Debates of June 19th, 2015

Ethics

[Murray Rankin, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Mr. Speaker, every time Canadians turn on their TV, it seems the waste and the unethical spending just gets worse. Either they see news stories about Conservative appointees using public funds like their own personal piggy bank, or they see their money being wasted on government advertising: $750 million of their money, public funds, on nakedly partisan propaganda.

Canadians have had enough. They are ready for change. How can the minister stand here time and time again and defend this misspending? Why will he not take responsibility and end this grotesque waste?

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

Mr. Speaker, I take responsibility for informing parents that under the Prime Minister's enhanced universal child care benefit, they will be eligible for $2,000 for each child under age six and $720 for kids age six through 17. I have been working hard to promote this benefit so that all Canadian parents sign up for it. One hundred per cent of families with kids under 18 are eligible, regardless of income or the way they raise their kids.

I even made an inspiring YouTube video to inform parents of it, which has been very successful. I thank members from all sides of the House for promoting it.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is so sad. This is a party that came to Ottawa claiming that it would do things differently, and then the Conservatives went to work for themselves, just like the old corrupt Liberals. They are making an embarrassing mockery of question period, of course. Conservatives are tired, out of touch, and under criminal investigation.

Canadians are sick of the Senate scandals. They are sick of the wasteful spending. They are sick of the entitlements of the government, and Canadians stand ready for change, so why will Conservatives not get on board with the NDP leader's practical plan to bring real change to Ottawa?

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

Mr. Speaker, the NDP leader will take real change out of the pockets of Canadians. With his proposed tax increases, he will raise the price of gasoline, raise the price of electricity, and raise the costs on businesses. That is what a carbon tax would do.

He then proposes, along with the Liberal leader, that they would bring in a new $1,000 payroll tax to fund a new pension scheme. Every working-class person would be forced pay it, and so would the small businesses that employ them. Canadians are not going to accept having the change stripped from their pockets. They are going to vote in favour of lower taxes.

Employment Insurance

[Lise St-Denis, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the unemployment rate in rural parts of the Mauricie region is 2% higher than in Trois-Rivières and the surrounding area. We believe that the government's lack of action on job creation and restrictive employment insurance measures are devastating to rural communities.

Are government members aware of the adverse effects of employment insurance restrictions on seasonal work in the regions?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal leader's only plan for rural communities is to raise taxes, but our rural communities cannot afford higher taxes. People in rural communities understand that budgets do not balance themselves. They also understand that the Liberal leader is not ready to be Prime Minister. Rural communities support our efforts to cut taxes, eliminate the gun registry and be a good government.

Public Service of Canada

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

Mr. Speaker, today marks the end of National Public Service Week. Most Canadians understand that we need a strong public service, one to protect our food and water, to keep our transportation system safe, and to provide services for our elderly, our veterans, and the unemployed.

However, one of the legacies of the pathetic current government will be the profound disrespect it has shown for our public servants. I ask the government, in its dying days, for a deathbed conversion. Will the Conservatives finally respect the work our public servants do, respect their rights, and bargain in good faith?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, let me take this opportunity to congratulate all federal public servants during National Public Service Week. We appreciate their usual stellar job on behalf of the people of Canada.

I would be happy to inform the hon. member that we are in fact at the bargaining table today with the bargaining unit and the union bosses. I am hoping that they will be fair and reasonable, just as fair and reasonable as I am being, on behalf of the employees of the federal public service and on behalf of the taxpayer.

Justice

[John McKay, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the fundamental responsibility of a Minister of Justice is to protect the rule of law and the integrity of investigations. Therefore, “no comment” means “no comment”. If an investigation has merit, it is compromised, and in extreme cases, lives are put at risk. If there is no merit, individuals are slandered and smeared with little recourse.

What then was the Minister of Justice thinking when he commented on Minister Michael Chan? Has he forgotten his oath of office, or was he so overwrought with the joy of potential partisan advantage that he jettisoned his oath of office?

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

Mr. Speaker, the member knows that this is a matter the Ontario government should address.

The Economy

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Alberta's jobless rate has risen to 5.8%, the highest in more than four years, with little job growth since the start of the year. In the past six months, Alberta has seen unemployment numbers jump by 50%. Lower oil prices and job losses mean rising bankruptcies and lower home sales. Experts are predicting more job losses and growing economic challenges ahead, including in the drilling sector.

When will the Conservatives finally understand that we need to invest in a more diversified, sustainable economy for western Canada?

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

Mr. Speaker, the NDP proposes to hit Alberta's energy sector with a carbon tax. Not only that, the New Democrats admit that they would raise taxes on large employers in the energy sector. In fact, that is their plan for every single sector. They want higher taxes on large employers in manufacturing, on large employers in high tech, and on large employers in mining. Every single large employer in this country would pay higher business taxes under the NDP, on top of the carbon tax. Those taxes will kill jobs. We are lowering taxes to create them.

Employment Insurance

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, let me tell you about another Conservative failure.

Some 230 former Aveos workers just won a major victory thanks to the hard work of lawyer Hans Marotte. The Employment Insurance Commission spent over two years asking the workers to pay back on average $18,000 in benefits received after they lost their jobs. Their only crime was to receive the severance pay to which they were entitled upon losing their jobs.

When will the Conservatives acknowledge that employment insurance belongs to workers and that they are entitled to the benefits they have paid for?

