Brent Rathgeber

[Liberal Party of Canada, April 23rd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, as the world faces a daunting financial crisis, Canadians know that their Conservative government is a sound manager of the economy. They know we would never raise economy-killing taxes. In fact, our economic action plan has already reduced taxes by a further $20 billion.

Unfortunately, the Liberal Party has another plan. Just last week the Liberal leader and member for Etobicoke—Lakeshore said, “We will have to raise taxes”. The Liberal plan is to raise taxes on all Canadian families.

The Liberals said that they would reverse the 2% GST cut that this Conservative government made. Then they said that they would bring in a job-killing carbon tax. Now they are openly talking about broad, wide-sweeping increases to taxes across the board.

Canadians have a right to know this. What taxes are the Liberals proposing to raise? How much are they going to raise them? Which Canadians are going to be targeted and forced to pay those taxes?

[Criminal Code, March 12th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Windsor—Tecumseh for his speech and for his contribution to the justice committee. I also sit on the justice committee and I always enjoy and learn something from my friend. He is a tax lawyer, as I am, and we do not always have the same viewpoints, but I always find his contribution meaningful and insightful.

In the member's preamble, he talked about some delays that this government has allegedly encountered with respect to moving forward on its crime bill and, specifically, he commented about the actions of the justice committee in the 39th Parliament on which, I understand he was a member. I was not as I was not a member of the 39th Parliament.

The hon. member will know that committees are the authors of their own agendas, but it is my understanding that the reason the justice committee in the 39th Parliament did not study the bills that were before Parliament was its absolute insistence, the sub judice rule notwithstanding, to study the then litigation between two members of the House and the Liberal Party of Canada. The justice committee's preoccupation with that piece of litigation was the reason that the committee did not go forward on the justice bills.

[Criminal Code, March 12th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, I listened very intently to the comments of the member opposite. I am happy to hear that at least in principle his party is prepared to support Bill C-14.

I listened to his comments regarding mandatory minimum sentences and they disturbed me slightly. We have heard compelling testimony at the justice committee and elsewhere. The hon. member is a member of that committee and makes very constructive contributions to that committee and I commend him for that.

We have heard very compelling testimony from families of victims whose loved ones have been murdered by individuals with multiple Criminal Code convictions and while they were either on bail or on judicial interim release.

In light of that type of compelling testimony from the family members of deceased victims of crime, I am curious why he does not support the imposition of minimum mandatory sentences.

[Petitions, March 12th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, I would like to present this petition signed by over 200 Canadians from the Edmonton—St. Albert constituency, calling for Parliament to enact legislation that will make the production and distribution of explicit pornography illegal in Canada.

[Small Business, March 10th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, small business is the engine of economic growth and will be the main driver of economic activity as we navigate our way out of this current economic downturn.

As governments wrestle with appropriate stimulus packages and many major transnational corporations are forced to significantly downsize their operations, it is the small business sector that continues to operate efficiently, and in the process creates and maintains jobs and contributes to our GDP.

On Friday, February 27, I had the honour of hosting the Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism at a round table forum of small business leaders from Edmonton—St. Albert. We enjoyed a frank and open discussion of some of the challenges and also some of the successes of the entrepreneurs operating within my constituency.

One such enterprise, the Tudor Glen Veterinary Hospital, was honoured that night at the Alberta Business Awards of Distinction for demonstrated excellence as a small business.

I would like all members of the House to congratulate all successful small businesses, the backbone of the Canadian economy.

[Employment Insurance Act, February 26th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, it is certainly a pleasure for me to rise and speak in opposition to Bill C-241 proposed by the hon. member for Brome—Missisquoi.

I can assure my hon. colleague and all members of the House that his concerns for the plight of unemployed workers are shared by all members of the government, including this member. In fact, I am sure there is not a single member in the House from whatever party who is not equally concerned with the needs of laid off workers and their families. Each and every one of us has stories of hardship in our own riding. All members of the House are determined to do whatever we can to help our constituents.

As the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources previously said during this debate, one of the things that came up constantly through the government's consultations was that EI benefits needed to be lengthened in order to provide greater assistance to those facing long-term challenges in looking for work. That is why the government's economic action plan has provided that for the next two years we will make available nationally the five weeks of extended EI benefits that had previously been available through a pilot project only in regions with the highest unemployment. The government will also increase the maximum duration of benefits to 50 weeks, up from the current 45.

