Dave Van Kesteren

[Income Tax Act, January 30th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate this opportunity to speak on Bill C-201. It is a well-intentioned bill, but there are some serious flaws.

The economy is and still remains fragile. Simply put, now is not the time to engage in an estimated $60 million per year of reckless and duplicate spending.

Our government will continue to identify efficient ways of supporting our apprentices and tradespeople while creating jobs and economic growth. To put it bluntly, Bill C-201 does the exact opposite of this. It is a costly and flawed piece of legislation that could expose Canada's tax system to a high likelihood of abuse.

Specifically, it would create new costly tax loopholes that would be vulnerable to unfair tax planning, as the deduction is drafted in an open-ended manner. It would give workers in one field an unfair advantage, potentially distorting the labour market. It would make it difficult to ensure that tax relief is not provided for personal expenses, solely reflecting lifestyle decisions. It would result in certain individuals receiving a windfall gain for those individuals who would have incurred eligible travel and accommodation expenses in any case. Also, it would cost in excess of $60 million per year. These are clear and plain reasons why our government cannot support such a bill.

Rather than advance the flawed policy of the NDP bill, our Conservative government has introduced a number of measures that actually support tradespersons, encourage businesses to hire apprentices and encourage Canadians to pursue careers in the trades.

In 2006, members will remember that our government introduced the apprenticeship job creation tax credit which provides eligible employers with a tax credit equal to 10% of the wages paid to qualifying apprentices in the first two years of their contract, or up to $2,000 per apprentice per year.

Also back in 2006, our government introduced in the budget the apprenticeship incentive grant which provides $1,000 per year to apprentices upon completion of each of the first two years of an apprenticeship program in the red seal trade. Then, in budget 2009, our government introduced the apprenticeship completion grant which provides $2,000 to apprentices upon the completion of their certification in a red seal trade.

Let us not forget that it was our government that introduced, in 2014, an annual deduction of up to $500 for tradespersons for the cost of new tools in excess of $1,127 that they must acquire as a condition of employment. Budget 2006 also increased to $500 from $200 the limit on the cost of tools eligible for the 100% capital cost deduction which may be claimed by self-employed tradespersons and businesses.

In addition, there are a number of existing measures under the Income Tax Act for employees, including tradespersons, who travel or relocate for employment.

First, the moving expense deduction recognizes costs incurred by workers who move their ordinary place of residence at least 40 kilometres closer to their place of business or employment in order to pursue employment opportunities. Eligible costs are limited to the amount of income earned at the new location for the year.

Second, the special and remote work sites tax exemption allows employers to provide board and lodging expenses to employees on a tax-free basis. This exemption is limited to benefits paid by the employers on behalf of the employees, which ensures that eligible expenses are incurred for employment purposes.

Third, the travel expenses deduction allows employees who are ordinarily required to carry out the duties of employment away from the employers' place of business or in a different location to deduct travel expenses incurred, including 50% of meal expenses where they are required by the employer to pay their own expenses.

Fourth, similar to the travel expenses deduction for employees, self-employed individuals may deduct reasonable expenses incurred in connection with the generation of income from a business, including travel expenses, for example, lodging, and 50% of meal costs, while they are away from home.

Fifth, the northern residents deduction provides tax relief to individuals in northern and isolated communities to assist in attracting skilled labour to these communities.

Finally, the Canada employment credit, the CEC, introduced by the government in budget 2006 recognizes work-related expenses in a general way. In 2014, the CEC provides a tax credit on employment income up to $1,127.

As hon. members can see, our government recognizes the importance of the skilled trades to Canada's economy. We continue through our economic action plan to support economic growth and job creation, which includes a number of initiatives that directly support the development of a skilled, mobile and inclusive workforce within an efficient labour market.

