Debates of May 3rd, 2016

Finance

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last week the Minister of Finance, when asked about the surplus noted in the “Fiscal Monitor”, said he did not want to focus on the issue. Yesterday in the House of Commons during question period, the minister actually laughed off the concept of restraint by lamenting that the Conservatives are stuck in this whole balanced budget thing. Recently, the National Post noted that this may be the first surplus that a finance minister does not want to talk about.

Therefore, my question for the Minister of Finance is this. What is so scary about being fiscally responsible?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, our priority is on investing to grow the economy. Six months ago, Canadians chose hope over fear. They chose optimism over pessimism. They chose to make investments to grow the economy instead of balancing the budget on the backs of Canadian families.

While the members on the opposite side want to tell Canadians that they made the wrong choice, we are moving forward with the right choices, the choices to invest in our economy that will make the future better for Canadians today and tomorrow.

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister also said yesterday that he was convinced that the Liberal Party was doing the right thing because it is making his children and his grandchildren better off. Now, I am happy for them, but I also worry about the other kids in this country as well, who may not be able to afford the high cost of the minister's borrowing. The minister may have just said that he is comfortable with the choices that he is making, but in reality he is going to be spending on the backs of our children.

What part of saddling our kids with billions and billions of dollars of debt is making them better off?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the members opposite would like to focus on our low-growth past. We want to focus on what we are actually doing for Canadian children today.

We have moved forward with the Canada child benefit, which will help nine out of 10 families with children. It will help them a lot, on average $2,300 per year.

We are moving forward to help indigenous people. We are moving forward on educational initiatives, with $3.5 billion over five years to improve the situation for indigenous children in our country.

We have a progressive government that is going to make a real difference to the children of today so they can be better off tomorrow.

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

Mr. Speaker, the long list of Liberal promises now includes transparency, thanks to the Minister of Finance.

The PBO delivered a scathing indictment of the government for its lack of budget transparency. The minister refuses to acknowledge that we handed them a surplus. We know the Liberals jammed as much new spending in last year's budget and books as they could. If he truly wants to be transparent, will the minister tell Canadians how much the March madness spending spree has cost?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite is entitled to his opinion. I have had the opportunity to criss-cross the country and listen to Canadians' opinions. They appear to understand quite well what we did with our budget, and they are very positive with the initiatives that are helping Canadians today and tomorrow.

I also went international. I heard the Financial Times call us a glimmer of hope. I heard The Wall Street Journal say that we are doing the right things on the IMF plan to grow the economy. We are going to make a real difference for Canadians today and tomorrow with the kind of fiscal measures that will grow our economy for the long run.

Taxation

[Alice Wong, Conservative, Richmond Centre, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we know the Liberals love to talk about facts, so let us look at some facts. Their decision to abandon tax cuts for small businesses will cost the industry $2.2 billion over the next four years. I repeat: $2.2 billion. The more we learn about the Liberals' so-called commitment for small businesses, the more we realize that there is no commitment at all.

When will the Liberals deliver their promised 9% tax cuts?

[Gudie Hutchings, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary for Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for the question. We know that the small business tax rate is there to help companies grow and create jobs, but we need to make sure that the small business tax system is fair and being used appropriately. The loophole is allowing far too many people to use this rate to get out of paying personal income taxes that the rest of us pay each and every year. This loophole is costing taxpayers over $500 million a year. We need to fix the problem so that those using the small business tax rate are the small business owners who are creating jobs for our communities.

Finance

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Minister of Finance made a statement that was surprising, to say the least. He said, “Clearly, the members from the other side [that means us] are still stuck in this whole balanced budget thing.”

I can assure this House that, yes, we are and we will always be stuck on having a balanced budget. That is the responsible thing to do. What is also clear is that the minister is stuck on running up deficits one after the other.

Will the minister change his ways and finally admit that it is detrimental to Canada's future to have such deficits?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, our priority is to invest. Six months ago, Canadians chose optimism, not pessimism. Canadians chose to make investments that will grow the economy, not to have a balanced budget at any cost.

We will make choices that are good for Canadians and that will grow the Canadian economy, now and in the future.

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

Mr. Speaker, the government's approach is irresponsible. It is obvious that the Minister of Finance has completely lost control of public spending. Running up a $30-billion deficit, with more to come, is irresponsible to today's society and especially to our children and grandchildren, who are going to pay for this government's excesses.

When will the government finally get in touch with reality and stop putting our grandchildren into debt?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I want to talk about children in Canada. Thanks to our measures, their situation will improve now and in the future. We introduced the Canada child benefit, which will help nine out of 10 families with children by giving them an additional $2,300 a year. Today's children will have a better future because we are making investments today for them.

National Defence

[David Christopherson, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today, the Auditor General reported that Canada is treating our army reservists like second-class soldiers. They are underfunded, under-equipped, and undertrained. In fact, our reservists were sent into combat without first receiving the proper international mission training. This is all unacceptable.

