Raj Grewal

[Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2, November 1st, 2016]

Madam Speaker, we campaigned on revitalizing our economy and economic growth. There are studies across the board by economists suggesting that the best way a government can instill economic growth is to do two things. One is through innovation, which we are doing, and the other is through infrastructure. We think the infrastructure bank is a great idea, and Canadians recognize that as well.

Our partners at the provincial and municipal levels recognize there is a huge infrastructure deficit across our country from coast to coast to coast. This is going to make it easier to address those concerns. We are going to get people back to work. We are going to build Canada. We are going to ensure that middle-income families have more resources to get them back home on time, because we are going to invest in transit, we are going to build roads, and we are going to build bridges.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2, November 1st, 2016]

Madam Speaker, we campaigned heavily on the Canada child benefit because it would provide more money for families that needed it the most. The members opposite kept on campaigning on the fact that the universal child benefit had two problems: one, it went to millionaires across the country who did not need the benefit; and second, it was taxable. The Canada child benefit gives more money to those who need it the most. It is after-tax, and now it is indexed to inflation. It is a great benefit that helps middle-class families and the people who need it the most. I encourage the members opposite to support this benefit.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2, November 1st, 2016]

Madam Speaker, it is an honour to rise today to speak to Bill C-29, an act to amend certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 22, 2016.

I was elected to the House just over a year ago with all of my colleagues with the purpose of speaking up and advocating for the priorities of our local constituents. For me, they happen to be the wonderful people of Brampton East. My constituents are varied, ranging from young families trying to join or stay in the middle class to students and young Canadians entering the workforce, parents whose kids are growing up and leaving home, people planning for retirement, and seniors who too often worry about their finances.

In the last year we have taken monumental steps toward real change for all of these groups. We have cut taxes for close to nine million Canadians, introduced the Canada child benefit, increased student grants for low and middle-income families, and increased monthly payments for seniors. We are ensuring that Canadians today and tomorrow will be able to live comfortably and confidently. We need to build on this momentum.

As a member of the Standing Committee on Finance, I have had the opportunity to go through two pre-budget consultations. The first was in February, which gathered 92 witnesses in Ottawa, whom we heard from for over four days. These witnesses included individuals, NGOs, first nations advocates, and other valued groups. We also received 172 submissions online from individuals and groups. The responses we received varied in topic. The committee concluded its work with a report that offered 56 recommendations, many of which were included in the budget and this second implementation act.

We were elected one year ago on an ambitious new plan for a strong middle class and promised that we would do all that we could to help every Canadian succeed. Budget 2016 is an important part of fulfilling that promise. It offers immediate help to those who need it and it lays out the groundwork for sustained and inclusive economic growth that will benefit Canada's middle class and those working hard to join it.

Over the summer I knocked on doors every Tuesday throughout August with a team of volunteers. This allowed me to check in with the wonderful residents of Brampton East about their priorities for their families, their community, and future generations. This legislation would help those very same people we meet each day at the door, at our office, and at local events.

This second budget implementation act proposes items that would complete the implementation of outstanding measures from the Government of Canada's first budget, “Growing the Middle Class”. This legislation contains significant changes for seniors, improvements to protect Canadian consumers, tax fairness for Canadians, and last but not least, help for low and middle-income families with children.

The Canadian Association of Retired Persons estimates that roughly 600,000 seniors are living in poverty in Canada. This is far too many. Canadians would be shocked by that number. These seniors are our parents, our neighbours, our relatives, and our friends. For this reason, the government has made significant new investments to support seniors in their retirement years. Increased benefits will ensure that Canadian seniors have a dignified, comfortable, and secure retirement.

In Bill C-29 we are ensuring that Canadians would be protected financially by strengthening and modernizing the financial consumer protection framework in our country. Canadian families weathered the 2008 financial crisis fairly well because of our strong financial sector. We will build on this strength by ensuring that our financial structure is able to adapt to new trends, incorporate emerging financial innovations and technologies, and challenge existing business models, and more.

The bill would also modernize the financial consumer protection framework by clarifying and enhancing consumer protection. It would do so through amendments to the Bank Act to enhance consumer protection in the areas of access to banking services, business practices, disclosures, complaints handling, as well as corporate governance and accountability.

Of great importance to me is that this legislation is about fairness, one of Canada's fundamental values.

