Linda Lapointe

[Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Implementation Act, February 3rd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I was very pleased to listen to my colleague, who sits with me on the Standing Committee on International Trade. I am very proud to have been serving on that committee for the past year now.

I rise today to speak to Bill C-30, the Canada-European Union comprehensive economic and trade agreement implementation act, which has reached third reading.

Having had the unique opportunity of sitting on the Standing Committee on International Trade for almost a year now, I can attest that the Canada-European Union comprehensive economic and trade agreement, also known as CETA, is not only a priority, but also a great source of Canadian pride for our committee.

As I indicated at second reading, CETA was already a major topic of discussion when I was a member of the Quebec National Assembly as far back as 2007. At the time, I was lucky enough to be the critic for economic development, and I strongly supported economic diversification in Canada and Quebec, specifically through the diversification of our trading partners. I remember how difficult the 2008 financial crisis was for Canada, but I never lost faith in our people and our institutions to get through that difficult time.

Significant changes have taken place on the world stage recently, especially when it comes to trade. The global economic and trading conditions have shifted on every continent. Just look at the United States and how it withdrew from the trans-Pacific partnership negotiations, on which we worked so hard over the past year.

The shift is inward facing. Some of the speeches we have heard could even be described as having protectionist overtones. We have seen it in Europe, where the European Union will now have to negotiate with Great Britain, and even south of the border, where our neighbour's new leader has been making major trade announcements.

During these trying times, I am personally very proud to see Canada assert its leadership on progressive international trade and move forward while protecting Canada's economic interests.

Many economists agree: market diversification is key to the success of our businesses here at home from coast to coast. To our government, progressive trade represents growth, and growth represents more jobs here in Canada and in our local communities, who are all desperate for work.

I know and am convinced that the comprehensive economic agreement with Europe will bring about growth and also real opportunities to strengthen Canada's middle class. Let us not delude ourselves, however. As we have seen in 2008, when our main main trade partners economies falter, Canada is also hit hard. It is in this context that Canada leads the way by negotiating one of the most ambitious and progressive economic agreements ever.

The implementation of CETA, and passage of Bill C-30, is a real Canadian success story that all Canadians can be proud of because we must diversify our economy and accept new trade partners for the sake of our children, our small businesses, and future generations.

Greater access to European markets is the natural next step not only because we have similar values but also because we want to diversify our economies and our trade partners. It is natural for Europeans to want to trade with countries like Canada. First we are staunch supporters of human rights and workers' rights, and we are also an economic hub for innovation and knowledge. Canada is a country that provides excellent training, our workforce is highly skilled, and we understand that the knowledge economy is the economy of the future and of the 21st century.

I can say that my riding in the northern suburb of Montreal has many innovative businesses and leaders in a multitude of key Canadian economic sectors including manufacturing, robotics, automation, aerospace, informatics, and food processing.

I have all of that in my riding. The signing of CETA will lead to many new opportunities for those companies. Since the election, I have been meeting with companies. I have visited their facilities and I have listened to what they have to say about what works for them and what does not. One thing these companies always mention is how they are looking forward to CETA's coming into force.

The implementation of CETA will have an unprecedented impact on these companies. They will be able to increase their production because European markets will now be open to them. The opening of these markets will allow a number of companies, not only in Rivière-des-Mille-Îles but all across Canada, to really take off and finally gain access to a larger demand in some sectors where the customer base may be somewhat limited.

I often hear Canadians saying that SMEs, companies in my riding and across the country, are trapped in the valley of death. Access to European markets will allow many of them to finally cross that valley, find new clients, and have new opportunities that will allow them to really take off.

CETA also provides an opportunity for Canadian and European companies to share best practices in their field, and it may also allow some companies to be able to grow quickly and achieve their full potential.

The sharing of best practices is essential, and it is one of the agreement's strongest elements, as is the provision that facilitates labour mobility. Once this important economic agreement comes into effect, this little-known provision will allow greater labour mobility in a number of key sectors in the Canadian economy, especially the service industry, which has been booming for the past few years. It is also important to note that, not only is the European Union the second largest economy in the world, boasting a market of 500 million people, but it also has one of the most developed and advanced service industries on the planet.

This agreement will put more Canadians to work; it means growing channels of innovation; and it means exciting times for our small and medium-sized businesses in many sectors.

While much of the rest of the global economy is closing its borders, Canada, for its part, is opening its arms, well aware of the important role it has to play. When CETA comes into force, Canada will be in an enviable position, for it will be able to eliminate tariffs and will be the only country to have such a massive trade agreement with European markets.

As Canadians, we can all be proud of the Canada-European union comprehensive economic and trade agreement that was concluded and, as a result, the opening of our markets with Europe. I am very proud of this. I hope all my colleagues in the House will enthusuastically support this agreement and Bill C-30.

[Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Implementation Act, February 3rd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I have a question for my colleague, who, like me, has been a member of the Standing Committee on International Trade for the past year.

In committee, we studied the trans-Pacific partnership and the Canada-European Union comprehensive economic and trade agreement. Compare the two, and it is easy to see that CETA is a progressive agreement. We will gain tariff-free access to 500 million new customers for Canada in the European market.

My colleague just said that some workers make $2 per hour. I would like to know where in Europe that is the case. After all, working conditions there are very much like ours. I would be very surprised if that were true, and I would like my colleague to comment on that.

If we miss this opportunity to sign CETA, I have no idea what could happen given everything that is happening in every country around the world.

Like me, the member keeps up with the news, so I would like her to comment on that. I cannot imagine why she would consider saying no to signing this agreement.

[Business of Supply, February 2nd, 2017]

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

We share these concerns about taxes and the middle class. Nine million Canadians are going to pay less tax, and that is a lot of people.

As I was saying earlier, in my riding, the Canada child benefit is helping 10,300 families and 18,860 children. Those people receive an average of $530 tax-free every month. This all helps people buy things, play sports, participate in various activities, and buy healthier food or winter coats.

Clearly, this is helping people, and together, we will make Canada more prosperous.

[Business of Supply, February 2nd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I am also very pleased to see my colleague once again. Although we did not serve at the same time, we often saw one another in the National Assembly when he was a journalist and I was a member there.

Now we have different reasons to be pleased to see each other. He is on one side of the aisle, and I am on the other, the government side. I understand his concern. What I am saying is that there is nothing in our plan that raises or creates a new tax on health care or dental care. That is not part of our plan.

[Business of Supply, February 2nd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to rise for the first time this year. My greetings to everyone here, and a happy new year to all.

As we all know, the government has a bold and broad-ranging plan to help the middle class and those working hard to join it. Yesterday, our Prime Minister made it clear that we are not planning to introduce a new tax on health and dental benefits.

Rather, our plan includes significant tax cuts to restore hope and optimism while creating new opportunities for inclusive growth that will strengthen Canada now and in the future. These tax cuts will result in a better, fairer Canada in which everyone has the opportunity to succeed and be part of our success as a society.

That is why one of the first things we did was lower taxes for the middle class. Now, nearly nine million Canadians are paying less tax on every paycheque.

Cutting the personal income tax rate for the middle class by 1.5 percentage points, from 22% to 20.5%, was our first big step toward keeping our promise to strengthen the middle class.

The next step was to introduce the Canada child benefit, or CCB, in budget 2016. The CCB is bringing us closer to our vision of a stronger middle class by giving families more money to spend on what matters to them, such as new winter clothing, healthier food, sports activities, or back-to-school supplies.

The CCB is especially important because it provides more support to low-income families, including many single-parent families. In fact, about 65% of the families who receive the maximum CCB amount are single-parent families. In most cases, they are single mothers. For hundreds of thousands of Canadian children, the CCB represents a crucial and effective step towards getting out of poverty.

Indeed, this new support will help them stay healthy as they grow up, so that they can do well in school and work towards building a successful career. With this support, they will be able to build better lives for themselves, their families, their communities, and their country.

In order to ensure that the value of the CCB does not drop over time through inflation, the government took action to index the CCB beginning with the 2020-21 benefit year. By indexing the benefits to inflation, we will preserve the gains Canadians will have made thanks to the CCB and we are investing in a better Canada for the years and decades to come.

In my riding, in the northern suburb of Montreal, 10,300 families are receiving more as a result of the CCB. In fact, 18,870 children are benefiting from it. On average, families in Rivière-des-Mille-Îles are getting monthly payments of $530. This help is very much appreciated and, let us not forget, it is tax-free.

A key aspect of our effort to build a better Canada is to provide health care to Canadians. We all know that Canada's public health care system is a source of pride to Canadians. The idea that health care should be based on need and not on the financial means of the individual is a fundamental part of our identity.

We are working openly with the provinces and territories in order to guarantee that our health care system is there to meet the needs of Canadian families. Our approach thoroughly considers and respects the roles and responsibilities of all levels of government, and it will deliver tangible, positive results for Canadians and provide them with better health care.

At the meeting of finance and health ministers held December 19, the federal government offered to pay $11 billion over 10 years to the provinces and territories, beginning in 2017-18, to support home care and mental health initiatives. I hear about these issues all the time in Rivière-des-Mille-Îles.

To date, we have reached agreements with New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Saskatchewan, and Prince Edward Island for new funding over 10 years for these new investments in home care and mental health care.

According to the terms of these funding agreements, each province will receive its respective share of $11 billion for home care and mental health care offered by the federal government at the health and finance minsters' meeting held December 19. These investments will help provide Canadians with better health care and also support positive change in these priority sectors.