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

Mr. Speaker, the only plan the NDP has for employment insurance is to create a 45-day work year. People would work for 45 days and then receive EI benefits for the rest of the year. Obviously that would cost billions of dollars and require the government to raise taxes, which would have an impact on workers as well as small and medium-sized businesses. Money is not free. It has to come from somewhere.

We are doing the opposite. We are lowering EI premiums.

Canada Post

[Jonathan Tremblay, NDP, Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after four years, it is time that the government stopped taking Canadians for fools. On October 19, an NDP government will be there to show them some respect.

Despite opposition from Canadians and municipalities and despite the fact that Canada Post is clearly improvising, this government has done nothing to get the mail delivered. Canadians know that an NDP government will stop slashing our public services and restore home mail delivery.

Will the government finally recognize that the Canada Post plan is not working and direct the crown corporation to do its job, which is to deliver the mail?

[Jeff Watson, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the members opposite cannot even read Canada Post's balance sheet, and yet they want to run the economy. Page 68 says:

Without pension relief, the corporation at Canada Post would have been required to make special payments of approximately $1.3 billion in 2014. The special payments without pension relief would amount to $1.4 in 2015.

Letter mail volumes have been plummeting in the country. Pension payments, an unfunded liability, are still due by Canada Post. It must continue with its five-point plan so it does not a burden for taxpayers.

The so-called plan of the NDP would mean massive taxes to cover the $6.8 billion unfunded liability.

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

Mr. Speaker, Canada Post's plan to impose community mailboxes in our community of Hamilton, without municipal approval, was so flawed that the city went to court. Many residents there are so upset they are even blocking the installation of these boxes.

Canadians have had enough of not being consulted in cuts to services that impact them. It is no wonder that Canadians are ready for change.

Why is the minister not listening to our communities and telling Canada Post to withdraw its plan and restore home mail delivery?

[Jeff Watson, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the so-called plan by the NDP would amount to not only finding $500 million in increased taxes to support door-to-door delivery for one-third of Canadians, but it would have to make up the $6.8 billion unfunded pension liability, or maybe the the New Democrats do not care that retirees get their pensions.

Canada Post, which has been facing a tremendous decrease in letter mail volumes and has been consulting with communities on its five-point plan, must continue so it is not a financial burden to taxpayers.

Infrastructure

[Stella Ambler, Conservative, Mississauga South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Prime Minister announced a major contribution from the federal government to help improve transit in the city of Toronto and the GTA, including Mississauga.

Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs please inform the House on the impact this announcement will have for the people of Toronto and the surrounding region?

[Paul Calandra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Prime Minister announced funding would be made available through the public transit fund for Toronto's smarttrack express rail service, which will service the people from Mississauga through Toronto, all the way through to my riding of Oak Ridges—Markham.

The public transit fund represents the largest and longest federal commitment to public infrastructure in Canadian history. It means jobs and economic growth, and it means prosperity for the region.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank the member for Mississauga South and the entire Conservative GTA caucus members who have been fighting for this because we know it is jobs and economic growth.

Consumer Protection

[John Rafferty, NDP, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

Mr. Speaker, after nearly a decade of Conservative government, Canadians still have no protection from unfair gas prices.

Prices have jumped 40% since mid-January, rising way faster than oil prices, and leaving consumers in Thunder Bay—Rainy River and across the country gouged at the pumps.

Canadians are ready for change. The New Democrats have long called for the creation of a gas ombudsman to ensure competition and protect consumers. Will the Conservatives finally support the creation of a gas ombudsman, or are they okay with Canadian consumers paying these unfair prices?

[Mike Lake, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, it was this government that introduced legislation called the Fairness at the Pumps Act.

It is clear that our legislation is working, because companies are complying with the law out of fear of being fined. Canadian families expect that when they purchase gasoline, they get what they paid for.

That is why our government took action and passed this legislation, which ensures gasoline pumps are routinely inspected for accuracy. In fact, the Government of Canada saves Canadian consumers over $500 million every year by tackling price collusion and anti-competitive behaviour.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative approach is not working. In the 10 years the Conservatives have been in power, they have done nothing to reduce gas prices. What is more, the gap between the price of crude and the price at the pump has never been higher than it is right now. For years now the NDP has been calling for an ombudsman to monitor the price of gas, and for years, the Conservatives have been coming up with all kinds of excuses for doing nothing.

Why are the Conservatives allowing consumers to be gouged at the pump?

[Mike Lake, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, this is a ridiculous question coming from the NDP.

The NDP ran the last election on a massive carbon tax. It has talked about a massive carbon tax for the last four years. In addition to that, it has proposed increased taxes across the board.

On the flip side, this government has reduced taxes at every turn. Under this Conservative government, Canadians pay less in tax than they have paid in 50 years.

Citizenship and Immigration

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

Mr. Speaker, under the Conservatives, Canada has become inaccessible as a country for too many refugees. For instance, the minister is not giving his department the means to meet his own targets for welcoming Syrian refugees. I have another example. Canada continues to deport people to Haiti and Burundi.

In short, the Conservative record is shocking. Over the past 10 years or so, Canada has been receiving fewer and fewer refugee claims. We saw a drop from 40,000 claims a year to 10,000 claims in 2013. It is shameful.

Why do the Conservatives continue to tarnish Canada's reputation on the world stage? Why are they turning their backs on refugees?