Economic action plan 2013 proposes new measures to support the use of apprenticeships in four key ways: supporting the use of apprentices in federal construction and maintenance contracts; ensuring the funds transferred to provinces and territories through the investment in affordable housing support the use of apprentices; encouraging provinces, territories and municipalities to support the use of apprentices in infrastructure projects receiving federal funding as part of the new building Canada plan for infrastructure; and providing $4 million to work with provinces and territories to harmonize requirements for apprentices.

This kind of support for skills training is crucial to Canada's long-term growth, which is why our Conservative government is committed to maintaining this strong momentum. What the opposition does not understand is that in order to sustain this momentum more needs to be done than just creating training opportunities in high demand areas. It also requires creating the overall conditions for economic success that create high demand in the first place. It is for this reason Canada's economic action plan is a low-tax plan that will eliminate the deficit in 2015, reduce red tape and continue to promote free trade and innovation.

The results of our efforts speak for themselves. Since the depths of the global economic recession, the worst since the Great Depression, Canada's economy has created over one million net new jobs. These are overwhelmingly full-time, well-paying jobs in the private sector. I am proud to say that this is the strongest growth record among G7 countries, and others are noticing.

We are garnering international attention with Bloomberg recently declaring that Canada was the second best country in which to do business, just behind Hong Kong. Both the International Monetary Fund and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development have recognized the benefits of our plan. They expect Canada to be among the strongest growing economies in the G7 over the next few years.

Our government remains focused on the drivers of growth and job creation: innovation, investment, education, skills and communities. These are underpinned by our ongoing commitment to keeping taxes low and returning a balanced budget in 2015. Unfortunately, bills such as Bill C-201 would do nothing to strengthen Canada's economy. It contains too many flaws, would cost too much, and it fails to take into account the effective policies we currently have in place to help not only tradespersons but all hard-working Canadians.

Given the many shortcomings in the proposal before us today, I encourage my fellow members to vote against this legislation.

[Dean Tiessen, December 9th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I rise today to offer my thoughts and prayers to the family and friends of Dean Tiessen, a true pioneer in the future of agriculture and agribusiness.

Dean Tiessen, from Leamington, Ontario, was so thoughtlessly taken from us this weekend in Brazil. He was a farmer, an award-winning innovator in biomass energy, entrepreneur, business leader and devout family man. Dean represented the very best of Leamington.

The Tiessen family of farms converted its 40-acre glasshouse tomato operation to use 30,000 tonnes of biomass, growing purpose-grown energy crops. In 2011, he was awarded the Premier's Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence for work in Miscanthus. Canadian officials are providing support for the family during this difficult time.

Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Jennifer, their four children, family and friends.

[Retirement Income Bill of Rights, December 6th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to debate this private member's bill this afternoon.

First, our government is dedicated to supporting Canada's senior citizens. Many have spent their lives working hard, while demonstrating great resolve and determination to make this country great. As the older generation passes the torch along to a new and younger generation of Canadians, we want to ensure that seniors are always respected and receive the appreciation they deserve.

We have also taken concrete action to benefit our seniors. I would like to take this opportunity to highlight just a few of the steps we have taken in that vein.

Our government has established October 1 as National Seniors Day to pay tribute to the seniors who have helped build our country and continue to help make it great.

Since 2006, we have funded over 11,000 new horizons for seniors programs and projects, in hundreds of communities across Canada. The new horizons for seniors program is a federal grants and contributions program that supports projects led or inspired by seniors who want to make a difference. Projects must be led or inspired by seniors and address one or more of the following five program objectives: promoting volunteerism among seniors and other generations; engaging seniors in the community through the mentoring of others; expanding awareness of elder abuse, including financial abuse; and providing capital assistance for new and existing community projects and/or programs for seniors.

One other objective of the new horizons for seniors program is to combat social isolation. Although it is not the case for every senior, there are too many who are not aware of or cannot partake in their community's activities due to social isolation. Research clearly shows that isolation continues to be a serious concern, particularly for older Canadians. We take it very seriously.

