Matt DeCourcey

[Canada's Contribution to the Effort to Combat ISIL, February 19th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Don Valley East.

I am proud to rise in the House today to endorse a motion that supports the government's decision to broaden, improve, and redefine Canada's contribution to the effort to combat ISIL. This decision will help better leverage Canadian expertise and complement the work of our coalition partners to ensure maximum effect.

I am also proud of and grateful to the members of the Canadian Armed Forces and the diplomatic corps for doing their part in the fight against terrorism. I also want to thank the Canadian humanitarian workers for their efforts to provide much-needed help to the people affected by the conflict. I want to reiterate my support for our country's continued commitment to our coalition allies in the fight against the Islamic State.

This decision will refocus our military contribution by expanding the advise and assist mission of the Canadian Armed Forces in Iraq. It will significantly increase intelligence capabilities in Iraq and theatre-wide, and see the deployment of CAF medical personnel. It will enhance capacity-building efforts with our defence partners in Jordan and Lebanon to advance regional stability. As well, it would see the withdrawal of our CF-18s while we maintain air force surveillance and refuelling capability.

This decision will help to improve the living conditions of those affected by the conflict, and help to build the foundations for long-term regional stability, including in Lebanon and Jordan. It will lead to significant investments in humanitarian assistance, and an enhanced role for experienced humanitarian partners working to support the basic needs of conflict-affected populations, including children and victims of sexual and gender-based violence.

This would allow us to engage more effectively with political leaders throughout the region. It would help us increase Canada's contribution to international efforts aimed at finding political solutions to the crises affecting the region and would reinforce our diplomatic presence to facilitate the delivery of enhanced programming. This decision would see us increase CAF deployments, strengthen dialogue with local and international partners on the ground, and generally give Canada a stronger voice in the region.

As well, this decision will see us complete our goal of welcoming tens of thousands of Syrian refugees to Canada.

Last month, constituents throughout Fredericton, New Maryland, Oromocto, and the Grand Lake region were proud to welcome home troops leading Operation Provision, an important part of this whole-of-government approach to combatting ISIL. On January 12, in the wee hours of the morning, 58 soldiers returned to 5th Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown, after working in Beirut and Amman to process Syrian refugees destined to Canada. These military personnel spent months supporting staff from the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, aiding with security patrols, data entry, and medical screenings.

I am proud of these soldiers' contribution to this operation. When they returned in January, I was also happy to see them reunited with their loved ones and colleagues. We all owe these women and men our gratitude for their service and praise for their work.

We cannot understate the tremendous effect that this nationwide community resettlement effort has had on the over 21,000 Syrian refugees who have come to us as vulnerable global citizens.

As has been recognized numerous times by the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, my home province of New Brunswick, and the riding I have the honour to represent, Fredericton, have punched well above their weight in this resettlement effort. New Brunswick has now welcomed nearly 1,000 new residents, and I am proud to say that Fredericton now boasts of 400 new community members.

The leadership and support of our military, our community resettlement agencies, and the outpouring of generosity and support from everyday citizens in Fredericton and clear across this country has been nothing short of inspiring, outstanding, and heartwarming. All of these community leaders deserve our gratitude for their tireless efforts.

There is no doubt that, as part of this government decision, military efforts will continue to play an important role in setting the conditions necessary to deal with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

In the town of Oromocto, 5th Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown, Canada's largest military training base and home to some 6,000 military and civilian personnel, will surely play a leading role in the mission to defeat ISIS, deliver increased stability to the region, and develop capacity for local good governance, peace, and security. Consisting of two large formations and numerous larger units, the Combat Training Centre at Base Gagetown is organized around five distinct training schools: armour, artillery, infantry, tactics, and military engineering.

As Canada triples the size of its train, assist, and advise mission to help Iraqi security forces plan and conduct military operations against ISIL, the expertise and sophistication delivered from our women and men in uniform, many of whom will have passed through Base Gagetown, will prove essential and vital to efforts.

These CAF members will provide high-demand expertise in the areas of operational planning, targeting and intelligence. CAF medical personnel will provide training to Iraqi security forces in the conduct of casualty management in a battlefield context. Our personnel will examine ways to enhance in-theatre tactical transport.

Another key objective of this government's whole-of-government strategy is to promote security and stability. Canada's efforts will help prevent the spread of violent extremism by enhanced capacity-building efforts with security forces in Jordan and Lebanon.

Other Government of Canada security initiatives include $145 million over the next three years for the fight against terrorism and for stabilization and security programs.

Canada will also continue efforts to support capacity-building and training of security forces of law enforcement organizations, stem the flow of foreign terrorist fighters, and prevent ISIL from accessing funds.

Canada will work with experienced partners to deliver $840 million in humanitarian assistance over the next three years to support the basic needs of those hardest hit by the conflict, including children and survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. Canada will also deliver $270 million over the next three years to build local capacity to provide basic social services, enhanced infrastructure, and help with accountable governance.

Canada's new approach also gives priority to enhancing Canada's diplomatic role.

