Jasbir Sandhu

[Strengthening Military Justice in the Defence of Canada Act, April 30th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to speak on behalf of my constituents in Surrey North.

I want to start by talking about what the Minister of National Defence pointed out in his speech. He pointed out that this bill is long overdue and should have been addressed before the Conservatives became government. That is due to the slow pace of the government in addressing the criminal justice system and the military. It is the government that has been dragging its feet over a number of years.

Having said that, I know the minister has had a rough run over the last couple of years, whether it was the military procurement or the pay difference in Afghanistan recently. I point out that this bill is a small step in the right direction, and I have to give the minister kudos for the small step in the right direction, but more could have been done with regard to the criminal justice system.

As the minister pointed out, this bill was introduced in the House back in October of 2011 and was an act to amend the National Defence Act and to make consequential amendments to other acts, basically strengthening military justice in the defence of Canada act. Bill C-15 would amend the National Defence Act to strengthen military justice following the 2003 report of the former chief justice of the Supreme Court, the Right Hon. Antonio Lamer, and the May 2009 report of the Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs. Again, Justice Lamer made recommendations back in 2003, and it is only now that the government is getting around to addressing our broken military justice system.

Among other things, this bill would provide greater flexibility in the sentencing process. The bill would provide for additional sentencing options, including absolute discharges, intermittent sentences and restitution, and it would modify the composition of court martial panels according to the ranks of accused persons and would modify the limitations, among many other things.

Bill C-15 is a step in the right direction. However, the government should have done more. Bill C-15 suffers from the Conservatives' slow-footed response to the LeSage report, which was not incorporated in the bill, along with the lack of wall-to-wall review of the sections of the National Defence Act pertaining to military justice.

Bill C-15 falls far short of key issues when it comes to reforming the summary trial system and the grievance system and strengthening the Military Police Complaints Commission. We are letting our soldiers down with this unnecessary slow pace of change. The NDP will continue to lay the groundwork for a larger review of the need for the modernization and civilization of the military legal system and the implementation of greater civilian oversight.

I am proud of my colleagues on the defence committee, who forced the government to make some amendments to the bill. As members may recall, I spoke on second reading of this bill about some of the shortcomings of the bill that New Democrats would like to strengthen. One thing was with regard to military personnel having criminal records. We were not comfortable with that particular clause in the bill. My NDP colleagues on the defence committee forced the Conservatives to accept an amendment, which would force changes so that over 90% of disciplinary offences would not result in criminal records. We will support Bill C-15 at this point. The NDP is proud to vote for the significant, tangible result that we have been vocally and legislatively in support of for the members of our Canadian military forces.

Our efforts have established one more important reform in building fairer military justice. It is important that the amendments that were offered by the New Democrats were accepted by the Conservatives. It is a small step, one aspect of the bill, not the entire bill. We would like to see more changes to the military justice system, so we can have a robust justice system in the military. This would be a small step in the right direction. One of the key elements was regarding the criminal records for military personnel, so 90% of those military personnel would not have a criminal record after going through this. That was an important first step.

Members of the Canadian Forces are held to an extremely high standard of discipline, and they in turn deserve a judicial system that is held to a comparable standard. The New Democrats will support Bill C-15's proposed improvements because it is a step in the right direction. However, the government should have done more. The Conservatives voted against several prudent NDP amendments at committee that asked to fully incorporate Justice Lamer's 2003 recommendations and some of Justice LeSage's 2011 amendments. They even voted against a clarification to the letter of the law in clause 35, as proposed by Justice LeSage. This has resulted in a failure to strengthen the proper safeguards for independence in the grievance system, military police or judicial elements of the military justice system.

The New Democrats are calling on the Conservatives to approach the military justice system in a holistic way. What the Conservatives have been doing is taking a piecemeal approach, a little bit at a time. The National Defence Act is a relic. We need to look at it in detail to reform it wall to wall and bring our criminal justice system in the military to the 21st century. The Conservatives had a chance to do this for the last six or seven years. However, they have not done it. They have taken a very piecemeal approach to the military justice system, and we are doing an injustice to the men and women who serve this country proudly. We can do much better. We can support our men and women by ensuring they receive justice when they need it.

