Debates of May 12th, 2015

Public Safety

[Jasbir Sandhu, NDP, Surrey North, BC]

Mr. Speaker, gang violence in Surrey has reached crisis levels. Every day, we wake up to read about yet another shooting or stabbing in the news.

Within the last two months alone, we have seen the alarming number of 27 shootings. My constituents are worried for their safety and the safety of their families.

That is why I have introduced motion M-407, which calls on the government to provide stable, long-term funding for youth gang prevention and intervention programs. Surrey needs more resources to deal with the escalating gang violence, including more RCMP officers and youth gang prevention programs.

We need all three levels of government to work together to keep our streets safe. Yet, this government will not commit to take action on this issue. It is simply unacceptable that today in Canada there are communities where parents are scared to let their children play outside in case of a lone bullet.

My community needs urgent action now. What will it take for this government to make public safety a priority?

Veterans Affairs

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Mr. Speaker, our government recognizes its obligation to our armed forces members, veterans, and their families, and it is determined to enact and implement key measures contained in the support for veterans and their families act as soon as possible.

The Minister of Veterans Affairs has made a commitment to veterans that these initiatives, benefits recommended in an all-party report from the veterans affairs committee, would pass through the House before the end of the session. To fulfill our obligation, we have included these new benefits in the budget implementation act to ensure that they pass and can be implemented as soon as possible. The veterans measures are being sent to the veterans affairs committee for study.

Unfortunately, the opposition is now playing games with our armed forces members, veterans, and their families regarding these new benefits. Veterans are watching closely, and they want to know if the Liberals and the NDP will vote in favour of the key new initiatives as contained in the budget implementation act, initiatives that would benefit our serving members, veterans, and their families.

Mine Rescue

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

Mr. Speaker, in 1928, a fire broke out at the 500-foot level of the Hollinger gold mine in Timmins, but the closest trained crew was more than 1,000 kilometres away in Pennsylvania. That crew boarded a special train that broke speed records heading north through a brutal blizzard, but by the time it got there, it was too late, and 39 men were dead.

Out of that tragedy, Ontario established the first mine rescue office in Timmins, and today we have teams that are among the best in the world. I want to thank those brave volunteers who keep our workers safe: the crews who dealt with the McIntyre fire, the 1984 rockburst at Falconbridge, the 1993 Macassa disaster. Congratulations, in particular, to the teams who competed in the north recently, including the winners, team Dumas in Timmins, team AuRico in Kirkland Lake, team Vale West, and team Glencore in Sudbury.

They remind us that the greatest wealth that ever came out of a mine were the miners coming home at the end of their shift.

Taxation

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

Mr. Speaker, my Conservative colleagues and I and, frankly, the vast majority of Canadians know that moms and dads, not government bureaucrats, should be the ones making important decisions that affect their children. That is why our new family tax cut and enhanced universal child care benefit would give 100% of families with kids an average of nearly $2,000 per child. That is nearly $12,000 over a child's first six years.

What do we hear from the leader of the Liberal Party? He wants to take away the universal child care benefit, the family tax cut, income splitting, and the TFSA. He would raise taxes on the middle class, raise taxes on small businesses, and raise taxes on seniors. It is impossible to comprehend any coherence in the Liberal leader's strategy. Therefore, we will not let it happen.

National Nursing Week

[Hedy Fry, Liberal, Vancouver Centre, BC]

Mr. Speaker, today marks the birth of Florence Nightingale, the famous lady with the lamp in the Crimean War, where the formal profession of nursing began. Throughout her life, Florence Nightingale served those in need, from battlefields to hospitals.

Nurses continue this legacy every day as they serve Canadians in hospital, at home, and in war. Today's nurses are no longer viewed simply as angels of mercy. They are highly trained health care professionals who play an integral role in our health care system, expanding the scope of their practice to often being the sole deliverers of care in isolated areas of Canada. They are also vocal advocates for timely access to quality care for their patients.

This is National Nursing Week. The Canadian Nurses Association's theme is “Nurses: With you every step of the way.” Indeed, there is no more fitting description of the work that nurses do for their patients. This is a week to celebrate the registered nurses, registered practical nurses, and nurse practitioners.

I ask the House to give a round of applause to thank these dedicated men and women for their care in our time of need.

