Debates of March 24th, 2016

Air Canada

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

No, Mr. Speaker, we are not delighted with a Liberal government that believes that the rich and well-connected can get off without obeying the law. No we are not.

The Liberals have gone so far as to change the law retroactively. It is Orwellian. It says that the provisions are deemed never to have come into force and are therefore repealed. They broke the law. Those thousands of workers lost good-paying jobs. Thousands of Canadian families were thrown out in the streets.

How can they live with themselves by letting the rich, the powerful, the well-connected off the hook, to whom the law no longer applies?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, we are talking about a law that was put in place 28 years ago. The world has evolved. Air Canada is a company that must compete on a level playing field across Canada with other competitors, and also internationally.

As a result of the decision by the Quebec government and Manitoba government not to litigate any further against Air Canada, we felt this was an appropriate time to clarify the law and modernize it so that Air Canada can compete with the rest of the world.

Indigenous Affairs

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the law did not need to be clarified. It needed to be enforced and respected.

Let us look at another recent example of where those in need are not respected by the Liberals.

The courts ruled that first nations children are victims of racial discrimination and yet the Liberals are refusing to provide equitable funding for first nations child welfare, as specifically required by the courts. Why is the Liberal government failing to respect that court decision?

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we are very proud that we will be making an investment of $634.8 million in child welfare for first nations children.

We will respect the tribunal that understands that this system needs to be reformed. We will work with the leadership of first nations, and with provinces and territories to change the system so that first nations children get to stay with their families and in their communities, and we will work with Dr. Blackstock at the same time.

Public Service of Canada

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, no less an authority than Cindy Blackstock, who brought this case forward, has confirmed that the Liberal government is failing to live up to the court-ordered investment in first nations child welfare. The minister knows that.

Let us also look at what the Liberals are up to today. There are 1,685 public service on the chopping block. The Liberals' explanation is that “We are not going to outsource everything”. That is supposed to reassure people.

Was firing thousands of workers what the Liberals really meant by repairing the broken relationship with the public service?

[Judy Foote, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, we are committed to an enterprise-wide solution. The report that was tabled and reported on was from 2014. We have no intention of following through on that strategy.

We have just committed in this budget to over $384 million for Shared Services Canada. We are committed to Shared Services Canada and to making sure that Canadians and clients get the services they need.

Small Business

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

Mr. Speaker, there is no such thing as free money, and small business owners are going to pay the price.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business called it a “brutal budget for small businesses” that is filled with broken promises and higher taxes. Small businesses are the job creators in this country, but clearly the Prime Minister still thinks that most small businesses are just rich tax dodgers.

Why is the Prime Minister killing jobs by punishing small businesses with higher taxes?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, again, we are so concerned to be helping Canadians across this country.

We know that our budget is an important budget for small and medium-sized businesses. We know that when the owners of small and medium-sized business wake up in the morning, what they care about is a strong and robust economy. They need that to make their business work. We know that they care about customers and clients who can buy their goods and services. Therefore, helping the middle class helps those people who can actually buy goods and services from small and medium-sized businesses.

We know that we have made a real difference for those businesses with our budget.

The Budget

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

Mr. Speaker, there is no jobs plan in this budget. It is a plan for massive spending on Liberal interests, and the Minister of Finance has no plans to pay it back.

The Liberals talk about economic growth, but this budget is pure smoke and mirrors. Why is the Minister of Finance burdening Canadians with $100 billion in new debt, and why do job creators have to pay for it?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians asked us to do two things in the last election. They asked us to help the middle class, and they asked us to grow the economy.

We have started out by helping the middle class. We are putting more money in the pockets of people who faced a generation of not getting enough money in their paycheques.

More importantly, we are moving forward with a plan to make a real difference for the next generation of Canadians, a more innovative and prosperous economy that will help our children and grandchildren to lead better lives.

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

Mr. Speaker, the minister said something interesting. He just said that their plan will make a real difference for future generations.

In fact, future generations will be stuck paying for your poor decisions and your mismanagement of public funds. That is what you are giving future generations.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I certainly hope the hon. member is not suggesting that I am mismanaging anything. As the member knows, he must address the chair, and not other members directly.

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

Mr. Speaker, I will try to be more careful, since I have far too much respect for you.

However, the problem is that the government decided to eliminate some tax credits that are extremely important to families. It got rid of the tax credits for arts, fitness, and school supplies.

Why is this government hurting families so much? Why does this government want our grandchildren to foot the bill, since they will be the ones paying for the government's poor judgment?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we are very proud of our budget, because it really is for the middle class. Now we have a Canada child benefit.

With this new benefit, nine out of 10 families with children will be better off. On average, those families will have an extra $2,300 a year to buy things that are important to them. That is very important. We are proud of our budget.

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

Mr. Speaker, living beyond our means and sending the bill to our grandchildren is nothing to be proud of. There is absolutely nothing to be proud of here.

If we look at Quebec City, there is nothing to create wealth or jobs, nothing for expanding the National Optics Institute, nothing for the Institut nordique du Québec, and nothing for the Port of Québec. The mayor of Quebec City has said that he is very concerned.

All of this shows that this government has no plan to create jobs or wealth. Why is it leaving our job and wealth creators high and dry? Why is it abandoning small businesses?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, what is most important to the next generation is that our economy grow.

We have made significant investments in our budget to start growing our economy. For example, we have proposed a fund for universities to improve research opportunities and infrastructure for future generations. We have also helped students, who are our future innovators.

Canada will see greater growth in the future as a result of this budget.

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, there is a question that the hon. finance minister keeps rather obviously avoiding and debating, which is why he and the Prime Minister chose to violate—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

We seem to have a problem with sound and translation. We will just wait a moment until that is under way.

The hon. member for Calgary Midnapore.

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

I normally do not have a problem with sound, Mr. Speaker.

My question for the Minister of Finance is why he keeps evading this very key question. He says that the Liberal Party made two commitments to voters in the last election. He has completely forgotten the central engagement for fiscal responsibility for balanced budgets in this term for $25 billion in debt. Instead, he has delivered $119 billion in debt and counting.

The Prime Minister said that budgets balance themselves, that there is an absolute commitment to balance the budget. Why did the finance minister so utterly violate that fundamental commitment to Canadian voters?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by saying it is nice to get a question from the hon. member for the first time. I appreciate it. I want to remind him that he was part of a government that left us with a deficit of $150 billion of additional debt.

We are now turning to how we can grow the economy for the next generation of Canadians. We are making investments that can make a real difference in this country for the future, investments in infrastructure and innovation, so that the children of today and their children will have a better future for Canada.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. I know it is rare because as I was saying earlier, sometimes we hear things we are not in agreement with or do not like too much. I know we have the capacity to restrain ourselves, and I know we are all anxious to hear the hon. member for Calgary Midnapore.

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have seen a lot of things in this place, but never a finance minister who so blatantly contradicts his own department, which said this week that the government was left a $4-billion surplus for the first three quarters of this year.

The key question is this: why did this government break its solemn election promise to balance the budget during its term and keep the new debt below $25 billion? The Liberals are increasing the federal debt by $120 billion right out of the gate. Why is this government—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order.

The hon. Minister of Finance.