Debates of Feb. 25th, 2014

Financial Statement of Minister of Finance

[Alice Wong, Conservative, Minister of State (Seniors)]

Mr. Speaker, I understand that the budget is great for seniors and also for those people with disabilities. For example, we have already increased accessibility funding by renewing it for another $15 million annually.

I attended two events last week. It was a breakthrough that we put $16,000 through for a low-income society in Downtown Eastside to help those with disabilities, and another $41,000 to the University Women's Club of Vancouver to help them with accessibility.

At the same time, we have the lowest poverty rate for seniors, thanks to our GIS, which has seen the largest increase in over a quarter of a century.

There are other good things that are happening. Can I ask the parliamentary secretary to highlight some of the things we will do for seniors?

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is clear that this government has tremendous respect for our seniors and for the meaningful contributions they have made to Canada.

The minister is absolutely right. This budget contains many very important initiatives to support our seniors. I will list just a few of them. This budget will enhance, by $5 million a year, the new horizons program for seniors. It will expand the targeted initiatives for older workers by investing $75 million to help unemployed older workers put their talents and experience to work. The budget also launches the Canadian employers for caregivers action plan. This would work with employers so that caregivers can maximize their participation in the workforce while being able to provide care for their loved ones.

It is clear this budget supports our seniors, and I thank the minister for the question.

[Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support economic action plan 2014, which is a focused and admirable budget. Economic action plan 2014, a road to balance, is focused on Canada's future. With 2015 in our sights, the Minister of Finance has crafted a budget to deliver job creation, economic growth, and low taxes, leading to a balanced budget in 2015.

The last five years have certainly not been easy on Canadians. The global economic recession has drastically affected the Canadian economy. Our government worked hard to fight the worst global economic turmoil in almost 80 years by delivering a stimulus package which created Canadian jobs, built infrastructure, and kept us internationally competitive. This government has succeeded spectacularly.

I am proud to say that Canada is now one of only a handful of countries in the world that continues to receive a triple-A credit rating with a stable outlook, from all rating agencies. Canada has the best job creation record of all G7 countries, with over one million net new jobs created since 2009. The OECD has forecast that Canada will outpace the rest of the G7 in growth over the next 50 years.

Our financial sector is flourishing. The head of the International Monetary Fund noted that Canada is “a country with one of the strongest financial sectors in the world [...] Canada can teach the rest of the world about how to build a stronger, safer financial system”.

Our Prime Minister gets it. Our finance minister also gets it and has delivered a strong, stable, and fiscally responsible budget for all Canadians.

I will highlight several aspects of the budget that would affect Ontario, and in particular my constituents in Kitchener Centre. These are strong reasons to support the budget.

The government continues to support innovation in Canada, year after year, and budget 2014 is no exception. Since 2006, the government has delivered almost $11 billion in new resources to support scientific research. In 2013 alone, the government's support for innovation exceeded $3 billion for research and post-secondary education.

Economic action plan 2014 would create a Canada first research excellence fund, with $1.5 billion in funding over the next decade. This would help Canadian post-secondary institutions excel globally in research, which provides long-term economic benefits.

Our post-secondary institutions in Waterloo region will continue to excel as leaders in innovation and research. Canadians have long been leaders in quantum research. The University of Waterloo's quantum research department will receive $15 million in funding over three years, beginning in 2014.

Most exciting is that the budget seizes the opportunities of the open data world. Over three years, $3 million will be provided to the Canadian Digital Media Network for the creation of the open data institute, through FedDev Ontario. With advancing technology, it is possible to sort and filter data to identify opportunities for new products and services. This initiative would be spearheaded by the network, but it will be a collaborative effort with partners, which include Waterloo region's own Desire2Learn, OpenText Corporation, Communitech, and the University of Waterloo.

My constituents are concerned about finding jobs. They also want to make sure they find the right jobs for their skills. That is why the budget would create the Canada apprentice loan, which would deliver access to over $100 million in interest-free loans each year to apprentices in red seal trades.

The government will also launch a job matching service, which will automatically match Canadians looking for work with employers who are looking to hire them. This enhanced job matching service will provide job seekers with modern tools to find jobs that match their skills and provide employers with better tools to look for qualified Canadians. The budget starts with $11 million over two years for this, and adds an ongoing $3.3 million per year to launch this enhanced service.

I am proud of the efforts of women in my community: the entrepreneurs, the executives, and the professionals. Budget 2014 is going to deliver $150,000 across the country to increase mentoring among women entrepreneurs.

