Brian Jean

[Marine Liability Act, May 13th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to begin the third reading debate of Bill C-7, the Marine Liability Act. Let me first begin by saying that this bill has found support among many members of the House and across all party lines. I would like to express my thanks to the critics from all parties in relation to moving this bill forward for the benefit of Canadians.

I was very pleased to see that we were able to work so productively at the transport committee phase and I hope that that spirit of cooperation and collaboration will continue here in the Chamber. I do believe it will. At committee, we heard concerns from the tourism industry and legal experts. In several cases, we moved to address those concerns and strengthen this bill to make it even more effective as a piece of legislation for the benefit of all Canadians.

Indeed, all parties understand that there is a need to move forward on this bill to provide this country with the most comprehensive liability and compensation regime while balancing the concerns of all impacted stakeholders. We heard that this will be of great benefit to the industry and will impact all stakeholders across the country. This bill will significantly modernize the Marine Liability Act and offer greater protection from the risks associated with marine transportation from coast to coast.

For example, this bill will do four major things. First, it will significantly increase compensation for Canadians from damages caused by oil spills, which I am personally very excited about. I know that people across Canada are very interested in hearing more about that. Second, it will guarantee compensation for passengers on Canadian ships through compulsory insurance for shipowners. Third, it will recognize the commercial realities under which the marine adventure tourism sector must operate and make sure that the sector remains viable. We heard this from experts as well as people in the industry themselves. Finally, it will protect the interests of Canadian businesses that supply foreign ships that do not pay their bills through a form of lien, much like a builder's lien or a logger's lien.

Bill C-7 is the result of extensive consultations with stakeholders. I am pleased to inform the House that the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities also conducted its own thorough examination of the bill. The committee heard strong support from a number of stakeholders and experts in the areas of marine law and maritime transport. It made appropriate changes where indicated in the bill. The witnesses before the committee spoke of the balance that Bill C-7 needs to achieve by protecting the interests of the marine industry and of the Canadian public.

We heard loud and clear from witnesses that it was time for Canada to move forward with this type of legislation and for Canada to join the rest of the world in its move forward as well. As I said, the most exciting part is that this bill addresses the gaps in the liability and compensation regime for oil spills. As Bill C-7 is a priority for this government and would significantly advance maritime law in Canada, we are excited about its passage.

I would again like to thank and acknowledge the hard work of my colleagues on the committee. I hope that through continued collaboration on both sides of the House we will be able to move this bill forward without any further delay. Together, we can take one more step to modernize this important piece of legislation and protect Canadians for years to come.

I would like to thank the members of the committee one final time because it has been a very appropriate bill to push through in such a quick nature. Indeed, with their help, we will move it through the House.

[Fort McMurray--Athabasca, May 8th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, when people ask me what we have to offer in my riding of Fort McMurray--Athabasca, I am very proud to say that northern Alberta takes pride in having a Canadian heritage river, the Clearwater River; the largest lake in Alberta, Lake Athabasca; a protected UNESCO world heritage site, Wood Buffalo National Park; one of North America's oldest trade routes; one of the largest natural bison herds in the world; the last wild nesting area of the whooping crane; falcon nesting sites; salt plains; the largest non-desert sand dunes in the world; the best fall blueberries one has ever tasted; and, in my opinion, the hardest working people in Canada.

Northern Alberta is not only oil sands and the economic engine of Canada, it is also breathtaking, pristine, protected Canadian wilderness, a place that my constituents and I are proud to call home.

[May 4th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, this government has moved forward. We have moved forward with a tough on crime agenda, and that is what I heard from the member. I wonder why that member has not supported us in our tough on crime legislation. Why does the Liberal leader continue to suggest raising taxes but does not want to do anything in regard to getting tough on crime?

The agenda of the Conservative Party is to create Canadian jobs, create a better quality of life for Canadians and to get tough on crime by ensuring our communities are safe. We want Canadians to have a better quality of life than anywhere else in the world. We are getting the job done and I wish the member would get on board and help us with it.

