House of Commons Hansard #168 of the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was elections.

Topics

EmploymentOral Questions

2:20 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

EmploymentOral Questions

2:20 p.m.

Conservative

The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer

Order, please. The hon. Leader of the Opposition.

EmploymentOral Questions

2:20 p.m.

Outremont Québec

NDP

Thomas Mulcair NDPLeader of the Opposition

Mr. Speaker, this is from Dan Kelly of the CFIB, who said, “Good on [the NDP leader] for proposing a cut in the small [business corporate] tax rate”, because the Conservatives have never done it.

Last Friday, I was in the Legion hall in Sudbury, and a woman there said to me that she always thought that in her lifetime things would get better, but actually things are getting worse, and that is borne out by the statistics. Under the current government, the middle class is doing less well than it used to, precisely because of the Conservatives' wrong-headed policies. Instead of helping the rich, they should help the middle class.

Where is the plan? Where is the budget?

EmploymentOral Questions

2:20 p.m.

Calgary Southwest Alberta

Conservative

Stephen Harper ConservativePrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, this government reduced the small business tax rate, and the NDP voted against it. This government made more businesses eligible for the small business tax rate, and the NDP voted against it. That is why the CFIB called the leader of the NDP's policies dumb and anti-small business.

The reality is this. We have, notwithstanding the challenges of the world around us, created 1.2 million net new jobs. Even The New York Times says we have the most prosperous middle class in the world. Everybody knows that all the NDP wants to do with the economic crisis is use it as an excuse to raise taxes on the middle class.

EmploymentOral Questions

2:20 p.m.

Outremont Québec

NDP

Thomas Mulcair NDPLeader of the Opposition

Mr. Speaker, what the Prime Minister has failed to mention is that the jobs he is boasting about are part-time, precarious and temporary jobs. Good jobs, the 400,000 good jobs in the manufacturing sector that were lost by putting all of our eggs into the resource extraction basket, will never return because the Conservatives do not have a plan. If they believe in good jobs for the middle class, when will we see a budget?

EmploymentOral Questions

2:20 p.m.

Calgary Southwest Alberta

Conservative

Stephen Harper ConservativePrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, we have been very clear. We have created 1.2 million jobs since the worst recession hit the Canadian economy. The vast majority are full-time, well-paid, private sector jobs. The statistics are very clear on that.

We stand for tax cuts and job creation, and we oppose the NDP's plan to raise taxes and kill Canadians' jobs.

TaxationOral Questions

2:20 p.m.

Outremont Québec

NDP

Thomas Mulcair NDPLeader of the Opposition

Mr. Speaker, we put forward a concrete plan to help the manufacturing sector, especially with an innovation tax credit. The Prime Minister stands there with his arms folded doing nothing. While the NDP proposed tax cuts to help small businesses create jobs—and small businesses create 80% of the jobs in Canada—he gave $50 billion to large corporations for no reason whatsoever. It produced nothing except a windfall for those corporations, which are sitting on dead money. The Conservatives are taking Canada in the wrong direction.

What Canadians want to know is this: when is there going to be help for the middle class? When are we going to see a budget?

TaxationOral Questions

2:20 p.m.

Calgary Southwest Alberta

Conservative

Stephen Harper ConservativePrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, let me just talk about some of the recent things that I have announced, such as the new programs for small business financing and expansion of those programs. That was something this party supported and something the NDP voted against.

I announced record new investments in federal infrastructure to aid federal infrastructure investment over the long term. The NDP was opposed to that.

We introduced new measures for apprentices to make sure apprentices are trained for the jobs that are available. The NDP voted against that.

All the NDP members do is sit there with their arms crossed, demanding high debt and high-tax policies. We are never going to embrace those.

TaxationOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Liberal

Justin Trudeau Liberal Papineau, QC

Mr. Speaker, last week we learned that our economy began to shrink in November, back when oil prices were at $75 a barrel. The Bank of Canada recently said that middle-class families in western Canada face falling house prices and job losses.

Why is the government giving a $2 billion tax break to those who do not need it, the wealthy, and nothing to those who actually do need it?

TaxationOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Calgary Southwest Alberta

Conservative

Stephen Harper ConservativePrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, what this government is doing is bringing in tax reductions and benefits for every single Canadian family, including the expansion of the universal child care benefit so that we not only raise the amount of money we give for those with children under six but also give benefits all the way up to the age of 17. There is the expansion of the children's fitness tax credit, giving more deductions for expense costs that families incur, and, of course, the family tax cut to ensure that single-income families are treated fairly under the tax system.

We know the Liberal Party wants to raise those taxes on 100% of those Canadian families. We are going to cut taxes for Canadian families.

TaxationOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Liberal

Justin Trudeau Liberal Papineau, QC

Mr. Speaker, the government has cut the infrastructure budget by 90% when the middle class needs investments and better jobs.

The Prime Minister insists on giving tax breaks to the most wealthy. That is the wrong priority. The infrastructure investments that the provinces have called for will help all Canadians. However, the Prime Minister wants to help only the wealthiest 15%.

Why?

TaxationOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Calgary Southwest Alberta

Conservative

Stephen Harper ConservativePrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, our priorities are cutting taxes and increasing the universal child care benefit for all Canadian families.

I know very well that the Liberal Party has been opposed to these policies for a long time. It wants to raise the taxes paid by Canadian families. That is quite the opposite of our policies.

