Jim Maloway

[Petitions, June 11th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present today. The first is signed by dozens of Canadians and is a call against Health Canada's recent authorization of caffeine in all soft drinks. Health Canada announced on March 19, 2010 that beverage companies will now be allowed to add up to 75% of the caffeine allowed in the most highly caffeinated colas to all soft drinks.

Soft drinks have been designed for and marketed toward children for generations. Canadians already have concerns about children drinking coffee and colas, as they acknowledge that caffeine is an addictive stimulant. It is difficult enough for parents to control the amount of sugar, artificial sweeteners, and other additives children consume, including caffeine from cola. Therefore, the petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to reverse Health Canada's new rule that allows caffeine in all soft drinks and not follow the deregulation policy of the United States and other countries that would sacrifice the health of Canadian children and pregnant women.

[Manitoba Overland Flooding, June 11th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the overland flooding caused by extraordinary rainfall in Manitoba two weeks ago wreaked havoc in some areas in my own riding such as south Transcona, as well as other parts of Winnipeg, Brandon and communities across the province. Following the substantial rainfall, the provincial government immediately announced it would provide assistance to homeowners affected by this natural disaster, but there still has been no word from the federal government.

Will the Conservatives provide federal support to these families in need?

[Business of Supply, June 10th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, we have demonstrated, through dozens of speeches today, that the passport system works. No less a figure than the Alberta minister of finance, a fellow Conservative to the Conservatives here, is onside against his own party on this issue. He used all the same arguments that the member just made, that this system works and it has worked for 100 years. A more recent version of the passport system is a big improvement over the past and it works very well.

People suspect that, at the end of the day, this is all about the transfer of jobs to Toronto. It will be great for Toronto because it will concentrate more jobs there. However, there will be a loss of jobs in Montreal, Winnipeg and Alberta because of what the government is up to.

My prediction is this will probably never happen. Why the government is embarking on an initiative like this in the first place is beyond me.

[Business of Supply, June 10th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the member who just spoke is at odds with his fellow Conservative finance minister from Alberta, Ted Morton, who is asking what Ottawa is trying to fix that has not already been addressed or could not be fixed within the current passport system.

Why is the Alberta finance minister asking questions about why it is that we have gone through 10 years of harmonization efforts to create a passport system that is working very well? Why is he saying that the Canada passport system is recognized as among the best in the world, with the OECD and the World Bank group rating it ahead of the United States and the United Kingdom? Two years in a row the Milken Institute ranked Canada first as having the best access to capital.

Why is the Conservative finance minister in Alberta asking these questions and attacking what the government is doing?

[Business of Supply, June 10th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased again to discuss this issue today. Once again, I am going to quote from the article written by the Alberta minister of finance. He said that all financial services have been regulated by the provinces for the last 100 years. We are talking about credit unions, insurance and pensions. There is a lot of jobs at stake.

He said:

When it comes to diversification of the Alberta economy, financial services is one of the fastest growing sectors...The job-multiplying effect of having a provincial-based securities commission has been well documented by Quebec. As Canada and the rest of the world emerges from the recession, Alberta will lead the way. If we let the Alberta Securities Commission get scooped up and transferred to Toronto, we can also say goodbye to thousands of spinoff jobs in investment banking, law, accounting and financial analysts.

I assume that will be the same argument that will apply to Montreal. I assume that will be the same argument that Manitoba will use and has used for the last 10 years.

Would the member like to add any further comments to that?

[Business of Supply, June 10th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, this morning the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance pretended that he and the Alberta finance minister were very close on this issue. I decided to check into what the Alberta minister of finance had to say about this whole idea. Here is one of the things he said:

Internationally, Canada's passport system is recognized as among the best in the world, with the OECD and the World Bank Group rating it ahead of both the United States and the United Kingdom. And two years in a row the Milken Institute ranked Canada first as having the “best access to capital”.

That is a far different story than what we heard from the parliamentary secretary just a couple of hours ago. The minister went on to say:

The federal government has yet to identify any needed improvement that could not be accommodated within the existing system.

