Ed Fast

[Business of the House, February 4th, 2016]

Madam Speaker, I believe that the member has been engaging in some revisionist history. In fact, if we look at the 10 years that our Conservative government was in office, we consistently strengthened the regulation of the banks. We understood what it took to maintain a strong economy.

With respect to his specific question, he has suggested that high spending is what is being recommended as a solution to the world's economic problems. We have seen where that led in places like Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Ireland. Now we hear that there are other countries in Europe that are facing significant headwinds, Norway being one of them.

We were very clear for over 10 years. We believed that it was responsible government accountability to taxpayers that would keep us on the right course. That is why, even today, Canada is one of the few countries in the world to still run a budget surplus.

[Business of the House, February 4th, 2016]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from Carleton for that excellent intervention. I am very much looking forward to engaging in this debate on the kind of fact and fiction that is often introduced in this House.

Before I do, I want to thank the residents of the beautiful city of Abbotsford for re-electing me to a fourth term. I have had a chance to serve them for 10 years, and I am very much looking forward to the next few years being their representative here in Canada's capital city, Ottawa.

What we are discussing here is a motion that affirms once and for all that, in fact, the previous Conservative government left the new Liberal government with a balanced budget. In fact, it was more than a balanced budget; we left the new government with a surplus of over $1 billion. Sadly, what we hear from the Minister of Finance, from his parliamentary secretary, and from some of the members on the Liberal side is the perpetuation of this canard that somehow the previous government left the Liberals with a deficit. That is patently false. They can actually ask the highest-serving civil servant in Canada in the finance department. He has said that the previous government left a surplus. In fact, the Parliamentary Budget Officer has said the same thing: the previous government left a surplus to the current Liberal government.

Let us talk about how we even got to this point. As members know, back in 2008-09, the world was faced with the worst global economic crisis the world had seen since the Great Depression, and like virtually every other developed country in the world, Canada and our Conservative government did what was right. We invested in infrastructure to make sure that we primed the pump. We were fortunate, because Canada was the last country of the G7 to actually slip into recession, and our policies in responding to that recession actually allowed us to emerge from the recession as the first country to do so.

We invested in our economy, made sure that our economy was strong going forward, and created jobs.

We made a promise back then, because to invest so heavily in infrastructure at one time to prime that pump I referred to, we had to go into temporary deficit. When we did so, we did something that our Liberal and New Democrat friends opposed: we set a clear goal to return to balance in our budgets. In fact, in 2011, during the election when we were elected as a majority government, we pledged to Canadians that by the year 2015, we would actually return to balanced budgets. In fact, we achieved that a year earlier than expected. Even now, in this fiscal year, we have left the new government with a surplus.

How did we achieve that between 2008 and 2015? There are four key things we did. I already mentioned the $33-billion worth of infrastructure we invested in across our country. Much of it was transportation-related infrastructure. Much of it was knowledge infrastructure. By all accounts, that infrastructure investment was made in a timely, efficient way and delivered results.

The second thing we did was recognize that in a recession, Canadians do not need extra taxes. In fact, we continued to reduce the tax burden on Canadians. We reduced taxes to the point where today, the tax burden on Canadians is the lowest it has been in over 50 years.

The third thing we did is something the Liberals have found tough to do. In fact, a previous leader of the Liberal Party said, “Do you think it's easy to make priorities?” No, we do not believe it is easy to set priorities. Setting priorities is tough, but fortunately, Canadians had a tough-minded government in place that knew how to set priorities and make tough decisions. We were able to control the growth of government. We were able to control government spending.

The fourth thing we did, and something I am personally very proud of, was embark upon the most ambitious trade agenda Canada had ever seen. I am glad to see my colleague, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade is here. I look forward to working with him to ratify the trans-Pacific partnership, and also our free trade agreement with the European Union.

Since our government was elected in 2006, we were able to negotiate trade agreements with 46 countries. We were able to negotiate a megadeal with the European Union. We negotiated a trade agreement with South Korea, which is a market of 50 million well-heeled consumers. We concluded negotiations on the trans-Pacific partnership with 11 other partners within the Asia-Pacific region.

We did that because we wanted to open up new opportunities for Canadians in markets around the world, new opportunities for Canadian manufacturers, Canadian investors, Canadian service providers, Canadian innovators. We opened markets for Canadian exporters and importers. Our consumers benefited because tariffs were eliminated.

Of the dollar value of known economic benefits and expected economic benefits of all trade agreements that Canada has signed, 98.5% of that value was negotiated under Conservative governments, not Liberal governments.

It started with the Canada-U.S. free trade agreement which then morphed into the North American Free Trade Agreement, where we brought Mexico into the fold. Then there were 13 years between 1993 to 2006, where virtually nothing got done, while the rest of the world was moving ahead, full steam, opening up new markets. Our Liberals friends negotiated three small agreements with Chile, Costa Rica and Israel.

