Debates of May 2nd, 2016

Finance

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the Department of Finance informed me that we will be in a deficit position for the year 2015-16. The annual financial report will be out in the month of September.

We are focusing on things that really matter for Canadians. Rather than focusing on balancing the budget at all cost, we are investing in Canada; we are investing in Canadians. We started with a tax break, and we will move forward with a budget that is going to help Canadians to live better lives, what they asked us to do on October 19.

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, on Friday, when the finance minister was asked about the surplus that he clearly inherited from Conservatives, he said, “We don’t want to focus on this issue.” Of course he does not want to, when his own department, the independent parliamentary budget officer, and economists are telling him that now he is solely responsible for any deficit that Canadians will have to pay back.

How can Canadians trust the government to run the economy when its own finance minister will not admit basic facts?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we are moving forward with a plan that is going to make a real difference for Canadians. It starts by helping middle-class Canadians to have better lives. It started with tax cuts and a move forward with the Canada child benefit that will really improve Canadians' lives. Cheques will be starting this July. Then we are going to move forward with investments that will make a real, long-term difference in the productivity and the strength of our economy so that in the future we will be much better off than we were in the last decade under the last government.

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are ignoring the facts and the truth. We now have confirmation that the Conservatives left a significant surplus.

Will the Prime Minister now admit that we left a surplus and that he is the only one responsible for our current financial mess?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, officials at the Department of Finance told me that we would be in a deficit position for 2015-16. The annual financial report will be ready in September.

This means that we will now take action to grow the economy. That is how we plan to help improve the lives of middle-class Canadians.

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I rarely agree with the Minister of Finance, but this time, he is right. They will be in a deficit position. We had a surplus. I agree with him.

The Department of Finance's “Fiscal Monitor” reported a surplus of $7.5 billion at the end of February, but the government is still announcing a huge deficit.

Will the government be posting a $13-billion deficit just for March? I would like the Minister of Finance to respond.

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, what I mean is that we now know we will be in a deficit position for 2015-16. The report will be ready in September. Now we have a plan to grow the economy. That is what we need to do because growth was very slow over the past decade.

Forestry Industry

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to raise another very important subject. Yesterday, I joined 4,000 people at a rally in Saint-Félicien in support of the forestry industry.

The industry is active across Canada, but for years, it has been subjected to vicious attacks by a number of environmental groups that are spreading misinformation about forestry practices in Canada.

Can the government confirm that it will support Canada's forestry industry, which employs people from coast to coast?

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

Mr. Speaker, Canada's forest industry is important to our economy and to communities across the country. Budget 2016 provides $1 billion over four years, starting in 2017-18, to support clean technology in the forestry, fisheries, mining, energy, and agriculture sectors, as part of the Government of Canada's commitment to innovation.

Aerospace Industry

[Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet, NDP, Hochelaga, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this weekend, the Prime Minister was proud to say that Quebec's voice is being heard in Ottawa. However, when it comes to assistance for Bombardier, the government has been feeding us the same old lines for months.

The Liberals did not present any kind of plan to support the aerospace industry during the election campaign, nor have they done so since taking office. We are talking about an industry that provides direct employment for 76,000 Canadians, and over half of those jobs are in Quebec.

Will the Prime Minister finally recognize how important this sector is to our economy and present a clear plan for the aerospace industry?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, our government understands the importance of the aerospace sector. We understand that it creates 180,000 jobs from coast to coast to coast. We understand that it contributes $29 billion to our economy as well.

It is also about supporting the supplier base. That is why we are engaged with the company. We are engaged in a meaningful dialogue with the company to ensure we set it up for success in the long term, because we want to have a thriving and growing aerospace sector in this country.

[Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet, NDP, Hochelaga, QC]

Mr. Speaker, that was not a clear or specific answer.

