Judy Foote

[Nepal, April 29th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, Steve and Natalie Wheeler, from my riding, are in Lucknow, Nepal and are trying to leave. Here is what they said:

We have limited communication from the Canadian government on what to do. We try to keep them up to date with what little progress we've made trying to leave.... And what do we get? An email from the gov saying we have updated your file accordingly!!! We have received more support, communication and reassurance from our insurance company.

What can Steve and and Natalie expect and when can all Canadians outside the capital expect some real help?

[Para-Swimming, April 29th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Katarina Roxon, an exceptional athlete from Kippens in Random—Burin—St. George's.

Since taking up para-swimming, Katarina has built an impressive resume and continues to set personal bests as she breaks both Canadian and world records. In early March, she set two world and three national records at the East Coast Swimming Championships in Mount Pearl, which she followed up with two gold medals, two silver and one bronze at the Can-Am International Swimming Championships in Toronto. She has gained a spot on the teams that will be representing Canada at the IPC World Swimming Championships being held in Glasgow, Scotland and the Parapan Am Games in Toronto.

Katarina is a disciplined athlete and has her sights set on excelling at those two prestigious events. Given her determination, it is not surprising that she is a world-class swimmer. Katarina gives back to her sport, coaching the Aqua Aces Swim Club in Stephenville and preparing yet another generation of swimmers to reach their potential.

I ask members to join me in congratulating Katarina Roxon on her remarkable achievements in the sport of para-swimming and wishing her continued success.

[The Budget, April 28th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, anyone who is listening and everyone in this House, or at least those of us in the opposition, realize that the emergency is the federal election that is coming up in October.

This budget is more about politics than it is about people. The government is ignoring the most vulnerable in our society with this budget. There is no emergency. The former minister of defence said that the government would not use the contingency fund, but guess what? The government used the contingency fund. According to the minister, contingencies are only meant for natural disasters, so I would ask where the natural disaster is, other than the fact that there is ever the possibility that the government could get re-elected.

[The Budget, April 28th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, what is happening here is it has become pretty obvious that Canadians are not reacting favourably to the income-splitting scheme. They have heard what has been said in terms of the number of Canadians who would benefit from this and they are realizing that this was not a good measure to put in the budget. As their former finance minister, the late Jim Flaherty, said, this is not a good initiative. In fact, he spoke extensively about that and tried to convince his colleagues that it was not the right thing to do. What happened? Because the Prime Minister had committed to it and had committed to those who deserve it least so they could benefit from this high tax break, of course they went ahead with it, much to the chagrin of most Canadians who are now realizing that they will not benefit from this. They do not like the measure that is contained in this budget.

[The Budget, April 28th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, the answer to my colleague's question is an obvious one. This budget does so little to help the middle class and those who are trying hard to become a part of the middle class that no one in their right mind could possibly support it. If we look at the tax breaks that are in this budget, they are geared to those who need them least.

It is time to listen to what Canadians are saying. That is what we have been doing as Liberals. We have been listening to Canadians from coast to coast to coast, hearing what their priorities are and determining from our perspective, having listened to what they had to say, what it is we need to be doing as a government, and what the Conservative government needs to be doing, instead of ignoring the priorities of Canadians.

It is not about the Conservative government. It is about Canadians. It is about their money, taxpayer dollars, that the government is deciding to use to put in place programs and give tax breaks that are of no value. The income-splitting scheme would benefit 15% of Canadians. How is that a responsible decision?

[The Budget, April 28th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak to the issues and concerns my constituents of Random—Burin—St. George's have raised with me about the measures contained in the budget we are debating today.

Unfortunately, this is a budget that is unfair and does not generate growth, contrary to what the Conservatives would have us believe. Instead, it provides the most for those who need it the least.

Last Tuesday, the Conservative government ended weeks of procrastination and finally presented the federal budget for 2015. To my disappointment, the Minister of Finance presented a plan to help those Canadians who need it least instead of presenting a plan to help the middle class and those working to join it. Instead of giving all Canadians a real and fair chance of success, the Prime Minister is giving a $2.2 billion tax break to Canadians through his income-splitting scheme, a program, by the way, the Parliamentary Budget Officer estimates will help only 15% of Canadians.

On top of that, the Prime Minister's decision to raise the retirement age from 65 to 67 and to double the limit for the tax-free savings account is being paid for by taking $32,000 out of old age security for our elderly, who need it the most.

The Minister of Finance also claims that the budget is balanced, a misleading claim at best. Make no mistake, the budget was not balanced by stimulating the economy and job growth. In fact, the Bank of Canada said last week that the Canadian economy saw zero growth in the first quarter of this year. According to a recent projection by the International Monetary Fund, 139 countries are ahead of Canada for expected growth in 2015, and that projection was made before the recent decline in oil prices.