Kitchener has its fair share of dynamic young women entrepreneurs in companies such as Pebble, Thalmic Labs, Charity Republic, and MappedIn, but despite these success stories, women are significantly underrepresented as a proportion of small business owners. This budget meets that challenge.

I meet too many talented young individuals graduating from university who are not able to find good employment quickly, so budget 2014 is going to reallocate $15 million annually toward up to 1,000 internships for recent post-secondary graduates in small and medium-sized enterprises through the youth employment strategy.

I want to mention The Working Centre in downtown Kitchener, which I am very proud of. It helps many people find work. Earlier this year, I attended an older workers forum there and spoke with people whose skills need to be updated so they can find employment in a changing workplace. The targeted initiative for older workers, which is run out of The Working Centre as well as other Kitchener institutions, such as Lutherwood and Conestoga College, helps older workers update their skills. Budget 2014, I am very pleased to say, renews the TIOW program for another three-year period, representing a federal investment of $75 million. It is very good news for my community.

As the longest-serving member of the parliamentary Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development, I am proud of this government's investments in Canada's natural heritage. I am happy to say that economic action plan 2014 allocates another $391 million over five years to Parks Canada for improvements to bridges and dams in our national parks and along our historic canals.

My constituents enjoy recreational fishing. With the Grand River winding majestically through the city and the wonderful Great Lakes within driving distance, we all benefit from healthy natural waterways. This budget is going to double the annual funding to the recreational fisheries conservation partnership program. It will provide an additional $15 million over the next two years. This is great news for the Grand River Conservation Authority and great news for those who enjoy fishing.

Finally, we need to talk about families. For an ordinary family of four, the tax burden, since 2006, has been cut by close to $3,400 each year. This gives individuals and families greater flexibility to make the choices that are right for them.

Further help for families is going to come in this budget through the investment of $44.9 million over five years to expand the focus of the national anti-drug strategy. Also, the budget is going to deliver an increase in the maximum amount of the adoption expense credit by allowing $15,000 for further tax relief in recognition of the costs unique to adopting a child. The budget will also permit Canadians leaving a defined benefit registered pension plan to receive a payout equal to the lump sum value of their pension benefits, and there are other beneficial changes.

Canadians need to know that this country is succeeding economically. The OECD thinks so. Fortune 500 companies think so. Our friends in the G7 think so. The world's lenders think so. In fact, the only people who do not want to admit that Canada is doing well are the members opposite, who would prefer to see the government spending more of Canadians' hard-earned money. However, the government is not going to do that today.

I stand proud of the Government of Canada and its plan. I stand proud of economic action plan 2014 and our current path to balancing the budget. I urge all members of the House to put aside their partisan interests and to support the best interests of all Canadians. Support this budget.

[Raymond Côté, NDP, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his lyrical speech. However, I am going to have to bring him back down to earth. At some point, we have to face reality. It is rather appalling to listen to announcements about correcting mistakes made by this government with its indiscriminate cuts.

Let us talk about real matters. I had the privilege of being a member of the Standing Committee on Finance for one year. The Parliamentary Budget Officer confirmed that the government's measures in recent years had very little to do with the one million jobs created. We should also not overlook the fact that the massive tax cuts for big business have artificially created the largest debt ever incurred by a Canadian federal government and that this was a real waste of money. Billions of dollars were truly wasted. The finance minister clearly showed that every dollar of tax cuts did not generate even 40¢ in potential spinoffs. That money was not very well spent.

A few years ago, the Minister of Finance supported our proposal to regulate bank fees. Unfortunately, that measure did not materialize. He went with a voluntary code.

I am asking my colleague how he can continue boasting when we have black and white proof that this government has made mistakes for years and is not solving the real problems that are very costly for Canadian taxpayers.

[Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the reality is that our colleagues on the opposite side paint a very bleak, kind of walking dead picture of Canada and its economic prospects. It really is a kind of dark fantasy world that is necessary for us to dispel so that Canadians at home know that actually, the government is doing fantastic work, and the country is really quite healthy.

I would like to just add a drop of truth, which, like a drop of detergent, will dispel the oily slick the opposition tries to put out to Canadians. I will provide a couple of interesting comments about the budget for my colleague's consideration.

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce has said, “The government has acted.... The result will be a stronger economy and more jobs”.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business said, “Small business owners know that today's deficits are tomorrow's taxes, so they are pleased [with] the government's commitment to a balanced budget in 2015”.

