Phil McColeman

[The Economy, April 21st, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, the strong leadership of our Prime Minister has delivered remarkable results for Canada. Since our government was elected in 2006, Canada has had the strongest job creation in the G7. What is more, the International Monetary Fund and the OECD expect Canada to be among the strongest growing economies in the G7 this year and next. Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance please tell the House how our government's plan for the economy differs from that of the opposition parties?

[Earth Week, April 21st, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, to kick off Earth Week, I had the great privilege of taking part in a tree planting event at Brantford's new “Forest in the City” The community has embraced the wonderful idea to develop a new urban forest inside an existing industrial park. The project has become a reality, thanks to the hard work of the Brantford/Brant Tree Coalition and project champion Chuck Beach.

With 37,000 trees planted, 2015 marks year four of a five year plan, with the project well on its way to surpassing the goal of 50,000 trees planted in five years. The new forest includes walking trails so residents can hike and appreciate the diverse ecosystems that are being created. The project has also been supported generously by the city of Brantford, the Grand River Conservation Authority and local businesses, as well as a grant from CN.

New forest in the city is an idea that is growing into a very special place in beautiful Brantford.

[Child Care, April 2nd, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, earlier this week the Parliamentary Budget Officer confirmed that the family tax cut and enhanced universal child care benefit will put more money in the pockets of every Canadian family with children. The PBO also confirmed that these benefits will help low-income families the most.

Sadly, the New Democrats and the Liberals disagree with our approach. Instead, they have insulted millions of Canadian families by claiming that unless they use a licensed daycare space, they are not providing child care for their children and they do not deserve support. That is completely false.

It is clear that the New Democrats and the Liberals are so blinded by their ideology that they simply do not understand what Canadian families need. What families need is more support from the government for their choices, not less support and higher taxes, as the opposition wants. Our Conservative plan supports every single family with children because we trust moms and dads with their child care choices.

[International Trade, March 30th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, today the Prime Minister is at the Honda plant in Alliston, Ontario, where he made an important announcement for Canada's automotive and advanced manufacturing sector. For the first time, Honda Canada will use one of its Canadian facilities to produce vehicles for export to Europe. This is big news for Ontario and for all Canadians, made possible by the historic Canada-EU trade agreement.

When our government came into office, Canada had only five free trade agreements in place. Since 2006 we have committed to fixing the 13 dark years of trade under the Liberals. Now, Canadian world-class products will have virtually unfettered market access in 43 countries around the world.

Under the leadership of the Prime Minister, our government has created the right economic environment for Canadian businesses to succeed in global markets, creating jobs and long-term economic prosperity for all Canadians.

[Tougher Penalties for Child Predators Act, March 25th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, could my colleague comment on those of us who have been involved with policing in our own communities, and the difficulty actually of finding individuals within the policing community who really want to go down this road? As has been mentioned across the aisle many times, they accuse the minister of not spending the $10 million. Frankly, having been on the governance side of policing in my community, the challenges that police face in this category of crime are enormous.

I know the member has a personal relationship with that, and she mentioned it during her speech. I wonder if she could comment further on that. This is unbelievable policing when it comes down to where the rubber meets the road on this issue.

[Business of Supply, March 10th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, as with previous speakers, we welcome these comments because they highlight such a stark difference between the approach of the opposition and the approach of this government.

The member presents, in a rhetorical way, the same falsehoods about jobs being somewhat precarious, low-paying, and so on. If he takes the example of the area of the country where his riding is located, southwest Ontario, manufacturing suffered greatly there during the recession. What has happened in the time since the recession of 2010 to today is that job creation numbers in heavy manufacturing in my community have gone from 30% unemployment to 6.7%. These are high-paying jobs with benefits. There are thousands of them.

Therefore, how does the member square his comments with the fact that what is happening in southwestern Ontario right now is a resurgence of heavy manufacturing and all types of manufacturing, creating good-paying jobs? His numbers are completely incorrect. How does he respond to that?

[Business of Supply, March 10th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I am so happy for the member's speech because it shows clearly what we are actually doing, which is reducing taxes for small, medium-sized and large businesses. Let me give an example that I hope she will tell the people in her riding about.

In my community, which is a proud manufacturing community historically, recently we helped a company do a $63-million expansion with a $10-million loan, creating some 500 well-paying jobs. This is heavy forging for the natural resource extraction industry.

We helped another company with a $500,000 loan that is completely paid back now to the government. It went from 23 employees to 136 employees within two years of that injection.

I gave those examples because small, medium-sized and large businesses need lower taxation to keep them here and keep them from moving to other jurisdictions. Let me say that, from a community that had 30% unemployment in 1980 to a community that had 6.7% unemployment, our programs are working.

[Taxation, February 5th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, under the strong, dependable leadership of our Prime Minister, our government will balance the budget and put money where it belongs: into the pockets of hard-working Canadians.

Our family tax cut and enhanced universal child care benefit will give 100% of families with kids an average of more than $1,100 per year to spend on their priorities. Families in Brantford-Brant and across Canada will receive nearly $2,000 per year for every child under six and $720 per year for every child between six and 17, thanks to the enhanced universal child care benefit.

The Liberal leader would reverse our tax cuts and do exactly what the Liberal Party elites always do: raise taxes for ordinary Canadians while handing that money over to bureaucrats.

Moms and dads do not need to be told how to spend their money. Our Conservative government is the only party Canadians can trust, and with our family tax cut and benefits, we are proud to be standing up for their future.

[Opposition Motion—Job Creation, February 5th, 2015]

As I mentioned during my speech, Mr. Speaker, I have been blessed in my life. I started a business that employed approximately 20 people for over 25 years. Let me speak as a small businessman.

Small businesses need all levels of government to cut the red tape and the bureaucratic rules and regulations that are foisted upon them. They do not have the resources to deal with it and many of them struggle because of the amount of it.

Of course we want to keep taxes low for all corporations, be they small, medium or large, because it is the entrepreneurs of this world, the business owners, who create the good paying jobs.

The member wants to tie that to infrastructure. This government has made an historic investment in infrastructure, much more than any previous government has made. We stand by our investment in infrastructure and what it has meant to the growth of Canada's economy.

[Opposition Motion—Job Creation, February 5th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I find it fairly bizarre that the member would end his statement by stating “good public policy” This is something we previously introduced and those members voted against it.

Let me be clear about the NDP. The New Democrats have publicly stated many times that they are about taxing the largest corporations. Quite frankly, large corporations are not the devil. They create the most jobs, yet they would tax them higher. We have reduced the tax.

Here is what Jayson Myers, the president and CEO of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, said, “the programs the Conservative government has put in place do support manufacturing, and do it very well”. Need I say more.