Andrew Saxton

[January 31st, 2012]

Madam Speaker, with respect to the appointment of the new Auditor General, Canadians can be confident that we have found a highly qualified individual for this very important position.

Mr. Ferguson brings with him the experience gained during a successful career in a series of senior financial positions with the Government of New Brunswick. We are fortunate to have found someone of his calibre to take on the demands of this important position.

As members know, the Office of the Auditor General plays a central role in ensuring the accountability and integrity of the Government of Canada. The Auditor General's job is one of the top financial jobs in the country, and it requires a top financial mind.

We looked for bilingual candidates. After an extensive process, Mr. Ferguson was chosen because he was the best qualified.

He has been a non-partisan public servant since 1985 and has had a distinguished career by any measure. Mr. Ferguson has succeeded in three important roles in New Brunswick: as comptroller general, auditor general and deputy minister of finance. In fact, he has had success after success in senior financial positions in the bilingual government of that province.

New Brunswick is a wonderful province with a rich heritage in both English and French. Mr. Ferguson's success in that bilingual jurisdiction is a good indicator of success in the federal government. Undoubtedly, the outstanding qualities that he brought to his career in New Brunswick will serve him well here in Ottawa.

The Auditor General has committed to improving his language skills in French. He has characterized this as a number one priority for him, including during his appearances before committees of the House and Senate.

Mr. Ferguson is a highly respected person in this field. We can be sure that he will carry on the high standards of auditing independence, integrity and excellence set by his predecessor Madam Sheila Fraser.

As Canada continues its efforts to strengthen accountability and transparency in its public institutions, while at the same time reducing the deficit and balancing the books, we will need a highly qualified individual in this post. That person is Michael Ferguson.

[January 31st, 2012]

Madam Speaker, as I mentioned earlier, the low-income rate for families with children has shown a significant decrease in recent years, from 18.4% in 1996 to 9.5% in 2009. Both the 2009 and 2010 budgets introduced broad-based tax relief as well as significant investments to assist vulnerable Canadians.

We have made improvements to the national child benefit and the Canada child tax benefit.

In 2011, about 1.5 million working Canadian families are expected to benefit from the working income tax benefit. Our goal is to support families as the building blocks of society. We will continue to make investments that make a positive difference in the lives of Canadians and their families.

[January 31st, 2012]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to respond to the member for Nanaimo—Cowichan and to explain what our government is doing to combat child poverty.

There is no doubt that jobs are the best way to escape poverty.

Our government provides almost $2.5 billion each year to the provinces and territories to enable them to deliver critical services and supports to Canadian workers who need help to make the transition to new jobs. Our government's approach to reducing poverty focuses on giving Canadians opportunities to achieve self-sufficiency while providing targeted supports to those facing special barriers.

We recognize that families are the most important building block for society. That is why our government provides over $14 billion per year in benefits for families with children. These funds are invested through the Canada child tax benefit, including the national child benefit supplement for low-income families, and through the universal child care benefit and the child tax credit.

Something must be working because the poverty rate for children has almost halved in recent years from a peak of 18.4% in 1996 to just 9.5% in 2009. Children under age 18 and female headed lone parent families saw their rate of poverty plummet to an all-time low of 21.5% in 2009, down from 56% in 1996. This progress can be explained by the fact that mothers are earning more income through employment. It also reflects the positive effects of the national child benefit supplement and the working income tax benefit.

The Government of Canada also supports families with young children through the Canada social transfer. About $1.2 billion was transferred to the provinces and territories in 2010-11. That investment will grow to almost $1.3 billion by 2013-14.

Let me say a little more about the Canada child tax benefit. It is a basic benefit that goes to some 90% of Canadian families with children. The Canada child tax benefit, which includes the national child benefit supplement for low-income families, provides a tax-free monthly benefit of up to $3,485 per year for the first eligible child under the age of 18.

Budget 2009 increased accessibility for the Canada child tax benefit and the national child benefit supplement for low-income families. This allows families to earn additional income and still qualify for a full or partial benefit.

The national child benefit initiative has been successful in reducing the number of families with children living in poverty. It has also improved living standards for those families who continue to live below the poverty line.

We have made real progress in reducing poverty, especially for families with children. We will continue to help families and the most vulnerable Canadians to achieve self-sufficiency.

[Atlantic Canada, December 12th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, under our government Canada has created over 600,000 net new jobs. Canadians gave us a strong mandate to protect and complete Canada's economic recovery. This review is focusing on responsible government spending to ensure ongoing value for Canadian taxpayers. While the opposition is calling for higher taxes that will kill jobs and hurt the economy, our government has a plan to keep taxes low, focus on jobs for Canadians and grow the economy.

