Debates of April 29th, 2015

Agriculture

[David Sweet, Conservative, Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions.

The first one is from Canadians who say that without small family farms and peasants who perform the labour-intensive task of preserving seeds, biodiversity and the future of food is threatened.

The petitioners ask the Government of Canada and the House of Commons, therefore, to adopt international aid policies that support small family farms, especially women, and recognize their vital role in the struggle against hunger and poverty.

Iraq

[David Sweet, Conservative, Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my second petition is from many Canadians who are very concerned about the violence Yazidis and other minorities are enduring in Iraq.

The petitioners are deeply grateful for the actions of the Government of Canada to date, and ask further that this House, among other things, provide military cover and equipment to help Yazidis stranded on Mount Sinjar and increase with the greatest possible urgency our Canadian efforts to help Yazidi people, as well as Baha'i, Chaldo-Assyrians, Christians, Mandaeans, Shabak, Turkmen and others against ISIS attacks.

Agriculture

[Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe, NDP, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I present a petition from St. Thomas à Becket church.

The petitioners ask that the Government of Canada and the House of Commons adopt international aid policies that support small family farmers, especially women, and recognize their vital role in the fight against hunger and poverty.

They also ask to ensure these policies and programs are developed in consultation with small family farmers and that they they protect the rights of small family farmers in the global south to preserve, use and freely exchange seeds.

Southern Resident Killer Whales

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise today to present two petitions.

The first is primarily from residents of Saanich—Gulf Islands, although it is also signed by some residents of Victoria and Edmonton.

The petitioners are calling for urgent action from the House of Commons to prevent the extinction of the southern resident killer whale populations of the Salish Sea. The petitioners note that these populations are endangered and are particularly vulnerable to disturbances, both acoustic and physical in their critical habitat.

Anti-terrorism Legislation

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is from over 1,343 petitioners from many provinces, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario, calling on this House to reject the anti-democratic and anti-constitutional Bill C-51.

I hope the petitioners will be well-received on this critical issue.

Agriculture

[Réjean Genest, NDP, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition calling on the government to respect the rights of small family farms to store, trade and use seed. This petition is signed by a few hundred people from my region.

Sherbrooke Airport

[Pierre-Luc Dusseault, NDP, Sherbrooke, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition signed by a number of Sherbrooke residents last Saturday. They are calling on the members of the House of Commons to support my Motion No. 553, which we will vote on this evening, because economic development in Sherbrooke is at stake.

If this motion is adopted and is acted on by the Conservative government, it will certainly help Sherbrooke acquire the tools it needs to develop the Sherbrooke airport. The petitioners urge all members to vote in favour of Motion No. 553 this evening.

Questions on the Order Paper

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Barry Devolin]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Motions for Papers

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I asked that all notices of motions for the production of papers be allowed to stand.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Barry Devolin]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Barry Devolin]

At this time I wish to inform the House that, because of the ministerial statement, government orders will be extended by 22 minutes.

The House resumed from April 22 consideration of the motion that this House approve in general the budgetary policy of the government.

Financial Statement of Minister of Finance

[Kellie Leitch, Conservative, Minister of Labour and Minister of Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Winnipeg South Centre.

I am pleased to rise today to speak to economic action plan 2015, a balanced-budget, low-tax plan for jobs, growth and security.

Our government is balancing the budget while taking prudent action to lower taxes, create jobs and economic growth, while providing security to Canadians.

A balanced budget allows the government to cut taxes further for hard-working Canadians across the country and putting money back into their pockets. It is money they can use to either choose to go on vacation, pay down their mortgage, and ensure their children have access to more activities and sports.

The budget support small businesses and entrepreneurs: first, by reducing the tax rate to 9%; and second, by expanding the services offered by the Business Development Bank of Canada to help small and medium-sized businesses.

Entrepreneurs are supported by our investment of $14 million in Futurpreneur Canada to allow young entrepreneurs to excel, and also investing in women, an action plan for women entrepreneurs to help women business owners succeed.

