Debates of Sept. 15th, 2014

Employment

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know what the leader of the Liberal Party is talking about. Canada post-recession has one of the best job creation records in the world: 1.1 million net new jobs.

What we understand on this side is that his plan for higher taxes and higher deficits is not a plan that will help the economy. We are for eliminating the deficit, for continuing to lower our taxes, and for continuing to create jobs and growth.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative EI plan, announced last week to much fanfare, can offer over $2,000--

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Members are free to applaud when the member for Papineau is finished asking his question but not before then. The hon. member for Papineau.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, if we actually look at the numbers of their EI plan, it offers up to $2,000 in credit to businesses that fire workers and only up to $200 if they hire a new worker.

As a proposal, why does the Prime Minister not offer instead an EI premium exemption for every new worker that a business would hire? That is a way to offer growth and job creation.

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, let me congratulate the Minister of Finance for his announcement and note that the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, the entire small business community, welcomed this announcement. What they do not welcome is the proposal of the Liberal Party, which through the establishment of an obligatory 45-day work year across the country would hike EI by some 35%. That is something we will never do.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians know that we must encourage job creation and economic growth. This government's EI plan encourages the firing instead of the hiring of workers.

Why would the Prime Minister not propose an EI premium exemption for every new job that a business creates? That is how you encourage economic growth and job creation.

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, let me stress once again the announcement that the Minister of Finance made last week and the positive reaction from small and medium-sized businesses across the country. I congratulate the Minister of Finance for this fine announcement.

Clearly, that is the complete opposite of the Liberal Party's position, which seeks to increase EI premiums by 35% to create a 45-day work year. That is completely unacceptable for small and medium-sized businesses. That is something we will never do.

Natural Resources

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, under our Constitution, managing natural resources falls under provincial jurisdiction. Therefore, we have a simple question for the Prime Minister: does he think that the provinces have a say when foreign dictatorships try to grab a piece of their natural resources? Do the provinces have a say in the matter, yes or no?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have the Investment Canada Act. Under the process set out by the legislation, the government consults with the provinces and territories on a regular basis.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, there he goes again, confusing Investment Canada with the China FIPA that he just signed. Now that the government of China owns Nexen, it is to be treated like any other Canadian company. It is therefore allowed to buy up an unlimited number of oil and gas leases in this country. It has nothing whatsoever to do with an Investment Canada review.

So I repeat my question to the Prime Minister. He promised two years ago that foreign countries, especially foreign dictatorships, would not be allowed to get their hands on Canadian resources. Why is he denying Alberta the right to control its resources? Why is he selling out Alberta resources?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, it would take an amazing leap of logic for anybody in Alberta to think the NDP is going to trust their resources to them.

Our foreign investment protection acts are subject to the Investment Canada Act, and obviously, in the case we have before us, this is an agreement we have reached with the government of China that is widely and strongly supported by Canadian investors, because they need these protections, and we are making sure that our exporters and investors have legal protections in this market.

Ethics

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this infamous $90,000 cheque issued by the Prime Minister's former chief of staff is at the heart of Mike Duffy's trial for fraud and corruption, which gets under way tomorrow. The question on everyone's mind is quite simple. How is it that the guy who received the cheque gets charged, but the one who signed it gets away with it? That makes no sense. Where there is corruption, there has to be a corrupter.

Does the Prime Minister think that the Director of Public Prosecutions should launch an investigation to determine whether charges should also be laid against Nigel Wright?

[Paul Calandra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I just want to congratulate the RCMP for the very thorough work that they did. As you know, Mr. Speaker, this case is before the courts right now, and we will let the courts make their decision.

At the same time, we know that the NDP is facing a similar investigation, with over $1.5 million of potentially illegal funds that it used from taxpayers to support offices in provinces where it has no members of Parliament. I hope that the NDP will do the right thing and repay taxpayers.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I can assure you that I have never given a cheque to a senator.

The Conservatives say that they are tough on crime, but not when their friends are involved. I should point out that they just let Mike Tyson into the country, even though he is a convicted rapist. But I digress.

Former Conservative Senator Mike Duffy is now before the courts, but the Conservative staff who were up to their necks in this scandal are doing extraordinarily well. Corruption is like doing the tango—it takes two.

When are the Conservatives going to clean house? When are they going to stop protecting their friends? When are they going to ask the Director of Public Prosecutions to launch an investigation into Nigel Wright?

