, first doubling its size to $2 billion per year and making it permanent, and then indexing it at 2% per year beginning this year.

With regard to housing, which was mentioned by some members in the chamber, we have invested over $1 billion since 2006 for renovations and energy retrofits for close to 200,000 affordable housing units, $600 million in the homelessness partnering strategy, and over $1.25 billion in the investment in affordable housing program to help Canadians in need find and keep affordable housing.

These long-term investments in our roads, subways, railways, bridges, harbours, and other critical infrastructure are key to keeping Canadians moving and maintaining our quality of life and our prosperity. We benefit from these investments because they reduce commuting times so families can spend more time together.

Let me talk about why these things are important in the context of returning to balanced budgets.

Prior to the global recession, our Conservative government paid down $37 billion in debt, bringing Canada's debt-to-GDP ratio to its lowest level in nearly 30 years. This placed Canada in a strong fiscal position to weather the global recession. When the recession hit, we made a deliberate decision to run temporary deficits by generating economic stimulus through our infrastructure program.

We also decided to leave money in taxpayers' pockets. We lowered taxes, despite opposition howls to maintain them and even raise them. This gave Canadians more money to spend and kept the economy going. Conservatives know we cannot tax our way out of a recession. We have cut taxes over 150 times, reducing the overall tax burden to its lowest level in 50 years. We have cut federal taxes in every way governments collect them. We have cut personal taxes, consumption taxes, business taxes, excise taxes, duties, and many more. Our record of strong tax relief saves a typical family of four in Canada $3,400 a year. It is unbelievable.

In addition to lowering taxes for Canadian families, we have lowered taxes for seniors and low-income Canadians. By increasing the amount Canadians can earn without paying taxes, by increasing the age credit and the pension income credit, we have removed over one million low-income Canadians from the tax rolls altogether.

Part of our plan to balance the budget is to control federal government costs, including public sector compensation and departmental expense. We need to ensure compensation and benefits are fair and in line with those of other public and private sector employees.

I should mention that unlike the previous Liberal government, our deficit reduction plan does not include cutting transfers to the provinces.

There are many benefits of a strong fiscal position. I do not need to convince you, Mr. Speaker, as I know you understand the importance of having lower borrowing costs. We are the only G7 country to have a AAA credit rating from Moody's, Fitch, and Standard & Poor's. All the measures in economic action plan 2014 lead to a higher standard of living, and we avoid burdening our children and grandchildren with our debts.

The future is bright for Canada, and I strongly suggest that all members of the House support this budget.

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the parliamentary secretary for his comments. He certainly gave a great resumé of the Conservative government's perception of how things are going. However, it is interesting that with all the tax cuts he mentioned, he left out one of the dilemmas the government has, which is the astronomical household debt.

We put forward some very practical solutions to help everyday Canadians. In fact, some of them were adopted in the Speech from the Throne, but they somehow disappeared by the time they got to the budget. I would like to know what happened there.

The other issue is that the loans for apprentices are not going to help our youth. My friend from Winnipeg Centre, who has gone through the trades, will tell us it is just more debt burden, which goes back to my original point on household debt. It is not going to help. We need to do more to help people get into apprenticeships and then get into jobs.

Finally, if the Conservative government is serious about going forward, it has to be coherent. I would like to know what the member's opinion is on income splitting. Is he with his Minister of Finance on this or with his Prime Minister? Where does he stand?

[Bernard Trottier, Conservative, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

Mr. Speaker, those are three questions rolled into one. I will try and answer them as briefly as I can so that other members will have the opportunity to ask questions also.

The member's first question had to do with household debt. If we do some analysis, we will realize that not only is Canadians' household debt increasing, but Canadians' net worth is also increasing. What is happening is that people are borrowing against their net worth.

In and of itself, household debt is not a problem. We have to get down into the layers and look at what kinds of people are borrowing, and borrowing inappropriately. That is why we have put in some measures with respect to credit cards. We have also put in other measures with respect to borrowing.

Ultimately, this is a vote a confidence. People, especially young people who buy homes and have a mortgage as part of their debt, are borrowing because they have confidence in the Canadian economy and know that they can buy those homes and meet those mortgage payments. I think my friend in the opposition is building a solution for a problem that does not quite exist in the way he thinks.

The second question, if I recall, has to do with training. I know we need to leave some time for other members, but I will just say that our job plan, the Canada job grant, is really important. There are a lot of jobs out there, thousands of them, that are unfilled. This is where the job grant comes in. I have had many discussions with our minister of human resources, and we are committed to getting people into those jobs that they need.