What is more, new investments in home care and mental health care funded by these agreements are in addition to existing funding through the Canada health transfer under the Canada Health Act. These amounts will continue to grow in the future from $36.1 billion in 2016-17 to a projected $43.1 billion in 2021-22.

With these agreements, governments will work together to develop performance indicators and annual reporting mechanisms, and also detailed plans indicating how these funds will be spent on existing programs.

The governments will work together, like Canadians want them to, to hammer out the details of their agreements' reporting requirements and ensure they are consistent with the pan-Canadian approach provided for in the December 19 offer of federal financing.

We expect these agreements will lead to improved access to mental health care services for children and youth. We also expect the number of patients in hospitals to decrease since some people will be able to be looked after at home and will receive better care there. People are happier when they can get care at home with their families.

Given this enormous potential, the Government of Canada is keeping its commitment to implement agreements with the remaining provinces in order to make it easier for Canadians to get the health care services they need when they need them.

Those are just a few of the areas in which the government's investments in Canada's middle class are paying off, not only for Canadians but for Canada itself.

We will work tirelessly to make Canada even more prosperous, inclusive, innovative, and fair for present and future generations.

However, as I clearly indicated at the beginning of my speech, our government does not intend to impose a new tax on health and dental benefits.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2, December 5th, 2016]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

I come from the small business community, so I am glad he asked me that question. If we want small businesses to do well, people need to have money in their pockets so they can spend that money at local businesses and in the secondary economy.

If people are supported by the Canada child benefit and all the other measures we are providing, they will help stimulate the economy, which is good for small businesses.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2, December 5th, 2016]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

As I said earlier, now is the time to invest. Interest rates are at record lows. Now is the time to invest and do what has been neglected for several years now. It is time to develop the economy, green and social infrastructure and highway infrastructure.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2, December 5th, 2016]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

As I said in my speech, interest rates are at record lows. Now is the time to invest in infrastructure, in order to pave the way for the 21^st century.

It is green, social and transit infrastructure that will help stimulate economic growth and help the middle class.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2, December 5th, 2016]

Madam Speaker, I commend my colleague from Mirabel, whose riding is north of mine.

The middle class and young families are thriving in his riding. He should be happy with the Canada child benefit and support Bill C-29.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2, December 5th, 2016]

Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to take part in today's debate on Bill C-29, A second Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 22, 2016 and other measures.

When I got into politics a few years ago, I had one objective in mind, and that was to help my community and my riding, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles. With our first budget, presented in March 2016, our government took direct action to help middle-class Canadians and those who need it most. Today Canada has the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7, and our interest rates are at all-time lows. Now is the perfect time for Canada to invest in its own future success.

As a mother of four children, two girls and two boys, I want to ensure they have the same opportunities, and only by investing now will we create long-term, sustainable economic growth.

Strengthening the middle class will also help ensure a better quality of life for Canadians, who work hard, as well as better future opportunities for our children.

By creating the right economic context for the middle class we can build a country where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. I was very proud of our commitment to help the middle class during the last election campaign.

One of the first things we did as a government was implement a tax cut for the middle class and increase the tax rate by 1% for wealthier Canadians. Those changes are putting more money in the pockets of middle-class Canadians by making taxes fairer for everyone.

The Canada child benefit falls under that same line of measures. Thanks to this benefit, nine out of ten families will receive more in monthly benefits, which will help lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty. The benefit will be indexed as of 2020. In my riding, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, 10,300 families and 18,870 children will receive more money. Many people are very happy, contrary to what my colleague was saying. My constituents are very happy to receive the Canada child benefit.

When I meet with my constituents in Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, they tell me that they feel supported by our government's measures. However, I know that the work has just begun. In Canada and elsewhere in the world, there is a growing consensus that governments need to invest to stimulate short-term economic growth and pave the way for long-term economic growth. That is why people across the country welcomed the big investments that were announced in the November 1 economic update.

The fall economic update proposed new commitments of $81.2 billion between now and 2027-28 in green infrastructure, social infrastructure, public transit, and of course transportation infrastructure that supports trade and rural and northern communities. In short, over $180 billion will be invested in community infrastructure across Canada.

We are investing today to build 21st century infrastructure because our government understands that infrastructure plays a key role in helping members of the middle class find good jobs and live in welcoming communities with clean air to breathe and clean water to drink.

The investments we are making will help reduce commute times for the middle class. This is one of the most important issues in my riding of Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, in the northern suburb of Montreal.

Finally I would like to reiterate my support for Bill C-29. Its progressive measures will help Canada's middle class and ensure that no one is left behind. We are laying the foundation for a more prosperous future for our children and grandchildren.