Will the minister today commit to give reservists the training they need, the support they are entitled to, and the respect they deserve?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I commend the hon. member for his concern. I was actually one of those reservists on those deployments who received the training.

I can assure members that we are accepting all the Auditor General's recommendations. I would also like to say that the Canadian Armed Forces has already started working on improving the training aspect for domestic and international operations, including the recruiting and retention for our reserve force to play a critical role in domestic and international operations.

Veterans

[Matthew Dubé, NDP, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today, the Auditor General showed that the government did not implement adequate measures to help veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

The department is not taking the impact on veterans into account when managing its drug program. For once the Liberals cannot blame the Conservatives, since the Liberal budget did not include a single penny for mental health care services.

When will the Liberals support our veterans and invest in their mental health?

[Kent Hehr, Liberal, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, we accept all the Auditor General's recommendations and are working toward them through the programs that we deliver.

My mandate letter says to get working on our suicide prevention, as well as our PTSD and mental health centres. That is exactly what we are going to do. We are going to deliver this care in a forthright and profound manner that makes the lives of veterans and their families better.

Ministerial Expenses

[Blaine Calkins, Conservative, Red Deer—Lacombe, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of International Trade claims that her vanity trip to California was to promote Canadian business interests. However, emails released through access to information paint a very different picture.

Her staff were scrambling to put a program together and were begging LA Times journalists for an interview. Senior foreign policy and diplomacy officer Dan Pasquini stated in an email, “this visit has only just fallen in our laps”.

Why does the minister continue to claim the trip was about Canadian business interests when it was actually all about her?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the Conservatives are trying to create a story where there is none. It is my job to promote Canada in the United States.

In fact, just yesterday, I was pleased to be in Washington for a trilateral trade meeting with my American and Mexican counterparts. It was my sixth visit to the United States in six months. What I am hearing in the U.S. is that after a lost decade, Canada is finally back at the table.

I am going to keep going back and doing what the Conservatives failed to do: support trade, jobs, and our middle class.

[Blaine Calkins, Conservative, Red Deer—Lacombe, AB]

Mr. Speaker, in a one-on-one sit down interview with the LA Times, the minister's California dream trip was characterized as a “brief stopover”.

LA Consul General Villeneuve noted there “seems to be a bit of confusion”.

The Global Affairs director general of communications was also confused, saying in emails, “What is she doing in LA? Besides the Bill Maher show?”

Clearly, this was a personal trip built around her TV appearance.

We know the Liberals are entitled to their entitlements, but are taxpayers not entitled to an honest answer about the real purpose for her going to LA?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives continue to try to create a story where there is none. The media appearances were part of the official visit, along with six business round tables. It is my job to promote Canada to the world.

However, since the members opposite are so interested in this topic, let me remind them that their own leader, the former prime minister, spent $50,000 of taxpayer money to get himself U.S. media appearances. We do not need to do that; we get invited.

[Karen Vecchio, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the story is that the Minister of International Trade needs to be honest with Canadians. She declares proudly that she was in California to promote Canadian business, but her own officials did not even know about the trip until two days before.

The minister indicates that she met with the lieutenant governor of California and a U.S. senator, but does not mention that it was on the late show with Bill Maher.

When will the minister just be honest and tell Canadians she went to Hollywood on a personal vanity trip, using taxpayer money?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, unlike the Conservatives, we know it is our government's job to promote Canada to the world.

When I travel to promote Canada, I am proud to speak to the international media. Just yesterday, I gave an interview to POLITICO in Washington.

As minister, I would like to list some of the other international interviews I have done. I have done an interview with MSNBC, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, the LA Times, and the Financial Times. I have done three BBC interviews. I have spoken to EU Trade Insights. I spoke to La Libre; Deutsche Welle, the German TV; Bloomberg Television; Handelsblatt—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The member for Elgin—Middlesex—London.

[Karen Vecchio, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is clear that the minister's staff had to scramble at the last minute to find things to do in California to justify doing a late night show on HBO.

When the minister's own staff is informed that she will be in LA just two days prior to her arrival, how are Canadians to believe it was on government business?

The Minister of International Trade used taxpayer money to further her personal interests, not the interests of Canadian business. When will the minister pay back the money for this vanity trip?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives continue to try to create a story where there is not one.

I would now like to share with the House some details of the business meetings I had when I was in California. Here are some of the people I met with: James Haney, senior VP and general manager of City National Bank, recently acquired by RBC; Greg Foster, CEO of IMAX; Creative BC, and Trade and Invest BC, were there; John Chiang, the treasurer of the state of California; and Jeff Gorell, deputy mayor.

Other meetings I had there included a reception with the Friends of BC, a meeting with Los Angeles economic leaders—