[May 4th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to address the question raised by the hon. member for Etobicoke North.

I would like to take this opportunity to remind the House of the significant investments this Conservative government has made in infrastructure nationwide. Our government is delivering an economic action plan that will stimulate economic growth, create jobs and support Canadian families and Canadian jobs across the country.

This includes a $4 billion infrastructure stimulus fund to help provinces, territories and municipalities get projects started as soon as possible; $2 billion to accelerate construction at colleges and universities; $1 billion to create a new green infrastructure fund for new green infrastructure across this country; and $500 million to support construction of new community recreational facilities and upgrades to existing facilities that are in disrepair.

This Conservative government is the real deal. We have also flowed more than $307 million to provinces and territories under the provincial territorial base initiative. That is money more quickly given to them so they can spend it on their priorities.

Our government has taken some serious action in order to get shovels in the ground and projects under way as soon as possible to keep Canadians employed and get more Canadians employed.

Over the last few months, we have approved more than 500 projects in small communities across the country worth over $1.5 billion in combined funding. These projects will directly stimulate local economies nationwide.

We have also announced 21 major projects with a total federal contribution of $980 million, almost $1 billion, including the Evergreen transit line in Vancouver, the Edmonton southwest ring road, the GO Transit in Ontario and expansion of a drinking water facility in Lévis, Quebec.

We are getting the job done for Canadians. Since the start of the fiscal year, we have flowed $1 billion in gas tax money to towns and cities three months early so that they could put federal money to work right away creating those Canadian jobs and making more Canadian jobs. We will flow another $1 billion to municipalities later this year, doubling what they received in previous years.

That is just the start of the good news. In the member's own home province of Ontario, we asked municipalities to tell us what projects they could get going on with help from our infrastructure stimulus fund. The deadline for application just closed at the end of the day Friday.

Indeed, and despite the accusations of some of the parties opposite regarding municipalities not being ready to begin these projects, we have received 2,746 project proposals from over 425 municipalities province-wide, totalling approximately $6.1 billion. These are eligible costs and a requested federal contribution of $2.1 billion.

Our government is committed to working with our partners in the provinces, territories and municipalities in order to get projects moving and shovels in the ground as soon as possible. We are working with other levels of government to leverage two-thirds of the money to create more jobs and realize more projects.

We are getting the job done by expanding and accelerating our infrastructure investments and by cutting red tape that has been there for years. By working with other levels of government, as we are, we are ensuring Canada emerges from this global recession sooner than other countries and stronger than ever before with more jobs, more Canadian jobs.

[April 29th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I understand the member wants the government to address a problem that currently does not exist. However, we have a lot of issues with which we want to deal.

Our main issue right now on the government side is to create jobs, protect Canadian families, ensure there is food on the table and jobs for Canadians so they can continue to enjoy their quality of life. Although we understand what the member has said, he could not answer the question of whether he had been on or had seen a plane that had this situation.

However, I am happy to report that even as recently as this week, some airlines, such as WestJet, stationed in Calgary, have introduced their own policies to ensure good customer services and improved customer services. These are some of the best customer services in the world.

I hope I can work with the members opposite, including that member, to improve customer relations in all sectors of the economy, to keep the Canadian economy strong and keep jobs in Canada.

[April 29th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, that is a an important one. I think consumers in Canada are very interested in whether they would have to pay to use the washroom at some time in the future. At this stage, it would be a question that would be answered by the airline itself. I fly almost every week out of my constituencies in northern Alberta and I can assure members that I would not fly on an airline that charged to use the washroom.

Our government also has some concerns with the bill the member has brought forward. Bill C-310 is part of the promotional activity that brings about this question. In fact, we spoke to members of the opposition at second reading a few weeks ago.