The bill ensures that the government has a plan to combat international tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance through new measures, while building on efforts that are currently being made both here in Canada and abroad. This work will help protect all Canadians and ensure that everyone pays their fair share. Canada has the lowest debt to GDP ratio of any G7 country and interest rates are at historic lows. Now is the ideal time for Canada to invest in its future.

Last but not least, the bill ensures that Canadian families will have a little more help with the high cost of raising children through the new Canada child benefit. Simpler, tax-free, and more generous than the existing federal child benefits it will replace, the Canada child benefit will give nine out of 10 Canadian families higher monthly payments and will lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty. This benefit will be indexed starting in 2020. We listened to the passionate advocates who said that the CCB must be indexed to inflation. As a result, supporting this budget implementation bill will help ensure that the Canada child benefit will be indexed to inflation so that families can count on the extra assistance, not just today but for years to come.

To conclude, the bill continues to deliver on this government's plan to ensure that Canadians are well served and that more Canadians will be able to join the middle class. With these investments and inspired by a sense of fairness, we are ensuring that Canada's best days lie ahead. I look forward to supporting the bill and I urge all my hon. colleagues to do the same.

[University in Brampton, October 26th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, today is a great day for Brampton and a great day for Canada. The Province of Ontario announced this morning that Brampton will be getting a much-needed university, a university that is going to create over 1,800 permanent jobs in Brampton. I want to congratulate Mayor Linda Jeffrey and all of city council for working so hard to get this much-needed university to Brampton.

I also want to congratulate my fellow members of Parliament from Brampton, who have worked very hard over the past year to ensure the important decision by the Province of Ontario to award the university to the city of Brampton. I look forward to building a world-class university in the city of Brampton. I invite everyone in this House to visit our university once it is built in the near future.

Most important, today is the opening night of the Toronto Raptors season. Go Raptors, go.

[Canada Pension Plan, October 24th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, our government has made a commitment to seniors. Our government has reversed the increase in the age of eligibility on old age security back to age 65. Our government has increased the guaranteed income supplement specifically to help single seniors pay their bills. Our government is investing in Canadians. Our government has reduced taxes for Canadians. Our government is helping seniors provide for themselves and, most importantly, the Canada pension plan enhancements are going to reduce the number of seniors living in poverty in years to come.

[Canada Pension Plan, October 24th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question. As a colleague and a friend on the finance committee, I always appreciate our conversations outside of this chamber. However, I want to reassure Canadians, especially, the aged 20-something Canadians, that our government has done more in the first year of our mandate than the last government did in the last 10 years of its mandate on how the 20-somethings succeed in this world.

I stand in this House as somebody who still has student loans to pay, because I was in my twenties not too long ago. Our government has enhanced the Canada student loans program, which will help more young Canadians go to school and be less in debt when they graduate. The Canada pension plan enhancement is important for young Canadians, who will benefit the most in future years, as we modestly increase this over a seven-year phase-in to increase their contributions, so that they can retire safely and securely.

I encourage my hon. colleagues across the way to support this bill.

[Canada Pension Plan, October 24th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, it is good to be back in Ottawa after a week of travelling with the finance committee. Today's debate is a very pressing one. The changes that our government are proposing to enhance the Canada pension plan are important to every working Canadian. Not only are they important, but they are much needed.

We know that today, one in four families nearing retirement, which is 1.1 million families, risk not saving enough for retirement. In particular, middle-class families without workplace pension plans are at greater risk of under-saving for retirement. A third of these families are at severe risk. To address this, a historic agreement was reached with the provinces in June to make meaningful changes to the CPP that would allow Canadians to retire with more money in their pockets. These enhancements would be phased in over a seven-year period, starting in 2019. Once fully in place, the CPP enhancements would increase the maximum retirement benefit by about 50%.

Enhanced benefits would accumulate gradually as individuals pay into the enhanced CPP. To fund these enhanced benefits, annual CPP contributions would increase modestly over seven years, starting in 2019. I want to remind my colleagues in the House that contribution rates in Canada are much lower than those in other countries with public pension plans. In fact, the CPP contribution rate is about half of the average rate among 25 countries in the OECD that have public pension plans. This remains true even with the CPP enhancement.

What would this mean to Canadians? What would it mean to young workers in their twenties? Recently, I spoke to 20-year-old Canadians and they asked what they would get out of this CPP enhancement. Workers nearing retirement asked me if this would change their pension benefits. Low-income workers worry that any extra contributions will come straight off their paycheques. These are very good questions.

