Debates of Feb. 5th, 2014

Democratic Reform

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

Mr. Speaker, witnesses are already required to testify in court once formal allegations have been made. That is how our legal system works.

Elections Canada has the same investigative powers as police services. Those powers are in place, and we will increase them by introducing a new penalty for those who obstruct an investigation or provide inaccurate information to investigators.

[Chris Charlton, NDP, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Elections Canada has been working to get people without fixed addresses registered and voting. It has been doing outreach to young people and engaging first nations communities to increase voter turnout, but the Conservatives new bill slams the door on all of that very important work.

The minister claims his bill would target special interests, but in reality it would reduce Elections Canada's powers and remove its ability to do public education. Why? Does the minister believe that Elections Canada is now a special interest?

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

Mr. Speaker, half of youth in this country are unaware that they can vote by three different methods prior to election day. That numbers 73% among aboriginal youth. If a youth is busy on election day with studies or work, that individual is not even aware of the other opportunities to cast a ballot.

The way to fix that problem is to focus Elections Canada's advertising on providing people with information on when they can vote: advance ballots, special vote, voting by mail. Even if they were busy on election day, younger people would have an opportunity to cast a ballot, if they were aware of these extra methods. The fair elections act would ensure they get that information.

Finance

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this month, IMF economists warned that the declining competitiveness of Canada's non-energy exports is “something that concerns us”. The IMF pointed to a widening productivity gap that has “eroded Canada's external competitiveness, particularly in...manufacturing”. Middle-class Canadians know this. They are feeling the effects in their paycheques.

Will next week's budget finally do something to address these problems and help Canada's struggling middle class?

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

Mr. Speaker, thanks to Canada's economic action plan, Canada has enjoyed the strongest economic performance, both during the recession and after, in the recovery. Over one million net new jobs have been created in this country, nearly 90% are full-time and 80% in the private sector.

Both the IMF and the OECD project that Canada will be among the strongest economies in the G7 in this upcoming year.

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the International Monetary Fund has warned us that Canadians should expect to see little economic growth. Young Canadians have 264,000 fewer jobs than before the recession. The economic recovery does not apply to young people. An empty budget will not solve the problem.

Will the government finally include a jobs plan for young Canadians in next week's budget?

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

Mr. Speaker, our government is focused on what matters most to Canadians: jobs and economic growth.

Under the action plan taken by our Conservative government, Canada will continue to have one of the lowest youth unemployment rates in the G7. In fact, since 2006, our government has helped 2.1 million youth obtain skills, training, and jobs.

The answer is in education. The answer is in training. The answer is in skills. This government understands it. This government will continue to support jobs and growth.

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, last year's budget launched a phony jobs grant that still does not exist. It wasted millions on pointless government advertising. It cut services to veterans and vulnerable Canadians. It increased taxes on the middle class, payrolls, consumer goods, small business owners, and credit unions. It produced the worst job creation since the recession, and economic growth was down from the year before, which was down from the year before that, which was down from the year before that.

Is there anything the government plans to do differently this year?

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

Mr. Speaker, we will continue in the same direction we have been going. We will continue to build jobs. We will continue to help—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. The hon. Minister of State has the floor.

[Kevin Sorenson, Conservative, Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, we will continue to push forward with skills training and making certain we are moving young people ahead into a position where they can find a job when they leave school.

We also realize that the Liberal way of increasing taxes is not the direction we will go. We will keep taxes down, build jobs, and do what is right for this economy.

The Budget

[Peggy Nash, NDP, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the government's response is obviously “no”. Economic growth has stalled. Nearly 1.4 million Canadians are unemployed. Last year, barely 5,000 full-time jobs were created in the entire country.

Instead of tabling another austerity budget that will eliminate tens of thousands of jobs, will the Conservatives finally encourage job creation by proposing a tax credit for businesses that hire young people and by reinstating the eco-energy retrofit program?

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

Mr. Speaker, this government has the best job creation in the G7. Our government will continue to be focused on what matters to Canadians, and that is jobs; that is making certain they are prepared, going forward with economic growth.