CIBC has said that job quality is at a 25-year low and is declining. A Statistics Canada survey released earlier this month reported that another 28,000 full-time jobs had disappeared. A recent report in The Globe and Mail stated that Canada is in its longest period of anemic job growth, outside of a recession, since 1976, which is when Statistics Canada started keeping comparable records.

This lackluster job growth is bad news for all Canadians but especially for our youth, who need that very first job. As our young people strive to start careers, it becomes harder for them to do so as the economy stagnates and opportunities disappear.

Recently released employment data for the province I represent, Newfoundland and Labrador, shows that unemployment levels are steadily rising. The general unemployment rate for February 2015 was 12.6%, up nearly a full percentage point from February 2014. For the same period, the unemployment rate for young people aged 15-24 was 16.4%.

Adult children are moving back in with their parents, because many cannot get that first job, and if they are lucky enough to secure work, if jobs are available, they are part-time, making it difficult, if not impossible, for them to survive by their own means. That is the impact such a weak economy is having on parents and their children.

While the government provides tax giveaways to those who need them least, there are people throughout our country who are struggling to make ends meet and are having to tighten their belts to provide for their families. Household debt is at a record high. Two-thirds of middle-class parents are worried about affording post-secondary education for their children.

No, the budget was not balanced through sound economic management. The budget is not actually balanced at all, not to mention that over the last decade, the Conservative government has added $150 billion to the national debt and that unemployment is higher than it was before the recession.

The Conservatives brought the books back into the black by selling off assets like the remaining GMC stocks and by cutting the contingency fund by $2 billion, not exactly a plan for the future. Contingency funds are meant to deal with unforeseen circumstances, emergencies that might arise.

Just this past January, the Minister of National Defence said, “We won't be using a contingency fund. A contingency fund is there for unforeseen circumstances, like natural disasters”.

He apparently forgot to tell the Minister of Finance.

The Conservatives are clearly more focused on looking good before the election than they are on growing the economy and helping Canadians in need. We only need to look at where money is being spent to see where the government's real priorities are and who they appear to have written off. This budget is clearly more about politics than people.

There is no new funding for Marine Atlantic, which faced a $108.1 million cut earlier this year. It is not only a vital part of Newfoundland and Labrador's economy but serves as an extension of the Trans-Canada Highway, connecting the province to the rest of the country. With the Conservative government fixated on cutting expenditures at all costs and demanding what I think is an unreasonable percentage of cost recovery from Marine Atlantic, the crown corporation found it necessary to increase its fares by a total of 11% over the past three years. Less government funding may well result in yet more fare increases.

For those producing goods for sale on the mainland, higher shipping costs using Marine Atlantic make their goods less competitive. For those shipping products to our province, the high cost is added to the cost of the product and is absorbed by the consumer. For those in the tourism industry, high fares are a deterrent to visitors. Fare increases impact everyone.

Yet another example of where the government has fallen short in this budget is that it does not address the immediate needs of the Canadian Armed Forces. Although the mission to Iraq has been expanded, the last few years have seen major cuts to the Canadian Armed Forces' bottom line. Budget 2015 defers all new defence spending to 2017. Is it any wonder this budget is being referred to as budget 2017 and not budget 2015?

Canadians are tired of seeing the Conservative government pay lip service to issues affecting our enlisted men and women. For those who are presently deployed or will be deployed this year and next to an extremely dangerous conflict zone, the fact that funding for upgrades to resources has been pushed out to 2017 has to be worrisome for those directly involved and for their families. Whenever we ask our Armed Forces personnel to put themselves in a situation where in many cases their lives are at risk, the very least we owe them is our full support by providing them with all the resources necessary to keep them as safe as possible. It is irresponsible and disrespectful to offer anything less.

Again, it speaks volumes about the misguided priorities of the government when it is more concerned about presenting the illusion of a balanced budget and saving $2 billion dollars in taxes for those who need the break least than it is in supporting our military.

However, no one should be surprised. Over the past 10 years we have repeatedly seen the callous attitude of the Conservatives toward our enlisted men and women and veterans. We watched as the former Minister of Veterans Affairs ignored the concerns being raised by a spouse of a veteran.

Veterans are forced to repeatedly prove that they are still amputees as a result of service injuries. As Matt Edwards, a veteran from Newfoundland, said, could the government not save money and make lives easier for veterans by streamlining medical approvals? Common sense solutions seem to elude this government.

My Liberal colleagues and I believe that every Canadian deserves a real chance at success and that budgets should be balanced by growing the economy, not by using smoke and mirrors or creative accounting, which we witnessed last week with the Conservative government.

