Debates of Feb. 22nd, 2016

Robert Rooney

[William Amos, Liberal, Pontiac, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the late Robert Rooney, co-founder of the Wakefield International Film Festival, for his important contributions to the riding of Pontiac.

Held annually since 2010, the Wakefield International Film Festival has inspired and united our community by presenting the best new documentaries to packed audiences in our rural riding.

Robert planned the 2016 festival, which is currently under way. It was his last artistic work before his death on January 5, 2016.

Robert was a community builder and a creative force. He believed that the documentary genre could be an agent for change and a way to share important life experiences.

A filmmaker, director, and activist in his own right, Robert helped to arrange Nelson Mandela's first public visit to Canada.

I commend Robert Rooney's social, political, and artistic contributions. In his honour and in the honour of his wife, Brenda, I invite members to attend the 2016 Wakefield International Film Festival, which is so close to Ottawa and has two weekends of screening remaining.

2016 Canadian Junior Curling Champions

[Darrell Samson, Liberal, Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to congratulate a team of young female curlers from Nova Scotia for their gold medal win in the 2016 Canadian Junior Curling Championship, which took place in Stratford, Ontario between January 23 and 30.

The Nova Scotia team of Mary Fay, Kristin Clarke, Karlee Burgess, and Janique LeBlanc defeated the British Columbia rink by a score of nine to five. The team's lead, Janique LeBlanc, is a resident of my riding.

Shortly before the tournament, Janique suddenly lost her father, Jacques LeBlanc, a strong defender of the Acadian culture and language in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

This was a very tough loss. However, Janique's strength, determination, and dedication to her sport and her teammates helped her to overcome a tremendous challenge with extraordinary results.

Once again, I would like to congratulate the team.

The Liberal Party of Canada

[Larry Miller, Conservative, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it would appear as though the sunny ways are over. On February 2, Wiarton Willie predicted that we are in for a long cold winter, and so far he seems to be right, at least when it comes to the current Liberal government.

Now, do not let the member for Cape Breton—Canso and the infamous Shubenacadie Sam fool you with their predictions of an early spring and more sunny ways. Canadians from coast to coast to coast know that they are in for a cold one, with deficits and federal spending spiralling out of control and the government committing to backing away from the fight against ISIS. I know that Wiarton Willie certainly would not cut and run.

Surely, Sam will point to his buddy in Balzac for support. Balzac Billy also predicted that we were in for an early spring, but poor Billy and the member for Banff—Airdrie have not been sure which way to turn since the NDP took over in Alberta.

At least we can trust Wiarton Willie to give us the cold hard truth. With the current Liberal government at the helm, we are in for a long cold winter.

Black History Month

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Soeurs, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as we approach the end of Black History Month, I rise today in the House to talk about the future of blacks, especially because I represent Little Burgundy, one of the black community's historic neighbourhoods in Montreal.

Although it is a poor community, Little Burgundy has produced an amazing number of international jazz legends, such as Oscar Peterson and Oliver Jones, as well as two governors general, including the first black woman to hold that position, Michaëlle Jean.

Little Burgundy has one of the highest concentrations of social housing in North America. Coupled with ongoing discrimination, the soaring cost of living is the greatest source of exclusion in society and compromises the future of the black community. This government will right this wrong by investing billions in social housing and reforming family allocation to benefit nine out of ten Canadian families.

As I celebrated Nelson Mandela Day at the historic Union United Church two weeks ago, I was reminded that freedom cannot ring without fairness, and fairness is an election promise that no member of Parliament can afford to break.

Students in Toronto—Danforth

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, since the new year began, many new Canadians have been arriving in our community from Syria, and students in my riding of Toronto—Danforth have been helping out.

Canada is a welcoming country, and Canadians are warm-hearted.

That is why students in grade schools across my riding have been crafting wonderful welcome to Canada cards for their neighbours.

Students from Duke of Connaught and Chester's public school grade 4 extended French class have all crafted wonderful, in some cases, bilingual cards, which say, for example, “Canada is a War Free Zone! So you'll have a lot of fun. By the way, you should definitely go swimming in the summer because it can get really cold in the winter.” It is signed, “Your new friend”.

These students exemplify the kind-heartedness that Canada is known for around the world. I would like to thank them for their warm welcome to the Syrian newcomers in my riding and offer my colleagues some of these fantastic cards to share with their new constituents.

Government Spending

[Phil McColeman, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on the day when the Ontario finance minister is setting the stage for his ninth consecutive Liberal deficit, Canada's finance minister has announced that he will be bringing the same Liberal approach to Ottawa.

The Liberals inherited a surplus of $2.2 billion. Guess what? It is already gone. In just 100 days the Liberals have gone on a $5 billion spending spree, and that is before taking any action on their platform spending commitments.