Recently, the Minister of State for Seniors conducted calls for proposals for projects that focus on one of three priorities: identifying seniors at risk of isolation and determining the existing programs and services that could support them; expanding community-based services for seniors who are experiencing or are at risk of social isolation; and supporting social participation through intergenerational learning.

By doing this, our government is making it easier for seniors, individuals, and organizations to form partnerships with the not-for-profit sector, the private sector, and governments, to localize and leverage the resources in their community. We are pleased to help create partnerships that would form a circle of support around all seniors in our communities.

Another object of the new horizons for seniors program is protection. I am proud to note that our government passed the Protecting Canada's Seniors Act. This act will help ensure consistently tough penalities for criminals who have committed elder abuse. We want to ensure that seniors feel safe and secure in their homes and in their communities. We believe this legislation will help.

We are not only committed to protecting the safety and the security of seniors, but also to protecting the security of their pensions and Canada's retirement income system. Obviously, the level of retirement income in Canada is directly related to the state of the Canadian economy.

I am proud to note that just last week, Statistics Canada announced that the Canadian economy grew by 2.7% in the third quarter. This is the ninth consecutive quarter of economic growth in Canada. This is yet further evidence that despite a fragile global economic environment, our government's economic action plan is working. We are also on track to balance the budget in 2015, all the while keeping taxes low.

Our plan is working. That does not mean we have not faced difficulties. We have faced the adversity of the worst recession in a generation. We have faced the difficulty of an opposition party that wants to raise taxes and punish job creators.

Recently, we faced a new threat. It is not the same as the economic threats that lie beyond our shores; rather, this is one that is right here at home. It is the threat of one of the world's most inexperienced leaders, the member for Papineau. Time and time again, the Liberal leader shows poor judgment. This is the type of judgment that would damage our economy. It would damage the confidence of foreign businesses looking to invest in Canada. It would create dangerous instability that would prevent businesses from expanding.

It almost sounds comical, but sadly it is true. Even though he is the federal Liberal leader, he has not put forward one single economic policy. While many Canadians are honourably giving their hard-earned dollars to support charities, the elected member for Papineau was taking those same charity dollars and pocketing the speaking fees. While we create greater prosperity that gives the nation hope, he emphasizes dictatorships and free-flowing dope.

Pensioners and seniors know better. They know the Canadian economy has benefited from the unprecedented leadership of the Prime Minister for eight consecutive years.

In fact, the Prime Minister has recently signed an historic trade agreement with Europe that will contribute to greater prosperity in Canada for generations to come. Canada has also profited from our prudent and responsible fiscal plan. This has been led by the Minister of Finance. They do not call him the world's greatest finance minister for nothing.

Across the globe, Canada has a reputation as a nation with steady leadership and a strong economy. Despite the economic threats that continue to exist outside our borders and beyond our shores, Canada has enjoyed strong economic performance during both the recession and the recovery.

I would like to highlight a few other examples of how our plan for creating jobs, growth and long-term prosperity is benefiting Canadians.

Since 2009, Canada has created over one million net new jobs. Almost 90% of those are full-time and more than 80% are in the private sector. This is the strongest job creation record in the entire G7.

This is good news, but we cannot be complacent. We must continue to take responsible, prudent steps to build our economy. Economic action plan 2013 is continuing to support our economy. It includes helping small businesses by extending the small business hiring credit, helping manufacturers with tax relief when they make new investments in machinery and equipment, and supporting persons with disabilities with new training investments to help them secure employment.

Economic action plan 2013 also keeps taxes low. We are keeping taxes low for all Canadians including seniors. Since 2006, we have cut taxes for seniors and pensioners, and have taken many steps to ensure they keep more of their hard-earned dollars in their wallets. For example, we have introduced pension income splitting, doubled the maximum amount of income eligible for the pension income tax credit, increased the maximum GIS earnings exemption to $3,500, and increased the age limit for maturing pensions and RRSPs to 71 from 69 years of age.

