Debates of May 12th, 2015

Employment

[Ed Holder, Conservative, Minister of State (Science and Technology)]

Mr. Speaker, let me make it very clear that when a Canadian company changes hands, that is not the preferred approach.

However, I will remind the member that we have created 1.2 million net new jobs since the recession, which confirms that Canada's economic action plan is absolutely working.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, obviously, it is never the Conservatives' fault, even though in April alone we lost 20,000 good jobs in this country.

Alcan has been one of the most important companies in Quebec's history. Today, there is almost nothing left, not even its name, after 90 years of history. When we allow our companies to be sold to foreign conglomerates, the company's know-how and jobs could leave the country along with it.

Will the government take action to prevent us from losing other good jobs and other companies like Alcan, which is a Quebec industry flagship? Will it take action or will it wash its hands of this once again?

[Ed Holder, Conservative, Minister of State (Science and Technology)]

Mr. Speaker, once again, I am pleased to tell members that both the IMF and the OECD are projecting that Canada is going to have the strongest economic growth in the G7 in the years ahead. In fact, for the seventh straight year, the World Economic Forum has ranked Canada's banking system as the strongest, and our real GDP is now significantly above pre-recession levels.

That means jobs for Canada, permanent jobs that are going to affect our country in a positive way.

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

Mr. Speaker, let us try again. Rio Tinto is cutting up to 170 jobs and scrapping the Alcan name. It is another foreign takeover rubber-stamped by the Conservatives where workers are left to pay the price.

Liberal and Conservative governments have rubber-stamped thousands of foreign takeovers without securing protections for Canadian workers. Why are the Conservatives always so quick at selling out Canadian communities to foreign interests and so slow to help the workers impacted by the takeovers?

[Ed Holder, Conservative, Minister of State (Science and Technology)]

Mr. Speaker, any time a worker loses their job, it impacts their families, and we have great empathy for those people.

Let me say, as it relates to this firm but also to firms right across the country, that foreign direct investment is up by more than 50% across all industries.

What is incredibly important is that we have created 1.2 million net new jobs since the recession. That is job creation plan that can never be matched by the opposition.

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

Mr. Speaker, clearly too many workers have learned the hard way that neither Liberals nor Conservatives can be trusted when it comes to foreign takeovers.

Thousands of families are feeling the effects of Conservative mismanagement of the economy. We have lost nearly 42,000 jobs in Ontario in just the last six months. In Toronto alone, we have lost 8,800 jobs in the last year.

The question is, why are the Conservatives giving handouts to the wealthy when these are the families that need help getting back on their feet?

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

Mr. Speaker, the last thing these families need are big tax increases from the NDP and the Liberals, and that is all they would get from those parties.

Our plan is trade, training, and tax cuts. Trade, training, and tax cuts are working. We signed a free trade agreement with the European Union that will deliver 80,000 net new jobs, including in Honda Canada, which announced recently in the presence of the Prime Minister that it will export vehicles directly to Europe from Canada, creating 400 net new jobs in that one plant alone.

Canadians want open trade, low taxes, and more training, and that is what they are getting from our government.

Taxation

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, speaking of taxes, last night all members of the House voted unanimously in favour of the NDP's motion to end the discriminatory federal sales tax on feminine hygiene products. Everyone in the House agrees that this $36 million tax grab on women is unfair. I am very grateful that there is unanimous agreement that we need change.

Now the Conservatives need to put that commitment into action. Will the Conservatives work with the NDP to amend the budget bill to end this unfair tax?

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

Mr. Speaker, our Conservative government has been very focused over the last nine years on lowering taxes, unlike the opposition, which would like to raise one's taxes. As a result of this, we have the lowest tax burden on Canadians in 50 years. In fact, this year Canadians will $6,600 more back in their pockets because we have lowered taxes.

Unlike the opposition, we are not going to raise Canadians' taxes. We are going to put money back into the pockets of parents and families.

[Mylène Freeman, NDP, Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, why not put an end to this unfair tax immediately?

Every year $36 million in tax is paid on feminine hygiene products. The Conservatives supported the NDP's motion to eliminate this unfair tax, which was an important victory for the NDP. The Conservatives now need to take action to honour their promise.

Will they include provisions to eliminate the unfair tax on tampons in their budget bill?

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

Mr. Speaker, our government supported the motion. We have been the government that lowered the GST from 7%, to 6%, to 5%, lowering taxes on Canadians, which is something the opposition voted against.

In fact, this government has lowered taxes over 160 times since we have been put in office, which are things that the opposition, again, has voted against. It votes and ensures it is raising taxes. We are on the side of lowering taxes on all Canadian families so they can put money back into their own pockets.

Labour

[Laurin Liu, NDP, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is time for the Conservatives to walk the walk.

The Minister of Labour erroneously stated that the Canadian Intern Association was in favour of the rules that the government plans to implement to govern unpaid internships. In an open letter, the president stated that Bill C-59 would actually expose interns to exploitation.

Will the Conservatives adopt the NDP's proposals to provide meaningful protection to unpaid interns instead of proposing half measures?

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

Mr. Speaker, if the opposition had read the bill then it would know that we are actually taking and amending the Canada Labour Code to ensure that interns under federal jurisdiction, regardless of pay, would receive health and occupational safety coverage. That is what we are actually doing. We are taking action to ensure that young Canadians and those who have internships are protected on the job; unlike the opposition who would vote against that budget and not allow that to occur.