This economic action plan is helping families and communities by increasing the tax-free savings account annual contribution limit to $10,000, effective for 2015 and subsequent taxation years. It is an opportunity for people to create a tax-free nest egg for the future.

We are supporting seniors and persons with disabilities by introducing the home accessibility tax credit to help with renovation costs, so that they can live independently in their own home longer, which is exactly where they want to be.

I have a great friend, Geoff Ball, who is a full-time wheelchair user. This will be outstanding for Geoff in ensuring that he can stay in his own home as long as possible into the future. These measures are what matter most to Canadians.

In my role as Canada's Minister of Labour and Status of Women, I also want to talk about some of the good initiatives in this budget for federally regulated workplaces.

We are very proud of economic action plan 2015. It responds to the evolving realities of the 21st century, while supporting our mission to create safe, fair and productive workplaces.

As mentioned at the beginning of my speech, our priority remains the same: keeping Canada's economy strong. A strong, healthy economy depends on strong, healthy and diverse workforces.

Amendments to the Canada Labour Code and the Government Employees Compensation Act, as well as measures to increase the number of health and safety officers, will help ensure safe and healthy workplaces and contribute to a greater number of employees being healthy. It will contribute to their wellness and productivity long-term.

Our government recognizes that supporting and protecting employees is a sound decision for the well-being of workers, their families and communities across Canada.

It is also a key driver of business productivity, economic growth, and long-term prosperity.

That is why economic action plan 2015 introduces amendments to strengthen Canada's Labour Code and to simplify its administration and enforcement. The proposed amendments would give employees more flexibility to balance work and informal caregiving, would strengthen and streamline employer provisions for preventing and dealing with sexual harassment and violence in the workplace, and would ensure that interns working in the federal jurisdiction are protected.

Our government recognizes that supporting and protecting employees with informal caregiving responsibilities is good for the well-being of families. That is why we are proposing to increase flexibility for employees through new short- and long-term unpaid leave for families who have to take on certain responsibilities. We would expand the EI compassionate care leave as well so that families could take care of those they care about the most in their time of need. That could be a federally regulated worker who has a child with cancer and could spend more time with that child when she or he needs a parent the most. We would create that flexibility to ensure that moms and dads are with their kids or that moms and dads are with their parents in their time of need.

Our government is committed to ensuring that all employees are treated fairly and are protected from harm in the workplace, including from violence and sexual harassment. This is a basic right for all Canadians. No woman, no Canadian, should feel unsafe at work, and all that is needed and what we would do is create an efficient mechanism to enforce this protection to make sure that particularly women, but all Canadians, are safe at work.

We are also listening to Canadians' concerns about the potential for abuse and the lack of protection offered to unpaid interns and other unpaid individuals, and we are responding.

The proposed amendments would ensure that all interns under federal jurisdiction, regardless of pay, will receive occupational health and safety protections. The proposed amendments would also clarify the circumstances under which unpaid internships can be offered.

Claire Seaborn, the president of the Canadian Intern Association, has actually welcomed this. She states, “We are thrilled that the Gov[ernment] of Canada has agreed to strengthen interns' workplace protections”.

Internships can provide important work-based learning experiences and support youth, as well as other Canadians, in making a successful transition from school to work or a transition for new Canadians into the Canadian workforce. Young people working gain valuable job experience and should not have to worry about their safety or being treated fairly in the workplace. In fact, no Canadian should have to worry about this.

Our government wants to make sure that federally regulated employers have the information and support they need to adhere to health and safety provisions under the Canada Labour Code. We also want to better promote and enforce health and safety measures in areas of federal jurisdiction. To do this, we need more people.

That is why our government would invest to increase the number of health and safety officers responsible for promoting compliance and for ensuring that the Canada Labour Code is enforced.

Our HSOs are educators. They are advocates for fair, safe, and healthy workplaces. Not only do they investigate accidents, but more importantly, they work with employers and employees to help prevent them. Funding to support the hiring of additional health and safety officers would ensure more protective coverage of workers in areas of federal jurisdiction, especially in remote and high-risk areas. This would help to prevent workplace accidents and fatalities and would contribute to greater employee safety.