We need to cancel the Prime Minister's unfair income-splitting scheme, from which only 15% of Canadians will benefit. We need to reverse the unthinkable decision that forces seniors to wait two extra years to receive their OAS benefits. It is a particularly cruel decision for those seniors who will have no other source of income at age 65 and will have to rely on the welfare assistance programs in the provinces. Not everyone is able to continue to work past 65, as some Conservatives have said is an option.

Canadians are being served a budget that would benefit those who need help the least. The needs of the most vulnerable in Canada, including seniors, students, and veterans, are being ignored by the Conservative government. It is obvious Canada needs new economic management with measures to protect the most vulnerable and a plan to build the middle class and grow the economy.

[Business of Supply, April 27th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Ottawa South on two fronts: first, in putting forward this motion today, which is very important to Canadian taxpayers, and second, for his question.

I acknowledge, as we have discussed here today, that we really need to do things differently. What is being proposed is important because we do need to be advertising programs to Canadians. They do need to know what is available and what we are doing. What we do not need to be doing is wasting taxpayer dollars by being partisan and suggesting that only the Conservative government can do this.

This is meant to be fair use of taxpayer dollars. It is not government money. It is taxpayers' money. Having a third party look at how we are going to spend money is a responsible way to go forward. It is responsible to have someone other than one of the parties in the House of Commons, someone other than the Conservative Party, the Liberal Party, the New Democratic Party, the Green Party, or any other party, decide what is good use of taxpayer dollars when it comes to advertising.

We need to ensure that what we are advertising is something Canadians need, want and deserve, and that it is not being portrayed as somehow a great initiative by a particular party when in fact it is taxpayer money. We are going to be doing things from a leadership perspective that will offer those programs that Canadians want and have asked for, because we have been listening from coast to coast to coast. What we are not going to do is say—

[Business of Supply, April 27th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I acknowledge the question from my colleague across the way. I want to say that given his comments, it is pretty obvious that he, as a member of the Conservative Party, is actually embarrassed by what is happening with the Conservative government. The amount of money and the numbers I talked about in my speech clearly show that, given the anger that seemed to come out of the member in terms of his remarks, he is embarrassed.

I think the member recognizes that what is happening is wrong, and that this motion is exactly what this House needs. What is being put forward by the Liberal member for Ottawa South is exactly what all parties should be considering and should in fact be supporting unanimously, so that we do not see any more of this partisan advertising, the use of taxpayer dollars to do anything other than promote programs that Canadians need and deserve.

[Business of Supply, April 27th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to speak to the motion from my liberal colleague, the member for Ottawa South, on the very serious issue of wasteful partisan advertising.

Also, Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to be splitting my time with the hon. member for Winnipeg North.

All members of this House have an obligation to ensure the hard-earned dollars of taxpayers are spent responsibly, which is why this debate on the use of public funds for partisan ineffective advertising is so very important. At a time when the current Conservative government preaches fiscal restraint and belt-tightening to everyone else, it has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on self-promotion. For over nine years, the Conservatives have used taxpayer money to broadcast highly partisan advertising, often containing little to no useful information. Between fiscal years 2006-07 and 2014-15, the Government of Canada spent $758 million on advertising.

According to figures revealed in media reports today, the current Conservative government is planning to spend $13.5 million to promote its pre-election budget in April and May alone; $13.5 million of taxpayer money to promote targeted tax breaks.

It has wasted millions of dollars on advertising during high-profile events when the cost to do so is so much higher, such as the Academy Awards, the Grammys, the Super Bowl, the World Junior Hockey Championships, and the NHL playoffs, while refusing to disclose the costs to Canadians.

The Conservatives have repeatedly used taxpayer money to pay highly partisan advertising during some of the most expensive time slots on television, including the Super Bowl and Stanley Cup finals; a time slot that, by the way, costs over $100,000 for a 30-second ad. This is simply unacceptable and irresponsible. I can only imagine the number of young students who could find jobs with that money.

It is not just Liberals who are concerned about this issue. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation, an organization where the Minister of Defence served as CEO and the Conservative member for New Brunswick Southwest served as national director, has called upon the government to end these taxpayer-funded partisan ads.

In a recent release, the organization's federal director said:

If a government can use public dollars to “inform” Canadians by conveniently putting a positive spin on the governing party’s policies at the same time, they probably will. This is not only a waste of precious resources; it’s also an affront to fairness in a democracy. Further, it violates the democratic principle that public dollars shouldn’t be directed towards partisan ends.

The current government has spent millions of dollars on ad campaigns, advertising programs that do not even exist yet.

Earlier this month, I was watching TV and, to my surprise, I saw a government ad advertising proposed tax measures, such as the so-called family tax cut that has not been approved by Parliament. In fine print, I saw the words “subject to parliamentary approval” written across the screen.