Going back to Justice Lamer's recommendations, in 2003, the Right Hon. Antonio Lamer, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, presented his report on the independent review of the National Defence Act. The Lamer report contained 88 recommendations pertaining to military justice, the Military Police Complaints Commission, the grievance process and the Provost Marshal. Bill C-15 would be the legislative response to these recommendations.

Former chief justice of the Superior Court the Hon. Patrick LeSage provided an additional review of certain sections of the National Defence Act, which was handed to the government in December 2011. The Minister of National Defence tabled the report in June 2012.

The Conservatives took over a year to table that report. They had it sitting on the minister's desk and he did not act at all. They have had a number of years to bring forward legislation so we can reform the military justice system, yet, as I have mentioned before, the Conservatives are foot-dragging on the issue of reforming our justice system. Even though we are supporting this particular bill, one of our major concerns is that, while it would be one little step in the right direction, there are numerous recommendations from the LeSage report and the Right Hon. Antonio Lamer recommendations that are not part of Bill C-15.

That is what the government needs to work on. It needs to take on a wall-to-wall review of the National Defence Act. The Conservatives have voted against amendments attempting to incorporate several of LeSage's recommendations.

Bill C-15 has appeared in earlier forms. Just going back through the history of it, first Bill C-7 and Bill C-45 died on the order paper due to the prorogation in 2007 and an election in 2008. In July 2008, Bill C-60 came into force, simplifying the structure of the courts martial and establishing a method for choosing the type of court martial more closely aligned with the civilian system.

In 2009, the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs considered Bill C-60 and provided nine recommendations for amendments to the National Defence Act. In 2010, Bill C-41 was introduced to respond to the 2000 Lamer report and the LeSage report. It outlined provisions related to military justice, such as sentencing reform, military justice committees, summary trials, court martial panels, the Provost Marshal and limited provisions related to grievance and the military complaints process.

In essence, Bill C-15 is similar to the version of Bill C-41 that came out of committee in the previous Parliament. The amendments carried over included those on court martial and military judges and security of tenure, appointment and age. There are other important amendments to Bill C-41 proposed at the amendment stage and incorporated at the end of the last parliamentary session. However, those amendments that were introduced to the previous bill were not taken into consideration in Bill C-15.

That is unfortunate, because we had a bill that went through the process. We heard from witnesses in the committee. Experts, judges and many people associated with the military justice system testified. We had reached a compromise. We reached across different parties. The Conservatives, Liberals and NDP worked together to bring about amendments that would serve our military justice system in a way that is fair. In committees, input is heard from key witnesses and amendments are reached. When that process takes place, all sides can be heard from. The committee recommended a number of amendments that would have helped make the system better.

However, as we have seen in the past from the Conservatives, they have failed to incorporate those very amendments that were agreed upon in the last session of Parliament. That is very unfortunate. The amendments that came out of the last session were a consensus from all three parties.

However, the Conservatives are not listening, and they do not want to incorporate those very amendments that would have formed more consensus towards how we could take a larger leap forward in forming our military justice system. They have backtracked a little from that. This is a smaller step in the right direction.

There was one amendment, a compromise that the NDP fought for in Bill C-41, clause 75. At the prompting from the NDP and in recognition of amendments absent, the Conservatives introduced this amendment into clause 75 of Bill C-15.

While this compromise that the NDP fought hard for in Bill C-41 and Bill C-15 is an improvement on the current legislation, it does not go far enough to improve the summary trial process for our Canadian Forces. It does not guarantee that a person who is convicted of an offence during a summary trial is not unfairly subject to a criminal record.

Furthermore, the Conservatives voted against prudent NDP amendments that would have ensured that the proper legislative mechanisms were in place to apply clause 75 retroactively.

We brought forward a number of other improvements at committee. I believe that is what committees are for. That is where we improve bills to make the laws we make in this place better to serve Canadians in a better way, yet the Conservatives voted down every single one of those amendments.

This is a small step in the right direction. I think we could have taken a bigger step. In fact, I believe we need a wall-to-wall review of the National Defence Act to bring the act into the 21st century, yet the Conservatives did not want to take even a slightly bigger step.

Here are some of the amendments we proposed at committee. One of the amendments voted down by the Conservatives would have given the Chief of the Defence Staff the financial authority to compensate CAF members in the grievance process. It amended clause 6 in Bill C-41, responding directly to Justice Lamer's recommendations. An amendment to clause 11 in Bill C-41 would have changed the composition of the grievance committee such that it would include 60% civilian membership and would exclude active-duty Canadian Forces members, thus enhancing the independence of the board.

