Debates of Nov. 17th, 2016

Bill C-26—Time Allocation Motion

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, may I start by congratulating my colleague not only for her election, but also for her passion and the sense of pride she feels, as I and others do, in belonging to this House, the pride that is attached to two things: first, the opportunity to spend fruitful and critical time with members of the House, all of them distinguished; and second, the responsibility to move forward in advancing the interests of all Canadians.

In that context, may I repeat that we are allocating 27% of the total available government business time between September and December to just the second reading of two bills. That is a sign of the importance we attach to this particular bill. We are looking forward to further discussion at the committee stage.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

It is my duty to interrupt the proceedings and put forthwith the question necessary to dispose of the motion now before the House.

The vote is on the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

No.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

All those in favour of the motion will please say yea.

[Some hon. members]

Yea.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

All those opposed will please say nay.

[Some hon. members]

Nay.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

In my opinion the yeas have it.

And five or more members having risen:

Call in the members.

(The House divided on the motion, which was agreed to on the following division:)

Vote #153

Canada Pension Plan

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I declare the motion carried.

I wish to inform the House that because of the proceedings on the time allocation motion, government orders will be extended by 30 minutes.

The House resumed from November 15 consideration of the motion that Bill C-26, An Act to amend the Canada Pension Plan, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Act and the Income Tax Act, be read the second time and referred to a committee, and of the amendment.

Second Reading

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to start the debate today on this very important bill. It would be transformational for our nation, and I am delighted to express that on behalf of this government. We would improve the lives of future generations. People would be able to retire with dignity because of this government.

The essence of what we would do is very simple. We would increase pensionable earnings from one-quarter to one-third for generations to come. I am sure that one day, when members in the House retire, they will look back with pride to the great day we adopted the enhancement to the Canada pension plan, because future generations will know that we did the right thing.

It is my privilege to rise today to speak about how this government is honouring its promises to Canadians, how it is helping to strengthen the middle class and all of those working hard every day to join it, and how, through collaboration and partnership as well as a strong commitment to do what is right, we are at the threshold of progress on a very important initiative for our country. The promise of a dignified retirement is fundamental to the Canadian dream. Our country has long been a haven for hard-working middle-class families who helped build this modern, open, and cohesive country that we all enjoy today.

For decades, people in Canada believed that, if they were willing to work hard, the goal of a comfortable retirement was well within reach. That assurance is one of the reasons that our country has thrived, but lately the goal of a secure retirement has come under threat. The world has shifted, and many citizens have not seen the benefits of the tremendous economic growth we have achieved together over the last several decades. The soft underbelly of the world economy has revealed itself in expected and unexpected ways. Hard work does not always equal progress anymore. In many cases, a fundamental promise has been left unkept.

Let us consider these facts. We know that today one in four families nearing retirement, which is 1.1 million families in this country, risk not having enough for retirement. In particular, middle-class families without workplace pension plans are at greater risk of under-saving for retirement. A third of these families are at risk. We also know that young Canadians, in particular, are facing the challenge of securing adequate retirement savings at a time when fewer can expect to work in jobs that include workplace pension plans.

We knew we needed to act, but we could not act alone. That is why, at the earliest opportunity, our government invited provinces to an inaugural discussion on enhancing the Canada pension plan. This goes back to last December, mere weeks after we took office. We made excellent progress at the first meeting, so much progress that consensus was achieved with the provinces by June.

The federal government, alongside participating provinces, reached a historic agreement to make meaningful changes to the CPP that would allow Canadians to retire with more money in their pockets and with dignity. That has truly helped to underscore the importance of partnerships and how serious we are about renewing the relationships we have with other jurisdictions so that we can work together on the challenges that affect us all.

We need our federation to be strong. That is how we will succeed. Let us look at what we have done so far. For young workers in their early twenties, just starting their careers, this would be a great benefit when they retire. In fact, young workers would see the largest increase in their retirement benefits.

I am sure members in the House are looking not only at the immediate term, but at the long-term future, whether it is for their children or grandchildren. As I went across this nation, when we were looking at budget 2016, as I am still doing for budget 2017, people wanted us to act for the immediate term, but they also wanted us to act for the long term.