And further he said:

--a single national regulator in the U.S....certainly didn't stop Bernie Madoff...not to mention Enron or WorldCom

Most important, he pointed out that there are a number of financial services that have been regulated by the provinces for 100 years and these will be at risk, and jobs will be moved out of Alberta and to Toronto as a result of this measure.

I would like the member to make some comments.

[Business of Supply, June 10th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the bad news for the Conservatives does not stop on this national securities regulator issue. Senator Elaine McCoy has a lot to say about how this will be bad for people and companies, the financial services industry in Alberta. In addition, Ted Morton, Alberta's finance minister, has a lot to say about the subject. He said:

This is not just about securities, but all financial services that have been regulated by the provinces under their Section 92 jurisdiction over “property and civil rights”,-- including pensions, credit unions and insurance.

--in fact for 100 years--

When it comes to diversification of the Alberta economy, financial services is one of the fastest growing sectors--with the potential for much greater growth. The job-multiplying effect of having a provincial-based securities commission has been well documented by Quebec. As Canada and the rest of world emerges from the recession, Alberta will lead the way. If we let the Alberta Securities Commission get scooped up and transferred to Toronto, we can say good-bye to thousands of spinoff jobs in investment banking, law, accounting and financial analysts.

This is what the Alberta treasurer had to say about this measure.

I would like to ask the member what his comments would be vis-à-vis his province of Prince Edward Island.

[Business of Supply, June 10th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, Senator Elaine McCoy from Alberta is not the only Albertan who thinks this measure is a misplaced one. In fact, Ted Morton, the finance minister, is certainly attacking the government for this very thing. On June 1, in the Calgary Herald, he said:

—exactly what is Ottawa trying to fix that hasn't already been addressed by, or couldn't be fixed within, the current passport system?

He indicates that the criticisms of others have been others have been resolved through 10 years of harmonization efforts to create the passport system. He said:

It is a system that works well both on a local and a national level. Internationally, Canada's passport system is recognized as among the best in the world, with the OECD and the World Bank Group rating it ahead of both the United States and the United Kingdom. And two years in a row the Milken Institute ranked Canada...as having the "best access to capital”.

It seems to me that the Conservative finance minister, the parliamentary assistant and Mr. Morton are in two different spaces. They have two diametrically opposed views of what is going on.

What are the members comments regarding the opposition from Alberta to this measure?

[Business of Supply, June 10th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, there is trouble in the Conservative heartland of Alberta on this issue. None other than Ted Morton, Alberta's finance minister, wrote an article on June 1 in the Calgary Herald, in which he said:

This is not just about securities, but all financial services that have been regulated by the provinces under their Section 92 jurisdiction over “property and civil rights”-- including pensions, credit unions and insurance.

When it comes to diversification of the Alberta economy, financial services is one of the fastest growing sectors -- with the potential for much greater growth. The job-multiplying effect of having a provincial-based securities commission has been well documented by Quebec. As Canada and the rest of the world emerges from recession, Alberta will lead the way. If we let the Alberta Securities Commission get scooped up and transferred to Toronto, we can say goodbye to thousands of spin-off jobs in investment banking, law, accounting and financial analysts.

Why would Albertans want to do this, especially when it is not even necessary?

That was written by the finance minister of Alberta. Today when the parliamentary secretary was asked about Ted Morton, Alberta's finance minister, he pretended that it was just a minor difference of opinion, that he had just seen and spoken with him this past weekend and they were very close on the issue. All we have to do is read the article in the Calgary Herald to see that they are miles apart.

[Business of Supply, June 10th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, the government is at war with one of its own senators on this very issue. One of its senators, representing the province of Alberta, is explaining to the public what the government is up to. At the end of the day, we will have a transfer of jobs out of Alberta. We will have a diminution of the financial services sector in Alberta.

The government cannot even get its own senators on side on this issue. How in the world does it expect to convince anyone else?