Debates of Nov. 2nd, 2016

Finance

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I announced our long-term economic plan. This plan will truly help grow our economy for the future of our country. In the meantime, we want to be prudent. That is why our GDP-to-debt ratio will fall during our term.

The important thing for Canadians and the middle class is that we are investing in them and in our country, like a country that is confident in its future.

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

Mr. Speaker, this is the worst case scenario. Five times I have asked the minister when we will we get back to equilibrium. No answer at all. That is a clear message to hard-working Canadians.

When we are not paying what we have to, well, we will be sending the bill to our children and grandchildren.

It is curious. The government is spending billions of dollars. It can borrow billions of dollars. However, when we talk to ordinary Canadians, it is tougher for them to borrow money and get mortgages, thanks to the Minister of Finance.

What does that mean? Is it do as I say, not as I do?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we know that Canadians decided that balancing the budget at all costs was the wrong decision.

Focusing on how we can improve the economy over the long term is exactly what we are trying to do. We are focusing on how we can make investments in the long term for our country that will make a real and measurable difference in our productive capacity. Most importantly, it will create jobs for Canadians. It will help the middle class.

Yesterday was an important day in setting out our vision for doing that. We are going to do it in a responsible way. It will have a real impact over the long term.

Indigenous Affairs

[Guy Caron, NDP, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday in the House we adopted a motion calling on the government to end the discrimination against first nations' children. However, there is nothing new in the minister's economic update to enforce that decision.

The only indigenous economic adviser on the government's advisory council noted that the minister should include something more helpful for first nations' children in his speech. It is one thing to vote in favour of the motion. Now it is time to implement it.

When will the minister release funding for first nations' children?

[Yvonne Jones, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, obviously, we have been making tremendous progress in supporting first nations children in this country. We are the first government to step up and accept Jordan's principle and are investing more than $382 million immediately in first nations children. We were the first government to accept the ruling of the tribunal and move immediately to invest more than $635 million in first nations children in this country.

We know the system needs to be reformed. We ask all colleagues in this House to work with us and indigenous governments to make that happen.

International Trade

[Tracey Ramsey, NDP, Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Europe has been clear that CETA cannot proceed without changes to investor state rules to protect national sovereignty.

The minister has already tabled legislation to implement CETA, in spite of the fact that she has provided no answers on compensation for dairy farmers, nothing to address rising drug prices, and no plan to fix rules that leave our environmental laws and local procurement at risk of foreign lawsuits.

Will the minister admit that there is more work to be done and commit to removing investor state provisions from CETA?

[David Lametti, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, CETA is clearly in Canada's national interest. It is a progressive trade deal that ensures very high standards for environmental protection, for labour, etcetera.

It is time, we believe, for all members in this House to rally around it and put partisan politics aside. All 28 member countries in the European Union have supported CETA. It is also supported by all the provinces, including Quebec. The trade committee will have a chance to look at CETA and address certain issues, but for the time being, Philippe Couillard, Premier of Quebec, has called it a historic, modern, and progressive agreement.

Infrastructure

[Dianne Lynn Watts, Conservative, South Surrey—White Rock, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister is taking $15 billion away from communities, money that has already been announced for public transit, for green infrastructure, and for rural and northern communities. This is a betrayal. The communities across this country have been waiting and planning for this money to build important infrastructure projects and to create much-needed jobs.

Why are the Liberals creating high-risk schemes that will fail communities and out-of-work Canadians?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I want to be clear. We announced yesterday an historic plan for investing in infrastructure. It is an important plan that provides a $2-billion investment in rural communities. It is an historic plan that provides, as well, a significant amount for a Canada infrastructure bank that is going to allow us to do even more with our infrastructure dollars for transformational projects. We have set out something that we know will have a big impact on our economy and on jobs both today and tomorrow.

[Dianne Lynn Watts, Conservative, South Surrey—White Rock, BC]

Mr. Speaker, according to reports, job creation over the last year was half of what it was over the five previous years, and no full-time jobs were created. The Liberals have increased the debt, and yesterday the finance minister announced that he will borrow yet another $32 billion. This is for the same infrastructure plan that resulted in zero job gains.

When will the government admit that this is a failed plan and heed the advice of leading economists and stop spending more taxpayer dollars?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, it is important to know that we are moving forward on our plan, because we know that it is the right thing to do, but we also know that leading economists around the world are looking at what Canada is doing and are saying that this is absolutely what we should do.