Public SafetyOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Liberal

Justin Trudeau Liberal Papineau, QC

Mr. Speaker, in the years following 9/11, the current Minister of Justice said that parliamentarians could provide a credible and independent check and balance to oversee our national security agencies and the power of the state.

Why has the government left parliamentary oversight out of its current anti-terror bill?

Public SafetyOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Calgary Southwest Alberta

Conservative

Stephen Harper ConservativePrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, we already have a rigorous system of oversight on our national security and police agencies. Specifically on intelligence, we have the Security Intelligence Review Committee, which is a robust mechanism for independent, expert, third party oversight. It functions very well. We are proud of the work it is doing.

What we have to tackle now is making sure our police and security agencies have the power necessary to tackle terrorism and violent jihadism, and that is what we are doing.

Public SafetyOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

NDP

Rosane Doré Lefebvre NDP Alfred-Pellan, QC

Mr. Speaker, the new security bill does nothing to solve the problem of resources.

At this time, CSIS cannot even monitor all the people who have been identified as potential threats. Agents are already swamped just with high-risk travellers.

How does the minister expect those new powers to be useful when the agency cannot even fulfill its current duties?

Public SafetyOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Lévis—Bellechasse Québec

Conservative

Steven Blaney ConservativeMinister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

Mr. Speaker, we have increased the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and Royal Canadian Mounted Police budgets seven times in the House. All seven times, the opposition parties voted against those increases.

Today, because we increased the Canadian Security Intelligence Service budget by nearly a third, it can invest over $200 million in protecting Canadians. CSIS needs tools, and again yesterday, the New Democrats voted against that.

Public SafetyOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

NDP

Rosane Doré Lefebvre NDP Alfred-Pellan, QC

Mr. Speaker, clearly, we cannot increase CSIS's powers without increasing civilian oversight at the same time.

Instead of increasing oversight of our intelligence agency, the Conservatives are doing the opposite and reducing it by eliminating the Office of the Inspector General of CSIS.

Why are they refusing to increase civilian oversight now, when it is more crucial than ever?

Public SafetyOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Lévis—Bellechasse Québec

Conservative

Steven Blaney ConservativeMinister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

Mr. Speaker, Canada is under attack. We are at war against the terrorists and against jihadism. To help wage that war, we have the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. We believe that liberty and security go hand in hand.

In Canada, we have a unique, reputable, independent Canadian model consisting of experts who oversee our security agencies. I have full confidence in them, as do the Canadian people.

Public SafetyOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

NDP

Murray Rankin NDP Victoria, BC

Mr. Speaker, way back in 2005, even the Minister of Justice thought that more oversight of CSIS was a good idea. He said:

...it would also cause a little bit more diligence on the part of the security agents themselves, just knowing that this oversight body was in place.

Oversight helps prevent abuses. It makes sense, but instead of making good on these words, the Conservatives have actually cut CSIS oversight.

It is a simple question. Does the Minister of Justice still believe that more oversight would help prevent these abuses?

Public SafetyOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Lévis—Bellechasse Québec

Conservative

Steven Blaney ConservativeMinister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

Mr. Speaker, the international jihadist movement has declared war on Canada, and we believe that third-party, non-partisan, independent, expert oversight of our national security agency is a much better model than political intervention in the process. Also, key powers of the new legislation are subject to judicial review and judicial authorization.

It is much more than the empty talk of the NDP, which opposed measures against terrorism yesterday.

Public SafetyOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

NDP

Murray Rankin NDP Victoria, BC

Mr. Speaker, I guess accountability sounded just fine to the Conservatives until they had to start actually being accountable.

One thing is very clear. Much more needs to be done to stop radicalization on the ground in Canadian communities. Canadians all across the country, in community centres, and yes, in mosques, are doing this work already and are trying to get the federal government to help. These groups are our best allies in ensuring that hatred and violence are rejected in Canada.

Why have the Conservatives failed to reach out and support them?

Public SafetyOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Lévis—Bellechasse Québec

Conservative

Steven Blaney ConservativeMinister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

Mr. Speaker, it looks like it is a wake-up call for the NDP. More than a year ago, the government introduced the Combating Terrorism Act with our counterterrorism strategy, which has four pillars. The first pillar is prevention.

What did the NDP do? It opposed all the measures we put forward to fight terrorism.

Foreign AffairsOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

NDP

Wayne Marston NDP Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON

Mr. Speaker, as of today, Mohamed Fahmy, the award-winning Canadian journalist, has spent 402 days detained by Egyptian authorities. He was imprisoned because he was doing his job as a journalist.

His friend and Australian colleague, Peter Greste, was released over the weekend. Can the Minister of Foreign Affairs please inform the House as to the status of the release of Mr. Fahmy?

Foreign AffairsOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Cypress Hills—Grasslands Saskatchewan

Conservative

David Anderson ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs

Mr. Speaker, both the former Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Consular have raised this issue of Mr. Fahmy's case with their counterparts, and I can tell the House that this has been raised at all levels of our government. We welcome positive developments and remain hopeful that Mr. Fahmy's case will be resolved shortly.

Foreign AffairsOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

NDP

Paul Dewar NDP Ottawa Centre, ON

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs. First, I would like to thank him for taking on this role, and I look forward to working with him.

While the conflict between Ukraine and Russia escalates, key members of Russia's business and political elite are still not on Canada's sanctions list, despite the fact that our allies do list them.

I have a simple question for the minister. Why are Igor Sechin, Sergey Chemezov, and Vladimir Yakunin not on Canada's sanctions list, when they are on the sanctions list of both the United States and the U.K.? Why are they not on our list?