Debates of Feb. 16th, 2016

International Development

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in Canada, the B'nai Brith and the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center oppose any new funding for UNRWA. B'nai Brith says Canadian aid for Palestinian welfare must go only to specific humanitarian programs and peaceful infrastructure projects. UN Watch has accused UNRWA staffers of using their official positions to incite Palestinian stabbing and shooting attacks against Israeli Jews.

Can the Liberals not find more appropriate ways to deliver humanitarian aid than to hand it to terrorists?

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

Mr. Speaker, again, I would like to remind my colleague that we have yet to take a decision on this funding. However, it is in our best interests as Canadians to look at all options on the table to see how we can best assist those in need in the region.

[Deepak Obhrai, Conservative, Calgary Forest Lawn, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of International Development has said that her Liberal government will not have any oversight to ensure that terrorists will not be beneficiaries of Canadian generosity. On the one hand, these terrorists want to harm us, but on the other hand, the Liberal government turns a blind eye to their benefiting from our aid dollars. Why?

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

Mr. Speaker, it bears repeating that humanitarian assistance is provided to partners around the world. It is to be provided in a neutral, impartial fashion to aid civilians in the midst of conflict. This is the same policy that our government, the previous government, and governments before it in Canada have had. It is our responsibility. We signed on to the Geneva Convention and we are going to do just that.

[Dean Allison, Conservative, Niagara West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, recently the Minister of International Development made some very troubling comments. When asked if Canadian aid could go to ISIS jihadis, she answered yes.

Could the minister confirm that no Canadian foreign aid dollars will go to support jihadi terrorists?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the previous government if it can confirm that none of its humanitarian assistance went to ISIS fighters.

The fact of the matter is that humanitarian assistance goes towards those in need. We do not discriminate. We send it to our humanitarian partners so they can work effectively in the region. There are millions upon millions of Syrians who need assistance. We are there for them. We are going to help. We are going to work in line with the Geneva Convention.

Finance

[Scott Duvall, NDP, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Mr. Speaker, a new report shows that half of all Canadians aged 55 to 64 have no company pension plan and that their average savings are a shocking $3,000.

This is further evidence of a retirement security crisis that the Liberals continue to ignore. They promised an immediate boost to the guaranteed income supplement, but left the poor seniors waiting. They promised federal leadership to increase Canada pension plan benefits, but have shown no sign that they even remember making that promise.

Will the Minister of Finance confirm that this year's budget includes a clear commitment to expand the CPP?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for bringing this issue up.

Just this past weekend, we worked together with the Government of Ontario to reconfirm its commitment to working together with the federal government towards a Canada pension plan enhancement.

Our goal is to work together with all provinces and territories to get to a Canada pension plan enhancement, and our aim is to do that in a collaborative way this calendar year.

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

Mr. Speaker, a study published today by the Broadbent Institute has found that half of all Canadians aged 55 to 64 without a private pension have only enough savings to survive for about one year.

Equally distressing is the fact that over 700,000 Canadian seniors are living in poverty. The Liberals promised to provide more retirement assistance, help our seniors, and enhance pensions.

Can the Minister of Finance commit today to addressing the desperate retirement income needs in the upcoming budget?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to confirm to the House and again to the hon. member that we are working diligently with provinces and territories across this country in order to improve the Canada pension plan, to enhance it so that Canadians can retire in dignity.

We also made important commitments to those Canadians who are most vulnerable, who are seniors, and those are commitments that we intend on moving forward on.

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, to do a little recap now that we are back in the House, there were three major promises made by the Liberals before they became government.

One was that any tax changes would be revenue neutral. We know that is not true. Two was that there would be a $10 billion deficit, a modest one. We think that will not be true. Three, they said they would balance the budget by the end of their mandate, which we understand from press clippings this week is not the case. The Prime Minister told the press agent that, indeed, it would not be going back to balance.

My question for the Minister of Finance is this. Can he at least tell us what the deficit cap will be in the budget?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we believe that the right question to ask is what we are going to do in order to improve the economy for all Canadians.

We were elected on a plan to grow the economy in order to help those Canadians who are struggling, who are most vulnerable, and those middle-class Canadians to do better. We have already moved forward on a tax cut for nine million Canadians. We will be moving forward not only with the Canada child benefit, but also with significant investments in infrastructure to improve the state of our economy.

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would give some advice to the Minister of Finance, that when he is making serious promises to serious families with respect to middle income and how much money they are going to have at the end of the day, they better fulfill them, because families are counting on them.