That is why the Minister of Finance is called the long-term guy. He is looking at the long term to ensure there will be prosperity in our country for generations to come.

By strengthening the Canada pension plan, workers will receive more money from their pension, from one-quarter of their eligible earnings to one-third. This is a significant achievement. It is a historic agreement. It is a transformative agreement for this nation and for future generations.

Let me get to the example. If people are making $50,000 a year over their working life, they will receive about $16,000 each year in retirement instead of today's $12,000. That is $4,000 more each year in their pockets. This is money to save and invest. It is money that Canadian families and hard-working workers expect to have when they retire to be able to contribute to society.

What about those Canadians who are worried that this is nothing more than a new cost on their paycheques? We have heard some members express that. Let me give them a very straight answer. First, we ensured that the increase in contributions would be phased in gradually, so people know about it in advance. When policies are to be changed, we need to tell people about it in advance. That is exactly what we have done.

Someone who is working, with a constant earning of $50,000 a year, will contribute an additional $70 a year or $6 a month in 2019. Let me go back to the example. That person would get $4,000 more in benefits, and in 2019 the individual would contribute $6 a month more.

I can assure members, when they go across this nation, people get that this is in their best interest.

For the employee contribution portion of the enhanced CPP, we are also going to offer a tax deduction instead of a tax credit to ensure that new CPP contributions do not cut into the cost of savings.

How will employers be affected? We have heard members on the other side talk about employers. Let me give them a very straight answer. The employers will also benefit from a long and gradual phase-in starting in 2019. This is the responsible way to ensure that businesses and workers have time to adjust to the additional contributions associated with the enhanced program.

What about the low-income worker who is worried about the effect of increased CPP contributions on his or her paycheque? How will an enhanced CPP help? Let me tell the House in a very straightforward manner. I want to assure my colleagues and low-income workers that an enhanced CPP will benefit all workers, including those with low incomes.

In order to ensure eligible low-income workers are not financially burdened as a result of the extra contributions, the government will also enhance the working income tax benefit. The proposed enhancement to the WITB is designed to provide additional benefits that roughly offset incremental CPP contributions for eligible low-income workers.

With this enhancement, there will be no impact on their disposable income, and when they retire, they will also get a larger retirement benefit payment. The bottom line is that people who are working in Canada, are paying into the CPP and are planning to retire after 2019 are going to have more money in their pockets from their CPP retirement pension benefit.

The time has come to restore the faith of Canadians in their government and to reward hard-working people having the audacity to dream of a secure retirement, like their parents and grandparents before them. After all, that was the deal. With these changes, Canadians can worry a little less about having enough later in life, and can spend a little more time in the present, raising kids and building their communities for the better.

We feel this is a win-win. I urge my hon. colleagues to support an enhanced CPP because they will be doing the right thing, not only for this generation but for future generations. When members retire, they will look back in time and say that they are proud to have been in the House when we did the right thing for our children and grandchildren.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we will have an opportunity to explore this in greater detail later.

Still, the member failed to mention one number, and that number is 40. It will take 40 years for the effects of this legislation to actually kick in, because that is the full cycle needed before that can happen, and that is a long time. Meanwhile, business owners will be forced to pay on average $1,000 more for each employee, and workers will have to pay $1,000 more, too.

Why is the government bragging about creating justice in the world, when in fact, it failed to mention that it is taking an extra $1,000 away from every worker?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Louis-Saint-Laurent for his question and for the very important contribution that he makes to the Standing Committee on Finance.

The member mentioned one number. I am going to give him four. People who are making $50,000, over their working life, will receive $16,000 in CPP benefits instead of today's $12,000. That is $4,000 more for the contributions that are made now.

I know my colleague from Louis-Saint-Laurent, and I know that he is concerned about this generation. However, I also know that he understands that we need to invest today for tomorrow. I can assure him that the people in his riding and mine will remember this historic moment for Canada.

[Murray Rankin, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the last Liberal government of Pierre Elliott Trudeau introduced important measures to protect pension benefits of parents who stayed home to raise children. The current government appears to have forgotten them in Bill C-26.