[Ted Hsu, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague from the Conservative Party mentioned the venture capital action plan, which was announced in last year's budget. I was looking at the description of the funds that the Conservatives would be investing in. I read the words “invest primarily in Canada-focused...funds”. That is not investing exclusively in getting Canadian discoveries commercialized.

I wonder if the member is concerned about that, and if he might be able to quantify the government's thinking in terms of what qualifies as sufficient Canadian content for these venture capital funds that we are investing taxpayers' money in.

[Bernard Trottier, Conservative, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is the 21st century. Capital, ideas, and intellectual property do travel around the world, so to try to narrow it down to the number of investors, number of ideas and who participated on teams that create these ideas is really beside the point. There are Canadian-based institutions that do this research and development, and they are the ones we are trying to promote.

I thank the member for his comments about commercialization, because that is an important piece. We have made a lot of investments in commercialization to make sure that these kinds of ideas actually have real markets. That is the next hurdle that many of these companies need to go through: making sure that these products fit needs in markets out there around the world.

While I am on my feet, I will make one comment about income splitting, because my friend brought it up. It just goes to show how little there is for opposition members to criticize in this budget when they do not want to talk about this budget but the 2015 budget. I will give my friend some time in 2015. In the meantime, I am very proud of this budget.

Also, I should mention the income splitting measures that we put in for seniors. They have helped a lot of people who grew up in a generation when the single-income family was the norm.

[James Bezan, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise today to talk about our new economic action plan 2014, “The Road to Balance: Creating Jobs and Opportunities”. I have been thumbing through it, and I am excited about all the good things in this budget and that we are on our way to a balanced budget. I am excited that we will be able to start paying down debt and making more investments into our economy and for Canadian families. There are so many great things in here. I am going to briefly go through a few of them, and then I am going to talk about the things that are important to my riding of Selkirk—Interlake.

We will launch the Canada job grant effective April 1, 2014. We will partner with most provinces and move ahead in matching jobs with people who need jobs. We will have the investment and partnership from the business community. The job-matching service is something we would do to help match jobs with Canadians who are looking for work.

We are going to create the Canada apprenticeship loan and run it the same way that we run the Canada student loans program. It would finally allow youth who want to participate in the red seal trades with an opportunity to get student loans while they are taking their apprenticeships. We would increase the number of unpaid internships for young Canadians, with $55 million.

We would cut more red tape for small business. I know of small businesses up and down the main streets in my communities and the owners have to do so much paperwork. The more we can do to reduce that load, the better. We have been working at this for the last several years, and the more we can do, the better off our businesses are going to be.

We are going to continue to have more research in technology and innovation and development, with $1.5 billion over the next decade to allow our universities and colleges to establish the Canada first research excellence fund. These are great things.

There were some things that I was hoping to see in this budget that I am very pleased to see are here. They are important to Manitoba and to Selkirk—Interlake.

One of the things we announced was a $200-million natural disasters mitigation program. This would help communities prepare for natural disasters. Selkirk—Interlake has had a number of overland floods because of either ice jams on the Red River, or flooding over Lake Manitoba because of the diversion along the Assiniboine River and Lake Winnipeg. Whenever we have had weather bombs come through and raise the lake levels, or there is excessive moisture because of heavy snow melts as well as wet springs, we have had a lot of damage.

Where we have been able to put in flood mitigations like the Red River Floodway, “Duff's Ditch”, as we call it in Manitoba, they have saved billions and billions of dollars from flooding in the city of Winnipeg. If we can continue to make those types of investments in dikes and diversions and floodways, it would provide more opportunities to protect more communities, more property, and more Manitobans.

However, it is not just in Manitoba; this is available across the country. I know that in Quebec we have had flooding. We have seen some disasters this past spring in Calgary and High River, and other places in southern Alberta. This is the type of investment from our federal government that would ensure we could mitigate those types of disasters and provide the infrastructure that would have ongoing benefits to communities. It would not cost the treasury billions of dollars time and again with the devastation like we saw in Calgary this year.

I am excited to see the new horizons program get another $5 million in addition to what it already gets. I know that the new horizons centres in my riding, as well as other seniors centres, have benefited from this program. Whether it is from accessibility grants, mentoring programs, or investing in their facility, it provides a place for seniors to gather, share, and have fun, and to pass on their knowledge to the next generation. I know they appreciate it whenever they get money to keep improving their facilities.