For young workers in their early twenties just starting out their careers, this will be a great benefit for when they retire. By paying into the enhanced CPP, they will have more to retire on. The modest increase in contributions would be phased in over seven years, so people working with constant earnings of $50,000 would contribute an additional $70 per year, or $6 per month, in 2019. By the end of the phase-in period, those same people would be contributing $475 per year, or $40 extra per month.

By strengthening the Canada pension plan, workers will receive more money from their pensions, one-quarter of their eligible earnings to one-third of their eligible earnings. If people make $50,000 a year during their working lives, they will receive about $16,000 each year in retirement instead of $12,000 today. That is $4,000 more right into their pockets. In addition, the enhancement will increase the point at which a person stops making contributions by about 14% in 2025.

I know that some are concerned about the increased contributions and what they will mean to their bottom lines and, most importantly, their paycheques. We thought about this and designed a gradual phase-in, so that contributions would increase modestly over seven years.

We also thought about employers in designing the enhanced CPP. We specifically designed a slow phase-in of the annual CPP contributions, with the express purpose of minimizing the impact and giving employees and employers time to adjust to these new changes.

The great news is that young workers will see the largest increase in their retirements benefits. In fact, we know that young people in general find it difficult to save. Many are working in jobs that do not have company pension plans, which means they have to save for their retirement on their own. The fact is that a tax deduction, instead of a tax credit, would be provided to the employee contribution portion of the enhanced CPP. This would avoid new CPP contributions increasing the cost of savings.

Workers in the middle of their careers or nearing retirement will still benefit from our enhanced CPP, as the increased contributions that are made in 2019 will later go toward an enhanced retirement pension plan.

What about low-income workers who are worried about the effect of increased CPP contributions on their paycheques? How will the enhanced CPP help them? I want to assure my colleagues and low-income workers all across this country that an enhanced CPP would benefit all workers, including those with low incomes.

In order to make sure that low-income workers are not burdened financially as a result of these extra contributions, the government will also enhance the working income tax benefit. The proposed enhancement to the working income tax benefit is designed to provide additional benefits that roughly offset the incremental CPP contributions for eligible low-income workers. Therefore, with this enhancement, there will be no impact on disposable income, and when they retire they will also get a larger retirement benefit payment. The bottom line is that people who are working in Canada, paying into the CPP and planning to retire after 2019, will have more money in their pockets from the CPP retirement pension benefit.

Day in and day out, in my riding of Brampton East, I speak to constituents who call me personally about the issues they and their families face. I often hear that young Canadians are having a hard time finding permanent employment and are worried about their financial future, their financial outlook, and saving for retirement. I hear from young families and established families alike, who are thinking of retirement and realizing they do not have adequate savings. This concerns me, and many of us in this House.

The Canadian Association of Retired Persons estimates that roughly 600,000 seniors are living in poverty in Canada. That is more than the population of all of the city of Brampton. Frankly, it is unacceptable. Our government is doing its part to ensure that no seniors will be living in poverty in the future. We started by reversing the eligibility age of old age security to 65 and boosting the guaranteed income supplement, the GIS, by 10%, to provide almost $1,000 per year more per GIS recipient. That is aimed especially at helping low-income seniors who live alone. However, that is not enough. Associations like CARP have been calling for a CPP expansion for years, and it is about time that we delivered.

We feel that this is a win-win. I urge my honourable colleagues to support an enhanced CPP, which will further help Canadians contribute to a safe and secure retirement.

[TAMIL HERITAGE MONTH, September 29th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour for me to have the opportunity in the House today to support Motion No. 24, introduced by my colleague and friend, the member for Scarborough—Rouge Park, which seeks to have the House recognize the Tamil community's contributions to Canada and to establish January as Tamil Heritage Month all across our great nation.

Being the representative of the second most diverse riding in Canada, a riding that is home to five Sikh gurdwaras, four Hindu temples, three mosques, and two churches, I and the people of Brampton East and all Canadians across our country understand the importance of cultural diversity.

