House of Commons photoWon her last election, in 2015, with 44% of the vote.
Income Tax Act September 19th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I guess the point is this. All of us support our first responders and all of us want to ensure they are well supported and well paid in the jobs they do. However, the Liberals' so-called tax cut would benefit everybody over $100,000. Again, they have to look at it with some critical thinking and through a lens that makes sense, and certainly this does not make sense.
Income Tax Act September 19th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I think they need to go back to the drawing board. The Liberals have taken away tax credits for kids and added additional CPP contributions. They are all over the map on a number of things. There has to be a broad plan outlining exactly what it looks like, how much is being spent, how much is being borrowed, what the income is, and a plan to pay it back. It needs to be looked at broadly by people who actually know what they are doing.
Income Tax Act September 19th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, as my colleague well knows, there was a global recession and Canada fared extremely well as it went through that.
Also, the GIS absolutely helps seniors, but why give with one hand and take away with the other hand?
When we look at how financially prudent the Conservative government was and how our banking system was set up, Canada fared better and were at the top of most countries around the world. I think there needs to be more acknowledgement of the actual facts.
Income Tax Act September 19th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Saskatoon—Grasswood. I rise in the House today to speak to Bill C-2, an act to amend the Income Tax Act.
This legislation slashes the contribution limit for the tax-free savings account from $10,000 to $5,500. The rationale behind this cut, as we have heard many times from the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance, and other ministers is that the tax-free savings account is only for wealthy Canadians, and no one has an extra $10,000 just laying around.
This rationale could not be further from the truth. Seniors are saving for their retirements, students are saving to pay for their educations, new parents are saving for their children, and young entrepreneurs are saving to start a business.
In my riding of South Surrey—White Rock, it is the seniors who will be hit the hardest by the legislation. Constituents in my riding overwhelmingly do not support this change. A report from the parliamentary budget officer back in 2015 stated that middle-income earners and Canadian seniors were benefiting the most from the tax-free savings account. This report also stated that raising the limit to $10,000 would benefit middle-income earners and seniors even more in the long term. This is exactly what the Conservative government did. We raised the limit to $10,000 to benefit seniors and the middle class.
However, I hear from the Liberal government that the tax-free savings account, again, only benefits the rich and therefore needs to be cut in half. It is the same thing with small business. We heard from the Liberal government that small business is only a tax haven for the rich. I cannot help but wonder where and how it is getting its information, because it is contrary to the parliamentary budget officer, contrary to experts in the banking industry, and frankly contrary to plain old common sense.
Let us talk about the so-called tax cut for the middle class. Again, we heard over and over again that the tax cut, which is also included in this bill, would be revenue neutral and would not cost Canadians anything. This statement is simply not true. The finance minister has since amended his comments and stated that his plan is not revenue neutral, and in fact it will cost Canadian taxpayers at least $1 billion. However, in a report from the parliamentary budget officer, it is stated that the figure is $1.7 billion.
Now we have gone from revenue neutral to costing the taxpayers $1.7 billion. However, it gets even better for taxpayers and those who are losing their jobs. The Liberal government told taxpayers that for a tiny deficit of $10 billion, infrastructure projects would be built and the economy would flourish. Again, that is not true.
From a balanced budget with a $1-billion surplus, the condition that we left our finances in, as stated numerous times by the parliamentary budget officer, the Liberal government burned through the $1 billion, racked up a $30-billion deficit, and we are still waiting for the infrastructure projects.
The Liberals have decreased the ability for seniors, middle-class families, and students to save, and increased the debt burden on every Canadian through reckless spending, as well as removing the tax credits for post-secondary tuition, school textbooks, and for sports and arts programs for children. They also increased the contributions to the CPP, and $6.7 billion has been spent or committed overseas. Just today, the Prime Minister announced over $450 million to the UN. That raises the total to over $7.1 billion.
Further to that, recently announced by the Prime Minister, an eight-month-old Asian infrastructure investment bank initiated by the Chinese government will see approximately 2.9 billion of Canadian taxpayer dollars for infrastructure built in Asia. It is important to note that all of these figures are only what is publicly being pledged. As we know, not all government spending is announced publicly.
There is only one question to ask: what tax increases will the Liberal government implement in order to pay off the debt? It will have to be paid off. I remind the government that there is only one taxpayer and it is not their money.
Business of Supply June 13th, 2016
Madam Speaker, I listened intently to the member, as well as the Minister of Justice and the Prime Minister. We have heard them all state that legalization is going to take it out of the hands of organized crime and keep our children safe. As we know, drug dealers are not interested in keeping any drugs out of the hands of our kids and continue to diversify.
My question would be this. The premise is that legalizing marijuana would keep kids safe, take drugs out of the hands of organized crime, and everything is going to be great. Extrapolating that, is there is an intention to also legalize street fentanyl, OxyContin, W-18, W series drugs, ecstasy and cocaine, which are on the rise and have been on the rise for quite some time?
Business of Supply June 9th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, Ján Kubiš, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Iraq, told the UN Security Council that more than 50 mass graves have been discovered so far in several areas of Iraq, and that ISIS is continuing its atrocities against women and children. I am glad to hear that Canada has called for an investigation. The other member said that Canada had written a letter and called for this investigation. I would suggest that the investigation is under way.
I would also suggest that ISIS has met, on every account, the definition of genocide under article II of the genocide convention to which Canada is a signatory. My question for the member is this. Is he aware of that?
Business of Supply June 9th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, just as my colleague stated, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide Canada signed as a signatory on that document. It states very clearly that we are required to prevent and punish actions of genocide. I would like my colleague to speak to our obligation and duty to protect these people.
Business of Supply June 9th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I do not think that there is any doubt in anyone's mind. The UN special representatives in Iraq are there on the ground. They have uncovered up to 50 mass graves. They are doing due diligence on the ground. They have seen and photographed and documented a lot of the atrocities that have occurred. There are pictures of the 19 young girls in a cage who were burned alive. There are pictures. ISIS has no problem posting these all over social media. As I said, they are on the ground as well.
I cannot stress enough that we are a signatory and every single piece has been violated. We have a responsibility and we need to do our job.
Business of Supply June 9th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I would agree 100% with my colleague. The atrocities that are going on right now with ISIS absolutely have to be addressed. We need to get out there. We need to do whatever we can, but there are also other things that are going on as the member well pointed out.
There are governments that are perpetrating barrel-bombing on their residents. That is unacceptable. Look at Libya and what is happening with Boko Haram. There is a larger picture here that absolutely needs to be addressed and we need to have a concrete plan in place in terms of how we are going to deal with it, in terms of who we can pull in from an international perspective, and how we are going to address it. It is a broader picture and right now we are dealing with what is going on with the Yazidi people and what is going on in Iraq, but that should absolutely be on the table and we should be dealing with that as well.
Business of Supply June 9th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I am absolutely thrilled that the government has sent a letter as a first step. That is great.
If all that comes out of everything I said, with respect to the atrocities that have been committed and Canada's obligation as a signatory on the genocide convention, is for me to clarify a word and wordsmith what the Vatican said, I am deeply offended. I think there are serious issues here that need to be addressed. We need to make sure we are taking care of those people and that no more girls are raped and used as weapons of war. It is abominable.