Debates of March 8th, 2016

Taxation

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are of course engaged with CRA on the issues brought forward. It is a concern to us that all Canadians pay their fair share of taxes, and we will ensure that continues to be the case in the future. As for decisions made under a previous government, if they are erroneous we will look into them for sure.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as this case illustrates, the problem is that the rich are not paying their fair share and are let off the hook by the Canada Revenue Agency.

The question was this. Is the Prime Minister going to order an investigation to figure out how this happened? He cannot hide behind the fact that it was a previous administration. Canadians have a right to know that the tax system is equal for all Canadians. This case proves just the opposite. There is one set of rules for the rich and another for everyone else. What is the Prime Minister going to do about investigating this case so that Canadians know there is tax fairness in this country? Stop protecting the rich. Start protecting a tax system that is fair for all.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, one of the things at the heart of the campaign that led to our forming government was the idea that the previous government had successively given advantages and tax breaks to the wealthiest Canadians, and not to the middle class and those folks working hard to join the middle class. That is why we stood against the child benefit scheme the previous government had put forward. It was benefiting the wealthiest and not those who needed it the most. That is what we are looking forward to turning around.

It was disappointing for us to see that the NDP sided with the previous government in giving child benefits to millionaire families when it was other folks who needed these more. That is what we are going to do. That is what we were elected to do.

Natural Resources

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

Mr. Speaker, mining is of vital importance to the Canadian economy. It provides hundreds of thousands of jobs, particularly in remote areas and for aboriginal people.

Yesterday, the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada had its annual convention in Toronto. It is one of the world's largest gatherings on mining and mineral exploration.

The Prime Minister was also in Toronto yesterday. Why was he unable to stop by the convention to show his support and his interest in Canadian mining?

[Jim Carr, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, I was delighted to spend two days at the Prospectors & Developers Association. The message I heard from the prospectors and developers was that they are leading the world in sustainable practices. We told them they had the full support of our government. They are committed to innovation. They are committed to green technologies. It is a partnership that is in the interests of the sector, in the interests of the government, and even in the interests of the opposition.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister was busy in Toronto yesterday, not with PDAC, but with pandas.

While he did not have have time for PDAC, he does have time in Washington for his friends, the Center for American Progress, his pals that he is going to be hanging out with, a blatantly anti-Canadian organization that calls Canadian oil dirty and destructive. They have worked overtime to kill keystone XL.

Does the Prime Minister agree with this group? Why is he spending so much time in Washington with anti-Canadian groups and no time with job creators here in Canada?

[Jim Carr, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, it may be unusual for the opposition, but this government actually talks to people who disagree with it. The reason we do that is we believe that the force of argument might even prevail.

The Prime Minister has already said that he spoke with the group in support of the pipeline. We are talking to people right across the country, some of whom have a different view. When one has open ears, one might even be able to learn.

[Dianne Lynn Watts, Conservative, South Surrey—White Rock, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Petronas, the company supporting LNG in British Columbia, has invested over $12 billion going through and receiving environmental approval, both nationally and provincially. This $36-billion project would create thousands of jobs. However, the Liberals have added more red tape, additional barriers, and significant costs.

Will the Liberals commit today to supporting the B.C. LNG industry and Canadian job creation, yes or no?

[Catherine McKenna, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency is reviewing a number of major LNG projects, including Pacific NorthWest.

Yesterday, Pacific NorthWest submitted substantial new information. This information will be assessed by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency. We will be evaluating new information submitted by the proponent in an efficient way that meets our obligations to Canadians, as we do for every major project.

[Dianne Lynn Watts, Conservative, South Surrey—White Rock, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have blocked the expansion of the Toronto island airport, the creation of jobs in the aerospace industry, opposed energy east, added more red tape to the B.C. LNG industry, and is increasing taxes in the technology sector and on small business, but we have two pandas named Hope and Joy.

Is it the Liberals' intention to shut the entire country down?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, we ran on a campaign of hope and hard work. That is what Canadians supported.

If we take the logic of the member opposite, they would be making massive cuts of billions of dollars. They promote austerity. We promote growth and job creation. We have a plan that is going to invest billions of dollars in infrastructure; we have a plan that is going to reduce the tax burden on middle-class Canadians; we have a plan that is going to advance the innovation agenda. We are going to grow the economy and create jobs.

Taxation

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d’Orléans—Charlevoix, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this government turned on the taps and is promising outrageous deficits. Canadian families know how tough it is to make ends meet, and they know that racking up credit card debt to put food on the table is not the right way to handle things.

Will the government cut up its credit card and stop mortgaging our children's future?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for his question.

The Conservatives left us a dismal economic legacy. On October 19, Canadians made a different choice. They chose economic growth and investment in families. We began in December by cutting taxes for the middle class. We will go forward with our game-changing plan for families by deploying the Canada child benefit, which will help hundreds of millions of children in Canada and nine out of 10 families.