These are common sense amendments that would improve the military justice system. These amendments in the previous Parliament were approved by the committee, yet the Conservatives failed to bring them into Bill C-15.

Again, this is a small step in the right direction. They could have done more. They could have taken some of the testimony we heard at this committee for Bill C-15 and also at the committee in the previous Parliament. That committee had agreed to these amendments, yet the Conservatives took those amendments out. That is puzzling. One year they agreed to them, and the next year, in a new parliamentary session, they are going back on their word. That is failing the very people who serve this country.

Another amendment we introduced was a provision to ensure that a person convicted of an offence during a summary trial would not be unfairly subjected to a criminal record. It amended clause 75 in Bill C-41.

These were very common sense amendments. I could go on about some of the changes we proposed and some of the things we would like to see in our approach to reforming the military justice system. The least this House could do is provide the Canadian Armed Forces with a modern National Defence Act so that they can carry on their jobs.

I want to go back to what I started with. The Minister of National Defence has had bad news over the last two years. He has bungled the F-35 procurement. It is a mess. It is a fiasco. I could use a number of other adjectives to describe it. We have seen a number of other scandals in the ministry of defence. We have seen recently a differential in pay in Afghanistan.

The Minister of National Defence could use a little bit of good news, and I would say that this is very little good news, which is going to reform the military justice system. We are calling for a wall-to-wall review of the National Defence Act so that we can reform the criminal justice system in the military and provide the support, encouragement and resources to our military personnel who serve us proudly.

I have a free voice to speak up in the House, to speak on behalf of my constituents from Surrey North, because of the very sacrifices the men and women in the military have made. The least the House could do is provide them with a modern National Defence Act so that they can carry on their jobs.

[Combating Terrorism Act, April 23rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, it is very disappointing. In my last answer to my colleague, I pointed out that what they say in the House is one thing and what they say outside of the House is another thing.

We are proposing that we need to make sure that our agencies, CSIS, RCMP and CBSA, have more co-operation among them to stop these terrorist attacks and catch these people before they commit these hideous crimes.

However, the Conservatives will say one thing here. They are cutting $680 million from the public safety budget up until 2015. We believe we need to invest. The NDP, my colleagues, believe we need to invest in our people and resources to make sure that the resources and the tools are there so we can prevent these acts from happening.

I am thankful to the RCMP and the other agencies that are involved with making sure we caught those two individuals in the Toronto area.

[Combating Terrorism Act, April 23rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I am very disappointed with the Liberals for joining hands with the Conservatives on this issue.

The Liberals have, over decades, talked about how they protect human rights and how they protect civil liberties. I have heard this from former Reform Party members who are part of the Conservative coalition. They talk about individual rights outside of the House, yet when they come into the House, individual rights are not being protected by the government. In addition to that, we have the Liberals joining in a coalition with the Conservatives, not only on this issue, but on many other issues that are being discussed in the House.

I stand with my colleagues. I think there is a fine balance, where we have to protect the security of our country and balance that with fundamental civil liberties and human rights.

[Combating Terrorism Act, April 23rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my Conservative colleagues who finally rushed into the House. They often talk about terrorism and how they would protect Canadian human rights and invest in the RCMP and other agencies, yet they do not want to participate in this debate. That is very sad.

There are many valuable tools that should have been introduced into the Anti-terrorism Act, which would have been influential toward combatting terrorism while upholding the integrity of Canadian values of liberty and rights. We should be promoting inter-agency co-operation to reflect the multi-faceted nature of terrorism and address the source of terrorist activities. Efforts against terrorist activities should be performed without discrimination of any kind. The government should be transparent in its dealings with terrorist activities, and we should be able to hold them accountable for their actions. These do not seem like unreasonable requests, yet when they were proposed in committee by the NDP, they were determined to be beyond the scope of the bill.

We cannot sit here and watch the fundamental rights of our citizens being taken away by the Conservative government. Even the United Nations, which requested that states align their legislation with Security Council standards, has established that human rights are integral to combatting terrorism, stating: “Respect for human rights and the rule of law must be the bedrock of the global fight against terrorism.”