Even though the global economy remains fragile, which we have said from the very beginning of the recession—that the recovery is fragile, especially in the United States and Europe—our economic policies have helped protect Canada.

Over a million new jobs have been created. We will continue to bring forward progressive programs that build jobs—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. member for Parkdale—High Park.

[Peggy Nash, NDP, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the reality is that Conservatives' economic mismanagement is raising red flags around the globe.

The IMF is now raising serious concerns about Canada's investment levels and our slumping exports. It is sounding the alarm on escalating household debt that could “amplify” any economic downturn.

Will the Conservatives listen to the NDP and use their budget to get household debt under control by supporting job creation and by cracking down on things like payday lenders?

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

Mr. Speaker, every year the NDP demands that we raise taxes and spend, spend, spend. Again the answer this year is no, no, no.

With economic action plan 2014, we will continue to create jobs and growth for all Canadians while keeping taxes low. We will have a balanced budget in 2015. We are building toward a balanced budget, despite the NDP's demands to raise taxes and spend, spend, spend.

National Defence

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, apparently it has taken the Conservatives eight years to realize that their so-called military procurement strategy is nothing but a boondoggle. From the F-35s to the Cyclone helicopters to the close-combat vehicles, the Conservatives have left a trail of delayed, over-budget, and underperforming equipment for our military.

Today's announcement now spreads oversight of this mess over four ministers. Can the Minister of National Defence explain how more bureaucracy with no single line of accountability will do anything to fix the Conservatives' abysmal procurement record?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, in fact, the opposite is true. We have had several successful military procurements, including heavy-lift aircraft, the LAVs, the main battle tanks, new heavy artillery, unmanned air surveillance capability, and many more.

What we are doing now is making sure that, going forward with the new Canada procurement strategy, we are going to maximize benefits for Canada while creating jobs and supporting Canadian industry in its exports of Canadian defence products.

[Élaine Michaud, NDP, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it took eight years and the Department of National Defence had to be put under supervision, but the Conservatives are finally realizing that their military procurement process is a failure. Our troops need the proper equipment to carry out their missions, and Canadians want to be sure that resources are not being wasted. The Conservatives have clearly demonstrated that they are incapable of making either of those things happen.

Since the F-35 procurement secretariat has not yielded any results, why do the Conservatives think that a new secretariat and more red tape are a viable solution?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, that is not at all true. We have procured helicopters, LAVs and trucks for all of our troops. However, the NDP voted against all of these procurements that support our military.

With the new defence procurement strategy, we are making procurement more efficient while supporting Canadian industries at the best price for taxpayers.

[Lawrence Toet, Conservative, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, after a decade of darkness from the previous Liberal government, our Conservative government is making unprecedented investments in our Canadian Armed Forces to ensure that our men and women in uniform have the equipment they need to get the job done.

Our government previously committed to leveraging that military spending to benefit Canadian companies while creating high-skilled, high-paying jobs right here at home.

Can the Minister of Public Works and Government Services please inform the House of what our government is doing to meet this commitment?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, today the Minister of National Defence and I were very proud to launch Canada's new defence procurement strategy. This strategy is about getting the equipment that our men and women in uniform need at the best value for taxpayers while at the same time maximizing benefits to our Canadian economy and to Canadian industries here at home. It is about doing more for our armed forces, more for Canadian jobs, and more for continued prosperity. That is what we pledged to Canadians and that is what we are doing.

Intergovernmental Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, behind the grim job statistics are real people struggling to find work, yet Conservatives want to claw back $300 million that provinces use to help the most vulnerable people get jobs and get back on their feet.

Conservatives proposed an unworkable plan and then spent $2.5 million advertising it. When will the government finally drop the pretense and concede that it cannot run roughshod over the provinces and our most vulnerable workers?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Multiculturalism]

Mr. Speaker, I had a very good discussion with the provincial counterparts yesterday, and we continue to have fruitful discussions about how to implement a job grant, which is supported by the Building and Construction Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, the Canadian Construction Association, Information Technology Association of Canada, the Canadian Welding Bureau, Engineers Canada, the Progressive Contractors Association of Canada, Polytechnics Canada, the Association of Canadian Community Colleges, and on and on.

Why is the NDP against common sense?