Mr. Speaker, it is my great honour to rise today as the new member for the new riding of Calgary Rocky Ridge.
I would like to start by thanking my family for the overwhelming support they have demonstrated for the huge change that public life will mean for us. I thank them very much.
I congratulate the newly elected members and re-elected members. I also thank the volunteers who put countless hours toward our successful campaign in Calgary Rocky Ridge.
In response to the newly elected government's Speech from the Throne, and in light of my responsibilities as deputy critic for the Treasury Board, I would like to speak to our democratic institutions, public finances, jobs, foreign policy, and trade.
The government has proposed measures that I believe will be harmful to the residents of Calgary Rocky Ridge and to Canada as a whole. I encourage the Liberals to reconsider any attempt to abolish the first past the post system and to rethink proposed tax increases. I also encourage them to reduce barriers to trade and employment, and to re-evaluate the decision to abandon the combat mission against ISIS.
Canadians enjoy free and fair elections with rules they understand. Under our present system, we know that we cast one vote at one location for one candidate. However, the government wants to abolish this cornerstone of Westminster-style government in favour of preferential ballots or possibly proportional representation. This is puzzling when one considers just how well the system has served Canada for the past 148 years, including some 85 years of Liberal government.
No system is perfect. In a large and diverse country like Canada, voters are often divided over the question of who should form the government. The Westminster style of first past the post voting is an ideal system for ensuring that a workable government can be formed even in times of division. First past the post is both fair and simple. The candidate with the most votes wins. Under preferential voting, a candidate who is no one's first choice may win, because he or she received the most second or third choices. The ranking system is harder to understand and will result in the election of members who no one truly supports.
More complicated systems also mean more explanation and more bureaucracy to administer. Imagine what even more advertising and electoral education will cost. Imagine the extra hours and expense of counting, recounting, and redistributing votes. It makes more sense to keep our current system.
In addition to its simplicity and familiarity, our present system allows for decisive and accountable government. In stark contrast, preferential ballots could lead to one-party government with less accountability. Our current system not only protects Canadians from one-party rule, it allows decisive majority governments with clear mandates from voters, and allows strong and effective oppositions to hold these governments to account.
Proportional representation would lead to more minority government, more frequent elections, and more gridlock. Is this really what Canadians want? It would not appear so. As a colleague mentioned yesterday in the House, whenever the question of changing the voting system has been put directly to Canadian voters in a referendum, they have rejected it.
In Calgary Rocky Ridge, I knocked on thousands of doors. Not one single voter asked for this reform. Not one single voter even raised the issue. Changing the way we choose our government is simply not a priority for ordinary Canadians who are more interested in jobs than in potentially rigging a system for a governing party to stay in power indefinitely.
Simply put, the voting system is not broken. It does not need fixing. I daresay, the Liberal Party has historically been its principal beneficiary. I encourage the new government to refocus its efforts on eliminating electoral fraud and increasing public engagement.
Moving to my next topic, Canada is truly fortunate to have access to vast reserves of energy. To benefit from this abundance, we must get this energy to both internal markets and world markets. Unfortunately, the new government appears determined to put up regulatory barriers to moving our oil and gas products. A ban on tanker traffic along British Columbia's northern coast would prevent oil and gas from reaching the Pacific Rim market.
The top priority of voters in Calgary Rocky Ridge is employment. When I knocked on those doors, the voters could not understand why any party at a time like this would intentionally obstruct Canada's economic engine. They are afraid for their jobs.
I would like to also announce that I intend to split my time with the member for Calgary. I am sorry for not being clear about that from the outset.
Along with the government's plan on the restriction of tanker traffic, it plans to introduce carbon pricing and a moratorium on transit. This would destroy jobs across Canada, from Atlantic Canadians working in Fort McMurray to Ontarians who manufacture extraction equipment, to British Columbian port workers at oil and gas terminals, to countless workers from Alberta and Saskatchewan whose jobs depend directly on oil and gas. Everyone loses when production stops for lack of transportation.
Blocking oil sands transportation also means less royalty revenue, less income and sales tax revenue due to lost jobs, less equalization funding, and higher expenses through employment insurance claims. The government is already promising to run deficits. It cannot afford to shut down a major source of revenue while increasing its expenses.
This brings me to the topic of the government's proposed new taxes. The government plans to raise taxes on the top-earning Canadians by 4%. However, it overestimates how much tax revenue this hike would bring in. According to a recent C.D. Howe report, the tax hike would generate less than $1 billion in revenue. This would leave a $4 billion shortfall in the government's estimates, and it would also likely cost the provinces $1.4 billion in lost revenue. When combined with the provincial rates, this tax hike would put the highest marginal tax rate at well over 50% in some provinces. The highest-earning Canadians may choose to work less, rely more on investment income, or relocate.
Speaking of job-killing taxes, the new government plans to expand the Canada pension plan, thus increasing payroll deductions and employer contributions. This would make it more expensive for employers to hire workers, thus stopping job creation.
The government also plans to make it harder for Canadians to save for themselves. The new government is threatening to reduce the tax-free savings account contribution limit, contrary to popular demand. According to a recent survey, 53% of Canadians want to keep the TFSA limit where it is, while only 19% want to reduce it. I encourage the new government to rethink its planned tax grabs and trust Canadians to make their own savings decisions.
Turning from revenue concerns to foreign affairs, the new government says it wants to draw closer to the United States and our allies in fighting terror. This announcement is somewhat confusing, since the government is eliminating the combat role of the Canadian Armed Forces in the fight against ISIS, even as our French, British, and German allies are preparing to send additional forces.
By only providing humanitarian aid, the government is addressing symptoms while leaving the disease intact. When people are attacked by terrorists who burn men alive, capture women and children and force them into sexual slavery, and systemically exterminate religious minorities, they become refugees by fleeing their homes; but helping refugees flee without also helping fight the perpetrators does not solve the problem. I urge the new government to recommit combat forces to fight ISIS, to save lives, and to help solve the refugee crisis by eliminating its source.
On a more positive note, the new government has a unique opportunity to implement the single greatest trade agreement of our time, the trans-Pacific partnership. The TPP will benefit all regions of Canada. It will grant our businesses access to 40% of the global economy, with more than 800 million customers. It will modernize the trade rules for the Pacific Rim and create tens of thousands of jobs for Canadians. I encourage the new government to protect Canada's long-term economic interests and implement this treaty.
I look forward to serving the people of Calgary Rocky Ridge as their representative in the 42nd Parliament. I am humbled by the confidence they have shown in me by electing me. I will zealously defend our democratic institutions. I will promote job creating measures like pipeline construction, international trade, and lower taxes. I will stand for Canada as an important and reliable ally in the fight against international terror. To do this, I will co-operate with my opposition colleagues. I will gladly work with the government when it introduces sound policy, and I will vigorously oppose it when it proposes harmful new measures.