Jennifer O'Connell

[Finance, October 22nd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians had a choice to continue on the Conservatives' plan of austerity and cuts, and no supports to the middle class and no tax cuts to the middle class. Canadians chose differently because they saw that it was not working. They had the worse growth rate since the Great Depression. Instead, they chose a plan that is working. We see growth in the middle class. We are strengthening the middle class, we are lowering taxes for small businesses, we have created half a million good, full-time jobs since 2015, and because of that, we have one of the best balance sheets in the G7. Our plan is working and will continue to work.

[Finance, October 22nd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad the member opposite's daughter has a sense of humour similar to his, because the fact remains that a typical Canadian family will be $2,000 better off. With our Canada child benefit, we stopped sending cheques to millionaires so more families can access these benefits. Our economy is growing. The Conservatives had the worst growth since the Great Depression. These are all things confirmed in the annual financial report. Our plan is working, and unfortunately, the Conservatives failed when it came to the economy.

[Finance, October 22nd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to first congratulate the member for Carleton on becoming a dad. Unfortunately, that is where the congratulations end because this report actually confirmed that our plan is working. We have the fastest growing economy in the G7. We have created over half a million jobs since 2015.

Let us contrast that to the Conservatives. They relied on a plan of austerity and cuts, cuts to things like Veterans Affairs. What did Canadians get for it? They could not even balance the budget.

[Autism, October 19th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today during Autism Awareness Month to recognize the Riley family, who are members of my community, for their advocacy of autism awareness. Austin, a three-time racing champion, is the first professional Canadian race car driver with autism.

It is through sharing his story that Austin has been empowering those with autism to follow their dreams, while encouraging others to learn more about it. In addition to sharing his story, Austin and his family have been touring the country, sharing the autism reality experience, a reality simulator that provides a first-hand experience of what the world is like living with autism.

Having personally taken part in this simulation, I can say it was an unforgettable and eye-opening experience. I would like to thank Austin, Jason and Shane Riley for this opportunity and their continuous advocacy and efforts to make Canada and our communities a more inclusive place for us all.

[Small Business, October 18th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, again, the fact remains that we are taking real action to grow the economy. The Conservatives had 10 years and they had the worst growth since the Great Depression.

Meanwhile, we have some of the lowest unemployment rates in 40 years. It is no surprise that as we are cutting taxes for small businesses, for Canadians, for families and stopping to send cheques to millionaires, our economy is one of the best in the G7.

With a failed record like that, no wonder the Conservatives do not understand what success looks like.

[Small Business, October 18th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, it is just the contrary. It is our government that is actually delivering for small businesses and entrepreneurs across the country. We have actually lowered the small business tax rate from 11% going 9%. We have not just talked about it, we are doing it. Because of that, over the last six quarters we have seen investment in business in Canada grow by 8%. That is because the actions we are taking are real. The Conservatives do not seem to understand that.

[Canada Labour Code, October 16th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the hypocrisy in the member's comments is unbelievable. I was at that finance committee meeting and what we were actually discussing was having more women in the workforce. The member opposite and her party were talking about how it is not important and that it should not be a priority for the Minister of Finance to have women in the workforce and have equality in our economy.

That is the context of those comments. However, context and truth do not seem to matter. When the member opposite talks about being embarrassed, it is embarrassing to hear in this day and age another member in this House of any gender say that women should not be equal in our economy. This government has the most women in the workforce ever.

Given my colleague's recent statement, is the member opposite going to support this legislation? Does she believe that preventing incidents of harassment and violence in the workforce is important? Does she believe that we need to have legislation to protect employees from this behaviour? Do we need to support employees affected by harassment and support their privacy? Will the member support this legislation and stop harassment in the workplace for our employees?

[Multilateral Instrument in Respect of Tax Conventions Act, September 28th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his support of this legislation.

Would the member opposite agree that this legislation is a piece of the puzzle to the larger issue of tax evasion and tax avoidance, and that it actually works in conjunction with other policies, treaties or legislation that the government will bring forward? The government is not only doing the minimum standards, but is opting into enhancement of the MLI. Would the member agree that this is good for Canadians on the issue of tax fairness?

[Finance, September 28th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the fact remains that we continue to reduce taxes for the middle class. In addition to that, we have seen the lowest unemployment rate in nearly 40 years, and as a result of our investments, a typical Canadian family will be approximately $2,000 better off than under the previous Conservative government.

Our investments are working. Our economy is growing. We have one of the best balance sheets in the G7. These are commitments that are going to benefit all Canadians across this country.

[Employment, September 28th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has made great progress, but there is more work to be done. Young Canadians still feel that they do not have the same economic opportunities afforded to their parents. They are hard working, talented and ambitious and have the right skills, but there are still challenges to addressing the changing labour market.

In my new role as PS to finance, I am focused on youth economic opportunities. I look forward to working with young Canadians across this country to make sure that they are a part of our thriving economy.