Women already receive lower average CPP benefits than men. If this problem is not fixed, the gender inequality will only get worse. Bill C-26 contains a significant flaw that hurts women and people with disabilities. The proposed legislation fails to copy the child rearing dropout provision that were included in the existing CPP, so parents are not penalized for taking time out of the workplace to raise their children. Similarly there is a problem vis-à-vis the people with disabilities.

Is the government open to amendments to address this significant flaw?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the member has raised a very important point. Let me be very clear for Canadians watching at home and members of Parliament in the House today. With this CPP enhancement, all Canadian workers will be better off. The statistics show that when people retire, women tend to have less income than men. The enhancements to CPP will benefit women. We are very proud to provide additional retirement income for all Canadians, particularly women, who retire with lower incomes than men.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I enjoy working with my colleague on the finance committee. It seems like the $50,000 mark mostly is a point of argument that is favourable for him to start by showing that $4,000 increase. To be honest that $4,000 increase, from $12,000 to $16,000, in a four-year term with the inflation rate, is very shy and very short of reach. Therefore, this is not going to benefit. The extra investment will be put in place by employees. By the way, he never mentioned the contribution of employers, which is a significant number. It would be more credible for him to mention that to Canadians so they understand what the employers are going to pay, which is an additional tax and a disadvantage for employers.

How can the member work the math properly to show Canadians the proper news when they will not see any benefit four years from now and from a financial position, an investment position, that will help Canadians and make sense of an investment? I do not see it. It is not shown—

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance.

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I value the member's contribution to the finance committee. He is a man of numbers. Let me give him some numbers again. People who make $50,000 a year over their working life will receive $16,000 each year in retirement instead of $12,000 this year. That is $4,000 more per year when they retire. What will they have to contribute to get that additional pension? If they make $50,000 over their lifetime in pensionable earnings, they will have to contribute $6 a month starting in 2019, to get $4,000 more in additional benefits. Canadians get it and they want it.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in this debate, even though we saw from the vote that took place earlier that, unfortunately, the government is infringing on parliamentarians' right to speak.

This government is allowing no more than one-third of the members of the official opposition to speak about this bill, which will have a direct impact on taxpayers both in the short and long term. The so-called positive measures set out in this bill will not take effect for 40 years. I do not want to make anyone feel old, but there are many people here who will not benefit from the supposed enhancement of the CPP set out in this bill.

There are in fact two conflicting views. On one hand, there is the view of the Conservative Party, which would prefer to give Canadians the tools they need to save for themselves. Let us not forget that we came up with the well-known TFSA, which is very popular and should not only be maintained but also made more accessible. We are giving people the tools they need to make the best choice about how to save.

On the other hand, the Liberal government says that it knows what is good for Canadians, that it will take more money from workers, and that it will force employers to pay higher CPP premiums.

These are two conflicting views. Not everyone will agree on which one is best, but it is clear to us that it should be the worker, the citizen, or the business person who decides what works best for them, rather than leaving it up to the government.

What will this bill do? It will result in workers paying an additional $1,000 on average into the Canada pension plan. For business owners, it means paying $1,000 more on average for every employee in every business. What a heavy burden to bear.

Let us first look at the $1,000 per worker. We believe that it is always better to leave money in people's pockets than to put it in the government's hands. A tax grab of $1,000 per worker is not the right thing to do.

What about businesses and employers? We believe that private enterprise, not the government, creates jobs. The government must do everything it can to support, empower, and pave the way for businesses. It is not the government's job to do the work of business people, who are the real creators of jobs and wealth. They are the backbone of the Canadian economy. We have to do everything we can to help them create jobs and wealth, but mostly, we should not be foisting new taxes on them, and yet, the government has decided to saddle them with additional costs amounting to $1,000 per worker.

Knowing that this government is going to charge our businesses even more fees does not bode well for the future. Let us not forget that this government wants to impose the Liberal carbon tax, which will have a direct impact on every one of our businesses. Let us not forget that this government was committed to reducing the business tax rate from 10.5% to 9%, but there is not one iota of information on how the government plans to do that. Let us also not forget that this government was elected on a promise of running a modest $10-billion deficit, but in reality it is three times worse and so far we have no idea when there will be a return to balanced budgets. Let us not forget that a deficit is a tax we are deferring to our children and grandchildren who will have to pay for today's mismanagement.

We believe that the government is on the wrong track with this bill.

