Glenn Thibeault

[Business of Supply, May 14th, 2014]

So the easy answer to that, Mr. Chair, was $225 million each year, but let us contrast that with the government's no-strings-attached corporate tax cuts. The estimate of that from the PBO is $1.85 billion. Therefore, it is $225 million to help the small businesses that are creating most of the jobs in this country or just giving a free-for-all of $1.85 billion to corporations.

Could the minister explain why the government is actually not supporting small businesses in Canada as it continues to cut any type of hiring credits and is not acting on any of the merchant fees? It is actually starting to get despicable.

[Business of Supply, May 14th, 2014]

Mr. Chair, I doubt that 60,000 businesses that just lost their opportunity to apply for this tax credit that used it before would agree with the minister.

In terms of lost revenue, could the minister tell us what the estimated annual cost of the hiring credit for small businesses was?

[Business of Supply, May 14th, 2014]

Mr. Chair, the minister's initial response was that small businesses are important to the government. Why, then, did it cut the small business hiring tax credit?

[Business of Supply, May 14th, 2014]

Mr. Chair, let me explain to the minister that his answer to that was on the consumer side. What we were talking about a minute ago was the small business side. The minister really has to get an understanding of which side of the credit card issue we are talking about right now, because the Competition Tribunal said in a recent decision that the credit card processing fees and the practices of Visa and MasterCard are having an adverse effect on competition in the market. They punted the issue back to Parliament for action, so I would like to know if the minister agrees with the Competition Tribunal that the practices of the credit card companies are anti-competitive. I would like to hear an answer on the small business side this time.

[Business of Supply, May 14th, 2014]

Mr. Chair, the minister is touting a voluntary code that is actually toothless and has done nothing, because we just heard him admit that the rates are still going up.

I would like to hear from the minister why it is that they continue to do a lot of talking about protecting small businesses and making sure that they are going to do something about merchant fees but have refused to act, except to put in a voluntary code that the small business communities across the country are still saying is toothless, does nothing to protect them, and is costing them $4.2 billion a year. I would like to hear the minister's response to that.

[Fabio Belli, May 13th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, today is my first opportunity in the House to pay tribute to Fabio Belli, a dedicated family man and city councillor from my riding of Sudbury, who passed away suddenly a month ago yesterday.

Fabio was only 37 years old, and he was known as an award winning business leader. He channelled that spirit into getting elected as councillor. He worked hard for his constituents, as well as on major projects, especially for a new arena for his beloved Sudbury Wolves.

More than anything, Fabio was a committed family man. To his wife, Sue, his two young daughters, Emma and Brianna, his parents and extended family, I thank them for sharing Fabio with us. As political colleagues, we would meet, but as friends, we would talk about our families, our community and about how Italy was always the favourite to win the World Cup.

My city lost a good a man, a great husband and father, and I lost a friend. I truly hope this tribute will be looked upon by his daughters in the years to come, and it will remind them of how great a man their father truly was.

[Petitions, May 13th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to table a new set of petitions calling on the government to reverse the cuts to Canada Post. The hundreds of signatories believe that we should be instead looking for ways to generate additional revenue, for example, by establishing postal banking. The petitioners want the government to make it very clear that we should not be cutting essential services that Canadians rely on.

[Petitions, May 12th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to table a petition calling upon the Government of Canada to change its policy on blood and organ donation. More specifically, the signatories are requesting that sexual orientation be removed as a screening criteria.

Therefore, the signatories request that the Government of Canada return the rights of any healthy Canadian to give the gift of blood, bone marrow and organs to those in need no matter the race, religion or sexual preference of a person. The right to give blood or donate organs is universal to any healthy man or woman.

[Consumer Protection, May 6th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, while the Conservatives claim credit for the CRTC's wireless code of conduct as their policy, Canadians continue to be hit in the pocketbook waiting for action.

The NDP has been pushing for this code since the beginning, but now, as the code of conduct is being challenged by the big three in court, the current government has simply walked away from it.

The Conservatives keep spending millions in advertisement to tell Canadians how great their not-so-original idea is. Why are the Conservatives not putting their efforts into defending the code of conduct instead of boasting about it while it is being struck down?

[Petitions, April 30th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to rise in the chamber to table a series of petitions signed by a great number of Canadians, most of them from my great riding of Sudbury. They call on the government to reverse the cuts to services announced by Canada Post and to look instead for ways to innovate, for example by establishing postal banking services.