Debates of March 31st, 2014

The Economy

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

Mr. Speaker, today Stats Canada announced that Canada's GDP grew faster than expected in January: 0.5%. This builds on the 10 consecutive quarters of economic growth under the strong leadership of the Prime Minister. Indeed, since the depth of the global recession, Canada has created over one million new jobs, the best record in the G7.

We are on track to balance the budget in 2015, and we have done it while keeping taxes low. We know that good economic management requires a strong leader, tough decisions, and sound judgment.

Unfortunately, the Liberal leader has a total lack of judgment. No tough choices and no discipline is required when one is the Liberal leader. He is more concerned about dropping obscenities at charity events and making it easier to smoke marijuana.

Canadians can rest assured that we will take no lessons from a Liberal leader who is in way over his head. Our Conservative government continues to focus on job creation, economic growth, and long-term prosperity for all Canadians.

Health

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, today marks the last day of Canada's health accord and the start of $36 billion in Conservative cuts to Canada's health care system.

The Health Council of Canada, the only agency tracking government performance on health care, will be shut down today. There will be less accountability for health spending for veterans, first nations, and the commitments in the health accord. How will slashing accountability and cutting federal investments improve health care for Canadians?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, let us be clear that the current framework for funding is not expiring. It continues on with a 6% escalator until 2017, and after 2017, of course, its tied to economic growth, with a guarantee of a 3% escalator. That means that the Government of Canada will continue to provide record transfers for health care to the provinces and territories.

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Really, Mr. Speaker? Let us get serious. Let us get past the doublespeak.

Eight years in power and Conservatives have failed on every single count. They failed to reduce wait times, failed to live up to their commitments on health care transfers, and failed on key commitments in the accord on things like electronic health records, pharmacare, home care, and the list goes on and on.

When will the government stop misleading Canadians, stop avoiding accountability, and start working with the provinces to build a strong, stable, and accessible public health care system in this country?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I would point out to the member that of course we do work closely with the provinces and territories.

In terms of the current federal framework that is in place with the provinces and territories for funding for health care, it continues in its current form, which is record levels of funding for transfers to the provinces and territories. After 2017, it is tied to economic growth, which we think is a sustainable formula. It is important for the provinces and territories.

I can assure the member that I have been the Minister of Health now for ten months, and not one provincial health minister has asked me to renew the health accord in its current form. What they have asked for is funding predictability, and we have given them that.

[Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet, NDP, Hochelaga, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the provinces and territories do not believe the Conservative rhetoric, and Canadians do not either.

The Conservatives' unilateral cuts will create a $36 billion hole in the provinces' budgets over the next 10 years. That is $36 billion less to hire doctors and nurses or to invest in our clinics, CLSCs and drug purchasing programs.

Can the minister tell us how the changes to the health funding formula will improve health care for Canadians?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I can reassure the member, and I would encourage her to look at the information that comes out of the Canadian Institute for Health Information, that we now have record numbers of physicians. That will definitely help Canadians across the country to find doctors in their local communities. That is something we have worked very hard with the provinces and territories on and that we are proud of.

Infrastructure

[Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet, NDP, Hochelaga, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government is not only ignoring the provinces' health care needs, but it is also ignoring municipalities.

The new building Canada fund will no longer allow municipalities to fund their local roads and sport and recreation infrastructure projects. The new condition for assessing the feasibility of projects in public-private partnership could mean further delays. Plus, the new building Canada fund does not allocate any money to municipalities.

Why is the minister getting in the way of the municipalities that want to develop their infrastructure?

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague is misleading people by deliberately neglecting to mention the building Canada plan, one of the four components of the plan.

The building Canada plan represents $53 billion over 10 years. It is the longest and most significant plan in the country's history. Municipalities will directly receive 71% for infrastructure. As for the component she mentioned, we have set aside $1 billion for municipalities with 100,000 people or less.

[Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet, NDP, Hochelaga, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the number the minister is looking for is $5.8 billion. That is $5.8 billion for infrastructure less for local communities over the next five years, the minister's $5.8 billion broken promise.