Overall, our actions have resulted in delivering over $2.7 billion in annual targeted tax relief to seniors. Seniors have asked for this and they have also asked that we keep Canada's retirement income system strong. We have done exactly that.

Canada's retirement income system is recognized around the globe. It is a model that succeeds in lowering poverty for seniors and in providing high levels of retirement income. This model is based on a three pillar approach.

The first pillar is made up of the old age security and guaranteed income supplement benefits, which provide a minimum income guarantee for seniors. The second pillar is the Canada pension plan and the Quebec pension plan. These plans provide a defined benefit in retirement based on an individual's career earnings. The third pillar includes tax-assisted private savings opportunities. This includes registered pension plans and registered retirement savings plans.

The three pillars are strong, but we have taken action to make the system stronger. We passed the Pooled Registered Pension Plans Act that will provide employers, employees and the self-employed with a low-cost pension option. This will enable more workers to benefit from the lower costs that result in large, pooled pension plans.

PRPPs are a viable option that provinces can enact very quickly. It would assist the 60% of Canadians who do not have access to workplace pensions. Unfortunately, the bill we have here today, Bill C-513, would only apply to less than 10% of the pension plans in Canada.

We do not support the private member's bill. Rather than focus on ineffective proposals, I encourage the Liberal Party to support our job-creating measures. After all, the best way to ensure a healthy retirement plan for tomorrow is to have a job today.

[Nelson Mandela, December 6th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, Canada and the world is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Nelson Mandela yesterday. The son of a tribal chief, Nelson Mandela sought an education, went on to actively participate in politics, and became a leading symbol in the fight against apartheid. Even after retirement, he remained committed to peace and stability. He accomplished so much in his long, inspirational life.

Could the parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs please remind the House of some of Nelson Mandela's most impressive accomplishments?

[Economic Action Plan 2013 Act No. 2, December 6th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the budget consultation last year was an extensive process, as it was this year. We heard from an enormous number of people. Not only did we hear from them at committee, we were given many other submissions, which the committee looked as well. It was on these recommendations and findings that the budget was created in the spring of this year.

The budget implementation we are now debating and that the member says we are rushing through has taken a year. These things must be debated and have been at quite some length. The finance committee spent a significant amount of time working on this. It is the process we go through, and it must be done. I believe that we are prepared to look at this, and we are prepared to vote on it. I hope the members would also vote for this budget.

[Economic Action Plan 2013 Act No. 2, December 6th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I would love to answer that. I think he walked right into that one.

The fact of the matter is that he is correct. The former Liberal government did slash that deficit, which was massive in its time. However, it did so on the backs of the provinces. The Liberals made cuts to health care. We still feel the reverberations today. They practically eliminated the military as we know it today.

They did manage to do those things. We, however, and I brought this out in my speech, managed to do it by lowering taxes. The member is absolutely correct; there were some strong years of growth in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In those years, there was a budget surplus. We took those moneys and applied them to the national debt to the tune of $39 billion so that when we were faced with the global incident we now know as the great recession, we were able to weather it much better.

I would agree that it is important to erase those deficits, but the right way to do it is to lower taxes and to manage properly.

[Economic Action Plan 2013 Act No. 2, December 6th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member across the way so rightly pointed out, we share a spot on the finance committee, and I have great respect for the member.

I would disagree, though. I mentioned in my speech that it is impossible for us to spend our way out of this position. The austerity measures the member mentioned are very modest.

We saw the massive unemployment after 2008-09 and saw the losses in the private sector. The government had to look at the public sector to see if there were some measures we could trim.

I know the hon. member shares those opinions. There are economists who feel that austerity will heighten and worsen the situation. I believe that what we have experienced in this country and in the western world is a spending problem, and it is incumbent on governments to address that and do what is necessary.

I just want to say again that the measures we have taken have been quite modest, but they were necessary.

