Debates of April 28th, 2014

Employment

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

Mr. Speaker, we would co-operate with any audit by the Auditor General in any area when and if he chooses to do so.

I do find the member's question rather peculiar, given that she has specifically lobbied me to bring in a temporary foreign worker at the request of a constituent who, if I am not mistaken, required a crane operator because he could not find one in Canada. I receive more requests from members of the New Democratic caucus to facilitate the entry of temporary foreign workers than from any other caucus. I just find the hypocrisy a wee bit difficult to take.

[Sadia Groguhé, NDP, Saint-Lambert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last Friday the Minister of Employment and Social Development tried to make us believe that the abuses of the temporary foreign worker program were isolated cases. That came just two days after McDonald's announced that it was putting a stop to hiring under the program, which put the company in an embarrassing situation.

The minister wants the employers alone to shoulder the blame. However, it is his program. He is the minister; he is responsible for it.

Will the minister carry out an in-depth audit of all employment sectors that use this program?

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

Mr. Speaker, the member must know that we put a moratorium on the temporary foreign worker program last week, especially in the food services sector, where there have been several allegations of abuse, which we will never tolerate.

Thus, the general policy is being revised, and we will put in place stricter conditions to ensure that Canadians always get the first crack at jobs.

[Sadia Groguhé, NDP, Saint-Lambert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, for months the minister fought tooth and nail to defend this program in its present form. He must accept responsibility for this fiasco.

Not only have employers exploited foreign workers under this program but, even worse, they have fired Canadians in order to get what they want.

Does the minister realize that employers act this way because they are protected by the government's legislation? Will the minister fix this program?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, we implemented a number of substantial reforms a year ago, and this led to a 30% drop in the number of applications for temporary foreign workers. For example, we instituted a charge for all applications submitted by employers.

We will soon make additional changes to ensure the integrity of the program so that Canadians always have the first crack at jobs in Canada. We will not tolerate abuses by employers.

Foreign Affairs

[Ted Opitz, Conservative, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canada fully supports the efforts of the international community to find a political solution to the situation in Ukraine, and of course Canada is also a very committed NATO partner and ally. Recently the Prime Minister announced that Canada will contribute six CF-18s as part of the ongoing support to NATO and as a way of showing Canada's solidarity with the people of Ukraine. Can the Minister of National Defence please update this House as to the status of this most important mission?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to inform the House that, in response to a NATO request to support our collective security and show our solidarity with the people of Ukraine, we will be deploying six CF-18 planes to Europe. They will be leaving from Bagotville and they will be based in Romania. These jets will support air policing and training missions.

I would like to take the opportunity to salute the brave pilots and support staff who will take part in this vitally important mission. All Canadians are proud of them.

Pensions

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives' record on retirement security is simply atrocious.

They refused to improve CPP and QPP benefits even though the majority of Canadians and all the provinces support that measure. They cut the equivalent of $11 billion from old age security benefits by pushing the age of retirement from 65 to 67.

After doing everything they could to undermine pensions, why are they now considering shifting more of the risk to retirees, instead of adopting a common sense solution and improving the CPP and QPP?

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

Mr. Speaker, why does the New Democratic Party not understand that hiking Canada pension plan costs for Canadian workers and decreasing their paycheques while the economy is still in the middle of a fragile recovery can kill thousands of jobs? In fact, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business estimates that the plan put forward by the NDP's big union bosses could end up getting rid of 235,000 jobs.

Families simply cannot afford higher CPP payroll deductions. Canadians cannot afford higher CPP payroll deductions. Canadians cannot afford the NDP.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is only Conservatives who think that benefiting our public pension plan is a tax. The Conservatives are happy to receive their publicly supported pensions, but not Canadians who faithfully pay into theirs every day.

The latest Conservative pension scheme puts all the risks onto the backs of the workers and undermines pensions everywhere. It may even reduce what current retirees are receiving in benefits. Canadians having worked hard all their lives, played by the rules, and paid faithfully into the program deserve better than this.

Rather than targeting Canadian pensioners, will the government do what Conservatives once believed in and support increasing benefits to the CPP, work with the provinces, work with us to benefit the system, and show seniors a little respect for once?

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

Mr. Speaker, the New Democratic Party's plan to raise CPP payroll taxes while our economy is still in a fragile recovery can cost thousands of jobs in the economy. Maybe the NDP does not understand how the economy works. It should know that it is very difficult to have a healthy retirement plan today if one does not have a job today.

Despite the NDP's reckless plan, we continue to stand up for lower taxes, job creation, and economic growth for all Canadians.

Taxation

[Murray Rankin, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Conservatives have cut millions of dollars from the budget of the Canada Revenue Agency and reduced our ability to go after tax cheats. Uncollected tax debt has ballooned to tens of billions of dollars in this country and now we learn the government is essentially throwing up its hands after failing to find ways to collect taxes from the $35-billion underground economy.

When will the minister stop targeting charities that disagree with the Conservative government and start doing her job: collecting taxes?

[Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Conservative, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite's comments on charities are completely unfounded. Our government has a strong record of combatting tax evasion and getting tough on tax cheats.