The Tamil Canadian community is one of the fastest growing communities in Canada, and it contributes an unparalleled and immeasurable amount to our country and to my home riding of Brampton East. From the Brampton Tamil Seniors Association, which recently celebrated its third anniversary, to the Brampton Tamil Association, which hosts the annual Eelam Pavilion at the Carabram multicultural festival, Tamil Canadian community leaders and volunteers dedicate countless hours to enriching the already-vibrant community of Brampton, for Tamil and non-Tamil residents alike.

I would like to take a moment to speak about the Brampton Tamil Seniors Association. This group serves 200 active seniors in Brampton, and consistently meets on Mondays at a local community centre to bring activities to seniors who are in isolation or face disability issues. Seniors have the opportunity to mingle, build a support network, and learn computer skills, among other things, which are all essential for seniors in our community. It is contributing to the local community by helping provide the very basic services these seniors require, in a context that is relevant to their community.

The leadership of the community is to be commended. It is for this reason, among others, that in Brampton, every January since 2014 has been proclaimed Tamil Heritage Month. Celebrating and embracing cultural diversity is vital for the city of Brampton.

As many in this House know, January is an important month for Tamil Canadians. During this time, Thai Pongal, the Tamil harvest festival, and other Tamil artistic and cultural events take place throughout the month. Thai Pongal is a celebration to give thanks to the sun for providing the energy for a bountiful harvest. It is a value that is so essentially Canadian, simply because it is deeply ingrained in every culture that makes up our great nation.

Much like many Canadians, the Tamil people came to our country after facing horrific experiences in their own country. They deeply understand the value and importance of freedom and justice, and they stand firm with our Canadian identity and our Canadian values. They advocate for human rights, freedom, tolerance, and generosity.

Many arrived in Canada as refugees decades ago, and now are proudly part of the Canadian fabric. The community's success can be attributed to hard-working individuals who value post-secondary education and fiscal responsibility.

It is remarkable that, within a relatively short span of time, Tamil Canadians have established themselves in Canada. Empowered by their high level of literacy, education, and professional competency in all walks of life, they have planted deep roots in Canada and are flourishing from entrepreneurship, in business establishments, and as doctors, lawyers, and engineers. They are represented as lawyers from Osgoode Hall, like the member for Scarborough—Rouge Park, and members of Parliament where the first Tamil Canadian was elected to this House last session. In this current session our good friend the member for Scarborough—Rouge Park serves alongside us.

On a personal note, when I was in high school in Brampton, I stuck out because of my turban and my identity. Even though I grew up in a city where diversity was the norm, I always shied away from celebrating who I was. Some of my Tamil friends felt that they could not celebrate their heritage. In the last 10 to 15 years, we have come a long way in our society. We have come a long way in our city and in our province, where Tamil Heritage Month is celebrated on such a grand scale every January.

I look forward to having this motion passed and January being declared Tamil heritage month, so people across the country, from coast to coast to coast, can celebrate the Tamil heritage and Thai Pongal. Canadians of all walks of life, no matter where they come from, no matter what they believe in, will be able to celebrate with their Tamil brothers and sisters in the joyous occasion of Tamil heritage month every January.

In essence, the success story of Tamil Canadians is just another Canadian success story. I encourage all my hon. colleagues to support this motion.

[Brampton East, September 22nd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, it is great to be back. I had an amazing summer in Brampton East connecting with my constituents. Almost every Tuesday, a group of volunteers and I knocked on doors. We heard from constituents. They were very impressed with our new government's direction. They like the Canada child benefit. They really like the middle-class tax cut and the improved tone of our government.

Democracy works best when we have an opportunity to connect with the people who sent us here in the first place. That is why I have always personally committed to being an accessible member of Parliament. Even though we are here in Ottawa I will always be fighting for the people of Brampton East.

As an advocate for using sports to build core skills, I continue to use every Sunday to host a drop-in basketball session. I invite all members of Parliament if they are in the Brampton area to swing by and play some hoops. Most importantly, “Let's go Blue Jays”.

[Food and Drugs Act, September 20th, 2016]

Madam Speaker, I think we can all agree that there is a delicate balance between making sure goods flow easily, quickly, and efficiently, protecting the health and safety of Canadians, and fighting against organized crime. This is exactly what Bill C-13 would do.

The bill would empower the CBSA and the Government of Canada to fight back against organized crime and ensure that only the products get through that need to get through. This would help legitimate businesses that are participating in the transit of goods in Canada to succeed, and would make it more efficient and easier, so that we help small and medium-sized enterprises benefit from a world market.