Debates of May 7th, 2015

Status of Women

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, a new report from Catalyst Canada paints a disturbing picture for Canadian women. The report found that Canadian women who are doing the same work earn $8,000 less than men. The gap is double the global average of $4,000. This gap has serious consequences for women, their families and the Canadian economy.

Does the Minister of Status of Women think it is fair that women get paid less for equal work? Why is she doing nothing to close the pay gap?

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

Mr. Speaker, the best way to close the pay gap is to make sure women have great jobs. That is what this government is focused on, making sure that Canadian women have access to board opportunities, making sure women have access to skilled professional trades, making sure women have access to absolutely great jobs that pay well.

We are focused on creating jobs. In fact, we have created 1.2 million jobs since the downturn of the recession. Why do the Liberals never support anything we do to make sure women have jobs in this country?

Foreign Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, over 200 artists from Quebec have signed a letter from playwright Michel Marc Bouchard asking the Prime Minister to personally intervene in the Raif Badawi case. Mr. Badawi's only crime was defending freedom of expression, human rights and gender equality.

The Prime Minister boasts about having a principled foreign policy, and yet he remains completely silent on this matter.

Will he finally do what we have been asking him to do for months now and personally intervene in Mr. Badawi's case?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, far from remaining silent, we regularly and publicly have stated Canada's strong objections to the imprisonment and punishment of Raif Badawi and will do so again today. Canada considers the punishment of this individual to be a violation of human dignity. We continue to call for clemency in his case. We have made representations to Saudi Arabia's ambassador here in Ottawa and Canada's ambassador in Saudi Arabia. We have also registered our government's concerns with the Government of Saudi Arabia, and this will continue going forward until clemency is granted.

The Environment

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the plan to bury radioactive waste in southern Ontario right next to the Great Lakes is now in the hands of the Minister of the Environment. Communities on both sides of the international border, representing millions of people, have expressed serious concerns with the process. They are worried about the potential impact of radiation and the Great Lakes together side by side. No other alternatives were even considered. Many people feel they were not adequately consulted, including municipalities and the U.S. Congress.

Will the minister require a further study of alternatives and consultations with affected communities on this very serious matter?

[Greg Rickford, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the member's question. We are committed to a strong, independent environmental assessment process that protects Canada's environment and promotes responsible resource development. The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission is tasked with ensuring that nuclear projects are safe for Canadians and safe for the environment. We will review the joint review panel report before making any decisions on this file.

Quebec Bridge

[Denis Blanchette, NDP, Louis-Hébert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives' semblance of willingness to fix the Quebec Bridge is a political mirage. After 10 years they still have not found a solution.

However, the NDP has proposed an initiative that was well received by mayors Labeaume and Lehouillier. The mayors and the people of the Quebec City region understand that CN will not do anything unless it is forced.

Will the minister support out proposal?

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

Mr. Speaker, our Conservative government is the only government to take real action on repainting the Quebec Bridge. The NDP's proposal is the real political mirage.

The public thinks it is fair and reasonable that our plan to repaint the Quebec Bridge requires CN to pay its share.

Taxation

[Terence Young, Conservative, Oakville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, families in my riding of Oakville are very pleased with our government's plan to put more money back in their pockets to be spent on their priorities. This is why we introduced the enhanced universal child care benefit and the family tax cut.

Could the Minister of Employment and Social Development please give this House an update on how we can ensure all Canadian families with children will benefit from our plan?

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

Mr. Speaker, the family tax cut or income splitting will help almost half of families with kids. We support income splitting because it gives tax fairness to those families.

The Liberals oppose the principle of income splitting for families, so logically, they oppose it for seniors. They voted against income splitting for seniors. Their former leader, the current heritage critic, spoke out against pension splitting for seniors. However, now, just before an election, the Liberals want seniors to believe that they have changed their minds. They have a multi-billion dollar hole in their plan. We know that they are going to reach into seniors' pockets to fill that hole.

