Debates of Dec. 2nd, 2016

Taxation

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

Mr. Speaker, I am curious to see whether the member will give us the same old lines he has been using since the beginning of the year, when we presented him with statistics that were just released this morning.

The Liberals' record for their first year in office is 30,000 fewer full-time jobs than when they came to power. This government was unable to create a single full-time job this past year. The Liberals' plan to run up tens of billions of dollars in debt on the backs of our children and grandchildren and to tax, tax, tax is not working. The minister is about to hit a wall.

When will the minister finally listen to Canadians and give taxpayers a break?

[Terry Duguid, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. member will agree, Canada needs to make smart decisions and sound investments today to ensure that Canadians have access to good, well-paying jobs tomorrow. We are moving ahead with making those necessary investments that will grow our economy.

As the hon. parliamentary secretary has said many times in the House, we have lowered taxes for nine million Canadians. We introduced the Canadian child benefit; nine out of ten families will benefit. We have improved employment insurance. We are increasing our investments in skills and training. Make no mistake, our government is focused on its plan to strengthen the middle class and improve growth to help the Canadian economy.

Democratic Reform

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

Mr. Speaker, Let us do a recap. The Liberals were elected promising to change the voting system. The Prime Minister repeated the promise in his victory speech on election night, and as recently as two days ago.

The Liberal government put together a process that included asking the committee to study “viable alternative voting systems”. The committee did this and proposed a path toward proportional representation, but instead of moving forward on its commitment, the Liberal government responded with insults. Our question is, why?

[Maryam Monsef, Liberal, Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, it is a great privilege to be here on this Algonquin territory with my colleagues.

I would like to take a moment to address something. Yesterday in the House, I used words that I deeply regret.

If you will allow me, Mr. Speaker, I would like to sincerely apologize to the members of the House, to Canadians, and to the members of the all-party Special Committee on Electoral Reform. In no way did I intend to imply that they did not work hard, that they did not put in the long hours, or that they did not focus on the task at hand. I thank them for their work.

[Pierre-Luc Dusseault, NDP, Sherbrooke, QC]

Mr. Speaker, that does not answer the basic question because the Liberals promised that the 2015 election would be the last under the existing system.

We know that some of the Prime Minister's promises were just a lot of hot air, but not this one. It was clear and precise. The committee spent $1 million to hear what Canadians and experts across the country had to say. Unfortunately, yesterday, the government directly attacked the committee.

Why is the government disparaging and insulting the committee and the hard work being done by its members, including Liberal MPs?

[Maryam Monsef, Liberal, Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, allow me to take this opportunity to apologize again for the words I used yesterday. I thank all members of the House for their hard work, especially the members of the special all-party committee, and I encourage all members to read the report.

Natural Resources

[Pierre-Luc Dusseault, NDP, Sherbrooke, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would focus on another irresponsible remark. Yesterday, the Minister of Natural Resources suggested that the government would have police and armed forces crack down on people protesting against the Kinder Morgan pipeline. Instead of having a constructive nation-to-nation relationship with indigenous communities, the minister threatened to deploy state forces. That is shameful.

How can the government defend the minister and his irresponsible and even dangerous comments?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, as we all know, the right to protest is part of our Canadian democracy. We respect that.

The right to lawful protest was part of our platform last year. We know that many Canadians feel strongly about certain issues and they have the right to protest. We are certain that these Canadians will exercise that right in compliance with the law.

[Randall Garrison, NDP, Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke, BC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Natural Resources still suggested that the Liberal government is prepared to use police and defence forces to counter protests against the Kinder Morgan pipeline. What reckless, irresponsible, and incendiary language from the minister, and only two days since they approved this pipeline.

My question is for the Minister of Defence. Will he remind his colleague, the Minister of Natural Resources, that if he is truly concerned about the rule of law, he should know that in this country the federal government has no such authority to use our military against pipeline protests.

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, of course, one of the cornerstones of our Canadian democracy that we are very proud of is the right to protest peacefully. In fact, as I mentioned, we had this specifically in our platform in the election last year.

We will always respect the right of Canadians to protest when they do not agree with something. They have the right to do it, they feel strongly about it, and we are confident that they will do so peacefully.

Democratic Reform

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the special committee on electoral reform conducted an online survey that received over 20,000 responses. It asked specific questions about what Canadians want in their voting system. Next week, the minister launches the mydemocracy.ca website, asking questions about values relating to electoral reform that are so vague they read like a Myers & Briggs personality test.

Instead of asking about people's feelings, the government could use the committee's questions. Indeed, the committee has asked the government to do so.

The site has not gone live. The minister could respond positively to this question: Will she change the survey?

[Maryam Monsef, Liberal, Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, I will respond positively to this question by offering my sincere apologies to the member for my comments yesterday.

We are looking forward to connecting with as many Canadians as possible through a new online and telephone initiative, which will ensure that we hear from as many Canadians as possible before we present the House with our recommendations on electoral reform.

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on the one hand, the minister says that the special committee was irresponsible and did not do its work, because it did not provide a specific response. Then the minister says that she is going to refuse to ask specific questions. I think everyone can see the obvious, outrageous double standard at work here.

