Debates of Dec. 5th, 2016

Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

There is a rule that you can be in the House and you can vote in the House without a tie, but unfortunately, I am going to cut it off. I just noticed the hon. member does not have a tie, I am going to have to ask him to sit down. I am sure it was a great question.

The hon. member for Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia.

[Rémi Massé, Liberal, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative member’s presentation was an interesting one. He contrasted the previous government with the Liberal government. I can assure the House that the contrast is obvious with our Liberal government, since it is a government that is here for the regions. The member also spoke about the debt, in reference to what my colleague said earlier.

I would like to hear more from the member on how the Canada child benefit has improved the lives of 9 out of 10 families, on the fact that it has lifted 300,000 children out of poverty, with all of these new measures being tax free. I would like to hear his thoughts on how the Canada child benefit is making it easier for families to break the debt cycle.

[Dave Van Kesteren, Conservative, Chatham-Kent—Leamington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have to be honest. I have kids with kids. They tell me it is neat to get that cheque. However, I remind them that they have to pay it back and their kids will have to pay it back too. Had the Liberal government been honest with the Canadian public and said it was going to really increase this but it would cost them, that it was not going to pay for it, but it was going to charge it, I wonder if Canadians would have had the same response.

I repeat, when it is Christmastime and mom and dad come home with piles and piles of presents, the kids will be delighted, but in the same breath if they tell the kids that they charged it and the kids will have to pay for it, it would really make for a crummy Christmas.

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, my heart goes out to the member for Beaches—East York. If he wants to borrow a tie, we have some very stylish ones in the NDP lobby.

I wanted to bring to the attention of my Conservative friend that, in March 2016, there was an advisory council on economic growth that was struck by the Liberal government and Michael Sabia was one of the members of this council. That was right around the same time that he appeared on March 3 before the Toronto Board of Trade and stated that:

For long term investors, infrastructure offers something that’s not easy to find today: stable, predictable returns in the 7 to 9 per cent range with a low risk of capital loss—exactly what we need to meet our clients’ long term needs.

When we hear the private investment industry making those kinds of claims, about 7% to 9% return on investment, where does my friend think those returns are going to come from and how do they compare with what the government could offer or what the government did promise with low interest rates?

[Dave Van Kesteren, Conservative, Chatham-Kent—Leamington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I wish I had more time. I think it was Patrick Henry who spoke about having another life to give, but I wish I had another hour to give; we could talk about those things, but the long and the short of it is this. I would be the first to say that I am not an economist, but I am a businessman. I would say there are a lot of folks here who are not economists and yet they have learned to balance their own chequebook. When we do those things, we know that what is coming in had better be equal to what is going out. We always like to make one a little more than the other. However, it is just common sense that we cannot spend our way to prosperity. There are times when governments have invested. We use that word so freely and everything seems to be an investment nowadays. Nevertheless when we go to the bank and we borrow money, we have made a loan and we have to pay back that loan.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Mount Royal is rising on a point of order.

Decorum in the House

[Anthony Housefather, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in 20 seconds or less, I was just wondering if I could clarify your ruling with respect to the member for Beaches—East York.

My understanding is that the rules say “contemporary business attire” in the House. I think today—

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, York—Simcoe, ON]

Which is accepted to be a tie.

[Anthony Housefather, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Excuse me, but the rules are for contemporary business attire. Mr. Speaker, the rules have changed in workplaces since 1987, the last time the Speaker, I believe, ruled on this issue. I am wondering if the Speaker would consider reviewing this rule and sending it to the procedure and House affairs committee to revise it, as many workplaces today no longer require men to wear ties.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I appreciate the suggestion. I will bring it back and suggest it to a meeting. We will get back to the member if anything changes.

Now we will resume debate. The hon. member for Mississauga East—Cooksville.

The House resumed consideration of Bill C-29, A second Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 22, 2016 and other measures, as reported (with amendment) from the committee, and of the motions in Group No. 1.

Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2

[Peter Fonseca, Liberal, Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today I take this opportunity to speak to Bill C-29, the budget implementation act. This budget will have such a profound, progressive, and positive impact on the families, kids, students, and workers in my riding. It will make a tremendous difference in their lives.

However, by their nature, budget bills are largely collections of various budget-related matters, and many of these matters can be very technical in nature and mind-numbing, I would say. However, other parts of these bills pertain to matters of substantive policy, including the important policy choices made by governments. I will address you on the parts of this bill that pertain to the important policy decisions made by this government.

The first policy decision made by this government that I will speak to is the Canada child benefit. I refer to its indexing to inflation, the maximum benefit amounts, and the phase-out thresholds under the Canada child benefit beginning in the 2020-21 benefit year. This decision will keep the Canada child benefit up to date, effective, and relevant, regardless of any future inflation.

The Canada child benefit is a critical program for Canadians, now and into the future. Our Canada child benefit is responsible for lifting over 300,000 Canadian children above that poverty threshold. In a stroke, it reduced Canada's child poverty rate from 11% to 6%. It cut our child poverty rate nearly in half. That is outstanding. It is something that many of us have talked about for decades and never seen done. To see this happen before our eyes is truly amazing. This is the sort of societal-changing action we all entered into politics to effect.

Moving over 300,000 children out of dire need means nearly one-third of a million Canadian children will eat better, will be better clothed, will be better educated, and will benefit from the opportunities many other Canadian children can take for granted. These opportunities might include soccer lessons, music lessons, or science camps. Not only is this program, which this legislation underpins into the future, the right and decent thing to do, it is the clever thing to do.

Children raised out of poverty have better health outcomes. These better outcomes will save us untold billions of dollars in health costs in the future. Children not burdened by poverty get better educations. These better educated Canadians will result in a more productive Canadian economy in the future.

The increased productivity from this poverty-reduction program will contribute billions in extra Canadian economic growth and Canadian government revenues. Children not haunted by poverty have better life outcomes. They are less likely to suffer from debilitating social problems, such as crime and addiction. Reducing such social problems will not only prevent untold personal grief and tragedy but will save all levels of government more billions of dollars.

Poverty reduction might even have a surprising effect on our democratic system. There is some evidence that increased income increases the likelihood of voting. This makes intuitive sense. If we feel our society has cared about us and our children, we will tend to care more about our society. Therefore, we are likely making more engaged and better citizens with this measure.

It is no wonder that the Canada child benefit has been described as “one of the most ambitious social policies to be implemented in Canada in decades”. Bill C-29 supports this progressive and ambitious societal change.

Bill C-29 also makes post-secondary education more affordable for low and middle-income families. Further, it makes it easer to repay any student debt incurred to obtain that post-secondary education. These are yet more progressive and forward-thinking government measures to position Canadians and Canada for the future.

Successful world citizens in the future will not be working harder, but will be working smarter. It is our duty to ensure that Canadians are overrepresented in the future cohort of successful, highly educated world citizens. These budget measures are some of the ways we are fulfilling that duty.

The measures I have addressed so far relate to our duty to the youngest Canadians and future generations. The measures I now address concern our duty to the most vulnerable of our oldest Canadians, our seniors.

Currently, these vulnerable seniors—i.e., those couples receiving the guaranteed income supplement under the Old Age Security Act—are penalized when one or both of them become so ill that it requires the couple to split up for health reasons. While they are forced to incur the extra costs of living as two single people, they are not each entitled to the single-person supplement. Currently, they are restricted to the couple supplement only. The couple supplement is less than that for two single persons.

The amendment in the budget would correct that unfairness by allowing each involuntary single to claim that single-person supplement. This would recognize their increased costs, which are beyond their control.

CARP is a 300,000-member national, non-partisan, non-profit organization advocating for financial security and improved health care for Canadians as they age. It “applauds the government for the proposed amendment to the Old Age Security Act, contained within Bill C-29”, and our earlier increase in the guaranteed income supplement. While certainly wanting us to do more, CARP further states, “these amendments have our unconditional support”.