[Government Priorities, December 9th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, this review is focusing on responsible government spending to ensure ongoing value for Canadian taxpayers. This review is also an opportunity to modernize how we do business. Canadians have trusted us to make responsible, reasonable and judicious decisions.

[Status of Women, December 7th, 2011]

Madam Speaker, this government respects the principle of equal pay for work of equal value.

The Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act sets out a new proactive and timely approach to ensure that employees in the federal public sector receive equitable compensation each and every time their wages are set.

This new legislation replaces an adversarial complaints-based system under the old Canadian Human Rights Act with a collaborative one that ensures fair and objective recourse.

This government is committed to developing the regulations that will bring the legislation into force and will do so in consultation with employers and bargaining agents for the benefit of employers and employees.

[Status of Women, December 7th, 2011]

Madam Speaker, I would like to respond to the question from the member opposite about Canada's respect for women's rights and a purported pay gap that puts us behind some other countries.

Canada has an unparalleled record with respect to women's rights and making sure that the government has obligations in this area.

We are fortunate in this country. Our federal public service employees are among the best and the brightest, and their work is tied to the well-being of our country.

We expect much from our public servants. In turn, the public service offers women and men competitive salaries and a full range of family-friendly benefits.

We should be especially proud of the progress toward greater gender balance that has been made in the public service, particularly within the senior ranks.

Back in 1983, fewer than 5% of women were in senior management. Today, women make up 44% of the senior and executive ranks of the federal public service. That is almost 50%. That is almost half of the people in the senior public service. That is a significant increase.

Women are taking their rightful place in the federal public service. Their representation in many professional groups has also increased dramatically over the years. For example, women now represent nearly 56% of the economics and social science group, 55% of the law group, and about 46% of the commerce officer group.

Over the past few years, there has been a significant change in the face of Canada's public service. Women have played a big role in this change.

Today, women and men in the public service have equal access to all positions and identical wages within the same groups and levels.

The situation is not perfect, but remarkable progress has been made in addressing the wage gap between men and women in the federal public service.

Since 1999, the difference between total wages for women and total wages for men has been decreasing steadily. In fact, since 1999, this gap has closed by 6.8%.

Today, women in the core public administration make on average almost 90% of men's wages. With more young women entering the workforce in knowledge jobs, women's wages in the under 35 age category are 96.5% of the wages of men. This bodes well for the future.

My colleague opposite claims that we are doing nothing concrete. That could not be farther from the truth.

In 2009, we enacted the Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act. This represents a much needed reform of the old complaint-based pay equity regime, which has proven to be a lengthy, costly and adversarial process. Our more modern collaborative approach is proactive and will ensure that the strides women have made in the federal public sector continue to be maintained without the process being unnecessarily lengthy, costly and adversarial.

Our commitment to the fundamental values of fairness and equal rights between men and women is an example to the world.

[Shipbuilding Industry, December 2nd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the immense contribution that our government recently made to the future of my city, my province and our country.

After a fair, transparent and competitive process, the shipbuilding secretariat announced an $8 billion contract to North Vancouver's Seaspan Marine Corporation. This announcement was met with jubilation across British Columbia. I applaud our government for its success in implementing a fair and transparent arm's-length process.

As we have heard, this decision has been great news for Canadians, for British Columbians and for Vancouverites. By some estimates, our national shipbuilding procurement strategy will create 15,000 good jobs over the next 30 years, revitalizing our Canadian shipbuilding industry.

While the parties in opposition have no plan for growing our economy and creating jobs, our government supports job growth. We are delivering on our promise to create good jobs in high-tech industries across Canada and provide much-needed ships for the Canadian navy and Coast Guard.

I join the people of North Vancouver in congratulating Vancouver's Seaspan Marine Corporation on its successful bid.

[Taxation, November 30th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, this week I had the opportunity to read a new job-killing scheme from a backroom NDP strategist.

It is clear that the NDP actually believes that money is spent on tax cuts. The NDP actually believes that income does not belong to Canadians, that it is just the money government has been kind enough not to tax.

Our government has cut taxes so Canadians can spend and invest their tax savings into our economy and job creators can spend their tax savings, invest in new equipment and technology and hire new employees. Thanks to our Conservative government, Canadians are paying a lot less tax than they used to. In fact, the average Canadian family pays up to $3,000 less in taxes than it used to before we took office. The NDP opposed this tax relief.

The NDP's plans to impose job-killing taxes on Canadian families and business is the last thing our economy needs.

[Government Spending, November 25th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, under our government, Canada has created nearly 600,000 new jobs. Canadians gave us a strong mandate to protect and complete Canada's economic recovery. While the opposition is calling for higher taxes that would kill jobs and hurt the economy, our government has a plan to keep taxes low, focus on jobs for Canadians, and growing the economy.

Reckless spending and out of control debt are the key problems facing other countries today and we do not intend to follow that path.