Debates of Feb. 4th, 2019

Finance

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the really good news is that the member for Carleton can find out exactly what our tax plan is. We already introduced it back in 2016. We reduced taxes on middle-class Canadians. What that means is that 30,000 people in his riding, the riding of Carleton, have lower taxes. We also introduced an increase in the Canada child benefit, which means that 16,000 children in his riding are better off, $4 million better off in total.

That is what our tax plan is. It is helping middle-class Canadians.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is pretty rich for someone with a billion dollar family business or a family fortune to claim that people are better off because they pay higher taxes by losing their children's fitness tax credit, by losing their transit tax credit or by losing tax credits for tuition and for textbooks. All of these middle-class Canadians are already paying more, but they know that the out-of-control runaway Liberal deficits will make it even worse after the election.

Will the government come clean? How much will it raise taxes and who will have to pay?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, this is what real challenge looks like. It looks like October 22 for the member for Carleton when he is out trying to find a job, talking to employers about how he can do half of an analysis and get to the wrong answer. That is what he continues to do, half of an analysis and the wrong answer.

The whole analysis, what that tells us is that middle-class Canadians are better off, $2,000 better off this year than in 2015. That is the middle-class tax plan for the Liberals.

Government Contracts

[Daniel Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, China arbitrarily detained Canadian citizens for political purposes and the Liberals said that it was business as usual. A former SNC-Lavalin executive pleaded guilty to breaking political financing laws in what has been called the “biggest fraud case” in the country, but it continues to get huge federal contracts. It seems that whenever there is a buck to be made, the Liberals' moral compass breaks down.

SNC-Lavelin should be suspended from bidding on federal government contracts until Canadians have all the details of this fraud. Will the Liberals order the suspension or do they have a price for every principle?

[Steven MacKinnon, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, SNC-Lavalin has a long history, including in my own province of Quebec. It supports tens of thousands of Canadian men and women. The jobs on the projects support hundreds of thousands of Canadian men and women. What I want to know is why the member is talking down Canadian jobs. That is what Canadians want to know.

I can also assure the member that we have an accountability regime that is among the most stringent in the world. We will continue to enforce that. Canadian companies will have the highest degree of ethical behaviour.

Canada Revenue Agency

[Pierre-Luc Dusseault, NDP, Sherbrooke, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the members on the other side of the House clearly have no principles.

The Minister of National Revenue has been on the job for three years. In that time, there has not been a single charge or conviction related to offshore tax evasion, as the Canada Revenue Agency itself admits.

People who pay their taxes every year are starting to think that the Liberals are going too easy on the privileged 1%. Who can blame them? What with the Panama papers, the Paradise papers and the Bahamas leaks, we have seen three scandals in three years but zero results.

What will it take for the Minister of National Revenue to do her job like everybody else, go after the real tax cheats, and get some real results out of that plan she claims is working?

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, allow me to disagree with my NDP colleague. Unlike the Conservatives and the NDP, our government sees tax evasion as a priority.

With respect to offshore tax evasion, under our leadership, the Canada Revenue Agency has done twice as many audits in three years as the Harper Conservatives did in 10 years.

We currently have over 50 ongoing criminal investigations related to offshore tax evasion, and, thanks to our historic investments, we are going to keep working—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Calgary Shepard.

Finance

[Tom Kmiec, Conservative, Calgary Shepard, AB]

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the millionaire Prime Minister does not realize that taxpayers are not his personal ATM and that ATM does not stand for automatic trust fund machine. The Prime Minister has left Canadians with only debts and deficits, with no sign of a balanced budget. Canadians know that the extravagance of the Liberals will soon become the burden of middle-class families as they continue to raise taxes to pay for Liberal mistakes.

Dollars do not fall from heaven. They have to be earned on earth. Will the Prime Minister come clean and tell Canadians the truth about his plan to raise taxes?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, even after the previous Conservative government left an additional $150 billion worth of debt, we still moved forward to make investments in Canada. That is what we knew we needed to do. We made investments in middle-class Canadians. We lowered their taxes. That has been our plan from day one. Increasing Canada child benefits means they are better off today. Our economy is better off.

Low unemployment, higher growth: That is the Liberal plan for success in our country, and we are going to stick to it, not only now but after the next election.

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

Mr. Speaker, his plan is not working. When you incur a debt, you must have a plan to repay it. A deficit today means higher taxes tomorrow for us, our children and our grandchildren. The Prime Minister will have to increase taxes to pay for his irresponsible and out-of-control spending.

Will this Liberal government tell Canadians the truth for once?

When will the Prime Minister unveil his plan to increase taxes?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, our plan is very clear. We started by cutting taxes for the middle class. That was very important. We increased and enhanced the Canada child benefit.

This approach is working for the middle class and, at the same time, helping our economy grow. We now have the lowest unemployment rate in 40 years. Our plan is working. We will continue with our approach.

International Trade

[Dean Allison, Conservative, Niagara West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when negotiating NAFTA, the Prime Minister made the mistake of giving in to all Donald Trump's demands. Canadians are now feeling the effects of his mistakes.

The governments of Ontario and Quebec have both sent letters to the Prime Minister urging him to do something to remove the harmful tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum. When will these tariffs be lifted?