On the Canada child benefit, I have a very specific question for the minister. Now that the government is planning on it being tax free, can the minister confirm for us that the provinces will not be adversely affected by the tax treatment changes to this cheque?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by saying that Canadians elected us on a promise that we would focus on how we can actually help the middle class and those most vulnerable.

We have already moved forward on the promise to help the middle class. We have reduced taxes for nine million Canadians. We are going to move forward on helping those most vulnerable with the Canada child benefit. I can confirm that that is money that will go to the most vulnerable to help them to lead better lives.

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister celebrated his first 100 days by spending more money that he does not have, specifically $319 million on young people. It is an entirely hypocritical gesture, since those same young people will be forced to pay for this deficit spending in the very near future.

Will the Minister of Finance keep his promise and make sure he does not put future generations in debt, and will he ensure that our young people can live within their means and not put them into debt with future taxes?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we plan to keep our promise to invest in order to grow the economy while following three principles. This is very important for future generations. We will work to lower the debt-to-GDP ratio throughout our term. We will be disciplined in our spending. We still want to achieve a balanced budget, but we also recognize that it is not going to be easy in this economy.

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am disappointed because this government has already broken three important promises it made to Canadians and future generations. This government is in denial. The Liberals do not want to acknowledge that they are borrowing money at the expense of future generations. They do not want to admit that they are spending money that they do not have and living beyond their means. They believe that they are going to create wealth by spending money they do not have. Actually, it will be business people who create wealth by making investments.

Will this government stop being stubborn and balance the books as quickly as possible for the benefit of future generations?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the hon. member that we were elected on a plan to actually grow the economy. Canadians understand that after 10 years of weak growth it is time to grow the economy. We are going to make investments in the short term that are going to help our economy, but we are going to focus on investments that over the long term will ensure a more productive Canada. That will help Canadians today and Canadians tomorrow and will get us, over the long term, back into budget balance.

Labour

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

Mr. Speaker, youth unemployment is soaring in our country, and as a result many young people are being pushed into exploitative internships. In the last Parliament, the Liberal caucus voted for the NDP's intern protection act, legislation which would have provided many in the millennial generation with necessary protections. However, now the Liberal government is pushing ahead with the Conservative's plan instead, allowing unpaid, exploitative internships to continue unchecked. Will the minister drop this misguided approach and adopt the NDP's plan to protect young workers instead?

[MaryAnn Mihychuk, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, the consultation period on the issue of paid interns and unpaid interns has just concluded. It is important for us to see what Canadians say and think on the issue. It is also important for us to establish a regulatory framework that is going to protect those people who are in paid or unpaid internships in Canada. That is exactly what we intend to do.

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

Mr. Speaker, the abusive use of unpaid internships is an epidemic. Young people have had enough of precarious work. The NDP decided to tackle this problem by introducing a bill to protect interns in the last Parliament. The Liberals had agreed to support it. However, now that they are in power, the Liberals are moving forward with the Conservatives' plan to legalize abusive, unpaid internships. That is quite disappointing, especially since we know that the Canadian Intern Association has withdrawn from the minister's consultations.

Will the government reverse its decision and put an end to the exploitation of unpaid interns?

[MaryAnn Mihychuk, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, it is our intention to end all abuse to interns. Secondly, the conclusion of the hearings was when this organization decided to withdraw. The consultations are over and it is our intention to end the abuse of interns.

Canadian Heritage

[Anita Vandenbeld, Liberal, Ottawa West—Nepean, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last Tuesday, the Minister of Canadian Heritage attended the groundbreaking ceremony to kick off the renovation of the National Arts Centre.

Can the minister explain how this investment will benefit Canada's arts and culture sector?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

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

In 1967, the National Arts Centre was seen as a legacy of the 100th anniversary of Confederation. It was inaugurated in 1969 by one Pierre Elliott Trudeau. We are pleased to announce the centre's renovation for the 150th anniversary of Confederation.

Our investment of $110 million will make sure that the National Arts Centre will be a state of the art facility. It will open on July 1, 2017 for the 150th anniversary of Confederation. I hope everybody in the House will be present.

Natural Resources

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, recently in Calgary, the Minister of Natural Resources actually said that decisions on pipelines like energy east would be political decisions made by cabinet in the same way that budget decisions are made. That is a little scary in and of itself. So much for the process and so much for the Canadian regulator.

There are thousands of Canadians out of work who want to work on projects like energy east. Exactly what is the criteria that the Prime Minister and cabinet will be using to make these political decisions on pipelines?