Let me close with one more, in particular. Engineers Without Borders said:

EWB welcomes the government's decision to protect vital foreign aid spending in Budget 2014....

...we are proud that Prime Minister Stephen Harper chose to maintain current levels of foreign aid spending.

Canada's recent commitment—

[The Deputy Speaker, NDP, Joe Comartin]

Order. The member has been in the House long enough to know that he cannot use the personal name, whether it is of the Prime Minister or any other member of the House.

Questions and comments. The hon. member for Kingston and the Islands.

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

Mr. Speaker, first, as this is a chamber of debate, I would like to respond to a request made by the last two speakers from the Conservative Party, who asked opposition members to vote for the budget. The reason the Liberals are not voting for the budget is that we know that we could produce a much better budget, and we would be betraying what we believe in if we did that.

My question is about the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope. The member from the Kitchener-Waterloo area may know about this telescope. It is a telescope Canadians have worked on for many years. It is a world-class instrument. Canada has put millions of dollars into the telescope. It needs roughly only $700,000 a year to continue its operation until about 2019, when a new telescope will take over.

Given that the government has announced the Canada first research excellence fund, which, by the way, this telescope is not eligible for, would my hon. colleague from the Kitchener area join me in asking the government to find a way to fund Canadian astronomers using this telescope for the next few years?

[Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, that probably only gives me time to comment on my colleague's remark that the Liberals would present a better budget. As I understand it, the Liberal leader's idea of a better budget is simply to say that it will balance itself. This is a re-emergence of voodoo economics in the 21st century in Canada. I think my friend should be blushing to hear his leader say that.

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, York West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad to have an opportunity to add my comments on this pretty dismal budget we see here in the House of Commons. Regardless of who stands and tries to say how wonderful it is, on the opposition side we know that this is not the way it is.

I will be sharing my time with the great member of Parliament for Lac-Saint-Louis who has delved into the budget in depth and will have some additional comments to make.

As I said, I am pleased to be on my feet today to address this year's so-called budget, particularly because it is my hope that Canada will soon set aside the years of Conservative fiscal mismanagement in favour of something better.

The day before the budget was released, the Liberal caucus released what we hoped the budget would contain. We said things like, “the federal budget must focus on generating the kind of economic growth that will finally help struggling middle class families”. I am sad to report that, clearly, it failed on all counts.

The reality is that our economic growth rate has not been this poor since the days of R. B. Bennett. The government should have used the budget to invest in infrastructure, education, and other areas that would help get Canada on track.

This is history. We can go back in the books. It is not something we are inventing when we say that we have not had such slow economic growth since R. B. Bennett. Members can look at the books and see clearly that what we are saying is 100% accurate.

Instead, this budget provides little more than smoke and mirrors, typical of previous budgets. It provides even less for the average middle-class household in this country.

Budget 2014 speaks directly to the government's priorities. There is nothing for seniors, nothing for students, and nothing to address the fact that the only thing keeping pace with GDP growth over the past years is household debt. There is nothing to help veterans make ends meet and nothing to deal with the fact that the Canadian middle class has not had a decent raise in over 30 years.

Indeed, government priorities come shining through, not the needs of real Canadians. Government priorities are not in touch with the priorities of most Canadian families.

That is enough generalities. Let us take a look at the budget in a more specific way. The government would have us believe that it has set aside money to help veterans, but in reality, veterans have been left out in the cold. The $6 million for veterans' funerals and $2 million to improve the Veterans Affairs website will not help veterans who are struggling with PTSD, with physical injuries, or with resettlement issues.

It is not just veterans who have been left out of the Conservative brand of so-called economic prosperity. Rural Canadians have been ignored as well. Budget 2014 allocates what amounts to about $6.75 per rural individual man, woman, or child for rural broadband. That is right. After slashing the Liberal program to connect every rural and remote community in Canada to the Internet, the Conservatives are hoping that a paltry $6.75 will now be sufficient.

Just to be clear, we are glad to see that the government has finally put some money into connecting rural and remote Canada to the Internet. However, we were disappointed that it slashed these very good Liberal programs, so it stands to reason that we are happy to see the Conservatives reverse their own reckless and shortsighted cuts. They have now seen the error of their ways and after four years are putting the money back into the budget. Imagine how much further ahead rural Canada would be if they had left it in there originally.

This budget is another example of financial planning on the fly, typical of the government. Phony ad campaigns and one-off cash injections did not bring prosperity when the minister was selling Ontario down the river in the 1990s, and it is not going to work here.

