Brian Masse

[Janet Greene-Potomski, May 2nd, 2005]

Madam Speaker, I rise today with great sadness in my heart. Last Tuesday, Janet Greene-Potomski, a dedicated and tireless advocate for underprivileged and disadvantaged women, died after a long battle with breast cancer.

Janet moved to Windsor from Dearborn, Michigan about 20 years ago to live with her husband. She immediately became involved with the Women's Incentive Centre which provides support, counselling and job training for women.

Janet worked to turn this centre into the important community asset it is today, where hundreds of women have been provided with job training to get and keep better jobs. Janet was the executive director of the WIC and worked for others even in her final hours.

To Stan and her son David, I thank them for sharing their wife and mother with our community. She will be missed, but her contributions and work in our community will remind us always of this dedicated, passionate and tireless advocate. Thanks, Janet, and God bless.

[Kyoto Protocol, May 2nd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure for me to speak to Motion No. 162. I am not surprised that we are debating a motion like this one in the House of Commons, because there has been a lack of leadership on this file. It really is unfortunate.

A groundswell of Canadians support the Kyoto accord. It is one of the first times there has been a major environmental initiative across the planet to deal with climate change. It is an environmental issue that could turn the world around in many respects. It shows that nations can work together and that there is a collective responsibility for our precious planet. We as humans sharing the planet with other species have a responsibility to ensure that as the custodians we will pass on a legacy better than the one we are dealing with right now.

This lost opportunity is a black mark on Canadian diplomacy, not only abroad but also at home. That is why a motion such as Motion No. 162 is before the House of Commons. The motion states:

That, in the opinion of this House, the government should cede to the government of Quebec, with full financial compensation, complete responsibility for implementing the Kyoto Protocol within its jurisdiction.

It comes at the end of a decade of Liberal promises to deal with climate change, to invest in the environment. They have not done so adequately to the needs of Canadians. I must say to the people of Quebec and to the Quebec government that they have actually been in the forefront in many respects in dealing with climate change. They have more progressive policies related to the environment and more progressive policies related to energy. They have more progressive policies in engaging their own constituencies on how to solve this issue. This is something which shows the weakness of the current federal government. The politics of divide has resulted in more complications with regard to provincial and federal issues because of the mismanagement of this file.

Let us look at the role of the nation on this file. Canadians were very proud that not only were we participants in the Kyoto accord but we talked about how it could affect the net benefit of changing economies and also the health and welfare of Canadians. That relates also to our revenues. It relates to everything, from being at the forefront of creating new technology which creates jobs, to being at the forefront of other nations, to making sure that the air we breathe is cleaner, that the water we drink is safer, and that our food production and distribution practices make for a better quality of life for Canadians.

It is really sad that for a decade we have watched greenhouse gas emissions go up, despite the Liberals' promises in the red book. The Prime Minister promised to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but they have gone up significantly on his watch. It has been very difficult to get the Liberals to bring forward a policy that Canadians could understand and buy into and one which they would actually respect.

The New Democrats are concerned that the Kyoto plan the government has brought forward is so late in the day that it requires us to purchase credits from abroad. That is irresponsible. In the last decade we have had plenty of opportunities to invest in cleaner technologies, to make sure that the jobs are going to be here, that the finances in the nation stay here so that we have the best of both worlds. It has been very difficult for Canadians to see what is happening on the one tonne challenge. The onus is being thrown back on them as individuals because no constructive plan has been brought forth. The one we have right now is certainly deficient.

I want to briefly touch upon the auto industry. Voluntary and mandatory emissions have been mentioned numerous times. For a number of years we have been asking the government to bring forward a national auto policy. Canada was very successful in negotiating the auto pact. It was collapsed under NAFTA. The auto pact was something that brought a lot of Canadian jobs, a lot of Canadian skilled work, a lot of pride and a lot of tax revenue. A lot of Canadians may not recognize that we export to the United States and abroad, but particularly to the United States, approximately 80% of the vehicles that are manufactured and assembled here in Canada.

Our success in this industry has led to a lot of wealth. Individuals who have decent paying jobs contribute back to the economy at a significantly higher rate than those in other professions. They also provide for good working conditions. Some of the issues related to worker health and safety have been led by unions to ensure that people are protected when they deal with chemicals and other types of substances in their work.

