Rahim Jaffer

[Budget Implementation Act, 2006, May 12th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I agree with my hon. colleague, especially in light of what we saw from the previous prime minister in taking advantage of that particular tax loophole. Obviously it was not the best way that Canadians like to see companies do business. I am willing to explore the idea of ensuring that contracts are done openly and transparently and given to the best people who are applying for those contracts with the federal government.

I think the member's question speaks to a bigger issue that we have to address, and I think this government has already taken a step to address it. That issue is the overall tax burdens that Canadians and business have been facing in this country for years and years. The only reason many of these companies look at ways to shelter their incomes and to move them offshore is that clearly we have had a regime in this country that has had very strict and very high levels of tax on businesses. That has affected competition, their ability to invest and their ability to actually look at ways to hide that income in other places.

I think we have moved in the right direction. We have to lower those tax levels. We have done so in this budget. We hope to continue down that track to keep our economy competitive and to stop that process of people looking at putting their money overseas.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2006, May 12th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I have a lot of respect for the member in this House, but it is funny when he says that the government promised a lot, especially after what we saw in the deathbed conversion process during the campaign, when the Liberals were coming up with policies we had never heard from them in the last 13 years they were in power. They never made any meaningful changes to help students.

The member talks about the bursaries or scholarships they implemented. It is all fine and dandy to say that was in fact done, but when students are taxed on that same income they are getting as bursaries or scholarships, it is almost doing reverse damage to them. That is why this government moved very quickly in the budget to remove that unfair tax on scholarships and bursaries. It should have been done a long time ago if the previous government really was committed to students, but it lacked the intention to do so.

Again, promises are all we heard from the Liberal government for over 13 years. I was in opposition for the last 9 of those 13 years, and there were some really great promises, let us face it. Did the Liberals actually follow through with any of them? I would say not.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2006, May 12th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to be here to speak about this government's new budget. I am very proud of our colleague, the Minister of Finance, and his hard work over the past few months. He has tabled a budget that reflects all the priorities of Canadians.

I am referring to, among other things, how this budget will reduce the rate of taxation for all Canadians. This budget will put in place a good number of the true priorities of Canadians. It is the first time in several years that a budget has been able to accomplish this. I am very pleased to speak about this budget, today.

Speaking with the people from my riding, the feedback I am hearing is overwhelmingly supportive. It seems that Edmontonians know that the budget is good for their city, good for the province, and obviously good for Canadians. They support a focussed agenda that will actually get results for a change.

As someone who has stood before the House in the past to speak on budgets, especially being in the opposition, one of the key assessments that I have always had to make is to look at how the government's plans would actually affect the people who sent me here to represent them.

In the past, I will say as many have felt, it has been frustrating because despite a punishing tax regime that squeezed the average family, individuals and small businesses in my riding, people regularly had the sense that we were not receiving value for money.

The previous government would announce billions in funding, but for average people, for real people in neighbours in my riding, the only results they ever saw was a creeping tax burden, a rising cost of living, the occasional press release announcing a new program, but no real help or support that ever seemed to make a difference. This budget is different.

I am proud to say that our plan does more in one budget to help the diverse needs of people in my riding than the previous government was able to deliver in the last 13 years.

Individuals in Edmonton—Strathcona are hard-working people. There are students at the University of Alberta, small business owners, entrepreneurs on Whyte Avenue, and moms, dads and grandparents who put a premium on family.

I am happy to say that the budget speaks directly to their needs and it does so in a way that leaves the maximum amount of flexibility for individuals to pursue their own goals in their own way.

It is in the spirit of respect and acknowledgement of the fact that individuals not bureaucrats know best that our budget seeks to make life easier for all Canadians. The government does not and cannot better understand the needs of a third year chemistry student trying to balance work and study to afford tuition at the University of Alberta.

None of us here can pretend to know what is best for the restaurant owner trying to scrape the money together to expand on Whyte Avenue and we cannot certainly assume to better be prepared to tell the parents of young children in my riding how to raise their family.

In the past, the previous government sought to impose a one size fits all for its own solutions for these very real problems. Our vision is very different.

We do not pretend that because people have different needs that government does not have a role to play in making life better, but what we do say is that people know best for themselves and that government's proper role is a supportive one.

I am proud that the budget recognizes this fact and takes steps to position the federal government to help people achieve their goals and realize their dreams.

One of those groups is students. For every single one of more than 35,000 students attending post-secondary studies at the University of Alberta in my riding, the budget delivers significant and meaningful assistance in the most direct way possible by getting out of the way and leaving students with more money in their pockets for their own priorities.

Our new government will help reduce the burden on students in Edmonton—Strathcona by providing an immediate tax credit to help all students with the cost of their textbooks.

