Denis Lebel

[Business of Supply, February 26th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, as I just said, never before in Canadian history have the municipalities and provinces had a partner as involved in infrastructure as our government. We have said that we will continue to be involved at a level that Canadian taxpayers can afford. As we have said many times, we will balance the budget.

While we want to balance our country's budget, the official opposition wants to create a $21 billion carbon tax and then hand out a few goodies to show that they are good managers. We would rather leave as much money as possible in the pockets of Canadian taxpayers. We have lowered taxes 140 times since we came into power. We want to keep going in that direction.

In response to my colleague's question, I will say that this motion is completely useless. Our government is hard at work and the NDP has voted against every single one of our measures for seven years. It is time for them to walk the talk and start voting in favour of measures on topics they say are important.

[Business of Supply, February 26th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the reference to my time as mayor. Perhaps others aspire to that role, but that is another question, and only time will tell.

We have doubled the gasoline excise tax from $1 billion to $2 billion a year. Mayors in cities across the country want predictability; they want to know what is coming down the line. We travelled the country last summer. We held thirteen round tables to look at and gather comments from the provinces and municipalities. No decisions have been made yet.

The global economy is fragile and any decisions we make will take into account the ability of Canadian taxpayers to cover the costs in addition to the global economic situation.

We welcome the member's comments. We know how important infrastructure is for the country, as much for the municipalities as the provinces.

[Business of Supply, February 26th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, this MP knows that assertion is wrong. That is cash management, and we repay bills to many provinces when they send us the bills. We cannot pay bills before we receive them. She already knows that. That is completely wrong.

We have invested more than any government in the past. Some were not there before 2011. They asked for a long-term plan. Now the gas tax is permanent. I think something that is permanent is there for the long term, and the NDP voted against that. We have delivered more than ever for this country and we will continue to do that.

With respect to jurisdictions, that is very important. They want to decide on behalf of municipalities. I am a former mayor; maybe someone wants to become a mayor too, but we will respect the jurisdictions of municipalities and provinces.

[Business of Supply, February 26th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, our Conservative government also implemented Canada's economic action plan in 2009 to stimulate the economy when the country needed it the most. We have supported 28,500 projects. Every time, the NDP opposed our government's work.

These achievements speak for themselves as testimony of our government's commitment to public infrastructure.

As the member for Trinity—Spadina specifically cited commute times, I would like to underline our government's continued support to public transit. We have been working in collaboration with all orders of government to support public transit across the country. Keeping in mind that public transit systems are managed and operated by municipalities and provinces, the Government of Canada has acted as a funding partner, respecting the roles and responsibilities of all.

Public transit systems support the prosperity of Canadian communities, and we are a supportive partner for helping to fund capital costs associated with the renewal and the expansion of transit infrastructure.

I would like to remind the NDP that our government has made record investments in public transit since 2006. If public transit is so important to them, they should have supported our government's work. I would like to refresh the memories of many of my colleagues who were not with us before the last election since the list of measures we have implemented is rather impressive.

Under the $8.8 billion building Canada fund, a key component of the building Canada plan, public transit was identified as one of the five national priorities. Infrastructure Canada has committed over 40% of that program spending to public transit projects. This includes $622 million for the Toronto-York Spadina subway extension in addition to $75 million given under the public transit capital trust, a $108 million package of transit investment in Vancouver, including upgrades to the SkyTrain system, and a $100 million investment in public transit in Edmonton.

Under Canada's economic action plan, the government has invested over $240 million in public transit projects through the infrastructure stimulus, including $39 million for various projects in Calgary and $101 million for projects in the greater Toronto area.

Furthermore, under the Canada strategic infrastructure fund, since 2006 more than $260 million has been committed to public transit projects. Additional funding was also provided for public transit initiatives through various envelopes, such as a $400 million public transit fund and a total of $1.4 billion under two public transit capital trusts.

Our government has invested $5 billion in public transit infrastructure across the country since 2006 through various programs. It is disappointing to see the NDP be so inconsistent. Although the NDP always professes to be the champion of public transit, it always votes against our government's reasonable initiatives to support the development of public transit. We will continue in this vein because our government's work on public transit does not stop there.

Indeed, in addition to these investments, the $2 billion federal gas tax fund also provides a substantial source of funding for transit projects on a yearly basis.

Some of Canada's largest cities—Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton—have directed either all or most of their federal transfers under this fund to public transit projects.

All in all, municipalities across Canada have used close to $1.7 billion of their federal gas tax fund allocations for transit investments since 2006.

We do more than provide infrastructure funding. Thanks to our public transit tax credit, Canadians can also claim costs of monthly public transit passes or passes of longer duration, such as an annual pass for travel within Canada on public transit. These public transit investments have been bettering the lives of Canadians residing in large urban centres and smaller communities alike.