Surely the government should be waiting until its program or measure has actually been approved by Parliament before advertising it.

This is not the first time a government ad has advertised a program that did not exist, but I hope we can make it the last, as a result of this responsible motion by the Liberals that we are discussing before this House.

A particularly egregious example of this occurred in 2013 when Advertising Standards Canada forced the government to pull its May 2013 ad campaign, calling it misleading. Advertising Standards Canada sent a letter to an assistant deputy minister at Employment and Social Development, stating that the Government of Canada had breached the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards by airing commercials that ask Canadians to apply for the Canada job grant. At the time, the grant did not exist and no provinces had agreed to the potential program, despite the fact that the original model required provinces to pay for one-third of the grant.

Advertisements have also continued after a program has ended. In yet another example of waste, the government spent $37.4 million promoting the Conservative economic action plan since the program ended. Even when the programs advertised do exist, government public polling about its own advertising campaigns has consistently shown that the ads have little to no effect on Canadians. The vast majority of them report that they did nothing upon seeing a Government of Canada advertisement. According to a government-funded poll on the effectiveness of the 2013 budget ads, only three respondents of the 2,003 surveyed actually visited the action plan website and not a single person called the 1-800-O-Canada number promoted in the ad.

Ads by the Government of Canada aired overseas do not fare any better. A series of ads in the Washington, D.C. area subway stations praising Canada's environmental record and oil industry were found to have little effect, according to research funded by the government itself. Even so, the Conservative government decided to extend this campaign using $22.7 million over two years. I repeat, $22.7 million for ineffective subway advertisements in a foreign capital. Just think what Canadians could do with that money. Just think of the vulnerable Canadians who could use that in programs that this very government has cut, programs that have been so needed by the most vulnerable in our country. The government's research shows these vague, partisan ads are not working, and yet it continues to fund them with taxpayers' own dollars.

At the same time as the Conservative government is spending over a quarter of a billion dollars on ineffective partisan advertising, sometimes for programs that do not yet exist, there are people throughout our country who are struggling to make ends meet and having to tighten their belts to provide for their families. This, too, is blatantly unacceptable. The Conservatives should focus on strengthening the economy and helping to create jobs, not spending taxpayers' money on expensive partisan ad campaigns.

This most recent budget by the Conservative government built an artificial surplus on the backs of Canadians by cutting programs and services that are, indeed, meant to help the most vulnerable in our country. This is part of a larger pattern, unfortunately. In recent years, the government closed nine regional Veterans Affairs offices, which helped veterans who really need our support, who have given so much on behalf of our country, and yet when they need us to be there for them, the government is not there.

It ended funding to low-income co-operative housing units and raised the age of eligibility for old age security from 65 to 67. I know people who just cannot work beyond age 65 and if they are not eligible until age 67, they are going to have to turn to programs in their provinces, assisted welfare programs, which pay a lot less than they would get on old age security.

It is not right that throughout our country we are seeing reduced health care funding to the provinces by nearly $36 billion in the name of financial prudence and austerity. The Conservative government spent more than $100,000 in one year to increase the reach of Twitter posts by Veterans Affairs Canada while neglecting veterans themselves. Last year, Veterans Affairs Canada spent $4.3 billion on an ad campaign advertising rehabilitation, financial support, mental health services and career transition services, while closing the very offices that veterans would need to visit or get in touch with to discuss these services. By going forward with all of these services, the Conservatives still neglect veterans because they do not make it possible for them to be able to access the services. The backlash from viewers was noticeable.

The backlash from viewers was noticeable. According to an internal analysis, when asked to describe the main point of the ad, some 150 people who saw the ad said that it was either that veterans were being neglected or it was government self-promotion for not doing enough for veterans. Despite the backlash, the department claimed the campaign was effective.

Liberals would remove the partisanship from taxpayer-funded advertising and ensure that government ads only provide useful information to Canadian taxpayers. The Liberal member for Ottawa South has a bill at second reading that would take the partisanship out of government advertising by saying that the Auditor General must approve the content before it is broadcast.

We have seen that system work in Ontario. During the previous Progressive Conservative government's tenure, taxpayers paid for commercials that featured then-premier Mike Harris. In 2004, the Liberal government in Ontario—

[The Budget, April 23rd, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, Canadian seniors are speaking out against this Conservative budget. Minnie Piercey, president of the North Sydney Senior Citizens and Pensioners Club in Cape Breton, had this to say:

To tell you the truth, there's nothing in it for me, and there's nothing in it for poor seniors.... It helps the rich seniors, not the poor, and around here I don't think there's many rich seniors.

What do the Conservatives have to say to Minnie and the thousands of other Canadian seniors who get nothing out of this budget?