For a full time student at the U of A this will mean a textbook tax credit of about $520 per year. This is money that will be left in the pockets of students and go toward any number of needs from groceries to school supplies, a ticket home to visit friends and family, or to start paying down some of their debt.

Students need to be supported for their hard work in pursuit of academic excellence. That is why we took a bold move, that should have been done a long time ago, to exempt bursaries and scholarships from tax, so that when students are awarded some of the much needed financial assistance, they will not see that recognition clawed back to the federal coffers in Ottawa.

As I mentioned, I used to be a small business owner in my riding. I know firsthand the challenges faced by entrepreneurs and hard-working independent business owners who make our community so vibrant. Incredibly, I have long made the case to fix the problem. Government needs to do a lot less, not more.

We need to leave individual business owners more of their hard-earned money to invest in how they see fit. This will mean more jobs and a more robust economy as small business owners find they have more money to expand, to take on more staff, and also make key investments. The budget delivers on that.

Entrepreneurs in my riding will have an additional $100,000 of qualifying income for the small business tax limit. Not only does this mean more business income than ever before will be protected from punitive tax rates, but our government has moved to reduce the small business tax rate by 1% over the next two years.

In addition to helping small business owners, we knew that all Canadians, regardless of who they are or what they do, deserve meaningful tax relief. That is why the government is providing tax relief people can actually see, tax relief that will affect every single Canadian. We will be immediately reducing the GST by 1%.

The benefits of this commitment will be felt by every single individual in my constituency. I know, coming from a service industry business, the more that can be freed up in taxes, especially in the service industry, the more disposable income people will have to actually spend on particular items for their families or themselves.

For students, it means that the necessary expenses needed to get them to class will be cheaper. For business owners, it means customers will have more money to spend on their products and services and, more importantly, for families in my riding, it means an extra $400 on average every year that can be spent or saved as families see fit.

More often than not, government cannot spend money better than Canadians. This is a recognition that Ottawa can do more with less and that Canadians can do more with their own money. Instead of treating Canadians like a series of special interest groups, the budget recognizes that Canadians are individuals with their own goals and desires.

I am thrilled that my constituents finally have a government that recognizes the need to support their choices by leaving them with more resources to carve out their own destiny. By providing broad based and meaningful tax relief, our fiscal plan will make a real difference for every single person in my riding.

One point that I did not mention during the course of my speech relates to students and the link to small business. I know that one of the unfortunate restrictions in the past was that international students, who are now making up such a significant part of our student base across the country, were not able to work while they were spending time here in Canada. Often we would have those international students bring about $4 billion worth of investment into Canada every year by attending classes, taking up housing, and spending money when they came here to pursue their studies. Unfortunately, they were not able to work.

As we know, in the budget there was the announcement that we have opened up that process to allow those international students to actually pursue employment here in Canada while they are attending school.

As I mentioned, as a small business person in the service industry, I have noticed that there is a labour crunch right across this country. Many of the markets are finding it difficult to find people to work. Our budget will provide not only the chance for students to find work and raise some money to help pay for some of the costs that they incur, especially being away from home in an international location, but will also help fill the gap that we currently have in the employment market when it comes to the service industry by allowing some of those students to take up some meaningful employment.

I know that will make a huge difference to many people in my riding, especially when it comes to filling that labour shortage that many people are currently facing.

The budget is an excellent new start for the government. The budget sets some key priorities in the short term to achieve meaningful results. It sets a plan in place for the future, a bold vision that I think Canadians were so desperately needing after 13 years of mismanagement, corruption, and lack of attention to their needs.

Mr. Speaker, I move:

That this question be now put.

[Engineers Without Borders, May 2nd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, in honour of National Volunteer Week I had the pleasure of hosting an event in my riding this weekend to recognize the outstanding efforts of the dedicated volunteers with the University of Alberta chapter of Engineers Without Borders.

Engineers Without Borders embodies the best of Canada's tradition of compassion and constructive assistance on the world stage. Over the last year, volunteers in Edmonton have organized to expand their membership and reach students at the high school level with regular outreach programs.

They successfully implemented a campaign to lobby elected officials to play their part in improving overseas development assistance and raised funds to send students abroad to developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa to share their expertise with communities in need.

I am proud of the volunteers with the U of A chapter of Engineers Without Borders. I share their desire to see Canada play a lead role in making the world a more helpful and equitable place.

[Federal Accountability Act, April 26th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, there is truth to what the member says. I do take a great level of pride and there is a level of ecstasy when we rise and speak in this place on behalf of people within our ridings. I do take a great sense of pride when I do stand up and speak.

