Rodger Cuzner

[Building Trades Monument, May 16th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, today I will join the Prime Minister , the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, and hundreds of the country's best tradespeople as they unveil the new monument dedicated to those who have built the foundations of our country.

Canada's building trade unions will be across the canal from this chamber, at Major's Hill Park, to celebrate, in monument, the contribution of the hard-working and devoted men and women who do incredible work day in and day out, as well as to pay tribute to those who have lost their lives in doing so.

The monument will stand in the national capital region among some of Canada's most prized architectural achievements, buildings that were constructed by building trades members. It will contain iconic tools of the trade to represent the different skilled trade unions that have helped sponsor the monument.

Our Prime Minister will accept the monument on behalf of the grateful people of Canada.

On this day, let us stand together and celebrate the contributions of the hard-working men and women who have helped build our great country.

[Status of Women, May 15th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the member should know, and I think Canadians know, that we are absolutely fully committed to moving forward on tabling proactive pay equity legislation by the end of 2018, and we are working toward that date.

Our government highly values women's rights in keeping with the principles of equality and fairness. Equal pay for work of equal value is a human right. We are actively working towards the goal of pay equity to address gender-based wage discrimination for women in the workplace.

Pay equity legislation will impact different organizations in different ways. As such, we must be mindful of these complexities and create legislation that is both comprehensive and effective. That is our goal. I assure the House, make no mistake; we will achieve it.

[Status of Women, May 15th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I respect the member's dedication and passion to this issue. She did give a shout-out to Barb Byers, someone I have worked with over the last five or six years. I have a tremendous amount of respect for her as an advocate. I appreciate her body of work over that period of time on the national scene. She has done a great job.

In preparation, I was speaking with Gillian Hanson, a good friend of mine, about this just before we came to the House today. We agreed it was important to make one thing clear: pay equity is not a point of contention. Our government agrees that women should receive equal pay for work of equal value. It is a human right that is entrenched in the Canadian Human Rights Act. Our government shares the member's determination and commitment.

I would like to assure hon. members of the House that our government is not delaying this initiative. It is quite the contrary. Our government has committed to tabling new proactive pay equity legislation for the federal jurisdiction in 2018. We are proud to be bringing forward legislation after years of inaction from the previous government. This commitment is explicitly outlined in the minister's mandate letter, and work is under way to achieve this goal.

Pay equity between men and women and fair treatment of all workers in the workplace are going to create economic growth and a thriving middle class.

Our government has had discussions with provinces to draw upon their experiences and lessons learned. We have begun targeted consultations with stakeholders to hear their views on the design of a new proactive pay equity regime.

The bottom line is that we need to create comprehensive and effective proactive pay equity legislation. This will address gender-based wage discrimination related to the undervaluation of work traditionally performed by women. Our commitment to this goal is unwavering.

I should mention that in addition to future pay equity legislation, the government will be working to reduce the wage gap between men and women. We will also work to increase the number of women in senior leadership roles and the representation of women in good-quality jobs in skilled trades.

Gender equality is high on our government's agenda. As outlined in budget 2017, we are committed to ensuring that every Canadian has a real and fair chance to succeed. We will make sure that our decisions deliver results that are more equitable and more fair for all Canadians.

[TELUS Cup, May 5th, 2017]

Madam Speaker, it is an immense pleasure to stand today to congratulate the Cape Breton West Islanders on the team's TELUS Cup victory, emblematic of Canadian midget hockey supremacy.

After four decades of this national competition, this marks the first time a team from Atlantic Canada has won the title.

The gold medal game saw the Islanders enter the third period down two goals against its Quebec rival, but its trademark hard work and perseverance saw the team scratch back and bring the game to overtime.

Upper Pomquet's Logan Chisholm buried his second goal of the game to clinch the win. Stand-out goaltender Colten Ellis of River Denys was sensational, stopping 43 shots for the win. Head coach Kyle MacDonald heralded the team leadership and lauded team captain and tournament MVP Jacob Hudson for his effort.

NHL Hall of Famer Al MacInnis tweeted his pride and congratulations. Islander alumnus Andrew MacDonald of the Philadelphia Flyers bought the boys a victory supper. To president Brian MacInnis, Paul MacIsaac, Craig MacInnis, Len Tobey, Darren, Lloyd, Tammy—

[Canada Labour Code, May 5th, 2017]

Madam Speaker, I always appreciate the interventions by my friend and colleague from Carleton, as misdirected as they may be.

I first have to recognize the fact that he made no comment whatsoever about Bill C-377. Therefore, I am thinking the Conservatives now understand the folly in that bill and the error of their ways.

With respect to a secret ballot being the perfect solution, and tin-pot dictators would like the card check, the secret ballot has not really worked out exceptionally well for the people of Russia or Iran, if we want to hold those up as great democracies in the world.

