House of Commons Hansard #202 of the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was tax.
Carol Hughes NDP Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON
Mr. Speaker, this government's record is simply indefensible.
The Auditor General made it clear that first nations in remote communities have no choice but to seek care in substandard clinics from nurses who lack training.
One of those communities did not get a visit from a health specialist for two years because of a septic system failure that was never repaired. Two years. That is crazy.
Why are the Conservatives abandoning remote communities?
Rona Ambrose ConservativeMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, let me just explain to the member how access to health care providers on remote first nations works.
First of all, we have over 734 aboriginal health facilities on first nations. We are investing over $30 million toward the maintenance of these facilities, and we are constantly working with first nations to ensure that they are maintained. In fact, we have built five brand new facilities in the last three years. We also have Telehealth available. If any first nation aboriginal cannot get access to the health care they need, we are willing, of course, and always have the opportunity, to use emergency medical evacuation at no cost to the first nation.
Rosane Doré Lefebvre NDP Alfred-Pellan, QC
Mr. Speaker, there is another thing we have learned from the Auditor General's report: last year, 1,500 offenders were released directly into communities in Canada without any rehabilitation. Not only are offenders entitled to rehabilitation, but we all know how beneficial social reintegration is for public safety.
Will the minister listen to the repeated recommendations made by the Auditor General and the Correctional Investigator and prioritize the effective, safe reintegration of offenders into our society?
Steven Blaney ConservativeMinister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out that we welcome the Auditor General's recommendations and we share his point of view.
Our government has established truth in sentencing measures, which means that offenders serve their sentences behind bars, and that keeps Canadians safe. While they are serving their sentences, offenders can access more rehabilitation programs than in the past. Nearly 95% of offenders have access to such programs.
We will continue to make the safety of our communities a priority.
Jack Harris NDP St. John's East, NL
Mr. Speaker, today's Auditor General's report on the National Defence ombudsman is extremely troubling. The report reveals serious mismanagement and ethical breaches within the office. According to the Auditor General, the defence department knew about many of these problems but failed to fully investigate.
The ombudsman's office is a vital resource for soldiers and their families to get redress. Can the Minister of National Defence explain why his department allowed this toxic work environment to exist, and will he commit to proper monitoring of the ombudsman's office to ensure that this cannot happen again?
Jason Kenney ConservativeMinister of National Defence and Minister for Multiculturalism
Mr. Speaker, all of these oversight bodies, like ombudsmen, operate in a quasi-independent fashion, but I want to thank the Auditor General for getting to the bottom of this completely unacceptable abuse of both public servants and tax dollars. We accept all of his recommendations without reservation. Specific measures are already being taken, including a new agreement to better manage employees and processes for better financial accountability.
Robert Aubin NDP Trois-Rivières, QC
Mr. Speaker, a new report confirms yet again that fewer and fewer unemployed workers are getting employment insurance when they need it.
The Conservative budget took billions of dollars from the employment insurance fund, which, let us not forget, is funded solely by employees and employers. Why did the government raid the fund? It did so in order to offer income splitting to the wealthiest Canadians and allow them to shelter more money in their TFSAs.
Here is the real question: Why are the Conservatives using employment insurance contributions to fatten the wallets of the wealthiest Canadians instead of helping the 1.3 million unemployed Canadians?
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeMinister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Democratic Reform
Mr. Speaker, the facts in the hon. member's question are absolutely false.
Our policy, as described in the budget, seeks to balance the employment insurance account in the medium term: there was a deficit in the account during the recession and now we are paying down that deficit. What is more, in two years, we are going to reduce the contributions by 21%, which will create jobs for the employees and leave more money in their pockets.
Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON
Mr. Speaker, Canadians who lose their jobs through no fault of their own expect the EI system to help, because that is what it is supposed to do, but even with so many Canadians out of work, 1.3 million at last count, access to EI benefits is at historic lows. Two-thirds of unemployed Canadians are denied support.
When so many are struggling to make ends meet, how can the Conservatives justify giving handouts to the wealthy few ahead of helping those who really need it?
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeMinister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Democratic Reform
Mr. Speaker, the member's statement is absolutely false.
The policy laid out in the budget is for the employment insurance account to balance over the medium term. It was in a deficit during the recession. That money is now being paid back. We are cutting employment insurance premiums for both employees and employers by 21% in 2017. That will create jobs by making it less expensive to hire and will leave more money in the pockets of people who work.
The NDP and Liberals want to spend billions on a 45-day work year, where people would only work 45 days, and then they would be on EI for the rest of the year. That would cost billions and kill jobs. That is why we reject it.
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
Mr. Speaker, a 45-day work year sounds like the Minister of Finance.
The Prime Minister once lectured the UN, saying, “You can’t manage what you can’t measure”.
That could have actually been the title of the Auditor General's report that said that the Conservatives are failing on drug safety, failing on first nations health care, and failing even to measure the cost to taxpayers of billions of dollars in tax handouts.
Now I understand why, after the bad week the Minister of Finance had, he has been benched. Is there anybody over there willing to take some responsibility for the mess they are making, or are they leaving that to future generations to clean up?
Kevin Sorenson ConservativeMinister of State (Finance)
Mr. Speaker, let me remind the hon. member what the Auditor General said:
We found that Finance Canada does a good job of analyzing new tax measures and of monitoring existing ones.
I remind the member that those tax measures are measures like income-splitting for families, pension income-splitting for seniors. Those are tax measures that are putting money back into the pockets of Canadians.
We know that the New Democratic Party would tax middle-class Canadians. It would tax middle-class seniors. We are not going to let that happen. Canadians know they are better off with this Conservative government.
