Debates of Feb. 23rd, 2016

Coldest Night of the Year Fundraiser

[Wayne Long, Liberal, Saint John—Rothesay, NB]

Mr. Speaker, here are the sobering facts. At least 200,000 Canadians experience homelessness in any given year. At least 150,000 Canadians use a homeless shelter at some point, and tonight 30,000 Canadians will be homeless.

That is why I was proud to participate in the Coldest Night of the Year walk to support homelessness and to support outflow ministries that provide shelter, hope, and so much more for those who are hurting. Thanks to Tony Dickinson, Jamie Hall, Phil Appleby, Colin McDonald, Chanelle Morgan, and Laura Duncansen for their leadership.

Coming from a city with the highest child poverty rates in the country and some of the highest homelessness rates in the country, fighting poverty is my top priority. As we know, this will not be an easy task, but working alongside Minister Jean-Yves Duclos and his department and putting a strong case forward to make Saint John a model city on poverty, we can bring outside-of-the-box thinking, fresh ideas, and innovation to an issue that has plagued my city and our country for far too long.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I remind the member and staff of members who advise them on statements in the House not to use the names of members in the House but rather only their titles.

The Economy

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, there are three very big problems with the Prime Minister's new borrowing spree. First, of course, is that it breaks his promise to Canadians. Second is that all the borrowing he is doing actually is not going to create jobs right now. Third is that he has no way to pay it back unless he actually raises taxes.

Does the Prime Minister realize that all this borrowing with no plan to pay it back is just a recipe for waste, higher taxes, and more intrusive government?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, in last October's election campaign, we highlighted that we saw clearly that what Canada needed was investment and growth and that, for 10 years, the previous government was unable to create the kinds of opportunities and growth that middle-class Canadians and those working hard to join the middle class truly needed.

That is why we put forward a plan to invest in our communities, to support the middle class and those working hard to join it, and to create the kind of growth that Canada has too long lacked. That is what we committed to do; that is what we are doing.

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives led this country through the worst global recession and Canada came out of it in the best condition of all G7 countries. We created about 1.3 million jobs and we left a surplus of more than $3 billion.

Even the NDP acknowledges that we had a surplus.

Why are the Liberals so determined to destroy Canada's enviable position as a leader on the international stage?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, what we very clearly saw, is that no one in Canada believed what the Conservatives were claiming. They did not create the growth and the prosperity Canadians needed.

For that reason, Canadians chose another way of doing things, a way of investing in our communities, creating economic growth and helping the middle class instead of the wealthy. That is exactly what we promised to do, and that is exactly what we are going to do now and in the March 22 budget.

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I was in Alberta last weekend, and I can tell the Prime Minister that people are hurting. Families are losing their homes, food banks are overwhelmed, and suicide rates are up. Transferring money from a federal politician to a provincial politician is not going to fix the problem.

Alberta businesses need to be able to thrive, invest, and create jobs; and Albertans need opportunities to get back to work. That means fast-tracking pipelines and calling off the Liberal plan for a carbon tax. When is the Prime Minister going to understand that throwing borrowed money around does not create jobs?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I find it humorous that the member was calling on us for a long time to help Alberta, and then when we finally deliver $250 million to Alberta through the fiscal stabilization program, the Conservatives call it insignificant.

The fact is that we understand too well that the previous Conservative government's approach of trying to bully its way into creating pipelines was not working because the Conservatives ignored the fact that they need strong environmental protections in order to create a strong economy. That is what Albertans expect of us; that is what we are going to deliver.

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Minister of Finance was happy to break another election promise by putting Canadians another $25 billion in debt and creating structural deficits of $90 billion over four years.

How can the Minister of Finance justify putting Canadians into debt when we are not even in a recession?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, our objective remains a balanced budget, but our priority is to make investments in Canada for Canadians and the middle class. We know that they chose our plan to grow the economy, and that is exactly what we will do.

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the plan was a small $10-billion deficit. Now, we are talking $25 billion or $30 billion. Where will it end? Why sink future generations into debt?

The Minister of Finance has lost control of his department, he has lost control of public spending, and he has lost control of the deficits. He should pull himself together and get control of his department. If he cannot do so, he should make way for someone else who can.

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we are starting with a deficit we inherited from the Conservatives. Furthermore, we have an additional $150 billion in debt. That is what we are starting with, but fortunately, we are in a position to invest in our economy because, as a result of the measures taken by the government in the 1990s, our debt-to-GDP ratio is the lowest in the G7. We will invest and this ratio will grow at a lower rate than in the past 10 years.

Air Canada

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Prime Minister claimed that Air Canada had a maintenance agreement for the C Series aircraft here in Canada. His minister even said that Air Canada “will build a centre of excellence for...maintenance.” However, there is no such agreement, and no clear commitment to build such a centre.