The government has an obligation to all Canadian citizens, to all within Canadian borders and to the international community and the international bodies that govern our human rights. The government must respect our current freedoms, protect our rights as well as our security, and fulfill its obligations to Canadians by investing in effective counter-terrorism strategies.

[Combating Terrorism Act, April 23rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to speak on behalf of my constituents from Surrey North. I am speaking today about Bill S-7, the proposal to reintroduce anti-terrorism measures, which were previously sunsetted in the Anti-terrorism Act.

Bill S-7 has been shamefully promoted in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings. The government is exploiting public fear in order to push through its agenda. It is appalling to attempt to use the mourning and pain of the American people to push through legislation that is blatantly confiscating our human rights and civil liberties.

Bill S-7 is not about preventing terrorism. We already have a comprehensive justice system and enough legislation to protect Canadians from acts of terrorism, as well as a variety of capable institutions to facilitate these laws. Rather, this bill fundamentally attacks our rights and freedoms.

Bill S-7 is a reintroduction of the sunsetted clauses of the Anti-terrorism Act, which were also designed in the wake of an instrumental and horrifying event: the terrorist acts of September 11, 2001. The clauses introduced in the Anti-terrorism Act were given a sunset period, which has expired at this point. These clauses include the allowance of investigative hearings and preventive detention, as well as the permission for judges to publicly disclose information about a trial or the persons being tried. Even at first glance, it is obvious that there are major violations of human rights and civil liberties at stake.

The term “human rights” is often tossed around vaguely as an abstract concept. However, the key to this discussion is in exploring what human rights are. The codification of human rights emerged during the 18th century with the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the American Declaration of Independence. These documents were designed to limit what a state could do to its citizens.

Human rights essentially prescribe what liberties a citizen has within his or her own state and the duties that the state has to its citizens. States have an obligation to respect, protect and fulfill the human rights of their citizens. This is not a duty that our government should be taking lightly. We have made international commitments that confirm our dedication to protecting our citizens from human rights violations.

In 1976, Canada ratified the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Under this human rights treaty, the government has an obligation to protect the liberty of people within its borders. This explicitly means nobody should be subject to arbitrary arrest or detention.

Interestingly, in the discussions at the public safety committee, it was discovered that the wording of Bill S-7 allowed for the arrest of people who were not suspected of terrorist activities. In further consultations with parliamentary secretaries, it was confirmed that this was the intention of the government. It is the government's intention to expose every Canadian to this preventive detention, not only those who could potentially cause acts of terrorism. Imagine the resources and cost of arresting or detaining anybody, regardless of whether there is any cause to believe people may engage in criminal activity.

The original purpose of the Anti-terrorism Act was to update Canadian legislation. In order to respond to the United Nations Security Council standards, we must consider that Canada must also adhere to international standards of human rights. Of course, terrorism itself has a direct impact on human rights that Canadians enjoy. It especially violates the principle of life, liberty and security of a person.

Media rhetoric describes terrorism as the opposite of freedom. Although they are not simply binary concepts, if freedom and terrorism are somewhat polarized, then how can we describe the limitations on freedom that the government is proposing?

The preamble to the UN ICCPR states:

—the ideal of free human beings enjoying civil and political freedom and freedom from fear and want can only be achieved if conditions are created whereby everyone may enjoy [human rights]...

Does Bill S-7 propose conditions where everyone can enjoy their human rights? It seems to be the opposite case. The Conservative government is exploiting fear to confiscate our freedoms and rights.

Nobody in this House is debating that terrorism should not be addressed. Terrorism is a horrific problem that attacks the heart of national pride and undermines state stability. The events at the Boston Marathon last week were horrific, and I stand with my colleagues as we condemn these attacks and offer our deepest sympathies and best wishes to the victims and families.

Bill S-7 presents us with a very contentious issue. There is a delicate balance between national security and individual human rights. However, this is a balance that Canada has already found. Our Criminal Code already offers the necessary provisions for investigating those who are involved in terrorist activities and those who could be potential terrorist threats to national safety. The proposed clauses in Bill S-7 have been proven unnecessary and ineffective in the past. They have only been invoked once in a situation described as a complete and sad “fiasco” by lawyers and human rights advocates alike.

