Justin Trudeau

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, May 16th, 2014]

With regard to the Building Canada Fund 2007-2014: (a) what was the final application deadline in each province and territory for the (i) Major Infrastructure Component, (ii) Communities Component; (b) what project applications were not approved due to (i) lack of funding, (ii) failure to meet the eligibility criteria, (iii) all other reasons; (c) what was the last project to receive approval in each province and territory; (d) when did the last project receive approval in each province and territory; (e) what projects as of March 31, 2013 have contribution agreements in place to receive funding in future years; (f) how much funding is allocated to each of those projects; and (g) in what year or years is each project expected to receive its funding?

[Employment, May 15th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, employers and Canadians who are looking for jobs are still unhappy with the temporary foreign worker program mismanaged by the government.

Can the minister clarify which aspects of his program are broken and assure us that, this time, the proper changes will be made?

[Employment, May 15th, 2014]

Speaking of consistency and coherence, Mr. Speaker, it is that minister who, since 2008, had been in charge of this program, which is a complete mess.

Our plan starts with a reduction in temporary foreign worker intake and a boost to pathways to citizenship. Will we be seeing these proposals in the changes the government has promised are coming shortly this time?

[Employment, May 15th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, Canadian workers and employers still have no clarity on how the government is proposing to fix its broken temporary foreign worker program.

Will the minister explain, specifically, what elements of this program he believes are broken and need to be changed?

[Employment, May 14th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, if the Prime Minister is checking anything, I would like him to check the program that he has so mismanaged over the past years.

The temporary foreign worker program has been badly managed and is creating conflict across the country.

I have been asking this question in the House for days now, and I am asking it again today.

Will the Prime Minister finally agree to the reasonable ideas in our plan and put an end to the mismanagement of this program?

[Employment, May 14th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's years of neglecting Quebec have led to poorer French comprehension skills.

Our plan starts with a reduction in temporary foreign worker intake and a boosting of pathways to citizenship. It demands real transparency and accountability, a requirement that job vacancies are made available to Canadians first, and tightens the labour market opinion process.

Will the government adopt our reasonable plan to fix its mess?

[Employment, May 14th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, we are told new fixes to the broken temporary foreign worker program are coming, but we have heard that before: failed changes in April 2011 were supposed to ensure “the integrity of the program”; last August, false assurances more employers would “hire Canadians”; last December, “Canadians are always first in line”.

Could the Prime Minister please tell us what will be different this time?

[Employment, May 13th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Quebec had just barely taken office when its new minister of inclusiveness left Ottawa frustrated.

As a result of the Conservative government's mismanagement of its temporary foreign worker program, employers and job seekers in Quebec are frustrated.

Will the Prime Minister finally fix his broken program by implementing our plan?

[Employment, May 13th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, in 2006, the Conservatives trumpeted that they had made it easier for employers to hire temporary foreign workers instead of Canadians. Their plan actually allowed businesses in Alberta and B.C. to stop looking for Canadian workers after only one week instead of the month of advertising previously required.

Our plan requires all possible efforts to hire Canadians first. Will the government adopt it?

[Employment, May 13th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I have just returned from yet another great visit to Fort McMurray, where residents are frustrated at being taken for granted by the current government.

On top of that, we have learned from the C.D. Howe Institute that the Conservative decision to loosen the temporary foreign worker program has actually increased unemployment in Alberta.

Will the government adopt our plan and fix this program?