Debates of Feb. 5th, 2015

Employment

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

Mr. Speaker, of course we all feel badly for those at that company who have lost their jobs. We have already reached out. In fact, within hours of the announcement made by this U.S. retailer, we reached out to the company and its employees, offering a special accelerated process for EI claims, offering job bridging and connections to jobs that are available through the Job Bank, and offering training programs. We will be there to support those individuals.

The most important thing is that we have a strong and growing economy so that there are alternatives when people lose their jobs. That is why we are cutting taxes to create those jobs, rather than taking the NDP's approach of raising taxes.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, most of them will not even qualify for EI. All he is talking about is accelerated refusal.

The Conservatives were caught with their pants down by the drop in the price of oil and their failure to diversify the economy.

We have brought forward tangible and responsible measures to help the manufacturing sector, boost SMEs and stimulate job creation in Canada.

Given that they do not even have a budget, can the Minister of Finance tell us if he will at least support our motion in order to create jobs for the middle class?

[James Moore, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, we will be voting against the motion because it is misguided, as most NDP policies are. Our government believes in having a strong, balanced, effective economy that supports manufacturing in all regions of the country.

For example, we are putting forward our national shipbuilding procurement policy, which the NDP has opposed. This is a policy that the Conference Board of Canada last week said is going to lead to strong growth in the manufacturing sector in the provinces of British Columbia and Nova Scotia.

We have put forward, for example, the automotive innovation fund, which has led to an expansion of 1,200 new jobs at Linamar in Guelph and an expansion of 1,200 new jobs in Oakville by Ford through with those policies we put forward.

Again and again, on accelerated capital cost allowance and key investments, the NDP has voted—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. Leader of the Opposition.

Infrastructure

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, there were 400,000 manufacturing jobs were lost on their watch. My colleague from Sackville—Eastern Shore has always stood up for shipbuilding in our country. We have no lessons to receive from them.

The Conservatives have no plan for cities. Municipalities across the country are faced with crumbling infrastructure, an affordable housing crisis, and gridlock. Mayors are saying the government is not working with them. Last week the Minister of Finance called Canada's premiers “delusional” because they wanted to talk about improving transit.

What we want to know is this: are they going to take the same sort of arrogant attitude with the mayors of the country this afternoon and insult them the way the finance minister did?

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

Mr. Speaker, notwithstanding the sound and fury that they may hear in this place from time to time, municipalities can be assured that they have the strongest partner in this Conservative government that they have ever had.

Our Conservative government has introduced the largest infrastructure plan in Canadian history, a $75 billion plan over the next decade. This includes a $53 billion plan for municipalities, provinces, and territories. Also, in the fall the Prime Minister announced $6 billion specifically for federally owned infrastructure.

We are not only doing our part; we are doing much more.

Public Safety

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

Mr. Speaker, on the Conservative's new security bill, Canadians have more questions than answers about whether these new powers are necessary, or even what they do.

Would the minister please explain what new activities would be allowed by the clause that gives CSIS the power to “disrupt threats”?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, this is a very comprehensive bill. However, with respect to CSIS, it would not only allow CSIS to share more information and work closely with Canadian security forces but also allow us to engage more with our Five Eyes community and to track terrorists that pose a threat to Canadians. It would allow our CSIS officers to operate as other security agencies do in protecting Canadians, both at home and abroad.

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

Mr. Speaker, this week the RCMP laid a number of terrorism-related charges right here in Ottawa, under the existing laws. We would like to thank the RCMP for doing a good job.

This case also shows the need to provide more support to communities that are fighting radicalization. The idea is to work together.

Why has the Prime Minister decided to alienate communities rather than work with them?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, government agencies have many opportunities to co-operate and work with all communities in Canada.

There is no question that there are ongoing efforts both by security agencies themselves and by other branches and departments of government to reach out, to have round tables, to be inclusive, and to consult regularly with all the diversity of Canada. That is not only a security issue; it is an ongoing effort on the part of government.

Infrastructure

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

Mr. Speaker, the budget for the building Canada fund was $1.6 billion in 2014. In 2015 it is $210 million. That is an 87% cut. The fund will pay out a total of $14 billion from 2014 to 2023, but $10.2 billion of that money, 73%, will not be available before 2019.

We have an 87% cut this year and three-quarters of the funding will not be available until 2019, but we need investments and jobs now.

Will the government admit that it cannot deny these figures? These are the official figures.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is intriguing that the Liberals have this sudden conversion to the importance of infrastructure, given that they did so little on this file when they were government.

As the Conservative government, we have invested three times the amount in infrastructure than the Liberals did when they were government. These investments are creating jobs and prosperity. They are enhancing our country's growth and productivity.

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, that is false and they know it.

The truth is that the Conservatives are playing a shell game with infrastructure funding just to create a notional surplus on the eve of an election.

The truth is that 73% of the new Building Canada fund would not even be available until after 2019. That is two elections from now.