Canada's new policy to address the ongoing crisis in Iraq and Syria and the impact it is having on surrounding regions will make a meaningful contribution to the global coalition's fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. It will help to strengthen the ability of regional governments and local authorities to defend themselves, and allow them to rebuild over the long term.

It is a whole-of-government approach that allows several federal departments to work closely together to enhance security and stability, provide vital humanitarian assistance, and help partners deliver social services, rebuild infrastructure, and help with good governance. It is a whole-of-government approach that requires the ongoing leadership of the hard-working citizens of the riding of Fredericton, including men and women in uniform who pass through Base Gagetown.

It is a whole-of-government approach that I am proud to support.

[Operation Provision, February 18th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, last month constituents throughout Fredericton, New Maryland, Oromocto, and the Grand Lake region were proud to welcome home troops serving in Operation Provision.

On January 12, in the wee hours of the morning, 58 soldiers arrived at 5th Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown after working in Beirut and Amman to process Syrian refugees destined for Canada.

Military personnel spent months supporting staff in the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, aiding the security personnel with data entry and with medical screenings.

We were proud to see these soldiers contribute to this operation and proud to see them reunited with their loved ones and colleagues. I would like to personally thank these men and women for their service and congratulate them on their work.

[Canada Labour Code, February 16th, 2016]

Madam Speaker, it is great to be back in the House. I spent a week in my riding, where I had the opportunity to speak with individuals and families who have been negatively affected by the previous government's bills.

I had the great pleasure of spending some time in the riding this past week, talking with individuals and families in Oromocto, family members of civilian employees at Canada's largest military training base, Base Gagetown. They are very pleased with the movement of the government to reset relations with unions and governments across the country.

I had a chance to talk with researchers working at our National Research Council as well as local firefighters. All were happy to see the movement of the government.

Could my colleague from Scarborough—Agincourt speak to some of the conversations he had throughout his constituency about the fairness this bill seeks to address?

[Canada Labour Code, February 5th, 2016]

Madam Speaker, this is about restoring and resetting the relationship with the labour movement across the country, as we are set to do with many other stakeholder groups in communities who have been left hung out to dry by the previous government.

At the end of the day, we need to ensure that we are fair in our deliberations, that we listen, that we come with evidence to support the decisions we are making, but that we be open to considering alternative views from what we may initially think is the case.

I expect that being consultative, being collaborative, and listening well will serve every member in this House in good stead in their communities if they undertake to operate in such a manner.

[Canada Labour Code, February 5th, 2016]

Madam Speaker, not only is it the financial contribution that organized labour adds to communities, but physical support, support for charities, for community building endeavours, for those less fortunate in our communities. It is, by and large, the labour movement that is always leading or very much active in all sorts of different activities that take place, throughout Fredericton, New Maryland, Oromocto, clear across the Grand Lake region, which I have the honour of representing.

Quite frankly, I look forward to continued partnering with union members, organized labour, and with all constituents in the riding I represent, to ensure that we keep building a healthy and safe community.

[Canada Labour Code, February 5th, 2016]

Madam Speaker, I agree with the member opposite that accountability is paramount in all our actions. That is why we are undertaking to repeal the bills. We are holding ourselves accountable to the commitment we made to Canadians in the election to reintroduce fairness into Canada's Parliament and the way we work hard for people in our community. We heard this was greatly lacking and that it had developed over the previous 10 years. We were elected to reset that.

[Canada Labour Code, February 5th, 2016]

Madam Speaker, the government is repealing two laws that have changed the way unions operate.

Bill C-377 has created unnecessary red tape and has put organized labour at a disadvantage in the collective bargaining process.

Bill C-525 makes it more difficult for employees to unionize and easier for a bargaining agent to be decertified.

The measures the government is taking in Bill C-4, are part of a plan designed to ensure that Canada's labour laws best serve employees and employers.

This new bill is part of the government's plan to strengthen the middle class in our great country and to fully recognize the important role that unions play in protecting the rights of Canadian workers.

This government started with a tax break for hard-working Canadians. In the riding I represent, that is a tax break for hard-working nurses, teachers, soldiers, and many other public servants.

We will follow that tax break with the new Canada child benefit, a monthly tax-free, income-tested benefit that would lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty, a benefit that will help nine out of ten Canadian families.

We will also support our veterans by restoring the option of the lifelong pension and by caring for their physical and mental health, and that of their families. It is the sacred obligation of the government to unconditionally support those who have unconditionally served for our safety and freedom.

The government will rebuild its relationship with indigenous Canadians on a nation-to-nation basis, a relationship based upon mutual respect, recognition of rights, and understanding of traditional knowledge.

This bill is also about respect and fairness, national economic prosperity, and supporting the middle class, which is made up of those dedicated workers who contribute to the growth of our communities and our economy.

It is clear that the previous government did not believe in fairness or the importance of unions and the role they play. Its actions were motivated by a desire to undermine the union movement.

Bill C-377 and Bill C-525 were counterproductive to a positive working relationship between employees and employers. Furthermore, it was not a widespread request of the business community. It was unnecessary and caused difficulties for unions.

