Debates of Jan. 28th, 2015

National Defence

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, American troops are not allowed to paint targets for air strikes. They are not allowed to accompany Iraqi forces to the front lines. This is exactly what the Prime Minister promised would be the case for Canadian soldiers, and yet Canadian special forces are indeed being put on the front lines.

Brigadier General Rouleau said that Canadians were going to the “the forward-most Iraqi fighting positions”. That is why they call it “the front”.

It is a simple question. When did the Prime Minister decide to send Canadian troops into combat?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said repeatedly, this is a robust mission to assist and advise the Iraqi forces.

I know the NDP is against that. I know the opposition members think it is a terrible thing that we are actually standing up to jihadists. I know they think it is a terrible thing that some of these jihadists got killed when they fired on the Canadian military.

I do not know what other militaries are doing, but I know that ours is doing exactly what this Parliament asked it to do, and that Canadians are behind it.

Veterans Affairs

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, spending $700,000 a year to fight vets in court—that is not supporting our troops. Closing nine veteran services offices—that is not supporting our troops, either.

Today we learned about the loss of another soldier. Sergeant Jesse Tait, from Sudbury, had served in Bosnia and Afghanistan. Sergeant Tait was struggling with depression. His mother says that when he went for help, he was turned away.

Will the Prime Minister finally commit to supporting our troops not only in combat but in the battle that comes afterward?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, obviously I do not know the facts of this particular case, but whenever we lose a serving military officer or a former military member, it is a terrible thing, and our condolences go out to that family.

That is why we are taking the steps that we are taking, why we have created eight operational stress injury clinics. I do not know why New Democrats voted against that support for our veterans. Why did they vote against the expansion of the road to mental readiness education campaign? Why did they oppose the expansion of the veterans independence program, or the Canada remembers program, or the community war memorial program, or the earnings loss supplement retirement program? We are standing by veterans.

Taxation

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative income splitting plan is most generous to those earning over $233,000 a year. That is the wrong priority.

Why does the Prime Minister insist on giving families like his and mine a $2,000 tax break?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, let us be clear. The vast majority of Canadian families cannot rely on a personal trust fund. The reality is that they rely on the creation of jobs, which this government has been supporting, and every single Canadian family that is benefiting from our tax reductions and benefits welcomes those changes. They understand that the Liberal Party would take those things away from them, and they will tell the Liberal Party it is on the wrong path.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, once again, with income splitting, the government will favour Canadians who earn over $233,000 per year. That is the wrong priority. Why does the Prime Minister insist on giving families like his and mine a $2,000 tax break?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, ordinary, hard-working Canadians do not have personal trust funds. The reality is that Canadian families are well aware that all Canadian families will benefit and pay fewer taxes as a result of our measures.

The Liberal Party wants to do away with the universal child care benefit and income splitting for families and seniors. We are in favour of those measures, but the Liberal Party is against them. The Liberal Party's measures do not support Canadian families.

Veterans Affairs

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Major Mark Campbell lost both legs in Afghanistan fighting the Taliban. Now he is fighting a government that has spent $700,000 in legal fees to deny him $35,000 in benefits.

Will the Prime Minister live up to our sacred obligation, end this court battle, and start giving our veterans the help they deserve?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the leader of the Liberal Party knows full well that the government is not going to comment on matters before the court other than simply to observe that in this case, the government is defending a decision of the previous government, supported by all parties in the House of Commons.

Since coming to office, since the previous government imposed the new veterans charter, this government has enhanced veterans' services and programs to the tune of some $5 billion, opposed every step of the way by the Liberals and the NDP. We are proud of those actions and will obviously look at what more needs to be done as we continue to support our veterans.

Intergovernmental Relations

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

Mr. Speaker, the faltering economy presents budgetary challenges at all levels of government. At the very least, the federal government could sit down with the provinces to coordinate efforts. Instead, the Conservatives have chosen to work alone in their corner by boycotting the Council of the Federation.

Furthermore, they appear to be working on a national pharmacare program. This is a good thing, certainly, but the least they could do is work on it with the provinces.

Why do the Conservatives refuse to see the provinces as true partners?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister continuously meets with premiers, and ministers of this government meet with their counterparts at the provincial and territorial level all the time.

This government has brought forward a number of different initiatives, including the largest infrastructure program in Canadian history. It has reinvested in roads and bridges, the infrastructure of this country, which has seen the Canadian economy continue to grow. It will continue to grow in the future.

We are very proud of the fact that we have made these investments, that job creation is over one million people. That is the record we have. We will continue to work with our partners to make sure that our economy grows.

Manufacturing Industry

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

Mr. Speaker, the Council of the Federation has been meeting for 10 years without the Prime Minister.

The federal government should work more closely with the provinces to tackle the economic and budgetary challenges we are facing, particularly those affecting innovation. Those challenges are having a negative impact on economic development and job creation in Canada.

Yesterday, our leader unveiled a plan to kickstart manufacturing and small business job creation. The plan includes a major innovation and business modernization component.

When will the government support our Canadian manufacturers, which invest in research and development and create good jobs?

[James Moore, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, that is a good question. We are working with the provinces all across Canada.

Two weeks ago, I was in Detroit with Ontario minister Brad Duguid working with automakers to create jobs in that sector in Ontario.