Building on the government's commitment to maximize wellness and productivity for federal employees, we are also proposing to modernize the Government Employees Compensation Act. The proposed amendments would simplify and accelerate workers compensation claims processing so that employees would receive their compensation faster and could return to work in a safe and timely manner. Most importantly, they would get the care they need as quickly as possible.

Economic action plan 2015 builds on the government's track record of support for women's economic empowerment in Canada. The good news is that the economic action plan would expand and extend the universal child care benefit. For every child under the age of six, a family would receive $2,000, and for every child six through 17, in an expansion of the universal child care benefit, a family would receive $720. That is regardless of the family's income or the child care it chooses. This means that individuals who have two children under the age of six would receive up to $4,000 per year, and they would be able to choose the type of child care they need. People going to work at 7 a.m. would still receive this benefit. It would not be just a 9-5 scenario, which some of the other parties may be advocating.

Earlier this week, the government announced an action plan for women entrepreneurs, which will be put in place to help connect women with the tools they need to succeed in business.

This action plan includes a series of initiatives targeted at supporting women entrepreneurs through mentorship, networking opportunities and increased access to financing and international markets.

The key initiatives in this action plan include an online platform for networking. It is called “It Starts With One—Be her Champion”, a campaign just recently launched to encourage mentorship and championing, which I hope all members of Parliament will participate in. It focuses on women under the age of 35 and making sure that they are successful.

There are enhanced trade missions for women entrepreneurs, including one to Brazil, and others in the future. There is a $700-million investment by the Canadian Business Development Bank over three years to finance women-owned businesses and national forums.

Our government is focused on making sure that we have opportunities for women and for workers. In fact, our economic action plan is good for Canadians. Most importantly, it is good for women, good for Canadian families, good for the Canadian economy, and great for Canada.

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

Mr. Speaker, at the beginning of her speech, the minister spoke about measures such as the reduction of the small business tax rate from 11% to 9%.

She also could have mentioned the measure to extend the accelerated capital cost allowance for businesses, particularly those in the manufacturing sector.

In February 2015, the official opposition moved a supply day motion in the House that the Conservatives and Liberals voted against.

Could my colleague tell me how she can stand up today and boast about the measures in the budget when she rose in the House to vote against those same measures when we presented them?

[Kellie Leitch, Conservative, Simcoe—Grey, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like the Canadian public to look at the track record of the opposition. We put forward tax reductions in the past, like the GST. In fact, there have been more than 160 tax reductions. The opposition voted against them all. It is fine for them to have a conversation about what they might do in the future as they continue to raise taxes on Canadians.

This budget would reduce taxes for small business from 11% to 9%. We would augment benefits for families. The universal child care benefit would be augmented to $2,000 for children under the age of six, and we would create a new benefit for children aged six to 17 of $720 per child. There would also be income splitting for families as well, as other benefits.

We encourage the opposition parties to vote for these things that would benefit Canadian families. However, we are pretty confident that they will vote against them all.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, this is a budget that is not fair to Canada's middle class or those aspiring to become a part of Canada's middle class. We do not stand alone in saying that. I know that the member was quite close to the late Mr. Flaherty. Mr. Flaherty, as the Conservative finance minister, said that the income split was a bad idea. She will be fully aware of that, yet under the new Minister of Finance, the government would have the income split.

Who is going to foot the bill for that multimillion-dollar annual bill? It is going to be the middle class of Canada that is going to have to pay the bill on that commitment.

My question for the member is twofold. First, why does she believe that Mr. Flaherty was wrong? As the Liberals have articulated, it is not a fair tax. Second, could she explain why the current Minister of Finance refuses to stand in his place to answer questions during question period?

[Kellie Leitch, Conservative, Simcoe—Grey, ON]

Mr. Speaker, what Mr. Flaherty was about was reducing taxes and making sure that Canadians had money back in their own pockets. He reduced taxes in the House multiple times through multiple budgets. I am proud to say that I was part of a government with him.

