Debates of Feb. 24th, 2016

National Defence

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, our allies are pleased to know that Canada continues to be a strong member of the coalition and indeed has stepped up our involvement in the combat to fight against ISIS. The way we are doing it is by doing what Canada has done a very good job of. We are doing more training. We are helping on intelligence. We are doing more humanitarian and refugee support.

Indeed, as Brett McGurk, the U.S. special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL, said, “Welcome significant enhancements key partner Canada will bring to coming phases of our campaign to defeat ISIL.” That is exactly what we are doing.

The Economy

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, only the Prime Minister thinks that we are stepping up our fight by ending our combat mission. It makes no sense.

Neither did it make sense when the Prime Minister said that budgets balanced themselves. Now, we have broken through a $10 billion deficit commitment. Now we are hot on a trail of a $30 billion deficit, a completely wrecked campaign commitment.

Does thePrime Minister not understand that deficits now mean higher taxes in the future? Does he still believe that budgets balance themselves?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, what the member opposite seems to continue to fail to understand is that Canadians know that we need to invest in our economy, that we need to invest in the kind of infrastructure that our communities have been asking for, and that we need to invest in the kind of jobs and support for the middle class that Canadians across the country demanded in the last election.

That member and his party failed to offer Canadians the kind of vision for the future they needed, and that is why they are sitting on the other side of the House today.

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the problem is that the Prime Minister made a very clear commitment that the deficit would not go over $10 billion. This week, the Liberals admitted that the deficit might hit $30 billion. The figure tripled in three months.

My question for the Prime Minister is simple. How will the Liberals reduce this significant deficit that is growing day by day without increasing taxes? Which taxes will they increase?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again, it is clear that the Conservatives do not understand how to grow the Canadian economy. We need to invest to create growth.

After 10 years of cuts, service rollbacks, and tax cuts for the wealthy instead of for those who need them most, Canada's economy is no longer operating at full capacity. That is why we are making the investments that Canadians demanded during the election campaign.

Indigenous Affairs

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, another first nations community in northern Ontario has just declared a state of emergency, not because of a weather disaster or because of any accident but because of the everyday reality there that is simply unacceptable in our country.

One woman died, as her husband held her hand, and the community's nursing station ran out of the oxygen that could have saved her life. Two four-year-olds died of fever because of strep throat and an epidemic of suicides has hit children as young as 10 years old. The regional chief talks of discrimination and institutional racism in the health care system. He is right.

What is the government doing about it?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for bringing forward this tragedy that we all know far too well goes on not just in northern Ontario but across the country.

We need to fix a relationship that has broken over the past decades and, indeed, centuries between Canada and indigenous peoples. That is why this government has pledged to renew a new relationship, putting real money forward to build support on infrastructure, health, on a broad range of things, and creating a true nation-to-nation relationship.

This is something I know all members in the House can agree on. We need to begin to be true partners with first nations.

Air Canada

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, for the past two days, the Prime Minister and his Minister of Transport have been saying that Air Canada, and I quote, “...committed to establishing a C Series maintenance centre here”.

That is not true. There is no firm commitment to build a centre. All we have is Air Canada's vague intention to subcontract maintenance. The Prime Minister is obviously misinformed.

Can he tell us why he released Air Canada from what were very clear obligations under the law, thereby reneging on his promise to help the 2,600 Aveos workers?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, we are helping manufacturing workers across the country, and especially in the aerospace industry, by investing in high-end manufacturing. We are also looking at how we can help Bombardier.

We want to emphasize the great news that Air Canada is going to buy C Series planes and that Bombardier, Quebec, and Air Canada are going to work together to keep the C Series subcontract here for 20 years, not just for Air Canada planes, but for Bombardier planes around the world. That is good news for our industry and our workers.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, so now the Prime Minister is admitting that there has been no firm commitment to build a maintenance centre.

Instead of enforcing the law, as the government has a duty to do, since that is the very foundation of a democratic society where the law applies equally to everyone, the Liberals are going to amend the legislation governing Air Canada to protect the airline from future litigation.

Who is in calling the shots here? Is it Air Canada or the Prime Minister? Will the Prime Minister promise not to touch the act governing Air Canada and will he finally stand up for the 2,600 Aveos workers?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are very concerned about the job losses at Bombardier and the workers who have been out of work for several years now.

We intend to work hard to rebuild the aerospace industry across Canada, and not just in Quebec. That is exactly what we are doing as we work with the industry, with Bombardier and Air Canada, with Quebec and the other provinces in order to ensure a strong future for the Canadian economy and our exceptional workers.

Taxation

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as Kevin Page so eloquently put it, “This fudge factor is overwhelming”.

The Liberals promised to close the stock option tax loophole. Their platform notes that about 8,000 high income Canadians take home more than $0.5 billion each year from this one loophole alone.

However, now it seems the Liberals are secretly telling businesses that they are going to break that promise as well.

