Ed Komarnicki

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, November 27th, 2008]

Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Dartmouth—Cole Harbour for his opening kind comments and remarks. I look forward to meeting him in our committee and working with him and others to see how we can address the issues that face us. Homelessness, housing and poverty are a matter of concern, particularly in difficult times.

I can assure the member that we will be looking at ways to meet the needs are out there through the employment insurance program, improvements to the universal child care benefit program, the child tax credit and the working income tax benefit.

I also remind the member that we have dedicated more funds to homelessness and bringing people through the transition in the housing initiative than any other government in history. We have just announced that we will ensure that there is funding of $387 million for a period of five years for a total of $1.9 billion to address those two issues alone.

It seems to me if one has a place to stay, a house, a roof over their head, a bed to sleep on, food on their table, they can progress to what they can become.

I am looking forward to working with the member to see what we can do in this area.

[Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply, November 27th, 2008]

Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Kitchener Centre.

I am proud to respond to the Speech from the Throne.

As Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and to the Minister of Labour, I am proud to rise today to speak in favour of the passage of the reply to the Speech from the Throne.

First, I extend my thanks to the constituents from Souris—Moose Mountain, those who were responsible for electing me and getting me back into the House of Commons for the third term. I thank my family, my wife Sally, in particular, who stood with me throughout the campaign. I appreciate all the effort that was made on my behalf.

Both my province of Saskatchewan and Canada at large have made some solid economic gains in the past few years. We wish to continue to build upon that and the momentum we have created in the years to come.

Our government is mindful of the challenges faced by Canadians and their families in this time of economic uncertainty. I think of the people with small businesses, farmers, seniors, workers and families. I am sure if we work together, we can preserve their jobs and savings and come through stronger after these times than before we entered into them.

I also think of the first nations communities. I have seven reserves in my riding. We must strive to improve the educational success of our aboriginal young people. Preparing for the future means taking the necessary steps to create the best educated, most skilled and most flexible workforce in the world. That is precisely what our government is doing.

In times of economic prosperity or uncertainty, it is more important than ever for Canadians to acquire skills and knowledge. In the Speech from the Throne our government made a commitment to strengthen Canada's workforce by continuing to support student financial assistance. To that effect, we have increased post-secondary education funding by 40%. We are also helping students through our new, income-tested student loan repayment assistance plan to ensure that no more than 20% of any borrower's income will go toward repaying the loan.

In budget 2008 our government introduced a new Canada student grant program that would provide students from low-income and middle-income families with cash assistance each month of $250 and $100, respectively. Starting next year, the new grant is expected to help 245,000 students for the first year.

The Speech from the Throne also reiterated our government's commitment to take measures to encourage skilled trades and apprenticeships. We have a number of programs in relation to that. The Speech from the Throne also emphasizes our government's commitment to work with provinces to remove barriers to internal trade, investment and labour mobility by 2010. We want to be sure that Canadians can move from province to province to ensure their skills and abilities can be used wherever they are required.

As I mentioned earlier, an important source of untapped potential in Canada lies within our aboriginal communities. Close to 16,000 aboriginal people are taking advantage of the aboriginal skills and employment partnership program, which helps them receive trades training and secure sustainable skilled jobs in the north and across Canada.

Our government has also committed significant funding over six years for new labour market agreements with the provinces to help address the gap in labour market programming for those who do not currently qualify for training under the employment insurance program.

With certain economic challenges ahead, our government recognizes that many workers may be forced to leave their jobs as a result of the economic downturn. Our government will support these workers facing transition and we will be there for them in the time of need.

We want to support Canadians in difficult times because our economy is only as strong as our workers and their families. The Prime Minister has stated that governments have a duty to help families and communities bridge the gap between a downturn and recovery.

That is why in January 2008 the Prime Minister announced a $1 billion fund for the community development trust, which supports a wide variety of initiatives such as job training and skills development to create opportunities for affected workers, community transition plans that foster economic development and create new jobs and infrastructure development that stimulates economic diversification.

To help older workers transition into new job opportunities, the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development introduced the targeted initiative for older workers program to help unemployed older workers in the most vulnerable communities. We must help all Canadians participate.

Let me now turn to breaking down the barriers that prevent Canadians from reaching their full potential.

Canada is built upon a promise of opportunity and a willingness to work hard to secure a better life. That promise should be kept alive. It gives us hope.

By breaking down barriers to equal opportunity within the workplace, the Canadian economy will become even stronger and more competitive. We continue our work in this regard through our tools for fairness in the workplace, the Employment Equity Act, the racism-free workplace strategy and our federal labour standards that establish minimum conditions of employment for employees and for many employers, helping them to compete on more equal footing with other businesses.

We can find better ways to reconcile work with our other responsibilities in life and we will. A new model of labour standards must take this into account. To help families with children balance work and family life, our government introduced the universal child care plan. This plan provides parents with more choices in deciding what is best for their children.