We have literally had to continually beg the government to bring in an auto policy. We were promised that a policy would be brought to cabinet by Christmas and the Minister of Industry has not done so. We have not seen it. Nothing has come out. Despite the Canadian Automotive Partnership Council tabling its report, a national round table that was set up about a year and a half or two years ago, it still has yet to see the light of day in terms of specific action.

Specific to this file there is an issue. We are losing out on opportunities to renew the auto industry, which can do two things. First, it can provide for the production and manufacture of cleaner vehicles that will hit our streets a lot quicker and we could become a world leader ensuring that emissions are reduced significantly.

Second, it can protect us from losing jobs, jobs that have basically been stolen and have gone to China, Alabama and Mississippi. The United States has massively subsidized its industry, as well as Mexico, to procure Canadian jobs away from us. That loses very important tax base revenue. Speaking from an auto sector viewpoint in an auto town, I can say that workers would be able to afford to fix their homes and contribute to the economy through taxation which would provide for incentives and other necessary measures to meet our international obligations on climate change.

One of the recommendations that CAPC made is very specific to this. The third recommendation in the report states:

--auto-focused innovation incentives such as early commercialization tax credits, consumer supports to encourage the purchase of environmentally friendly vehicle technologies and more effective supports for manufacturing process innovation.

We know the auto industry has a lot of challenges with regard to greenhouse emissions and pollution in our society because of the way we have chosen to use vehicles and the way they have been part of our economy. At the same time, the new biodiesel fuel, the new hybrids, and the Canadian biotechnology are real solutions that are going to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. If those plants are in our communities and in our country, we are going to be successful.

Instead, what the government has done is turn its back on the auto industry in many respects and has tried to save jobs on an ad hoc plant-by-plant basis at the last minute. We are witnessing many of them now going not only to the United States and Mexico but also to Pakistan and China.

The worst recipe for all of this is the fact that we in Canada may end up producing some of the higher emission vehicles that will find less markets. For example, California is a significant market for automobiles and has standards, rules and obligations. We will be locked out of those markets. If that is the case, we will have less opportunities to compete as other states like New York and a lot of the eastern seaboard states move to mandatory auto emission regulations. I do not want to see production facilities in this country that meet partial parts in the market.

Canadians could certainly support the auto industry moving to those greener technologies and at the same time protecting their jobs. It is unfortunate that this gem of an opportunity has been lost. It really comes at a time when we are going to lose those investment opportunities to other nations.

I want to touch on another issue, which we are finally seeing the government being dragged into, kicking and screaming. We are one of the few nations until recently, and the budget has to be passed first, that does not support mass public transit. In fact, we are the only G-8 country that has not been participating on mass transit on a regular basis. This is another issue where we are going to see some reservations from different provinces and some hesitation about the overall plan. They have witnessed opportunities the government could have had to invest in the actual applications that affect many of the citizens of our communities.

In the province of Ontario we have literally thousands of people who are affected by smog every summer and some die. Smog is something that we can control. We can improve the air quality. It is a controllable factor. Other nations have taken responsibility and shown due diligence and an interest to be part of the solution.

I have concerns with the insinuation that we are moving to cleaner coal. This reminds me of those commercials where they say to buy fresh frozen vegetables. This is not consistent.

We must ensure that we take control of our environmental participation. The Kyoto accord is something that should have galvanized Canadians instead of dividing Canadians and that is what is happening because of the irresponsibility of this government for not having a plan.

[Privilege, April 18th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, in light of your ruling, I move:

That my question of privilege arising from inaccurate and misleading mailings from the Conservative Party Caucus sent to my constituents be immediately referred to the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs for further consideration.

[Question No. 114, April 15th, 2005]

With regard to a new international crossing in the Windsor-Detroit corridor: ( a ) what discussions have taken place regarding public versus private ownership; and ( b ) what timelines have been set for decision-making for the new crossing?

(Return tabled)

[Question No. 113, April 15th, 2005]

What discussions have taken place between government officials regarding the proposal to “twin“ the Ambassador Bridge with: ( a ) the Ambassador Bridge Company; ( b ) the Canadian Transit Company; and ( c ) any other level of Canadian or American government?