[Economic Action Plan 2013 Act No. 2, December 6th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have this opportunity today to highlight many of the pro-growth and job creation measures in Bill C-4, economic action plan 2013 act no. 2, which is a very important piece of legislation for our government.

We all recognize that during the global economic recession and throughout the recovery, Canada has experienced one of the best economic performances among G7 countries. Indeed, since the depths of the global economic recession, Canada's economy has created over one million net new jobs, nearly 90% of which are full-time, with over 80% in the private sector.

This morning, in fact, Statistics Canada announced that 21,600 net new jobs were created in the month of November, which is great news. Not only did this job growth beat market expectation, but solid gains were made in the manufacturing sector, where 24,900 new jobs were created. This continues Canada's strong job creation record, which is the best in the entire G7 by far.

It is not only that, but Canada's unemployment rate is at its lowest level since December 2008 and remains below that of the U.S. This is a phenomenon that has not been seen in nearly three decades.

However, that is not all.

All the major credit rating agencies, Moody's, Fitch, Standard and Poor's, have affirmed Canada's rock solid AAA credit rating. It is worth mentioning that Canada is one of only a handful of countries that can boast this top-notch rating. We can do this, thankfully, because the Conservative government understands the meaning of fiscal responsibility.

Indeed, when Standard and Poor's affirmed Canada's AAA rating on November 13, here is what it had to say:

The ratings on Canada reflect its strong public institutions, prosperous and resilient economy, fiscal and monetary flexibility, and effective policymaking. [...] Canada's success in the past decade in achieving credible monetary and fiscal policy, along with its openness to trade...will continue to support its economic performance.

Unlike other countries, Canada has found the right balance between efforts to support job creation and economic growth by respecting commitments to reduce deficits and return to balanced budgets in 2015. While many European countries, and even the United States, continue to struggle with their national debts, Canada is in the best fiscal position in the G7. In fact, Canada's net debt to GDP ratio was 34.6% in 2012, the lowest level in the G7 by far. Germany was second lowest, and closest to Canada, at 57.2%. If members are still not impressed, how about this: the G7 average is 90.4%.

While the Liberals may want to engage in reckless spending, our government is on track to return to balanced budgets by 2015.

Most importantly, unlike the previous Liberal government, we will balance the budget without slashing transfers for health care and education. Our Conservative government rejects that shameful practice and is protecting and growing transfers to help support the services that Canadian families depend on. Unlike the previous Liberal government, we understand that if we make government more efficient and control program spending, we can reduce the deficit while still increasing transfers.

As was recently outlined in the government's annual financial report in 2012-13, the deficit fell to $18.9 billion, which was down by more than one-quarter; that is $7.4 billion from the deficit of $26.3 billion in 2011-12, and down by nearly two-thirds from the $55.6 billion deficit recorded in 2009-10. The Liberals might be interested to know that the reductions in direct program spending played a key role in this outcome. Indeed, expenses fell by 1.2% from the prior year and by 3.8% from 2010-11.

Our government will also balance the budget without raising taxes. Unlike the high-tax NDP and Liberals, our Conservative government believes in low taxes and leaving more money where it belongs, in the pockets of hard-working Canadian families and job-creating businesses.

The opposition may be interested to know that since 2006 we have cut taxes over 160 times, reducing the overall tax burden to its lowest level in 50 years. In fact, our strong record of tax relief has meant that savings for a typical family of four, in 2013, totals nearly $3,400. This includes cutting the lowest personal income tax rate to 15%, increasing the amount Canadians can earn without paying tax, and introducing pension income splitting for seniors. It also includes measures like reducing the GST from 7% to 5%, which has put an estimated $1,000 back in the pockets of average families. This is a measure that both the Liberals and the NDP opposed.

That is not all. It includes introducing measures like the working income tax benefit, and the tax-free savings account, the most important personal savings vehicle since RRSPs. Overall, we have removed over one million low-income Canadians from the tax rolls.