With the fiscal situation we have and the opportunity to make investments, we are moving forward, because we know it is better for our economy, it is better for Canadians, and it will create jobs. I can say that Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, says she hopes that our policies go viral around the world. Leading economists recognize that we are doing exactly what we should be doing at this time for our economy.

Employment

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the problem for the Minister of Finance is that it will be Canadians, not people from around the world, who will be paying down our deficit.

Yesterday, the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities stated that 950 projects worth $11 billion have been approved, but according to the Infrastructure Canada database we are really talking about 860 projects worth $4.2 billion. In addition to these conflicting figures, there is another figure that stands out. It is the number one: one year of Liberal governance, one year of excessive spending, one year of deficit and fewer than 10 new projects under way so far.

When will this government start creating real jobs here in Canada?

[Amarjeet Sohi, Liberal, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday was an historic day for Canadian municipalities from coast to coast to coast. We committed to invest more than $180 billion over the next 12 years, and as part of our commitment in budget 2016, we approved more than 950 projects, with a combined investment of $12 billion. The majority of those projects are under way, helping municipalities buy buses, do their advance planning work for the next stage of infrastructure, improve water—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Richmond—Arthabaska.

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Minister of Finance announced the creation of a Canadian investment bank. All we know right now is that the $15 billion promised to communities will go to this bank. What people need to see are not new organizations, but people at work, and not money invested in banks, but money invested in job sites.

Can the minister finally propose a real job creation plan that will put Canadians to work?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, our Canada infrastructure bank will help our economy. We will have the opportunity to leverage our efforts and generate more opportunities for projects that will be transformative for our economy. That is our goal. We know that with more investment in infrastructure we will create jobs now and in the future for Canadian families.

Post-Secondary Education

[Anne Minh-Thu Quach, NDP, Salaberry—Suroît, QC]

Mr. Speaker, at the onset of a national student movement, the Liberal government has promised that graduates can delay paying back their student loans until they earn at least $25,000 a year. However, that is nothing new. It is a recycled announcement from the last budget, and it does not solve any of the basic problems that are causing students to rack up massive amounts of debt.

Will the government stop trying to use smoke and mirrors and finally take real action to guarantee affordable access to post-secondary education in Quebec and Canada?

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday was a great day for Canadians students as the loan repayment act came into being and now Canadian students do not have to start their repayment until they have employment that pays over $25,000 annually. This is over and above the $1.5 billion that this government has invested in student grants. We have increased the level of student grants for low-income Canadians by 50%. The lowest-income Canadians are now eligible for a cap of $3,000, up from $2,000. We are listening to students and we are—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Churchill—Keewatinook Aski.

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB]

Mr. Speaker, today, students on the Hill and across the country are speaking for a generation that is burdened by debt and facing rising rates of unemployment. They are putting forward bold solutions in the face of rising, precarious work, ones that we heard on our national tour across the country.

Instead of placating young people and telling them to accept the unacceptable, will the Prime Minister, the Minister of Youth, listen to students' solutions and stand up and show leadership for the millennial generation?

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, we understand fully that it is important to offer young Canadians that opportunity for a first job. We have doubled the amount of money for the youth employment strategy and doubled the number of summer jobs for young Canadians.

I would like to thank the student organizations, those I have met with. I was just at Mount Saint Vincent and I was at Cape Breton University. Roy Karam, the president of the student union at CBU, commented about our investment in students, “I’m excited and I know students will be happy as well—it’s a win for students”.

This government knows the needs of students and we are here to support them.

The Economy

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Pickering—Uxbridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today, the Minister of Finance appeared before the finance committee to answer questions on the fall economic statement, which he delivered in the House of Commons yesterday. It was the first time such a statement has been given to Parliament in almost 10 years.

Would the minister explain how our government's plan will help middle-class families and what the next steps are in order to grow the economy sustainably?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, a year ago, Canadians asked this government to put the middle class first. That is exactly what we have done, by supporting Canadians through our first budget where we put in place measures that are really helping families, and by moving forward in our economic statement yesterday to talk about how we are going to actually make a long-term difference through better long-paying jobs for Canadians.

This is part of a plan. We will continue to work on behalf of middle-class families. We will move forward in budget 2017 to make measurable impacts—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Thornhill.

Foreign Affairs

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we have just witnessed the annual ritual of some of the world's worst human rights abusers elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council.

The good news is that Russia has been denied the seat it so long took for granted. However, China, Saudi Arabia, and Cuba will be seated. The vote, as usual, was secret. However, the vote is not the minister's. It belongs to all Canadians.

Will the minister tell Canadians how Canada voted on these four notorious human rights abusing nations?