In 2012, the government made ill-advised changes to environmental regulations and immigration laws. Then in 2013, it reversed those changes. Am I shocked that the 2014 budget made more reversals? No, that is just how the Conservatives roll. They take one step forward, see the error of their ways, then take two steps backwards to reinstate programs that were already there under the Liberals but will now have the Conservative banner on them.

Worst of all, let us keep in mind that this is all just in time for an election. It is interesting timing.

This begs the question: Is the government minding the best interests of Canadians or the best interests of the Conservative Party? I would ask all Canadians to ask themselves those questions. They can come to a conclusion that I believe would show a significant change after the next election.

That is up to Canadians to decide. It is not up to me or other members. Canadians will have a chance to make that choice.

Of course, seniors are happy that they have been left out of the budget, because recent history tells us that when they are included in a Conservative budget, it usually means pain. There is the example of moving the old age security retirement age up to 67. Again, the seniors who called me said that sometimes it is better to not be noticed than to have more pain passed on to them.

Do members remember the Conservative budget that increased the age of eligibility that I just referred to? Do they remember when the Conservatives began taxing income trusts and increased the income tax rate for low income Canadians? The good thing is that seniors were ignored this time, but they cannot take much more of the Prime Minister's kind of prosperity.

This does not take into account the fact that the government appears to be reversing itself on previous commitments to seniors, rural Canadians, and middle class Canadians.

Do members remember that income splitting promise? Do they remember the promise to cut the excise tax on diesel in half? It was going to save money for everything that moved, because it was going to cut the diesel tax in half. Do they remember when the Prime Minister said taxing income trusts was raiding the retirement nest eggs of our seniors? I remember those things. I suspect many in the House remember them, and I suspect many Canadians will continue to remember them.

Budget 2014 has again verified a full reversal on all of those promises. All of those commitments have been broken.

All of this comes as a leaked government report shows that middle class Canadians, students, seniors, farmers, truckers, and nearly all other people who work for a living are falling behind. Household bills are growing, but incomes are stagnant. Middle class Canadians are putting groceries, rent, and tuition on their credit cards, and they need help. Middle class Canadians are mortgaging their future to fund their basic living today. That is a crisis in the making.

Budget 2014 is an abdication of the trust Canadians place in their government, and the Liberals will be voting against this short-sighted, dangerous, and uninspired plan.

The budget is just another example of a government adrift without a plan. Saying it has a plan is not the same as having a plan. Saying it cares is not the same as caring. We must remember these things.

The Prime Minister has the worst economic record of any prime minister since R.B. Bennett in the 1930s—

[Alice Wong, Conservative, Richmond, BC]

Oh, come on. That is not true.

[Tim Uppal, Conservative, Edmonton—Sherwood Park, AB]

Look at the numbers.

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, York West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, they can get out the history books. I would not say it if it were not true. It is easily proven. In fact, maybe I will go and run it off and deliver it, so they know that everything I am saying is true.

The prosperity that the Conservatives celebrate is not being felt around the kitchen tables of the nation. Economic success must be felt by everyone to be effective, and there is nothing in the budget that would make a serious difference for middle class Canadians.

The Conservative government stumbles from crisis to crisis, and these crises are often of the government's own making. Conservatives have dropped the fiscal management ball, and they are sticking our grandchildren with the bill for their fiscal incompetence.

In 2013, the Conservatives lowered taxes on yachts and summer homes, but hit working class families with new taxes on essentials such as household heaters, baby carriages, and school supplies. Even blankets were hit with an extra 5% tax. Now, just in time for an election, the Conservatives have seen the light. They have reversed their taxes on families and expect us all to stand here and applaud.

I cannot help but wonder if the government is again minding the interests of Canadians and our country, or just its own.

Cutting the deficit by gutting our investments in innovation and education is like lightening an overloaded airplane by removing its engine. It may make us feel like we are flying high at first, but it will not take long before we feel the impact. Middle class Canadians are feeling the impact, and I for one will not be voting for that.

[Bev Shipley, Conservative, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have a question on middle income families for my colleague.

Statistics Canada just released the figures on middle income families, noting that our government has actually reduced the taxes by $3,400 for a family of four. Those families of four are what I would call “average families” in my riding of Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, families like mine. I have three children. We have nine grandchildren and they are the pride of our life.

Statistics Canada has just stated that the net worth of Canadian families has gone up 45% since 2005, and almost 80% since 1999, but with the largest increase between 2005 and 2012 in the middle income bracket.