We now know that the federal deficit will be in the range of $30 billion, three times the election promise. The finance minister is admitting that he will not fulfill the mandate letter of the Prime Minister, which directed him to balance the budget in the first term.

The Liberals have big plans to recklessly spend on borrowed money and no plans to pay it back. They have abandoned all of their fiscal anchors, and Canadian families and businesses will be on the hook to foot the bill.

Heart and Stroke Foundation

[Seamus O'Regan, Liberal, St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL]

Mr. Speaker, last night I had dinner with my folks. That is something for which I am grateful. Three months ago my dad had a triple bypass.

February is Heart Month in Canada. Heart disease and stroke takes one life every seven minutes, and 90% of Canadians have at least one risk factor.

Thanks to 125,000 dedicated volunteers and 1.4 million donors, the Heart and Stroke Foundation makes a difference in reducing the impact of this disease. Since its inception in 1952, the foundation has invested more than $1.45 billion in research, which is key in advancing the foundation's goal to reducing deaths from heart disease and stroke by 25% by the year 2020.

We need to continue to inform our constituents about the importance of healthy living. By supporting the Heart and Stroke Foundation this February, we can all make a real difference in the lives of Canadians.

By the way, my dad is doing best kind.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Wayne Stetski, NDP, Kootenay—Columbia, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to recognize the hard work of the constituents of Kootenay—Columbia, who are organizing to bring Syrian refugees to Canada.

Across my riding, we are blessed to have many groups of dedicated citizens working toward this important goal, including the Creston Refugee Committee, the Kaslo Refugee Committee, the Kimberley Refugee Resettlement Group; in Cranbrook, the Hub for Refugees, the Catholic Refugee Group, and the Baptist Group of Friends; in Nelson, the Nelson Friends of Refugees, the Kootenay Refugee Committee, and the Cathedral Refugee Committee.

I also want to recognize the work of the Nelson refugee coalition, which are currently hosting two women from East Africa, and is working to bring their nine children to Canada.

I thank all of them for their tireless work, and I thank all of the groups across our country for demonstrating to the world the generosity of the Canadian spirit. We salute them.

Taxation

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, on Friday, the Liberals invented a new term for a job-killing tax. The environment minister called their new carbon tax a “market mechanism”. I suppose to a Liberal, having the government decide the rate, impose it on the public, and forcibly collect the money makes it a market mechanism.

If we look we might find other market mechanisms: the personal income market mechanism, where a certain percentage of everything someone earns gets taken by force by the federal government; or the goods and services market mechanism, which forces consumers to pay 5% more for everything they buy. Of course, when people sell something at a profit, they will have to pay capital gains market mechanisms on that too.

Canadians will not be fooled by this newspeak. They know when the government imposes a fee or a cost on something that it is a tax.

Instead of inventing new terms to hide their real agenda, the Liberals should just come clean. Their double-talk is market mechanisming our patience.

Public Safety

[Sukh Dhaliwal, Liberal, Surrey—Newton, BC]

Mr. Speaker, last week, Surrey—Newton experienced an armed standoff that thankfully ended peacefully. Much of the crime that continues to impact Surrey's streets is directly related to illegal firearms smuggled into Canada.

Today, I rise to praise the Prime Minister's commitment to provide $100 million each year to the provinces and territories to support the guns and gangs police task forces to take illegal guns off of our streets and to reduce gang violence. This is a very strong first step to counteract gun violence across Canada. This is welcome news for all residents of Surrey—Newton who are tired of living in fear in their own neighbourhoods.

I can assure my constituents that this government is committed to being proactive on the issue of gun violence and gangs, and we will continue to take active steps to ensure that illegal guns remain off our streets.

The Economy

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, today is a troubling day for Canadian taxpayers and Canadians who have lost their jobs. We have found out today that the Liberals have no plan to create jobs. They have no plan to control their spending. The only plan they have is to borrow more money.

What the Liberals do not seem to realize is that it does not matter how much they borrow or why they borrow it, someone has to pay it back at the end of the day.

Does the Prime Minister now realize that budgets do not balance themselves?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I was surprised to hear the member opposite try to say that “now is not the time to spend based on slow economic growth”. Not only do we disagree with the member opposite, we ran a campaign on exactly our disagreement on that.

It looks like Canadians agreed with us. We will invest in infrastructure. We will put money in the pockets of the middle class and those working hard to join it. We will invest in innovation with the kind of future and growth that the economy needs. That is exactly what we committed to doing. That is exactly what we are doing.

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals squandered a surplus in less than 100 days, and now today we learned that they want to borrow $18 billion for expenses already incurred. We also learned that they will borrow at least another $10 billion. Instead of taking responsibility, they are trying to blame everyone else for their poor economic management.