In 2005, one of the bills I introduced when I was in opposition was called Jonathan's Bill. That became law a couple of years ago, through the hard work of my friend and colleague from Leeds—Grenville. We were able to establish a program that provides EI sick benefits to parents and families who are caring for terminally ill or critically ill or injured children. I am happy to report that program will be enhanced by $2.4 million over the next two years. It would continue after that with funding of $1.2 million in excess of the EI benefit there now, to allow families to stay at home and care for their children. There is nothing worse for children than to have to depend on the care of someone who is not their mother, father, or grandparent, and to be sitting with strangers, maybe in a hospital.

It is better for their recovery and for their well-being if they can have time to sit at home and be cared for by a family member. Especially if they are undergoing treatment or surgery, it is going to be important that children are with loved ones and that their families get the support they need to help them recover.

In my riding, I often hear how difficult it is to be wired in on the Internet. In rural Manitoba, as in lots of places across rural Canada, Internet access is difficult. It is either dial-up or really poor wireless service. The $305-million broadband program that was announced would speed, extend, and enhance the broadband high-speed Internet network across Canada to over 280,000 Canadian households. That would be a welcome addition for so many homeowners and businesses throughout Selkirk—Interlake.

We would invest another $40 million to improve small craft harbours. I know that many people do not realize that in Manitoba we have an inland sea. In the riding of Selkirk—Interlake, we have over 1,000 commercial fishers. Those commercial fishers on Lake Winnipeg and Lake Manitoba depend on having safe harbours. It is important that they have the ability to access funding to improve those harbours to keep them safe and to deal with some of the weather damage they have experienced over the last few years. I can assure everyone that they are thankful.

As a farmer in an area that represents a large farming and ranching area, I am glad to see one thing I have been asking to have for some time, which is an extension of the tax deferral program for livestock producers when they undergo drought or overland flooding. Right now cattle, goats, sheep, bison, and hogs are the only livestock that qualify for tax deferral. If farmers are in a situation where they have no feed, no pasture, and no opportunity to grow a crop to feed those animals because of flooding or drought, one option many farmers and ranchers entertain is to actually sell the livestock and re-buy stock when weather conditions improve. We have always offered farmers a tax deferral of up to 12 months if they have had to liquidate their herds. Rather than having to pay it off as income tax, they have that cash on hand so they can purchase replacement livestock.

I am glad to report that in the budget we would extend that program to include bees and horses, because in our area, we have a lot of PMU operations and horse breeders. Those are commercial farm operations.

When we talk about bees, we are not just talking about honeybees. We are also talking about leafcutter bees, which pollinate a lot of our crops, especially clover, alfalfa, and some of the other legumes that are so important to the overall production of western Canadian crops.

One thing my friend from Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette has been working on is having the recreational fisheries conservation partnership program. We ran it for the last two years as a pilot. It went over so well that it would be extended another two years and would be increased to $15 million. I see my friend from Wetaskiwin is here, who has also been a very big player in having this program. It enhances not only the commercial fishery but the recreational fishery for the sports fishers who go out there and angle and go after trophy walleye and catfish in the Red River in Manitoba and northern pike, which we call jackfish.

There are so many opportunities for working in partnership with local fish and wildlife organizations in our small communities to develop better fisheries, to enhance the habitat, and to protect and conserve those important natural areas. I am very excited to see that.

One thing that has been very positive, as well, in my area is the trails program, whether it is for snowmobiles or hiking. This $10 million for the National Trails Coalition would improve accessibility for people who love the outdoors and want to get out and see our natural spaces. It is one area that has great benefit for the riding of Selkirk—Interlake, not only for the snowmobilers and off-roaders but for people who like to go out on bikes or to hike and just enjoy the beautiful area of Selkirk—Interlake.

With that I am more than happy to take some questions from my colleagues. I encourage everyone in the House to support this great budget and get back to having a balanced budget and paying down our national debt again.

[Carol Hughes, NDP, Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON]

Mr. Speaker, to listen to the member, one would think that the Conservatives are friends of fishermen and wildlife. However, this is a government that just removed a subsidy to the ACR line, and a lot of the lodges up there are extremely concerned about whether they are actually going to have a season this year. Even the people who usually go there are up in arms about whether they are going to have a vacation this year. A loss of jobs would actually occur.

