James Moore

[Manufactufing Industry, October 28th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, those who are actually experts in this field say the answers are in budget 2014 and the NDP should vote for it.

The Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters say:

...the budget contains a number of measures that will assist manufacturers and exporters in finding...skilled workers, lower regulatory compliance costs, and help win major investments in Canada.

That is exactly what she said we ought to be doing. They are policies that lead to investment, policies that lead to employment, policies that lead to an increase in manufacturing. The Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters say that our government has it right, that it is contained in budget 2014, and that the New Democrats ought to vote for it.

[Manufacturing Industry, October 27th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, manufacturing is up 25% since the recession.

It is going up, and it is going up across this country. Certainly there are challenges in the Canadian economy. There are challenges, but we are tackling them responsibly.

When it comes to the auto sector, I just gave the example of the Ford Oakville plant: 1,000 new jobs, above the 1,200 that were created by virtue of the Project Northern Star investment that is happening there.

There is investment there is because of agreements like the Canada-Europe Free Trade Agreement, where every single automobile being manufactured in a plant can now be sold tariff-free into the European market. They are being sold around the world.

It is creating jobs for Canadians. Ford knows it, and Canadians know it.

[Manufacturing Industry, October 27th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, that was completely devoid of facts.

In fact, the member could talk to the Government of Ontario and to the Ford Motor Company itself about the negotiations we have had over the past couple of months on this very file. While she is doing that, she might want to look at the Oakville Ford plant, where Ford announced just a couple of weeks ago that it has hired 1,000 Canadians to work at that plant, above and beyond the 1,200 jobs that were secured by virtue of the investment that was made there.

It is true, that we do believe in supporting Canada's auto sector, but of course there is a limit to the tolerance of Canadian taxpayers for these kinds of investments, and the NDP knows no limits.

[Consumer Protection, October 27th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, that is not at all the case. We are taking action in this budget, as we promised in our throne speech.

Here is what the Consumers' Association of Canada has said. It said they welcome the fact that the federal government will introduce legislation to end pay-to-pay billing practices in the telecommunications sector.

That is what we promised to do in the throne speech. It is what we have delivered in this budget and the implementation bill that is before the Parliament of Canada.

Again, if the NDP believes in putting action behind its rhetoric, we look forward to it voting in favour of this action that we have put before Parliament. Walk the talk.

[Consumer Protection, October 21st, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, that is not at all the case. We have taken action in the past, and we will certainly do so in the future.

On the specific question on the issue of pay-to-pay billing, it is true that our government is taking action. We made a commitment in the throne speech. This Parliament passed that throne speech with the votes of the government side, and we will be introducing legislation to realize that this week.

If New Democrats are true, and there is lots of noise from the NDP side, I look forward to the NDP actually voting for the Conservative motion that will stand up for Canadian consumers.

[Manufacturing Industry, October 8th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, it is a simple fact that Canada's manufacturing sales have bounced back and are actually up 25%.

As well, our government's initiatives include the automotive innovation fund. There was an announcement just last week, for example, at Ford in Oakville. It is creating 1,000 jobs on top of the 1,200 jobs that are currently in Oakville.

Add to that the fact that I was in Halifax this weekend at the Irving shipyard where there is the largest shipbuilding facility in all of North America, creating ships for Canada, for Canadians, for the future. It is a $33 billion investment in Canada's manufacturing sector. We are delivering from coast to coast.

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, October 2nd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, it is, in fact, not the case.

We have been doing consultations over the course of the summer. I have met with the fresh food producers out in British Columbia and here in Ottawa as well, and we are going to be reporting back to the House. In my department we are working on solutions to move forward to ensure that fresh food producers in this country have the policies they need to succeed and grow.

[Foreign Investment, October 2nd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, for Canadian businesses to grow and create jobs here at home, of course we have to attract investment into Canada. The World Economic Forum has reported that for seven straight years now, we have had the soundest banking system in all the world. KPMG has reported that we have the most tax-competitive economy in all the world. On the tax side, we have a 13% lower corporate tax rate than the United States.

On foreign investment, it was reported just yesterday, in fact, that we are attracting more money than ever before, $686 billion into the Canadian economy, and since we formed government in 2006, we have seen an increase in foreign investment into the Canadian economy of 57%, creating jobs in every region of Canada.

[Manufacturing Industry, October 1st, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, today there is very good news out of Oakville: about 1,000 net new jobs have been created, above the commitment.

It is certainly very good news for Oakville, but it is better news beyond that. It affirms what KPMG said when it said that Canada has the most tax-competitive economy in the world. It affirms what our government has been doing with our auto innovation fund in investing in the auto sector with repayable loans that are coming back to taxpayers, and it affirms what our government is doing by signing free trade agreements around the world, which means that these vehicles that are being made in Oakville, Essex, and everywhere else can be freely traded around the world, creating jobs at home through world sales.

[Telecommunications, September 25th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the connecting Canadians program addresses a serious concern. I am pleased that my colleague from Provencher is raising an issue that I know is of serious concern to him and his rural constituents in southern Manitoba.

The gap that is far too often the failed market circumstance in rural parts of the country, northern communities, often aboriginal communities, is something we need to address as a government. Our connecting Canadians program will do that.

We have put greater than $5 million forward. We are partnering with the private sector. We are moving forward to ensure that all Canadians, no matter where they live, will benefit from high-speed Internet access.

We are the 2nd largest country in the world in size and 37th largest in population, but to connect us together is a real accomplishment.