Peter Braid

[Multiple Sclerosis, May 7th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has the highest rate of multiple sclerosis in the world. Not only do 100,000 Canadians live with MS, but their families, friends, and communities live with MS as well.

Today, I am wearing a carnation to support 1 Day in May, a campaign to raise awareness of MS and the impacts on those who are affected.

Canadians living with MS and their caregivers cope with the challenges of a demanding illness that comes and goes and worsens over time. This affects their employment and financial security.

People in this situation need options that support their continued employment, while respecting the daily challenges that they face. I urge each of us, at least one day in May, to effect positive change in the life of someone with MS.

Let us also commit to ending MS in our lifetime.

[Canada Post, April 2nd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, due to much higher costs, only about a third of addresses in Canada and, as I explained previously, less than 28% in the United States have door-to-door delivery. Most other addresses, including seniors residences, are served by community mailboxes, apartment, condo, or retirement home lock boxes in building lobbies, or other delivery venues.

While delivery to the door is more common in other G7 nations, as I explained, this form of delivery is less costly in those countries given their higher population densities resulting in smaller building lots and a greater use of multi-dweller residences.

Consequently, other approaches to declining mail volumes have occurred, such as privatization or the leveraging of postal businesses into other market segments, such as postal banking, insurance, express courier, logistics, telecommunications, currency exchange, et cetera, to offset those postal costs.

[Canada Post, April 2nd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by stating that in 2012, Canada Post delivered one billion fewer letters than it did in 2006. Furthermore, two thirds of Canadians do not currently receive door-to-door mail delivery.

We believe that Canada Post must balance its finances without being a burden on Canadian taxpayers, and that is exactly what we expect it to do.

Due to the sheer size of their respective postal territories, Canada's postal situation is more similar to that of the United States than to other G7 countries. In North America, a minority of addresses still receive door-to-door delivery. It is roughly a third in Canada, as I mentioned, and less than 28% currently in the United States.

Most senior citizens in both countries receive their mail through venues other than door-to-door delivery.

Last July, a bill was introduced in the United States Congress that, if passed, would end door-to-door delivery in that country. Despite being named the most efficient post office in 2012 by Oxford Strategic Consulting, the United States Postal Service lost more than $5 billion last year, and almost $16 billion the previous year. Since ending door-to-door delivery in the United States would save an estimated $4.5 billion a year, this option is, not surprisingly, being considered by American legislators.

Mail delivery in other G7 nations differs from that of North America as a result of much higher population densities that tend to live in multi-residential dwellings, such as apartment buildings, that are grouped much more closely together. The end result is that it is less expensive to deliver in other G7 countries than in Canada and the United States, so ending door-to-door delivery would result in comparatively fewer savings. As a result, other approaches have been implemented.

In the United Kingdom, most of Royal Mail has been privatized, thereby allowing an exit from declining postal business. However, this strategy has been costly.

In April 2012, the U.K. government assumed the responsibility for both the Royal Mail pension plan deficit and the plan's liabilities of over £30 billion, or about $56 billion Canadian at the current exchange rate. Stamp prices were also increased dramatically, and the post offices were spun off into a separate government-owned limited company that received £2 billion in subsidies from the U.K. government. These actions helped shore up Royal Mail to the extent that it was able to show profits over the past two fiscal years after many years of deficits. As a result, shares in Royal Mail became more attractive to investors.

It is clear that in Canada, the traditional postal business model that worked so well in the pre-digital era is increasingly out of step with today's reality. Canadians are choosing to communicate in ways other than sending letters, including, of course, using our BlackBerrys. Due to the lack of demand, mail volumes have dropped almost 25% since 2008 and continue to fall. The Conference Board of Canada projected that Canada Post could lose $1 billion a year by 2020.

Canada Post, as an arm's-length crown corporation, is responsible for its operations, including business and financial decisions.

[Employment, March 28th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the Liberal Party has it wrong. In fact, our government has made historic, unprecedented investments in infrastructure. That high-level investment in infrastructure will continue. Our application process opens this coming Monday, March 31. These infrastructure investments will enhance our quality of life, improve our productivity, and increase our economic competitiveness.

[Infrastructure, March 27th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, earlier this week it was suggested that a question such as this about shell games might be more appropriate in the Ontario legislature.

With respect to investments in public infrastructure and in public transit specifically, our government has invested over $5 billion in public transit. Here is what Michael Roschlau has said: “Never before has a federal government invested so much in public transit. This budget provides a solid framework to ensure that this will continue”.

[Infrastructure, March 27th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated, the application process for the provincial and territorial infrastructure component will open this Monday, March 31, fulfilling our government's commitment to be ready for this construction season.

Significant investments will continue to flow this year and over the next decade, the largest and the longest infrastructure plan in Canada's history. This government has tripled investments in infrastructure since 2006.

[Infrastructure, March 27th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, under that $10 billion provincial and territorial infrastructure fund, applications will be accepted starting this Monday, March 31, fulfilling our government's commitment.

Here are some of the categories that will be eligible: highways and major roads; public transit; disaster mitigation infrastructure; and innovation infrastructure, which our post-secondary sector is particularly pleased about.

These investments will improve our quality of life and enhance our economic—

[Infrastructure, March 27th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals seem to have forgotten how the budget and the estimates process works around here. Here are the facts. Over the next decade, we have over $53 billion to invest in infrastructure. This includes the gas tax fund, at $2 billion a year. This includes almost $6 billion from the original building Canada fund, which we will continue to invest over the coming year. Last is the new building Canada fund, to which provinces and municipalities will submit invoices. Those expenses will be reflected in subsequent estimates.

[Infrastructure, March 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned previously, this government is making record investments in infrastructure. Over the next decade we will provide over $50 billion in investments for provincial, territorial, and municipal infrastructure.

When that third party was government, I would describe its investments in infrastructure, in parliamentary terms, as peanuts.

[Infrastructure, March 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the leader of the third party can ask that question thousands of billions of times, but the answer will continue to be the same.

This government has tripled investments in infrastructure since we formed government in 2006. Over the next decade, we will provide stable and predictable funding, over $53 billion.

We look forward to working with our partners and to renewing infrastructure in this country and, in the process, creating jobs.