The truth is that $210 million is available this year. That is a 90% cut from last year.

When will the Conservatives simply tell the truth and reverse their cuts to infrastructure funding?

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

Mr. Speaker, that member is once again misleading the House.

The new Building Canada plan has been open for business since March. In less than a year, projects representing an estimated $5 billion have already been approved for funding.

When we first announced the new Building Canada plan in budget 2013, here is what that stalwart of the Conservative Party, Ottawa mayor Jim Watson, had to say:

This is good news for the city of Ottawa and indeed good news for all cities across Canada.

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are trying to take credit for funding that would not even flow until 2020. Meanwhile, they have slashed the Building Canada fund for the next two years. That $210 million this year represents a 90% cut from last year.

The middle class is struggling. The economy shrank in November. We are seeing stagnant growth and virtually no job growth. The economy needs a boost now, not just in five years.

Why will the Conservatives not tell the truth, reverse their infrastructure cuts, and create jobs today?

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

Mr. Speaker, one of the key pillars of the new Building Canada plan is the gas tax fund. Here is what our Conservative government has done with respect to the gas tax fund: we have doubled it. We made it permanent. We are indexing it moving forward.

Municipalities know, to the penny, exactly how much money they are receiving. That money is flowing today, and municipalities are using it for their infrastructure needs.

We are getting the job done.

Employment

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

Mr. Speaker, Target started liquidating its inventory today. It is liquidating everything: toys, clothes and 18,000 employees. Thousands of people will end up jobless, all because this government is incapable of diversifying the economy and protecting jobs.

Will this government face the facts, admit that its economic management has failed and adopt the NDP's plan to support the middle class and promote job creation?

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

Mr. Speaker, the NDP's so-called plan involves the accelerated capital cost allowance, which this government has delivered in three subsequent budgets, which in every instance the NDP voted against. It includes reducing taxes supposedly for small businesses, which this government has done and which the NDP voted against.

The NDP has about as much credibility in talking about tax cuts as a vampire does in pledging to become a vegetarian.

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

Sadly, that vampire is in charge of job creation and he is not doing the job today, Mr. Speaker. Maybe some vegetarians should get involved.

The Conservatives also have no plan to replace the more than 400,000 manufacturing jobs lost under their watch. That is 400,000 well-paid jobs that once put food on family tables and life in the communities.

The NDP has presented a plan to boost investments in manufacturing and create good middle-class jobs for generations to come.

Why do the Conservatives refuse to support action? Why do they refuse to create good jobs for Canadians?

[James Moore, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, what we refuse are NDP policies that have been described by the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters as plans that threaten “to erode investment [and] put jobs at risk...”. That is what the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters itself has said. Here is what it said about our plan. It said that our plan delivers solutions for manufacturers across Canada.

It has looked at the NDP plan and said that it fails. It has looked at ours and knows that it works. If the NDP does not understand that the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters is the expert and that high taxes would kill jobs under the NDP's plan, then I guess we will all just have to live with our disappointment that the NDP just cannot learn.

Infrastructure

[Fin Donnelly, NDP, New Westminster—Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the mayors of Canada's 19 biggest cities have come together today to highlight the need for federal action. Our cities are facing crumbling infrastructure, a growing housing crisis, and inadequate transit funding. Gridlock costs us billions of dollars a year in lost economic activity. The average lower mainland resident spends the equivalent of 35 working days per year just commuting.

Why will the Conservatives not work with our mayors, cut our travel times, and build the infrastructure we so badly need?

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

Mr. Speaker, we are doing just that. We are working very closely with mayors, municipalities, provinces, and territories across this country to renew infrastructure, create jobs, and enhance our growth and productivity. We are making record investments in infrastructure. This includes record investments in public transit. Since we formed government, we have invested almost $8 billion in public transit alone. Public transit is an eligible category under every component of the plan.

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

Mr. Speaker, the mayors of Canada's biggest cities have simple requests: they want the federal government to have a long-term vision and work with them to address the pressing needs for affordable social housing, transit and infrastructure.

We need to catch up, and this will create more jobs than tax cuts for the wealthy, as the Conservatives are proposing. What will it take to get the government to work with the mayors and the provincial premiers?

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

Mr. Speaker, we not only have a long-term vision; we have a long-term 10-year plan, with $75 billion of stable, predictable funding over that next decade. That includes the $53 billion new building Canada plan, which is dedicated directly to municipalities and provinces. Municipalities will receive a minimum of 70% of that new building Canada plan.

Regional Economic Development

[Robert Chisholm, NDP, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the economy of smaller towns and regions is also suffering under the Conservatives. Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation was replaced by ACOA. However, whatever it is called, the bottom line is clear—the Conservatives have failed to deliver the help that this region needs to build its economy.

ECBC was shut down in the omnibus budget bill last year, but according to the mayor of Port Hawkesbury, “ACOA has failed us miserably...”. Why has the minister not been talking to the mayors about the problems with ACOA?