Can the Prime Minister tell us who will pay for all of this?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have long been paying for the Conservatives' 10 years of dismal economic performance. The Conservatives were unable to create the necessary growth and did not invest in a strong future and in the manufacturing industry.

Our country has been in need of growth for 10 years. That is exactly why we were elected: to invest in the economy, grow the middle class, and give everyone a better future.

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, what Canadians got for the last 10 years was an actual plan, a plan that created 1.3 million net new jobs, a plan that lowered taxes to the lowest level in 50 years, a plan that balanced the budget and created a surplus. What did that mean? It meant that Canada became the best place in the world to invest in and create jobs in. What did those guys do in 100 days? They blew that record.

Does the Prime Minister understand that Canadians actually want a plan, not just more Liberal spending?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, for 10 years, Canadians put up with a previous government that twisted the numbers, that picked and chose what it wanted to say, and refused to accept that it ran us into deficit in 2015-16.

We inherited a need to invest in our economy, to fix the wrongs that the previous government was unable to fix, to create the growth, the support, the investments that would lead to a better future for all Canadians. That is what we got elected to do, and that is what we will deliver.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives left the house clean and orderly.

According to the finance department's fiscal monitor, the Conservatives left a $1-billion surplus. Today, the Liberals are running an $18.4-billion deficit. That does not make any sense.

Obviously, the Liberals were not ready to govern. The Prime Minister needs to get his act together. I appeal to his sense of responsibility.

Will he finally get government spending under control so that all Canadians can live comfortably?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate what the member opposite is trying to say. However, he obviously was not keeping a very close eye on what his colleagues were doing over the past 10 years. The Conservatives were fudging the figures and now they are once again trying to claim that they left a magical surplus.

The reality is that they left us a deficit. We were elected on a promise to invest in our communities. The Conservatives are proposing even more cuts. That is not what this country needs.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like the Prime Minister to trust the civil servants who work for his own finance department. They say that the Conservatives left a $1-billion surplus.

However, we should not be surprised by such a poor track record, since barely a year ago, the Prime Minister said that budgets balance themselves. Now, the Prime Minister's dream world has just fallen like a house of cards in front of him. The reality is that the Liberals are already running an $18.4-billion deficit.

When will the Prime Minister regain control over government spending?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, what the previous government never understood and what the Conservatives clearly still do not understand is that economic growth creates jobs and prosperity. The fact that the Conservatives were unable to create economic growth for 10 years landed us in the situation we are in now.

The Conservatives refuse to accept that and are even proposing that we continue to make cuts instead of investing in the Canadian economy. That is completely absurd. That is exactly what they are proposing and that is why they are sitting on the opposition benches today.

Employment

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, 2,600 Aveos workers feel betrayed.

When the Prime Minister was in opposition in 2012, he was by their side armed with a megaphone and chanting “So-so-so-solidarity!” He said:

It is such a shame that we have to demonstrate to ask the government...to obey the law.

He even lamented the broken promises. Now that he is in power, he wants to take away those same workers' rights vis-à-vis Air Canada.

What changed for the Prime Minister?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, of course we are very concerned about Bombardier workers across the country losing their jobs. That is why we need to invest in the manufacturing industry and high-end manufacturing.

We are also very proud of the agreement with Air Canada that will keep maintenance services for the new C Series planes in Quebec for 20 years. That is good news for workers in the industry, and we will continue to encourage investment in the aerospace industry here in Canada and in Quebec.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, so much for his principles. We are talking about 2,600 good jobs at Aveos. They had to go to court twice to protect those jobs, and they won both times.

The Air Canada Public Participation Act, the law, is crystal clear. Maintenance jobs have to stay in Montreal, Mississauga, and Winnipeg.

In 2012, the Liberal leader agreed. He stood by the workers, even rallied with them here on Parliament Hill. However, today he wants to take away their rights.

Does the Prime Minister only support workers when the Conservatives are in power?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary. We are happy to work with the industry and with workers, to make sure we are getting good-quality jobs here in Canada. That is why we salute the Air Canada deal to buy 45 C-series Bombardier planes, where maintenance will be done specifically in Quebec for the next 20 years. This means good jobs.

This is the kind of good work we are doing here. That is exactly what we are going to continue to do, to ensure that we have a strong and growing economy for everyone in this country.

Employment Insurance

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister, today, announced growing deficits but refused to say whether struggling Canadians will get the help they were promised.

Families in Alberta and Saskatchewan are being hit hard by rising job losses; but while unemployment is going up, the number of Canadians receiving unemployment insurance is actually going down. This is a broken system, and families are paying the price.

Alberta is asking the federal government to act quickly by lowering the threshold for eligibility and by extending benefits.

Will the Prime Minister listen and act, yes or no?