Let us face facts: it goes without saying that we would all like to have a more pleasant and worry-free retirement. That is what everyone agrees on, hopes for, and wants to work toward. Here is another fact: the situation has vastly improved over the past few decades thanks to the sound policies put in place by previous governments, including that of the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney.

I should point out that, in recent years, the government implemented measures to help people save money. As a result, according to Statistics Canada, the proportion of low-income seniors dropped from 29% in 1970 to 3.7% today, which is one of the lowest rates in the world. That is something to think about. Of course, we always have to be mindful of the less fortunate among us, but there are fewer of them than before, particularly among seniors.

We were on the right track because we gave people the tools they needed to make the right choices for themselves. In 1990, Canadians saved 7.7% of their paycheque, and now they save 14.1%. That is happening because we got people more interested in saving and investing wisely.

If, God forbid, this bill is passed and comes into force, what impact will it have? According to a Finance Canada analysis, it will result in reduced employment, reduced GDP, reduced business investment, reduced disposable income, and reduced private savings. That is five reductions all told. That is two more strikes than baseball players get. Five strikes, five reductions, five factors that will slow economic growth. We know we need growth, especially considering that the people across the aisle are on such a spending spree, have no control over public spending, and do not even know when the budget will be balanced. Theirs is a worrisome approach.

A paper released by the C.D. Howe Institute shows that the Liberal Party's plan will not benefit low-income workers, because their premiums are going to go up but their net increase in retirement benefits will remain low, since higher CPP payments would be offset by clawbacks in GIS benefits.

Bragging about one's fine principles is all well and good, and so is saying that the most vulnerable among us will have more. That is fine, but what the government has given with one hand, it has taken away with the other. We, the Conservatives, are not the ones saying so; this is coming from the C.D. Howe Institute.

Incidentally, C.D. Howe was one of the greatest ministers in Canada's history. From my perspective, he was one of the people who helped shape Canada in the 20th century and helped establish this country's industrial base at a time when we were at war. I really like making historical asides from time to time. If we are going to be talking, we might as well enjoy ourselves a little.

The guaranteed income supplement was supposed to help the most vulnerable among us in the unfortunate event that people could not make ends meet with their private pension alone. Given that we pay more attention to that these days than we did in the past, when wages were lower and saving money did not occur to people so much, we created the guaranteed income supplement to bridge that gap and put people on a more equal footing.

However, considering the Liberal approach, that goal can unfortunately no longer be reached as it should be, and that spells trouble.

This bill is a clear indication of where we can draw the line between the government and our party. As far as we are concerned, we must give people the tools they need to make the right choice with respect to a good pension plan that is based on their own priorities. Of course we do not want to cancel anything that is coming from the federal government. The point is this. If it has to bring something new, then it should bring it on behalf of the people instead of putting it into the hands of the government. If we adopt this bill, the reality is that people will have less money in their pockets. This bill will give the government the right to take $1,000 a year out of the pockets of working people. Worse than that, it will cost entrepreneurs, those who create wealth and jobs and who are the real backbone of our economy, around $1,000 more for every worker in their business. This is not good for the Canadian economy, nor is it good for the people who work because it will take 40 full years before it achieves anything good for the people.

I urge all members of the House to vote against this bill.

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague from Louis-Saint-Laurent knows that I have a tremendous amount of respect for him. That said, I would like to pick up on what he said.

Let us not forget what we told Canadians and what they voted against.

Let us not forget that we promised to help the middle class. The first thing this government did was introduce a tax cut for the middle class, of which nine million Canadians are benefiting today.

Let us not forget that we promised to help Canadian families. We did that with the Canada child benefit, which will help nine out of ten families and lift 300,000 children out of poverty. Our Conservative colleague voted against that measure.

Let us not forget that we proposed improvements to the Canada student loans and bursaries program. The Conservative Party voted against that measure.

Let us not forget that we have made an historic $8.4 billion investment in first nations in order to provide services in indigenous communities properly. The Conservative Party voted against this measure.

Let us not forget what we have done for our seniors. Today we are proposing improvements to the Canada pension plan. We also proposed improvements to the guaranteed income supplement that would help 900,000 seniors in the country, especially women, since most seniors living alone are women.