This measure is a part of our commitment to ensuring that Canadian seniors have a dignified, comfortable, and secure retirement.

The bill would also implement the part of the election platform that Canadians voted for last year regarding increases in infrastructure spending, some $180 billion over 12 years. Canada, like the rest of the world, has realized that monetary policy, including the low interest rates that we find ourselves with now, is no cure for sluggish growth. It cannot fix everything. These needed investments are not necessarily made because of the low interest rates. That is why, with government intervention, we are able to get some of that needed infrastructure built. We are in such a situation right now.

We also realize that there is an infrastructure deficit in Canada. Sewer systems, bridges, railroads, social housing, and rural high-speed Internet are but a few of the areas in which we must invest more. The timing is right for this infrastructure push right now. As the British magazine, The Economist, said on October 4, 2014, there are concrete benefits as a result, because “Public investments in infrastructure do the most good at times like the present”.

Municipal leaders, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, are raving about the leadership that we have taken on infrastructure and the improvements that will come to municipalities coast to coast to coast.

Our current prosperity did not come out of thin air. We have to realize this. It came out of investments and hard work. Canada's most iconic infrastructure investment was the “National Dream”, that is, the building of the transcontinental railway. That investment helped make Canada. It created untold wealth and knitted us together. It is a classic example of the far-sighted infrastructure investment that we need.

We must be equally far-sighted today. There is a myriad of new infrastructure opportunities that exist in public transit, local and regional airports, disaster mitigation, community energy systems, health care facilities, and I could go on and on.

Many societies around the world are confronting new tensions and perhaps even a questioning of the traditional bonds between citizens and their leaders. This legislation would address those strains by emphasizing the inclusive nature of our Canadian democracy.

I am concerned about the state of our democracy and the world's democracies. To that end, I allude to the broader positive societal impact of the measures to help Canadian children whose families are struggling.

I have also highlighted the long-term nation-building implications of infrastructure investment.

We are determined to ensure a strong economy based on a strong middle class. When middle-class Canadians have more money to save, invest, and grow the economy, everyone benefits. These benefits are not only economic, but democratic, social, and cultural.

I think about Canadian parents, who are struggling to join the middle class, and working hard. This bill is a concrete, monthly, and effective demonstration of Canadian societal concerns for them. I support this legislation wholeheartedly, and encourage everyone in this House to vote in favour of Bill C-29.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. I would like to raise two things.

First, we know that our economy’s biggest job creators are small and medium-sized businesses, which generally create about 80% of new jobs. This is the case in Montreal, especially in Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie.

During the election campaign, the Liberals promised to help small businesses to give them some breathing room. Unfortunately, in their first budget, there is no hint of this promised tax break for small businesses. I would like to hear my colleague’s comments on that.

Second, I heard my colleague’s concerns about infrastructure. In Montreal it is pretty catastrophic and there is a lot of catching up to do. Personally, I am deeply concerned to hear the government referring to privatization and the new infrastructure bank, which will attract a great deal of private capital. They will guarantee a return to provide for dividends.

Why will we guarantee this bank a return or a profit of 7% when we could borrow at an interest rate of 2%?

[Peter Fonseca, Liberal, Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy. They are the engine. I have so many small businesses in my riding of Mississauga East—Cooksville.

I can tell the member that they have come to me. The Canada child benefit has made a difference to those businesses. That extra spending money that those families now have means they can buy that winter coat at this time of year, or put their kids in soccer or in music class, or provide more for their children. It is an investment, and that investment also moves in to those small and medium-sized businesses.

The same thing happened with our middle-class tax cut. That means more money in the hands of more people in the middle class, and being able to spend that money within the local economy, because these businesses are local, and they make such a difference. They are employers of many people in our community.

I say to the member that these are investments that will have a major impact on our small and medium-sized businesses.

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB]

Mr. Speaker, budget 2016 was very well received in Manitoba, both in the rural areas and in the city areas. In fact, in the riding of Provencher in the village of St-Pierre, we received $3 million for a lagoon expansion. In the city of Winnipeg, we received $55 million for transit improvements, something that is direly needed for Winnipeg.