Keeping taxes low also helps the businesses in our communities grow and succeed. That is why, since 2006 we have consistently reduced the tax burden for small businesses. This includes reducing the small business tax rate from 12% to 11%, while at the same time increasing the small business limit to $500,000. In fact, our government's low-tax plan has resulted in over $28,000 in savings for the typical small business.

The NDP and Liberals might not understand how the economy works, but lower taxes not only encourage businesses to innovate and grow, it also makes Canada a more attractive destination in which to invest. As a matter of fact, Canada has the lowest overall tax rate on new business investment in the G7.

To question whether this is having a positive impact, one need only look at the facts. Both the independent International Monetary Fund, the IMF, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the OECD, project that Canada will have the strongest growth among the G7 in the years ahead. Last week, Statistics Canada announced that the Canadian economy grew 2.7% in the third quarter of 2013. This represents the ninth consecutive quarter of economic growth in Canada and is an encouraging sign that Canada's economy is on the right track.

However, while this is certainly encouraging news, we cannot become complacent. While economic conditions are improving, there are still too many Canadians out of work. The global economy looks fragile, especially in the U.S. and Europe, both among our largest trading partners. This is why our Conservative government remains focused on what matters to Canadians: creating jobs and growing the economy. That is exactly what today's legislation is all about.

Bill C-4 would implement key measures from economic action plan 2013, which would help support job creation and growth in communities across the country. One such measure is the extension and expansion of the hiring credit for small business. The history of this credit illustrates our government's commitment to small business in Canada.

Indeed, in economic action plan 2011 our government first introduced the hiring credit for small business, which provided up to $1,000 to help defray the cost of hiring new workers. In fact, the credit was so successful that we extended it again in economic action plan 2012.

As I mentioned earlier, the economy is showing encouraging signs of growth. At the same time, there is still a large amount of uncertainty in the global economy. We have heard these concerns from business owners. That is why economic action plan 2013 and Bill C-4 extend and expand the hiring credit for small business.

As a result of this legislation, the credit provides for up to $1,000 against a small firm's increase in its 2013 EI premiums over that paid in 2012. It applies to employers with total EI premiums of $15,000 or less in 2012, an increase from the previous level of $10,000. Extending this credit would benefit over 560,000 employers, providing them with an estimated $225 million in tax relief in 2013.

As the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said recently:

The big change for small business is the extension and expansion of the EI hiring credit. [...] That's really good news....

That was from March 21, 2013, on the CTV News channel.

Clearly, our Conservative government recognizes the vital role that small businesses play in the economy and job creation. That is why we are committed to helping them grow and succeed.

On that note, there are many other measures in Bill C-4 that will support small businesses across Canada.

Bill C-4 increases and indexes to inflation the lifetime capital gains exemption. Not only will increasing the exemption from $750,000 to $800,000 make investing in small businesses more attractive, it will make it easier for entrepreneurs of today to transfer their family businesses to the entrepreneurs of tomorrow.

Our government also wants to ensure that the value of this exemption is preserved over time. That is why Bill C-4 will index the exemption to inflation for the first time ever. Overall, this will provide an estimated $5 million in tax relief in 2013-14, and $15 million in 2014-15.

However, there are still more measures in Bill C-4 that support Canadian job creators.

Bill C-4 provides tax relief to encourage more businesses to invest in clean energy generation, by expanding the accelerated capital cost allowance.

The message is simple: keeping taxes low helps attract investment, allows our businesses to expand their operations and to hire more workers. It also helps Canadian families keep more money in their pockets. At the end of the day, Canadians know best how to spend their hard-earned money.

How can we keep taxes low if people are gaming the system and exploiting tax loopholes? Our government does not think it is fair when a select few businesses and individuals avoid paying their fair share. That is why economic action plan 2013 introduces a number of measures to close tax loopholes and address aggressive tax planning, clarify tax rules and reduce international tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance.

