Debates of Feb. 2nd, 2015

Intergovernmental Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, the provinces have asked for a low-tax agenda, and that is what our government is bringing forward. The provinces asked for assistance for manufacturing. We did that with new measures that have seen our Canadian economy grow. We have created over 1.2 million jobs since the depths of the recession. We are moving in the right direction. In contrast to the NDP and Liberal opposition who would raise taxes on Canadians, we are lowering taxes. They would take away the universal child care benefit. We are actually increasing that benefit.

We are going in the right direction, and we are going to fight the NDP and Liberals who would raise taxes and increase debt for generations to come. We will not have that agenda.

Public Safety

[Rosane Doré Lefebvre, NDP, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, true to form, the Minister of Public Safety flatly dismissed any notion of civilian oversight for CSIS activities while getting ready to give CSIS considerably more power. He seems to think all that stuff is just useless red tape.

Now we have a better understanding of why the Conservatives eliminated one of the two CSIS oversight mechanisms.

Why did the minister reject the idea of making sure that CSIS protects Canadians' security and freedom?

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, I can assure my colleague that all threat reduction activities will be covered by the Security Intelligence Review Committee. This is an independent body with the credibility and expertise to do the job. There will be no political interference. When it comes to security, there has to be a certain level of expertise, and that is what the review committee provides.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the public security minister has said that it is simple red tape if we have increased oversight of security matters. If we are going to be giving increased and enhanced powers, the public has a right to better oversight. Why does the minister call that red tape? Does he consider protecting Canadians' rights to be red tape?

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, once again, I can assure the member that the Security Intelligence Review Committee will cover all activities that CSIS will be mandated by this Parliament to accomplish.

SIRC is an established, well-recognized, expert committee that has the knowledge to do intelligence security. I hope, when we talk about national security, we can get the support of the opposition, and tonight the member can stand up and support Canadians and vote for the protection of Canada from terrorists bill.

The Economy

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's latest GDP numbers show that the economy is not just slow, it is actually shrinking.

This Prime Minister has the worst economic growth record since the dirty thirties. Job creation figures for 2014 have been slashed by one-third. Now, with energy investments, exports, and jobs all down, the Bank of Canada says the situation is unambiguously negative.

Instead of spending $12 billion on a tax break for the wealthy, which is expensive and unfair, as Jim Flaherty said, will the government devote that funding to community infrastructure for new jobs and growth?

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

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is completely wrong, and he knows it, about that figure. He is also wrong, as the Liberal Party always has been, about taxes.

This government believes that allowing families to keep more of what they earn helps economic growth and helps job creation. The record is clear, which is why Canada has had one of the best economic growth records in the developed world since the global economic downturn and one of the best job creation records, with over 1.2 million net new jobs created.

If we followed the Liberal plan, with higher taxes, reckless spending, more deficits, and a growing debt, we would go in the wrong direction. We will not do that.

Public Safety

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the finance department says it is the right direction.

With respect to Canada's security agencies, the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness spent the weekend trashing the notion of better oversight as just red tape. Let us remember, this is the government that had the great judgement to appoint Arthur Porter, now in a Panama jail, to head up the Security Intelligence Review Committee. They have left other SIRC vacancies open for years.

Every single one of our allies with whom we share intelligence has a parliamentary or congressional oversight mechanism. If it is right for the U.S., the U.K., New Zealand, and Australia, why is it wrong for Canada?

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure that my colleague will join me in congratulating Mr. Holloway, a respectable Canadian and former law dean, who has joined the Security Intelligence Review Committee.

We have an outstanding Canadian model, a body that has been in place for 30 years, that ensures continuity in terms of reporting and oversight of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, and that has world-renowned expertise, knowledge and credibility. I salute their work and I urge the member to support the work of the committee, which, as we all know, is accountable to Parliament.

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Beauséjour, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government refuses to introduce a robust system of parliamentary oversight to make sure that our security agencies are working properly. In fact, it even described this oversight as useless red tape, and yet all of our closest allies have such a system in place.

Can the government explain why it considers this oversight to be wasteful, when our allies see it as an essential part of keeping people safe?

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians can be very proud of the oversight body we have, whose specific task is to oversee the activities of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. If the bill passes, that body will be mandated to oversee all the new powers that will be granted to CSIS, which has been providing an important service to Canadians for 30 years.

The review committee is a Canadian model that is the envy of the world. I am very proud of the work that it does, and I know I can count on it to continue overseeing CSIS activities.

Intergovernmental Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, at the Council of the Federation, the provincial premiers were unanimous: the federal government must do its part for the country's infrastructure and to stimulate the economy.

Jean-Marc Fournier, from Quebec, summed up the opinion of the provinces quite well. Revenues are shared fifty-fifty, but two thirds of the expenses fall to the provinces. In fact, the federal government must do its part to create jobs and to modernize our infrastructure.

Why is the government insisting on allowing the economy and the job market to slip in this way?

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, the preamble to the question is completely false.

The Conservative government is the biggest champion of infrastructure in the history of Canada. We delivered the largest and longest infrastructure plan in the country's history.

I would remind my colleague that 95% of the country's infrastructure belongs to the municipalities and the provinces, of which we are major partners.

Farmland

[Mylène Freeman, NDP, Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, at a time when the number of job losses across the country keeps going up, the government is hurting the farmers in my region.