Citizenship and Immigration

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the commissioner's report points out that the Liberals' objective of having 4.4% of francophone immigrants settle outside Quebec by 2008 was pushed back to 2023 by the Conservatives. The Conservatives have shut down regional offices, abolished the destination Canada and the francophone significant benefit programs, and have reallocated $120 million to purposes other than francophone immigration. In short, they have dismantled the francophone immigration promotion programs.

To fix this mess, the minister promised that he would fix the express entry system. When will he do so? Will he keep a promise for once?

[Costas Menegakis, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, we have been very clear about our goal of 4% for francophone immigration outside of Quebec. Our government has a road map to get there. We are already seeing results from express entry. We have taken note of the commissioner's other recommendations.

The road map for linguistic duality that our government brought in in 2008 was renewed again for five years in 2013 and provides for over $1.1 billion to promote official languages in minority communities.

Unfortunately, the Liberals say one thing when they stand up to ask questions, but they vote differently when programs like that come to a vote.

Foreign Affairs

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, three vigils are being held today and tomorrow to mark the anniversary of Raif Badawi's sentencing.

It has been a year since Mr. Badawi was sentenced to 1,000 lashes for blogging about social issues. More than 200 prominent Quebeckers are calling on the Prime Minister to intensify diplomatic efforts so that Mr. Badawi may finally rejoin his family in Sherbrooke. We have heard enough excuses.

Is the Prime Minister prepared to personally call for the release of Raif Badawi?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we have registered our government's concerns with the Government of Saudi Arabia. We do this on a regular basis, and we will continue with that going forward until clemency is granted.

We maintain an ongoing dialogue with Saudi Arabia on a number of issues, including all aspects of human rights, and we will continue to do so.

Taxation

[Lawrence Toet, Conservative, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, our Prime Minister understands that small businesses are the backbone of the Canadian economy. Small businesses in my riding of Elmwood—Transcona know that the Conservative Party is the only party in the House that supports them. For instance, we introduced the small business job credit, lowering EI premiums for over 700,000 small businesses across Canada to help them create jobs.

Could the Minister of State for Finance please tell the House what new steps the government is taking to stand up for small businesses?

[Kevin Sorenson, Conservative, Minister of State (Finance)]

Mr. Speaker, our government is proud to be cutting the small business tax rate to 9%. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business applauds this measure and gave the budget an A.

For a small business with a taxable income of $500,000, this tax cut, and all of the tax relief that our government has brought forward, will result in a decrease in federal tax of nearly 50%. That is 50% that the business can then reinvest in creating jobs back into that business.

However, the Liberal leader has said that if given the chance, he would kill jobs by reversing our small business tax rate.

Foreign Affairs

[Manon Perreault, Independent, Montcalm, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today marks the sad anniversary of Raif Badawi's sentencing. He is in jail simply for having an opinion. He is still sentenced to 1,000 lashes, which is an inhumane, archaic and barbaric sentence. By remaining silent, Canada is complicit in denying freedom of speech and opinion.

Can the government stop being concerned and honour Canadians by using diplomacy to ensure that Mr. Badawi is released and can rejoin his wife and children?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we certainly have not been silent on this. We have regularly and publicly stated Canada's strong objection to the imprisonment and punishment of Mr. Badawi, and we are doing so again today. We consider the punishment of this man to be a violation of human dignity, and we continue to call for clemency in this case.

International Trade

[Manon Perreault, Independent, Montcalm, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in March, Maude Barlow, a former UN advisor, denounced the fact that the current government sacrificed our drinking water in order to promote its plan to make Canada an energy superpower. Canada has a responsibility to preserve our water because it is essential to our survival and the survival of biodiversity.

Has the government changed its laws to ensure that our fresh water is protected from the effects of the oil industry?

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth. I remember back in 1988, those same individuals, the same party, were claiming that we were going to be sacrificing our sovereignty over fresh water. In fact, none of that happened.

Today, we are stronger as a country. Our economy is stronger. We have trade agreements with 43 different countries around the world. As we promote Canada's trade interests, we are focused on promoting the interests of our exporters, the interests of our investors and the interests of our consumers. We are very proud of our record on trade.