Here is the double standard the Liberals have. The minister talks about the disenfranchised, those who cannot participate in the process, and says that she is reaching out to them. All they have to do is take their iPhone and respond to her online survey. I mean, the rampant, outrageous hypocrisy is just unbelievable.

There are some specific questions that the committee requested that she ask. Will she do so?

[Maryam Monsef, Liberal, Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for another opportunity to talk about the new digital initiative we will be launching next week.

The member is right that as of next week, mydemocracy.ca will allow Canadians to have a conversation about their democracy. Something that the special committee's report did highlight was the importance of engaging Canadians further, and a recognition that while there is no perfect electoral system, the conversation with Canadians needs to take place through a values-based approach. That is exactly what we are doing, and we are looking forward to hearing from as many Canadians as possible before we present our recommendations to the House.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Democratic Institutions insulted the thousands of Canadians who participated in the work of the committee on electoral reform when she questioned the committee's work by saying, “We asked the committee to help answer very difficult questions for us. It did not do that.” Or is it simply that the committee did not answer the way she wanted it to?

We appreciate the apology, but if the minister really wants to make this right, will she take the committee's recommendation seriously and offer a referendum?

[Maryam Monsef, Liberal, Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for accepting my apology. I certainly feel better. However, I also recognize how passionate the member opposite is about a referendum.

I encourage all members of the House to read the report. I encourage all Canadians to go online beginning next week and become engaged and empowered about their democracy.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

Mr. Speaker, not only do the vast majority of Canadians expect a referendum, but according to a recent poll, it turns out that even 74% of Liberal supporters want one too. Instead, the government is talking about a postcard and a website.

Let us be clear. There is no other form of citizen engagement that can replace a referendum, certainly not a postcard, or a website, or telephone calls. If the minister is actually serious about listening to each and every Canadian, and actually serious about the apology she has made, will she commit to taking the recommendation seriously and offer Canadians a referendum?

[Maryam Monsef, Liberal, Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday in the House, there are concrete recommendations in the report the committee presented to us, like the need for greater engagement of all Canadians in the conversation on electoral reform.

This past summer, members of the House held conversations in their ridings. My parliamentary secretary and I travelled the country, as did the committee on electoral reform. Next week, we will launch an online initiative that Canadians can also access through the telephone. We would like to hear their thoughts on the values they would like at the heart of their democracy.

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

Mr. Speaker, the best way to feel better is to ask Canadians where they stand on electoral reform, and it is called a referendum.

In a democratic society, we are not afraid to engage with the people. In a democratic society, we are not afraid to hear what people think. In a democratic society, when we are entirely confident in our position, we know we can count on the trust of Canadians.

Why is the government refusing to ask Canadians what they think? Why is the government refusing to hold a referendum on electoral reform?

[Maryam Monsef, Liberal, Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite and I agree. We need to hear from as many Canadians as possible before we move forward on legislation on electoral reform. That is exactly what we will do.

Starting next week, Canadians will have an opportunity not just to have a say, but to learn more about their democracy. We want to hear from them, the values they would like shaping their electoral system, and we are looking forward to hearing from as many Canadians as possible before we introduce legislation in the House.

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

Mr. Speaker, just because the minister does not agree with the report's findings does not mean that she must set it aside.

Thousands of Canadians across the country participated in these consultations. The Conservative Party touched base with 80,000 people. People wrote to us that the government must hold a referendum, and 80% of the people said that a referendum was required. The best way to move forward with sound electoral reform is to ask for Canadians to express their opinions.

Will the government do what Canadians want, act in their best interests, and hold a referendum, yes or no?

[Maryam Monsef, Liberal, Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, I thank members of the House who hosted town halls in their ridings and my parliamentary secretary for his continued work on this effort. I would like to thank the members of the special committee who have travelled far and wide, and the Canadians who have taken part.

There are 15 million households in this country that will receive an invitation in the mail starting next week. Some have already begun, inviting them to be part of this conversation, so that before we make any final recommendations on electoral reform, we have ensured that we have heard from as many Canadians as possible.

We will do that, and we are looking forward to doing something that has not been done before.

Public Services and Procurement

[Tracey Ramsey, NDP, Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the government promised to fix the Phoenix pay system by October 31, but over a month later, people in my riding of Essex are still going without a paycheque. People are afraid that missed paycheques will lead to missed mortgage payments, which will cause people to lose their homes.

Phoenix has been a train wreck, a national disgrace, causing undue stress and anxiety for tens of thousands of Canadians. When will the government finally fix this shameful mess?

[Leona Alleslev, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, there is no question that the ongoing pay problems are unacceptable, and our sole focus is on doing what we need to do to ensure that the people who have earned their salaries get every dollar of them.

We are working hard. We continue to do so. We have put a number of measures in place. Phoenix is our priority and that is what we will do.

The Economy

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

Mr. Speaker, this morning's job numbers confirm that the Liberal's economic plan is going nowhere.

The economy is getting shakier and shakier. We lost 8,700 more full-time jobs last month. Thirty thousand jobs have been lost since the Liberals took power.

The manufacturing sector shed 12,000 jobs last month, for a total of 50,000 under the Liberals.

Youth aged 15 to 24 saw 40,000 full-time jobs vanish last month alone.

Will the Minister of Finance stop telling Canadians that they need to get used to the new normal and actually do something?