Last week, I was working with Quebec's Jacques Daoust on Canada's domestic free trade system to create jobs in all regions of Canada.

We are working with Brad Duguid, who is a Liberal, and with Mr. Daoust. We are working on various things with each province to create jobs for all Canadians.

Employment

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives' deplorable management and their inability to diversify our economy are really catching up with them.

Since the holiday break, thousands of jobs have been lost: Target, Sony, Mexx, Suncor, Arianne Phosphate in Chicoutimi, Bombardier in Thunder Bay and La Pocatière, Épicia in Quebec City and central Quebec, and now Tim Hortons, which has also announced layoffs, including 50 in Lachine.

When will the government finally start showing some leadership and introduce measures to breathe some life into our businesses, which create jobs?

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

Mr. Speaker, we have given employers some breathing room by reducing their taxes to one of the lowest rates in the developed world. That is one of the reasons why about 1.2 million jobs have been created since the global recession.

We continue to lower the tax burden on small businesses, which are major job creators, by reducing EI premiums. We are making significant investments, through various employment funds, to help business owners provide more training, for example.

We remain focused on job creation.

[Jonathan Tremblay, NDP, Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we cannot simply sit back and do nothing while jobs continue to disappear. We in the NDP are working hard to ensure that more jobs are created for Canadian families.

A year ago, I asked the Minister of Employment whether the government had a plan to save high quality jobs in the Charlevoix region after General Cable shut down. Instead of an answer or concrete action, we have seen nothing but contempt from the Conservatives.

Now, in just a few days, the Resolute Forest Products plant in Clermont will be shutting down a machine, another tough blow for the workers of Charlevoix.

What is the minister's plan to boost employment and the manufacturing sector?

[James Moore, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, we have a number of policies, investments and approaches to stimulate the economy and create jobs in the manufacturing sector.

We do, indeed, have some good news in that regard. It was just two weeks ago that we announced a partnership with Linamar to create over 1,000 jobs in Guelph, Ontario. We have also worked with Chrysler to make investments in Windsor. We are working with Ford to ensure that we have investments and over 1,200 new jobs being created in the Oakville area.

We have investments that are happening all across the country. The aerospace sector in the province of Quebec is creating thousands of good-paying jobs all across this country. Our policies are indeed working.

[Laurin Liu, NDP, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we see nothing but job losses under this Conservative government.

The government could provide support to the manufacturing sector through procurement contracts.

The Conservatives are showing absolutely no leadership when it comes to protecting local jobs.

Just recently, we learned that some cities are considering using the federal gas tax fund to buy buses in Belgium. As the workers at Nova Bus in Saint-Eustache say, this makes no sense.

What is the government doing to promote buying locally, to protect our manufacturers and to encourage job creation?

[James Moore, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, she is talking about buses and a specific policy. She can raise that issue with me after question period.

When it comes to our manufacturers across Canada, we have good policies in place. That is what Jayson Myers, president and CEO of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, says. He talks about the exports, jobs and goods created in Canada that we can sell on the global market.

We are certainly in the process of implementing policies, investments and approaches that will guarantee good jobs in every region of the country.

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, those so-called good policies have led to major plant closures at Electro-Motive Diesel, Kellogg's, and Heinz. A proposal to create 1,500 jobs at the former St. Thomas Ford plant is on the rocks. In the past eight years, under the current Prime Minister, the London region has lost a third of its manufacturing jobs. That is thousands of families placed in jeopardy because they are out of work.

New Democrats will always stand up for jobs and families across this country. When will the Conservatives finally get on board?

[James Moore, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate that the deal in St. Thomas fell through, but it had nothing to do with government policy; it was a business deal that did not work.

Here are business arrangements that are working because our government has a low-tax approach that is inviting investment into Canada. For example, as I said, Linamar is creating 1,200 new jobs in Guelph. Wolf Steel in Barrie is expanding by 176 new jobs; Fiera Foods in Toronto has 224 new jobs and a $146 million investment. Dalton Pharma Services in Toronto is creating new jobs because of its new investment. Glitchsoft Corporation in Kanata is creating new jobs. Patriot Forge in Brantford is creating new jobs. Eclipse Automation is expanding, creating new jobs.

All across this country, the economy is—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. The hon. member for Newton—North Delta.

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

Mr. Speaker, while the Conservatives deny reality and delay, the New Democrats propose solutions to help families. The Conservatives like to pat themselves on the back, while Canadians lose their jobs. Target's closure alone will put nearly 18,000 people out of work, affecting families in every community across this country, and many will not qualify for benefits under an EI program that has been cut by both the Liberals and the Conservatives.

Where is the Conservative plan to create and protect Canadian jobs?

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

Mr. Speaker, the results are clear. Canada has one of the best job-creation records in the developed world, with the creation of some 1.2 million net new jobs since the global downturn. We of course regret when anyone loses a job, but the EI system is there for those individuals. In fact, 86% of unemployed people who have paid into the system access EI. We are working with the employees at Target to ensure that they get their claims treated in an accelerated fashion.

At the end of the day, none of those people would be helped by the NDP policy of higher taxes, reckless spending, and huge deficits, which is a recipe for jobs being killed, not created.