(Return tabled)

[Budget Implementation Act, 2005, April 12th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, that is probably the easiest question I have received since being here.

It creates a heightened awareness of why the public is upset right now with what is going on with the sponsorship inquiry. Quite frankly what we have right now is taxpayers are funding Liberal lawyers to ask other people who contributed to Liberals or were part of the Liberal system about what happened to their money. They are insulted about that because they see the lack of resources at the federal level in their community.

The budget has been trumpeted as an environmental budget. When people this summer are choking on smog again, they are going to realize that just putting money in foundations away from the view of Parliament is not the way to run a government. The absolute waste and lack of accountability is what is irking people today.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2005, April 12th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure of the volume of traffic in Abbotsford, but I know in the Windsor-Detroit corridor there are 14,000 trucks per day. It is the single most busiest border in North America and probably the world, and it is very deficient.

I do not think we should have to make choices. The member brings forward a valid point in terms of the congestion that Abbotsford might be facing right now.

We have watched the government delay and dither, despite the warning signs and resolutions from local councils. I was on city council and I have been here since 2002. It is not just about people in the local area who are impacted by the pollution, degradation and unsafe conditions that they have to face, because trucks are backed up basically in people's yards and in front of their businesses. It is also about the economic barrier we face as goods and services for other communities cannot get across the border in a timely fashion. Decisions on expansion of plants and services are not being followed through on because of the backups are a problem.

I would argue quite frankly that the corporate tax cut is an obscene element of the budget. That money should be going into infrastructure. I am a strong proponent of infrastructure. It creates jobs. It creates lasting facilities which create economic prosperity for all of us. It is also what the private sector is clamouring for, not only in Ontario but right across the country.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2005, April 12th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise today on Bill C-43, the Budget Implementation Act, 2005.

If I may start with the previous discussion on post-secondary education, I will be pleased to forward today's Hansard to my provincial member of Parliament who has said that the federal government has shirked its responsibility and needs to do more for the province of Ontario. We have some of the most crippling student debt and costs related to post-secondary education.

The federal government's Liberal cousins seem to feel it is the federal Liberals who have shortchanged them. It is the federal Liberals, their cousins, who have created a funding gap. The responsibility has been shirked onto them unfairly by the federal government.

I will make sure that the debate is forwarded to them. That provincial member was at a meeting that we had locally at St. Clair College and said that Premier Dalton McGuinty actually supported post-secondary education, but the federal government which has a surplus is where the real problem is. The federal government is the one that has the recipe to solve the problems.

I am going to focus my comments regarding Bill C-43 on a couple of topics. This is a very wide-ranging bill. Bill C-43 disappoints me because it does not lead to the prosperity that is needed for the long term in economic policy.

We in the New Democratic Party will not be supporting the budge because it is a betrayal of Canadian voters who wanted progressive change. The country has to move past the malaise that has dominated this decade of Liberal rule. The NDP is fighting for a responsible rebuilding of the nation that made a difference in the world as a leader, not a follower, and offered a strong social identity to develop and foster economic prosperity that will raise the standard of living for all Canadians, not just a select few.

Although this Liberal minority budget is an improvement over the past majority budgets, it fails the test of breaking the troubling pattern of Liberal budgets that leave mainstream Canadians behind for the benefit of a few. The most glaring example of this injustice is the fanatical drive to continue to empty the public purse through corporate tax cuts which do nothing to ensure employment wages and standards, or job security.

Indeed, the Prime Minister's election ploy to vote Liberal to keep the Conservatives at bay because the Liberals have values similar to the NDP is fraudulent and insulting at best.

At a time when ordinary Canadians are struggling more than ever to feed their families, to send their children to college or university, and to pay off their debts, the Liberals are prepared to hand over more of the taxpayers' money to Bay Street. Canadian corporations earned record operating profits last year of $204.5 billion, which is up nearly 19%. At a time when corporations have reached record operating profits and after a decade of billions of dollars in tax cuts, at a time when we have massive infrastructure deficits, when Canadians are struggling the most and corporations are benefiting the most, the government has decided to shovel more money to the corporations, nearly $5 billion.

