Randy Boissonnault

[Italian Heritage Month, November 18th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to seek consensus to split my time with my hon. colleague from Vaughan—Woodbridge.

[Questions on the Order Paper, November 18th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the NCC does not attribute the cost of any furniture acquisition to any of the official residences, since all furnishings, acquired or existing for the official residences, are considered part of the NCC’s crown collection or general service asset inventory. Therefore, there are no costs associated with any furnishing changes or purchases related specifically to the Harrington Lake property or to Rideau Cottage.

[Canadian Heritage, November 18th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question. If by “the Liberal war on history” he means bringing indigenous people back into their historical context, referring to LGBTQ2 members, making sure that we have rich relationships with multicultural communities, and making sure that we fully value official bilingualism, then our government is resetting the record on history.

We are going to celebrate Canada 150 with four themes. This is what we will do as a government. We value history in this government.

[Canada Pension Plan, November 17th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question and his clear interest in this important set of amendments to the Canada pension plan and what it would do for workers, people with disabilities, and working women and men.

What is important to note is that the Minister of Finance, after negotiating with his colleagues across the country, has the NDP government in the province of Alberta on board. As a member of the House, I would like to see robust discussion of this plan at committee. That is the opportunity for us to take a look at these kinds of issues, so they can be on the official record and we can advise colleagues from coast to coast on the changes that could be made in further agreements.

[Canada Pension Plan, November 17th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I think it is important to note the important and smart math that is in the plan to make the Canada pension plan more robust.

By my math, 60 MPs have already spoken to this bill, including almost 35 Conservatives, one-third of their caucus, and we have had a robust debate on this matter. Procedural tactics are not going to stop this government from getting work done on behalf of Canadians.

We are talking about 1.1 million Canadians, many of whom live in Strathcona County, Morinville, and Edmonton. This is important work that we need to do now. We cannot wait for endless debate on a matter that is so important when we have to get work done on behalf of Canadians.

[Canada Pension Plan, November 17th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, returning to the matter at hand, when we are talking about the Canada pension plan, what does the agreement in principle mean for Canadians? As my hon. colleagues may not like to understand but is true now that so many provinces have agreed, once fully in place, the CPP enhancement would increase the maximum CPP retirement benefit by about 50%. The current maximum benefit is $13,110 and in today's dollar terms the enhanced CPP would represent an increase of nearly $7,000 to a maximum benefit of nearly $20,000.

What do my hon. colleagues across the way have against making sure that Canadians have a more secure retirement? Enhanced benefits would accumulate gradually as individuals pay into the enhanced CPP, and young Canadians just entering the workforce would see the largest increase in benefits.

To fund these enhanced benefits, annual CPP contributions would increase modestly over seven years starting in 2019. For example, an individual with earnings of $54,900 would contribute about an extra $6 a month in 2019. By the end of the seven-year phase-in period, contributions for that individual would be about an additional $43 per month. This would make the CPP more relevant and more effective and would ensure that we are lifting millions of Canadians out of precarious financial positions and out of poverty.

To ensure that eligible low-income workers are not financially burdened as a result of the extra contributions, the Government of Canada would enhance the working income tax benefit, an existing benefit that is designed to help keep people in the workforce and encourage others to join it. One of the advantages of this CPP agreement is that it would significantly reduce the share of families at risk of not saving enough for retirement and the degree of under-saving that is prevalent in Canadian society.

The Canada pension plan will always be there for Canadians. It helps to fill the gap for those who do not have a workplace pension plan, and it is portable across jobs and provinces.

It is important also to make a comment on survivor benefits, which are monthly benefits that are provided to the surviving spouse or common law partner of a deceased contributor and a monthly benefit to their dependent children. It is also important to mention the death benefit, a one-time lump sum benefit usually paid to the estate of the deceased.

I must congratulate my colleagues in the government benches and their colleagues in the provinces, as stewards of the CPP. These changes are important for the future of Canada and for Canadians.

