Russ Hiebert

[Income Splitting, March 9th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, in a few weeks, the House will be debating my private member's motion on income splitting, Motion No. 638.

Our government has cut taxes for families by an average of almost $3,000 annually but taxes are still the biggest single expense families face. I am proposing that, as our budget comes back into balance, the government give priority to income splitting for families with children. Income splitting would ensure fairness for families, as all families earning the same income would pay the same tax, regardless of the individual spousal income. Research estimates that income splitting will save 2.3 million Canadian families over $1,000 annually. That is more money Canadians can use for children's sports, summer camps and to save for post-secondary education.

I believe providing families with greater financial freedom through income splitting would create a brighter and more prosperous future for our nation. Canadians can learn more at my website www.familyincomesplitting.com.

[Interparliamentary Delegations, March 2nd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present, in both official languages, three reports from the Canadian branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, one dealing with the 56th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in September 2010, one dealing with the bilateral visit to the Seychelles in September 2010, and one dealing with the International Parliamentary Governance Seminar in November 2010.

[Finance, February 18th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, while the Liberals launch a tour to promote their Liberal leader's reckless $6 billion tax hike, our Conservative government is standing up for lower taxes at home and abroad.

On the global stage we are fighting a global financial transaction tax on Canadians. This tax would hit Canadians in their wallets, taking their hard-earned money out of our local communities to fund an unprecedented global tax.

Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance please tell the House what our Conservative government is doing to oppose reckless tax hikes?

[Justice, February 17th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians right across this country were stunned when David Chen, a store owner from Ontario, was prosecuted for defending his own store from theft. The Prime Minister indicated to the House that the government would be looking at reforms to ensure that this did not happen to other honest Canadians.

Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice please update the House on the legislation that was introduced this morning?

[The Economy, February 10th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal tax hike plan is worrying more and more Canadian businesses. Businesses both large and small know that Liberal tax hikes will stifle economic growth and slow job creation. Despite what the Liberals would have us believe, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business is very worried about the Liberal tax hike plan. It knows it is entrepreneurs and businesses, and not governments, that create the long-term high paying jobs on which Canadians depend.

This is what the CFIB had to say about Liberal tax hikes: “As to any confusion over CFIB's support of continuing the corporate tax cuts, we unequivocally support them! The plan should be continued”. It then states: “--we considered them a done deal, not subject to change”.

I say to the Liberals that their tax hikes are bad for the economy and will kill jobs. Only the Conservative government has a credible plan to grow the Canadian economy and support job growth.

[Business of Supply, February 8th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate this opportunity to stand up against the Liberal tax hike proposal.

With the global economic recovery still very fragile, our government remains focused on ensuring that Canada offers the right environment to attract the business investment necessary to create more and better paying jobs, thereby improving the living standards of all Canadians.

The Liberal leader and some of his colleagues do not favour delivering the tax relief introduced by our Conservative government and passed by Parliament in 2007 to help businesses create jobs.

I find the Liberals' call today for a tax hike intriguing given their previous statements on the importance of providing tax relief for job creators.

The Liberal member for Kings—Hants used to understand the importance of tax relief when he said:

—the best way to develop and grow employment in Canada, particularly in terms of the new economy and the knowledge based industries, is not by pouring government money into specific businesses... Instead it is to reduce the tax burden—

That is exactly what we are trying to do.

I will spend the little time that I have today providing, the facts the Liberal Party is trying to ignore.

Let us be clear. Our Conservative government believes in lower taxes. The Liberals believe in raising taxes and higher taxes for families, seniors and businesses, higher Liberal taxes that will set families back, kill jobs and harm Canada's economic recovery.

Our Conservative government's tax cuts for businesses will do what the Liberals' call for higher taxes cannot, and that is to decrease the cost of business capital and increase the rate of return on investment. With more money available through lower taxes, businesses will be able to invest more in research and development, high tech, and productivity improving machinery and most important of all, in workers.