Can the Prime Minister finally give a straight answer? Will the upcoming budget close the stock option tax loophole for wealthy CEOs, yes or no?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has been around this House long enough to know that all will be answered on March 22 when we put forward our budget.

It will be focused on creating growth for the middle class; creating prosperity in Canada, where we have struggled in the past; and ensuring that the middle class and those working hard to join the middle class will have the kinds of opportunities and future for themselves and their children that we know Canadians deserve.

The Economy

[Kevin Sorenson, Conservative, Battle River—Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians know that the Liberal Minister of Finance has no money.

That is because he has already blown the surplus left by the Conservative government. He is spending money that Canadians do not have. The billions of dollars that he is recklessly spending will come from our children, our grandchildren, our great-grandchildren.

Canadians get it. Why does the Minister of Finance not?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

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

The Conservatives left a deficit. They left Canada's public finances in a sorry state. Fortunately, on October 19, Canadians chose growth.

In December, we launched our economic plan by lowering taxes for the middle class. We will keep moving with that plan by introducing the Canada child benefit in the budget. We have a plan to invest in innovation and productivity, as well as an historic plan to invest in infrastructure.

That is what it means to invest in the country's growth.

[Kevin Sorenson, Conservative, Battle River—Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Albertans know that the handout from the Liberal government is symbolic at best. It comes only hours after Encana cut 20% of its workforce. Alberta does not want welfare or photo ops.

The Prime Minister talks to the Alberta premier about a transfer from the Liberal federal government to the provincial NDP government, and the government gets excited. However, it does not talk about shipping our natural resources.

When will the Prime Minister help Alberta sell its resources, instead of handing the provincial government borrowed money?

[Kim Rudd, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, we know the global decline in oil prices is producing hardship for Alberta and other energy producing provinces.

The global downturn in commodity prices has affected many sectors in the Canadian economy and we are closely monitoring the situation. However, with our large and diverse natural resource endowment, Canada remains favourably positioned to respond to the projected long-term growth in global demand for natural resources.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this government is abandoning Canadians. We left the house in order. In November, there was a $1 billion surplus. That is a fact.

During the election campaign, the Liberals promised that they would run a modest deficit. They think that $18 billion is a modest amount. The meter is still running.

How high will this number be in a month, when the budget is brought down? If the government has no control over revenues as it says, then does its much-touted plan include provisions for controlling spending?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

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

Only the Conservatives think that we can use a two-month period to determine whether there was a surplus or a deficit during a fiscal year. The reality is that we have a plan for growth. We launched our plan in December, and we will continue down this path in order to create growth.

The time has come to invest in the Canadian economy. That is what Canadians asked for on October 19, and that is exactly what we will deliver.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, where is this government going to get the money to finance its out-of-control spending? The Liberal “party” has begun. Taxpayers and SMEs across the country are worried about this government's lack of responsibility. Canadian companies have lost faith in the government. The Liberals need to be honest: they are going to get the money to pay for these astronomical deficits from taxpayers' pockets.

How does the government intend to stop this hemorrhage of money and start acting responsibly?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for his question.

Economists agree that the time has come to invest in the economy. The only ones who do not understand that are the members opposite. At a time like this, we need to invest in the economy. We need to generate economic growth. That is exactly what the Liberal plan seeks to do.

In the upcoming budget, we are going to invest in innovation. We are going to invest in productivity. We are going to make the investments that the Conservatives did not make for 10 years in infrastructure, green infrastructure, and our communities. That is what is going to generate growth in this country.

Air Transportation

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Transport's first act was to kill the Toronto Island Airport expansion. He unilaterally ended consultations on expanding the Toronto Island Airport to accommodate what he called the best aircraft in its class, the Bombardier C-series. Expanding the airport would create jobs that do not require taxpayers to pick up the tab.

Why is the minister letting internal Liberal Party politics limit economic development in Toronto and block new jobs at Bombardier?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague is right. I said the C-series is the finest aircraft in the world in its class. I am delighted that Air Canada has decided to buy 45 of them from Bombardier and possibly another 30.

Not only that, it is going to support putting into place the centre where the maintenance of this aircraft could be done for the next 20 years. This is going to create jobs. This is good for Bombardier. This is good for the aerospace sector. The member should be very happy about it.

Shipbuilding Industry

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we all know that the Liberals like to go on about their pseudo-transparency. However, we have learned that a secret committee was established in December to examine the issue of fighter jets and the shipbuilding strategy.

Why are there so many secrets behind closed doors?

Have the Liberals already decided to abandon Canadian shipyard workers and have the ships built abroad?

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

Mr. Speaker, the government is determined to implement the national shipbuilding procurement strategy and purchase its ships in Canada in an open and transparent manner. A decision has not yet been made regarding the requirements for large tugs, and therefore the project is still in the preliminary phase.

As with all military acquisitions, our goal is to leverage economic benefits for Canada.