Debates of May 15th, 2015

Child Care

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

Mr. Speaker, this week, celebrating the international day of the family, the NDP members decided to insult families. They said that those who do not have regulated government daycare are not real families.

The NDP plan would give absolutely nothing to over 90% of families, those families who have a stay-at-home parent, use a grandparent or use a local neighbourhood child care centre would get absolutely nothing from the NDP plan.

Our plan puts money in the pockets of 100% of families with kids, regardless of their income or the choice in child care they make.

Government Advertising

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, Canadian families work hard and they want to see their tax dollars used honestly.

Instead, the jobs minister has a taxpayer-funded team filming him while he skips around his riding promoting the Conservative platform. Thousands of Canadians were thrown out of work this week. Thousands more families are struggling to make ends meet. Yet, that minister shamelessly uses public resources for vanity videos.

Can the minister tell us how much taxpayers have paid to create these partisan self-promotional videos?

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

Mr. Speaker, the reason why the Liberals and the NDP do not want parents to know about the universal child care benefit is because those parties would take that benefit away.

I make no apologies for informing parents of the expanded universal child care benefit that puts almost $2,000 in their pocket for every child under 6 and $720 in their pocket for every child 6 through 17. I will continue to work hard to make sure parents know about these increased benefits, so that they can receive their lump sum payment, which comes on July 20.

Employment

[Isabelle Morin, NDP, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the minister should focus less on photo ops and more on his files, because yesterday, 850 people lost their jobs at Bombardier in Dorval. They do not know whether they will be able to find a good job.

Does the Conservative government realize that its economic strategy is not working for these employees in Dorval who lost their jobs yesterday?

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

Mr. Speaker, that is an ironic question coming from the New Democrats because they admit to wanting to increase taxes for Bombardier and other companies that hire Quebeckers and Canadians across the country.

We cannot create jobs by taxing the businesses that hire workers, yet that is what the New Democrats plan to do. That is not our plan. Our plan will reduce taxes for entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized businesses, reduce taxes for families so that they can invest in the community and reduce taxes for our seniors so that they can save money.

[Isabelle Morin, NDP, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister can keep spouting his lines and his partisan figures, but that will not create jobs or give hope to the people who lost their jobs yesterday. Those 850 people had skills and high-wage skilled work, but all the minister can do is shed crocodile tears.

Can the minister stand up and protect jobs in Canada?

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

Yes, Mr. Speaker, I am protecting jobs in Canada. Since the recession our economic action plan has helped create 1.2 million new jobs, 80% of them full-time and two-thirds in high-wage sectors.

The New Democrats want to increase taxes on employers. That would kill jobs and destabilize the economy. The Liberals and the New Democrats have just one plan: raise taxes on entrepreneurs, consumers and families. That would kill jobs, and that is why we reject those proposals.

Government Advertising

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, like the Prime Minister, the Minister of Employment and Social Development is abusing public funds to produce vanity advertising. He used the employees in his department and taxpayer money to produce election-style ads on Conservative policies that Parliament has not even passed. The Conservatives think that public money belongs to them.

How does the minister explain that spending, when there are so many pressing needs in Canada? Will he finally agree to submit all advertising to a third-party review process?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals do not want Canadians to know about the existence of these benefits because they want to take these benefits away from Canadians. Their leader announced that he wants to scrap the universal child care benefit. He wants to cancel our tax cuts for families and income splitting, and he wants to take away the tax-free savings account.

I am proud to work hard to inform Canadians that the universal child care benefit has been increased to $2,000 for every child under the age of six.

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Employment and Social Development has taken a page from the Prime Minister with his taxpayer-funded vanity videos. He paid public servants time and a half with taxpayer dollars on a Sunday to film him electioneering on Conservative policies that are “subject to Parliamentary approval”.

Will the minister finally agree to pass my bill, the elimination of partisan government advertising act, to guarantee that all advertising is submitted to a third-party review process before it is approved to ensure that it is appropriate, proportional and a prudent expenditure of funds?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal leader said, “benefiting every single family is not what is fair”. We know the reason why the Liberals do not want me to inform families about these increased benefits. It is because Liberals would take them away altogether.

I am proud to work seven days a week to inform 100% of families that they are entitled to an increased universal child care benefit of $2,000 per year for kids under 6 and $720 for kids 6 through 17.

We will continue to deliver these benefits and I will work aggressively to communicate the benefits that families deserve and are entitled to receive.

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, if the Conservatives want to advertise their platform, they can pay for it: $750 million on advertising and counting, while nine veterans' offices are shut down Canada; blue shrink-wrapped commuter trains, while rail safety was cut 20% over the past five years; $20 million on 9,800 billboards, while infrastructure spending was slashed 87% this year.

When will the Conservatives stop bilking taxpayers for partisan self-promotion?

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

Mr. Speaker, the reason the Liberals do not want families to know about the Prime Minister's increased universal child care benefit is because they would take it away. They have announced that they would eliminate the universal child care benefit. They have announced they would scrap income splitting and the family tax cut. They admit that they would gut the tax-free savings accounts. Even after they do all of that, they are still billions of dollars short in funding their promises.

On this side of the House, we are going to deliver increased benefits to Canadian families and, yes, we will work hard, seven days a week, to ensure families know about these increased benefits.