One of the things that our President of the Treasury Board and others have said today is that we would like to see this legislation move as quickly as possible into committee so that we can discuss any measures that members feel can help strengthen this momentous legislation. A lot of hard work has already gone into it. There has been a tremendous amount of work done by the Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board and the President of the Treasury Board.

Those areas that the member for Halifax has identified, spending limits and she mentioned another one as well, those things are fine to be brought forward in front of the committee. Let the committee talk about these and see how we can strengthen the legislation even further.

[Federal Accountability Act, April 26th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I can understand why a Liberal member would like a lot more words and a lot more discussion in trying to give teeth back to something that I think is so important in protecting the ability for the public service and public servants to speak out when they see something that is wrong. It does not have to be a long and complicated procedure. Whether or not the member thinks that particular clause of the bill is long enough, the fact is it gives the teeth that are required for public servants to be able to do their job.

The men and women of the public service deliver important programs and services and make a real difference in the lives of Canadians every day. I do not think anyone would dispute that. That is why the federal accountability act's key components focus on providing real protection for whistleblowers. People who see problems in government need to know that they can speak up. Too often in the past, whistleblowers have been punished for standing up for the truth.

Our member for Avalon identified Mr. Cutler, one of those particular people who, unfortunately, was penalized for standing up for the truth.

Giving the public sector integrity commissioner the power to enforce the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act will do just that. I do not know how it can be made any clearer than that.

[Federal Accountability Act, April 26th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, it is a great pleasure to speak here today. I want to start by first congratulating you on a job well done. Congratulations in your new role as Deputy Speaker in this House. You wear the robes well and we look forward to your continued performance in this position. It is a great pleasure to be able to congratulate you in that capacity.

This is the first time that I have had the chance in this session of Parliament to stand and address what I think is one of the most important pieces of legislation to ever come into this Parliament, I would say, especially after the performance of the previous government and in view of the fact that we have to move quickly in ensuring that Canadians restore their faith in politicians and their government. I am excited to be able to rise in the 39th Parliament to speak to this very profound legislation.

Before I do so, I would like to start by congratulating and thanking the residents of Edmonton--Strathcona, who have been so kind to send me back to this place for my fourth term. It is hard to imagine that I am approaching nine years in this place. Time goes by so quickly. I have learned a lot over those years. I have had some incredible debates and some incredible experiences. I must say that even though my neck is a little sore as I face the Speaker from this angle, it is nice to be in government after all that time.

As we move forward in the House, I would like to start by addressing some of the key things to start cleaning up government, to start cleaning up the mess that was left behind by the previous regime after 13 years. We have heard a number of our colleagues on this side of the House and the minister who has been in charge of this legislation, the President of the Treasury Board, address the reason why it is so important that this legislation come forward at this time, and why Canadians, after January 23, spoke so resoundingly in saying that they wanted to have a change in environment. They wanted increased accountability and increased transparency.They wanted to change the way business was done in Ottawa. That was clear after January 23.

For those who are tuning in and watching to see how this debate is unfolding and to hear about exactly what criteria are involved in this particular legislation, I think it is important that from time to time we highlight some of the key points in this legislation so Canadians do see how important it is in the efforts of this government to try to clean up the way things have been going here in Ottawa.

There are some concrete and I think welcome changes. I heard that during the course of the campaign and even leading up to the tabling of this legislation. Canadians could not wait to see things like the strengthening of the powers of the Auditor General, banning union and large corporate and large personal political donations, and providing real protection to whistleblowers, which I think is something that we have heard about over and over.

They also could not wait to see things like ensuring that government contracting is proper, fair and open. We know about the problems that led up to the sponsorship scandal of the last Parliament and the last government, so I think this is something that is still top of mind for Canadians. There is also the preventing of lobbying by former ministers and other public office holders for five years, which is a very strict measure. We look forward to seeing how this will be felt, especially as we move forward in the committees. Finally, there is also the creating of more open government by improving access to information.

This last is something that I would like to start focusing on in the time that I have this afternoon for this debate. I would like to start with that particular topic and move on from there to address as many of the topics as I can, topics that are the basis of this legislation.

As I mentioned, during almost nine years in opposition there were some frustrating times when we were dealing with issues of ethics, accountability, and transparency, with issues of being able to show what was happening with taxpayers' dollars in different aspects of the government, wherever that might be. I am most surprised by some of the comments I have heard today in listening to this debate, especially those of our colleagues across the way, many of them who served in the previous government.

We heard questions on the semantics of definitions of what accountability means. We heard one of the members say that this is a facade. It seems to me that the members across the way would not know what accountability is even if it came and bit them in the you-know-what, Mr. Speaker. It is surprising to me, especially after all these years of problems we have seen in this place, in regard to these simple measures. I recall when I was sitting in the opposition benches how frustrating it was when we were trying to get access to information on crown corporations.