While mainstream Canadians are being asked to put personal goals and financial security aside, the government is emptying the coffers, at a time when we need to seize the industrial opportunities that will protect the environment, raise living standards and position our labour market in the world.

This glaring example demonstrates the gap of rhetoric of Liberal promises and final capitulation to Conservative policy goals. At the end of the day, they do not represent Canadian values and thus the budget fails to deserve the support of the NDP.

Despite all the rhetoric, it fails to address a national auto strategy, an aerospace strategy, shipbuilding or agricultural realities. Indeed, the budget does very little for those who build Canadian cars, airplanes or feed our country and the world.

Ask those Canadians if their insurance companies which realized record profits from increased premiums and reduced coverage deserve another tax break. They are getting it. In 2002 the insurance industry brought in $350 million in profits. In 2003 it brought in $2.6 billion in profits. In 2004 it has now brought in $4.2 billion in profits, yet the Liberals are giving them another break.

It is not right. I know that in my constituency young people struggle to pay premiums on their cars. In fact, some pay more for auto insurance than they do for leasing the vehicles.

It is not acceptable. It hinders our economy. It hinders the success of our young people. Those companies certainly do not deserve a reward.

Ask Canadians who watch the banks rake in record profits, close branch locations, raise fees, play fast and loose with our personal privacy and charge predatory interest rates on credit cards if the banks deserve a break.

Do Canadian values reside in this budgetary accomplishment? Apparently Liberals think so. If they cannot give the public money to their friends or back to the Liberal Party as the Gomery testimony indicates, they will reward the corporate sector at the expense of ordinary Canadians. They did not even have the decency to at least isolate areas where we might stop that from happening, areas that do not deserve money back and do not deserve the public trust with their dollars. They should be paying their responsible share.

The argument that policies of free trade, deregulation, privatization and tax cuts would trickle down to create investment has not borne fruit. Recent economic data demonstrates that this strategy has not resulted in new quality jobs. Rather, this failed government policy has required an ad hoc intervention policy in sectors like auto, air, textiles and agriculture to protect the status quo.

Overall Canadian productivity has stalled since 2002, coupled with a significant decline in capital investment as a percentage of the GDP. Why would we continue to reinforce this economic model that will not generate more investment, prosperity and quality jobs for Canadians? In fact, many corporations and businesses no longer profess the tax cut as a tonic for their survival or growth.

Take the auto industry, for example. It would rather see infrastructure items like the Windsor-Detroit corridor as budgetary priorities to ship and receive their goods and services along the U.S.-Canada border. This tax cut will not provide the infrastructure required, nor the staffing and security measures being demanded by the U.S. The duplicity of promise and action is best represented in this particular example.

In his budget speech, the Minister of Finance said:

Part of the productivity solution is also investing in public infrastructure, including in our cities and at crucial border crossings such as Windsor-Detroit--probably the most valuable transborder shipping point in the world--

Yet there is no funding for this infrastructure, despite the Prime Minister's call that he would provide cold hard cash.

In fact, industry, chambers of commerce, citizens and the labour movement have all called for the government to provide the proper infrastructure in the Windsor-Detroit corridor, the right costing for staffing and resources, the right oversight, the investment necessary to move the goods and services through an area that has approximately $1 billion a day in trade. The government has yet to act on unanimous support of a city council and county council report to improve the conditions of that corridor.

More important, a signal was sent to the United States that we are going to address our most damaging infrastructure deficiency which is stagnating and has created lost opportunities of investment in Ontario and other areas. We have lost that opportunity. The signal that was sent in this budget was that we have no plan, that we have no commitment.

We have a Liberal promise that the government might renew a project for border infrastructure funds later on, but we know what the public thinks about Liberal promises. We know what the record is on Liberal promises. At the end of the day the promises do not provide the confidence nor the commitment that will subsequently come from those who want to invest and have to move goods and services through that corridor. As opposed to Liberal promises, what is needed is a commitment of resources and the application of those resources to make sure the investment, prosperity and jobs that will result will be managed as a priority.

[Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, April 6th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to speak today on Bill C-236. The member for Halifax should be commended for once again championing a cause that I think often gets lost in the wilderness, as it has with this government in particular.

This is related to fairness, equity and justice. That is what we are talking about here. We are talking about students being treated differently from other segments of society. The member for Halifax has eloquently pointed that out in her bill.