I am wondering if the hon. member could speak to the importance of transit improvements in large urban centres and how so very important that is for the future of moving people, moving goods, and increasing productivity for cities.

[Peter Fonseca, Liberal, Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the member is so right. I want to thank him for all he does for his community and understanding the importance of those buses, trains, roads, that help move people and goods so that they can get to work a little quicker and get home a lot quicker and be able to spend more time with their families. There is also the productivity impact. I think of what that means to those businesses.

We talk about our carbon footprint and the reduction in the amount of emissions we have by having more people on buses and therefore better service. We also have a bigger uptake in terms of people using public transit. I often hear that if there were more buses, if there was better, more frequent service, more people would then use public transit.

That is happening right across the country, especially in the member's riding and in Manitoba. I know the type of impact that makes, especially for the middle-class working families and those working hard to reach the middle class.

Decorum in the House—Speaker's Ruling

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Before resuming debate, I would like to speak to a point of order that was raised earlier. On page 605 of the House of Commons Procedure and Practices regarding attire it says:

...Speakers have ruled that all Members desiring to be recognized at any point during the proceedings of the House must be wearing contemporary business attire. Current practice requires that male Members wear jackets, shirts and ties. Clerical collars have been allowed, although ascots and turtlenecks have been ruled inappropriate for male Members participating in debate.

I just wanted to clarify that in case anyone was wondering. I would not want anyone to miss their opportunity to speak, but even if they come to the House without a tie, we have staff here who are really willing to help, and we have some ties sitting up front. They may not like the look of them, but they are ties and they would fit the bill.

Resuming debate, the hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development.

The House resumed consideration of Bill C-29, A second Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 22, 2016 and other measures, as reported (with amendment) from the committee, and of the motions in Group No. 1.

Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development]

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to take this opportunity to rise in this place to speak in support of this legislation and to discuss the international assistance provisions outlined in budget 2016, as well as provide some additional insight into the direction our government is taking with regard to Canada's international assistance overall.

In terms of new funding, budget 2016 allocated an additional $256 million over two years, 2016-17 and 2017-18, to the international assistance envelope, the IAE. The international assistance envelope is the Government of Canada's primary planning tool for managing official development assistance and for funding our international assistance activities. Though the majority of the resources in the IAE are programmed by Global Affairs Canada, it is truly a whole-of-government mechanism for implementing the government's international assistance agenda.

The budget 2016 infusion of new resources complements the significant steps we have taken to address key global challenges, including climate change, instability, and humanitarian crises in Iraq, Syria, and the surrounding region, as well as ongoing development challenges, particularly those facing women and girls.

In the last year, our government has committed $2.65 billion over five years to help developing countries tackle climate change, provided over $1.1 billion over three years in development and humanitarian assistance to address the needs of people affected by the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, and increased our contribution to The Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria by 20%, to $785 million from 2017 to 2019.

The international aid commitments that the government has recently made are a reflection of our desire to help implement the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

We have leveraged our significant commitments to encourage other donors to dig deeper. During the event hosted by our Prime Minister in Montreal last September, donors pledged over $12.9 billion over the next three years to the fifth Global Fund Replenishment Conference to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. This is a tremendous global commitment to end the spread of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria once and for all.

Under the leadership of the Minister of International Development and La Francophonie, we launched a review of Canada’s international assistance, including development, peace, security and humanitarian aid.

This means that we are reviewing what we do, where we are targeting our efforts, our operating practices, and the partnerships we must forge to make our contribution.

At the core of our review is a commitment to refocus our assistance on the poorest and the most vulnerable, including in fragile states. We will channel our efforts on advancing the empowerment of women and girls as powerful agents of change. By investing in their social, economic, and political empowerment, we can promote dramatic and positive change in the lives of entire communities.

As a recent UNDP report highlighted, the future of the world will depend on us doing everything in our power to ignite the potential of a 10-year-old girl today. That commitment to a feminist and human rights-based approach will also be a catalyst for achieving all 17 goals of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development.

