Ralph Goodale

[The Economy, March 30th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, with a great big $5 billion hole in it right now. The Conservatives live in a time warp over there. The jobs they brag about were three, four and five years ago, not recently. Last year, new jobs were barely 121,000. That was down 3.5% from the year before, and the year before was down 60% from the year before that. They are steadily creating fewer jobs, not more, and they are going in exactly the opposite direction from the Bank of Canada.

Will the minister stop undermining Governor Poloz and reinvest in municipal infrastructure right now?

[The Economy, March 30th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, the government's record on economic growth is the worst in 80 years. All of the chartered banks, the Conference Board, the IMF and the OECD have all chopped their forecast yet again. Now the Bank of Canada says that economic growth in the country is atrocious and requires “considerable monetary stimulus to avoid falling back into recession”.

Will the finance minister do what his own department says is the most cost effective thing to drive immediate growth, which is invest in more municipal infrastructure right now? Will he do that?

[The Economy, March 26th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, decent economic growth is not Canada's reality and despite the government's boasting, it is not doing better than the rest of the world.

Last fall, before the oil downturn, the IMF projected 139 countries would grow faster this year than Canada. In the OECD, there were 16, including Greece. More recently, the OECD has downgraded Canadian growth, while upgrading many others: the U.S., Europe, Japan, Germany, France, India.

Why is the government content to have the worst economic growth record in eight decades?

[The Economy, March 26th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, Alberta is the epicentre of the energy downturn and yet Premier Prentice was able to table a budget today on time in this fiscal year. Premier Wall did the same last week in Saskatchewan.

The economists who advise the government say that there is no credible reason for procrastination. Will the Minister of Finance stop playing peekaboo with Canadians and table a budget investing in the real drivers of economic growth: infrastructure, access to higher learning, innovation, effective trade and environmental credibility. Will he do that in this fiscal year?

[Petitions, March 26th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition today signed by a large number of people in and around Regina who call upon the Government of Canada to adopt international aid policies that support small family farmers, especially women. The petitioners also encourage the government to ensure that the rights of small farmers, particularly in the global south of the world, are respected with regard to the preservation, use, and free exchange of seeds.

[Employment, March 23rd, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, the million jobs the Conservatives brag about were three and four and five years ago. Last year's job numbers were down from the year before, and the year before was also down from the year before that.

Now retail is in trouble. Manufacturing just lost 20,000 more jobs. The energy sector is negative.

From the G20 globally to Premier Wall in Saskatchewan and Mayor Nenshi in Calgary, the prescription is more investment in infrastructure. Will the government put the money back into build Canada and drive more jobs and growth right now?

[Employment, March 23rd, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, the government's record is 15 months of substandard job creation, the longest streak of job mediocrity in four decades. The late Jim Flaherty said in his budget plans that building infrastructure is the most cost-effective way to drive jobs and growth. He also said income splitting for the wealthy is too costly and unfair, and it does nothing for growth.

Will the Conservatives listen to Mr. Flaherty's words, cancel income splitting for the wealthy, and replace that $1.5 billion that they have chopped from build Canada for municipalities?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Return, March 13th, 2015]

With regard to Finance Canada’s forecasting of corporate tax losses for each federal budget since 2007: (a) how was the forecast prepared; (b) what were the results of that forecast; (c) what was the difference between the forecast and the actual result; (d) what was the total amount of the corporate tax base to which the losses apply; and (e) for the calculation, what were the (i) parameters, (ii) assumptions, (iii) formulas?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Return, March 13th, 2015]

With regard to the RCMP’s Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams (INSET), by month and by year, since 2003: (a) how many employees were there in (i) each unit, (ii) each city, (iii) total; (b) of those employees in (a), how many were (i) permanent, (ii) transferred or temporary; (c) how much was spent on salaries; (d) of the amount in (c), how much was overtime; (e) how much funding was allocated to each office; (f) how much funding was lapsed; and (g) were any additional funds granted, and if so, how much?

[Questions on the Order Paper, March 13th, 2015]

With regard to Health Canada’s regulation of medical marijuana: (a) for the seven step application process for producers, (i) how many applications have been received, (ii) how many are at each stage, (iii) what is the average time required to complete each stage since the program began, (iv) how long have applications presently in process at each stage been at that stage on average, (v) how many staff process applications, (vi) of those staff, how many have degrees outside the health sciences, (vii) how many have formal education in finance, (viii) for how many applicants at each stage is the department aware of non-compliance with applicable federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal legislation, regulations and bylaws, (ix) are media reports about applicants reviewed, (x) what fees are charged to applicants, (xi) what are the costs of processing an application; (b) what is the production capacity of licensed vendors; (c) how many patients are registered to purchase medical marijuana; and (d) what is the total quantity of medical marijuana required for registered patients?