House of Commons Hansard #62 of the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was workers.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeMinister of State (Democratic Reform)
Mr. Speaker, the expert who has already shown that fundraising expenses should be excluded from campaign expenses is the same expert who wrote the NDP policy. According to the NDP's own rules, all expenses related to fundraising are excluded from the campaign expenses.
The principle is that fundraising is not a means of campaigning. The NDP and the Liberals make that distinction in their rules. We are doing so in law.
Craig Scott NDP Toronto—Danforth, ON
Mr. Speaker, some time ago, the Chief Electoral Officer formed an advisory board of notable Canadians like Michael Wilson, Preston Manning, and Sheila Fraser.
Given the government's attacks on the CEO, will the Minister of State for Democratic Reform assure Canadians that the Treasury Board would never deny requests under Bill C-23's proposed subsection 20(1) to cover costs associated with engaging these advisors on a temporary basis?
Will the government agree to amend this deeply flawed bill to make that change?
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeMinister of State (Democratic Reform)
Mr. Speaker, not only does the government support the Advisory Committee of Political Parties that currently exists, but we are in fact also going to make it a statutory body so that the CEO of Elections Canada can consult with all political parties, not just those recognized in the House of Commons, before he issues new interpretations. This will allow for interpretations of law and advanced rulings to be consistent so that all parties play by the same rules.
Chrystia Freeland Liberal Toronto Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, the hugely successful Canadian pension plan was built through constructive negotiations between the federal and provincial governments. The previous finance minister refused to continue that tradition and work with the provinces on a CPP expansion.
Now many Canadians are hoping that the new minister will reach out and finally get this job done. We can make a CPP expansion work with money the government already collects from Conservative hikes to EI premiums.
Will the new finance minister finally correct his predecessor's mistake?
Kevin Sorenson ConservativeMinister of State (Finance)
Mr. Speaker, Canadians simply do not want to pay higher payroll taxes. That is why we have brought forward other measures to help them save taxes, such as pension income splitting and pool registered pension plans.
Let me quote what Shaun Fantauzzo from the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies says in regard to CPP expansion:
CPP expansion will prevent...businesses from hiring new workers, as well as force them to economize by either reducing hours or laying off existing employees.
We want to do what is right for Canada. Canadians do not want to pay higher payroll taxes.
Francis Scarpaleggia Liberal Lac-Saint-Louis, QC
Mr. Speaker, Statistics Canada has confirmed that household debt is increasing and household wealth is linked to rising home values.
Values are rising because of demographics and the Bank of Canada, not because of the government. Experts believe that real estate prices could stagnate. That, combined with flat-lining incomes, will create additional financial difficulties for the middle class.
How will the budget, which is postponing important infrastructure spending, help the middle class?
Joe Oliver ConservativeMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, we are keeping a close eye on the housing market and we are prepared to take reasonable measures to maintain stability.
That is why we recently took prudent action to strengthen Canada's housing market by introducing certain measures. For example, we reduced the amortization period to 25 years on government-insured mortgages, and we lowered to 80% the maximum amount lenders can provide when refinancing mortgages.
Scott Brison Liberal Kings—Hants, NS
Mr. Speaker, the junior finance minister just told the House that the Conservatives are actually opposed to artificially high payroll premiums, but that is exactly what they are doing with EI premiums. They are keeping them artificially high in order to pad the books before the next election to try to have a surplus.
Why is it unacceptable to have higher payroll premiums to ensure the retirement security of Canadian families, but it is acceptable for the Conservatives to use higher payroll premiums to pad their books for some surplus on the eve of an election?
Joe Oliver ConservativeMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, we understand that small business is a cornerstone of our economy, creating jobs that support families in our communities. That is why we recently announced a three-year freeze to EI rates that would leave $660 million in the pockets of job creators and workers in 2014 alone.
What is more, beginning in 2017, premiums would be set according to a seven-year break-even rate. This would ensure that premiums are no higher than they need to be.
Malcolm Allen NDP Welland, ON
Mr. Speaker, the grain shipment crisis continues, with the system still short of over 70,00 rail car. It is impacting businesses across the country.
Flour mills in eastern Canada are running critically low on supplies of high-quality western Canadian wheat. In fact, some mills have had to suspend operations.
The situation has not improved since the government's emergency order three weeks ago. It is a simple question: when will the minister take action to address the crisis, ensure that farmers are going to be properly compensated for their losses, and get grain moving not only across the world but across the country?
Gerry Ritz ConservativeMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
Mr. Speaker, the member opposite knows that the order in council has had a tremendous effect in western Canada, moving some 4,400 cars for each rail line last week. They are building to that 5,500 number that they say they can do without affecting other commodities.
The member opposite also has a very short memory. Just yesterday afternoon, I briefed him and the other opposition colleagues on the piece of legislation that will be coming forward after question period today, so I cannot understand what his concern is.