That is why since 2006 our Conservative government has implemented substantial, broad-based tax reductions that support investment, job creation and growth in all sectors of the economy.

Business taxes have been reduced from more than 22% in 2006 to 16.5% this year, and are on the way to 15% in 2012, as already agreed to by this Parliament.

However, business tax relief is just one of the tax relief measures we have introduced for the benefit of hard-working Canadians trying to make their businesses a success. There have been many others. For example, the federal capital tax, a particularly damaging tax for business investment, was eliminated in 2006. We have also reduced the tax rate applying to small business income to 11% in 2008. The amount of small business income eligible for this lower tax rate was increased to $500,000 from $300,000.

I see that my time is quickly coming to an end, so let me wrap up with a few concluding remarks.

Generating sustained increases in our standard of living may not be simple, but if we want higher wages, more jobs, and a higher standard of living, we need the business investment that results from the government's tax relief for job creators.

Canadians do not want dangerous new government spending commitments this year that would only trigger higher taxes, kill jobs and reverse Canada's fragile economic growth.

Under the leadership of our Prime Minister, our government will continue to focus on protecting the financial security of hard-working Canadians and their families and on keeping taxes low.

As Conservatives, we believe that this approach to encouraging business investment is the best way to create a brighter future for all Canadians. It is what Canadians expect of us and what we must deliver.

Accordingly, I would urge members to vote against this motion.

[Pensions, December 15th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I continue to hear from constituents about Bill C-428, the private member's bill from the Liberal member for Brampton—Springdale.

My constituents are outraged about a Liberal bill that would raise taxes to give a pension to someone who has only been a resident of Canada for three years. They want to know how the Liberals could justify raising taxes to give a pension to someone who has done little or nothing to earn it.

While the Liberals will have to answer for this in the next election, the Conservatives already have good news for Canadian pensioners. Our Conservative government's Bill C-9, which passed in July, reforms our pension system and has made the retirements of millions of Canadians more secure. Now employers can contribute more to workers' pensions and pensions are better protected in law.

While the Liberals are busy scheming to raise taxes, the Conservatives are working hard to improve the lives of Canadian seniors.

[Afghan Children, December 9th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, I would like to express deep concern over cases of sexual exploitation of boys in Afghanistan, particularly the practice of bacha bazi.

A few minutes ago, the international human rights subcommittee passed a motion condemning bacha bazi and asking our government to call upon the Afghan government to help protect vulnerable boys.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs has recently raised concerns with the Afghan ambassador about this illegal exploitation.

Afghanistan has enacted laws to address children's rights and criminalize sexual abuse.

Canada now calls upon Afghanistan to continue to strengthen its laws and to ensure that they are fully enforced in order to protect Afghan children.

We are proud to invest in the future of Afghan children through development programming in education and health as part of our mission in Afghanistan.

[Prison Farms, December 2nd, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Liberal public safety critic took some time away from debating Canada's fragile economic recovery to instead advocate for the rights of criminals. We could not disagree more with the misguided priorities of the Liberal Party.

While we share Canadians' focus on jobs and the economy, the Liberals focus on programs for prisoners. Less than 1% of the released offenders who participated in the program eventually found employment in a related sector, yet the member for Ajax—Pickering continually refers to the program as one of the most effective rehabilitation programs in the country.

One per cent may be good enough for the Liberal public safety critic, but not for us. It is time that the Liberal Party started paying some attention to jobs and the economy, the priorities of law-abiding Canadians.

[International Aid, November 25th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has a proud tradition of responding when natural disasters strike, providing immediate relief to those who are suffering.

We saw how quickly our government responded to the earthquake in Haiti. We saw the speed with which our government acted to ensure that our neighbours to the south had the basics. We know how important speed is when it comes to providing medical care, food, water and shelter.

Could the Minister of International Cooperation tell Canadians how we have improved our ability to respond when natural disasters occur?