I want to read the preamble to the bill so that people understand both what we are talking about here and also the modest changes we are looking at, which are so important. The summary of the bill states:

This enactment amends the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act to reduce, from ten to two years after a bankrupt leaves school, the period of time during which an order of discharge does not release the bankrupt from the reimbursement of his or her student loan.

The member for Halifax essentially summarizes it with the following statement, which is very good. This is what the member said in the chamber:

It is a tragic irony and it is heartbreaking. It is so important for the discrimination that now exists in our insolvency legislation to end as it relates to students. That is what we are talking about today. Others who become bankrupt, whose circumstances beyond their control have driven them into the situation of financial disaster where bankruptcy is an option, are eligible to apply for bankruptcy protection after two years. However, the government has removed that protection from the student population who have indebted themselves because of the inadequacy of the student aid programs in the country and particularly because of the withdrawal of any meaningful support from the federal government. They are in the position where they are not eligible for such bankruptcy protection for 10 years.

What we are talking about here is allowing a fairness to re-emerge that was taken away and stripped from students. It was stripped from them by this government. The government has chosen other options on where to put the money of this country, money that could have gone to education and thus avoided a bill of this nature coming forward.

I would point out that there are 18 other OECD countries that have free post-secondary education and tuition. I do not know whether Canada will eventually get there, but certainly right now we do not have to continue to throw the entire debt for education onto young people, especially in a free market system that makes it difficult for them to actually get sustainable employment to pay off that investment and also start a family, live in dignity and save for their future retirement.

Let me tell members that when I first came here in 2002, after being elected in a byelection, a reporter came to my house and interviewed me about a number of different things. The reporter asked me what I was going to do with all the money I was going to be making. I said that the first thing I would do is pay off my student loan. That is what we did over the next couple of years.

My wife and I are a typical family. We have two children and we were late in our thirties when we paid off our student debt. We delayed having a family because we wanted to feel some type of economic security. We slowly fixed up our house, but at the same time we paid incredibly high interest rates.

It is also important to note that the interest rates this government takes off the backs of students are terribly high and unacceptable. It is predatory behaviour and the government should be ashamed of it. Let us think about the fact that people can get a car loan for zero per cent and furniture loans for zero per cent while this government charges prime plus 5%. It is scandalous.

Here is what happens to those who have invested in their education, those who are trying to pay back their loans responsibly and do not want to go into bankruptcy. The previous speaker touched on a very important point, that is, as educated people they do not want to leave the victory of post-secondary education and obtaining a degree and then have to capitulate to a very humbling and troubling chapter in one's life, that of declaring bankruptcy.

Nobody wants that. Nobody wants that on their credit rating. Nobody wants to go to their family and say that they cannot pay back their loan, that they borrowed money to be successful. They do not want that. People want to be able to reasonably pay back the investment, not only for themselves but for their country and the investment it made in them, so that we can all be successful. This predatory interest rate leads to the bankruptcy issues and puts people into desperate situations. It is unacceptable.

It also hurts our economy. It is great for the banks and great for the government. They make out all right. There is no problem there. But in my hometown, for example, an auto industry town, this debt load delays purchases of new vehicles. The auto workers pay a lot of money in taxes. They put a lot of money into the United Way. They put it into sending their kids back to school. They contribute to the community.

Also, ironically, it is this government that wants to do a voluntary emission standard for the auto industry. One of the most important things we can do right now is get some of the oldest vehicles off the road and the newer ones on the road. That will lower Kyoto emissions. It will do both: create jobs and lower Kyoto emissions.

What does the government do? It hacks away at students because it can. The government continues to treat them as serfs instead of valuing what they have done and helping them contribute into a formula that means success for all of us.

It is unbelievable that a person can get a house loan at a rate that is lower than that for paying back a student loan. Where is the responsibility of the government to take action where it can, with the stroke of a pen? This is unacceptable.

I recently had a meeting at our local college. College students are funded at a level that is different from the level for university students. It was interesting, because the message from the minister of community and social services, a Liberal in Ontario, was that the colleges had better talk to the federal government because it has the surpluses and Ontario has less money. Ontario has a $23 billion deficit in terms of transfer payments. That was Ontario's solution at the time: to send it back here.

