House of Commons photoLost her last election, in 2015, with 40% of the vote.
The Economy September 29th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, there are 350,000 more unemployed Canadians today than there were before the last recession, which the minister did not see coming, either. That means 350,000 more workers who are not bringing home salaries to provide for their families, and billions of dollars lost in salaries and economic incentives.
What does the minister have to say to those families? That it is their fault and that he will not do anything about it?
Business of Supply September 29th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her very passionate intervention about the growing inequality and those who really need the benefits of government spending.
The members opposite are erroneously saying that we want to increase taxes. That is absolutely not the case.
Given that the majority of Canadians did not support the government or its direction, would she comment on the growing inequality in Canadian society? Would she comment on how what we are calling for, strategic investments in physical and social infrastructure, can help decrease that growing economic inequality gap?
Business of Supply September 29th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, the member opposite has painted a very rosy picture for Canadian youth, considering that youth unemployment in Canada is more than double the already high unemployment rate for all Canadians and considering the terrible tragedy that goes with that for a young individual just starting out in life.
I would ask the member how she and her government can justify, for example, the minister from Muskoka spending $50 million in his riding for gazebos and hockey rinks. How can she justify the creation of fake lakes in Toronto, procurement costs that cost Canadians billions of dollars and the inappropriate use of government jets and search and rescue vehicles? How can she justify this gross misuse of our scarce tax dollars when so many youth are still unemployed and facing an even bleaker future, according to the International Monetary Fund and all economists today?
Business of Supply September 29th, 2011
Madam Speaker, we in the New Democratic Party certainly agree that we need to create retirement security for Canadians and we need to expand the Canada pension plan, which does not rely on tax dollars but on contributions that go directly into the plan by Canadians and employers.
Could the member tell us what her view is on the pooled pension plan idea offered by the government? What it would do, in our view, is once again throw the savings of seniors into the stock market, which makes financial planners wealthy but does nothing to provide for the retirement security of Canadians.
Business of Supply September 29th, 2011
Madam Speaker, I want to probe my colleague's comments about a review of public expenditures. I am sure he knows that the New Democrats are supporting the ongoing review of public expenditures to ensure that our money is well spent.
What we find challenging is that the government has suddenly picked a figure of $4 billion out of thin air and now it is hiring an outside company for $90,000 a day to somehow justify what it should be doing on an ongoing basis, which is ensuring that Canadians get good value for their tax dollars.
Would the member agree that this is just part of the responsibility of being in government, as opposed to having it contracted out to some outside firm?
Business of Supply September 29th, 2011
Madam Speaker, I think that what we have seen here on display is a kind of a sad partisan approach to something that Canadians really expect us to work together on. Two-thirds of Canadians did not vote for the current government. They are really asking, “What is the government's plan?”
We are saying we have a plan to put Canadians back to work, the two million Canadians who are desperate for a job. I think they expect us to get to work on that, to roll up our sleeves and get to work. The average Canadian family benefits by about $16,000 from the services that they get from various levels of government. All we are proposing is that the government turn its attention to real job creation.
Scotiabank says that Canada may well be the first of the G8 countries to fall into a recession because we are a large trading nation, and that is of real concern to Canadians. Of course, companies would love more tax cuts. They would not argue against them. However, the fact is they are sitting on $500 billion in cash.
I ask the hon. member, why would she want to add to that $5 billion? Why would she not want to invest that money and put Canadians back to work?
Business of Supply September 29th, 2011
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her fine work and her question.
It is absolutely correct that our deficit and debt situation is not as bad as it is in other countries. In fact, it is much better than it is in other countries in the G8. Therefore, why is the Minister of Finance focused on deficit reduction as though that were our main problem? That is exactly the point.
The issue for us, the major challenge, is not the debt in this country; it is job creation. I am sure she knows that in her community, youth unemployment is double the unemployment of others in this country, and I am sure she knows the problems that leads to. We do not want to be locking up young people, putting them in jail, having to build more prisons, which, sadly, the government is heading toward. We want to create good quality jobs for our youth so that they can have a hopeful future. That is what we in the NDP are standing up for: Canadian youth and families.
Business of Supply September 29th, 2011
Madam Speaker, the Conference Board of Canada released a report last week stating that the Canadian economy is producing a more unequal society wherein the rich are getting richer and the middle class is falling further behind. One reason for that is the lack of affordable housing.
We have a perfect opportunity. Interest rates are at almost historic lows. There is a tremendous need for affordable housing. Almost two million Canadians are looking for work. Let us put those together. Let us invest in affordable housing that is energy efficient, that helps meet Canadian housing needs and puts Canadians to work. That would also help grow our economy.
Business of Supply September 29th, 2011
Madam Speaker, obviously Canada is a trading nation. We support our trading partners and believe trade is an important part of our economy. Approximately 70% to 75% of our exports go to the U.S.
We believe in fair trade, that which has a level playing field, not the kind of trade that allows Americans to out negotiate Conservative negotiators, or that protects American jobs while leaving ours vulnerable. We have seen the outcome of that, which was the loss of thousands of good manufacturing jobs in this country.
When will the government stand up for good quality jobs? When will it stop the migration of these jobs south of the border or to other parts of the world? When will it defend good quality Canadian jobs?
Business of Supply September 29th, 2011
Madam Speaker, I respectfully ask the member to show us the evidence because we have not seen any. We have seen that unemployment is not as bad as it was at the depth of the recession. That is only because the opposition forced the Conservatives, who were sleepwalking into a recession, to invest in the economy.
It is very nice that members have built gazebos in their ridings. That is all well and good, but we are talking about strategic infrastructure investment such as urban transit and greening the economy. We are talking about investments that will make our economy more competitive, more productive and most importantly will put Canadians back to work.