Rather than investing in a procedure that creates fiascos, the government should be investing in our institutions that have proven themselves capable, like the RCMP. Just yesterday, the RCMP announced it had stopped a plan of terrorism within our borders. There are two suspects in custody right now. The RCMP was able to handle the situation without the aid of the clauses in Bill S-7. RCMP members were effective, timely and able to perform their jobs without compromising the human rights of Canadians.

We are thankful for the work of the RCMP and we need to recognize that work. We should be investing in supporting these institutions that are able to work effectively within the current sphere of the Canadian justice system.

There are valuable tools that should have been introduced in the anti-terrorism act, which would have been influential in combatting terrorism while upholding the integrity of Canadian values of liberty and rights. We should be promoting inter-agency co-operation to reflect the multi-faceted nature of terrorism—

[Business of Supply, April 18th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, the chair of the international trade committee, for his question.

The trade record is very clear. Conservatives will try to twist this around that somehow it is the fault of the official opposition that they have created the largest deficit in our history. It is under their stewardship.

The NDP has always fought for a fair trade deal for Canadians, and we will continue to stand up for Canadians to make sure the trade agreements the government is signing are not only brought into this House, as we are doing with this FIPA, but are available for Canadians to see for themselves.

This is not the same template as we have been using previously. This template is different, and it is under this government that our businesses and Canadian taxpayers are being sold out.

[Business of Supply, April 18th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, before I answer the question, let me state in this House that I am very disappointed in the Liberal Party. Not only do the Liberals actually campaign on NDP policy, but when they form a government, they do what the Conservatives are doing.

We have an excellent opportunity for the Liberals to stand with the official opposition, to stand for Canadians on this issue, but they will be voting against this motion presented by the member for Vancouver Kingsway. I am very disappointed in the way the Liberals are behaving.

In regard to this question, it is absolutely true. We should be pursuing a fair, equitable trade with China.

[Business of Supply, April 18th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to speak to the Canada-China foreign investment promotion and protection agreement on behalf of my constituents in Surrey North.

As the official opposition, the NDP was very concerned about this agreement, particularly about how it was formed, the silence surrounding the agreement and the potential destruction it could cause to Canadian businesses and Canadians. I support the motion presented in the House by my hon. colleague from Vancouver Kingsway. The government should not ratify the Canada-China FIPA, and it should properly inform the government of the People's Republic of China that it has no intention of doing so.

FIPA is a bilateral agreement with China, a major investor in Canada. It is not a free trade agreement. It was signed on September 9, 2012; however, the deal was kept secret until September 26, when it was tabled in Parliament. The agreement was not debated by Parliament; it was not considered by the committee and the international trade committee, of which I am a member; nor was it voted on in any votes in the House. Although it has been available for ratification since November 1, 2012, the Conservative government has not yet officially committed to this treaty. If the government believes that the agreement is so strong, why is it taking so long to ratify it? Perhaps it is because the Conservative government also knows how damaging it could be for Canadians, Canadian business and the Canadian economy.

As Canadians, we are proud of our country's rich supply of natural resources. The trade of these resources would benefit our economy enormously, and China is an ideal partner for those resources. China has an expanding economy due to its growing middle class. Consequently, it requires increased imports of oil, lumber, food, technology, agricultural goods and other basic necessities. Canada has the means to meet this demand; therefore Canada and China would be complementary trading partners and we would want to pursue a fair deal with China.

However, the Canada-China FIPA deal, in its current state as signed by the government, has not given Canada a fair share. This is not unprecedented, because we are resource-rich and we are in a position to be a major exporting country, yet time and time again, we see trade deals signed by the government that set us up to be exploited.

Foremost, the Canada-China foreign investment promotion and protection agreement is poorly named. It offers neither promotion nor protection of Canadian trade interests in China. It is biased toward China and Chinese companies. It does not present Canadian companies with the same privileges in the Chinese markets as Chinese companies have in China, nor as they have in Canada. We want to see a growth of Canadian companies in China, but we need a level playing field for our businesses as they expand into global markets. Canadian companies deserve the same promotions and protections that Chinese companies receive in Canada. This is not what the current Canada-China FIPA offers.

Not only does this treaty expose Canadian businesses to risk; it plays with the future of Canadian taxpayers. The Canada-China FIPA includes investor state dispute mechanisms designed to allow Chinese companies to literally sue Canada if they do not agree with our federal regulations. These court processes are located completely outside of legal jurisdiction and rely on Canadian taxpayers funding them. This is not a contingency issue. Canada has already experienced similar problems through NAFTA treaty tribunal bodies; we have been sued numerous times by American companies and we have never won a case. Furthermore, Chinese companies already have a track record of using the investor state mechanism to challenge regulations of trading partners.