Public Safety

[Rosane Doré Lefebvre, NDP, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last night news broke that the RCMP will be charged for workplace safety violations in the death of three officers in Moncton. Our hearts go out to the families of the fallen officers, but this news raises troubling questions.

Why were all RCMP officers not provided with the proper training and proper weapons to handle an active shooter situation? Why did it take a tragedy for the minister to act?

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

Mr. Speaker, our government has full confidence in the RCMP to enforce the laws of Canada and to keep all Canadians safe. The RCMP commissioned a report into this incident and is acting on those recommendations. Because this matter is now before the courts, it would be inappropriate to comment on this matter further.

[Rosane Doré Lefebvre, NDP, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it was almost a year ago that three RCMP officers died in a shootout in Moncton. We share the intense sorrow of the families affected by this tragic event. Yesterday, the RCMP was accused of serious breaches pertaining to the equipment, training and supervision of police officers. The recommendations made following the Mayerthorpe shootings in 2005 addressed the same issues.

Why did the minister wait for a tragedy to happen before responding to these recommendations?

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

Mr. Speaker, the shootings in Moncton horrified a nation. I know that everyone in this House expressed our great sympathy for the families and for the fallen RCMP officers. We continue to have those families in our thoughts, as I am sure most Canadians do across this country. But as I indicated, this matter is now before the courts, and it would be inappropriate for me to comment any further.

Employment

[Wayne Marston, NDP, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as we heard yesterday, another 1,500 jobs were lost, at Bombardier. Unfortunately, that is part of a much larger trend. On the Conservatives' watch, we have seen more than 400,000 good manufacturing jobs lost while they stood by and did nothing to protect Canadian jobs.

Hamilton workers will tell them that they are tired of a Conservative government that ignores their livelihoods. They want to see investments to help our manufacturing sector thrive. They are tired of the Conservative spin in this place. They want to see real action from the current government to protect their jobs.

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

Mr. Speaker, the NDP's only plan for companies like Bombardier is to raise taxes on those very companies. That is what the New Democrats admit. Their approach would be the same as the disastrous Ontario Liberal government policy, which has driven up energy costs and taxes and now proposes yet more and higher energy costs through its proposed carbon tax.

We take the opposite approach. The Conservative government supports tax cuts, trade, and training. That is why we have 1.2 million net new jobs: 80% full-time, two-thirds in high-wage sectors. We will keep cutting taxes and creating jobs.

[Wayne Marston, NDP, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

Mr. Speaker, here is the news: If losing 400,000 jobs is the Conservatives' strategy, it ain't working.

Conservatives' mismanagement has hit southern Ontario particularly hard. Communities have been rocked by manufacturing-job losses. Under the Conservatives, Windsor lost 20,000 jobs; London, 7,000; Brantford, 3,400; Hamilton, 13,000; and Oshawa, 19,000. Those were good jobs that supported families and fuelled local economies.

Why have the Conservatives ignored an entire region so they can put billions in the pockets of their wealthy friends?

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

Mr. Speaker, the NDP has only one plan on jobs, and that is to raise taxes on those who create them. The New Democrats would also raise taxes on the consumers who spend in our local economies. By gutting the tax-free savings account, the New Democrats would raise taxes on those people who set aside money for their future. That is the wrong approach.

We support trade, training, and tax cuts. That is why Canada has the best job-creation record in the G7, with 1.2 million net new jobs. Eighty per cent of them are full-time and two-thirds are in high-wage sectors. We are going to continue to promote trade, tax cuts, and training to create jobs for Canadians.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives ignored Canada's manufacturing sector for years. Today, Montrealers are paying the price. Bell Helicopter in Mirabel is cutting 300 jobs, and last August it cut 250 jobs. Quebec has lost more than 100,000 manufacturing jobs since the Conservatives took power.

Will the Conservatives wake up, get going and help kick-start our manufacturing sector instead of giving presents to their wealthiest cronies?

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

Mr. Speaker, the NDP and the Liberals have only one plan for companies like Bombardier, and that is to raise their taxes. That would kill jobs by taking away the money needed to hire workers. We are taking the opposite approach. We are cutting taxes, expanding international trade and training our workers, especially in skilled trades.

We will continue to cut taxes to achieve success, such as the 1.2 million new jobs created.

Regional Economic Development

[François Lapointe, NDP, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, a negative trade balance and the loss of high-quality jobs, that is what comes of the Conservatives' bad economic action plans.

Workers are being laid off in urban centres and rural areas. The WEC TOURS plant in Matane, RioTinto, Fer et Titane in Havre-Saint-Pierre and the sawmill in Rivière-aux-Rats are just a few examples.

How can the Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec justify his decision to cut $21 million from the agency's budget by 2018, when so many workers are losing their jobs in the regions? Quebeckers have had it with the Conservatives' bad economic action plans that just do not work.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague's question gives me a chance to remind him that the mandate of Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions is to support the economic growth of every region in Quebec and that every effort is made to do that.

Let me provide some figures that illustrate what Canada Economic Development does. Since 2006, 5,511 projects have been funded for more than $2.5 billion. In total, nearly $10 billion has been invested. I would also like to point out that my colleague and his party always vote against the money that is allocated to Canada Economic Development.