It is also important to share with the House why it is important for us to take these bold moves to enhance the CPP. Some 1.1 million families approaching retirement are not saving enough. My mother recently turned 65, and she is fortunate enough to have saved enough with my father over time, and the CPP adds to that income. However, we know from Statistics Canada data that 1.1 million families approaching retirement are not saving enough, and that will put them in a precarious financial position.

It is important for us to respond so that the CPP will not simply drift into irrelevance over time. Middle-class Canadians, as we know, are working harder than ever, and many are worried that they will not have set aside enough money for their retirement. Young Canadians in particular are facing the unique challenge of securing adequate retirement savings at a time when fewer can expect to work in jobs that historically would have paid pensions over time. The question remains as to how to close that gap, though, and that is what the Minister of Finance and colleagues in government and provincial colleagues have come to agree to with this agreement.

The Department of Finance has examined whether families near retirement are adequately preparing for retirement. Based on household income and wealth data from the 2012 survey of financial security, families are considered to be at risk of under-saving if their projected after-tax income at retirement does not replace 60% of their pre-retirement after-tax family income.

Some 1.1 million Canadians are approaching retirement without having saved enough for a secure retirement.

I must congratulate the Minister of Finance, his parliamentary secretary, and his provincial counterparts for having made predictions and examined demographic and statistical data in an effort to ensure that retired Canadians can retire with dignity.

Middle-class families without workplace pensions are at greater risk of under-saving for retirement, and I know what this is like. I grew up in a middle-class family in Morinville, Alberta. When my dad had his first heart attack at 39, I was 16, and we felt immediately the effects of that kind of hardship on a family. If that happens later in life and people do not have enough money to save, the CPP, in many cases, is a life and family saver.

It is estimated that 33% of families nearing retirement age who have no workplace pension plan assets may be at risk of under-saving for retirement, compared to 17% of families who have workplace pension benefits. Overall, families in the lowest income group were found to have the lowest risk of under-saving, as OAS and CPP benefits provide relatively high income replacement at this income range. At the same time, lower-income families are likely to require a higher level of income replacement than other income groups to maintain their pre-retirement living standard.

This is the kind of foresight and the kind of planning that Canadians elected us to provide. The Minister of Finance and his colleagues, the ministers of finance of the provincial and territorial governments, also understood that this was a critical time for Canadians.

We are living longer and healthier lives. Longer life expectancies increase the level of savings required at retirement to maintain comparable living standards. At some time in our past, at 46 years old, I would be considered already an old man, but I feel very young. Statistics say that I will live well into my 80s if I maintain a healthy lifestyle and understand the consequences of other behaviours. I want to be able to live a long life, and Canadians are living longer lives, and so we have to make sure that our social programs, like the Canada pension plan, provide for this longer life expectancy.

Overall participation in private sector RPPs has declined since the 1970s, and there has been an ongoing shift in defined benefit contributions. These trends of declining workplace pension plans mean that Canadians on the verge of retiring have fewer options to plan as they live into their 80s and 90s, and we know historically that more Canadians are living to 100 than ever before.

Economic conditions since the 2008-09 recession pose a particular risk that young Canadians may be moving from job to job and may not have the kind of safety net that other Canadians in past generations enjoyed. This agreement in principle to enhance the CPP is smart public policy. The income replacement level would be increased to one-third of eligible earnings, and there would be a gradual seven-year phase-in beginning on January 1. We would increase the working income tax benefit, and tax deductibility has also been factored in.

This is why Canadians voted for real change. This is the kind of work that, within the first year of our mandate, we can all be proud of, because we have ensured dignity and retirement savings for millions of Canadians. I am proud to represent the residents of Edmonton Centre and to stick up for this kind of smart public policy.

[Canada Pension Plan, November 17th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address what has transpired in this House over today and yesterday.

Today would have been the sixth day of debate on Bill C-26, a bill that would help Canadians achieve a secure, safe, and dignified retirement.

The Conservatives have requested more time for debate on the bill. They could have debated the bill today, as scheduled, but instead, they resorted to procedural tactics to obstruct debate and attempt to shut down the House of Commons and go home.