Taxation

[John Carmichael, Conservative, Don Valley West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it should come as no surprise that our Conservative government is the only one that stands up for middle-class Canadian families. We have doubled the children's fitness tax credit, enhanced the universal child care benefit, and now have implemented the family tax cut. All families with children, including single-parent families, would benefit from our family tax cut and enhanced universal child care benefit. That is more than four million families and more than seven million parents.

The Liberal leader has admitted that he would take away the universal child care benefit, he would take away income splitting, and he would take away the tax-free savings account. Only one thing is absolutely certain: our Conservative government is the only one that stands for and with hard-working Canadian families.

Ethics

[Mathieu Ravignat, NDP, Pontiac, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives came to power by promising to get rid of the Liberals' cronyism and corruption.

Our Constitution is very clear: senators must reside in the province they represent. Evidently, senators appointed by this Prime Minister, such as Pamela Wallin, Mike Duffy and Carolyn Stewart Olsen, did not meet that criterion.

In recent weeks, we have repeatedly asked how the Prime Minister can justify these appointments. That is a simple question. It is not a matter that is before the courts. We are talking about one of the Prime Minister's main responsibilities. Instead of answers, Canadians get only evasive and ridiculous comments from this government.

We have a Prime Minister who hides from the truth, and his parliamentary secretary refuses to answer even the simplest of questions. Conservatives are showing their disrespect for this House and for Canadians. In the next election, Canadians, just like the people of Alberta, will have an opportunity to vote for the change they want, and they will actually get it.

Taxation

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal leader has committed to getting rid of our family tax cut and replacing it with a family tax hike, which will make life more difficult for middle-class families.

The Liberal plan for the middle class is flawed. The Liberal leader will take away the universal child care benefit. The Liberal leader will take away income splitting. The Liberal leader will take away tax-free savings accounts. One thing is very clear: middle-class families and seniors will reject the Liberal leader's plan and his tax hikes.

Ethics

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, according to RCMP documents tabled in court, we now know that staff from the Prime Minister's Office ordered Conservative senators to whitewash the audit report on Mike Duffy's expenses. The staff involved the Prime Minister's former chief of staff, Nigel Wright, and his current chief of staff, Ray Novak.

Did the Prime Minister know that his staff, including his two former chiefs of staff, falsified a senate audit report?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, obviously I do not accept the premise of that question. He knows full well that he is trying to get me to comment selectively on matters that are before the court. It is Mr. Duffy's actions that are before the court. The government has provided all information to the RCMP and has been assisting the crown and will continue to do so.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, what is before the court is the RCMP document I just read from.

One of the Conservative senators involved in the cover-up was the Prime Minister's close personal confidante, Carolyn Stewart Olsen. The director of the Senate audit said that Stewart Olsen's goal “was not to get to the truth....” Like Mike Duffy, Stewart Olsen was living in Ottawa, but was named by the Prime Minister to represent Atlantic Canada. Like Mike Duffy, she still claimed expenses for her Ottawa home.

Is that why the Prime Minister's Office went to Stewart Olsen to help with the cover-up? Was it because they knew her expenses were just as fishy as Mike Duffy's?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the leader of the NDP makes a number of assertions that I simply do not agree with. The fact of the matter is that it is Mr. Duffy's actions that are before the court, in particular his use of public funds.

We will provide all information to the court and will continue to work with the crown. The court will arrive at its own decision on the appropriateness of Mr. Duffy's actions.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the question is, why did they work with the crown and the courts in the case of Mike Duffy, and not in the case of his confidante, Carolyn Stewart Olsen? That is the question.

On April 22, the Prime Minister told this House that he knew that Mike Duffy was a resident of Prince Edward Island before he appointed him to the Senate.

Why? Because, according to what the Prime Minister said that day, Mike Duffy signed a declaration stating that he was a resident of Prince Edward Island.

Is the Prime Minister willing to show that declaration to Canadians? Where is that declaration that Mike Duffy signed before he was appointed to the Senate? We would not want Canadians to be left thinking that the Prime Minister was not telling the truth.

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said on a number of occasions, the government follows constitutional practices that have been clear for almost 150 years. It is Mr. Duffy's actions, and no one else's, that are before the court. The court will reach its own conclusions.