The most incredible thing is it seems that today we are hearing many of the Liberals complaining about this particular provision. The only reason I can imagine that is happening is, as we know, in many of the crown corporations, many of the members, directors and others were appointed cronies and friends of the Liberal Party of the past. There was no real transparency in that process, so it does not surprise me today that in trying to open up that process and accountability to those particular crown corporations, something for which opposition members had been calling for years, there seems to be some sort of pressure coming from the Liberals not to allow that to happen. It begs the question of why they would want that, unless they are still trying to protect their friends in many of these positions across the width of these crown corporations.

We have heard over and over again of problems at Canada Post, at the Mint and other crown corporations regarding lack of accountability and the attitude of being entitled to their entitlements. We saw a number of other incredible stories over the last era of 13 years of mismanagement, which we hope to change by ushering in this new aspect of access to information that all members of this House should be welcoming.

I know that the members of the Canadian public would love to see how their taxpayers' dollars have been spent, especially in the areas of Liberal appointments of cronies over the years in many of those positions.

Another area that I remember defending passionately when I was in the opposition benches was strengthening the power of the Auditor General. Members may recall there was a time when the whole sponsorship scandal was out in the open and the Auditor General continued to find in department after department problems of mismanagement, money going missing and lack of accountability. At one point we even heard the Liberals, at the time they were in government, wanting to try to restrict and curb the powers of the Auditor General. I was shocked when that was happening. I could not believe it.

We have a number of checks and balances in the system that we are trying to strengthen, but Canadians would agree that the Auditor General's power should be one of the fiercest, and the resources required to do that job should be put in place by any government and by members of this House. It is in the interest of all our members here and the interest of Canadians to have that office treated with the respect and the resources it needs and deserves to do its job on behalf of Canadians. I do recall there was talk in the previous government of cutting that budget and restricting the powers. I cannot believe we even heard those kinds of things.

Canadians can be assured that is not the attitude of this Conservative government. We are going to make sure that Canadians know that their hard-earned tax dollars are spent wisely. The Auditor General needs to have the power to follow the money to make sure that it is spent wisely and properly.

This government is going to give new powers to the Auditor General to audit individuals and organizations that receive federal funding. This will help the Auditor General hold to account those who spend taxpayers' money.

We all think back to our constituencies and the people who are affected most by government decisions. I know that the people in Edmonton can look forward to an independent authority to find out where their money is being spent and that they will not need to take only our word for it, that there will be open and accessible information available for them.

One of the things that I know makes the previous members of the Liberal government a little nervous is the idea of changing the financing regulations. I will admit they made some changes in the last Parliament over the years to restrict some of that corporate funding, but quite frankly, they did not go far enough. We still see the effect of lobbyists and big money in the decisions made by the previous government. The new financing components in this bill we are proposing, by actually banning donations by corporations and big unions, give back the power to ordinary Canadians to be able to communicate to their government and be taken equally as seriously as the unfortunate culture that developed in the previous government of big money being able to control the agenda.

Our members are passionate about these measures we have been speaking about in this new government. We are excited to be able to deliver a new era of good government to Canadians.

We are excited to be able to work with Canadians to finally restore the confidence they want so much in their government. Hopefully we will usher in, as I mentioned, a new era for all Canadians to take part in their democracy and take their democracy back from the 13 years of mismanagement, corruption and unfortunate malaise.

[Petitions, April 26th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise in the 39th Parliament to present my first petition of this Parliament. It calls on the House of Commons to demand that the federal government implement and fund a national strategy on cancer control in collaboration with the provinces and all stakeholders.

On this side, we intend to live up to all our commitments, this being one of them. I look forward to seeing the government implement this national strategy.

[Citizenship and Immigration, November 24th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, it seems like all that expensive pizza is getting to his head.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs says that rapper 50 Cent should not perform in Canada. With his hits like Hustler's Ambition , Slow Dough and Power of the Dolla , the rap star is known for glorifying theft, breaking the law and gangsterism. It sounds like he got his lyrics from the Gomery report.

Does the parliamentary secretary not see any hypocrisy in condemning 50 Cent when he merely glorifies standard practice in the Liberal government?

[Sponsorship Program, November 24th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Party has not learned anything from the sponsorship scandal. After 12 years of Liberal corruption, this party continues to be arrogant. This time, to help organize its upcoming campaign, it has brought back Guy Brisson, who was involved in the sponsorship scandal.

The Prime Minister said he would clean things up. What is he waiting for to punish the Liberal cronies involved in the sponsorship scandal, instead of rewarding them?