I am very proud of our record of an additional 46 markets opened up to Canadians, driving economic growth and prosperity in our country. These temporary deficits that we embarked upon provided an impetus to our economy back in 2008-09 and they paid off because we handled it in a responsible way. We returned to surplus budgets one year earlier than expected.

We are very proud of that achievement. We are also very sad to see the new Liberal government embark upon a set of policies that are just upending that apple cart of stability, of common sense.

The Prime Minister within days of being sworn in, without consultations, without warning to Canadians, made an announcement, not in Canada but in Malta, that he was going to be spending $2.65 billion of taxpayer money on climate change initiatives, vanity projects, not at home, not in our country, but in foreign countries. There is no accountability. The money is going to foreign agencies where we have very little oversight, and there is very little transparency.

We see that with the the approach of the Liberals to taxes. We see that in their approach to big spending, and their promises of big deficits. In fact, during the election, the Prime Minister promised Canadians that he would only run deficits of about $10 billion per year each year, and in the fourth year of his term, he would balance the budget. Guess what? Economists are now in agreement that these deficits will be much higher. In fact, many people are predicting deficits in the range of $30 billion to $40 billion a year. So much for making promises.

Will the Prime Minister and his government reach a balanced budget in four years? Any economist we might speak to will say that it is virtually impossible unless there is a huge hike in taxes on Canadians.

That is not the kind of government Canadians elected. As we discuss the finances of this nation, there are not many things more important than being transparent and forthright about the state of those finances.

May I suggest for the Liberal government, the Minister of Finance, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance, and all members of the Liberal government that they be truthful when they talk about deficits. I expect the truth might set them free.

[Points of Order, February 1st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I believe it is customary when a minister of the crown makes comments in the House that are actually incorrect that there is an opportunity for the minister to correct the record.

If I could just quote the Minister of Environment and Climate Change: “It was the first time in over a decade that we'd actually met to talk about the challenges of climate change”.

In fact, that is patently false. As I mentioned during question period, there was a meeting that took place last--

[The Environment, February 1st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the minister is quite incorrect. The ministers actually met in June 2015.

In the lead-up to the Paris climate-change conference, the Prime Minister dropped a bombshell on Canadians. He announced, without warning and without a climate change plan, that he would spend almost $3 billion of taxpayer money on his own vanity projects, not here at home but in foreign countries. In fact, last week in the House, the minister had the gall to crow about that.

Why is that money not being invested in Canada, and where is the promised accountability?

[The Environment, February 1st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are becoming very frustrated as they wait for the Liberal government to tell them what its climate change plan looks like and how much it will cost Canadian consumers and taxpayers.

Last Friday, the minister met with her provincial and territorial counterparts in secret and then announced nothing, simply that they had all met. There was no plan, no strategy, no economic assessment, not even a substantive progress report.

Where is the plan? What happened to transparency?

[Ron Sweeney, January 29th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, today I honour the passing of a remarkable man, friend, and long-time Abbotsford resident, Ron Sweeney. Ron passed away peacefully this past November.

As a much loved and visionary educator, Mr. Sweeney inspired generations of students to achieve their full potential. As an athlete and coach, he is fondly remembered by many for the Sweeney Hockey League and the many teams he supported.

He served on city council and countless community organizations and was the inspiration behind the popular Sweeney Family Singers. Above all, Ron was a man of deep faith and received from Pope Benedict XVI, the Benemerenti medal for his service to the Catholic church. He was also the worthy recipient of the Order of Abbotsford.

He leaves behind his wife Mary, their seven children and spouses, 29 grandchildren and 20 great grandchildren.

On behalf of the residents of Abbotsford, I honour his enduring love for others that has inspired thousands of our citizens to live full and meaningful lives. I thank him.

[The Environment, January 27th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the minister for her comments on the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris. It is my first opportunity to welcome her to her job and I do wish her well.

I am pleased to note that the new government continues to use the nationally determined contributions set by our Conservative government, namely a 30% reduction of GHG emissions over 2005 levels by the year 2030. These targets are ambitious and much work needs to be done in order to meet them within the required time frame.

That said, and despite the language of inclusivity and positivity infused throughout the minister's speech, I would like to take this opportunity to remind her of some of the very real challenges she faces.

The minister, of course, is right to point out that Canadians do experience the impacts of climate change, especially right here in Canada and especially in northern communities.

That is exactly why we are concerned that one of the very first actions of the government after the election was to drop a bombshell on Canadians.

To the surprise of everyone, the Prime Minister announced, without warning or consultation, that he was spending more than $2 billion of additional taxpayers' money on climate change initiatives not within Canada but outside Canada in foreign countries. Over $2 billion.

This is money that is being spent abroad without a climate change plan, without a clear idea of who will receive the money and without any assurance the money will be spent as intended. What happened to the minister's commitment to “Address this challenge through concrete actions here at home”?

