Laurie Hawn

[Business of Supply, June 15th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, obviously all members of the House care for seniors. There are dozens of seniors' homes in my riding of Edmonton Centre, all of which I have visited more than once, and there are indeed many people there who do need some assistance.

I will point out, as has been pointed out previously, that we are moving toward the establishment of a national seniors council, which will be made up of seniors and representatives of seniors' organizations, to advise the government on the very issues that my hon. friend has talked about.

I asked a question earlier of a previous NDP speaker as to whether the NDP has costed the program or not. I meant to ask what that number was, because I received the response that yes, the NDP has costed it. I would like to ask the hon. member that question. Given the fact that those members have costed it, would he share with us their estimate of that number?

[Business of Supply, June 15th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I must confess to being a little confused. If the Liberals were so wonderful all those years, how could anybody have thrown them out of office on January 23?

The Liberal government repeatedly threatened to do away with the planned increase in the GIS leading up to the election. It was the former Liberal finance minister who threw the income trust sector into chaos undermining seniors' retirement savings. It was the same finance minister whose senior aide attacked a representative of CARP, the Canadian Association of Retired Persons, by calling him old and confused.

I would like to ask my hon. colleague, were seniors old and confused when they helped to throw out his government, or were they showing the wisdom of their years in opting for a change?

[Business of Supply, June 15th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I want to applaud the very sincere and articulate presentation by my hon. friend in the NDP. As all members of the House do, I share her concern for seniors issues. I am not a senior yet, but I can see it from where I am.

We did take some positive measures in budget 2006. Clearly people would like us to do more and I appreciate that. We are still working on establishing a national seniors council which is similar to the body the member talked about.

I do have one question. There is always the matter of what things will cost. It is not a combative question, but I would like to know if the member has costed out the program. Does she have an estimate of what the programs she has outlined would cost?

[Chinese Canadians, June 13th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, for years the previous Liberal governments refused to do the right thing by apologizing for the Chinese head tax. In the Speech from the Throne, Canada's new government committed to an act in Parliament to offer an apology for the Chinese head tax.

Can the Minister of Canadian Heritage inform the House when this historic apology will take place?

[Business of Supply, June 8th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I have a list of quotes that the member may be aware of. However, I do not have time to read them. Let me just say that people like Scott Macivor, chief executive officer of the Ontario Construction Secretariat, Leah Myers, president of Durham College, Peter Woodall, chair of the automotive and motorcycle programs at Centennial College in Toronto, and many people I have met in my own province of Alberta, are thrilled with this budget and what it means for apprentices in the workforce in Canada.

[Business of Supply, June 8th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

The fact of the matter is that Alberta is contributing to the industry in Ontario and Quebec. For example, between 2000 and 2020, the oil patch will add $885 billion to the Canadian GDP. Suncor alone, one single company in Alberta, has 500 subcontractors in the province of Ontario and many more in Quebec.

They are creating thousands and thousands of jobs and providing prosperity for all of Canada because Albertans, like this government, care about all of Canada and we will do whatever we have to do to support this country.

[Business of Supply, June 8th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, on the first question, members on the opposite side have been using that all day. It is a completely disingenuous and twisted approach on what the member from Fort McMurray said. If that is the best they can do in terms of debate this will be like duelling with an unarmed man.

However, I am glad the member talked about the aboriginal situation because the government is in fact doing a lot for aboriginal students in Alberta and in the rest of Canada. Canada's new government is making significant contributions to aboriginal workplace participation, including a five year $1.6 billion partnership initiative through the aboriginal human resources development strategy.

I can actually speak directly to the case of the aboriginals in Alberta. The oil and gas industry, which some members of the House like to criticize, is doing a tremendous job in bringing aboriginals into the workforce. Fully 12% of Suncor's workforce in Alberta is aboriginal. Other big companies, like EnCana, have gone out of their way to include aboriginals in their workforces and to give contracts to aboriginal companies.

NAIT has gone to the extent of equipping trailer trucks, 18-wheelers, that it takes out to the reserves in northern Alberta to teach aboriginal people, young and old, to give them opportunities to participate in the economy of Canada. This government and the Government in Alberta is doing a tremendous amount for natives across Canada.

[Business of Supply, June 8th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Halifax West for raising the important subject of Canada's economic well-being.

We share the hon. member's belief in the importance of investing in Canada's prosperity for today and the future. The measures that we have introduced in budget 2006 were designed to promote today's economy and ensure a prosperous tomorrow.

The 2006 budget, in the words of Thomas d'Aquino, president and chief executive of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, commits “to developing a comprehensive, results-focused competitive agenda”.

These glowing words of praise, I believe, result from the wide spectrum of investments the budget contains. It is a budget that recognizes everything from the importance of supporting skills development and learning; from apprenticeship to post-secondary education; from academic infrastructure to research and development; from youth to older workers to new Canadians. It is a budget for everyone.

However, I would like to focus on how it aids and supports the needs of my province of Alberta.

Canada is enjoying a 30-year low in unemployment rates. According to Statistics Canada, Alberta is well ahead of the rest of the country in employment growth, and that is no secret. This high employment rate is good news. The only flip side we are seeing is that employers are watching positions go vacant. There is no question that there is an urgent need for skilled workers.

This is especially true in Alberta where the oil industry is becoming increasingly sophisticated. There is a need for highly educated workers in research and development, as well as skilled workers on the ground, workers who require higher levels of familiarity with technology. Accompanying this oil boom are all the spinoff industries, especially construction where skilled workers are a necessity.

