House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2015, with 43% of the vote.
Business of Supply May 25th, 2015
Again, Mr. Chair, the member opposite seems to feel that it is somehow desirable for more money to be kept in the hands of the government, wrestled away from hard-working Canadians and job-creating small businesses, which are the biggest job creators in the country. There is 50% of the private sector employment that comes from small business. We are very proud and happy to provide benefits to job creation—
Business of Supply May 25th, 2015
Mr. Chair, we are making sure that the EI program is sustainable. It was in a deficit position and it is moving to a solid break-even position, which we will sustain from 2017 for a seven year period. We are committed to doing that. We have confirmed that in our latest budget. This is expected to return in a substantial reduction in EI premium rates.
It is estimated that the savings from the rate reduction will benefit over 16 million Canadians.
Business of Supply May 25th, 2015
Mr. Chair, the growth rate to which the member refers is better than that of the average in the G7.
In terms of EI programs, starting in 2017, we are projecting a break-even over the seven year period.
It seems to me that the member opposite, now that he has switched parties, is very poorly placed to be critical about EI payments. Liberals created a $30 billion-plus slush fund to spend on their favourite bureaucratic schemes.
Business of Supply May 25th, 2015
Mr. Chair, as the hon. member should know, he did not say that the state of the economy was atrocious. The governor was referring to the first quarter, which he anticipated would be slow or have a flat growth, but he also said and he repeated this, that he expects the next three quarters to pick up and is anticipating an overall growth of 1.9% for the year.
The member opposite likes to pick and choose and take things out of context, but it is very clear what the governor had in mind when he made his comments.
Business of Supply May 25th, 2015
Mr. Chair, we are very pleased that our government is creating jobs, and we are puzzled as to why the Liberal Party continues to vote against all of the measures. We announced, in our past economic action plan, youth employment strategies to support 5,000 internships in high-demand fields, skilled trades, small and medium-sized enterprises. The government also supports graduate level research and development internships through Mitacs. Since 2006, the government's support for Mitacs' accelerate program has translated into over 10,000 internships being awarded across Canada.
Business of Supply May 25th, 2015
Mr. Chair, our government has taken numerous actions to support job creation. We are happy to say that there are 1.2 million net new jobs since the depths of the recession, which is 20% superior to the job creation of G7 members.
Business of Supply May 25th, 2015
Mr. Chair, I can get back to the member with that kind of detail, if he would like it.
Business of Supply May 25th, 2015
Mr. Chair, we just put out the main estimates for this year.
Business of Supply May 25th, 2015
In fact, Mr. Chair, it is less. In 2014-15, there was $11 million, and the main estimates indicate $7.5 million for 2015-16.
Business of Supply May 25th, 2015
Mr. Chair, as I have mentioned, there is an importance for Canadians to be aware of the measures that benefit them, such as our government family tax cut and enhancement to the universal child care benefit. Every family with children in Canada stands to benefit from our latest tax breaks, and it is important that they understand what they are.
The Department of Finance continues to be responsible for the development of the overarching advertising campaign that supports measures led by line departments. The campaign will continue to inform Canadians of the nature, availability, and ways to access supportive benefits following budget 2015-16.