I want to be clear that we understand Canada's responsibility to help the less fortunate countries of our world and Canada has always done its part. However, the government is sending billions of dollars to the United Nations and other agencies without consulting Canadians, without clear oversight, and without effective control over how the money will be spent. Where is the transparency the Prime Minister and his government were boasting about?

It is our view that the government's priorities right now should be to invest in Canada first under a clear defensible plan to address our own environmental challenges before throwing more money at unelected and often unaccountable agencies outside of Canada. Canadians deserve better.

The minister rightly pointed to last month's Speech from the Throne which stated that protecting the environment and growing the economy go hand in hand. But what she failed to repeat was the actual promise in the text, namely, “Working together, the Government will continue to provide leadership as Canada works toward putting a price on carbon--”.

While the minister used today's statement to proudly boast of her government's wild spending on foreign green initiatives, I would have hoped that she would have also addressed the actual elephant in the room and that is to say, what additional burden does she intend to place on Canadian consumers and businesses?

What additional price does she intend to place on carbon? What devastation will she wreak upon hard-working Canadian families at a time when our economy is facing such significant headwinds? How many more Canadians will lose their jobs because of her policies? Does she not realize the dire straits facing our energy sector?

Those are the questions the minister refused to answer today. Where is the leadership and where is the transparency? With a Liberal government which speaks so fervently about transparency and inclusivity, I am perplexed that these fundamental policy questions were not even addressed today.

Yes, we must, as the minister states, use a spirit of co-operation to fight climate change, but we cannot very well co-operate if she spends billions of taxpayers' money without warning, without consultation, and when she fails to address the most serious environmental policy proposals contained in the government's Speech from the Throne, including the plan to price carbon.

The minister also failed to address any of the work being undertaken with our North American counterparts. I have applauded the minister for making co-operation with our American and Mexican friends a priority as we seek to align our climate change policies with those of our North American partners. This was also the policy of the previous government, recognizing that Canada's place and competitiveness within the North American production platform can only be maintained if our climate initiatives are aligned with these partners.

Could the minister not have used this opportunity to share with us the progress being made on joint regulatory initiatives? Were those initiatives not discussed at COP21 in Paris when the Prime Minister wined and dined almost 400 Canadian delegates on the taxpayers' dime?

Were these joint North American initiatives not discussed at Davos, where the Prime Minister was hobnobbing with the International jet set? While the Prime Minister used his time in Davos to cheekily promote Canadian resourcefulness, he showed utter contempt for our resource sector by glibly disparaging and dismissing the critical role that oil, gas, and mining play in supporting the Canadian way of life.

Canada is, as the minister stated, blessed with great minds and tremendous motivation. However, let us not forget that it is natural resources that pay for our education, our health, and our high standard of living. Canada must engage in the global economy, we all understand that, ever finding new ways to assure our long-term prosperity. Yes, we must always diversify and promote our knowledge advantage, as well as the Canada brand, but we must never, ever trade our birthright, our competitive advantage in the resource sector, for misguided and uninformed sound bites.

I want to remind the minister that transparency and accountability require more than just vague promises of consultations. They require clear understanding of the impact that carbon pricing policies have on consumers, small and medium-sized businesses, and on hard-working Canadian families. They require a clear understanding that Canadians expect their government to invest first here in Canada before dishing out taxpayers' money abroad.

Transparency and accountability require a clear plan for Canadians to review before that plan is implemented. Sadly, we have yet to see the plan and sadly, we have heard nothing new in the minister's comments today.

We are prepared to work with the government to find that balance between our economy and protecting our environment for future generations. That offer still stands.

[International Trade, June 15th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I do not accept the premise of that question. No government has done more to advance Canada's trade interests than this Conservative government. That is why we have concluded free trade agreements with 38 different countries around the world, and we have also concluded 29 investment protection agreements.

Had the member actually reviewed the statistics, she would have found that non-energy exports actually went up 6.2% over the previous year. Last year was the first time that Canadian exports were over $1 trillion. We are very proud of that accomplishment.

[International Trade, June 10th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, the only doublespeak is from the NDP. Our government will continue to promote Canadian trade interests across all sectors of our economy, including supply management. That has never prevented us from successfully concluding trade agreements with countries like the United States, with the European Union, with South Korea.

We make no apologies for ensuring that any deal reached must be in Canada's best interests. That is the standard we have set and we will only sign a trade agreement if it significantly benefits Canadian workers and families.

[International Trade, June 10th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, no one has done more for Ukraine than this Conservative government.

The Prime Minister has visited Ukraine on a number of occasions. We have hosted President Poroshenko here in the House. I have been to Ukraine on two occasions to see for myself the situation on the ground.

It is this government that began free trade negotiations with the Ukrainian government. We continue to pursue those negotiations. Our negotiators are at the table, hoping to complete negotiations in the short term so Ukrainians can benefit from more open markets.

In the meantime, we are also stepping in, supporting democracy, transparency and governance within that country.