Paul Calandra

[Health, February 6th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for the question, and while I have the floor I would also like to thank the member for Oakville who brought forward a recommendation that the status of women committee investigate this. I know that the committee has been working very hard and has introduced a report that we will obviously take a look at.

This is a very serious issue. That is why, when we first came to office, we started to reverse the billions of dollars in health care cuts that were a hallmark of the Liberal government.

By putting those reinvestments in place, our provincial partners have the resources they need to invest, not only in this, but in so many other areas of health care that have suffered under the previous Liberal government.

[Child Care, February 6th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, our public service is like all of our Canadian families, and under our plan 100% of Canadian families would benefit from the announcements we have made. In fact, on average, Canadians would have an additional $1,200 in their pockets because of the changes we have introduced.

I note, of course, that the NDP and the Liberals would take away that benefit. They would take the $160 a month that families are already getting per child under six. They would take away the $60 a month. They would probably reverse the $1,000 increase in child deductions that we have put in place.

Canadians families understand that when it comes to protecting them and their families, they can count on—

[Child Care, February 6th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, as the member will recall, when we took office we started to reverse the legacy of transfer payment cuts left behind by the Liberals, some $50 billion in cuts. We started to reverse that, and the money that was sent to our provincial partners created in excess of 260,000 child care spaces.

We are going even further by introducing the universal child care benefit, providing families with $100. That is now increasing to $160 for children under the age of six, but going even a step further, $60 for those kids who are between 6 and 17. We have increased the deduction for child care expenses by $1,000.

[Employment, February 6th, 2015]

Again, Mr. Speaker, as the minister said, thousands of investigations have taken place and continue to take place. There is a dedicated team at ESDC to conduct these investigations. Employers have been co-operating, but obviously, in instances where employers do not co-operate, we do have the tools in place to make sure that the rules are being followed. As we have said, if the rules are not being followed, we will ensure that employers suffer severe consequences.

[Employment, February 6th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, obviously, this is the government that brought in the reviews and the inspections, but when we brought this in, the NDP was concerned. Its members said “They're going to be sending in quasi-police officers”. They were against warrantless access. Now in the House, they are rising to say that they are upset that we have not had to use it.

The reason we have not had to use it is that the employers are co-operating. We continue to make inspections to make sure that the rules are being followed, and in instances where they are not being followed, we are taking action

[Business of Supply, February 5th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I am going to continue with the same question I had a little earlier.

I know that the member was in the chamber listening to the Liberal member for Winnipeg North's comments. I just wanted to highlight the fact that the record for unemployment was actually set by a Prime Minister called Trudeau back in 1983, when it was at its highest ever in the history of the country at 12%.

I took the opportunity to go back and look at the unemployment rate for every single year the Liberals were in office between 1993 and the time they were thrown out by the Canadian people. At no time did it ever hit the level we are at today. It was at 9%, 7.1%, and so on.

I heard him talk about the middle class, and I thought it was somewhat awkward for the leader of the third party to talk about the middle class, because the person who works on his Mercedes might be a member of the middle class, but not the guy who drives it.

After listening to that 20 minute speech, does the member have any idea at all what the Liberal policy is toward manufacturing? She has been in the chamber, listening to all of the Liberal speeches all day. Does the member have any clue of what the Liberal Party's approach to manufacturing is?

[Business of Supply, February 5th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, as I just mentioned in the previous question, I am not going to sit here and explain to the hon. member how many ways he was wrong. I appreciate the fact that he has actually brought something to the table, unlike our colleagues at the end.

However, I want to touch upon two things.

The previous speaker mentioned it, so I think it might be relevant. She talked about a raid on the EI fund by the previous governments. I wonder if the member could touch upon that briefly.

I also appreciate that the NDP is supportive of the fact that tax cuts create jobs.

I wonder if the hon. member could comment further, because I think it is fair to get a bit of an assessment on what the other opposition party here has brought to the table with respect to manufacturing. We know that two parties have brought something to the table. They might not agree on all elements of it, and in fact probably disagree on a lot of it, but I wonder if he might also, as the finance critic, give his assessment of the Liberal Party's agenda when it comes to manufacturing. As well, if he could expand on the EI comment made by the member for Gatineau, I would appreciate it.

[Business of Supply, February 5th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, it is clear that we are not going to agree on certain things, but I wonder if the member might comment a bit on this.

We know that the Liberals certainly do not agree with what the New Democrats are proposing, and have not in the past, and they currently do not agree with some of the measures we have brought in for the manufacturing sector. We also know that the leader of the Liberal Party has suggested it is time to transition away from manufacturing. I think he called it something like an old 20th century concept from which we should move away.

I wonder if the member might comment on that position of the Liberal Party, the fact that the Liberals do not support manufacturing and that they want to put millions of people out of work by somehow transitioning away from manufacturing.

[Citizen Voting Act, February 3rd, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I suggest that the member bring that forward at committee for greater debate.

As we know, once the writ is dropped, people living abroad or who find themselves outside of Canada have the ability to go online immediately and begin the process of applying for ballots. That can happen almost immediately. I suggest to the member opposite that 36 days is enough time for people to go online, start the process, and then receive ballots, but that is something that can be discussed at committee. I believe it is long enough, but I am willing to hear from experts who might think that 36 days is just not enough time.

The main goal of this legislation is to make sure that people are allowed to vote. It is consistent with what we see in other western democracies, and I think it is what Canadians, by and large, would expect: that the people receiving ballots and voting in elections are entitled to do so. That is what the citizen voting act, in addition to the Fair Elections Act, would ensure.

[Citizen Voting Act, February 3rd, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, it is because our public servants working abroad are not the Canadian military. They actually are different from the Canadian military.

That is not to suggest that the work that is done by our public servants around the world is not very important work. At the same time, we know that when public servants are sent abroad, they are often stationed there for a specific amount of time and know the length of time they will be there, unlike members of the Canadian Armed Forces. As the member would know from his own constituency, a lot of the time they maintain a Canadian residence when working abroad.

I suggest to the member that Canadian Forces members have circumstances much different from those of the great public service we have. When Canadian Forces members are in Canada, they move around a lot within Canada too. Therefore, to compare Canadian Forces members with the broader public service does a disservice to the Canadian Forces but at the same time does a disservice to the very professional men and women of the Canadian public service, who, as part of their service, also like to maintain consistency and connection with the communities they come from.