[Andrew Cash, NDP, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know. Canadians are getting whiplashed, trying to follow the minister on this issue.

Yesterday, she claimed she had the support of the Canadian Intern Association and, today, it writes a blistering op-ed, saying that this budget bill “is bad news for interns“. Instead of protecting interns, the government has actually opened the door to more exploitation. It has even excluded unpaid interns from protections against sexual harassment in the workplace.

The minister keeps saying she really cares about unpaid interns. If that is the case, why will she not walk that talk and fix the bill?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I just said, and I encourage the members opposite to please read the bill, we are amending the Canada Labour Code to ensure that occupational health and safety would be covered under the budget implementation act.

I would be happy to walk the members through those changes so that they understand exactly what we are doing. We are out, protecting interns in the workplace.

Employment

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

Mr. Speaker, the current government is increasingly patronizing and incompetent toward young people.

The fact is young people are hurting under the current government's watch. The fact is more than 13,000 youth jobs disappeared just last month. The fact is they will be joining almost 400,000 young Canadians now out of work. It is a fact that these young people are caught between an atrocious job market and Conservative policies that fail to create jobs.

With so many Canadians struggling to get a good start on their working lives, why are Conservatives continuing to hand out billions of dollars to the wealthy and well-connected, while turning their backs on our youth?

[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 youth; that is to raise taxes on young people. Our approach is trade, training and tax cuts for our youth, youth like Avalon who always loved cars and wanted to be an automotive service technician. However, she worried that she would not be able to pay for her apprenticeship. Happily, she secured a Canada apprenticeship grant and with it, she was able to afford the tuition and tools. Now she has been able to certify herself as an auto service technician. She is very happy to say that she was able to get through it without a bunch of debt and now looks forward to a bright future and a high-demand trade.

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, York West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Jane/Finch Community and Family Centre, RGC Design Group, and 24 other projects failed to qualify for Canada's summer jobs funding in my riding this year. The reason? There was not enough money. However, just one taxpayer-funded Conservative ad at 100 grand could have paid for all of these projects, and much more. These groups are not asking for $100,000. All they are asking is for $11 an hour to hire a student.

Why will the government not just admit that funding phony ads is more important to it than creating summer jobs?

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

Mr. Speaker, the basis of the question is false. We have maintained the Canada summer job budget.

The only plan though that the Liberals and NDP have for young people is to raise taxes on our youth. Our approach is the opposite. We believe in lowering taxes. We started by eliminating the Liberal tax on tuition. We brought in the textbook tax credit. We have lowered payroll taxes so students who work jobs can keep more of what they earn. Of course by lowering taxes for small business, which her leader opposes, we have given a boost to those who are most likely to hire our young people, Canada's entrepreneurs.

Infrastructure

[Adam Vaughan, Liberal, Trinity—Spadina, ON]

Mr. Speaker, getting rid of jobs is not a tax cut. It is a job loss.

Ten days ago, I was in St-Pierre-Jolys and I was talking to the mayor there. Her town has an opportunity to add 300 new homes to the community, but new federal water standards mean that she has to change the configuration of her water plant; to add those homes she also has to build a new and bigger one. She is not getting any help from the infrastructure program. There is not a dollar in this budget.

This town cannot do it alone. Building that water plant would not only create jobs building a water plant, but the 300 homes would also create new jobs in this town in Manitoba. Why is there not one single new dollar for new water plants in the infrastructure budget this year?

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, that is, again, wrong. We have added $750 million for transit, which will become $1 billion a year, only for transit. Last year, we announced a 10-year plan. We will not re-announce that every year. Probably the Liberals would do that, but we announced that last year and we will deliver it over the next 10 years. We will do our job.

[Adam Vaughan, Liberal, Trinity—Spadina, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we are talking about water. He may want to flush those talking points down the train.

The budget is only balanced because the Conservative government is not spending money this year. The other problem is that when it does somehow promise to spend money there is no actual way to apply for the funds. There are no rules in place. The government is literally making it up as it goes along.

On housing, it promised to let operators renegotiate cheaper mortgages, but CMHC has no idea what this actually means for the operating agreements, which are critical to affordable housing. I have a simple question. If the providers renegotiate their mortgages do their operating agreements continue, or will the subsidies disappear? Yes or no? It is a simple question.

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Minister of State (Social Development)]

Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to explain it to the member. When the mortgage is paid the mortgage ends and one stops paying the bank the mortgage payment.

We have listened to the not-for-profit providers. They have asked that we give them this ability. We announced $150 million. They are thrilled about it. We are excited because they can keep providing housing and we can help by keeping taxes low, supporting those who are vulnerable and working with provinces on housing needs.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the RCMP recently apologized for comparing the Idle No More movement to bacteria. On Friday, I asked the government to do the same, but the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness called my request “abhorrent”.

Does the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs agree with her, or will he apologize to the House and condemn these discriminatory statements?

[Roxanne James, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, the member is correct. The RCMP did apologize for that comment.

However, as I stated last week, I would like point out that on this side of the House we actually support our law enforcement in Canada. We have provided law enforcement, our national security agencies with the tools that they need, whether it be legislative or funding.

Also, on this side of the House, we support preventative measures for crime as well. I wish, just for once, the NDP would stand up and support any of those measures.