Kellie Leitch

[Pensions, June 15th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I have to say that we were very pleased yesterday to see the passage of Bill C-38 so that we can move forward with our job creation and economic growth agenda.

With respect to OAS, I will repeat what I said earlier this week in the House. First, there will be no reductions in seniors' pensions.

I will also quote the OECD Secretary-General, who stated:

Bold action is required. Breaking down the barriers that stop older people from working beyond traditional retirement ages will be a necessity to ensure that our children and grand-children can enjoy an adequate pension at the end of their working life.

[World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, June 15th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, good morning on the next day of the House of Commons, following Wednesday.

Elder abuse is unacceptable and should not be tolerated. Unfortunately, it continues to happen in communities across Canada. Elder abuse robs older people of their dignity and peace at a time in life when they need to feel secure. That is why our government remains committed to increasing awareness of these serious issues through elder abuse awareness campaigns, such as the new horizons for seniors program, just like the one in Wasaga Beach, the Prime Time Club, in my local riding of Simcoe—Grey.

In recognition of the seventh World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, it gives me great pleasure to rise in this House to acknowledge and congratulate the latest recipients of the pan-Canadian new horizons funding to combat elder abuse just announced by the Minister of State for Seniors this morning in Toronto.

Today, on World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, I encourage all members of the House to stand with the government to combat elder abuse in all its forms.

[Air Canada, June 14th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member had asked in his original question about whether our economy is weak or strong. I think it is accurate to say that our economy is recovering. It is getting stronger, and a work stoppage at Air Canada would have interfered with that recovery.

As we said numerous times about the work stoppage, not only would it have an impact on families, but the cost to our economy would have been in the range of about $22.4 million a week. This was completely unacceptable. Would an economy that was stronger be able to handle this impact? I am glad we never had to find out.

[Air Canada, June 14th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, this is an historic evening. The government was successful in passing Bill C-38, an important piece of legislation for the Canadian economy, creating jobs and long-term prosperity for the country.

The member opposite accuses the government of reckless meddling in the Air Canada negotiations. With all due respect, if the hon. member had been paying attention during the debates over Air Canada, he would know that we went over the long process of conciliation and mediation that we went through with Air Canada in great detail.

We conscientiously and methodically followed the steps set out in the Canada Labour Code. This took time and effort. We exhausted all other avenues before we considered pre-emptive legislation to avert a work stoppage.

There was nothing reckless about our decision to bring forward Bill C-33. As we said many times, it was a last resort. We moved forward because putting forward this legislation meant protecting Canadian jobs and protecting Canadian citizens.

In the debates over Bill C-33, we presented this to the House with our projection of how costly a work stoppage at Air Canada would be, not just to the companies and unions but also to our economy.

We talked about the impact upon the travelling public, especially to families who depend upon Air Canada and do not have access to alternative carriers. We reminded the House that many Canadians were not parties to this labour dispute and that they would not have any way of affecting the outcome but would suffer the consequences of a work stoppage.

When we used this legislation to prevent a work stoppage at Air Canada, I know we did the right thing for Canadians by ensuring we were protecting air services, protecting jobs and protecting the Canadian economy.

Given all the risks associated with this situation, it would have been reckless not to bring forward Bill C-33.

[The Budget, June 13th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, our government's top priority is the economy, long-term prosperity and ensuring that Canadians have a job. We have created 760,000 net new jobs since the economic recession began.

At the same time, we do recognize that there are Canadians who have difficulty finding work. That is why we are better connecting Canadians through these substantive changes that we are making to the employment insurance program as well as others so we can ensure Canadians are connected to jobs in their local areas with their qualifications. They can therefore have a successful future.

[Pensions, June 13th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, let me state once again, there will be no reductions in seniors' pensions.

In order to ensure the sustainability of OAS in the future, we are increasing the age from 65 to 67 over a gradual period of time, from 2023 to 2029. Our government is committed to sustainable social programs and a secure retirement for all Canadians.

Once again, I ask the NDP, why is it that we on this side of the House support sustainable social programs for this and future generations, and it does not?

[Pensions, June 13th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, just to state again, there will be no reduction in seniors' pensions.

Just this week, the OECD released its “Pensions Outlook 2012”, which urges countries to make the necessary changes to ensure long-term sustainability of these retirement plans. I will quote the Secretary-General of the OECD:

Bold action is required. Breaking down the barriers that stop older people from working beyond traditional retirement ages will be a necessity to ensure that our children and grand-children can enjoy an adequate pension at the end of their working life.

We are taking action to create sustainable programs. I ask the NDP why it has never supported—

[Employment Insurance, June 13th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, our government's top priority is job creation, economic growth and getting Canadians back to work. The government is making improvements to the EI program to ensure that it is fair, continues to meet the needs of Canadians and is responsive to local labour market demands both now and in the future.

As we know, we are facing unprecedented labour skill shortages. It will be critical that we work directly with Canadians to make sure they have access to available jobs.

[Child Health Initiatives, June 13th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to rise today to speak to an important organization that helps raise awareness for the health of Canadian children and youth, the sandbox project.

The main goal of this charity is to make Canada the healthiest place on earth for a child to grow up in. With a focus on anti-obesity strategies, injury prevention, children's mental health and the environment, the Sandbox project's ambitious but achievable goal is to make measurable progress against these health issues through collaboration.

In an effort to raise awareness about the importance of child health initiatives, today this organization has the world's largest sandbox here in Ottawa. Elementary school students from across Ottawa were joined by ministers, members of Parliament, NGOs, as well as industry, media and academic leaders to participate in sandcastle building. It was a great event. I especially thank my fellow members of this House who came out and generously gave of their time to participate in this event.

I encourage every member to learn more about this organization at sandboxproject.ca. I know the health and well-being of Canada's children and youth is an important priority for every member of Parliament as this generation represents our future.

[Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act, June 12th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Oshawa for his great work on the health committee. I have had the opportunity to be at the health committee a few times.

The very simple math is that the Government of Canada has put forward, in previous budgets and in this budget, an escalator of 6%, which means that each year it is a cumulative effect. It is an increase each successive year. Following that, we will have a base of 3%, if not higher, to GDP. It is very simple math. It is just adding simple numbers. I would encourage the NDP to do just that.

The other thing that the government is doing that particularly benefits the health care field and something that I feel very strongly about is our support for innovation, science and technology. Whether it be the $37 million more for granting councils or the $60 million for high-class research at Genome Canada, these things are extremely important to ensuring we have the next set of great discoveries so that they can benefit Canadian patients.