Debates of May 4th, 2015

International Day of the Midwife

[Lois Brown, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow is International Day of the Midwife, a day to recognize the essential contributions that midwives make to ensuring safe quality care to mothers and babies around the world.

Midwives in Canada are represented by the Canadian Association of Midwives. Their organization provides leadership and advocacy for midwifery as a regulated, publicly funded and vital part of the primary maternity care system.

Our government's renewed commitment to maternal, newborn and child health will continue to help train midwives internationally and increase women's access to quality midwifery services.

In June 2017, Canada will host the International Midwives Global Midwifery Conference in Toronto. It will be an opportunity to demonstrate Canada's contribution internationally and how vital midwifery is to our health care system domestically.

On the International Day of the Midwife, please join me in celebrating the profession of midwifery and in thanking midwives for the health services they provide.

Mayworks Halifax Festival

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Happy May Day, Mr. Speaker. May Day celebrations in Halifax and Dartmouth are in full swing, thanks to the organizers of Mayworks Halifax.

The goal of the first Mayworks Halifax festival in 2009 was to build bridges between the organizations of workers and artists throughout the Halifax region to create a fun, entertaining festival that would engage people in both a cultural and political way, and to build capacity in the labour movement, training new activists and creating new coalitions. That was three years ago and today, the festival is eagerly awaited by activists, artists and socially engaged audience members throughout the region.

Events include the Reel Justice film festival, plays like How Often Do I Dream, a workshop on the future of precarious work, and “Stand Up”, a mixed genre performance inspired by the life and legacy of Viola Desmond.

I thank the Halifax and Dartmouth District Labour Council for helping to build a culture and society that celebrates and recognizes the history and struggle of working people in Nova Scotia.

Canadian Armed Forces

[Ted Opitz, Conservative, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, ISIS is a brutal death cult that carries out unspeakable atrocities against children, women and men. It has specifically called for brutal attacks against Canadians here at home.

On behalf of my constituents in Etobicoke Centre, I wish to thank the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces who are far from home and are working to stop this death cult. They stand on guard to protect us all.

These are the types of missions our men and women are engaged in: advising and assisting, a mission that is carried out by our special forces; our CF-18 Hornets have conducted over 500 sorties; our Polaris aerial refuellers have delivered over eight million pounds of fuel to coalition aircraft; and, our Aurora aircraft have conducted over 140 reconnaissance missions.

Our heartfelt thanks to our brave men and women, to our army, our navy and air force personnel.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[Mathieu Ravignat, NDP, Pontiac, QC]

Mr. Speaker, community members in Shawville mobilized themselves, along with the Pontiac Agricultural Society, in order to erect the most beautiful stables in at least a 100-kilometre radius. These stables will welcome competitors from all over on Canada Day and during the Shawville Fair.

I would like to take this opportunity to say hats off to all those who made this incredible project possible.

Agriculture is important. The New Democrats believe this industry should be strong, and we are working to help farmers, for example, by supporting the demands by milk and cheese producers to protect their supply management systems.

We agree that food labels should contain more information, and we are looking for solutions to the problems facing bees and other pollinating insects that are so important to agriculture.

The public can count on the NDP to develop a national food and buy-local strategy and to implement tax measures to help small farmers grow and remain competitive.

Taxation

[Joe Daniel, Conservative, Don Valley East, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it should come as no surprise that our Conservative government is the only one that stands up for middle-class families. Through our low-tax plan for families, our government is helping 100% of families with children receive the benefits they need so that they can put their hard-earned money towards their own priorities.

What do we hear from the other side of the House? We hear about new taxes, high debt and the removal of these benefits we brought forward for Canadian families. The leader of the Liberal Party is promising to raise taxes on families earning less than $60,000 who use tax-free savings accounts to save their money, and will raise taxes on millions of families who receive the universal child benefit.

We will make no apology for keeping more money in the pockets of Canadians.

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Canada can only be strong when our middle class is thriving, something the Conservative government does not understand. The Conservatives' income splitting only helps 15% of Canadians and largely favours those who are better off. Middle-class families have not had a real raise in decades. It is time to change that.

Under the Liberals, a family with two children earning $90,000 a year would get $490 a month under the Canada child benefit. That is $5,875 a year, fully $2,500 more than what the current government is proposing.

Single-parent families do not get anything from the government with income splitting, but under the Liberals, a single-parent family with an income of $30,000 would receive $533 a month tax free.

In addition, the middle-class tax cut would put up to $670 per person every year back into the pockets of middle-class families.

The Liberal plan will restore fairness to our tax system and stimulate the economy by putting—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order. The hon. member for Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière.

Operation IMPACT

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

Mr. Speaker, I know that security is an issue that people in my riding, Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, are very concerned about. Today I rise to thank the men and women who protect us.

Last week, 95 members of the Canadian Armed Forces came back to Canada after participating in Operation IMPACT. They were all deployed when our operation began in October.

The fight against the Islamic State is ongoing. Some 600 members of the Armed Forces, including soldiers, support personnel and members of an air task force, are still deployed. Thanks to their collaboration with our international allies and their exceptional work defending the values of freedom and democracy, they are a model for the whole world.

On behalf of the people of Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, and myself, I thank them. We will be eternally grateful to them.

Labour Law

[Pierre Nantel, NDP, Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher, QC]

Mr. Speaker, labour law in Canada is not some sort of à la carte legislation where we can choose the parts that suit us and disregard the rest.