In 2004, the Conservatives promised the Sainte-Scholastique-Mirabel UPA that they would return the farmland that was expropriated by the Trudeau government.

Will the Minister of Transport keep the promise made by her Prime Minister a decade ago and ensure that the farmland that was taken away from the farmers is returned to the farmers?

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, we are very pleased with the progress we have been making with respect to this file. We take it very seriously. Of course we are working with all stakeholders. In fact, it was last year that we were able to get all the stakeholders together in a room, including the members of Parliament who represent the affected areas, to ensure that we are listening to stakeholders in terms of what they would like to see happen.

Of course, Transport Canada's role is to make sure everything is done in a safe and responsible manner, and we will continue to do so.

Employment Insurance

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately it is a well-known fact that fewer and fewer unemployed workers have access to the employment insurance program as a result of successive Liberal and Conservative cuts.

Many of the 17,000 employees put out of work by Target will not have access to employment insurance because they have not accumulated enough hours to qualify. Tighter rules also have a significant impact on the economy of many communities.

As the number of job losses and bankruptcies increases, why do the Conservatives continue to raid the employment insurance fund instead of helping unemployed workers?

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

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, the hon. member is absolutely wrong.

On the contrary, we continue to ensure that employment insurance is accessible to those who need it and have worked for a certain period of time.

In fact, 86% of workers who pay into employment insurance have access to the program, which means that the vast majority of those who paid premiums qualify for and receive benefits.

Infrastructure

[Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet, NDP, Hochelaga, QC]

Mr. Speaker, with respect to infrastructure, two-thirds of the costs are shouldered by the provinces and municipalities, while the federal government cashes in half the taxes collected.

The NDP has an urban plan that would allow all levels of government to work together to kick-start employment and modernize our infrastructure. It is about time that the minister get with it.

Why are the Conservatives unable to work with the provinces and municipalities to address Canadians' needs?

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, as I said before, and the math is even more compelling, 95% of infrastructure belongs to municipalities and the provinces, which only shoulder two-thirds of the cost.

This means that we are their partner and that we are very involved. The Government of Canada recently announced an additional $5 billion for federal infrastructure.

I invite municipalities and, above all, the provinces to continue following our lead and looking after their infrastructure.

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

No, no, Mr. Speaker, let us get the math right: two-thirds of the funds for infrastructure are spent by provinces and municipalities, but they only receive half the tax revenues.

Infrastructure keeps our cities safe and functioning, and it drives the economy. The funding cuts by both Conservative and Liberal governments have left our cities badly in need of investment, and now we have a minister from Toronto who says that it would be crazy to improve infrastructure.

Does the minister really believe that Torontonians deserve nothing better than gridlock and crumbling infrastructure?

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, our government has introduced the largest and longest infrastructure plan in Canadian history, with $75 billion in public infrastructure over the next decade, including $53 billion in the new Building Canada fund for provinces, territories, and municipalities. The Prime Minister has recently announced new infrastructure funding to deal with federal infrastructure. We encourage provinces to do the same in regard to their infrastructure.

Employment

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

Well, Mr. Speaker, the sad truth is that there is nothing now for transit, but billions to hand out to Canada's richest families.

Conservatives have ignored our growing infrastructure deficit, and they are trying to also ignore mounting job losses, but the retail closures continue: Mexx, 95 stores; Jones New York, 36 stores; Sony, 14 stores; Target, 133 stores, and that is just in January 2015.

This is what happens when they have no jobs plan and they fail to stand up for workers.

What is the minister going to do about it? Will he delay the budget even more?

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

Mr. Speaker, our jobs plan has resulted in one of the best employment records in the developed world since the global downturn. I will give the House a couple of examples: 500,000 apprenticeship grants that we have delivered, totalling over $700 million; the apprenticeship job creation tax credit; the tradespersons' tools tax credit; supporting Red Seal harmonization across the country; the new job bank; job alerts; micro-loans for foreign-trained professionals so they can get their credentials recognized; the targeted initiative for older workers; enhancements in aboriginal training programs, and on and on.

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

The only thing the government's job alerts say to Canadians, Mr. Speaker, is that there are no jobs for them to get, and those guys want to give themselves a pat on the back.

Middle-class Canadian families are working harder and harder and falling further and further behind. Under Conservative mismanagement, the Canadian economy actually shrank in November, and this on top of record high youth unemployment, at twice the national average, and 1.3 million Canadians still out of work.

New Democrats propose to help small businesses; the Conservatives propose to help with a $2-billion tax cut to the richest 15% of Canadian families. We propose to help manufacturers, and the Conservatives want to argue about the 400,000 manufacturing jobs that have disappeared under their watch.

Why is it that just when the economy needs action, the Conservative finance minister and his budget are not anywhere to be found?

[James Moore, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, here is what economist Jack Mintz has said about the NDP's economic policies. He said that the NDP's policies mean that businesses “get hit with higher taxes”, and their policies tend to keep businesses smaller, with regard to small business.

On the plan the NDP leader put forward in the fall of last year, Dan Kelly, of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, said the NDP leader's plan for the economy is “dumb” and “anti-small business”. He has it exactly right. He understands that this Conservative government is going in the right direction to support the expansion of manufacturing, to protect small business, and to keep the economy going in the right direction.