Debates of Jan. 30th, 2015

Infrastructure

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as oil prices plummet, the government has an obligation to mitigate the damage to the Canadian economy by responding to the urgent infrastructure needs of provinces, territories, and municipalities.

The Conservatives have slashed infrastructure spending by 90% this year, impeding jobs and growth. Will the Conservatives stop their cynical back-loaded promises and ensure that the badly needed infrastructure funds flow this year and actually do something that will drive jobs and growth?

[Peter Braid, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary for Infrastructure and Communities]

Mr. Speaker, that is absolutely incorrect. Municipalities and provinces in this country know that they have the strongest partner they have ever had with this Conservative government. This year we will balance the budget.

How did the Liberals balance the budget when they were in government? They did it by slashing health care and education by reducing transfers to individuals and provinces.

Under our Conservative government, transfers to provinces have increased significantly, and infrastructure investments have increased significantly.

Employment

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

Mr. Speaker, despite the NDP's warnings, the Conservatives supported Burger King's acquisition of Tim Hortons, a deal that will result in 20% of the administrative staff being laid off.

A Tim Hortons executive angrily noted that Burger King had told them that the company was there for them. We know what happened next. With the complicity of the Conservatives, 350 people have already lost their jobs. These workers feel betrayed.

Rather than condoning layoffs, when will the Conservatives do something to create jobs?

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, that is not the case.

The company made a very clear commitment to us. The head office will be in Oakville, Ontario, and the number of restaurants in Canada will increase. What does that do? It creates more jobs for people in that industry. The new company will keep all of Tim Hortons' commitments to the Canadian community.

It is a good investment for Canada that creates jobs.

[Peggy Nash, NDP, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, thousands of layoffs are being announced everywhere: at Suncor, Shell, Bombardier, Target, Mexx, Jacob, Tim Hortons, and just this morning at Jones New York. Even CIBC has just announced 500 layoffs. That is a sign that things are not going very well at all.

While the number of job losses and bankruptcies is growing, why is the Prime Minister not at the meeting of the Council of the Federation? What does he have to do that is more important?

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, if the NDP had read the last budget, they would not ask this type of question. Our economic plan is working very well.

What is more, I would like to tell our opposition colleagues that Dan Kelly, the president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, said that the NDP's plan was dumb and anti-business. That is what people in the private sector are saying about the NDP's plan and they are right. Their plan will not create wealth.

[Peggy Nash, NDP, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, that is why the Prime Minister is not at the first ministers meeting? That makes no sense.

In October, I wrote to the Minister of Industry urging him to seek commitments to protect Canadian jobs, but instead he signed off on a deal to fire 20% of the workers at Tim Hortons headquarters. This week, 350 employees lost their jobs, and the minister has the gall to claim somehow it is good news for Canada. He even makes up job numbers.

Why does the minister repeatedly fail to protect Canadian jobs?

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, the opposition is talking as if Canada were in a recession. We are not in a recession. There is economic growth in Canada and businesses are creating jobs.

Just for example, Ford is creating 1,000 new jobs and has secured 2,000 jobs at its plant in Oakville. I have also the investment for Linamar, which will create 1,000 new jobs and maintain nearly 7,000 new jobs over 10 years. These are only two companies, but I have a long list here.

The goal is to explain to the NDP that when we lower taxes and give money to businesses—

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

The hon. member for Skeena—Bulkley Valley.

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

The real long list, Mr. Speaker, is the list of layoffs that have gone on under the Conservative watch, while they do nothing about it.

I want to give the Minister of Industry a chance to apologize for dismissing the 400,000 manufacturing jobs that disappeared under the Conservative watch.

We have a jobs minister who relies on Kijiji. We have an industry minister who looks to magazines. In the face of these tens of thousands of job losses, we have the spokesperson for the Prime Minister who says that things are just spectacular.

Will the Minister of Finance whip out his old Ouija board to put together the next budget to help Canadians out?

The NDP leader offered concrete solutions to help the manufacturing sector, to help small businesses get Canadians back to work. When will the Conservatives wake up?

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, that is what we have been doing since 2006. However, I would remind my colleague that the NDP voted against our budgets and our proposals to help the manufacturing sector.

For example, the NDP voted against cutting the 15% corporate income tax rate, the return of the accelerated capital cost allowance program for small business, the automotive innovation fund, the implementation of the national shipbuilding procurement strategy, and so many other initiatives. They vote against proposals that create wealth in Canada.

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

Mr. Speaker, the NDP voted against Conservative budgets and against the loss of 400,000 manufacturing jobs that took place under the watch of the Conservatives.

We would think the minister responsible for Canadian industry would actually know what is going on in, say, Canadian industry, but he does not. Therefore, let us help him out with some of the facts.

The fact is that jobs grew at almost half the rate of our population last year in Canada. The fact is that youth unemployment is at twice the national average. The fact is that Canada lost 400,000 manufacturing jobs while the Conservatives have been in power.

The Conservatives do not have to open a magazine or click on Kijiji to know their plan is failing Canadians. When will the government stop lying about the facts, face up to reality and present a budget that puts Canadians back to work?

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, the real fact is that we have created more than one million net new jobs since the last recession. That is the reality.