I wonder if my colleague has a comment about our work with the middle class.

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, York West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure when we have had a chance to delve into those numbers, we will find they are like the $3,400 of tax cuts that benefit thousands of Canadians, but 70% of Canadians do not benefit from those $3,400 in tax cuts. Only 30% of Canadians benefited. We are talking about all Canadians benefiting, not just the wealthy or not just particular pockets.

The issue is that there are challenges out there. The Conservatives continue to break their promises one at a time, and I suspect they will keep doing that in order to beef up their piggy banks so they have more money to throw away next year when trying to buy all the votes of the people who will forget very quickly what the Conservatives did not deliver, and they hope people will be deaf to all the other promises.

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

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague's comments, and obviously those members have come to realize that this is not a good budget.

I rise specifically with respect to the Algoma Central Railway line and the fact that the current government has actually cut $2.2 million of the subsidy that CN used to get. Now it is leaving the tourism sector in that area, plus the little town of Oba and the outlying municipalities, at a very big disadvantage with the impact this will have on tourism.

This is an email I received from Al and Moe. It goes on to say:

All of the tourist that travel to our cities and towns will no longer have a reason to come. This will create complete loss of revenue to all of the lodge owners and many businesses in these small communities that rely on the ACR Passengers who spend money when they visit. It will impact the city of Sault Ste. Marie and all of the restaurants, hotels and grocery stores who serve these tourists that venture into our precious northern wilderness for weeks at a time. The loss of jobs will be nothing more than staggering and devastating to this economy.

The email goes on to say that people have written to the Minister of Transport but have had no response.

My question for my colleague is with respect to tourism. Does she see anything that really would help the people along the Algoma Central Railway line from Sault Ste. Marie to Hearst and tourism as a whole? The Conservatives say they are creating jobs, but meanwhile they are getting rid of jobs in northern Ontario.

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, York West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, tourism is or was one of the major things we celebrated in Canada, with people coming. I recently had a meeting with the tourism associations, and tourist numbers are way down. Canada has dropped so far down below the line because of that lack of investment both in promoting Canada and, second to that, in closing off beautiful places in northern Ontario and in other parts of Canada because of the lack of investment in the infrastructure that is needed in our transportation.

What is going to happen to all of those people who will lose their jobs because they do not have tourism and because of the change that will be there? Rather than investing in our infrastructure and things as important as our transportation and opening up other parts of our country, as a result of this budget there are going to be more people unemployed. We need to be investing in infrastructure. We need to be investing in post-secondary education, and we need to provide opportunities for our children to grow and be the best they can be, and invest in our country. That will provide jobs.

[Francis Scarpaleggia, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I know why the budget was introduced during the Olympics. It was so that Canadians might not notice that the Conservatives are not making a real effort on their behalf, on behalf of their future and that of their children. This is certainly not an Olympian budget. It does not strive for excellence. No thought, skill, or creativity went into this budget. There is not much to look at here.

One thing is for sure. The minister is no Alex Bilodeau of finance ministers. The budget does not inspire. It does not give hope to our youth, seniors, those looking at retirement on the horizon, or unemployed middle class Canadians. It is not a budget aimed at shoring up Canada's middle class. It is a furtive budget that seeks to slip by unnoticed, lest Canadians see that the emperor has no clothes, that the government has no ideas.

These past few years, members on the other side of the House have engaged in incessant self-promotion, spinning their economic record with a view to gilding the economic reality over which the current Conservative government has presided. We need only look at the performance of some key economic variables since the Conservatives took power to understand that things are not the way the government describes them.

I would first like to bring attention to something known as the natural economic growth rate, which is that portion of the economic growth rate driven by population growth. As weak as the growth of the Canadian economy has been over the past few years, it can be linked in no small measure to an increase in the population of the country that has driven both aggregate demand and employment.

A Statistics Canada report released in the fall of 2012 showed that Canada had the fastest population growth in the G8, owing to immigration. Canada has sustained the highest immigration levels in the world as a percentage of its population. This is important to note. The Conservative government cannot take credit for Canada's population growth.

If we look at key economic variables, we see that the situation is not as rosy as the Conservatives say over and over again. While population growth, and not the Conservative government, has been driving economic growth in Canada, the population has been expanding faster than the rate of job growth. The national unemployment rate in January 2006 was 6.6%. In December 2013, there were 236,200 more unemployed Canadians than in January 2006 and the unemployment rate stood at 7.2%. It is true that there were job gains in January versus December 2013, but these gains included 28,000 people who became self-employed. What is more, these January gains followed job losses in full-time work in December. Moreover, the youth unemployment rate in January 2006 was 12.2%. In December 2013 it was 14%.

