Peggy Nash

[The Budget, February 10th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, far too many Canadians are giving up on the Conservative government because it is not creating enough jobs.

Over 1.3 million Canadians are still out of work and are struggling to pay their bills. This is taking a toll on our economy. Conservatives might be happy to ignore this, but the IMF has raised serious concerns about the impact of skyrocketing household debt, now at $1.4 trillion, and the impact this has on our economic performance.

Will the government take action in tomorrow's budget to make life more affordable for middle-class Canadians? Will it crack down on payday lenders? Will it ensure that people have access to a low-interest rate credit card?

[The Budget, February 10th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, tens of thousands of Canadians are dropping out of the labour force. Over 20,000 gave up the search for work in January alone. Nearly 300,000 more Canadians are unemployed now than before the recession.

Will the government use tomorrow's budget to help Canadians get back to work? Will it increase the hiring tax credit for small businesses and restore the ecoENERGY retrofit program? Will it help Canadians?

[Aboriginal Affairs, February 6th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I did not miss the answer; there simply was not one.

Funding for first nations education must not come at the expense of other investments. There are urgent needs in education, infrastructure, job training and health care, just to name a few.

Will the minister commit to including the necessary investments for education and these other urgent needs in his budget?

[Aboriginal Affairs, February 6th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, budgets are about making choices, and for the NDP, first nations' education has long been a priority. I would hope we can all agree that every child deserves an equal chance in life, an equal opportunity to succeed.

To the Minister of Finance, will the upcoming budget finally include investments that close the first nations' education funding gap for our kids?

[Petitions, February 6th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition calling on the Government of Canada to provide long-term, predictable, and non-partisan funding for public transit.

This is a huge issue across the country, but especially in the city of Toronto, where my riding of Parkdale—High Park is located. The GTA loses about $6 billion a year from lost productivity, with daily commutes averaging about 80 minutes.

It is estimated overall that we have a $32-billion investment gap in needed transit infrastructure across the country. Transit infrastructure was missing in the 2013 budget and it is hugely felt in the city of Toronto and right across the country. We are in fact the only G8 country that does not have a national transit strategy.

I know that in my community people line up, sometimes for close to an hour, waiting for adequate transit. The transit infrastructure in place in the city of Toronto was established in the 1960s and is certainly much out of date and needs tremendous upgrading and expansion throughout the city. That is just one part of our national infrastructure.

I would urge all members to support the inclusion of a national transit strategy and funding by our government in its budget.

[The Budget, February 5th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the reality is that Conservatives' economic mismanagement is raising red flags around the globe.

The IMF is now raising serious concerns about Canada's investment levels and our slumping exports. It is sounding the alarm on escalating household debt that could “amplify” any economic downturn.

Will the Conservatives listen to the NDP and use their budget to get household debt under control by supporting job creation and by cracking down on things like payday lenders?

[The Budget, February 5th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the government's response is obviously “no”. Economic growth has stalled. Nearly 1.4 million Canadians are unemployed. Last year, barely 5,000 full-time jobs were created in the entire country.

Instead of tabling another austerity budget that will eliminate tens of thousands of jobs, will the Conservatives finally encourage job creation by proposing a tax credit for businesses that hire young people and by reinstating the eco-energy retrofit program?

[Intergovernmental Affairs, February 4th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, that is quite funny because the provinces are united in their opposition to the government's “my way or the highway” approach. Despite their advertising blitz, the provinces just are not buying it. They have rejected the government's plan and made a reasonable counter-offer. The provinces are trying to stop the Conservatives from leaving vulnerable Canadians behind.

Will the minister pull the chute on his failed Canada job grant, or at the very least allow the provinces to opt out?

[Business of Supply, February 4th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his remarks on this opposition day motion and thank the member for Malpeque for introducing this on behalf of his party.

I believe that Canadians are concerned about the possibility that their private communications are being monitored and that perhaps we do not have proper oversight over CSEC. I remember a recent debate at the finance committee. In a budget implementation act, one of these omnibus budget bills, the government decided to eliminate the position of the inspector general, which was a full-time oversight position over CSIS, and to replace that with a position as a member of the board. We were warned at the committee that this was not proper oversight, but the government went ahead with it anyway.

Given that we, as average Canadians, cannot monitor the security agencies, we need to be assured that those who are set up to monitor our security agencies are doing so appropriately. We need to have confidence in that.

My question for the member is this. In 2005, when then Liberal defence minister Bill Graham signed the directive to allow CSEC to collect metadata, does the member think there were appropriate checks and balances established at that time?

[Consumer Protection, February 3rd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the minister of state can make light of this, but even the Minister of Finance knows that this is a legitimate problem and has said so, especially so for seniors, students, and persons with disabilities. He just refuses to do anything about it.

There have been eight consecutive budgets and no action. Now the budget once again is around the corner. Will the government finally take action to expand help for small business, to reverse the damaging cuts it has made, and to help vulnerable Canadians by capping ATM fees? Will it do that?