[Andrew Leslie, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Canada-U.S. Relations)]

Mr. Speaker, when the U.S. imposed its illegal tariffs on our steel and aluminum, we acted quickly. We have already provided $624 million in support to companies and workers, and we quickly imposed counter-tariffs, perfectly matched, to protect our workers.

Meanwhile, Doug Ford's Conservatives are calling for us to unilaterally surrender to the Americans by unconditionally removing our tariffs. While our government is fighting for our workers, all the Conservatives can do is surrender.

[Dean Allison, Conservative, Niagara West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the problem here is not Doug Ford. It is the Prime Minister's mistake of giving in to Donald Trump.

What is important here is the Canadian economy and Canadian jobs. Manufacturers across Canada cannot afford to continue to pay for the Prime Minister's mistakes. What is the plan to get these tariffs lifted? Canadians cannot wait forever.

[Andrew Leslie, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Canada-U.S. Relations)]

Mr. Speaker, we are standing up for Canadian companies facing illegal U.S. tariffs. Our tariffs on $16.6 billion worth of U.S. imports are working. Just last week, senior Republicans called on the U.S. administration to lift the U.S. tariffs because of the impact of our retaliatory measures. Meanwhile, the Conservatives want to surrender.

Instead of trying to score cheap political points on the backs of our workers, Doug Ford and his Conservative friends on the other side of the aisle should join us and stand up for Canadians.

Automotive Industry

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last night Unifor ran an ad intended to continue the fight for thousands of Canadian GM workers who will lose their jobs in Oshawa. Unlike the Prime Minister, who is sitting this one out, workers are fighting for their jobs and community.

The Conservatives gave GM billions in incentives, without a guarantee to protect jobs in Canada. Now the Liberals leave workers left stranded without a paycheque. It is about choices. Why will the Liberals not show some courage and stand up for Canadian workers?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, we are standing up for Canadian auto workers. When I went to the Detroit auto show, I met with Mary Barra and was very clear. I highlighted the fact that they are making a mistake by leaving Oshawa. We will not make that same mistake. We will continue to defend the automotive sector. We will continue to defend the automotive workers. We have seen investments of $5.6 billion since we formed government in 2015, because we have policies and programs to support this critically important sector. We will continue to fight for our auto workers.

Infrastructure

[Brigitte Sansoucy, NDP, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after three years of deficits, the Liberals are now in infrastructure mode. It is about time they started taking care of our infrastructure. They should have invested right away. Our big cities and small towns can no longer wait. The Liberals chose to create an infrastructure bank to make their friends rich, but now comes their pre-election tour.

Do the Liberals realize that Canadians are the ones who will pay for their broken infrastructure promises?

[Marco Mendicino, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, in 2015 we promised Canadians that we would invest in infrastructure to create good jobs for the middle class and develop our economy. We are investing in projects that will make everyday life easier for Canadians, including schools, public transit, housing, culture and recreation, and waste water treatment.

Our government is making unprecedented investments to build the Canada of the 21st century.

Health

[Sonia Sidhu, Liberal, Brampton South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today, February 4, is World Cancer Day. Almost everyone in this House, and indeed all Canadians, has a friend or family member whose life has been touched by cancer. It continues to be the leading cause of death in Canada. Almost half of all Canadians will develop it in their lifetimes. We all know the devastation a diagnosis can have for a family.

I would like to ask the Minister of Health what our government has been doing to fight cancer.

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the member for Brampton South for her important question and her tremendous work on the health committee.

As the health minister, I have certainly heard heartbreaking stories about people affected by cancer. That is why this government has invested over $1.7 billion over the past 10 years in cancer research. Also, we are promoting healthy eating and physical activity. Last year we unveiled new tobacco rules that the Canadian Cancer Society actually called the best in the world.

While it might be tough, I know that together we will be able to one day beat cancer.

Natural Resources

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, more than 125,000 oil and gas workers have lost their jobs under the Liberals. The Prime Minister vetoed northern gateway with no consultation. He killed energy east with red tape. He overpaid for Trans Mountain, and every delay costs taxpayers more. His mistakes have caused the crisis in the energy sector and have recently threatened the jobs of over 2,000 CNRL workers in northeast Alberta. Now Imperial is cutting rail shipments and considering cancelling a new oil sands project.

Will the Liberals stop their no-more-pipelines bill, Bill C-69?

[Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Natural Resources, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, the purpose of Bill C-69 is to fix a broken system that was implemented by the previous government in 2012. It took away the ability of indigenous peoples to participate in a meaningful way. It took away the ability of Canadians to participate in the review process. It took away the ability for us to protect our environment, waterways, fish and fish habitat. We are fixing a system that will allow us to move forward on large energy infrastructure projects in a way that makes sense for Canadians.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, four major new pipelines were built under the Conservatives. The reality is that not a single new inch has been built under the Liberals. Most Canadians agree that the lack of pipelines is a national crisis and that the Liberals are to blame.

The Prime Minister said he wants to phase out the oil sands, and he is doing it. Last week, StatsCan said Canada's economy shrank in November because of low energy production, along with losses in construction, manufacturing and finance. Hundreds of thousands of jobs are at risk.

The Prime Minister has a family fortune made mostly from oil and gas, so he really does not care. Why is the Prime Minister forcing Canadians to pay with their jobs for his mistakes?