Paul Szabo

[The Budget, March 9th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, the hon. member for Chambly—Borduas is a very good member of Parliament and is always thoughtful in his comments. I appreciate what he brings to the House. He has demonstrated what many have said today in the debate on the budget, that the budget should not simply address the fiscal deficit, that there is a social deficit and there are implications.

The last time Canada had a recession, three things happened. First, there was an increase in the property crime rate. Second, there was an increase in the demands on the health care system. Third, there was an increase in the demand on social services, particularly for women and seniors.

I agree wholeheartedly with the hon. member with regard to women's issues, whether they be pay equity, court challenges, or equal opportunity. He laid out a sound view that we need to address Canada's aging society as there are significant consequences. He also talked about jobs and the importance of EI. He mentioned the increase in premiums, some $19 billion over the next five years.

The fact is that over the next couple of years, the EI benefits for 500,000 Canadians are going to lapse; they will be done and then we will have a problem. On top of that, the unemployment rate is going from 8.2% to 8.5% in the coming year. These are social deficits that we must address.

I want to give the hon. member an opportunity to add a few more comments regarding those arguments.

[The Budget, March 9th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, I am particularly pleased that the member took the time to talk about seniors and the difficulties that they are facing.

They have come through a low interest rate scenario where the return on their retirement nest egg has been very small. They are probably living off their capital now. The demands on the health care system are rising. The demands on our social services are rising. Their pensions have been at risk and have been damaged by decisions of the government.

This seems to be an issue of the government feeling that all we have is a fiscal deficit and it has focused on that. It has not focused on the social deficit. It is almost like a tsunami where the earthquake was the global economic recession but the wave yet to come is going to be the impact on people.

I want to thank the member for raising the plight of seniors. There are some major matters coming forward, certainly with the aging society issues such as mental health problems, Alzheimer's and the like, dementia. These are serious problems that government is going to ignore at a time when it should be planning to provide the support and services that our seniors need.

I wonder if the member would like to comment.

[The Budget, March 9th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the government is proposing to grow out of the fiscal deficit. Scott Clark, the former deputy finance minister, said that there was no advanced economy, ever, that has grown out of a deficit.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer has gone even further and has said that there is a structural deficit and that we cannot grow out of it. So there is a problem.

It comes down to trust and, if we want to talk about trust, maybe we want to think about income trusts and the broken promise: how they taxed income trusts when they said that they would not; how they broke the law on fixed election dates; how they bought an election by reducing the GST when they could not afford to reduce it; having a 200-page binder to make Parliament dysfunctional; the Afghan papers; and the list goes on.

There is, however, a social deficit. I know the member is very concerned about jobs, as are all the opposition parties, but not the government. EI benefits will run out for 500,000 people over the next short while and, at the same time, the government will be introducing about $13 billion in increases of EI premiums, job-killing premiums that will hurt not only businesses but also employees.

I wonder if the member wants to amplify on the need to protect Canadian workers.

[The Budget, March 9th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, it is anticipated that EI benefits will lapse for about 500,000 Canadians during the coming year. The government is boasting about how the work share program is going to reduce the financial burden on employers and employees. The member may want to comment on the fact that the government has also announced a $13 billion increase in EI premiums, job-killing premiums for small and medium size businesses which will be particularly hard hit. I think the government has it wrong.

[The Budget, March 9th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, what I am concerned about is what Canada will look like as we move down the road. During the last recession three things happened. First, the crime rate in Canada increased, particularly property crime, and it had to do with how people would pay the next bill. The second thing was that the demands on the health care system increased enormously because people were stressed out and had all kinds of consequential problems. The third thing was the significant demand on the social network, the social programs that are delivered through the provinces.

The common element through those three things is that those are services that are all delivered by provincial governments but the budget does not deal effectively with transfers to provinces anticipating these problems. The issue is not so much for me as to how we get the deficit and fiscal house back in order. It is how at the same time we ensure people do not fall into a situation in which they cannot help themselves.

Does the member consider the issues of the increased demands on our policing services, our health care system and our social services network when there is nothing in this budget to address those needs of Canadians?

[Petitions, March 8th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I will present a petition on income trusts shortly, but today, pursuant to Standing Order 36 and as certified by the clerk, I am pleased to present what I believe to be the 50th petition I have put forward in support of a universal declaration on animal welfare.

The petitioners point out to Parliament that whereas there is a scientific consensus and public acknowledgement that animals can feel pain and can suffer, all efforts should be made to prevent animal cruelty and reduce animal suffering.

The petitioners also point out that over one billion people around the world rely on animals for their livelihoods and many others rely on animals for the companionship they give.

Whereas animals are often significantly affected by natural disasters and are seldom considered during relief efforts and emergency planning despite their recognized importance to humans, these petitioners call upon Parliament to support a universal declaration on animal welfare.

[THE BUDGET, March 8th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, it is a very narrow budget that simply seeks to continue a program that is failing to get stimulus money out. We notice there is a reference in the throne speech that some 90% of the projects for the current year have been committed. Those are weasel words. The cheques are not out.

The other part of this is that this budget does not address the realities. During these difficult times there are problems with an aging society, problems with social programs and problems dealing with the basic needs.

This is my concern and the basis of my question. If we simply focus on reducing the expenditures of government departments that deliver services that Canadians need at this difficult time, will it not result in lower service levels to Canadians at a time of most need?

[THE BUDGET, March 8th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, the last time Canada was in a recession, three things happened. First, there was a significant increase in health care costs. Second, there was an increase in social services requirements. Third, there was a very significant increase in property crime in Canada. All are funded by the provinces. The crime rate actually tracked the unemployment rate very well.

The government seems to think that we should simply focus on getting the second year of stimulus money out and then deal with everything else later. It may be very difficult to address the damage done as a consequence of focusing very narrowly on the deficit and not having that vision or understanding of the impact on the people of Canada. I wonder if the member would care to comment.

[Broadcasting Act and the Telecommunications Act, March 8th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, I can remember the debate we had in this place on the question of establishing Quebec as a nation. I think all hon. members will recall that the issue of what constituted a nation was not agreed to by members of the House.

Notwithstanding that, during that period of time we also understood that Quebec and its broadcast technology and cultural agencies were representing all French-speaking Canadians, both inside and outside Quebec. There is a substantial number and, in fact, a disproportionate amount of funding for cultural development that goes to Quebec to support francophone Canadians all across the country.

I want to ask the member whether that constituency of French-speaking Canadians outside of Quebec would also be served by a new mandate for a Quebec telecommunications commission?

[The Budget, March 5th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, this is really a one-year budget. To go beyond what the government has put in the budget, our wish is based on nothing than a bunch of estimates that the government has not justified.

I am particularly concerned about the lack of vision anticipating the implications of our aging society. On the issues of pensions, seniors and health care, we have to understand where Canada is going to be down the road. We cannot just say, “Now that we are here, let us do this,” because the economics of this lag. We cannot address a problem today with the money of today, as it is going to take years to kick in.

Does the leader of the NDP feel that the government can be trusted with regard to controlling expenditures, given that it allowed some $3.5 billion in infrastructure funding to lapse in the last fiscal year? It appears that we are not getting the money out again this year and that we cannot trust the government to get it out next year.