Debates of Sept. 24th, 2014

National Defence

[James Bezan, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada has routinely deployed the Canadian Armed Forces around the world in non-combat roles. It has never been the practice to have a vote on such deployments in Parliament.

Just recently, we have HMCS Toronto in the Black Sea, we have troops on the ground in Poland taking part in exercises and members of the Royal Canadian Air Force plus equipment of the RCAF are involved in air policing missions, all part of NATO's Operation Reassurance. We never voted on any of that.

Having said that, the opposition has its own opposition days when it can bring this forward for debate and also a vote.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, this evening, the House will vote on the issue of missing and murdered aboriginal women.

We are very proud of the role the member for Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou played in forcing this debate and less proud of the Government of Canada, which has categorically refused to hold a public inquiry into the fate of 1,200 aboriginal women.

Will the Conservatives finally support aboriginal women this evening?

Tonight, the Conservatives can do the right thing and agree to a full public inquiry so families of these missing and murdered women can begin to have closure. Will they vote yes or no?

[Kellie Leitch, Conservative, Minister of Labour and Minister of Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, as I have been very clear multiple times in the House, we are standing up for these victims of crime.

So the Leader of the Opposition can hear it clearly, let me quote yet again from Bernadette Smith, whose sister Claudette Osborne went missing in 2008. She said, “This Action Plan is something that our families have been waiting for. I would like to thank...the Government for their commitment to addressing this issue”. This is addressing it now, not waiting for the future.

She also said, “This Action Plan will have a direct impact on families and it will help keep our women and girls safe”.

That is what it is about. It is about acting now, ensuring they are safe now and are no longer victims of these crimes.

The Economy

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today's young people are the first generation of Canadians to be worse off than their parents. The gap in income between older and younger workers has grown nearly 50% wider since the 1980s.

What will the government do to restore the promise of progress for all Canadians?

[Joe Oliver, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, our government has provided record support for low-income Canadians. For example, we have removed over one million low-income Canadians, 380,000 of whom are seniors, from the tax rolls.

We have increased the amount that Canadians can earn without paying taxes. We have created landmark working income tax benefits to support low-income Canadians who work. We have increased the guaranteed income supplement for the most vulnerable seniors.

However, the Liberals and NDP have voted against these measures and against low-income Canadians each and every time.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, an expert report indicates that the income gap between older and younger workers has grown by almost 50% since the 1980s. Young people not only earn less, but there are also fewer jobs available for them.

This evening, the government has the opportunity to vote in favour of a solution that will create jobs and contribute to economic growth. Will it vote for the Liberal's plan?

[Joe Oliver, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, thanks to our government, the percentage of Canadians living in low-income families is now the lowest it has been in 30 years. Since 2006, low-income families have seen a 14% increase in their real after-tax income. Over 40% of all taxpayers are not paying any net taxes. It is therefore not surprising that the federal tax burden is the lowest it has been in 50 years.

Employment Insurance

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the last thing Canadians need is the Conservative minister's EI plan that gives a stronger incentive to businesses to shrink and fire than to grow and hire.

Conservatives can still fix this. Tonight, will they vote for our plan to provide an EI premium exemption to Canadian businesses for new jobs they actually create?

[Joe Oliver, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the last thing Liberals are qualified to talk about is EI. The Liberals used EI premiums as a political slush fund, and they completely raided the account by almost $60 billion.

We are lowering EI premiums by 15%. We are going to save small business over $550 million, that is 780,000 businesses, 90% of all businesses in our country.

The Environment

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, while the international community is doing its part to restart negotiations on fighting climate change, the Minister of the Environment is giving speeches to an empty room. No one is interested in what the Conservatives have to say about the environment because it is straight out of another century. Waiting to see what others announce is not leadership.

What measures will Canada put forward at the Paris conference in 2015?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, we have been clear, going forward to the Paris agreement, that we want an agreement for Canada that is fair, that includes all emitters and all economies. I was very pleased to hear many of the countries speaking at the UN forum yesterday agreeing with Canada's position. That is showing leadership.

Canada has consistently been moving to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in our country and at the same time growing the economy. We have done that without introducing a $20 billion carbon tax.

Our plan is working. We can do both, not one or the other.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the fight against climate change is a significant challenge for Canada, but it is also an amazing opportunity for many industries that are involved in developing clean technologies. Canada is going to be left out of decisions that are made and partnerships that are formed in New York.

Why are the Conservatives depriving our companies of these economic opportunities?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, as I have stated before in the House, Canada's greenhouse gas emission level represents less than 2% of the global greenhouse gas emissions. Canada has also one of the cleanest electricity systems in the world, with 77% of our electricity supply emitting no greenhouse gas.