The member did make reference to a document that was presented by his department. That document did show that the field is tilted toward employers. That was the information in that document. However, the most egregious part of that whole scenario is the fact that, as we were debating Bill C-525 in the House, the minister at the time, and it was not the member for Carleton but the member for Simcoe—Grey, had that information. She sat on that information and did not allow it to be entered into the debate. I ask why the minister would sit on that information, not allow for a thorough debate, and not bring what knowledge and data into the debate that could be brought.

[Canada Labour Code, May 5th, 2017]

Madam Speaker, I will provide some context for new members here today as to what motivated the member for Wetaskiwin's private member's bill. He said in the House that it was to address the mountain of grievances against big union bosses, “the mountain of grievances”. I spoke with the chair of the Canada Industrial Relations Board, and there have been two grievances in the past 10 years. This was the solution for a problem that did not exist. I would ask for the minister's comments.

[Employment, May 1st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, $550 million alone, just in infrastructure, has already been signed off for Alberta. Those are projects that are ready to go. What is also good is that now there is some hope in Alberta, and there is hope in B.C., because this government undertook the hard work of working with communities, getting broad social support for initiatives like the pipelines. That is instilling in that economy the opportunity for investment in Alberta, investment in projects going forward, and investment in their communities. That is what is going to create jobs.

The private sector is certainly stepping up to the plate knowing that this government is with it. That is what is going to help buoy the economy in Alberta and continue to grow Alberta's economy. We are proud to work with the Province of Alberta and industry to help with Alberta's recovery.

[Employment, May 1st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for Edmonton Riverbend is absolutely right to champion the needs of Albertans and to seek on their behalf some assurances on what is happening today in Lethbridge or Stony Mountain or Stony Plain. It is very much on the minds of all of us here, certainly on the government side. There is no question that Alberta families are facing difficult times and that many middle-class Albertans feel anxious about having access to opportunities to succeed for themselves, and of course, for their children.

Albertans have endured a number of challenges unique to the province and local economies over the past few years. That is why our government has taken a range of actions to give Albertans, and indeed all Canadians, opportunities to succeed. Our aim is to create growth in a way that benefits the broadest possible set of Canadians, unlocks the full potential of our people and businesses, and is fiscally sustainable so that we have the flexibility to deal with recessions and pressures from an aging population.

We began by reducing income taxes for nearly nine million middle-class Canadians. We have made more strategic investments in infrastructure, investments that can create much-needed jobs today while delivering benefits for years to come. Total federal investments in infrastructure will top $180 billion over 12 years. That is sort of a big number over a broad time.

What does that mean for Albertans? Our first phase of funding, announced in budget 2016, includes almost $350 million to upgrade and improve public transit systems as well as just under $200 million for investments in water and waste water projects in Alberta alone. As of right now, over 100 projects have been approved, and the vast majority of those are in progress, creating and sustaining jobs for hard-working Albertans.

However, this is not the only industry where our work is helping to support job creation. In co-operation with the provinces, we have approved two pipelines that are expected to create more than 22,000 construction jobs in western Canada.

Having worked in Fort McMurray for over 10 years, I keep in touch with my friends and even family who are working in western Canada. They are ecstatic about the progress this government has made on those pipeline announcements. That includes the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project that our Prime Minister announced last November. It will create 15,000 new middle-class jobs in Alberta and British Columbia during the construction phase, the majority of those in trades, and also 440 permanent jobs during its operation.

Last month, the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour announced a collaborative project with the Government of Alberta that will put Albertans first in line for local jobs. The pilot will help employers find and hire Albertans who have lost their jobs in the oil and gas sector and in other occupations affected by the resource downturn. This will be good for workers. This will be good for business. This will be good for all Albertans.

[Workplace Safety, May 1st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, on April 29, workers from across the country marked the National Day of Mourning, which remembers workers who have lost their lives or suffered injury or illness on the job. This day is always a reminder of why more can and must be done by governments to protect workers by not only enacting but effectively enforcing laws that prevent workplace injury, illness, or death.

This year is especially significant, being the 25th anniversary of the Westray mine disaster that left 26 miners dead after an underground explosion in Plymouth, Nova Scotia, on May 9, 1992. This tragedy led Parliament to enact the Westray provision in the Criminal Code in 2003. Honouring this anniversary, our government is committing to do more to ensure the Westray provision is being applied effectively to hold people to account who are criminally negligent in workplace death and serious injury.

This year, we not only remember those who have lost their lives or have been injured at work, but we reaffirm our government's commitment to ensuring healthy and safe workplaces for all Canadian workers.

[Employment, April 13th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, that is exactly what we are doing as a government.

We are equipping the youth for the jobs of today and the jobs of tomorrow by providing those opportunities in skills training, apprenticeships, access to post-secondary education, co-op placements, work integrated learning opportunities, and summer jobs, doubling the number of summer jobs that went 10 years under the last government without any investment. We are getting the job done for young Canadians.