We in the NDP have explicitly chosen to put workers first and defend their rights at all costs. As we say back home, it is important to walk the talk. We are proud to be the first federal party to have unionized employees.

Whether the Liberals like it or not, defending workers means more than just making nice speeches to get higher ratings in the polls and then changing their tune. Unions are not fools.

Jerry Dias, the president of Unifor, was quite clear in his comments about the Liberal House leader's criticism. Here is what Mr. Dias had to say:

[It is] completely unacceptable [and leaves the impression that] workers' rights can be disregarded in the cause of cheap political theatre.

Five labour federations are outraged by the hypocrisy of the Liberal Party, a party that signals left and then turns right when it comes time to respect workers' rights.

In October 2015, workers will be able to choose a party that respects them: the NDP.

Taxation

[Brad Butt, Conservative, Mississauga—Streetsville, 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. Through our low-tax plan for families, our government is helping 100% of families with children receive the benefits they need so that they can put their hard-earned money toward their own priorities.

What do we hear from that side of the House? We hear about new taxes, high debt and the removal of all of these benefits we have brought forward for Canadian families. The leader of the Liberal Party is promising to raise taxes on families and those who use tax-free savings accounts to save their money, and raise taxes on millions of families that receive the universal child care benefit.

We will make no apologies for keeping more money in the pockets of Canadians.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, under the Conservatives, we have lost 400,000 well-paying jobs in the manufacturing sector alone. The middle class is struggling to make ends meet because their incomes are stagnating. The Conservatives' answer is reckless measures that further help the wealthy.

Today, we learn that income splitting is in fact more beneficial for the Conservative MPs. Why do the Conservatives insist on helping the wealthiest Canadians and abandoning the middle class?

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

Mr. Speaker, our family tax cut and child care benefit increase will help 100% of families with children. Income splitting will save every family nearly $2,000 and we are increasing the benefit to almost $2,000 for every child under 6 and $720 for every child between 6 and 17.

The Liberals and the NDP would withdraw these benefits and increase taxes for families. We will not let them do that.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, hundreds of thousands of Canadians have lost their jobs under the Conservatives. Manufacturing and retail are especially hard hit, and yet Conservatives are still focused on handouts for the wealthy few.

The Conservatives' income-splitting scheme will give billions to the wealthy while 85% of Canadians will get nothing at all. It turns out that Conservative MPs stand to benefit more than most.

Why are the Conservatives stubbornly sticking to their income-splitting scheme that helps the wealthy while leaving middle-class families behind?

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

Mr. Speaker, our family tax cut and benefits help 100% of families with kids.

Through the family tax cut or income splitting, families will save up to $2,000. The increased universal child care benefit will give families up to $2,000 per year for every child under six, and $720 a year for kids ages six through seventeen.

The NDP and Liberals would raise taxes on these families and take these benefits away. They would replace the family tax cut with a family tax hike, but we will not let them.

National Defence

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

While the Prime Minister was traipsing around Baghdad and Kurdistan, coalition bombs killed 52 civilians, including seven children, in northern Syria. Since the start of the aerial offensive, the bombings have killed more than 2,000 people.

Can the Prime Minister finally tell us how and when he intends to get our troops out of this war?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we have been very clear with respect to our engagement, and we have indicated that we are there for up to 12 months. We put that matter here before Parliament.

The member should take at least some comfort in knowing that we are doing the right thing. We are standing up to ISIL, which is a threat in that region and a threat to Canada.

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, this weekend in Kuwait, the Prime Minister made a very troubling comment. He said that we cannot know whether or not the military bombing mission in Iraq is effective, yet he has ordered Canadian Forces to bomb in both Iraq and Syria while we raise this very question in debate in this House.

Why is the Prime Minister focused more on campaign-style photo ops than on answering to Canadians about the war in Iraq and Syria?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, this is a precision mission that we are carrying out in concert with our allies. We have been very specific, very clear on that.

What the hon. member should be doing is getting up and thanking the men and women in uniform and all those who are standing up for what is right in this world.

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, there are also new and troubling allegations published today in La Presse concerning Canadian military police treatment of prisoners in Afghanistan.

We understand—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order. The hon. member for St. John's East has the floor. I will ask members to come to order so we can hear the question.

The hon. member for St. John's East.

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, we understand the Military Police Complaints Commission is looking into this matter, the same commission that the Conservatives stonewalled in the past incidents involving Afghan detainees.

Was the then minister of national defence made aware at the time of these instances and the investigation that took place in 2011, and what was done about it?

[James Bezan, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, our government takes all allegations of inappropriate conduct or abuse very seriously. We had been informed that this case was investigated several years ago by the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service, and it found that there was no mistreatment of Taliban prisoners.

On April 18, 2011, after a thorough and complete investigation, the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service concluded that the evidence did not warrant the laying of charges.

Taxation

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Beauséjour, NB]

Mr. Speaker, middle-class families are tired of being ignored by this government. They are asking for help, and today the leader of the Liberal Party promised Canadian families tax-free benefits that will primarily help the middle class. That is in sharp contrast to the Conservatives' plan.

Their TFSA increase and income splitting benefit the wealthy. Why do the Conservatives insist on giving the most help to those who need it the least?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal leader announced today that he would raise taxes for those earning less than $60,000 a year. Almost two-thirds of the people who maxed out their tax-free savings accounts earn less than $60,000 a year. They will have to pay more with the tax hike proposed today by the Liberal leader.

The Liberals will eliminate the family tax cut and bring in a family tax hike. They will get rid of the universal child care benefit. Families trust us because we keep our promises.