When it comes to closing tax loopholes, our record speaks for itself. Since 2006, including measures in economic plan 2013, our government has closed over 75 tax loopholes. Bill C-4 includes some of these measures, such as eliminating the unintended tax benefits from character conversion transactions and 10/8 arrangements. It also includes a number of measures to strengthen the ability of the Canada Revenue Agency, the CRA, to crack down on tax cheats and combat international tax evasion.

Overall, the actions in economic action plan 2013 to close tax loopholes and improve the fairness and integrity of the tax system will provide about $350 million in savings in 2013-14, rising to over $1.2 billion 2017-18, for a total of $4.4 billion over the next five years.

Protecting Canada's tax base is essential, as Canadians need to have confidence in their tax system. They need to know it is fair.

Unfortunately, the Liberals and NDP do not seem to share this view. While our government has worked hard to close over 75 tax loopholes, the NDP and Liberals have voted against each of these measures each and every time. I have to ask what the NDP and Liberals have against closing tax loopholes.

However, there is no reason to worry. While the Liberals and NDP work to protect these tax loopholes, our government is committed to ensuring that Canadians have a fair and neutral tax system that keeps everyone on a level playing field. Indeed, Canadians can rest assured that our government will continue to take action to close loopholes, address aggressive tax planning, clarify tax rules and combat international tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance.

Our government is also taking steps to crack down on those who are trying to defraud taxpayers. It has come to the attention of the CRA that certain retailers have been using electronic sales suppression software, also known as “zappers”, to selectively delete or modify sales transactions in their computer systems. By engaging in this practice, certain taxpayers are avoiding the payment of their fair share of taxes. That is why Bill C-4 introduced new administrative monetary penalties and criminal offences to target those who use, manufacture or possess this type of software.

The Canadian Restaurant and Food Service Association welcomed this, saying:

These measures appropriately target the producers, installers, and users of sales-distorting software, while supporting the competitiveness of Canada's hard-working small business community, among them 81,000 restaurants, the vast majority of which pay their taxes and operate in full transparency.

It is important that our government crack down on these types of activities. When some businesses cheat, everyone loses, but when everyone plays by the rules and pays their fair share, we can keep taxes low.

On that note, I would like to quickly conclude my remarks by saying that I hope the opposition will support these measures and Bill C-4. It is clear that these measures will help grow Canada's economy and will create jobs for Canadians. If the opposition members decide to oppose these measures, as they have done so many times in the past, I hope, at the very least, that they will stop advocating for high taxes.

I must admit that I was very sad to hear just last week that the leader of the NDP confirmed that he would impose a crippling tax hike on job creators, even as they continue to cope with a challenging global economy.

The simple fact remains that we cannot tax our way to prosperity. Thankfully, our Conservative government understands that low taxes promote economic growth and job creation.

[Turkic Canadian Convention, December 2nd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Anatolian Heritage Federation, as it hosts its first annual convention today at the Marriott Hotel. Its annual receptions have been great successes and have brought together a wide range of Canadian and Turkic stakeholders.

Although our two countries already collaborate as long-standing allies in NATO and co-operate in various multilateral forums, they have not met their full potential. The first Turkic Canadian Convention intends to establish a framework for bilateral relations, with two discussion panels, a luncheon with dignitaries, and a reception to celebrate Turkic heritage in Canada. Hopefully, this will become a landmark annual event showcasing Turkic-Canadian solidarity.

As the chair of the Canada-Turkey Friendship Group, I once again congratulate the Anatolian Heritage Federation for all its hard work. I wish it continued success today and in all its future endeavours.

[Employment, November 19th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, last week, Heinz announced that it is closing its plant in Leamington, Ontario, beginning in June, 2014, leaving many of my constituents looking for work in my riding of Chatham-Kent—Essex. When I learned of the decision, I contacted federal departments to ensure that my constituents would receive all of the help available to them.

Could the Minister of Employment update the House on what the government is doing to ensure that those affected are aware of and accessing the government programs and services available and to help connect these individuals with available jobs in my riding?