I do not understand why the Conservative government would expose Canadians to such risk when there is a clear record of arbitration. Perhaps the government is also ignoring its most important resource: its Canadian citizens.

As a government that claims to be fiscally accountable and competent in trade, why are the Conservatives trying to undermine Canada's potential? Perhaps they do not understand the worth of our resources and how valuable we are as a trade partner. Perhaps they do not see the potential in Canadian companies. This ignorance does not prove them fiscally capable, and the enormous trade deficit speaks to the lack of credibility in exchange agreements.

In fact, under the current government, Canadians have seen our trade deficit grow over the last number of years. In 2012 alone, Canada had a current account deficit of $67 billion, which is an $85 billion drop from an $18 billion surplus in 2006, the first year the Conservative government came into power. That is the government's record. It has been reckless. It has shown its incompetence when it comes to negotiating trade agreements, and it has shown its incompetence if we look at our trade deficit over the years. Under the current government, we have had the largest trade deficit ever in Canadian history. Yet, the Conservatives call themselves fiscally competent and want to expand trade.

We need trade, a fair trade, where Canadian interests are also put forward by the government. That has not happened under the Conservatives.

In addition to the growing current account deficit, the manufacturing deficit has nearly quadrupled since 2006, to just over $100 billion. Good paying jobs have disappeared under the current government.

The manufacturing deficit creates a bigger problem because we are importing more finished goods from outside this country, rather than manufacturing those goods in this country; so we can see we are not exporting as many finished goods as we could be, under the Conservative government.

Stacked up against 18 of the most comparable trading nations, including the U.S. and Australia, Canada is at the bottom of the list when it comes to trade performance.

If Canada has resources and ideal trading partners, why is the deficit growing? It is due to mismanagement of trade by the inept government agreeing to deficient treaties such as FIPA with China and Canada.

The government has chosen to undermine democracy through its lack of parliamentary procedures in creating the Canada-China FIPA. It has chosen to benefit Chinese corporations rather than supporting Canadian businesses, and it has chosen to expose Canadian taxpayers to huge liabilities in potential legal arguments through trade tribunals.

The Canada-China trade relationship should be the foundation upon which our future agreements are built. Canada has an opportunity to create a trade deal with China that is mutually beneficial to both nations. We should be establishing an agreement with elements of communication and co-operation between our two countries because trade deals are not just about trade anymore. They present unique opportunities for the collaborative sharing of education and culture, among many other things.

We need to inform China about our intentions because we value that country as a trading partner. We must treat China with courtesy and we must pursue a trade relationship that is respectful both of China and of our own country.

We want bilateral trade agreements like FIPA to be designed to actually serve Canadians and close the embarrassingly large deficit that, under the current government, we have created. We want them to reflect the value we place on Canadian citizens, Canadian businesses and the Canadian economy. FIPA, as it currently stands, is unratifiable, both in spirit and in content.

[The Budget, March 28th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, budget 2013 is one letdown after another for British Columbians. The Conservatives are cutting infrastructure funding by over $4 billion. They make no mention of public transit investment. They are slashing the homelessness partnership strategy by over $15 million and they are even implementing new tariffs that make everyday goods more expensive. A tax by any other name is still a tax.

Why do the Conservatives insist on ignoring the needs of British Columbians?

[The Budget, March 26th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, year after year the government has talked about a balanced budget, saying that it will have a balanced budget in 2015. Sometimes it is 2014, depending upon whether we talk to the Prime Minister or the Minister of Finance. We do not know when that balanced budget will be. All we hear is that it will be done sometime in the future.

The Conservatives are playing shell games with this budget. Not only are they playing shell games with the budget, they are playing with the future economy of Canada. They are playing with the future of the young people of Canada. They have created this huge deficit year after year, and yet they expect the young people in our country to pay for it in future.

They are delivering that money right now to their friends and insiders, the corporate world of the Canadian economy, who are sitting, and I want to highlight this, on $500 billion in cash. Where did that money come from? It came from deficits and from hard-working Canadians. It is time that they put that money to work and created some jobs that are needed in this country.