All in all, Canada ranked 20th among 34 OECD nations in employment creation for the 2007-2012 period. How the government gets away with saying that it is “first in the OECD” over and over again is beyond me.

Although 7.2% may seem like a hopeful rate in the current context, as the rate was as high as 8.7% in mid-2009, we have to take into account the discouraged job seeker who has given up looking because the labour market is so bleak. This dampens the unemployment rate, which reflects only those actively seeking employment. If one looks at the reduction in the unemployment rate from 2009, the situation looks promising, but that reduction is cold comfort since 80% of it occurred because job prospects were so poor that many Canadians gave up looking for work.

Interestingly, Statistics Canada does quantify the discouraged job seeker effect and publishes a supplementary measure of unemployment that includes discouraged workers and those who are working part time while really wanting full-time work. This unemployment rate, which is referred to as the underutilization rate, sits at over 10%.

Another measure of the labour market situation in Canada is the long-term unemployment rate. Before 2008, 12% of Canadians had been looking for work for six months or more, and 4% for more than a year. Today, about 20% of the unemployed have been without work for more than six months, and 7% for more than one year.

As McGill economics professor Christopher Ragan has said:

A better indication of the economy’s job creation performance is the path of the employment-to-population ratio--and by this measure, our economic recovery is only mediocre.

Just before the crisis, total employment was 63.7% of the population. It fell sharply during the recession...and then struggled to recover even to 62%, where it has flat-lined for more than two years

If our performance in terms of unemployment is not very encouraging, the debt situation facing Canadians individually and collectively is no more so. In 2005, for every dollar of disposable income Canadians earned, they owed $1.30. In 2013, it was $1.64. On a collective basis, the government has added $160 billion to the national debt. One-fifth of the federal debt has been accumulated since 2006, the year the Conservatives became the government.

Still other economic indicators show that over the course of almost a decade the Conservative government failed to lay the groundwork for robust future prosperity. There was a 1.9% drop in productivity in the Canadian economy from 2006 to September 2013. Productivity, of course, is a function of investment in equipment, and also of the rate of innovation. Are we creating and producing the innovative products the world wants?

Another indicator, our chronic merchandise trade deficit, is likely linked at least in part to this poor productivity trend. We have had two years of trade deficits, which have been widening in the past few months, exceeding forecasters' predictions.

Finally, the stock market is often a reflection of generalized optimism or lack thereof about future economic prospects. From 2006 to 2013, the Dow Jones industrial average rose by 55.1%, while the TSX composite index rose by only 16.1%.

What is the government doing to generate growth? In this standstill political budget, it is not much. Moreover, the government's previous strategies and actions have not been enough to produce the growth rates that a country with so many resources, such great human capital, such talent, and such promise should be able to reach.

There are many measures the government could have taken to help middle-class Canadians improve their future standard of living. It could have raised RRSP contribution limits, it could have raised the contribution limits for tax-free savings accounts, and it could have also helped seniors by eliminating the minimum withdrawals required from RRIFs, registered retirement income funds. The markets have not been good, including the TSX composite index I referred to, meaning that the value of these RRIF portfolios has been weak, declining or not rising by very much. Indeed, some seniors have come to me to say that they do not want to withdraw from their RRIFs right now because they want to wait for the value of their RRIF portfolios to rise, but the government is forcing them to withdraw a minimum amount, which is compromising the future value of their assets.

It would have been good if the government had shown some imagination on issues such as this and taken some concrete steps to make the economic situation better for seniors and other Canadians. It did not, however, take the opportunity to do so in the budget, and that is a shame.

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, one of my colleagues asked a question earlier of a colleague of that member about today's Stats Canada report. Stats Canada today reports that the net worth of Canadian families is 44.5% higher today than it was in 2005. Certainly this has largely been due to the low-tax plan our government has implemented.

My colleague's leader has, at different times, commented that the budget will simply balance itself. I am wondering if my colleague would agree with that in the context of these last numbers I just quoted, showing clearly that the low-tax plan our government has had in place for the last eight years is working. It has been working not only for ordinary citizens but also especially for the group the member mentioned, seniors, many of whom have been removed from our tax rolls altogether. I wonder if the member would comment on those positive moves.