What we are doing is putting yet more money back into the pockets of Canadians. The opposition would like to have the government bureaucracy have that money. They believe that it is their money. We believe that money belongs to Canadians. Whether it is augmenting the universal child care benefit for children under six or creating a new benefit for parents for children age six to 17, or making sure that we provide income splitting for seniors, something the opposition Liberal Party has said it would take away from seniors in the country, we are focused on making sure Canadians have their money back in their pockets to spend on the things they care about.

[Joyce Bateman, Conservative, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure today to speak about economic action plan 2015 and to draw my community's attention to the various opportunities in this budget that will help my constituents in Winnipeg South Centre. There is something in this budget for families, seniors, and young people. It is an absolutely outstanding budget.

I am very proud of our government for fulfilling its promise to balance the federal budget. Thanks to responsible management by our Prime Minister, we have projected a budget surplus of $1.4 billion this year and $1.7 billion next year. Just like hard-working Canadians who have had to make choices to live within their means, so have we.

Before the recession, our government chose to pay down $37 billion in debt and positioned our country to survive the worst economic downturn since the 1930s. We responded very quickly and effectively to that financial crisis with a historic stimulus program and have emerged from the great recession faster and stronger than virtually any major advanced economy, and certainly the best in the G7.

When the crisis passed, our government set out the goal of balancing the budget. We have now done this, first, without raising taxes, and second, without cutting transfers for education and health care. We all have vivid memories of the slashing and gashing the previous Liberal government did to health care and education transfers in the 1990s.

Third, and perhaps of most interest to many of my constituents, while putting money back into the pockets of hard-working Canadian families and businesses, we actually cut taxes as we balanced the budget.

Economic action plan 2015 builds on our government's record of support for Canadian families by keeping taxes low and helping them to save. Since 2006, the government has introduced measures to make life more affordable for families. They include reducing the personal income tax rate and increasing the basic personal amount. We have actually taken 380,000 seniors right off the federal tax rolls. We have cut the GST from 7% to 5%. That helps every Canadian every time he or she purchases anything.

We have introduced pension income splitting for seniors, which can really help seniors on fixed incomes. We have established tax credits to support low-income individuals and families, public transit users, first-time home buyers, and families caring for disabled relatives. We are providing additional support for families with children through the children's arts tax credit, the fitness tax credit, and the adoption expense tax credit. Most recently, the government has proposed a new family tax cut and enhancements to the universal child care benefit and child care expense deduction; 100% of families with children under 18 would receive benefits.

Canadians of all income levels are benefiting from tax relief introduced by our government, but it is low- and middle-income Canadians who are receiving proportionately greater relief. This year Canadian families and individuals will receive $37 billion in tax relief and increased benefits as a result of the actions our government has taken since 2006. For example, a typical family of four will receive tax relief and increased benefits of up to $6,600 in 2015 and every year going forward, thanks to measures such as the family tax cut, the universal child care benefit, the goods and services tax reduction, the children's fitness tax credit, and other new credits.

Tax rates are lower now than they have been for 50 years. By reducing taxes year after year and enhancing benefits to Canadians, our government has given families and individuals greater flexibility to make the choices that are right for them.

Additionally, while we have been busy cutting taxes to help families, we have in turn made sure that federal transfers continue to grow to our provinces and territories. That is important, because they help pay for the social programs Canadians cherish.

In fact, major transfers including the Canada health transfer and the Canada social transfer will amount to almost $68 billion in 2015-16, an all-time high. In Manitoba, Manitobans will receive $3.4 billion in federal transfers this year, and that is an increase of 26% from the previous Liberal government.

Economic action plan 2015 would introduce new measures. It would give seniors more freedom and flexibility when it comes to managing their retirement funds. For example, our government would be reducing the minimum withdrawal amount for registered retirement income funds. I think this is very important, and this would help a lot of people out. One size does not fit all and every retiree has different needs at different times.

I am very pleased that our government would be introducing the new home accessibility tax credit. This proposed 15% non-refundable income tax credit would apply on up to $10,000 of eligible home renovation expenditures per year. Eligible expenditures would be for improvements that allow either a senior or any person who is eligible for the disability tax credit to be more mobile, safer and functional within their home.