As a result, 400,000 Canadians could benefit from these changes. These measures will provide financial support for a longer period of time to unemployed Canadians who would otherwise have exhausted their benefits. This means unemployed workers will have more time to seek employment while still receiving benefits from the employment insurance mechanism.

It is my opinion, and I believe the opinion of members on this side of the House, that this approach better suits the needs of Canadians than simply eliminating the two week waiting period. The fact is that during these uncertain times many people will be off work for longer periods of time. That is where our EI help needs to be targeted and that is where this government has targeted.

To address the most pressing needs of workers today Canada's economic action plan is investing $8.3 billion for the Canada skills and transition strategy. To ensure that more Canadians could access the training and skills upgrading they need to land the jobs of the future, our government has invested unprecedented amounts in training programs.

These investments will help 160,000 people, including long tenured and older workers, get retrained to find a new job and put food on the table for their families. The government will also help those who normally would not qualify for employment insurance access to training they need to re-enter the workforce.

Ensuring that our country has the best educated, most skilled and most flexible workforce in the world is vital for our long-term economic recovery. Supporting the development and training of unemployed workers will keep the Canadian economy growing and our communities prospering. Equally important, with the right training, people can get good jobs and have better opportunities for themselves, their families and their future.

We listened to the concerns of many employers and also employees. This is why the government is freezing EI premium rates for 2010 at $1.73 per $100. This is the same rate as 2009 and is projected to provide $4.5 billion in economic stimulus.

To help companies and employees adapt to the current economic downturn we are also extending the duration of work sharing agreements by 14 weeks to a maximum of 52 weeks. This will enable Canadians to continue working while companies adjust to a temporary slowdown and recover.

To complement this measure we are also proposing to increase access to work sharing agreements through greater flexibility in the qualifying criteria. This measure will help many Canadians stay working through these uncertain economic times.

The government has weighed the options and decided to focus our resources on helping workers and families that need help the most. Our actions will provide more support to Canadians for a longer period of time, something that this bill will not do.

It is clear that the government has listened and responded to the needs of Canadian workers and their employers to enable them to get through this rough economic patch as quickly as possible.

Like all elements of the government's economic action plan, these improvements in investments will help Canadians weather the current economic downturn and come out stronger than ever.

Therefore, with all due respect for the good intentions that this bill attempts to portray, I urge all members of the House to defeat this bill. Instead, I call on all parties to work together with the government to advance Canada's economic action plan, the real long-term solution to our current challenges.

In closing, Canada's economic action plan will help more Canadians for a longer period of time with much more lasting benefit. I think that deserves wholehearted support by all members of this honourable House.

[Arctic Sovereignty, February 13th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday we learned that Russia would be placing top priority on staking its supposed claim to the Arctic. It is reported that the Russians intend to modernize their icebreaking fleet and to station more research personnel in the Arctic area. Canadians are rightly concerned about these competing claims to the Arctic.

Could the Minister of Foreign Affairs please advise the House and clarify the government's strategy to affirm Canada's sovereignty over the Arctic?

[The Budget, February 3rd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the home renovation tax credit program is a program that I believe many constituents in northwest Edmonton and the city of St. Albert will be able to access.

Many projects have been put off for a considerable period of time. As is reasonably well-known in this House, until very recently Alberta has had an overcharged economy and as a result was frequently unable to find tradespersons to do that type of work. At this point in our economy it is slowing down and workers are available. I think the people in my riding and all over Alberta will take advantage of the $1,350 maximum tax credit to do some renovations to their homes and to put some tradespeople back to work.

[The Budget, February 3rd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I think I posed it as a query in my comments as to whether or not there was such a thing as a responsible deficit, but I would advocate that if there is such a thing this is it because these are extraordinary times where Canada is heading into economic turmoil beyond its control with the potential for a large downturn in economic growth, and of course the job losses that come with it.

With respect to the second part of his comment and question, the Minister of Infrastructure has laid out a five point plan. We are in the process of approving projects. Shovel-ready projects of course will be the first to go. Other projects will be rolled out. These are the types of projects that will immediately put money back into the economy and put Canadians back to work.

[The Budget, February 3rd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the hard work that the Minister of Infrastructure is doing and the process that he and his department have had in promoting this economic package.

Clearly Canadians require stimulus at this time. Public Works and Infrastructure has long been a part of the Canadian tradition, from the national railway that our first prime minister undertook to the impressive projects that this government will be undertaking. I congratulate the Minister of Infrastructure for his contribution to the economic stimulus package.