Malcolm Allen NDP Welland, ON
Mr. Speaker, let us see. What would be the concern of farmers in the western prairies? There are millions of tonnes lying on the ground, there is $140 million out of their pockets every single week, there are 70,000 rail cars missing in a system that should have had them by now, and of course the minister says, “Well, just trust us. It will all get better. Wait for it. We will get there”.
We need to make sure that the money goes back into the pockets of farmers across the country because what the minister has done is taken it out of their pockets and delivered it to someone else. Will the minister agree that what needs to happen is that it is farmers who need to be compensated during this crisis and because of this crisis, and not the government?
Gerry Ritz ConservativeMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
Mr. Speaker, what farmers asked for a couple of years ago was the opportunity to market their crop at the time and price and place of their choosing. We did that with no help at all from the opposition.
We have moved forward on that rail review. We had Bill C-52 a year and some ago. The opposition did help us in that one, and that was welcome, but we also briefed them yesterday on the next steps: a piece of legislation going forward that will address a lot of what the member is asking for.
I am not sure just exactly what he misinterpreted from that yesterday. I thought we were very clear and very succinct in exactly what that piece of legislation would do.
Hoang Mai NDP Brossard—La Prairie, QC
Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the minister that under the briefing we were sworn to secrecy. That is why we are not talking about it.
Hoang Mai NDP Brossard—La Prairie, QC
Mr. Speaker, for 20 years the Liberal and Conservative governments have done nothing to phase out old DOT-111 train cars. Such incompetence. Irving announced that it would phase them out over the course of the coming year and CN announced that it would do so over the next four years.
What is the government's timeline? Can the minister tell us whether it is one year or two? We want a number.
Lisa Raitt ConservativeMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, in truth, our government has done more than any other government in ensuring the safety of Canadians when it comes to rail transportation.
What I can say is this. I was very pleased to read the announcements of both CP and CN today, and of course of Irving Oil, when they indicated that they have taken the principled position of not utilizing older models of DOT-111 cars. Our Prime Minister has been very clear on this matter. He has said that we will be phasing out these older models, the DOT-111 cars.
I was in Washington yesterday meeting with my counterparts on the matter, and we are working together for a North American solution.
Hoang Mai NDP Brossard—La Prairie, QC
Mr. Speaker, again we hear empty words. All we are asking is to make our communities safer. That is all we ask.
We have known for 20 years that DOT-111s are ticking time bombs. Since the government has no timeline, could the minister tell us when will DOT-111s stop going through populated areas?
Lisa Raitt ConservativeMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, as I said, and this may be difficult to grasp from their perspective, it really is a North American issue. We have to work in concert with the majority of the DOT-111 cars, which are in the United States. That is why our officials continue to talk to one another.
However, we are seized with this issue. We are absolutely assuring the Canadian public that we are doing everything we can in the timeframe that we have to get to the right decisions with respect to these DOT-111s.
In the meantime, industry is taking their own decisions. I applaud them and commend them for it as well.
Cheryl Gallant Conservative Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON
Mr. Speaker, in the Speech from the Throne, the government committed to public service pay and benefits that are reasonable, responsible, and in the public interest. Federal public servants are fortunate to have access to a generous post-retirement voluntary supplemental health benefits plan that currently receives an unfair 75% subsidy from taxpayers.
The President of the Treasury Board indicated that he was in negotiations to make the plan more fair by moving to equal cost-sharing between taxpayers and plan users. Could he please update the House on the negotiations?
Tony Clement ConservativePresident of the Treasury Board
Mr. Speaker, indeed I can inform the House, in case anyone is not aware, that we have reached an agreement with the public sector representatives as well as the representatives from the pensioners, the retirees. It is a fair and reasonable deal for retirees and public sector workers and it also saves the treasury $1.1 billion a year for the next six years.
We are getting the job done for taxpayers and modernizing compensation in many different fields, and that work will continue.
Randall Garrison NDP Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC
Mr. Speaker, people just do not trust the current government to protect their privacy. We can see that from how quickly Canadians mobilized against the Conservatives' online snooping bill, yet new documents now show that public agencies such as the CBSA are already getting warrantless access to individual customer data from cellphone companies. We now know this regularly includes information about personal identity and addresses.
Would the government tell us how many of its departments are being asked to spy on law-abiding Canadians without obtaining a warrant?
Steven Blaney ConservativeMinister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Mr. Speaker, when it comes to privacy, Canada has some of the toughest legislation of any country in the world. On the point that the hon. member raised, I would like to reassure him. This is a common practice, and one that is within the law. In these matters, we expect all agencies to obey the law, and that is exactly the case in the example given by the member.
Rosane Doré Lefebvre NDP Alfred-Pellan, QC
Mr. Speaker, after the personal information of 500,000 students was leaked, no one trusts the Conservatives to protect their privacy any more.
In the 2012 fiscal year, the Canada Border Services Agency submitted nearly 19,000 requests for the personal information of telecommunications subscribers, and in most cases it obtained that information, without a warrant and without informing the subscribers in 99% of those cases.
Why is the minister allowing this violation of the privacy of honest, law-abiding citizens?