Let us also not forget that we lowered the age of retirement back to 65 from 67.

I have a simple question for my colleague from Louis-Saint-Laurent: why is he planning to vote against measures that benefit our seniors, our young people, the middle class, and everyone in his riding?

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this measure will take even more money out of the pockets of taxpayers and business owners who need that money to create jobs and wealth so that people can make their own choices.

Since we are once again talking about the Liberals' election platform and the budget implementation bill, I am pleased to remind members that 65% of Canadians are not affected by the so-called tax cuts. Those who will benefit the most from the government's new tax cuts are Canadians who earn between $140,000 and $200,000 a year.

I must admit to my conflict of interest, as I am indeed in that tax bracket. However, I voted against the measure because the Liberals were leading people to believe that everyone would have more money when that is not true. In fact, 65% of Canadians will not benefit from the measure.

Let us remember that the Canada child benefit, which was supposed to be revenue neutral, is going to end up costing $3.4 billion more than our existing programs. Also, need I remind my colleagues that the Liberals forgot to index that benefit? That small oversight will add billions of dollars to the national debt.

My colleague spoke about first nations. Need I remind him that, on June 11, 2008, the Right Honourable Stephen Harper, issued a formal apology to the first nations here in the House? That is the only time in Canadian history that a prime minister has done that. The only time in Canadian history that the grand chief addressed parliamentarians was when our government was in power, and we are very proud of that.

Must I also remind him that this government was elected on a platform that states, on page 76, that the Liberals would run a modest deficit of $10 billion and return to a balanced budget in three years? The deficit is three times larger, and we do not know when we will return to balance. Shame on them.

[Sheri Benson, NDP, Saskatoon West, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his passion, although I do not necessarily agree with some of my colleague's comments.

I would like the member to respond to the fact that we do have a pension gap in this country. There is a crisis. Canadians are saving less money for their retirement. Unfortunately, for many Canadians who are saving for retirement this pension gap became worse under the previous Stephen Harper government.

I would like to know what my colleague's party is talking about. Could he explain to us what lessons Conservative members learned from their retirement plan for Canadians that obviously did not work and many Canadians are living in poverty in retirement.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, there is definitely no perfect solution. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

We had specific goals and we did not exactly reach them all. Let us still take a look at Canada's overall situation today. In 1970, some people were living in abject poverty. They are much fewer in number today. According to Statistics Canada, 29% of seniors had low incomes in 1970, compared to 3.7% today. In my opinion, our achievements speak for themselves.

Could we have done more and had better results? That is quite likely the case. However, we were on the right track.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, just to respond very quickly to my colleague and friend across the way when he posed the question of whether the previous Conservative government could have done more, I would argue that the Conservative Party did virtually nothing in regard to assisting Canadian seniors. Indeed, the Conservatives could have done a whole lot more. In fact, for many years I sat in the opposition benches and listened to provinces calling for strong national leadership on the CPP. The Stephen Harper Conservative government continued to turn a deaf ear to what many provinces wanted and pushed the federal government to act upon. There is no doubt in my mind that it was a very low priority of the Stephen Harper government, that the Conservatives did not see the pensionable incomes.

To give any grace, I would suggest that at the very least the Conservatives did not understand and appreciate the importance of the CPP to the Canadian population and to many of the jurisdictions that wanted to see the national government demonstrate leadership on the file. That was not seen until we had our current Prime Minister in this current government who has taken decisive action and has demonstrated strong leadership in terms of recognizing what Canadians indeed wanted to see happen.

Before I get into that aspect, I want to make this very clear. I am a sensitive guy at times and I hear members provide questions or quotes, and maybe a little earlier quotes even about me in regard to the issue of time allocation. Let me address this issue because it is important for us to recognize. The Conservatives might have hoodwinked or fooled the New Democrats across the way, but they have not fooled the government members. I do not think it is going to be any surprise that what the Conservatives really want to do is kill Bill C-26. They might be the only entity in our country that opposes Bill C-26, but let there be no doubt that they want to kill this bill. They would be very happy if this bill never saw the light of day. That is why I was not surprised to see the Conservative Party play its games yesterday to try to prevent an ultimate vote occurring on Bill C-26. If it were up to the Conservative Party, we would never be voting on Bill C-26. That is why the Conservatives brought forward amendments.

