Debates of April 20th, 2015

Finance

[Kevin Sorenson, Conservative, Minister of State (Finance)]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member referenced the balanced budget legislation. Canadians understand the importance of living within their means and they expect that governments will do the same. Balanced budgets keep taxes low and ensure that government services are sustained over the long term.

We will introduce legislation regarding balanced budgets. Our government is committed to balanced budgets. The good news is that tomorrow Canadians will see the Minister of Finance stand and deliver a balanced budget that will create jobs. Canadians know they are better off with this Conservative government.

Taxation

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

Mr. Speaker, doubling the TFSA limit is just another Conservative tax break for the rich. Most middle-class families cannot make use of that extra limit. In fact, very few middle-class families have an extra $20,000 kicking around every year to invest in their TFSAs. Wealthy Canadians can and in time, doubling the TFSA limit will give billions more to the wealthy.

Why are the Conservatives making middle-class Canadians who are struggling pay for tax breaks for the rich?

[Kevin Sorenson, Conservative, Minister of State (Finance)]

Mr. Speaker, we know the Liberal Party wants to raise taxes on families and force every Canadian to pay more tax to finance those Liberal spending schemes. We are not going to let that happen.

Members do not have to take my word for it. Let me read a quote, “Liberals believe Canadians will not be bothered by being taxed more”. Who said that? It was the hon. member for Kings—Hants.

We get it. Canadians get it. They are better off with this Conservative government.

Employment

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

Mr. Speaker, when given the choice between being consistent and being right, I choose to be right. The fact is that Liberal governments actually cut taxes and actually paid down the debt. The Conservative government has actually raised taxes on middle-class Canadian families and at the same has increased the debt.

A lot of young Canadians are having trouble finding jobs. One NHL economic action plan ad run by the Conservatives would pay for 32 summer jobs for young Canadians. Why will the Conservatives not cut their partisan advertising that is wasting millions of dollars and help young Canadians find work?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Democratic Reform]

Mr. Speaker, the only plan of the Liberals for students is to raise their taxes. The member across the way claims that students do not pay taxes. Apparently he is not aware of the thousands of hard-working young people who work all the time to make ends meet. We are lowering their taxes as well. We have lifted the amount of money they can earn tax free. We have lowered payroll taxes so that when they earn wages, they keep more of what they earn and their employers can hire them. That is why we have created 1.2 million net new jobs with 90% of them being full-time and two-thirds in high-wage sectors. We are going to continue to cut taxes.

Ethics

[Ève Péclet, NDP, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, if there was one member of the Conservative caucus who was popular, it was Mike Duffy, who was so popular in fact that he received a $90,000 cheque from the Prime Minister's chief of staff to cover up his bogus expense claims.

Some 74 Conservative MPs benefited from Mike Duffy's travel privileges when the senator participated in their fundraising events. The Prime Minister even personally thanked him, saying that he was his hardest working appointment ever.

What was it about Mike Duffy's work that the Prime Minister loved so much?

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. I would just remind members that questions should touch on administrative responsibilities. I do not know if the hon. parliamentary secretary wants to answer it or not. I see him rising so I will allow him to do so.

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

Mr. Speaker, certainly touching on the administration of the House is very important. That is why there are 68 members of the NDP who owe taxpayers $2.7 million for illegal offices. The member herself owes over $25,000 to the taxpayers for these illegal offices. I suggest the member encourage the other 67 members to pay back the $2.7 million they owe the taxpayers.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadian taxpayers certainly did not get much value out of Mike Duffy's time as a senator, but at least 74 Conservative MPs did very well and they did not even have to be his cousin. In fact, the biggest beneficiary appears to be the Prime Minister.

Duffy's diaries are pretty skint on his work as a senator, but have a lot of details of his work as a full-time booster for the party. Since Canadian people are on the hook for this, that makes this government business.

Why did the Prime Minister have Duffy travelling around the country working for the party when his job was supposed to be representing the people of Prince Edward Island? What was Duffy's special role to the Prime Minister?

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. I see the hon. parliamentary secretary rising to answer the question so I will allow him to do so. However, I again remind members that questions should touch on the administrative responsibilities of the government.

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

Mr. Speaker, in keeping with your suggestion, I will do just that.

Talking about taxpayers not getting value for their money, I wonder what the taxpayers of Scarborough Southwest think about their member sending over $140,000 to an illegal office in Montreal, that the member for Davenport sent over $1,000 to that same illegal office, that the member for Beaches—East York did the same thing, that the former member for Trinity—Spadina did the same thing. Sixty-eight members of the NDP caucus sent millions of dollars to an illegal office and they should pay it back.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as one of the 74 MPs who called on Duffy, I see the member is feeling very touchy today. Let us lower the temperature and see if he can help explain this to me.

I need assistance from the Prime Minister of Canada who said, “To Duff....Thanks for being one of my best, hardest working appointments ever”. Here is the thing. He was put in to represent Prince Edward Island. He never introduced a single piece of legislation. His diary mentioned dinner 616 times, lobster dinners 24 times, his dog Chloe 47 times, but Senate business a mere 2 times. This is the business Canadians are—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. The hon. member for Saint-Lambert.

