Kellie Leitch

[Aboriginal Affairs, September 24th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, having gone out and spoken to aboriginal families across the country, I can say that what they have asked for is our action plan. As opposed to waiting like the NDP would like to, they would like action and they would like it now. They want to be supported. They want prevention programs. They want to make sure they are protected. These have been victims of domestic violence, and I must say I commend the RCMP, because 90% of these crimes have been solved. We are focused on the others. However, let us be clear: we are taking action now for these families and victims of crime as opposed to what the NDP wants to do, which is just sit and watch the world go by.

[Aboriginal Affairs, September 24th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, as I have been very clear multiple times in the House, we are standing up for these victims of crime.

So the Leader of the Opposition can hear it clearly, let me quote yet again from Bernadette Smith, whose sister Claudette Osborne went missing in 2008. She said, “This Action Plan is something that our families have been waiting for. I would like to thank...the Government for their commitment to addressing this issue.” This is addressing it now, not waiting for the future.

She also said, “This Action Plan will have a direct impact on families and it will help keep our women and girls safe.”

That is what it is about. It is about acting now, ensuring they are safe now and are no longer victims of these crimes.

[Aboriginal Affairs, September 22nd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, as I just said, we are moving forward now. We have an action plan, and that is what families have asked for. Bernadette Smith, whom I spoke about here in the House last week, requested that our government move forward, and that she is delighted we are moving forward now, as opposed to waiting for the lawyers and others to move forward, as the NDP would like. We are moving forward now to make sure that these families, these victims of crimes, are the ones we are listening to, and we are acting on their requests.

[Aboriginal Affairs, September 22nd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I want to be very clear. Our government is taking action today. We are moving forward to make sure that these women, girls, and families who have experienced these abhorrent crimes are being supported and protected and we are moving forward with prevention programs. That is what our action plan is about.

I encourage the NDP, as opposed to continuing to vote against aboriginal property rights for women or against shelter support for women of aboriginal background, to please support this action plan. It is what families have asked for.

[Aboriginal Affairs, September 18th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, this is a very serious issue, and families and victims want action.

Let me tell the House, in the words of an indigenous women, Bernadette Smith, whose sister, Claudette Osborne, went missing in July 2008, and I quote:

This Action Plan is something that our families have been waiting for. I would like to thank... the Government for their commitment to addressing this issue.... We’ve had numerous studies on this issue and the time for action is now. We can’t stand idly by and talk about this without taking significant action. This Action Plan will have a direct impact on families and it will help keep our women and girls safe.

[Business of Supply, September 16th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, first, to set the record straight, the social transfer is also on an escalator and has been for several years. It was established by one of Hon. Jim Flaherty's budgets.

I want to be very clear that this social transfer continues, it is on an escalator and it will meet GDP as well.

One of the most substantive investments this government has made, and I am very proud of it, is the RInC fund. It made a huge impact in many local communities in ensuring that local recreational infrastructure was upgraded or created so young families could participate in as many activities as possible across the country. It has been overwhelmingly successful. Communities across the country are seeing improvements in infrastructure.

I am proud of our record on infrastructure. I am proud that we are moving forward with transfers to the provinces so they can invest, whether that be in social services or education. Obviously it is their choice how they allocate it.

I am looking forward to seeing as many kids as possible in my riding heading out to the rink so they can play hockey in Thornton. We invested in the hockey arena, ensuring it had the best roof ever. Now they do not have the challenges faced with the snow inside the arena while playing hockey.

[Business of Supply, September 16th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, going hand in glove and in a fashion similar to how we are being respectful of the provinces, health transfers currently are on an escalator of 6% per year, and that will be transferred over to GDP. However, the decisions on health care remain in the hands of the provinces. They understand exactly what their patients need.

Having been a physician in the province of Ontario and having worked at several hospitals at various times, I can say that the chief of surgery or the CEO probably had a better sense of what the health care needs were in the local community than someone here in the House. That is why the transfer payments escalate. It is to support the provinces in what they are doing. Hopefully the provinces are innovating to make sure they provide the best care possible.

Hence, we have the same analogy in the Canada Labour Code. It is matching what is going on in the provinces, because the provinces have a good sense of exactly what is happening in their local labour markets.

[Business of Supply, September 16th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for her question. The parliamentary secretary is doing outstanding work, both in the area where she supports me, labour, and also in western diversification.

As I mentioned before, the provincial labour ministers and markets are seeing the reflection of what is changing on the ground. Canada is an enormous country, the second-largest land mass in the world. I do not think everyone in British Columbia has the same types of occupations as those in the maritime provinces, and that is actually a strength of our country. Because of that, having provincial labour markets determine their minimum wage and the direction of their local labour markets is essential.

That is why, in 1996, the minimum wage that was set in the Canada Labour Code was changed in order to marry what was happening in the provinces, and so that Canadian neighbours understood that their wage rates were the same. We want fairness and equity and in such an enormous country, and making sure that happens on a province-by-province basis is extremely important.

Therefore, I would encourage the member opposite to consider that. We want Canadians to be treated fairly and equitably. That is exactly what the Canada Labour Code reflects right now, and that is why it was changed in 1996.

[Business of Supply, September 16th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I will start by saying that is categorically false. Of the jobs that have been created since 2009, as a mentioned before, over 1.1 million, 80% of them, are in the private sector and over 65% of them are well-paying jobs.

Those jobs have been created by Canadian industry because we have created the opportunity, the stimulus, for job creation in Canada. Whether that be through free trade agreements and increasing opportunities for Canadians to export abroad, whether that be by making sure that Canadians are well skilled, whether that be through the Canada job grant or through internship programs for literally thousands of young Canadians or through the Canada summer jobs program that provides essential opportunities for skills for those young Canadians to move to their next step in employment, these are new things we have been focused on to create good, well-paying jobs for Canadians so that they can move forward.

I think the member opposite would agree that the provinces are in the best position to make decisions with respect to their local labour markets. That is why the minimum wage in the Canada Labour Code is actually set to match those, province by province.

[Business of Supply, September 16th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned in my comments, I think it is very clear that the provincial labour ministers and provincial governments know their provincial labour markets. The system, as it is right now and as it has been for almost two decades, creates opportunities whereby Canadians in the provinces where they work are treated fairly and the same.

I think it is also important to outline to the members here that the number of Canadians living below the low-income cut-off is actually at its lowest level ever because of this government. Why is that? It is because we are creating jobs. We are providing opportunities for Canadians. We are making sure that Canadians have pride in their work and are also in high-income jobs, many of which are in the private sector.

When Canadians have jobs, they are proud of themselves, but they also invest in their families. I would encourage the member opposite to focus on supporting the initiatives through which this government is moving forward in creating jobs—in fact, we have created 1.1 million of them since the downturn of the recession—as opposed to opposing every single measure we have taken in our recent budgets to make sure Canadians can be employed. The member should step up to that.

We should not be focused on small issues that we know affect a very small subset of Canadians. We need to make sure that every Canadian has a high-paying job that provides great opportunities for families. That is what this government is focused on: making sure Canadians are employed in well-paid jobs.