Canadians across the country are stuck in gridlock and are travelling on crumbling infrastructure. As one of Canada's key infrastructure funds expires today, will the minister reverse course, honour his promises to our cities and communities, and give them what they need?

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, never in Canadian history has a government supported municipalities as much as ours has. With the gas tax fund, municipalities already have 100% of this part of the component.

We respect jurisdictions. She probably does not care about provinces and territories, but to respect provinces and territories, we continue to work with them. For the component for PTs, we will work with them.

Canada Pension Plan

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, Canadian middle-class families are worried about retirement. Recently a Department of Finance Canada report prepared for the minister states:

In the long run, expanding the CPP would bring economic benefits. Higher savings will lead to higher income in the future and higher consumption possibilities for seniors.

Will the minister listen to his own department's advice and research? Will he listen to the provinces, and will he finally work with the provincial governments to strengthen CPP for Canadian families?

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

Mr. Speaker, with the global economic recovery still very fragile, we need to be mindful not to impose costs on Canadians that would hurt the workers, certainly hurt the employers, and definitely threaten the recovery.

Canadians cannot afford to pay higher CPP payroll taxes. That is why we have brought forward pension income splitting for seniors, pooled registered pension plans, and tax free savings accounts. That is what Canadians are asking for to help them in their retirement years.

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians cannot afford inaction and indifference from the Conservative government.

When the provinces proposed higher CPP premiums to improve Canadian pension incomes, Conservatives called it a job-killing payroll tax, but when the Conservatives keep EI premiums artificially high just to pad their books to create a phony pre-election surplus, it is okay. It is fair game.

Why are higher payroll premiums okay if they help Conservative politics but not okay if they help Canadian pensioners?

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

Mr. Speaker, we will take no lessons from the Liberal Party, which votes against seniors every time in protecting their hard-earned dollars. It even voted against pension income splitting, but we are not surprised. The Liberal leader thinks that budgets magically balance themselves. He has no idea what it costs and what it is like to be in the middle class.

Despite the Liberal leader, we continue to take action to put more money back into the pockets of Canadians, back into the pockets of seniors, retirees, and all Canadians.

Infrastructure

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, just hours before build Canada infrastructure funding is supposed to start, the government finally has something on its website. What does it say for the most part? “Go talk to the provinces”.

It is totally arbitrary. Certain projects are eliminated. Funding possibilities are reduced, and the overall budget is cut by $1.4 billion per year. It is 87% gone.

The Conservatives can claim that this is a silk purse, but municipalities know a sow's ear when they see one. What good is an application when there is no real funding until 2019?

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, if the former minister of finance does not know how government finances work, we will be happy to talk with him.

We just launched the program. We will continue to work with four different—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. The hon. Minister of Infrastructure still has the floor.

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Roberval—Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have heard “balance the budget” and “the budget will balance by itself”. That is what I have heard.

We will continue to work with our partners. We respect jurisdictions. There are four different components to the plan. One is with the provinces and territories, and we will respect that.

Finance

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Conservatives managed to cram 40 laws into their latest monster budget bill. There are 40 changes to 40 laws. There are 350 deeply flawed pages, fully hidden from Canadians and never once mentioned in the budget.

Conservatives have even killed the small business hiring tax credit and eliminated this practical incentive to hire more workers. Conservatives love rhetoric about economic growth—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order. The hon. member for Skeena--Bulkley Valley is still asking a question. There will be an opportunity to answer it, but we will let him put the question first.

The hon. member for Skeena—Bulkley Valley.

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the truth hurts, but it will set them free one day.

Conservatives love rhetoric about economic growth and job creation, but their omnibus bills do the exact opposite. Three hundred thousand more Canadians are still out of work since before the recession, so why are the Conservatives killing this popular tax credit that helps small businesses hire more employees?

[Joe Oliver, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, Canada leads the G7, with more than one million jobs created since the global economic recession, but we are not immune to the challenges beyond our borders. That is why our government supports economic growth and job creation while keeping taxes low and returning to a balanced budget by 2015.

What the member opposite did not mention is that we had excellent growth in January of 0.5%, a lot higher than forecast. This is part of the success that our economic action plan—