Debates of Feb. 14th, 2014

Committees of the House

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Minister of State (Democratic Reform)]

Mr. Speaker, the New Democrats do not want to study the fair elections act. They said they would oppose the bill even before reading it.

We are trying to improve our electoral system by dealing with misleading calls and fraudulent voting and by protecting Canadians and the power all individuals have to control their democracy.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of State for Democratic Reform called cross-country hearings on the fair elections act a “costly circus”, and his colleague called them a “gong show”. Yet the Conservatives are happy to propose spending $600,000 on other committee travel.

Could the Minister of State for Democratic Reform tell us why some committee travel is acceptable to him, but travelling across the country to talk about democratic reform is not worth the effort?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Minister of State (Democratic Reform)]

Mr. Speaker, the fair elections act would keep everyday Canadians in charge of democracy by putting special interest groups on the sidelines and rule breakers out of the game altogether. It would crack down on loopholes to big money. It would stop rogue calls from political imposters. And it would give law enforcement, as the watchdog, sharper teeth, a longer reach, and a freer hand.

Taxation

[John McKay, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood, ON]

Mr. Speaker, a promise is a promise, except when it is not. Among the many dubious promises made by the Conservatives during the last election was income splitting. Now the promise is “complicated”. Now the promise is that it “needs a long, hard analytical look”, and “I'm not sure that overall it benefits our society”. That was then and now is now.

It is Valentine's Day. Will the Conservatives be faithful to the promises they made to their electorate?

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

Mr. Speaker, I wish my hon. colleague a happy Valentine's Day as well.

Once the budget is balanced, our government is committed to greater tax relief for all Canadian families. Only Conservatives can be trusted to lower taxes for families. We introduced pension income splitting for seniors, which the Liberals voted against. As a result of our low-tax plan, the average Canadian family pays nearly $3,400 less in 2014.

[John McKay, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am just not feeling the love.

Surely the Conservatives knew before making such rash promises that the issue of income splitting was “complicated”, “very costly”, “highly concentrated” and “targeted tax relief”, and that it would chew up any surplus in a heartbeat.

So are the Conservatives going to show their love for their base, and honour their commitment before the next election doth them part?

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

Mr. Speaker, once the budget is balanced, we will look at all ways of reducing the tax burden on Canadian families. In fact, since taking office in 2006, we have reduced over 160 different taxes, resulting in savings for the average Canadian family of $3,400 in 2014. We are the only party reducing taxes on Canadian families. The Liberals and the NDP would both raise taxes to pay for their reckless spending schemes.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Mr. Speaker, our system of government requires cabinet to speak with one voice. However, we are currently seeing a worrisome trend.

The Minister of Finance says that the government should not keep its promise on income splitting. However, the Minister of Employment and Social Development says that the Minister of Finance is wrong. On top of that, the Prime Minister does not seem to want to deal with the issue.

Now that Canadians' confidence in this government is very low, can the government tell us who is right, the Minister of Finance or the Minister of Employment and Social Development?

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

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about economic action plan 2014 and why the Liberals and the New Democrats are opposing a budget that is receiving such strong praise from all across this country.

Here is a small list of those that have praised economic action plan 2014: Imagine Canada, Special Olympics Canada, Association of Canadian Community Colleges, Canadian Alliance of Student Associations, Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, Polytechnics Canada, The Royal Canadian Legion, Canadian Cancer Society, Conseil du patronat du Québec, Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Canadian Federation of Independent Business, Canadian Team Sports Coalition, Canadian Arts Coalition, Earth Rangers, Nature Conservancy of Canada—

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

Order, please. The hon. member for Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques.

[Guy Caron, NDP, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am confused about the third party's question. About two months ago, the Liberal leader said he was in favour of income splitting. A few days ago, he again said that the idea had merit. I am a bit confused, but I have to ask the government to answer my question. This question also has to do with income splitting.

On Wednesday, the Minister of Finance said that he was not sure about the merits of their policy. A few hours later, the Minister of Employment and Social Development said that his government was determined to keep its election promise. Yesterday, the Prime Minister said that, once the budget was balanced, they would perhaps think about implementing this policy. All of a sudden, we found out on Twitter that assistance to parents would replace income splitting.

What is the story today?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, once the budget is balanced we will look at all ways of reducing taxes on Canadian families.

Let us talk about budget 2014. The NDP and the Liberals do not seem to believe me when I tell them that our government is getting praise from all across this great country on economic action plan 2014.

Let us hear directly from the stakeholders. The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada stated, “This is a pivotal moment for research excellence and innovation in Canada”. The Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association stated, “This announcement demonstrates the government's continued recognition of the importance of the auto sector to Canada's economy….”.

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Mr. Speaker, he could not answer the question because there is total confusion over there.

On Wednesday, the Minister of Finance said:

I think income splitting needs a long, hard, analytical look…. Because I'm not sure that overall it benefits our society.

Oops, massive damage control at PMO central.

