Brian Masse

[Energy Efficiency Act, May 6th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I will ask the member for Halifax West the same question I asked the parliamentary secretary, who refused to answer. This is an issue of fairness. This is the home renovation tax credit, which the parliamentary secretary introduced into this debate. Because 25% of Canadians are renters, they will be unable to have access to this type of a tax credit.

If people have cottages somewhere and they want to put on decks or sod their lawns, they will be able to access this tax credit. Meanwhile, if a renting senior or others who have been in facilities for a long time want to update their windows to have energy reductions on their bills and reduce greenhouse gases, they will not be eligible for the tax credit.

Does the member for Halifax West think that is fair?

[Energy Efficiency Act, May 6th, 2009]

What about apartments? You can't answer the question because you are too embarrassed.

[Energy Efficiency Act, May 6th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the parliamentary secretary about the home renovation tax credit as he is using that as a crutch for this bill.

It is important to recognize that in this tax credit scheme that the government has going, which does have some good stuff in it, it leaves out renters. Approximately 25% of Canadians are renters and it is even higher in Quebec. For example, a Muskoka cottage owner who builds a deck or re-sods the lawn can get a tax credit but renters cannot. What about renters in co-ops, especially seniors who are long term renters, who want to install new windows to reduce costs? Many apartment buildings have electric and other types of inefficient heating systems and renters need the opportunity to lower their bills because they are usually in the greatest need of support as they are lower on the income scale.

I would like to ask the parliamentary secretary why the government does not fix this. Why has it decided to punish many Canadians by not letting them into this program, especially when they could be putting savings in their pockets instead of subsidizing those who want to build decks and re-sod their lawns in Muskoka?

[Petitions, May 6th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the last petition I wish to present today is signed by thousands of Canadians, and it relates to Canadian pension funds. Drastic things are happening right now with respect to the economy, and Canadians are at risk.

The petitioners call upon the Parliament of Canada to protect workers' pension funds by extending to employee pension obligations super-priority preferred creditor protection in cases of bankruptcy or court mandated corporate restructuring.

The petitioners urge the government to establish a pension guarantee agency equivalent in operation to the institutes that exist in the United States of America at the federal level.

By the volume of signatures, you can see that Canadians are concerned about their protection and they want the government to act.

[Petitions, May 6th, 2009]

My next petition, Mr. Speaker, relates to the issue of Falun Gong practitioners and organ harvesting. The petitioners are protesting the fact that the Chinese government is targeting these individuals.

The petitioners are calling upon the Government of Canada to have a stronger presence to ensure these individuals will be protected.

The petitioners are calling on the Canadian government to help stop the atrocities, by condemning the Communist regime for committing these crimes against humanity; urging the Chinese regime to end the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and releasing all Falun Gong practitioners immediately; taking active measures to help stop the mass killing and organ harvesting of Falun Gong participants; and discouraging Canadians from travelling to China for organ transplants.

[Petitions, May 6th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition I wish to present contains hundreds of signatures, and it relates to the crisis in employment insurance.

The petitioners call upon the Parliament of Canada to deal with the crisis affecting many industries, including the auto industry in my riding.

The petitioners are asking the Government of Canada for a qualification requirement of 360 hours for EI benefits in all regions of Canada; an increase in benefit duration to at least 50 weeks in all regions; elimination of the two-week waiting period; benefits that are at least 60% of normal earnings; use of the 12 best weeks of employment and suspension of the allocation of severance pay. The petitioners are also suggesting more flexible and innovative use of EI work sharing to keep people at work.

The present economy is costing these petitioners so much.

[Petitions, May 6th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I have four petitions that I would like to present to the House today.

The first petition calls attention to the situation in Sri Lanka. The petitioners note that the lives of 200,000 to 250,000 Tamils currently in the combat zone are at risk.

The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to use every diplomatic means possible to call for a ceasefire, and to work with the international community to ensure the government of Sri Lanka stops its military attacks so the civilian population can be moved out.

The petitioners also want to make sure there is a strong UN position to end the violence.

[Customs Act, May 4th, 2009]

Nothing changes, Mr. Speaker. If an employee of CBSA is acting inappropriately, someone should approach the supervisor. None that changes in this particular bill, because there is nothing at this point that has been proposed for that.

[Customs Act, May 4th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, it is a very serious issue, and I was going to make some comment but I will not. If the member is being pulled over so often, what she might do is try to find out whether something is popping up on her record. It is unusual to have that type of situation.

I do not know whether the member is being cross-referenced with someone else. The member does not look suspicious to me, and I am sure her children do not look suspicious either.

However, the member brings up a very interesting point. It does happen on our Canadian side too. I often talk to different people who are entering the United States. I think it is one of the reasons we should institute a border czar on both sides, to work together on certain things.

It is ironic that we have all this material coming in from the ports that is never screened at all. It gets into our country. Some of its poisonous material, whether it be toys or food. Only 4% is checked.

Meanwhile, at our land border crossings, they pull over a minivan with a couple of parents and kids and send it through twice the security. Therefore, I think it is a valid point.

[Customs Act, May 4th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I actually used to work at Community Living Mississauga, so I am a former Mississauga worker and wish all those at Community Living Mississauga all the best. I have relatives there as well. I point to that derailment because it is so real.

I thank the member for talking about the issues of those who work in the United States. There are so many of them over there, along the border, that it is incredible. It goes both ways. We have Americans working in Canada as well. That is part of the strength of our social and cultural relationships and it is good for business as well.

One of the saddest things is that, despite corporate tax cuts that the government has given, it has not taken up the movement of its own member, the member for Essex, on the social security bill.

This was done under the Paul Martin administration, where the government taxed U.S. social security recipients resident in Canada at a different level than before. There have been many promises on the Conservative side, but the government has not even moved on the private member's bill of one of its members and we have the continued taxation of U.S. social security recipients in Canada.

The reality is that we are going to continue, hopefully, to have some of those relationships, because it is not just about the employment that takes place. It also about the research and development that we share among us.

As a good example, today we saw that Canada is losing one of its top scientists to Florida, because the United States has attracted him with the Obama administration's intent to have research and training move forward, versus the Canadian government here. However, there will still be some connection with Montreal.

These are important aspects not only in terms of the hard economy that we think of, such as automotive in my community, but it is also related to research and development as well as other types of problem-solving around social issues.