[Francis Scarpaleggia, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the report that came out, which I read about, did mention that net worth has gone up. In many cases, and I would think in the majority of cases probably, this is because of rising house prices. The report did mention that this was happening very much in British Columbia, where we know that the housing market is very hot.

Now, there is one point I would like to make here. It is one thing to have our net worth go up. However, if we are not cashing out our net worth, we will still have to borrow to buy the groceries and to pay for other current expenditures, and as we do, we are of course accumulating interest, which will eat into our net worth.

Yes, the value of people's homes has been going up, often because of population growth, which as I mentioned at the beginning of my speech is not the result of any government policy. There are many factors at play. I do not think the government can take credit for many of the trends that we are seeing in terms of asset growth.

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

Mr. Speaker, my colleague knows full well that this budget is actually being balanced on the backs of the most vulnerable.

I wonder what his view is of the government delaying implementing new ideas until the next election basically. I would also like to hear his view on making life more affordable for seniors, young people, and the most vulnerable. We had asked the government to include items that Canadians would like to see it move on, things that would make life more affordable for them,

Therefore, I wonder what the Liberals' position is with respect to ATM fees and high interest rates on credit cards. Do they agree that those need to be dealt with? These are not big cash items for the government. These are not in fact cash items at all. It would take a bit of legislation, a bit of willingness, to deal with them. Payday lenders is another issue.

Does the member understand that Canadians are being gouged and are victims of this? What is his party's position on the need for the government to act?

[Francis Scarpaleggia, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, indeed, the government needs to do more to help seniors. I mentioned in my speech one concrete measure the government could have taken, lowering or eliminating or deferring minimum withdrawals from RRIFs.

In terms of youth, if the government used its power and its jurisdictional right to help post-education in this country, that could delay what many see as inevitable increases in tuition fees, as provincial governments are forced to deal with their deficits. The government could have been more creative in these areas.

In terms of fees, the government seemed to be trumpeting that it would do something about credit card fees, but in my opinion, and I believe this is an opinion shared by many analysts, the government has not been specific about what it will do.

[Wladyslaw Lizon, Conservative, Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Mississauga—Brampton South.

It is my pleasure to highlight some of the key measures in the federal budget, economic action plan 2014, “The Road to Balance: Creating Jobs and Opportunities”, recently tabled by the Minister of Finance.

This is our government's tenth budget since coming to office in 2006. Throughout this period, our country has faced many challenges, including a global recession. Our government, under our Prime Minister's leadership, has always made it a priority to ensure that Canada's economy stays strong and that we take the right measures to limit the impact of the recession here within our borders. When preparing our annual budgets, we have never strayed from our commitment to strengthen our economy for all Canadians without adding additional pressures on our citizens and businesses by raising taxes.

While the opposition likes to criticize how we have handled the economy and what we have chosen to prioritize in our budgets, the reality is that Canada has done much better than our G7 partners.

Here I will highlight some of the aspects of the budget that I am very proud of and that I believe are extremely important to my constituents and all Canadians.

One of the goals of our government is to ensure that we achieve a balanced budget. By staying firm on this commitment, Canada has earned a strong and credible reputation for responsible fiscal management. This, I believe, is the main reason Canada's economy has continued to recover. During the economic storm, we have continued to reduce our deficit, by almost two-thirds, so that our government will return to a balanced budget by 2015.

Another critically important matter that affects our economy is ensuring that we provide the assistance necessary to help Canadians find good jobs. To make sure that Canada's labour force is well positioned to meet future challenges, last year our government announced that the skills training system in Canada would be transformed to better help Canadians acquire the skills that would actually get them hired and provide them with the tools to make career changes.

With economic action plan 2014, we are putting the wheels in motion to develop our country's greatest asset, our people.

I was pleased to see the inclusion of a new interest-free student loan for apprentices, as this would help young Canadians generally, including young Canadians in my riding of Mississauga East—Cooksville take advantage of the opportunities created in the GTA by the construction boom. I was also very pleased to see additional funding for university and college research projects, which will, of course, benefit the University of Toronto in Mississauga and Sheridan College, which is expanding and building its second campus.

Last year's economic action plan introduced the Canada job grant, aimed at connecting people looking for work with employers by encouraging employers to participate as partners in the skills training system and incurring a portion of the cost. Consultations have confirmed that employers welcome an increased role in training decisions in a way that is simple for businesses to access, and that is what we will do.

We continue to work closely with provinces and territories toward the implementation of the Canada job grant and the renewal of the labour market agreements. In jurisdictions where agreements are not secured, the Government of Canada will deliver the Canada job grant directly through Service Canada starting on April 1.