Having visited Fort McMurray recently with the hon. member for that riding, it was brought home to me how critical the situation is. The total revenues of the oil and gas industry in Alberta represent 6.1% of Canada's GDP at basic prices for 2004 and the industry is in desperate need for workers of all kinds.

Budget 2006 addresses those needs. We have targeted support for post-secondary education and university research in recognition of the important roles they play in increasing Canada's productivity and the standard of living of Canadians.

Our support measures, in the words of the hon. member for Halifax West, “strengthen Canada's hard-won global lead in publicly funded research and development”.

The Association of University and Colleges of Canada has endorsed these budget commitments. The association's president, Claire Morris, said:

We are pleased with the budget's support for university research, as well as the government's recognition of the important role that research plays for Canadians. These increases in research funding underline the government's commitment to promote a more competitive, more productive Canadian economy.

The budget also supports a more highly educated workforce by directly helping students through exempting all scholarship and bursaries from income tax, providing a textbook tax credit and expanding eligibility for Canada student loans through a reduction in the expected parental contribution.

The budget also invests $1 billion for provinces and territories to support much needed investments in post-secondary infrastructure and equipment. An institution, such as the University of Alberta, for example, could use this money to improve laboratories and upgrade testing equipment.

In my own riding of Edmonton Centre, the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology has an ambitious and very exciting plan for investing hundreds of millions of dollars over the next 10 years to catch up and then keep pace with the rapidly expanding technology and the ever increasing requirement for more skills in the workplaces of Alberta and the rest of Canada.

As I mentioned, construction is booming in Alberta and the demand for skilled workers is high. Our budget addresses this issue and we will be consulting with the provinces, the territories, the unions and the employers on new measures to promote careers in the skilled trades.

In fact, the measures that we have introduced have been so well received that rather than outlining them myself, I will quote directly what the business manager of Local 183, Tony Dionisio, said:

The cash grant of $1,000 per year for the first two years of an apprenticeship program recognizes the importance of these programs to labour supply. ...The new deduction of up to $500 for tradespeople for the cost of tools in excess of $1,000...also indicates to us that this government recognizes the importance of construction to Canada's overall economic growth.

The budget also encourages the hiring of new apprentices by offering employers an apprenticeship job tax credit of 10% of the apprentice's wages up to $2,000 per apprentice per year.

Once again I will use the example of the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. Its aggressive and forward looking approach to apprenticeship training has placed it at the forefront of this area in Canada. Seventeen per cent of all apprentices in Canada are trained at NAIT and this budget encourages that excellent performance and contribution.

I spoke of the changes in industries that require higher and higher skill levels. These demands sometimes displace older workers. While older workers perform well in the labour market, some face difficulties adjusting to new demands.

We have committed to undertake a feasibility study of measures to help such workers, including the possibility of income assistance and retraining. Canada needs their talents and experience. Our government wants to see older workers continue contributing to the economy and their own well-being and is committed to looking at ways to do just that.

Budget 2006 contains important measures to upgrade the learning and skills of Canadians but even so, with our changing demographics and aging population, we face a skills shortage. Alberta alone faces a potential shortfall of 100,000 workers over the next decade and over 40% of manufacturers surveyed in Alberta are facing difficulties owing to labour shortages.

At the same time, we have skilled immigrants, both here and those waiting to come into the country, who can help to fill these requirements but are unable to do so because their credentials are not fully recognized. Alberta's petroleum industry, for example, attracts people from around the world whose skills are needed.

We have taken measures to address the situation of putting this untapped pool of skill and expertise to work for Canada. Budget 2006 announced the creation of the Canadian agency for the assessment and recognition of foreign credentials. We will be consulting with the provinces, territories and other stakeholders in the establishment of the agency so that new Canadians can put their skills to work.

Those are just some of the many measures we are taking to promote Canada's continued growth and success. It is a budget that inspires optimism. As the president of the Council of Chief Executives said, his organization looks forward to:

--working closely with the government...to shape a business environment that will inspire Canadian enterprises from coast to coast to 'go for gold' in global markets and will ensure growing prosperity and a well-being for Canadians over the next generation.

We welcome his organization's cooperation, as we do that of all Canadians, in making this a reality.

[Senate Reform, June 1st, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have been waiting for Senate reform for generations. This week, instead of just talking about Senate reform, our government took steps to actually implement Senate reform. Yet, the Leader of the Opposition showed the Liberal Party's lack of commitment to fix the democratic deficit by defending its failure to do anything on Senate reform.

Alas, the opposition leader did not seem to get the memo that many in his own party disagree with him, including the Liberal leadership candidate from Saint-Laurent—Cartierville who agreed with the government's proposal for fixed terms and the member for Newmarket—Aurora who said she would appoint elected senators.

Perhaps the member for Etobicoke—Lakeshore will let us know if Senate reform is a Liberal sacred cow to be worshiped or one to be slain. I, for one, and millions of Canadians are eager to know the real Liberal position.

[Business of Supply, June 1st, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech. In return, I would like to give her some statistics.

The oil and gas industry in Canada is the largest, single private sector investor in Canada. If we want to talk about reinvesting profits to good use, the industry is reinvesting $41 billion in Canada in 2006. In 2005 it paid $27 billion to governments which allowed governments like ours to reinvest in alternate fuels and advanced technologies that will help the energy situation and help the environment.

Would my hon. colleague give some consideration to what the oil and gas industry does today for Canada without proposing surtaxes that would take away their ability to do that?