Through our universal child care benefit, transfers to the provinces and territories and child-related tax credits, we are making historic investments that benefit families with children, mostly helping low income and modest income families. In fact, our investments amount to the single largest investments in child care in the history of Canada, three times more than the previous Liberal government had invested. Our universal child care benefit assists 1.5 million families and about two million children per year.

For the average family, this benefit, together with the child care expense deduction, offsets well over one-third of the cost of non-parental child care. The combined impact of these measures is even greater for one parent families. The universal child care benefit program has lifted an estimated 24,000 families with about 55,000 children out of the low income bracket.

With our significant funding for the creation of child care spaces, the provinces and territories have announced the creation of over 60,000 new child care spaces since March of last year. We will continue to work co-operatively with provinces to create daycare spaces and give parents what they have asked for: real choice in child care.

The Speech from the Throne reiterated our government's commitment to extend the homelessness partnering strategy and help more Canadians find affordable housing. Accordingly our government has renewed federal housing and homelessness programs at current levels for five years until March 31, 2014. This has been well received.

In helping to keep Canadians safe, the government is committed to preventing violence in the workplace. The violence prevention regulations that apply to workers in private and public federally regulated workplaces are now in force.

The Speech from the Throne also highlighted the need for our government to review all program spending carefully to ensure program spending would be effective and in line with Canadian priorities. Canadian taxpayers expect modern and cost effective services responsive to their individual needs. Through Service Canada, we continue to improve the access of citizens to a full range of government information, programs and services. We will continue to encourage innovation in service excellence while focusing on efficiency and results.

Once again, I reiterate the great honour and privilege it is to serve my constituents in this House. I believe I will live up to their expectations and I will do the best I can to represent them. I trust we will emerge from these uncertain times better, stronger and more able than we were before we entered.

[Employment Insurance, November 26th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the employment insurance program is applicable to everyone across Canada. Everyone is entitled to apply and receive what they are entitled to.

In addition to that, we have obviously done the community development fund that helps those in regions where they suffer losses that are particular and peculiar to those regions. We have also had the Canada labour agreement that allows workers who lose their jobs to get trained and to move up in the job scale to find other work.

We are doing everything we possibly can to soften the blow and ensure that Canadians are protected, are able to work and continue to raise families and take care of those who are close to them.

[Employment Insurance, November 26th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the employment insurance fund is being reformed to ensure that those premiums that are collected go directly to the benefit of the workers who have suffered the losses, and it will be there when the workers need it to be there.

We will ensure that the fees collected will be paid for benefits. We have put in $2 billion to ensure that we can backstop that. If we need to go beyond that, we will backstop it further.

[Citizenship and Immigration, June 20th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt I will not comment on a particular case, but I can say we have the refugee protection system that is a model for all of the world. It has a number of processes. Many of them include applications such as humanitarian and compassionate grounds applications. Those applications need to be made. We treat them equitably and fairly and we will look at each case compassionately.

Therefore, I ask the member to allow the process to take its course.

[June 18th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I understand that Bill C-280 passed in the Senate about 30 minutes ago.

However, that said, the government is committed to the principle of evaluating each case on its own merits and each individual's circumstances.

Before removals or deportations from Canada begin, individuals can ask for the pre-removal risk assessment to examine the risk they might face in returning to their home country, based on evidence that may not have been available at the Immigration and Refugee Board hearing.

During the time that the PRRA is going on, the removal order is stayed and that individual can remain in Canada, but if the assessment fails, removal procedures will resume. Under the single decision-maker model, the pre-removal risk assessment officer is an expert in matters of risk.

However, single decision-makers assess not only risk but also other--

[June 18th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I would ask this member to pay attention and he will hear what the government's position is on this matter. One person can make a decision on two separate issues that are different from each other.

I certainly appreciate this opportunity to respond.

The Government of Canada is fully committed to a well managed and efficient immigration system, one that helps those who are legitimately in need of protection, because Canadians expect their refugee system to help and protect legitimate refugees.

Amendments to the former immigration regulations in 1993 created a safety net for failed refugee claimants who could face serious risk of harm if sent back to their country of origin.

While laudable, these amendments created a lengthier and more complex process and did nothing to quash allegations that failed refugee claimants were being denied meaningful opportunities to present their cases fully and fairly.

In response, Citizenship and Immigration Canada created a model called the “single decision-maker”. Under this model, officers with particular expertise in the assessment of risks were given responsibility for assessing humanitarian and compassionate applications that raised questions of hardship based on those risks.

These officers, now called pre-removal risk assessment officers, use their expertise to examine these applications rather than having them assessed by generalist officers of CIC.

In addition to making a humanitarian and compassionate application, those who feel they would be at risk can apply for a pre-removal risk assessment, or PRRA, before they are removed.

This pre-removal risk assessment allows for new evidence to be brought forward beyond what is heard initially at the Immigration and Refugee Board. The applicants have the right to remain in Canada during these proceedings.