Important transit projects have been funded in all parts of the country, thanks to federal support. For instance, in eastern Canada over $3 million was committed to a bus service in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Government of Canada also worked with the Province of New Brunswick to realize the Codiac transit facility in Moncton, providing $12.5 million in funding.

Our government also supported commuter train improvement projects in Quebec, including those in Dorion-Rigaud, Delson-Candiac and Blainville-Saint-Jérôme.

Close to $2.1 billion was committed to public transit initiatives in Ontario in the last five years.

In western Canada, federal commitments of close to $220 million in Alberta and $500 million in British Columbia have been made for public transit infrastructure initiatives like the south light rail transit platform extension in Edmonton, the new park and ride facility and new transit exchange in Langley, and the 7th Avenue rehabilitation of stations and track work in Calgary.

The NDP always voted against all of the funding to support these projects.

All these projects were made possible through our strong and successful partnerships. We have been working together to leverage investment from all levels of government and the private sector to ensure value for taxpayer money and to address the specific needs of each community.

In a country as big as ours, public transit needs differ from one region to another. Unlike the opposition, we believe that the provinces, territories and municipalities are in the best position to know what they need in terms of public transit and to develop plans to meet those needs.

That is why our government is giving its provincial, territorial and municipal partners the flexibility they need to determine their needs within these programs.

We will continue to respect provincial and municipal jurisdictions in our support for public transit. That is the way we do things.

We will continue to promote a collaborative approach to work with provinces, territories and municipalities to ensure that Canadian communities remain among the best in the world to live in.

Our record speaks for itself. Our government recognizes the importance of public infrastructure. It has made unprecedented and ongoing investments through its existing programs.

The opposition's record also speaks for itself. Every time it had to vote on a budget item to support the transit system, the NDP always voted against it.

We will continue to build on the success of the economic action plan and the building of Canada plan while we remain focused on creating the right conditions for long-term economic prosperity.

[Business of Supply, February 26th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière.

I would like to take this opportunity to highlight our Conservative government's unprecedented support for infrastructure initiatives across the country. No federal government in Canadian history has invested as much in infrastructure as we have. The provinces, territories and municipalities have never had a better partner than our government.

The same cannot be said of the opposition. For seven years, the NDP have voted on ideology alone. They have voted against all of our government's measures to support our partners. I would like to remind the House that it was our government that, despite the NDP's opposition, implemented the first long-term infrastructure plan in 2007. The building Canada fund has an envelope of $33 billion over seven years. Our government also—

[Rail Transportation, February 26th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, our thoughts remain with the families of the victims who lost their lives. It is a shame that the opposition member is playing politics on the anniversary of this tragic accident.

Where there is a clear safety benefit, our government will not hesitate to take action. We are monitoring the implementation of positive train control in the United States, but it is currently experiencing technical challenges that will likely delay the implementation, and we are following that.

[Rail Transportation, February 25th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, our thoughts and prayers remain with the families of those who lost their lives in the tragic accident that occurred one year ago tomorrow.

Our government takes the safety of the travelling public very seriously. We will continue to make decisions based on the interests of safety for all Canadians.

I am pleased to confirm today that VIA Rail is installing locomotive voice recorders in its entire fleet, and we await the Transportation Safety Board's final report with respect to the accident.

[Infrastructure, February 25th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, as I was saying, never, in the history of Canada, has a government invested as much as ours has in supporting infrastructure.

It is interesting to hear the hon. member talk about what we should do. We are investing, at the request of the Province of Quebec, $700 million in Autoroute 30. A number of choices were made throughout the region. We are going to deliver a new bridge across the St. Lawrence based on the capacity of Canadian taxpayers to pay for it. If there are no tolls, there will be no bridge. We are going to deliver a bridge and continue to do our job.

We made the gas tax permanent, but the members opposite voted against that.

Now they want to give us lessons? I do not think so.

[Infrastructure, February 25th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, our government has made unprecedented investments in infrastructure since forming government in 2006. We continue to work to balance the budget, but we do not have control over the fragile global economy, such as in Europe and the U.S. No decision has been made, but any decision will be made in the context of the current fiscal situation and the capacity of taxpayers.

[Transportation, February 14th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, our government is standing up for Canadians by making shoulder belts mandatory in the rear middle seat. This will reduce the number of deaths and injuries on our roads. We are also delivering on our commitment to further align our standards with those of the United States, which will contribute to long-term economic growth.

The president of the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers of Canada said the government is to be commended for ensuring that Canada's regulatory framework keeps pace with industry safety practices. We are doing the job.