We will also go forward with our game-changing plan to invest in infrastructure. That is what it means to work for Canadians.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order, please. We all know the member for Edmonton—Wetaskiwin and others can count very well, and we appreciate that, but let us not hear it when someone else is speaking. Let us show respect for one another.

The hon member for Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d'Orléans—Charlevoix.

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d’Orléans—Charlevoix, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this government recently crowed about fighting for the middle class. I have my doubts about that when I see the debt spiralling out of control. This spending is motivated by Liberal ideology and it is going to hurt our economy.

Can the Minister of Finance explain to Canadians how debt is going to make us better off?

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

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

Our vision is completely different than that of the Conservatives. We are going to invest in growth. We have lowered taxes for nine million Canadians and will continue to have measures for the middle class. We will do this in a responsible manner and we will continue to work to achieve our objective of reducing the debt to GDP ratio during our term.

It has always been our goal to balance the books in a more difficult economic context. However, our priority is to work for this country's middle class.

Health

[Sheila Malcolmson, NDP, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Mr. Speaker, access to safe abortion services is fundamental to a woman's right to choose. It must be equally available to all Canadian women. However, women in places like PEI do not have access to abortion services and they should.

A commitment to women's rights must be more than talk and promises; it must mean concrete action. Therefore, will the minister commit today to guaranteeing that every woman in every region of the country has access to abortion services?

[Jane Philpott, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I will remind the hon. member that our government fully supports a woman's right to choose. Our government also recognizes that there are inequities in access to a number of health services across the country, including abortion.

I have been discussing with my provincial and territorial colleagues the fundamentals of the Canada Health Act and the fact that there should be access to all medically-necessary services on the basis of need and not on the basis of ability to pay. I will continue to work with my colleagues to ensure access is available to all Canadians.

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, unsafe abortions account for 13% of maternal mortality in the world. If we really want to save lives then we must do something about this.

Why is the Minister of International Development upholding the Conservative policy and refusing to fund abortion services abroad where it is permitted? It is legal in several countries.

Why is she refusing to defend the rights of women around the world?

[Marie-Claude Bibeau, Liberal, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie]

Mr. Speaker, I believe that my hon. colleague misunderstood my speech yesterday. We are very proud to support a wide range of reproductive health services.

Yesterday, I was joined by Dr. Babatunde, from the United Nations population fund. The plans we announced did not directly target abortion, but that does not mean we are against it. We were responding to a demand specifically focused on family planning, sex education, safe abortions, and the fight against sexually transmitted diseases.

The Economy

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in 2003, the Ontario Liberal Party came to power, assuring Canadians and Ontarians that they would reduce debt “as conditions allow”.

Since then, we have $300 billion in debt, which has doubled; $22,000 per person is owed, which has doubled. It has increased faster than any other province.

Yesterday, the parliamentary secretary said that he would take no lessons from our successes, so I am wondering this. Is it because the Minister of Finance would rather be taking lessons from the disastrous legacies of Kathleen Wynne and Dalton McGuinty in racking up debt?

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

Mr. Speaker, we will take no lessons from the Conservatives when it comes to deficits. Our focus is on investing in the middle class and growing the economy. That is what Canadians expect of us.

After 10 years of weak economic growth, the worst possible reaction to an economic downturn would be to balance the budget at any cost. This is the kind of blind fixation Canadians rejected on October 19.

Canadians expect us to deliver on growth and the economy, and that is exactly what we will do.

Small Business

[Alice Wong, Conservative, Richmond Centre, BC]

Mr. Speaker, for weeks the Liberals have been giving mixed signals and dodging questions about small businesses and the new job killing start-up tax. Some days they want to increase taxes for everybody, and some days they only want to raise taxes on small business owners.

When will the Liberals abandon their job killing start-up tax?

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Minister of Small Business and Tourism]

It is the opposite, Mr. Speaker. This government supports small and medium-sized businesses. We are committed to helping them grow. We are committed to helping them innovate, to become more productive and to become expert oriented. We have launched the Canexport program, which has received a wonderful response.

This morning, for International Women's Day, I was with Startup Canada for its women's day breakfast, and I met a young entrepreneur, a girl in grade 5, by the name of Frankie. She and her friend started up a business.

The spirit of entrepreneurship is here. This government recognizes that small businesses are job creators and will grow the economy.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the minister said that the Liberals would “do justice to caregivers”, and today we learned what that meant. The Liberals are cutting 8,000 spots available this year via the caregiver immigration stream. This program provides vital support for families that are looking after loved ones with physical or mental disabilities. These changes leave the most vulnerable Canadians without care.

Why have the Liberals chosen to cut 27% of the immigration spots available to caregivers?