Ralph Goodale

[Aboriginal Affairs, June 3rd, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, the chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Justice Sinclair, says the abhorrent system of residential schools was an exercise in cultural genocide. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada agrees, as do previous prime ministers, and Canadians more generally.

However, judging by comments made by Judge Sinclair yesterday, after his meeting with the Prime Minister, the government is not yet on the same page.

Would the government explicitly acknowledge the cultural genocide that has taken place and will it agree with the TRC's recommendations?

[Pensions, May 29th, 2015]

Well, the Hudak job plan did not work, Mr. Speaker.

In a chronically weak economy, retirement security is a big middle-class issue. Under the Conservative government, three-quarters of those working in the private sector do not have a company pension. The average 35-year-old is saving less than half of what his or her parents did. Of those in their 50s, only a third have saved $100,000 or more, and another third, especially in the middle class, have no retirement savings at all.

All of the government's gimmicks have failed. Why does it not work constructively with the provinces on a real plan?

[Employment, May 29th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, while the finance minister lectures G7 countries on how to get economic growth by firing people, GDP figures here at home destroy his credibility.

Under the current government, Canada's economy shrank in March. It also shrank in February, January, last November and last August. Joblessness is up by 200,000 more than before the recession. Business investment is down. Exports are down. We have suffered 51 months of trade deficits. The government's plan is producing no growth and no jobs. Why does it not change it?

[The economy, May 25th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, when the economy is so weak, the risk of worsening inequality becomes more severe. By everyone from the Parliamentary Budget Officer to the late Jim Flaherty, the government has been warned about disparities getting worse, but still it is giving a $2,000 tax break to those making a quarter of a million dollars, with no break at all for single moms. It insists on paying benefits to the highest 1% of income earners, and that means the typical middle-class family gets $2,500 less.

How is that fair?

[The economy, May 25th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, here is the reality of the government's policies: a no-growth economy that has actually been shrinking; poor job creation, down 50% or 60% from two years ago; big job losses at GM, Bombardier, and across the energy sector; job quality at a 25-year low. The recession, which the Conservatives blame for everything, ended six years ago, but there are still 200,000 more jobless Canadians today than before the recession began.

Why is the government so unsuccessful on growth, jobs, and fairness?

[Taxation, May 14th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, if it is fair that child care benefits must be paid in exactly the same amount per child at all income levels, why do the Conservatives discriminate so radically against lower-income families?

It is not just the uneven taxation of child care benefits. On top of that, their $2-billion tax break for income-splitting means a couple earning a quarter of a million dollars can get $2,000, but a single mom or dad at the poverty line will get nothing at all. How is that fair? How is that equal?

[Taxation, May 14th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, because the government refuses to make its child care benefit progressive, based on need and tax-free, the results for families are perverse. Families of different types but with exactly the same number of kids and income end up with very different after-tax benefits. One-earner couples get the most, two-earner couples get less, but single parents get the least of all.

If the government's credo is “identical treatment for everyone alike”, why does the government discriminate against certain types of families? How is that fair?

[Taxation, May 11th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I have actually balanced a budget. The Conservative government has not balanced a budget since before the recession eight years ago. It has the worst economic growth record in eight decades. Job creation is down 60% from two years ago. Job quality is the worst in 25 years. New Conservative debt has ballooned to $4,400 for every man, woman and child in the country. Now the Conservatives are against a better tax credit. Why do they not just get out of the way?

[Taxation, May 11th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, if the government were truly committed to real fairness for middle-class families, it could give those families a child benefit that is much bigger. For a family of $45,000 with one child, it could be $2,000 more. For a family of $45,000 with two children, it could be nearly $4,000 more. For a family at $90,000 with two kids, it could be $2,500 more.

If we are progressive and fair, if we focus on those who need the help the most, nine out of ten families can get more tax free. Why is the government against that?

[Taxation, May 11th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, last week, for the 52nd time, the government reported a monthly massive trade deficit at $3 billion, and job numbers keep falling. There were 20,000 more Canadians out of work in April. There are 200,000 more jobless Canadians today than before the recession. There is no economic growth and inequality is rising.

Instead of investing in growth and fighting inequality, why is the government providing a $2,000 tax bonus to those earning a quarter of a million dollars, but no tax break at all for a single mom?