The two anti-labour bills, which this bill seeks to reverse and reset, were direct attacks on unions by the previous Conservative government. They undermined the right for workers in federally regulated sectors to form a union, and imposed unnecessary and onerous reporting burdens on all unions.

The current government is taking a different route, which consists in listening to the union groups, communities, and legal experts who sounded the alarm about these bills that likely violate charter rights. A number of constitutional experts felt that Bill C-377 was likely unconstitutional.

Privacy experts said that the bill would compromise the private information of millions of Canadians. The bill also discriminates against unions. It does not take into account other types of organizations, such as professional associations. What is more, seven provinces are against the bill because they feel it encroaches on their jurisdiction.

As my friend, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour has so eloquently stated, Bill C-525 was simply a solution looking for a problem.

Simply put, in over 10 years and after thousands of rulings by the Industrial Relations Board, there were merely two judgments against unions for questionable practices during union organizing.

That is why the government has taken significant steps to rebuild labour relations after a decade of acrimony between unions and the Conservatives. It is why the government has introduced legislation to repeal these two anti-labour bills.

I have the honour every day of representing the riding of Fredericton, which is home to many dedicated workers who have been unfavourably and unfairly affected by Bills C-377 and C-525, which are mean-spirited.

Educated, professional, proud public servants, many of whom are taking care of our aging population, live in the riding.

We are home to university scientists and researchers, themselves fostering creative approaches and solutions to the existential challenges we face as a society, as well as making new discoveries to the way we view the world and how we provide economic opportunity, social well-being, and environmental sustainability to our community.

We are also home to almost 1,000 civilian employees at Base Gagetown, employees who, amidst all the coming and going of our men and women in uniform, keep the lights on, the roads safe, and the buildings operational at Canada's largest military training base.

The economic and fiscal contribution of these professional public servants is enormous. Base Gagetown alone contributes upward of $600 million annually to the New Brunswick economy.

The base, the largest federal government asset and largest contributor to our socio-economic vibrancy in the riding, would simply not remain operational without the diligence and hard work of civilian employees, the support of their families, and, in fact, the support of the entire town of Oromocto, Canada's model town, which sprung up just over a half century ago to provide service and a home for the base.

Bill C-377 and Bill C-525 were not mere attacks on the civilian workforce at Base Gagetown. They were seen as an attack on the community of Oromocto. As I knocked on doors last winter, spring, summer, and fall, clear across the Oromocto community, I heard time and time again how the community felt largely betrayed by the former government and how it felt it was time for a positive change.

On October 19, the people of Oromocto spoke clearly and they spoke for that real change.

As the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour has said many times, we promised to repeal these bills because they are detrimental to labour relations. In Oromocto, labour relations have had a negative impact on the morale of the community.

Unions have a major role to play in protecting workers' rights and growing the middle class. The former government trampled on many basic labour rights that were hard won by the unions. That made it more difficult for workers to enjoy freedom of association, bargain collectively in good faith and work in a safe environment.

The government plans on restoring fair and balanced labour legislation that recognizes the important role unions play in Canada and respects their major contribution to the growth and prosperity of the middle class.

This begins with repealing Bill C-377 and Bill C-525, legislation that diminishes and weakens Canada's labour movement. This side of the floor knows that the bill may face a stiff test in the Senate. It is, however, sad to hear members opposite say that they will direct the Senate to kill the bill and continue to disadvantage the organized labour movement in Canada.

I believe the Senate exists to study and recommend improvements and enhancements to legislation. I hope the upper chamber will serve to do just that and will work collaboratively with all parliamentarians in the House.

Canadians elected a government that would ensure evidence based decision making. On balance, there was very little evidence to support the passing of these two bills. Canadians elected a government that work hard to reinstitute fairness in decision making. Over and above balance, there was nothing fair in these bills.

This government promised to stand up for Canadians, and this is exactly what we have set out to do, and Bill C-4 would do that.

[Canadian Heritage, February 5th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians know that our nation's audiovisual and arts and culture promotion sectors are important to our economy.

Yesterday the Minister of Canadian Heritage signed an audiovisual coproduction treaty with the Ambassador of Ireland to Canada.

Can the minister explain how that will benefit Canada's audiovisual industry?

[Income Tax Act, February 1st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the words just delivered by my friend on this side of the floor speak volumes. I will say that providing the space of $5,500 is adequate to ensure that average Canadians can save, while also ensuring that we provide support where it is needed most.

Many of the people graduating from university in the next number of years—again, from those fine institutions in my riding—will be looking to secure employment and pay down debt. That is what we need to focus on, while also helping vulnerable Canadians.

[Income Tax Act, February 1st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Skeena—Bulkley Valley.

I think it is okay that expectations are high. After 10 deplorable years, certainly in my region of the country, people made a decision on October 19 that they had had enough. I think the member would agree that he had had enough of those 10 years as well.

What I will say for the member is this. What really matters is action, and this side of the floor is ready to deliver upon the ambitious agenda that we put forward in the campaign, which Canadians put their trust in us to deliver. I look forward to working with everybody here, and in fact all parliamentarians, to help provide more opportunity for those working hard across Canada and those in more vulnerable situations who need a bit more help and attention from their government.