Arnold Chan Liberal Scarborough—Agincourt, ON
Mr. Speaker, the government has spent nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars on partisan ads, yet last week's budget included no new money to help promote Canada as a tourism destination in the U.S. Instead, after years of cuts and neglect, the budget included only a vague commitment to consult with important stakeholders.
Hundreds of thousands of middle-class Canadians depend on our tourism industry, yet the government still has no plan. Can the minister tell the House how much money he has set aside to promote Canada in the U.S., or does Canada's action plan only include partisan advertising?
Ed Holder ConservativeMinister of State (Science and Technology)
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member opposite for his question, and I would like to welcome him back to the House.
Appreciating that he has just recently returned, there are a few things I would like to bring to his attention and to the members opposite.
Our government is extremely proud of the concrete actions it has taken to support Canada's tourism industry. In fact, he might be interested in knowing that the investments we are making in the Canadian Tourism Commission are paying off. Since last January 2014, overnight trips to Canada have increased 10.8% over last year. Where is that coming from? That is coming from the United States. Budget 2015 proposes additional support to the CTC to embark on a new marketing program in the United States, in partnership with the tourism industry.
Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB
Mr. Speaker, the minister should not be proud. He should be embarrassed. Quite frankly, we spend hundreds of millions of tax dollars on partisan advertising, totalling three-quarters of a billion dollars. This is something the Prime Minister needs to kind of get his head around. That is a phenomenal amount of advertising.
Let me ask the Prime Minister this: How much advertising has been done to advertise the fact that the Conservative government has increased the age of retirement from 65 to 67? That is going to affect millions of Canadians.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeMinister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Democratic Reform
Mr. Speaker, after the Liberal ad scam, that party has no credibility talking about government advertising.
We are advertising the family tax cut, which will save up to $2,000 through income splitting. We are advertising the Prime Minister's increased universal child care benefit, which pays almost $2,000 for kids under six and $720 for kids six through 17.
Here is the difference: Liberals use government advertising to give money to themselves; we use government advertising to give money back to Canadian taxpayers.
Scott Brison Liberal Kings—Hants, NS
Mr. Speaker, the Bank of Canada says housing prices are overvalued by up to 30%. The bank cites elevated risks of a housing correction in Alberta, Toronto, and Vancouver and warns that if that happened in these markets simultaneously, “the spillover effects to the rest of the economy could be significant”. These are serious risks facing our economy and housing markets. That is why the government was advised to increase the contingency reserve.
Why did the Conservatives actually ignore that advice and raid the reserve? Was it just to cobble up an illusory surplus on the eve of an election?
Kevin Sorenson ConservativeMinister of State (Finance)
Mr. Speaker, in recent years the government has taken action to ensure long-term stability of the housing market and to reduce taxpayers' exposure. These actions have helped ensure that Canada's housing market remains relatively strong. We will continue to monitor the housing market closely.
Our government is lowering taxes for taxpayers. We are providing benefits directly to families and are creating jobs for families to make sure they can make ends meet. We are doing all we can to keep money in the pockets of Canadians. We know that party would take that away from Canadians.
Hoang Mai NDP Brossard—La Prairie, QC
Mr. Speaker, the government's complacency when it comes to aviation safety is troubling.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada report released yesterday is very clear: the current approach to oversight is not enough to address unsafe practices and conditions. If Transport Canada does not adopt an approach that combines audits and inspections, the risk of accidents may increase.
The government has cut the transportation safety budget by more than 20%. When is it going to take Canadians' safety seriously?
Lisa Raitt ConservativeMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, first of all we want to thank the Transportation Safety Board for its report wherein it found that the Buffalo Airways airline was found to not be following the rules. We find this to be absolutely unacceptable.
Safety management systems are internationally known as the gold standard. That is what we employ here in Canada. In 2012, Transport Canada developed a civil aviation action plan to ensure that oversight was as robust as needed for its mandate. We will continue to monitor the implementation of these changes that Transport Canada is bringing about, and we will not hesitate to use every tool that we have in order to ensure that Transport Canada is carrying out the mandate.
Hoang Mai NDP Brossard—La Prairie, QC
Mr. Speaker, this is another troubling TSB report on the government's failure on air safety. The report is clear that the current approach to oversight is at risk of failing to address unsafe practices and conditions, and that if Transport Canada does not adopt a balanced approach that combines inspections with audits the risk of accidents may increase.
When will the minister stop cutting transport safety and start ensuring the safety of Canadians?
Lisa Raitt ConservativeMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, as I previously mentioned in the answer before, in 2002 the department created a civil aviation action plan in order to respond to the critique of the report of the Auditor General that spring.
We are monitoring the carrying out and implementation of this action plan. There is also parliamentary committee oversight. As I stated already, we will use every tool we have to ensure that Transport Canada is fulfilling its mandate with respect to oversight of civil aviation.
Chris Charlton NDP Hamilton Mountain, ON
Mr. Speaker, the man the Prime Minister chose as his parliamentary secretary, his spokesperson on ethics, is now facing possible jail time after violating the Elections Act, yet at every step, despite all of the accusations, the charges, and the investigation, the Prime Minister staunchly defended him.
Why did the Prime Minister insist on Del Mastro's innocence, or was this just the standard Conservative practice of denying everything—
The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer
Order, please. I think we may have strayed away from government business on this particular question.
The hon. member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie.
Alexandre Boulerice NDP Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC
Mr. Speaker, good governance starts with obeying the law. That is why the question is pertinent.
Election fraud is a direct attack on our democracy because it takes away the people's choice of government. Unfortunately, such fraud lies at the very heart of this Prime Minister's administration.
Today, the former parliamentary secretary to the Prime Minister is facing serious charges. After the in and out scandal, after the robocalls, after the expenses of another Conservative minister, are the Conservatives going to respect Canadians and—