The Conservatives even benched the Minister of Finance during question period while the Prime Minister defended his promise on income splitting. Fast forward to yesterday and there are now reports that the Prime Minister may be dropping his election commitment.

Who speaks for the government and do the Conservatives speak to each other any more?

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

Mr. Speaker, once the budget is balanced, we will look at all ways of reducing the tax burden on Canadian families.

It was our government who brought in pension-income splitting for seniors, which the opposition voted against.

Let us talk about economic action plan 2014. We are getting praise from all across this great country. The Alzheimer Society of Canada stated:

On behalf of the 747,000 Canadians living with dementia, we are grateful to the federal government for providing the resources needed to carry out important research to better understand how to tackle various forms of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease.

Democratic Reform

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, when speaking before a committee, the Minister of State for Democratic Reform tried to prove that his bill would increase voter turnout among young people.

He said that, even though his bill will prevent young people from using a voter card as identification when they go to vote. This form of identification was used by 62% of students.

How will he increase youth voter turnout by eliminating this form of identification?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Minister of State (Democratic Reform)]

Mr. Speaker, for decades students have not had any difficulty voting without this voter card.

Furthermore, student cards are one of 39 acceptable forms of identification that students can use when they vote.

Finally, the fair elections act will force Elections Canada to use its advertising to inform students of the required means of identification.

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

Mr. Speaker, the minister keeps repeating that there are 39 other forms of identification, but the reality is that he is creating obstacles for young voters.

The minister mentioned driver licences, but 25% of Torontonians do not have one. He mentioned student cards, but many of those do not indicate the student's address.

Does the minister realize that by stopping the use of the voter card he is going to further reduce the participation rate of young voters?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Minister of State (Democratic Reform)]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, based on the list used to generate voter information cards, the information for one out of six people is incorrect. One-sixth of the voter cards contain errors and that results in electoral fraud, as we have already seen.

There was even a Quebec television program that reported that two people voted twice because they each received two voter cards. This type of fraud is not acceptable, and we are going to eliminate it with the fair elections act.

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the House leader's parliamentary secretary told reporters he opposes hearings on the unfair elections act. He is worried that by letting Canadians have their say, it would rally public opinion against his bill. I agree. The more Canadians learn of this bill, the less they like it.

Elections belong to the people, not the Conservatives. Why will they not let Canadians have their say on how our elections are run?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Minister of State (Democratic Reform)]

Mr. Speaker, we have, and with the hearings that will be held before the committee, we will have some more.

[Tarik Brahmi, NDP, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, let us come back to the Senate for a bit.

Yesterday, we learned that some senators are refusing to co-operate with the Auditor General's review of their expenses. A number of them were appointed by the Prime Minister. It is therefore not surprising that those senators are upholding the Conservative tradition of hiding everything from Canadians.

Since the Prime Minister cannot compel these senators to co-operate, can he commit to enhancing the powers of the Auditor General?

[Paul Calandra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, as you know, the Auditor General is currently undertaking a review of Senate expenses. Of course, we expect all senators to comply with that review. It is not just us but Canadian taxpayers who are demanding that.

At the same time, we are hearing from Canadians that they would actually like to see the New Democrats do what this party has done, and that is post their expenses online so that Canadians can actually take a look at that. This party has, its members of Parliament and senators. The NDP is refusing to do that for Canadians, and now the Liberal senators are also refusing to do that.

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

Mr. Speaker, the fraud and breach of trust charges laid against the senators are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the abuse of taxpayers by the unelected Senate. We now find that unelected and unaccountable senators are stonewalling the Auditor General's investigation of how the Senate abuses taxpayers' money. This is unconscionable.

What steps will the government take to protect taxpayers and ensure there will actually be penalties for senators who are not willing to be compliant with the work of the Auditor General?

[Paul Calandra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, in front of me I have the expenses of Conservative members of Parliament and senators who have actually posted their expenses online. I looked through the Internet to try to find the expenses of the NDP caucus, but then I was reminded of the fact that New Democrats are refusing to tell Canadians what their expenses are; do as I say, not as I do. NDP members refuse to tell Canadians what their expenses are.

We expect all senators to work with the Auditor General because Canadians are demanding accountability of the Senate. That is what they are getting from this side of the House and we will make sure that they continue to get that.

Ethics

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

Mr. Speaker, it is Valentine's Day. I would like to think that the Conservatives would give a bit of love to Canadian taxpayers instead of giving “huggy hugs” to the crooks over in the Senate. That is what has been going on with this party.

Yesterday, we find out that a Liberal crony at the Federal Bridge Corporation had $1.5 million moved to a Swiss bank account while he was managing a large federal account for the Jacques Cartier Bridge with SNC-Lavalin. This is a company that has been under numerous investigations. Let us just look at the Prime Minister's personal friend Arthur Porter now hanging out in a Panama jail.

Will the government open an inquiry into this contract to ensure that no taxpayers' money was illegally sent into the pockets of Liberal cronies?