To ensure that we get this right, we consulted broadly and transparently with Canadian and international partners, seeking to build on areas of Canada's success, examine evidence and best practice, and strengthen the partnerships, mechanisms, and tools needed for improved delivery on the ground. More than 15,000 Canadian and international stakeholders in over 60 countries took the time to contribute to these consultations. I thank them for their thoughtful, engaging responses.

We know that the global development and security context has changed and Canada's international assistance needs to adapt to this new reality. In our response to crises in the Middle East, we are ensuring that our security, humanitarian, and development assistance is part of an integrated response in the region.

To move forward, the Government of Canada will need to forge new partnerships with Canadians, NGO partners, international organizations, research institutions, and the private sector to ensure that the best ideas and minds are brought together to develop innovative solutions to the most enduring problems. We will need to look beyond official development assistance and make use of different types of financial flows to overcome financing gaps.

Most important, we will continue to engage with stakeholders and local populations, including the poorest and the most vulnerable, to ensure that their voices are heard and form part of the decisions that affect their lives and livelihoods. In the coming months, we look forward to sharing our new international assistance vision that will support Canada's engagement on the world stage, thus contributing to a more stable and prosperous world for all.

I am pleased to be supporting this legislation to achieve those objectives.

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d’Orléans—Charlevoix, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for her fine speech. Everyone in the House is quite aware of what is happening in other countries. That is all well and good, but what about Canadians who today are struggling to support themselves?

I would like the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development to tell me, above and beyond the ideals of helping others, why are we not starting at home?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question.

I believe that it is clear in the budget that we presented to the House that we are starting by helping Canadians. Take for example, the tax cut for the middle class; the Canada child benefit, which will help nine out of ten families and lift 300,000 children out of poverty; and our programs and strategies to increase the guaranteed income supplement for seniors. We are doing a lot for Canadians. As a party and as a government, we understand that we need to start here at home in Canada.

However, we also have global responsibilities. We are part of an international system. We have the responsibility to contribute to it to build a better future, not only here in Canada but also in other countries around the world.

[Matt Jeneroux, Conservative, Edmonton Riverbend, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I would tend to disagree with the hon. member's last comments, that we are helping back home first. In Alberta, we have a massive jobs crisis that is occurring, we have a carbon tax implemented, and we have CPP increases on top of that.

As part of the member's speech, she indicated that she is helping young families. Could the member comment on how those initiatives would help young families, because, quite frankly, I do not think they would.

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I of course recognize the struggles that Alberta and the member's fellow Albertans are going through. Our government has been very clear in giving concrete assistance in terms of infrastructure dollars that are making an impact right now, in terms of approving the pipeline that will not only get our resources to market but will also help put many people in Alberta and across this country into well-paying, middle-class jobs.

In addition, I have spoken to many individuals in my community. The member questioned whether these measures would help young families. I can tell him that the Canada child benefit is having a real, meaningful, and tangible impact on the bottom line of families. It is helping them make ends meet. It is helping with the costs of raising children. It is really making a tangible difference in their lives. I am proud of the work that our government is doing to ensure that we are raising kids across this country out of poverty.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. parliamentary secretary appears to be misinformed about the jobs impact of Kinder Morgan. The National Energy Board refused to hear evidence on jobs and the economy. Unifor, the largest union representing the oil sands workers, wanted to make it clear to the National Energy Board that the expansion would come at the cost of all the jobs currently in the Chevron refinery in Burnaby, as it will likely close if Kinder Morgan is expanded. I would like the hon. parliamentary secretary to clarify the lack of information on which the government was operating.

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to creating an environment in which we can have well-paying, middle-class jobs. We know that infrastructure projects, whether social infrastructure such as housing or child care, green infrastructure like waste-water treatment plants or other important important infrastructure projects, or infrastructure that is going to help us get resources to markets is going to create jobs. Building is going to require new jobs.

There are many different areas in which jobs will be created. Jobs are an important factor for our government in making these decisions for all of Canada.