Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with my colleague from Sarnia—Lambton.
I would like to thank my colleague from Haldimand—Norfolk for leading the official opposition and being our critic on the issue. She is doing a great job and we appreciate everything she has done.
Bill C-25 is an act to amend the Canada Business Corporations Act, the Canada Cooperatives Act, the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act, and the Competition Act. I would like to begin with a quote from my colleague from Haldimand—Norfolk who said, “...Modernizing the acts addressed in Bill C-25 is a welcome improvement to the federal corporate statute and a reflection of the need to enhance companies' corporate governance practices.” If the minister wants to continue putting forward legislation straight from Conservative budgets, then bring it on, that is more than welcomed. This is the minister's second bill since taking office one year ago and just like his first bill, this one too comes straight from the Conservative 2015 budget.
Canadians, though, need more legislation that would provide positive results for Canadians.
According to the September 17 article published by The Huffington Post with data compiled from the Library of Parliament, the Prime Minister's first few months in office “were the least productive of any government in the House in more than two decades”. Parliament passed 10 bills during the member for Papineau's first nine months. By contrast, the previous government, after winning a majority in 2011, passed 18 pieces of legislation, including nine bills moved in its first 23 days. Former prime minister Jean Chrétien's first nine months in office resulted in 34 bills being given royal assent in 1994 and 38 bills after the 1997 election. Quoting my friend from Durham, “For a government that really talks about real change, and high ambition … there hasn’t been much change. They haven’t done a heck of a lot.”
It gets worse. According to Statistics Canada, as of October 2016, last month, Canada's unemployment rate was 7%. We all agree in the House that is far too high.
The Liberal government is running multi-billion dollar deficits and has yet to create one net full-time job in over a year. Instead of debating other pieces of legislation that could help to get millions of Canadians back to work, we are debating here changes to the Canada Business Corporations Act, the Canada Cooperatives Act, the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act, and the Competition Act.
In 2014, our previous government consulted with stakeholders from all across Canada about the modernization of Canada's corporate governance framework. Many of the stakeholders that we met with during the consultation process raised a number of important and complex concerns that they had with the corporate governance structure. I am pleased to see that Liberal members opposite will use legislation that our previous government worked so hard to create. It is a shame though, and I continue to say this, that we have not seen other pieces of legislation to produce positive results for Canadians.
During my year and one month here I have had an opportunity to speak with many constituents and they have raised the same concern no matter where I go, the economy, but specifically jobs, jobs, jobs. This same concern can be found from coast to coast to coast and we as legislators need to take action.
There is a trend developing with the Liberal government. It wants to consult, consult, consult, debate, debate, debate, discuss, discuss, discuss, but Canadians are still waiting for action. Canadians want to get back to work. Canadians want legislation to get them paying their bills and building their families. They are waiting for tangible results. However, it seems that making that decision piece is a bit of an issue for the Liberals.
The government was elected on a promise of change and yet, for many Canadians, they are in a worse position now than they were a year ago. The government promised to help the middle class and it continues to argue that it is helping the middle class, but Canadians who are struggling know that is not true.
The government plans to implement a carbon tax and increase CPP contributions. It is running massive deficits while at the same time taking away tax credits that provided relief for families that need it. After promising just modest deficits during the election, the Liberal government is now running massive deficits with no sign of returning to balance.
Now, the budget has a structural problem. What does that mean going forward? It means program cuts in the future, tax hikes, and at the end of the day, the Liberals are leaving this debt for future generations to pay. Therefore, I do not really see this as helping the middle class.
Our previous government, in contrast, brought Canadians the lowest tax burden in 50 years, and I am proud of that record. We also managed to balance the budget and run a surplus. However, as I have mentioned, the government has burned through that surplus. It is running massive multi-billion dollar deficits, yet we have not seen the creation of one net new full-time job. This is burdening the middle class. This is burdening future generations. This is burdening the youth who will have to pay this bill.
I would like to touch on the background of the bill. I will read from the 2015 budget on page 140.
...the Government will propose amendments to the Canada Business Corporations Act to promote gender diversity among public companies, using the widely recognized “comply or explain” model...Amendments will also be proposed to modernize director election processes and communications with shareholders and to strengthen corporate transparency through an explicit ban on bearer instruments...Amendments to related statutes governing cooperatives and not-for-profit corporations will also be introduced...
For many in the previous Parliament, that quote will sound familiar. This is because, just like the last piece of legislation introduced by the minister, the bill comes straight from the Conservative budget. While I tend to disagree from time to time with members opposite, I must say that I agreed with the minister in his first speech when he said:
Technology also allows transactions to happen quickly across the global, and the global marketplace is more interconnected than ever before. A disruption or discovery in one part of the world can have profound consequences in another.
I appreciate the work that all sides in Parliament are doing. I appreciate the work of members opposite as they work to expand the connectivity of high-speed Internet to rural communities. Many in my area saw the previous government make investments in that. I think we all recognize that there are still gaps in high-speed Internet. Therefore, with the legislation before us, I continue to support improvements in that direction and I appreciate the commitment from the members opposite for continuing the work that we did in the previous Parliament.