The government has stood up for consumers over the past three years. We are trying to stand up for consumers, while at the same time not impeding economic growth, which is so important for our country. Right now, there is a tremendous amount of job loss in the world. Although somewhat better off than any other country in the world, Canada will not be insulated from the fact that we will have some job losses. As such, we want to ensure we continue to promote economic growth.

Our economic action plan has outlined a very ambitious plan to stimulate the economy through targeted investments in infrastructure, industry and tax credits. We are getting the job done and protecting consumers at the same time. We want to ensure that the families, mothers and fathers continue to have jobs and continue to have the great quality of life that they have come to expect from a Canadian economy.

Our government has also met with consumer associations, industry representatives and airlines in relation to the member's proposed bill. There are a lot of issues with the bill and we want to ensure we balance them. On one side, we want to ensure consumers and people who use planes throughout the country have the rights they need in order to encourage them to fly. Flying creates economic growth as well. At the same time, we need to ensure those airlines continue to operate effectively in Canada, with a Canadian logo and flag on their aircraft.

From my consultations, even with the members opposite, I can honestly say there is a sincere interest from all sides of the House, especially from the government side, to improve the protection of the travelling public. However, as I mentioned, we cannot turn a blind eye to the economic realities facing the airline industry at this moment. From your knowledge of the industry, Mr. Speaker, as well as from the knowledge of the members opposite, we know the airline industry is going through somewhat of a change at this stage. Indeed, the industry around the world is going through somewhat of a change.

The global economic downturn has had a serious impact on both business and recreational travel. We have heard from stakeholders involved. They have said that this would be the worst possible time to introduce punitive measures into the industry. We are going to use a balanced approach to deal with this matter. We want to focus on creating jobs, not cutting jobs, as the member is proposing. We are going to support Canadian families.

How many times has the member opposite been on a plane that charged to use the washroom? Even though I fly many times a week, I had never heard of such a thing before he raised the question. Could he answer that for me?

[April 20th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the member's concern for the families that he represents, the same as I have concern for the families that I represent, but what he is suggesting would have no long term or short term benefit for the families he is trying to help.

Indeed, Canada on its own, in concert with other NAFTA governments, has raised concerns regarding steel policies around the world in relation to the World Trade Organization, in relation to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and bilaterally, for instance, with the Chinese officials on a number of occasions over the last several years.

Canada's producers have access to anti-dumping and countervail measures to defend themselves in this very particular situation against dumped and subsidized imports that can injure them. Our government will continue to stand up for the steel industry and we will ensure that Canadian families and Canadian workers benefit.

[April 20th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, this government does take this issue very seriously because it is about Canadian families, Canadian jobs and about keeping Canadians at the high standard and quality of life that we enjoy.

The government has and will continue to stand up for all industries in Canada, including the steel industry. However, as a trading nation, our steel producers must have access not only to markets but to the tools they need to be competitive, including the ability to address unfairly dumped or subsidized imports. This is particularly true of the steel industry as it is a global industry.

The steel industry competes in a highly competitive, global market that continues to face many challenges, especially today with what is happening in the world. These include global overcapacity and trade distorting policies such as subsidies, as the member mentioned, in many countries.

The Canadian industry is highly integrated in relation to the North American marketplace. In fact, more than 80% of our exports go to the United States and we import just as much. It is amazing to see the integration of that particular market. With specialized factories on both sides of the border, specialized factories doing one thing but not the other, steel products move back and forth across the border in processed and in finished form.

Any threat to market access in either country would simply disrupt this critical industry that is so important to Canadian families and Canadian workers. That is exactly why our government was so heavily engaged with the United States when the buy American provisions were included in the economic stimulus package. We were worried and we took it very seriously and took very serious steps immediately. We continue to encourage the U.S. administration to implement the provisions in a manner that is consistent with its international trade obligations and consistent with our relationship with the United States.