The pre-removal risk assessment officer examines the pre-removal risk assessment application and considers, separately and completely, all factors that are raised in applications made on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, including hardship in the country of origin.

In assessing both applications simultaneously, single decision-makers examine all aspects of the alleged risks from both perspectives. The factors assessed in a humanitarian and compassionate application are much broader than the risk element considered under the pre-removal risk assessment, and the legal tests are different.

The government is committed to the principle of evaluating each case on its own merits and each individual's circumstances.

The single decision-maker model was put in place to ensure more efficiency in the process and to improve the quality of humanitarian and compassionate decision making. The pre-removal risk assessment officers are trained for both applications and are well aware of the differences between each of them.

As to the question of the appearance of bias, a 2006 Federal Court of Appeal case judge ruled:

--there is nothing in the record to suggest that the officer could not be neutral or that a reasonable person, fully informed about the facts and circumstances of the decision regarding the appellants, would fear that the officer in question lacked objectivity.

In another 2004 landmark case challenging negative decisions, the judge concluded that the applicant failed to produce any specific evidence of bias or conflict of interest and found the process involved in the pre-removal risk assessment and the humanitarian and compassionate applications to be sufficient.

There is no question that on two different issues the same person can make decisions on an objective basis. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. It has nothing to do with the Refugee Appeal Division that the member refers to, which was not part of his question to the minister. Not only are these positions held by this government, but they are approved by the Federal Court as well.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2008, June 3rd, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for drawing attention to what should be painfully obvious to the NDP, but we do know what we do not need. We do not need the type of economic policy the professor across the way would have, which would max out the national credit card and pay for it with a new carbon tax. It would kill jobs. It would drive up the cost of everything, gasoline, diesel, home heating oil. It would reduce the standard of living for all individuals and families. Those are the kinds of things we do not need. We need the types of programs that will ensure the economy goes forward, that jobs are created, good quality jobs as my learned friend has indicated. The NDP should wake up and get behind us and support the initiatives we are taking in this budget because it will certainly help all Canadians.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2008, June 3rd, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, with respect to the big oil companies to which the member referred, the member should have noticed that we took away the accelerated capital cost allowance. This is actually a tax hike for big oil companies. We transferred that benefit to manufacturers in Canada as I described earlier. The member surely is aware that more than 19,000 net new jobs were created in this country last month alone, this despite the slowness of the United States economy.

Since this government took office, employment has increased by 832,000 people. There are some single industry communities in particular which need help. That is why the Prime Minister announced the community development trust fund of $1 billion to help communities in parts of the country that have met some difficulties, but there is specific assistance for those in the manufacturing sector. A whole host of programs have been developed to ensure they continue. There is $250 million over five years to support strategic large scale research and development projects in the automotive sector, to develop innovative, greener and more fuel efficient vehicles. This funding will contribute to a more competitive Canadian automotive sector and will help Canada achieve its environmental objectives.

There is a whole host of other programs, such as: $9 billion in tax relief including broad based tax reductions, as well as temporary accelerated writeoffs for investments in machinery and equipment used in manufacturing and processing; $1.3 billion per year in additional funding to the provinces for post-secondary education and training to create a more highly skilled workforce; more than $1.5 billion over three years through budget 2006 and budget 2007 to support Canada's leadership in science and technology; and of course, $33 billion over seven years in infrastructure investments that will continue to ensure that we have the infrastructure to ensure that our economy continues to grow.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2008, June 3rd, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, quite the contrary, the Conservative government is managing the economy very well. It is managing the continued growth of the economy and jobs very well. If the member will recall, there was a Globe and Mail article that indicated the types of jobs that are actually being created. They are not the Tim Hortons or burger-flipping type jobs. They are jobs in management. They are jobs in various sectors.

The economy remains strong. Interest rates are low. Inflation remains within the targeted range. Disposable personal income continues to go up. The unemployment rate is at a 33 year low. Employment is on the rise in every region of the country. More than 750,000 new jobs have been created. The taxes that people pay are at an all-time low. Debt is being paid down. Spending is under control. We can remain focused with prudence, or we can pretend that it is not working. All the indicators show that the economy is on a solid foundation. Notwithstanding what is happening in the global situation, we appreciate that has some impact on our economy, as well, but we have addressed those by strategically targeting and we are helping to overcome those, while the rest of the country continues to grow. There are many sectors of the economy in various provinces, like Saskatchewan, that are doing exceptionally well.

It is very important to point out that more Canadians have more dollars in their pockets today than they have had in a long time. Indeed, the income taxes that people work so hard to pay have been going down proportionately every year, into the thousands of dollars. It is important for Canadians to be able to keep some of that money to use on their own initiative to further invest in our economy to create yet more jobs. Certainly it will not be through going the route that the New Democratic Party is talking about. I would urge the member and all hon. members from his party to support this particular budget because it has a number of innovative initiatives that need to go forward to ensure our economy continues along the line that it has been doing in the last little while.