Employment

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, we are not talking about what happened 150 years ago. We are talking about what he said himself here in the House on April 22.

While Liberals and Conservatives are feeding at the trough in the Senate, the current Conservative government is sitting idly by watching good middle-class jobs disappear. There were 20,000 jobs lost in April alone.

Rio Tinto is now completing the makeover after its takeover of Canadian aluminum giant Alcan by laying off hundreds of employees and stripping the Alcan name off the building.

Why did the Prime Minister approve selling off a major Canadian company with no guarantee to protect Canadian jobs?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, obviously we never like a situation in which a Canadian loses his or her job. The reality is that there are 1.2 million more Canadians working today than at the time of the recession.

I would note the positive reception that the government's economic action plan continues to have from experts and from job creators across the country, such as the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, and the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, among others.

I would call for the NDP to abandon its high-tax, high-debt agenda and get with a low-tax program that creates jobs.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, 250,000 more Canadians are unemployed today then when the crisis hit in 2008. That is the reality.

When Alcan was taken over by Rio Tinto in 2007, Jack Layton asked the Prime Minister nine times to protect Canadian jobs.

Rio Tinto received minister Jim Prentice's approval, under the Investment Canada Act, by showing that its acquisition of Alcan would be of net benefit to Canada.

What is the net benefit for the hundreds of Alcan employees who were laid off today? What does the Prime Minister intend to do to save those jobs?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again, thanks to our economic action plan, over 1.2 million previously unemployed Canadians now have jobs.

This government has one of the best job-creation records in the world and it is supported by all the experts. They recognize that the plan proposed by the NDP, which seeks to raise taxes and thus increase the deficit, will kill jobs.

We are going to continue to create jobs.

Taxation

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in 2006 the Prime Minister started giving thousands of dollars in benefits to wealthy families like his and mine. Now, 10 years later, he is giving them another $2,000 tax break, and thousands more every year.

Fairness means helping those who need help the most. Why not cancel those tax breaks and benefits that go to the wealthiest Canadians?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, this government's record of tax reduction has helped every single Canadian family in the country. What the leader of the Liberal Party proposes is to take away from every Canadian family the universal child care benefit, to take away income splitting, to take away tax-free savings accounts, to take away all of these things from middle-class seniors and from middle-class families, and even after he takes all those things away, his numbers still do not add up. We are in a fight to keep taxes down and keep those benefits for Canadians.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, benefiting every single family is not what is fair. What is fair is giving help to those who need it the most. A $2 billion tax break that favours the wealthiest families, a higher tax-free savings limit for the wealthy, and thousands more in benefits for those who need help the least: that is the Prime Minister's plan.

Our plan offers thousands of dollars more every year, tax free, to those who need it the most. Why did he not instead use every nickel to help the middle class and those seeking to join it?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, you see what happens when someone goes off script.

The government's plan is to make life better for every single Canadian family. That is what we are doing, and Canadians know full well that when they hear somebody talk about penalizing and raising taxes on some families, their intention is to do it on every family. We are not going to let that happen.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the fact that after 10 years the Prime Minister does not understand that it is not the wealthiest families in this country that need the help is the really important message that he has passed today.

For nearly 10 years, the Conservative government has been making choices that help the wealthiest Canadian families.

The government granted $2 billion in tax relief for income splitting. It also doubled the tax-free savings account limit.

When will it do something to help those who need it the most—the middle class and those trying hard to join it—rather than the wealthiest members of our society?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the leader of the Liberal Party wants to take away the universal child care benefit. He wants to take income splitting away from seniors and families and he wants to take away the tax-free savings account. What is more, his numbers do not add up.

What I have learned in my many years in politics is that governments either make things good for everybody or they make things worse for everybody. We are determined to make things good for everybody.

Employment

[Anne Minh-Thu Quach, NDP, Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Rio Tinto Alcan just announced that it would cut nearly 170 jobs at its headquarters in Montreal.

This is sad news for the families affected and comes on the heels of the announcement that the name Alcan will be phased out after 90 years of industrial history in Quebec and Canada.

Despite their promises, the Conservatives are unable to keep good-quality jobs in Canada.

When will the Conservative government develop a policy to help create good jobs for Quebec families?