They fooled the NDP, the third party. I give them credit for that, but sometimes it is not the easiest party to fool in this chamber. At the end of the day, time allocation is in fact a tool that is used to try to get the government business dealt with. This is something that Canadians want. A vast majority of Canadians support Bill C-26. I know that. If we are not prepared to use the tools, at times, that government has provided, then we will not be able to pass the important types of legislation that Canadians expect governments to pass.

I will give the Conservatives some credit. They have focused on what I would suggest is a bad bill, to line up and say that they do not want the bill to ever see the light of day. The Conservatives have had 30 speaking spots, but that does not mention the good number of other spots that they had in questions and answers. I would suggest that very easily more than half of the Conservatives, if they wanted to, could have actually spoken to the bill.

I will go further by saying that it does not take much. It takes 10 or 12 MPs to have party status. Any party can be fairly destructive in terms of the proceedings of the House because we have a finite amount of time in order to pass legislation through this chamber. If an opposition party chooses to be mischievous and not recognize what the government is trying to accomplish, it does not take very much to invoke time allocation. I saw that when I was in the opposition benches, where we had time allocation over 100 times. It does not take a genius from within an opposition party to create a bit of frustration on the government benches where it has to look at using that tool. Look at how much time has been allocated to Bill C-26.

If the government and opposition were to come to a consensus, that is always the ideal. We have a government House leader who has reached out to the opposition party in a very real and tangible way. If the opposition wants to be accommodative, and we are accommodating, that is great, but let us not kid around. We know that at times, the official opposition members will not want to co-operate, because they will want to kill a bill. However, just because the official opposition wants to kill a bill, it does not mean the government would not pass the bill, as we will continue to do what we believe is in Canadians' best interests first and foremost.

If we look at the substance of Bill C-26 and what it would do, it is pretty straightforward. It is a historical agreement achieved by our national government demonstrating leadership, right from the Prime Minister's Office to different ministries and, indeed, to our caucus. Every member of the Liberal caucus has been able to participate in this great debate regarding pensions for our seniors, and the CPP is one of those fundamental pensions that Canadians truly believe in and want to see action on by our government.

We took it a step further by saying that we were going to demonstrate that leadership, and within the first year of being elected, we have an agreement with provinces in every region of our country and their different political parties. Even Progressive Conservative parties have agreed to what we have before us today. We have many different advocacy groups that recognize that, yes, this is the type of legislation they want to see.

This is not just about today's seniors, but the government has not ignored them. The best example is the guaranteed income supplement, which was substantially increased in this budget. That initiative is going to lift tens of thousands of Canada's most vulnerable and poorest seniors out of poverty. That is helping today's seniors.

However, let us not focus on and think that because this would not help today's seniors in a very real and tangible way, we do not need to have this bill before us today. If we talk to seniors, they care about their children and grandchildren. They want their children and grandchildren to retire in dignity. This bill is all about the future, and this means having vision. This is a government that has leadership and understands that.

If I were to take any bill presented so far, this would be the bill I would focus my attention in showing why the Conservatives are no longer in power. It is because they lost touch with Canadians. That is the simple truth of it. They did not understand what Canadians really and truly wanted. They lost touch with them.

Contrast that with the attitude of the Prime Minister and this government. We have a Prime Minister who has consistently mandated his ministers, in fact, all of our caucus, to reach out to and better understand what Canadians want, and to bring that back to Ottawa so that the types of initiatives we take reflect what Canadians really want. This is really what Bill C-26 is all about.

I do not understand why the Conservative Party continues to oppose this legislation. This demonstrates that they still have not learned their lesson from the last election. They are ignoring what a vast majority of Canadians really want, and this is just one example of that.

I do not mind if the Conservatives want to stay out of touch with Canadians, but we will continue to move forward and will have to see what happens. However, we recognize what Bill C-26 is all about. Imagine a group of premiers, reflective of different political parties, meeting with the federal government, which is able to come to the table in such a way that we achieve an agreement.

It is an agreement that we believe is in the best interests of working people, not only in the short term, but also in the long term. The stakeholders, even businesses, in good part agree that this is legislation that all members of the House should be supporting.