Government Services

[Sadia Groguhé, NDP, Saint-Lambert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, there is always a double standard with this government. While Conservative and Liberal senators were entitled to an all-you-can-eat buffet, the Conservatives were cutting services for our veterans and reducing the number of inspectors who ensure the safety of our food. Now they want to impose additional cuts totalling $500 million.

Why do Liberal and Conservative senators get treated one way, while middle-class Canadians get treated altogether differently?

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

Mr. Speaker, since we have been elected, our number one priority has been the economy. That is why we put thousands of dollars back into the pockets of hard-working Canadian taxpayers. We understand that they work hard and that they play by the rules.

In my riding of Oak Ridges—Markham they get up every morning and get to work. What they want their government to do is put more money back in their pockets to invest in their priorities. This is why we have done that. We have increased the universal child care benefit to $160. We have increased and made a new commitment from $60 for children from 6 to 17.

That is putting more money in the pockets of Canadians. While the NDP take $2.7 million out of their pockets, we are putting it back in.

[Sadia Groguhé, NDP, Saint-Lambert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are sick of seeing the Conservatives giving handouts to their friends when they should be tightening their belts. For six years, the Conservatives have made more than $45 billion in cuts to government services. They cut services to the public. They closed Coast Guard stations. Canadians have to line up at Service Canada offices to get help.

Will this upcoming budget make more cuts to services or will it finally support the middle class?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Democratic Reform]

Mr. Speaker, we are helping the middle class by putting money directly into the pockets of families and parents. We have lowered taxes and increased the child care benefit, which the Prime Minister created in 2006. Families will now receive $2,000 for every child under six and $1,720 for every child aged 6 to 17.

The NDP and the Liberals want to take that money away from families and increase taxes. We will not allow them to do that.

The Budget

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

Mr. Speaker, choices must be made in budgets. Not only are the Conservatives' priorities clear, they are deplorable. The Conservatives are cutting seasonal workers' access to employment insurance, support for SMEs and job creation in the regions.

This government, and the previous Conservative and Liberal governments, have allowed a total of half a million jobs in the manufacturing sector to disappear.

Will the Conservatives finally invest in health and job creation, rather than continuing to cut services that the middle class need?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Democratic Reform]

Mr. Speaker, we are helping the middle class by reducing taxes and putting more money in their pockets. Furthermore, we have created more than 1.2 million good jobs for Canadians thanks to our action plan.

We have also created apprenticeship grants. We have provided more than 500,000 new grants to young apprentices, so they can work in the trades that are in demand. This will create real jobs for the middle class and real opportunities for our youth.

Manufacturing Industry

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

Mr. Speaker, far too many Canadian families are struggling to make ends meet while job losses keep mounting. Under the Conservative government we have lost more than 400,000 good manufacturing jobs. Now the Conservatives say they are going to have a deathbed conversion to manufacturing in the budget, but their actions speak louder than their words. These job losses have affected Canadian families who depend on them to pay the bills and to send their kids to school.

Will the Conservatives reverse their trend of neglect and invest in Canadian manufacturing to create and preserve good Canadian jobs?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Democratic Reform]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP and Liberals only have one plan for jobs and that is to raise taxes on those who create them. Our plan is trade, training and tax cuts. For example, on trade, the Prime Minister recently announced that our trade agreement with Europe will allow Honda Canada to export vehicles directly to Europe for the very first time, creating 400 jobs in the manufacturing sector.

Mr. Sierra who owns Novo Plastics is a small businessman. He is going to create an extra three jobs for engineers because he will be sending his aluminum products to Europe because of the Prime Minister's free trade agreement.

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

Mr. Speaker, I guess after they have lost 400,000 manufacturing jobs, any small job creation is a celebration for the Conservatives.

Budgets are about making choices and Conservatives are once again putting their own self-interests ahead of middle-class Canadians.

Conservatives are planning billions of dollars in handouts to the wealthiest, a $700 million tax loophole for CEOs, and yet they are telling ordinary Canadians that after years of painful cuts they are going to have to settle for less, less food safety, less rail safety, less money to stop oil spills and no money to help parents find affordable child care. If this is all about making choices, why are the Conservatives choosing as their first priority helping out wealthy Canadians?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Democratic Reform]

Mr. Speaker, I am not surprised to see the NDP turning its nose up at a small business that is trying to create jobs for Canadians. Mr. Sierra said the fact that we are eliminating the 10% tariff that Europe used to have on imported aluminum goods is going to allow him to hire three new engineers. That is just three examples of the 1.2 million net new jobs that our low-tax plan has created.

These are real human beings who got the phone call and on the other end of the line someone said, “Congratulations, you got the job”.

Fisheries and Oceans

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

The Auditor General has been clear. The government is not prepared to deal with even moderately sized oil spills, but the Conservatives keep cutting the organizations that respond to these emergencies, including the Kitsilano Coast Guard station, B.C.'s oil spill environmental response centre and Coast Guard communication centres.

The recent Vancouver oil spill should be a wake-up call. Will the Conservatives repair the damage they have done and restore these critical services?

[Gail Shea, Conservative, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, Coast Guard experts have been crystal clear that there is no change in our Coast Guard response. The Kitsilano station was not an environmental response station and never provided these types of environmental response operations.

As the assistant commissioner of the Canadian Coast Guard has stated, the Kitsilano station would not have made any difference to the response of the Marathassa leak. The proper responder was tasked in this situation.