Joe Oliver

[Finance, March 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, on the first point, apparently good news is bad news for the members opposite.

As to Manitoba, federal support to Manitoba is at an all-time high. Manitoba will receive nearly $3.4 billion in federal transfers this year, a 24% increase from under the old Liberal government, including over $1.7 billion through equalization; over $1 billion through the Canada health transfer, an increase of 47% from under the Liberals; and $453 million through the Canada social transfer, an increase of $121 million.

Clearly, nothing has been cut.

[Finance, March 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite is distressed if less money is spent by the government. This, of course, goes to the heart of the problem. New Democrats have a scary fiscal policy, which is to spend money and raise taxes. They think that is the way to create growth and wealth in this country.

We do not think so. Ours is a low tax plan for jobs and growth. It is working. Canadian debt to GDP is one half of that of the G7—

[Finance, March 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, if they want to talk about the past, we can keep talking about the past. Over a million net new jobs have been created since July 2009. Over 85% of those are full-time jobs, and over 80% of them are in the private sector. Our government is focused on what is important to Canadians: jobs and economic growth.

[Finance, March 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday, we are not going to discuss plans for next year today. I have no intention of doing detailed analyses today.

The question really is: Why did the NDP vote against skills training? Why did it vote against Canadians with disabilities and aboriginal peoples to get the skills they want, to make landmark investments in research and innovation and to encourage investment?

[Finance, March 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, it is rather rich for the New Democrats to criticize the government's job creation record. They have voted against all the job creation measures our government has introduced, such as freezing employment insurance rates—which gives workers and employers some certainty and flexibility—tax cuts for manufacturers that buy new equipment and expand their operations, and so on. The NDP would introduce crippling new taxes.

[Finance, March 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, employers across Canada say the biggest challenge they are facing is a lack of skilled workers. This is particularly problematic in certain sectors, including the natural resource sector and certain regions where thousands of jobs are going unfilled because there are not enough skilled workers to fill them.

That is why we are taking action, including the Canada job grant plan, to ensure skills training actually leads to permanent jobs and that employers are investing more in equipping Canadians with the skills they need.

[Finance, March 25th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians understand the importance of living within their means, and they expect the government to do the same thing. That is why we reduced the debt by $38 billion before the recession, bringing it to its lowest level in 25 years. This gave Canada the flexibility needed to respond to the worst recession since the Great—

[Finance, March 25th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, as I said, the budget will be set out next year. Now is not the time to be discussing the details. As I also already said, the economic progress made by our government has been the best in the G7.

[The Economy, March 25th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, 85% of the positions created were full-time. That is the fact.

Our government is focused on what matters most to Canadians: jobs and economic growth. Over 1 million net new jobs have been created since July 2009. Over 85% of them are full-time. Over 80% are in the private sector. That is the best job creation in the G7 by far.

[Finance, March 25th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, he had to pay $40,000 to ask a question. Apparently, the new House leader was being paid $40,000 not to ask me a question.

Once again, the Prime Minister said that income splitting was a good policy for Canadian seniors and that it would be a good policy for Canadian families.