I had hoped for a negotiated consensus, but now we will respond to political manoeuvring from the other side in the Conservative Party, so that such important financial measures that affect all Canadians are brought to a vote.

Disappointingly, it has become clear that the Conservatives would rather focus on these type of tactics than debate substantive issues. As a result of Conservative tactics, six committees were disrupted or cancelled, including the appearance of five ministers and important witnesses scheduled to testify on issues of relevance to Canadians.

This kind of behaviour is exactly what Canadians rejected when they voted for real change a year ago.

Consequently, the Conservatives have left us with very few options in terms of how—

[Official Languages, November 16th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, first and foremost, I want to reiterate once again that our government truly believes in the importance of bilingualism in federal institutions and their capacity to serve Canadians in the official language of their choice.

I would therefore like to reaffirm this government's commitment to ensuring that all federal services are provided in full compliance with the Official Languages Act, and that they are of the highest quality, whether in reference to the RCMP, the Translation Bureau, or in our communities.

We have clearly stated that in terms of official languages, our government employs a horizontal approach which involves coordinated and concerted action by several departments.

We are very proud of the progress we have made on official languages, thanks to our cross-cutting approach and our consultations with the communities themselves, which are in the process of wrapping up after 22 round tables were held across the country.

[Official Languages, November 16th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Drummond for his question.

The minister and her department consider the information and the clarifications made to both chambers of Parliament in October to be quite useful. The minister's appearance before the Standing Committee on Official Languages provided the opportunity for a constructive dialogue, starting with the issue of services by and for the communities.

I am of the opinion that the vitality of official language communities includes the availability of services in its language, whether those services are in health, education, early childhood, general economic development, and so on. Whenever possible, these services should be provided by community organizations. These organizations are often more aware of their members' situation and, as such, can be more effective in providing services that are suited to the reality in the community.

I know something about that because I was the chairman of the board of the Conseil de développement économique de l’Alberta and of the Fédération du sport francophone de l’Alberta. We were leaders in the field and well versed in how to properly manage these files.

What is more, when community organizations provide the services, the community is able to come together and thrive. This greatly enhances community vitality.

However, it is important to look at the unique identity of each case and to always have the best interests of the community and its people at heart.

As a government, we are fully committed to delivering on our federal government's obligations as they pertain to the Official Languages Act. This will remain at the heart of our concerns.

The government has a cross-cutting approach to official languages, and the President of the Treasury Board and the minister are very proud to be providing leadership in this area by working with cabinet members to that end. In particular, the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness is clarifying and reiterating official languages regulations as they pertain to the services of the RCMP. We have already noted progress on the issue of bilingual RCMP staff on Parliament Hill.

With respect to the Translation Bureau, the government's response was tabled in October by the Minister of Public Services and Procurement. We reiterated our government's support and commitment to providing official languages through the comprehension tool designed to facilitate and encourage the use of both official languages in the workplace. Many recommendations from the Standing Committee on Official Languages have already been implemented, namely those concerning the language comprehension tool, and the minister is confident that her colleague, the Minister of Public Services and Procurement, is giving it all the attention it needs.

Together with our colleague, the Minister of Justice, we have also made progress with respect to the requirement for Supreme Court justices to be bilingual. Additionally, with the support of the Minister of Defence, we have reestablished Saint-Jean Royal Military College as an educational institution for the military.

We are very proud of our achievements with respect to official languages. We are cognizant of the issue of services by and for the communities. We will continue to champion the linguistic rights of minority language communities. We are working on meeting our objectives and responsibilities with respect to the Official Languages Act, as is our duty.

[Questions on the Order Paper, November 16th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the NCC does not attribute the cost of any furniture acquisition to any of the official residences, since all furnishings, acquired or existing for the official residences, are considered part of the NCC’s crown collection or general service asset inventory. Therefore, there are no costs associated with any furnishing changes or purchases related specifically to the Harrington Lake property or to Rideau Cottage.