As the member opposite well knows, the CRA has an active program in place to combat the underground economy. We are currently in the process of updating at the CRA its underground economy strategy, which is expected to be completed this year. The CRA is committed to combatting the underground economy to ensure a fair tax system while recognizing that Canada has one of the highest compliance rates in the world.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have been telling us for three years that they are developing a strategy to deal with the underground economy, but we still have not seen even a hint of a proposal.

Since 2010, the provinces have been urging the Canada Revenue Agency to get tough on tax evaders. While the provinces are struggling to pay for health and education, the Conservatives cannot even properly collect tax revenue. Fraudsters are using new tricks and new technologies to evade taxes.

How does the minister expect to catch tax evaders with a guide that dates back to 2001?

[Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Conservative, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, as mentioned, this is a strategy that is working and there are new measures in place that we will be announcing to further it this year.

Those who evade paying taxes are taking money that is needed for important investments in schools, hospitals, and other vital governmental services. That is why we do have an active program. This includes a range of outreach, education, and compliance actions that regularly keep pace with the evolving nature of that underground economy.

The Budget

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

Mr. Speaker, when confronted about Ontario's massive transfer payment deficit, the former Minister of Finance said it is just math. However, $11 billion is some math, and $9.5 billion infrastructure differential is some math.

The University of Toronto said, “The formula is rigged and dozens of political decisions consistently discriminate against Ontario”.

Will the new Minister of Finance from Ontario stand up for Ontario, dump the formula, and redo the math?

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

Mr. Speaker, federal support to Ontario has increased by 76% since this government took office in 2006.

Federal support will total $19.1 billion in 2014-15, a whopping $8.3 billion increase from under the previous Liberal government.

After years of inaction by the previous Liberal government, our Conservative government took real action to support Ontario. We made changes Liberals refused to make and then voted against, including moving to equal per capita transfer support, a move supported by the former Ontario premier.

National Defence

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives sole-sourced F-35 jets to replace the aging CF-18s without a competition or even an analysis of what Canada might require of its future fleet.

When the Auditor General revealed the true costs had been falsified, the government hit the reset button to deflect the resulting flack.

Now, two years later, a public report has been completed, but again, it is being hidden from the public.

The government's credibility on the F-35s is completely shot so today's vague assurances just do not cut it. Precisely, when will the minister be open with Canadians and release this report?

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

Mr. Speaker, it was the Liberals who first launched the program to replace the F-18s. We are struggling to remedy the problems they created. That is why we launched a seven-point plan. We are working on that plan.

We had an independent panel of experts review and assess the risks of various options. Those parts of the report that are not commercially sensitive or restricted will be released.

Consumer Protection

[Glenn Thibeault, NDP, Sudbury, ON]

Mr. Speaker, another holiday weekend, and what a coincidence, Canadians were once again squeezed at the gas pumps. Gas jumped 5¢ overnight before Easter and has risen 22¢ a litre from a year ago. Prices have hit a three-year high. Conservatives need to listen to Canadians and finally support our call for a gas ombudsman to oversee the market and ensure fair competition.

When will the Conservatives stand up and act on unfair prices at the pumps?

[James Moore, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, our government has taken action. We have passed the Fairness at the Pumps Act. We put in place legislation and regulation that will do exactly what the member described, which is to stand up to any unfairness that Canadians are seeing and empower the Competition Bureau.

On top of that, we have already seen fines imposed on those who have abused Canadian consumers. Better than that, we have lowered taxes for Canadians.

The New Democrats pretend to stand up for consumers and pretend to be in favour of middle-class interests in this country. They should recognize that it is only this government that has lowered taxes over 160 times, put over $3,000 back into the pockets of families so they have more power and—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. member for Québec.

[Annick Papillon, NDP, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the price of gas reached a record high in Quebec City today. Gas now costs $1.49 a litre. That is 18¢ more than this time last year. When the Conservatives came to power in 2006, gas cost $1.02 a litre in Quebec City.

Canadians are sick of getting gouged at the pump. Why do the Conservatives continue to support and subsidize big oil, while refusing to create an ombudsman position, which would help ensure that consumers pay a fair price?

[James Moore, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, we have already introduced such legislation to protect the interests of consumers. We have already done this. We are making gas pump inspections mandatory. We have already done this.

To the larger point here, it is Conservatives who, through all of our budgets, have put over $3,200 more into the pockets of Canadian families. We believe in having lower taxes so that families can have more choice in how they live their lives.

We have put in place the Fairness at the Pumps Act. We have effective regulation. We have empowered the Competition Bureau. We have lowered taxes for Canadians. We are standing up for everyday citizens.

That is what Conservatives do.

Justice

[Corneliu Chisu, Conservative, Pickering—Scarborough East, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my constituents are concerned that certain high-risk individuals found not criminally responsible may be granted unescorted trips into the community. They are concerned that this represents a threat to public safety.

This is precisely why our government introduced the not criminally responsible reform act. This important legislation would create a new high-risk designation that would put public safety first.

Can the Minister of Justice please inform the House about the status of this legislation, and how it would benefit Canadian communities?