This is the reality because we know it is the business sector that creates jobs and we have the right policies for entrepreneurs. It is not only me saying that. KPMG stated that the total business tax costs in Canada were the lowest in the G7, 46% lower than those in the United States.

When we have lower taxes and when we give money to entrepreneurs, they will create jobs and wealth in our country.

National Defence

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have the right to know the exact nature of the mission that the Conservatives have launched in their name. Canadians also have the right to know the cost of the military mission in Iraq.

The United States and the United Kingdom publish their cost estimates. The government has acknowledged that it has the figures. Why is it refusing to disclose them to the public? What does it have to hide?

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

Mr. Speaker, there will be incremental costs to this mission, as there are for any mission. When we have actual costs to report, they will be reported through existing parliamentary procedures. Cost estimates are updated regularly due to the nature of the mission. We will not mislead Canadians by giving them inaccurate information.

Let us not forget that we are fighting a terrorist group that has declared war on Canada and our allies. When it comes to confronting ISIL and protecting Canadians, we will spare no expense.

[Élaine Michaud, NDP, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister solemnly told Canadians that our soldiers' mandate was to advise and assist, not accompany, Iraqi troops.

We now know that that is false. Yesterday, the government gave us a lesson in semantics to explain to Canadians that, in fact, they are the ones who have misunderstood. The government is saying that the mission has simply evolved.

Now that the government acknowledges that the mission has changed, will the Prime Minister at least ask for the opinion of the House on what comes next?

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

Mr. Speaker, all activities being undertaken by our special forces in Iraq fall within the advise and assist mandate given to them by our government.

We had a very good technical briefing yesterday with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of National Defence and the Chief of the Defence Staff. The Chief of the Defence Staff was very explicit in describing that this was not a combat mission for our ground troops.

The fact is that there is an international jihadist movement that has declared war on Canada and our allies. We must work with our allies to stop this terrorist threat. We have been clear from the start that this mission is not low risk, that it does have risk and that we have to complete our task against ISIL.

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Defence offered few answers yesterday at committee, and that was clear to everyone. The one thing he did let slip was that the Conservatives would be seeking a new mandate to extend Canada's involvement in the war. Since approving the last mission, the mandate has gone from observers and air strikes to ground combat.

Could the Minister of Foreign Affairs confirm that he will be asking the House for a mandate to extend this mission? If yes, will it include ground combat?

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

Mr. Speaker, unlike the Liberals and the New Democrats who would prefer Canada to sit on the sidelines and do nothing and sacrifice hundreds of thousands of Iraqis to ISIL, we are going to do our job and we are going to participate with the international coalition to fight against the ISIL terrorists. All activities of our special forces fall within their advise and assist mandate.

We must confront this terrorist threat head-on, and we must continue to work with all coalition partners to ensure that we continue to do so. We want to be clear that we have no problem with our special operations forces defending themselves and eliminating the targets.

Veterans Affairs

[John Rafferty, NDP, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

Mr. Speaker, one year ago, the Veterans Affairs office was closed in Thunder Bay as part of Conservative cuts to services, which have left veterans across the country struggling without the support they need. The minister has refused to reopen these offices.

The government has a legal and moral responsibility to help veterans. Will the minister do the right thing, reopen these offices and start giving veterans the support and the respect they deserve?

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, this is my first time addressing the House as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs, and it is an honour to serve in this capacity.

I joined the Canadian Armed Forces at the age of 17 and served for 20 years. As a member of the Corps of Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, I had the pleasure of serving with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, with 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group and with 1 Service Battalion.

With respect to office closures, this government is opening new offices to better serve our veterans. These are eight new front-line operational stress injury clinics, and they are focused on delivering mental health services to our veterans.

Intergovernmental Affairs

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, once again, against all logic, the government is patting itself on the back for working with the provinces to address the enormous infrastructure gap, but that is not really what is happening. Three-quarters of the building Canada fund will not be handed out until 2019, but the provinces need to improve their infrastructure, stimulate the economy and create jobs right now. Why will the Prime Minister not convene a federal-provincial-territorial conference to gain an understanding of the need to take action now?

[Peter Braid, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary for Infrastructure and Communities]

Mr. Speaker, that is another myth the Liberals continue to perpetuate. This is absolutely incorrect.

This is a Conservative government that is making record investments in infrastructure. The new building Canada plan is the longest and largest infrastructure investment in Canadian history, $53 billion over the next decade. It is a long-term, stable, predictable commitment.

Already the new building Canada plan, open for business less than a year, has already approved projects representing $5 billion.

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, investments postponed to 2019, that is the truth.

The letters the federal Minister of International Trade exchanged with Newfoundland and Labrador on the CETA-releated seafood industry agreement are crystal clear. The minister promised a transition fund to help the industry, but never mentioned that it would be dependent on a demonstrated loss. That is pure invention.

In all my years in politics, I have never witnessed such a callous betrayal of a federal commitment to a province. Will the government honour its commitment to Newfoundland and Labrador, yes or no?

[Gerald Keddy, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture]

Mr. Speaker, let us be clear. Free trade between Canada and the European Union will deliver tremendous benefits for businesses, workers and their families in Newfoundland and Labrador and across Canada.

In the meantime, we fully intend to ratify free trade with the European Union, as is within our authority. We remain committed to the minimum processing requirements fund and remain open to receiving proposals from Newfoundland and Labrador on implementing that fund.