Our sector-by-sector approach in Canada is working. We continue to see greenhouse gas emissions decreasing, while at the same time the economy is growing, and that is being done in partnership with private industry in our country.

We are doing this without introducing a $20 billion carbon tax that would kill jobs.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, any credit given to the electricity sector is thanks to the provinces. The federal government is not getting the job done, and we are playing catch-up to the U.S.

This so-called sector-by-sector approach ignores the single most polluting sector. The oil and gas sector makes up 25% of all emissions in Canada, and its emissions are predicted to triple. What we get are re-announced vehicle regulations that will not even come into force until 2017.

Once again, when will the government introduce its oil and gas regulations?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, I was very proud to announce further action that we were taking related to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the auto industry. We announced that in New York this week. At the same time, we are moving forward to introduce regulations for the heavy-duty vehicles again. That will result in further reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

Again, we are doing this without introducing a $20 billion carbon tax that would kill jobs in our country.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, leadership means being out in front, not following the U.S. because we do not have a choice. Nothing that has been re-announced this week will get Canada any closer to meeting our emissions goals. In fact, we are going to miss it by 100 million tonnes or more. That is not leadership, and nobody is fooled.

Instead of bragging about what little the government has done, could the minister explain to us how it plans to meet its climate change goals?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, we are very proud of our record in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

In 2012, Canada became the first major coal user to ban the construction of traditional coal-fired electricity. The United States followed suit in 2014. Now that is showing leadership.

We are also the founding member of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition that is focused on taking immediate actions, which is producing real results in two years. We are moving forward.

I encourage the member to read the annual report that was released at the UN, which demonstrates we are taking—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. The hon. member for Saint-Lambert.

Employment

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

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Employment and Social Development lectured the provinces over the issue of temporary foreign workers. He thinks the real problem is that the provinces are not investing enough in technical and vocational schools. There is nothing but cynicism from the man who is responsible for bungling the temporary foreign worker program and who is incapable of providing reliable job market data to the provinces.

Will the minister finally get his own program in order instead of pointing fingers at the provinces?

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

Mr. Speaker, the question was not clear. That said, we conducted a comprehensive reform of the temporary foreign worker program, which led to a 75% drop in employers' requests for foreign workers.

I am working closely with the provinces and territories to improve the training systems in order to give young Canadians the skills and abilities they need to take on the jobs that exist all across our growing economy.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Employment and Social Development seemed to be a tad confused yesterday. Instead of accepting responsibility for his own mismanagement of the temporary foreign worker program, the minister is out there blaming the provinces for letting the program get out of hand. He takes no responsibility for his own mistakes.

Where is the minister's accountability for the way he completely bungled the temporary foreign worker program?

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

Mr. Speaker, with all due respect to my NDP critic, it might behoove her to actually read the remarks that I made, which had nothing to do at all with the temporary foreign worker program. I was talking about the skills agenda, about our work with the provinces to retool our training programs to ensure that young Canadians have skills that are relevant for the labour market of today and the future. I was not talking about the temporary foreign worker program. I was encouraging provinces to use the 50% increase in the Canada social transfer that our government has provided them with and ensure that it goes toward relevant training, training that leads to real jobs and bright career prospects for young Canadians.

I would encourage the NDP to join us in this work to provide those skills.

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

Mr. Speaker, the minister mismanaged the temporary foreign worker program for six years. Surely if he thought it was growing out of control, as he mentioned, he had plenty of opportunity to take action. Instead, the Conservatives relaxed the rules and made it easier to bring in foreign workers. Now the minister wants us all to believe that this was the fault of the provinces. Why will the minister not take responsibility for the mess he has made and finally fix the program?

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

Mr. Speaker, I made no such suggestion, comment, statement or allusion. It is a complete fabrication of the member's imagination. But I have a question for the member. Her leader said on live TV earlier this year that the temporary foreign worker program “morphed into having everybody in your McDonald's or your Tim Horton's coming from another country”. However, 98% of the people who work at Canadian restaurants, 96% of those who work at McDonald's, for example, are Canadian citizens or permanent residents.

My question for the Leader of the Opposition is: who are those people he sees as everybody working in those restaurants coming from another country?

Aboriginal Affairs

[Carol Hughes, NDP, Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we have an important vote tonight on an important debate. I ask my colleagues on the other side to do the right thing, to recognize the growing and overwhelming consensus for a national inquiry into the issue of the 1,200 missing and murdered indigenous women, to recognize that their special committee report is not the answer to this social crisis. It is not the answer families are still looking for. Will they finally listen?