We would also be providing up to $42 million over five years to help establish the Canadian centre for aging and brain health innovation.

We have allocated $37 million annually to extend employment insurance compassionate care benefits from the six weeks to six months as of January 16, 2016.

Our government has fulfilled our commitment of doubling the tax-free savings accounts contribution limits to $10,000. This would be very helpful to all Canadians, including the young and the old. First, we created the TFSA and now we have doubled it. TFSAs can help Canadians at every stage of life, whether in retirement, starting a business, buying a car, buying a first home or just putting some money aside because that is what we do in Canada.

By doubling TFSA limits, we would be empowering Canadians to save even more for their own priorities. Of the nearly 11 million individuals who have already opened a TFSA, and these stats are from the end of 2013, close to 2.7 million of them were seniors. Of those 11 million Canadians who hold TFSAs, 75% earn less than $70,000, and about 50% of those 11 million Canadians who hold TFSAs earn less than $42,000. These are not wealthy people, these are responsible Canadians who are putting a bit by and taking charge of their own economic future. They should be supported not condemned as they have been by the opposition.

I am extremely proud of economic action plan 2015 and, more specifically, the continued commitments that our government has made to help Canadian families and seniors. There is something in this budget for everyone in Winnipeg South Centre, and I am very proud to be part of the government that put together such a thoughtful, responsible and fiscally prudent budget that all Canadians will benefit from.

[Raymond Côté, NDP, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, I said that I was searching for the term “income splitting”. Unfortunately, no one had any answers for me as to where it might be found.

Take, for example, how the Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification carefully avoided using that term in her 10-minute speech, even though she tried to respond to me by saying that this was not a taboo term. This mystery remains unsolved. The term “income splitting” was widely used by the Conservatives several months ago to boast about a new government achievement. However, that term has vanished completely from the budget. Some ministers now never use that term.

I would like my colleague from Winnipeg South Centre to explain to me why Conservative members are no longer allowed to use the term “income splitting”.

[Joyce Bateman, Conservative, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member very much for that question. Maybe next Christmas, I will buy him a thesaurus, because there are a lot of ways to frame these various opportunities that we have placed in the budget for Canadians.

I will proudly say that this Conservative government created income splitting for seniors. The opposition would take that away. There are a lot of seniors in my constituency who benefit enormously from income splitting.

Very soon, there will also be some young families who have one of the parents staying at home for a short period of time, making big investments in their family. They will now be on a more equitable footing so that their tax consequence will not be as punitive. That benefit will be up to $2,000.

Again, that is not for the rich, that is to help people make a contribution to Canada.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, there are many questions that the Liberal Party would love to see the Minister of Finance actually answer during question period related to the budget, the so-called bogus balanced budget—something that the Conservatives have not really been able to achieve—and the unfair taxation policy that is going to come at a great cost to Canada's middle class and those wanting to become a part of Canada's middle class. They are working hard to do so.

The question that I have for the member is why does she believe that the current Minister of Finance has completely refused to answer any questions since he delivered the budget? Is it because he tried to pass off the flaws of his budget, saying that it is going to be the Prime Minister's granddaughter or our grandchildren who are going to have to pay the price of the cost of this particular budget?

Why is the Minister of Finance not answering any questions related to the budget during question period?

[Joyce Bateman, Conservative, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I find it so interesting that the member is referring to this as a bogus budget. Maybe it is a bogus budget because it does not balance itself.

It has balanced itself because we have made prudent, responsible choices, just as hard-working Canadians have to with their own budgets. We have made those decisions over the past number of years, and we are back in balance. We were very responsible with the stimulus program when it was required for the economy and, as a consequence of those investments, we came out ahead of all of the countries in the G7.

Now, we are back in balance. There is nothing bogus about it.

To my hon. opponent's comment about the middle class, the middle class is benefiting from TFSAs. Some 11 million Canadians are benefiting from TFSAs. Just under 50% of them make less than $42,000 a year. I believe that $42,000 a year is a living wage, but it is not grand wealth.

The Liberals would take that away from people who are being responsible and who are saving. That is help to the middle class.