House of Commons photoWon her last election, in 2015, with 38% of the vote.
Petitions May 25th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions.
The first petition is from Canadian Menstruators, who are concerned that there is a disproportionate financial burden on women because they pay GST on feminine hygiene products. They ask the Government of Canada to extend a 0% GST rate to menstrual hygiene products.
Ethics May 25th, 2015
More nonsense, Mr. Speaker.
The Prime Minister has broken every promise he ever made on Senate reform, and look where it has got us. The Auditor General's findings will reportedly include Senate trips that did not appear to involve parliamentary business, indications of widespread spending abuses, and 10 new senators potentially under police investigation.
Canadians have had enough. The Prime Minister once said an appointed Senate is a relic of the 19th century. Why is he using this relic for partisan fundraising and to kill democratically passed legislation?
Employment May 14th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, under the Conservatives, job losses just keep piling up, and workers are suffering from the lack of a government plan to protect Canadian jobs. Last month Ontario lost over 14,000 jobs, and many are worried that there is more to come. GM workers in Oshawa are concerned that the 1,000 jobs cut may signal trouble for the future of the entire plant.
Why did the Conservatives sell off billions in GM shares without doing anything to secure the thousands of good Canadian jobs that may very well be at risk?
Petitions May 14th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, the second petition is from constituents who are very concerned about the plans to end door-to-door mail delivery. The petitioners believe, rightly so, that this is an important service, particularly for seniors and persons living with disabilities, that the loss of 8,000 well-paying jobs is absolutely unacceptable, and that the loss of this service, which should absolutely be supported by this House, is a travesty. The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to stop the devastating cuts to our postal service and to end this notion that somehow we should do without our Canadian postal service.
Petitions May 14th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions. The first is from Canadians who are telling us very clearly that feminine hygiene products are essential to the lives of Canadian women and that paying the GST on these products contributes to a financial burden on Canadian households. Therefore, they request that the Government of Canada withdraw the GST from feminine hygiene products.
Taxation May 13th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, if the Conservatives were serious about ending this discriminatory tax, they would commit to amending the budget bill immediately. Women have been paying this unfair federal tax for more than 24 years, so we thank the Conservatives for voting for our motion. It is very nice, but we must not make women wait any longer to end this sexist tax.
Will the Prime Minister allow his caucus a free vote on removing this unfair tax in this year's budget?
Taxation May 12th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, speaking of taxes, last night all members of the House voted unanimously in favour of the NDP's motion to end the discriminatory federal sales tax on feminine hygiene products. Everyone in the House agrees that this $36 million tax grab on women is unfair. I am very grateful that there is unanimous agreement that we need change.
Now the Conservatives need to put that commitment into action. Will the Conservatives work with the NDP to amend the budget bill to end this unfair tax?
Employment May 11th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, every time we talk about innovation, the Conservatives call it a diatribe.
Conservatives turn away from the issues that matter to Canadians while New Democrats listen. We have a plan that includes diversity, innovation, and investment in small business. One example is London Sciencetech, a small but influential leader in new solar energy technology. It recently hosted a visit by the Minister of State for Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario. MPs from London West, London North Centre and Elgin—Middlesex—London were there, and while they appeared to be happy to use the business as a photo op, just as the Prime Minister did with Electro-Motive Diesel, they were not interested in hearing any concerns about federal cuts to science research and experimental development. Such cuts would adversely affect local businesses like Sciencetech, something I wrote to the minister about in 2012.
New Democrats understand the value and the critical necessity of creating an economy based on diversity, innovation, and human development. Why do the Conservatives not?
Employment May 11th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, the government continually sings from the song book of reducing corporate taxes to create more jobs, but it needs to look at the evidence. In 2012, tax policies that began in 1995 resulted in $264 billion in uncollected tax revenues. Where are the jobs that should have come from those tax reductions? By Conservative logic, those kinds of tax cuts should leave no Canadian who wants a well-paying job without one.
We all know the truth. Tax cuts do not create jobs. Not only have we lost over 400,000 good manufacturing jobs in Canada, but the gap between rich and poor in this country has steadily increased. The middle class is shrinking along with the government coffers.
Economists understand the importance of a healthy middle class to a thriving economy, and Canadians understand the value of a good paying job. Putting food on the table, providing a safe home, caring for children and elders, and paying for education are priorities for Canadians.
We cannot continue to rely on the price of a barrel of oil to dictate whether Canadians prosper or go unemployed. Recent global realities make that very clear. The recent drop in oil prices has resulted in that sector's decision to remove $23 billion in capital spending in this year alone, throwing thousands of Canadians out of work.
We can neither protect nor create good paying jobs that support families and local economies with corporate welfare. The loss of Kellogg's in London, Ontario, was yet another blow, not only to the London area but to the Canadian middle class. This clearly cannot continue, but what is also clear is that the Conservatives have no plan.
Fortunately, New Democrats do have a plan. It is a plan that includes diversification and innovation. It is a plan that would seize current and important opportunities in Canadian manufacturing and usher in the next generation of investment and innovation. It is a plan that would extend by two more years the accelerated capital cost allowance, which is scheduled to expire later this year. It is a plan that would introduce an innovative tax credit to encourage investments in machinery, equipment and property used in research and development.
Creating jobs requires investing in infrastructure. Helping cities build 21st century transit, for instance, will not only create manufacturing, supply and construction jobs, but will make our cities attractive to future businesses.
Ensuring accessible, affordable and universal child care is vital to building a thriving economy. Not only does it create the environment where children are cared for while parents go to work, it creates jobs in the child care industry. Studies have shown that every dollar invested in child care is returned twofold to the government. The NDP plan includes universal child care at $15 a day.
A truly accessible, affordable, universal health care system is a fundamental keystone to the Canadian identity. The federal government has a role to play in ensuring that.
Last week, I hosted a townhall in London—Fanshawe with the Canadian Medical Association. Its representative, Dr. Virginia Walley, did not mince words. The CMA recognizes that a shift from institutional care that wastes 30% in bureaucracy and inefficiencies is necessary to address community health care needs such as home care. We need federal leadership to create a model that includes more quality home care. Like child care, home care puts trained, educated Canadians back to work and providing services.
I have already spoken to the House about the ways in which a universal pharmacare system would provide vital prescription drugs to every Canadian who needs them and save $7 billion. That is $7 billion that could be reinvested into child care, health care and home care programs.
Instead of being creative and innovative, the government creates barriers to job creation. When will the Conservatives stop enacting measures that strangle our economy?
Business of Supply May 11th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I do not think that the covenant has been broken just in the last few years. Rather, I think it has been broken over the last many decades.
It is interesting that, when Borden made that covenant with the men and women who went to war, I think it was from a sense of real and profound gratitude. Canadians knew how those men and women suffered in the fields, from the gas attacks, the constant bombardment, the discomfort of the trenches, and the lack of any hope in some cases. There was a real understanding. Unfortunately, almost 100 years later, that recognition seems to have faded.
Canadians go to Remembrance Day ceremonies, and they are absolutely genuine in their gratitude. I just wish the government were as grateful. I wish that the covenant spoken 100 years ago were part and parcel of what the governments of the last few decades understood as their obligation. Sadly, it quite simply is not.