On exactly what authority can a Prime Minister relieve Air Canada of its legal obligations, which are very clear under the terms of a piece of Canadian legislation that is still in force? Why is he not enforcing the law?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Air Canada's commitment to purchase 45 C series aircraft with an option to buy 30 more is great news for the entire Canadian aerospace industry.

Air Canada also committed to establishing a centre of excellence and aircraft maintenance and to have its C Series aircraft maintained there for at least 20 years. This is great news for Canada's aerospace industry. That is why the government is working hard with its partners in Quebec and elsewhere. That is what we will continue to do for the workers.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when 2,600 aerospace jobs were threatened under the Conservative government, the Liberal leader protested with the workers about how dishonest and unfair it all was.

Now in government, he is abandoning those same Canadian workers and there is no deal and no guarantee for any future jobs.

Will the Prime Minister commit to meeting with these workers, in Montreal, in Mississauga, and in Winnipeg, to explain why he has changed his mind and why he no longer supports their rights?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, we continue to support a strong and thriving aerospace industry. That is why we were so pleased when Air Canada announced it was going to purchase 45 C-series aircraft, with an option for 30 more.

In addition, Air Canada is going to create a manufacturing and maintenance centre that will help workers and create jobs for another 20 years.

We see how important this is, and we will continue to work with the industry and with other governments to ensure that this gets done.

Employment Insurance

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has nothing to offer struggling Canadians but empty rhetoric.

As unemployment goes up and the number of Canadians receiving EI benefits actually does down, Canadians are demanding action to help families pay the bills and to put food on the table.

Yet again, the government's response is empty platitudes rather than commitments to action.

Will the Prime Minister take immediate action to create a universal threshold of 360 hours and to extend EI benefits, yes or no?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Yes, Mr. Speaker, we committed during the election campaign to strengthen EI and to do so without having to cut massively into government spending, which the hon. member would have had to do if he had been elected, because of his commitment to balance the books at all costs.

The fact of the matter is that we got elected on a commitment to invest in EI, to invest in helping workers. The member opposite knows that and picked a different path.

The fact is that Canadians chose us to lead on reforming EI, and that is exactly what we are going to do.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals were very critical of the EI reform when they were in opposition. Now that he is in power, the Prime Minister is content to give evasive answers and spew the usual empty rhetoric.

Only roughly one-third of the workers who lose their jobs qualify for EI, and the benefit period is far too short to find another job. The Prime Minister must understand that urgent action is needed now.

Will the government extend the EI benefits period, yes or no? We would like a clear answer for once.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are going to reform employment insurance. During the election campaign, we promised to invest in the system and make sure that more Canadians who need employment insurance can have access to it. That is what we have always stood for and what we will continue to do now that we are in government and have the ability to do so.

Finance

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we left the government with a surplus. Ask the finance department officials. They could be working with a balanced budget. They could be strengthening the Canadian economy.

However, my question is about testimony at the finance committee today. I have to ask the Minister of Finance this. Was he really serious when he said that running a balanced budget is going to put us in a recession?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I was deadly serious. What the people on the other side of the House said was that what they wanted to do was to balance the budget at all costs immediately. What that would mean is that we would have, right now, tens of billions of dollars of cuts, cuts that would increase our unemployment rate, that would reduce our ability to be flexible, that would certainly put us in a very difficult situation.

Our plan is to make an investment to actually improve our rate of growth in this country for the middle class and those most vulnerable.

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, instead of worrying about what our great government would have done on this side of the House, perhaps he should worry a little more about what the government is not doing on his side of the House.

He did believe in fiscal prudence at one point in time. This is a quote from CBC in November:

...because we want to go into deficit in order to make significant investments that we think are really important...[it] doesn't give us licence to be in any way flexible about how we deal with our finances more generally.

What has changed in the last three months that causes the Minister of Finance to feel like he has a licence to spend?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I very much appreciate the quote because it is a quote that I stand by today. Our commitment to Canadians is to actually do something about the low growth bequeathed to us by the previous government. We are going to make investments that will make a real difference for Canada, investments in infrastructure, investments in innovation. We are going to do things for the middle class that will include giving them tax breaks and improved growth for the future. That is exactly what we will do while being prudent along the way.

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

Mr. Speaker, allow me to correct two statements made earlier by government members that do not reflect reality. The Minister of Finance said he inherited a deficit and the Prime Minister also said that we Conservatives are the only ones who believe there was a surplus.

That is not the reality. The reality is that according to the Fiscal Monitor, an official document published by the Department of Finance, there was a budgetary surplus of $1 billion from April to November 2015. That is the reality as written by the government's own officials.

No matter how much the Liberals shout at us, that is the truth. Will the minister—