We recognize the gravity of the current economic situation and its role in the promotion of growth and prosperity. In budget 2009, this accelerates and expands federal infrastructure investments with almost $12 billion in new funding over two years. This is great news for the steel industry, for Canadians, for Canadian workers and for their families.

At the same time, the government recognizes that all Canadian industries, including steel, can be confronted with injuries such as dumping or subsidized imports. That is why we have measures, such as our Special Import Measures Act, that allow Canadian producers to seek protection from such imports. That is very important and we have the tools in place to do so. This law is there to protect Canadian producers and the steel industry is one of the most frequent users of this law. Canada has anti-dumping or countervail duties in place against imports of six steel products from twelve different countries, including major exporters like China and India.

On April 15, 2009, Canada, along with the United States and Mexico, submitted formal comments on the Chinese government on China's 2005 iron and steel industry development policy. These comments were the most recent action in continued pressure by NAFTA countries on China to limit government intervention in the steel sector.

We are standing up for Canadian workers. We are standing up for the steel sector.

[April 20th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, among other things, we have also extended and expanded the work-sharing program, an innovative method by the government to keep more Canadians employed.

We have extended the duration of EI benefits, exactly as the member asked, by expanding nationally a pilot project which already provided five extra weeks of EI benefits to EI claimants in areas of high unemployment. Can he not take yes for an answer? We have also increased the maximum duration of EI benefits available under the EI program, from 45 to 50 weeks.

Through our economic action plan, we will help over 400,000 people benefit from these additional five weeks of EI benefits. We will help 190,000 Canadians, including long-tenured and older workers, get retrained to find a new job and put food on the table for their families. We will help create tens of thousands of new jobs while building and renovating tens of thousands of homes for those most in need.

We are getting the job done for Canadians in the best interests of their families.

[April 20th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I can assure members that the government takes it very seriously when even one Canadian loses a job. I can assure the hon. member for Dartmouth—Cole Harbour that our government is very concerned. We are taking action to ensure that we minimize, as much as possible, the impact on Canadian families when they lose their jobs.

All of us in this place know the challenges many Canadians are facing in these uncertain global economic times, particularly, as unemployment rates rise. I think the member is ignoring the situation of the world itself and how great Canada's position economically is compared to the rest of the world. However, we are not, by any stretch of the imagination, ignoring the plight of Canadians, especially when they face the low demand by international markets and, indeed, ultimately job losses.

We understand the stresses that many Canadians workers and their families face and we empathize with them. During these difficult times, the priority of the Conservative government is to ensure that Canadians who are eligible to receive EI benefits receive these benefits as quickly as possible.

That being said, our government and the Department of HRSD have already taken steps to make significant investments to meet the increasing numbers of EI claims and those efforts continue today, and will continue into the future, in the best interests of Canadians.

To this effect, we have allocated $60 million for EI processing, including hiring additional staff, to ensure that Canadians who need help get that help as soon as possible. Beyond this, we have taken many steps to meet the increased demand.

In fact, we have hired or recalled additional employees and retirees all across the country to process claims more quickly. We have redistributed the workload to increase speed and efficiency and to help maintain consistent service levels across all regions of Canada.

We have listened to Canadians and we have reacted with speed and with steps that will help Canadians and their families facing job losses.

We have also increased overtime. We have increased the level of automation of claims processing. We have opened EI call centres on Saturdays, which will go a long way to help Canadians who are in need today and will process claims more quickly.

Through these measures, the department has processed significantly more claims nationally this year than over the same time last year, and we continue to take action to meet this increasing demand.

Let me also mention that under the Canada skills and transition strategy, the government will invest $1 billion over two years under existing labour market agreements so the provinces and territories can train an additional 100,000 EI eligible Canadians. The training is for their future and the future of Canada. This new money will support workers and their families in hard hit industries and regions throughout the country.

This government understands the needs facing Canadians at this time and we are doing everything possible to solve those needs and to do it in the best interests of Canadians, unemployed workers and their families.