This government shows no interest in supporting aerospace workers and their families. It would rather give Air Canada carte blanche with Bill C-10, which sacrifices the jobs and quality of life of 2,600 families. The government does not even have the courage to let us have an in-depth debate on this issue in Parliament.

Is the Prime Minister not ashamed of abandoning the workers like this, especially after he joined them in their protest?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, as members know, the governments of Quebec and Manitoba have indicated that they intend to drop their lawsuit against Air Canada, which allows us to clarify the Air Canada Public Participation Act. That is what we are doing in order to avoid more litigation in the future.

However, I would like to remind my colleague that jobs will be created in Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba.

The Environment

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, British Columbia's north coast is an incredibly beautiful place, famous for the power of its people.

The Prime Minister and his transport minister, twice, joined with us and the people of British Columbia to ban all oil supertankers off that coast. Asked about the threat posed by Enbridge northern gateway, he said, “I will not be approving this pipeline”.

Will he now stand in his place and finally tell British Columbians when he will finally introduce a legislated tanker ban off our beautiful coast?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, as everyone knows, I was mandated to establish a formal moratorium on crude oil tanker traffic on the north coast of British Columbia. I am doing this in concert with my colleagues, the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard; the Minister of Environment; and the Minister of Natural Resources. We are proceeding with consultations with first nations, with environmental groups, and with the shipping industry. We are doing our homework.

When we have something to say, we will say it.

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, how long does it exactly take to just say no?

The government has refused, again, to give us any timeline whatsoever, and offered only more confusion.

Just a few days ago, I visited the central coast and Haida Gwaii. The people there, the first nations there, are particularly shocked and saddened by the government's unwillingness to be clear, and perhaps willingness to betray that sacred promise.

The Prime Minister also stood on Haida Gwaii and promised to the people, promised to the Haida, promised to British Columbians, that he would be an ally and he would bring this tanker ban forward.

When exactly are we going to see it?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, my mandate letter requires me to establish a formal moratorium on crude oil tanker traffic on the north coast of British Columbia. I am doing this in concert with my colleagues, the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, and the Minister of Natural Resources. We are working on that right now.

We are also consulting with first nations, environmental groups, and the shipping industry. When we have something to say, we will say it.

Finance

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this is just a little recap from our constituency week.

Last week, Finance Canada announced that the federal government had a $7.5 billion surplus. It is the fourth time that officials at Finance Canada have actually confirmed that we left them with a surplus, and that is because of our strong fiscal management and the fact that we are prudent on balanced budgets.

When the finance minister was asked about this, he waved away the report and said, quite frankly, he is not focusing on that.

I think Canadians want him to focus on the numbers. My question for the finance minister is, when will you stop misleading Canadians on what the actual fiscal situation is?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

I believe the member means “he” and not “you”. I hope she is not talking to me.

The hon. Minister of Finance.

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I just want to say, thank goodness for Canadians that they made the right choice on October 19.

Clearly, the members from other side are still stuck in this whole balanced budget thing. They really—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. I know that members are eager to applaud the answer, but they need to wait until we hear the end of the answer.

The hon. Minister of Finance.

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there are two things.

One, a fiscal year has 12 months. Two, Canadians hired us to invest in the economy. They hired us to invest in the future growth of this country, and that is exactly what we intend on doing.

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals were indeed left $7.5 billion in surplus. That being said, their plan is to plunge us into billions and billions of dollars of debt. Interestingly enough, the Minister of Finance wrote a book. In his book he said that debt prevents you from doing things, such as sleeping well at night.

My question for the Minister of Finance is this. How is he sleeping at night?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I am absolutely pleased to tell the hon. member that I am sleeping well at night, knowing that what we are doing is making my children and grandchildren better off. We are making them better off by making investments in the economy. We are investing in infrastructure that will make their lives better, that will allow them to have better lives in the future. We are investing in an innovative economy that can actually increase the productive capacity of our country.

Canadians made the right choice on October 19. They made the choice to invest.