Business of the House

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Mr. Speaker, this has been a good week for Canadians in Alberta, as Albertans chose a strong, stable, majority NDP government under the leadership of premier-elect Rachel Notley. It is wonderful news for all Canadians.

NDP MLAs throughout Alberta will be getting right to work to serve Albertans, as NDP MPs serve Canadians right across the country. I actually knocked on doors in Alberta. In southern Alberta, as I spoke with Albertans, I heard they were as concerned with the federal Conservative agenda as they were with the provincial Conservative agenda.

My question for Thursday for my hon. colleague is simple. Are Conservatives hearing those voices, those concerns raised in Alberta and right across Canada about the government's meanspirited agenda, its emphasis on always helping the wealthiest of Canadians while cutting services to the middle class?

I will also ask my colleague, for the Thursday question, if the government is going to support the NDP legislation tomorrow to remove the GST on feminine hygiene products. It is long overdue, and many millions of Canadian families are asking the government to do just that. Will the government adjust, and will it take into consideration the message it has heard from Albertans and so many Canadians this week?

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I agree with the hon. member so far as his first statement is concerned, that this has been a good week for Canadians.

It has been, because today the House of Commons voted on a ways and means motion and introduced a budget bill that would reduce the small business tax rate from 9% to 7%, although the NDP voted against that this morning, and it brought in a family tax cut to bring fairness to families, except the NDP and the Liberals voted against that.

We also introduced, of course, expanded flexibility for seniors on their RRIFs and increased room for all Canadians on tax-free savings accounts. Unfortunately, the Liberals and NDP voted against it, but that does not matter, because we delivered, and Canadians will get to enjoy the benefits of that because of the vote we had today in this House.

It has indeed been a good week for all Canadians, certainly those who care about and want lower taxes.

After this statement, we will debate Bill C-52, the Safe and Accountable Rail Act, at report stage and third reading. This bill strengthens Canada’s rail safety system, and I understand that all parties are interested in seeing this bill move forward quickly.

As I announced in the House yesterday, tomorrow shall be the third allotted day. Monday will be the fourth allotted day. Additionally, I am designating Monday as the day, pursuant to Standing Order 66(2), when we will conclude the debate on the eighth report of the Standing Committee on Finance.

On Tuesday morning, we will continue the debate on Bill C-52.

After question period today, we will consider Bill S-4, the digital privacy act, at report stage and second reading. This legislation would provide new protections for Canadians when they surf the web and shop online. These changes to protect Canadians' personal information are key elements of Digital Canada 150, our government's plan for Canada's digital future.

Starting on Wednesday, and for the remainder of next week, we will debate Bill C-59, economic action plan 2015 act, No. 1, which was introduced earlier today, as I already referenced.

This critical economic legislation would reduce taxes, including many of those I already spoke about, and deliver benefits to every Canadian family through the family tax cut; our enhancements to the universal child care benefit; encouraging savings with enhanced tax-free savings accounts; lowering the tax rates for small businesses; introducing the home accessibility tax credit, a very important improvement for seniors to help them stay in their homes for longer; and expanding compassionate leave provisions; and the list goes on and on.

As the hon. member said, it has been a very good week for Canadians, even though he opposes all of those measures.

Regrettably, the Liberal leader, earlier this week, announced that he would raise taxes for middle-class Canadians by replacing that very same family tax cut with a family tax hike, and despite this Liberal tax, the Liberal leader is discovering that budgets do not balance themselves. He has a $2 billion hole in his plan. Canada cannot afford that kind of reckless, high-tax, deficit-building approach.

In voting against our tax cuts for families set out in the ways and means motion the House adopted—

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

Order. The hon. opposition House leader, on a point of order.

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, the government House leader knows full well, from the rulings the Speaker has made in the past in terms of the Thursday question, that the answer should be approximately the same length as the question. The question was quite short, and I think it is time for the government House leader to conclude. His answer is going far beyond the length of time that was taken for the question.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

I see the hon. government House leader and the hon. member for Winnipeg North rising. Is it on the same point of order?