Guy Caron

[Taxation, March 30th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, it is not just the job losses at Future Shop that have us concerned. The Governor of the Bank of Canada is painting a gloomy picture of our economy.

The economic results for the first quarter of 2015 will look “atrocious”. Stephen Poloz is calling on the Conservatives to take action, but we are still waiting for their budget. In the meantime, France suspects a major Canadian bank of facilitating tax evasion.

When will the Conservatives take action and revitalize the economy by fighting tax evasion?

[Tougher Penalties for Child Predators Act, March 27th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his excellent speech.

When we are talking about a bill such as this one, we have to talk about resources. We also have to talk about prevention. My colleague has put his finger on one of the major problems associated with this kind of government bill, which tightens the rules and imposes harsher penalties after the fact. Very limited resources are available, and there are no additional resources for our police forces to enforce the law or to put towards prevention, in order to help the social and community groups that are trying to raise awareness about the issue.

I would like to hear my colleague's thoughts on the importance of prevention and the lack of resources allocated by the government to address this issue.

[Tougher Penalties for Child Predators Act, March 27th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, this gets back to the question of resources allocated. Any bill that calls for much stricter monitoring of people charged with or convicted of committing sexual offences against children requires resources. Whenever the government introduces these kinds of bills, however, it rarely includes additional resources for our police forces and law enforcement agencies.

Another important aspect is the issue of prevention. One of my constituents has initiated a movement to raise awareness about pedophilia, among other issues. Unfortunately, this problem does still exist today, and people need to be aware of it.

I would like to hear what my colleague from Winnipeg North has to say about the resources that should be at the government's disposal, not only to impose tougher penalties but also to prevent these acts from happening in the first place and to raise awareness about the scourge of sexual assault against children.

[The Economy, March 27th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, while the minister of state lives in his bubble, we are living in the real world, where the provinces are able to table budgets. It seems that the Conservative government is incapable of tabling a budget.

For weeks now the government has been dragging its feet and postponing significant investments that the middle class needs right now, such as tax cuts for small business or measures to help manufacturers create jobs.

How many more weeks will the middle class have to wait for a plan to advance families' priorities?

[Tougher Penalties for Child Predators Act, March 27th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his excellent speech. I know that the lack of allocated resources has been a regular bone of contention. It has been a recurring theme in all the criminal justice bills.

There is also the matter of prevention. My colleague talked about that in his speech. I know that there is an existing initiative, proposed by a woman in my riding, to launch an awareness campaign about pedophilia, among other things, and the fact that this problem still exists to this day, unfortunately.

I would like my colleague's opinion on the need for such an awareness campaign. Does he have any advice for the government, not only about the resources needed for such a campaign, but also about how to ensure that such a campaign reaches all of Quebec and Canada?

[The Economy, March 26th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, the time for excuses is over.

The Government of Quebec is tabling its budget today, and so is the Government of Alberta. Meanwhile, the Conservatives are continuing to ask Canadians to wait to find out where public funds will be invested.

We need measures now to help seniors who are living in poverty. We need measures now to help families that cannot afford child care.

My question is this: when will the government deliver a budget that makes families and the middle class a priority?

[Pensions, March 25th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, a study by the Université de Montréal confirms that the Conservatives' old age security reform will increase inequalities among seniors and create more poverty.

We know full well that at the end of the day, changing the retirement age from 65 to 67 will only delay the payment of benefits. Ultimately, this measure will do nothing but make things harder for seniors.

Why is the minister maintaining this reform now that he knows it will achieve nothing?

[Employment, March 24th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives' job creation record is depressing.

For the past 15 months, the job creation rate has not risen above 1%. The Conservatives simply do not have a plan. In contrast, the NDP has a clear plan to boost job creation for small and medium-sized businesses.

Why does the minister not follow our plan instead of sticking to his ineffective policy that is not creating jobs for Canadian families?

[Business of Supply, March 10th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question.

We know that small and medium-size enterprises, or SMEs, are responsible for much of the job creation in Canada. However, a good portion of the jobs lost are also often lost in SMEs. Starting up a small business is risky. Many SMEs are started, but they never develop enough to become stable and maintain those jobs. There is always the hope that those SMEs will make it to the next level and become stable businesses that provide well-paying jobs.

The government has ignored the NDP's longstanding requests. These requests were part of our 2011 platform, and even our 2008 platform, if I am not mistaken. We want to lower the tax rate to 9%. The government made an effort and lowered it from 12% to 11%, which is a step in the right direction. However, that is not enough to give small and medium-size businesses the stability and flexibility they need to grow and transform these jobs—which are admittedly somewhat precarious at first, since it is a risky endeavour—into well-paying jobs that benefit society in economic terms.

[Business of Supply, March 10th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, when we talk about job creation and the 1.2 million jobs the government keeps referring to, we have to remember that that was at the lowest point of the recession, when we reached an unenviable level. Of course things have gone up since then. We talk a lot about economic cycles. Once we hit the low point of a cycle, eventually, no matter which government is in power, we are going to come back up again. The question is whether we can come back up in a way that is good for the entire economy.

The Bank of Canada's Ms. Wilkins was referring to the fact that job creation was not keeping pace with demographic growth. Job creation did not keep up with the number of Canadians ready, willing and able to work. The fact is that there are far more unemployed Canadians now than there were in 2009 and 2006. It is fine to have an economic cycle that is on the upswing and makes job creation possible, but the government still needs to implement measures to promote even faster growth. I would like to tell the House that some of this government's policies have actually restricted and slowed economic growth and our ability to achieve our potential. That is really terrible.