If the government is so serious about tourism, fishermen, and jobs, why is it cutting a $2.2 million subsidy to CN, which will see passenger rail discontinued on the ACR line? Why is the government pushing for further losses of jobs?

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake, MB]

Mr. Speaker, just last week I was at a gathering of hunters and fishers at the Brokenhead River Game and Fish Association's annual meeting and banquet. The reception I received there was overwhelming. People are so happy that we got rid of the wasteful long gun registry. They are able to go out there and enjoy the outdoors and hunt and not feel like they are being watched by Big Brother every step they take. Their property is being respected.

They really appreciate the money being put into recreational fishing. They stand with us, knowing that this is the only party, on this side of the House, that is promoting their way of life and is making sure that they get to enjoy the great outdoors without being regulated out of business by the opposition or the previous Liberal government.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, there has been a great emphasis on the impact of consecutive budgets of the government on the middle class in Canada.

One of our biggest concerns is accumulating consumer debt. Consumers in Canada have record amounts of consumer debt, debt that we should all be concerned about.

How does the budget the government is proposing help directly deal with what is one of the biggest issues for Canadians today, namely record high consumer debt? That is over and above mortgage debt. We are just talking about average consumer debt of almost $30,000.

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I can tell my friend from Winnipeg North that I actually took out my first farm mortgage back in 1984, at the tender age of 19. It was under a Liberal government.

Do members remember what interest rates were back in the early 1980s because of the way the Liberals managed the economy and managed consumer debt? Interest rates were up to the 20% level. I paid over 21% on that first mortgage for the first five years, and it was almost impossible to make those payments.

Canadians may have been spending a little more actively during the economic recovery because we have been able to keep interest rates so low. That is good for our businesses. That is, overall, good for the economy. It has been good for how the country has moved forward.

The IMF, the World Bank, and all the major credit rating agencies continue to rate this country as one of the safest places to invest. Just recently we were again called one of the top countries in the world to do business.

We like to brag about how great it is to live in this country, not just because of its economy but because of the high standard of living we enjoy under this Conservative government.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, my question to the hon. member relates to what he talked about in terms of the action that will allow farmers to extend a tax deferral due to the forced sale of livestock.

I thought the language used here was unusual. This had to do with having to dispose of breeding stock “...due to drought or excess moisture conditions”. It is on page 149. By that I think it means floods.

This budget, throughout, has many measures dealing with increased levels of natural disasters. There is a whole section on residential floods and having to deal with the insurance industry to try to get better protection.

There is an acknowledgement through this document, including at page 149 on help for farmers who have increased droughts and increased floods. Yet the document, despite spending money addressing the costs hitting Canadians and hitting our economy due to climate change, refuses to acknowledge that the climate crisis must be addressed.

I wonder if the parliamentary secretary has any comments on that.

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake, MB]

Mr. Speaker, definitely things are difficult, as always in western agriculture. My grandparents lived through the dirty thirties, trying to farm. We adapt and we change.

Talking about excess moisture, sometimes excess moisture is not just overland flooding. Sometimes it is just heavy rainfalls at the wrong time, and crops do not mature properly. In the case of bees, they cannot get to the flowers and pollinate because of all the moisture, or the alfalfa field will just not even go into bloom.

Excess moisture covers flooding, yes. It also covers excess rainfall, and other conditions will occur from time to time, which seems to be more of a norm.

Growing up, we always dealt with extremes. As a former farmer-rancher still living on the farm today, I can tell the House that we have to deal with the climate. As farmers, we understand and appreciate that, and we really appreciate it when the government steps forward and helps us to deal with those difficulties.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Barry Devolin]

It being 5:15 p.m., it is my duty to interrupt the proceedings and put forthwith every question necessary to dispose of the subamendment now before the House.

The question is on the subamendment. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the subamendment?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

No.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Barry Devolin]

All those in favour of the subamendment will please say yea.

[Some hon. members]

Yea.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Barry Devolin]

All those opposed will please say nay.

[Some hon. members]

Nay.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Barry Devolin]

In my opinion the nays have it.

And five or more members having risen:

Pursuant to an order made on Wednesday, February 12, 2014, the division stands deferred until Monday, February 24, 2014, at the ordinary hour of daily adjournment.

I believe the hon. parliamentary secretary is rising on a point of order.

[Deepak Obhrai, Conservative, Calgary East, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I ask that you seek unanimous consent to see the clock at 5:30 p.m.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Barry Devolin]

Does the parliamentary secretary have unanimous consent to see the clock at 5:30 p.m.?