House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2019, with 34% of the vote.
Questions Passed as Orders for Returns June 15th, 2015
With regard to the government’s Media Cost Guides: (a) which media outlets are currently included in the guide, including (i) their name, (ii) the province, (iii) the address, (iv) the audience, (v) the language of publication, (vi) the frequency; and (b) in the last three years, which outlets have been removed and what was the reason for their removal, including (i) their name, (ii) the province, (iii) the address, (iv) the audience, (v) the language of publication, (vi) the frequency?
Public Safety June 15th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, the government cannot slough this off. It is being investigated now by the OPP.
If the government thinks it can whitewash this illegality with some retroactive exemption buried in the budget bill, it needs to think again. A new government in October could just as easily withdraw that phony absolution, especially for those who pressured the RCMP into illegal conduct and then lied about it.
Who concocted the plan to destroy the data illegally while deceitfully telling the Information Commissioner that it was preserved?
Public Safety June 15th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, the Information Commissioner has taken the government to court over its illegal destruction of records. These records were and still are the subject of a live, unresolved access to information request.
Documents filed in court make three points. First, the destruction of these documents was indeed illegal. Second, both the RCMP and the public safety minister were fully aware of that illegality. Third, the minister's office pressured the RCMP to break the law and cover it up.
Who in the minister's office counselled that illegal behaviour?
Pensions June 11th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, it is unseemly for members of the government to accuse their own finance minister of not telling the truth. The finance minster has been clear: CPP premiums are not payroll taxes; they are investments in long-term individual security. They do not belong to the government; they always belong to the pensioner, and the CPP Investment Board is getting impressive results. That is what the minister said.
At least 60% of Canadians want to build on that success. The provinces want to do the same thing. Jim Flaherty said it is the right thing to do, so why not?
Pensions June 11th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, the average Canadian boomer now near retirement is more than $400,000 short of what they need to take care of themselves. Canada has a retirement income crisis.
The Canadian Association of Retired Persons says that the voluntary approach has not worked. Sixty percent of Canadians want the Canada pension plan to be expanded, like Jim Flaherty recommended. Fragmented, optional schemes, mostly designed for tax planning, simply do not get the job done.
Why does the Conservative government keep insisting on failure?
Pensions June 10th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, the late Jim Flaherty said “the Canada Pension Plan plays a central role in our government-supported retirement system”, and should be “enhanced”.
The current Minister of Finance has confirmed that CPP premiums are not payroll taxes. He says that the money always belongs to individual pensioners, and the CPP Investment Board gets impressive results.
Fragmented schemes in bits and pieces here and there do not cover most Canadians and they are not portable. Therefore, why not work with the provinces and a strong majority of Canadians to expand the CPP?
Pensions June 9th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance himself confirmed last week that CPP premiums are not payroll taxes. They do not belong to the government, he said. They always belong to the individual pensioner, he said. The CPP Investment Board gets impressive results, he said.
The finance minister must agree with the late Jim Flaherty, who reported:
...strong support for the Canada Pension Plan and the central role that it plays in our government-supported retirement income system.
Why not work with the provinces on a strong, comprehensive CPP?
Pensions June 9th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, just repeating a falsehood does not make it true.
Most Canadians are seriously troubled about not having enough to live on in their retirement. Some three-quarters in the private sector do not have a company pension. Typical 35-year-olds today are saving only half of what their parents did. Among those in their 50s, two-thirds have less than $100,000 set aside and one-third has nothing at all.
Canadians want a comprehensive solution. Will the government take the advice of the late Jim Flaherty and begin a modest, phased in, fully funded expansion of the Canada pension plan?
Petitions June 8th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour today to present a petition signed by a number of people across Saskatchewan, particularly in the western and northwestern part of the province, addressing the inherent rights of farmers. They are calling for Parliament to enshrine in legislation the inalienable rights of farmers and other Canadians to save, reuse, select, and exchange and sell seeds.
The Economy June 3rd, 2015
Mr. Speaker, the finance minister's latest economic forecasts, less than two months ago, are already wrong.
The country has just recorded the worst two months ever for trade deficits. The OECD has slashed Canadian growth prospects for 2015, now down to a meagre 1.5%, meaning three-quarters of OECD countries are doing better than Canada and the current government is likely already back in deficit once again.
Before this House adjourns in three weeks, will the government table a new fiscal update to tell the truth about its deficit and its no-growth economy?