[Paul Calandra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, he and a number of the members of his caucus cut cheques to support illegal offices in provinces where they actually have no members of Parliament, but again, we cannot forget that this is the exact same member who cut 29 separate cheques to a party that wants to break up Canada.

On this side of the House, we will continue to defend Canada. We will continue to do the things that have led Canada to be one of the most prosperous nations in the world. We will continue to cut taxes. We will continue to do what is right for families, because that is what Canadians' priorities are.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Director of Public Prosecutions was created in the wake of the Liberal sponsorship scandal to ensure independent justice when the Prime Minister's own office is involved. Now tomorrow, Mike Duffy is going up on 30 charges, including receiving a bribe, a bribe that involved the Prime Minister's staff, yet the Director of Public Prosecutions was not consulted.

The DPP's mandate says intervening and advising law enforcement agencies on matters relating to prosecutions and advising the RCMP. Does the minister agree that the Nigel Wright case would be within the mandate of the Director of Public Prosecutions?

[Paul Calandra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, as members know, this government does not direct the Director of Public Prosecutions. It is an independent office, and it governs itself on its own.

Again, we are very confident. The RCMP did a great job of this, and I want to commend them for the work they did. It is in front of the courts, and we will allow that decision to be made by the courts.

Access to Information

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate that the DPP has been put on ice ever since the Conservatives got into power. But let us look at the Conservatives' ongoing attack on Canadians' right to information. It has gotten so bizarre that apparently now the spending on Viagra in the military has become a state secret. I want to talk about dysfunction here, but we are talking about ethical dysfunction of the government.

Do they not understand that government spending is the spending of public money, and the reason we have the Access to Information Act is to be able to have Canadians hold the government to account? Why are they obstructing the Access to Information Act again and again and again?

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, in 2012-2013 our government set a number of records for openness and transparency. This government processed a record number of access to information requests, released a record number of materials, and had improved turnaround times. Our government processed nearly 54,000 access to information requests, which is a 27% increase over the previous year: over 10,000 more requests. Our government also released a record number of materials. Over six million pages were released, an increase of nearly two million.

The numbers do not lie. Canadians are getting more and better access than before, thanks to this government.

Taxation

[Murray Rankin, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative campaign to silence anyone who disagrees with them has reached a new low. Environmental groups, anti-poverty organizations, and international human rights defenders have all been targeted by political audits by the Conservatives.

Now more than 400 academics from coast to coast have signed a joint letter calling for a stop to this Conservative witch hunt. Will the minister suspend these political audits in order to clear the air, or will she continue targeting anyone who disagrees with the government?

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

Mr. Speaker, the member knows full well that CRA audits occur at arm's length, conducted free of any political interference or motivation. Rules regarding charities and their political activities are very long standing. In 2012 alone, over $14 billion was tax receipted from approximately 86,000 charities. Charities must respect the law, and the CRA has a legal responsibility to ensure that charitable dollars donated by charitable Canadians are used for charitable purposes. The only politics in this story are the very shameful political motivations of the member and his party.

[Murray Rankin, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives' goal is clear: silence those who do not share their opinion.

The minister is hiding behind the Canada Revenue Agency to conduct a witch hunt against charitable organizations whose only crime is being progressive. Oddly enough, so far, none of the right-leaning think tanks have been targeted. Is the minister going to stop this witch hunt and let charitable organizations do their work?

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

Mr. Speaker, the member really should be ashamed of himself for attempting to score cheap political points on the backs of professional public servants at the CRA. As the director general of the charities directorate, the commissioner of the CRA, and I have said, there is no political interference or motivation in CRA audits whatsoever. The rule regarding charities and political activities, as I have said, are long standing. CRA has a legal responsibility to ensure that charitable dollars are used appropriately, and charities have a responsibility to respect the law.

Employment

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have been pretending to defend the Canadian public service in this place. Let us get this straight. Conservatives are for billions of dollars in corporate tax giveaways to their friends, but they are against hard-working Canadians earning a living wage. They are for secretive trade deals with China, but they are against trade deals that add value to our natural resources. Conservatives are for cutting employment insurance access for millions of Canadians, but they are against giving a premium break to the workers who pay into the program.

Will the minister finally do the right thing, reinstate the federal minimum wage, and help lift tens of thousands of working Canadians out of poverty?