As announced previously, our government will also provide $222 million per year to better meet the employment needs of Canadian businesses and improve the employment prospects for people with disabilities.

Recently I joined representatives from Family Services of Peel to announce that our government will help people with disabilities in the Peel Region develop the skills, knowledge, and experience they need to find jobs.

Family Services of Peel is receiving over $209,000 from the opportunities fund for persons with disabilities. This funding will allow the organization to provide 60 participants with the skills and hands-on experience needed to enter and succeed in the job market. Participants will also benefit from job coaching services to help them become more independent and find employment.

To help organizations do a better job reaching out to the potential labour pool, the economic action plan proposes to invest $15 million over three years to the ready, willing and able initiative to engage employers to hire youth and working-age adults with developmental disabilities, including autism.

Let me share an email that I recently received from Mr. Brett Paveling of Community Living Mississauga:

Mr. Lizon,

On behalf of Community Living Mississauga, I would like to once again thank you...for taking time to meet with Keith Tansley and I about the Ready, Willing and Able program back on December 20th.

Thanks to your support for this important issue, we are able to celebrate the news that this week's federal budget included an allocation of $15 million towards the program over the next three years.

Again, we appreciate your ongoing support....

This was from Community Living Mississauga. I am very proud of our government's work with our community partners in the riding I proudly represent.

Our government did not stop there in addressing the labour shortages. We have made significant investments to help apprentices and the employers that hire them.

Apprentices can face significant costs to complete technical training, including educational fees, costs for tools and equipment, living expenses, and forgone wages. That is why we proposed to create the Canada apprentice loan to provide apprentices registered in their first Red Seal trade with access to interest-free loans of up to $4,000 per period of technical training. This initiative will assist more apprentices in completing their training and encourage more Canadians to consider a career in the skilled trades.

To assist older workers in adapting to a changing job market, we are renewing the targeted initiative for older workers program, representing a federal investment of $75 million over three years.

To support women entrepreneurs and small business owners, economic action plan 2014 proposes to provide $150,000 to Status of Women Canada in 2014-15 to increase mentorship among women entrepreneurs.

Balancing the budget, tackling labour shortages, and ensuring that Canadian consumers are protected are extremely important factors to ensuring a prosperous economy.

For many years now, consumers have been unsatisfied with the telecom market in Canada. Our government has paid close attention to this, and our record speaks for itself. Since the auction of wireless spectrum in 2008, prices have fallen by 20% and jobs in the wireless industry have increased by 25%.

I would also like to mention an issue that is very dear to me, and that is our government's action to improve services to our veterans who served our country.

In conclusion, I encourage all members of the House to support the budget. It is a good budget. It is in our interests to support it and support the growth of our great country.

[Andrew Cash, NDP, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I was listening closely to my colleague, and there is not a word in here about the issues of gridlock in the GTA. That is something I think the member should be very exercised about, considering that the people he represents have to sit in traffic for hours in a day. I have not heard a single thing from the member, nor in fact any GTA members from the government side, on this crucial point. I wonder if he ever mentioned to the Minister of Finance that the GTA is losing about $6 billion annually because of lost productivity caused by gridlock in his home constituency.

[Wladyslaw Lizon, Conservative, Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in a 10-minute speech we cannot cover the whole budget. That is why we have many speakers.

I am very much aware of gridlock in the GTA. I also drive, and members of my family drive. Therefore, we are very aware of the fact that there is a problem.

Over the years, our government invested huge amounts of dollars in improving the communications system in the GTA. We invested money in expanding the subway system in the GTA. Of course, we have to do more and we can also do better, and that is our goal. We have a plan. We are implementing it and we can only go forward.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to continue in the same line of debate regarding the government's announcement for the build Canada fund. It is back-loaded, so for the first few years there is not much money to spend on much-needed infrastructure.

However, I have another concern, which is that the government recently announced, with respect to the build Canada fund, that there would be no framework agreement with the provinces. The problem that results is that separate arrangements between provincial and federal governments will now have to be made for each project, because costs for a lot of large infrastructure projects are shared between the federal, provincial, and municipal governments.

I am thinking in particular of something that causes congestion in my riding of Kingston and the Islands, which is the need for a crossing over the main rail line. I wonder if the member could address that question. I know it is a bit technical, but could he say whether he has heard any assurances about the problems that might be caused by the lack of a framework agreement between the federal and provincial governments?