Joe Oliver

[Business of Supply, May 14th, 2014]

Mr. Chair, as everyone knows, if you withdraw money from your own bank, there are no fees.

[Business of Supply, May 14th, 2014]

Mr. Chair, in our plan we reduced cheque hold periods and required banks to provide immediate access to the first $100 deposited by cheque.

Furthermore, we more than doubled the maximum penalty—from $200,000 to $0.5 million—for financial institutions that violate the consumer protection provisions. We banned negative option billing for financial products and made mortgage insurance more transparent and easy to understand, by strengthening disclosure and other measures.

[Business of Supply, May 14th, 2014]

Mr. Chair, Canadian consumers deserve access to credit on fair and transparent terms.

According to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, Canadians have more low-cost or no-cost banking options than ever before. As was stated in the throne speech, the government will take additional measures to extend no-cost banking options to all Canadians.

[Business of Supply, May 14th, 2014]

Mr. Chair, our government has a consumer first policy and we have pursued that in a number of ways. However, before I get into that, I just wanted to complete a couple of comments I wanted to make with respect to free trade.

[Business of Supply, May 14th, 2014]

Mr. Chair, Canada's economic action plan includes measures to open new markets to Canadian exports, which will create jobs, economic growth and long-term prosperity for Canadians. These measures benefit not only Canadian businesses, which create jobs and keep our economy strong, but they also benefit Canadian consumers and families.

Our government is focused on creating jobs and opportunities for hard-working Canadians in every region of the country. Providing businesses, especially the crucial small and medium-size enterprises, or SMEs, which employ so many Canadians, with new and improved market access so they can expand and compete globally is a key part of our government's pro trade plan, the most ambitious in our nation's history.

Through CETA, our government is creating new and historic opportunities in Europe for agricultural exporters from across Canada. Indeed, Canadian workers in every region, including the Atlantic provinces, in such sectors as fish and seafood, chemicals and plastics, forest products, advanced manufacturing, ICT, metals and minerals, and agriculture and agri-foods, to name just a few, will benefit from increased access to the lucrative EU market.

Another agreement in Canada's pro trade plan is the Canada-India comprehensive economic partnership agreement, CEPA, which remains a key priority. There has been good progress in all areas under negotiation and Canada seeks to conclude negotiations with India as soon as possible. A trade agreement with India would eliminate or reduce tariffs on goods and liberalize trade and services. When it is in place, CEPA will play an important role in boosting trade and investment, creating more jobs and increasing prosperity for Canadians.

More recently, one of our major accomplishments with respect to our trade agenda has been the new free trade agreement reached with South Korea, Canada's first in the fast-growing Asia Pacific region. The Canada-Korea free trade agreement will provide Canadian businesses and workers with unprecedented access to South Korea, directly benefiting Canada's SMEs.

Specific measures that will help SMEs to access the South Korean market include: eliminating tariffs, locking in fair and predictable conditions for businesses and ensuring non-discriminatory treatment; that is that each country treats the other companies and goods the same way as it treats its own. The agreement will result in increased trade opportunities through tariff elimination in a broad range of sectors, such as industrial goods, for example, aerospace, information communication technology, metals and minerals, chemicals, plastics, pharmaceuticals, industrial machinery, cosmetics, agri products, forestry and value added products. The agreement will provide Canadians with access to new markets.

[Business of Supply, May 14th, 2014]

Mr. Chair, we are very comfortable that Canada will continue to grow at a strong rate and we are very comfortable that our policies will result in a budgetary surplus next year. We have posted one of the strongest performances among the G7 over the recovery and the recession, both in terms of output growth and job growth. Data recently released by the OECD show that Canada's employment rate, the percentage of people 15 to 64 who are employed, is the second-highest in the G7. Moreover, Canada has had one of the strongest job creation performances in the G7 over the recovery.

[Business of Supply, May 14th, 2014]

Mr. Chair, I find it a bit puzzling that the hon. member seems to be favouring an increase in the amortization rate from the current 25 years to 40 years. I am not sure what he thinks the economic consequence of that would be, but it is certainly not the direction we feel it would be prudent to go at this time.

Economic circumstances change, and interest rates change. It is appropriate, therefore, for amortization to change as well when the economic data warrants it.

The IMF has recently noted that the macroprudential measures introduced in Canada over the past few years have been effective in moderating the pace of household debt accumulation, cooling the housing market.

We believe that the initiatives taken by the government since 2008 indicate our concern that the housing sector be well regulated, because it is an important source of strength in the economy. While conditions in the housing market remain firm, housing market activity has moderated, and this partly reflects a series of proactive measures taken by the government.

[Business of Supply, May 14th, 2014]

Mr. Chair, as I said earlier, the government is moving to reduce the exposure of Canadian taxpayers to the mortgage market and to reduce consumer indebtedness. The reduction of the amortization period from 40 years to 35 years to 30 years to 25 years is consistent with that.

What we do not want to see is a real estate bubble. There are a number of measures the government has taken in that regard, in addition to the amortization. Requiring a minimum down payment of 5% for new government-backed insurance mortgages, progressively lowering the maximum amount Canadians can borrow, and--

[Business of Supply, May 14th, 2014]

Mr. Chair, as I said, we have initiated significant programs for youth. We announced that funding would be reallocated from within the youth employment strategy to support 3,000 internships in high-demand fields and 1,000 internships in small and medium-sized enterprises.

These initiatives complement recent and ongoing investments to provide better and timely labour information to inform young people about fields of study for in-demand occupations. To help students make better choices about their education, it is important for them to have that information.

[Business of Supply, May 14th, 2014]

Mr. Chair, the government invests over $300 million annually to address youth employment challenges through the youth employment strategy, which provides skill development and work experience for youth at risk, summer students, and recent post-secondary graduates.

Our economic action plan announced that the government will review the youth employment strategy to better align it with the evolving realities of the job market, and ensure Canadian investments provide young Canadians with real life experience.

Canada will continue to have one of the lowest youth unemployment rates in the G7. We have helped 2.1 million youth obtain skills, jobs, and training. We recognize more has to be done, and that is why we are helping young Canadians get the skills they need, helping young entrepreneurs start more businesses, and supporting more paid internships for graduates.