What did the federal government do in the last budget? It had almost $5 billion in corporate tax cuts. It was no problem at all to do that. The government found the money. The Prime Minister said during the last election that he would address post-secondary education and that gap. What has he done instead? A vote? No, they are Liberals, they say they are closer to the New Democrats and scared of the Conservatives, but what did he do when he got here? There was another corporate tax cut.

Another corporate tax cut, but what do students get? If a student is deceased, the government will no longer let the collection agencies go after the deceased. It will forgive the debt at that point. If a student is deceased and owes money, he or she will not have to pay back the student loan. Congratulations, I say, what a significant achievement for post-secondary education. I am sure it matches election rhetoric. Promise made and promise broken.

What we are doing to our young population is unacceptable, especially when they need more education than ever before and there is a changing market in front of them. They often have to return to school before they can even pay off the investment on their original education. They are expected to pay for that, not their companies or anybody else, when they have to go back to get those re-qualification credentials for changing standards because of downloading or other governments adding different layers of responsibility for employment through legislation. They have to pay for that.

What ends up happening is that people come out of school later. They have a higher debt load. They marry later. They have kids later. They defer buying a home until later. What will be really critical later on for the young people of today is that they will have less pensionable earnings and savings because they cannot get by as it is.

They are stopped from buying a house earlier. They are stopped from putting money into their retirement savings plans. They are less likely than ever before to find a company to be with for a good portion of their lives and thus have pensions that will be sustainable. It is a real problem. We are deferring all of that until tomorrow. We are putting it on the backs of today's youth because this government cannot make modest changes.

Moving the bill forward in the House of Commons today would deal with the more desperate cases. We could say to young people that they could start their lives over again. Nobody wants to go through the personal humiliation of admitting that they have to start over in what they want to do with their lives and they cannot pay back what has been given to them. They do not want to do that.

That is why I encourage all members of the House to support the bill, because it is the one thing we can do to give young people something to get them back on track. They can be great contributors to Canada, put their education to better use and be more productive citizens for the long haul.

[Employment Insurance Act, April 4th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the government has been a little bit reckless in its appropriation of funds related to workers.

I want to move the debate to the repercussions. It is very important to recognize the connection between employment insurance and child poverty. We know that women workers in our country face many difficulties. They often represent transitional employment. They often represent occupations that do not have full time employment and because of that, they often do not qualify for this system despite the fact they pay into it. At the end of the day, when it is supposed to be there for them, they do not benefit from it. That has to stop.

The fact of the matter is that less than 40% of women can actually collect from a system that they are forced to pay into. That is not acceptable and it has to change. This is a simple, modest, and practical way of dealing with that situation that is also going to assist child poverty. It will also assist communities because that money will be used to pay for groceries, rent, and the cost of heating homes. In Ontario, for example, our electricity rate is going up despite promises that it would not. The workers in my community of Windsor West have a higher unemployment rate because of the transitional employment there. They could benefit from this modest improvement.

It is really important to recognize that this country does not have a national employment strategy. When workers lose their jobs, they are left on their own. They have very little support any more in terms of having the practical assistance to ensure that we move to new types of technology and training. The government is not involved in that. It has left it up to people to do that. It requires money to go back to school. It requires maybe a mortgage to be paid or helping kids go to school. These are modest improvements to ensure that integrity is going to be there for them.

It is amazing that at the peak of this program, there was a $750 million per month surplus that the government was raking in off the backs of workers. Once again, this is not the government's money. This comes from people's paycheques, so that they can have something if they lose their job. Workers do not mind paying even if they never collect as long as they know it is going to be there.

Imagine our house or car insurance where we would only get a rate of return of 40% after paying into it, that there would be only a 40% chance if we had an accident or our house burned down. It is unacceptable. This type of fraud has to stop. The money is there. In the budget, the government just passed another $5 billion corporate tax cut. It comes off the backs of working people and it is not going back to the workers where it should be.

I invite all hon. members to answer their constituents on this and explain why corporations, when they have record profits and earnings, need an additional $5 billion in corporate tax cuts. Ordinary Canadians should be receiving the same benefits they have had in the past with a decent and modest improvement to our system.