Scott Brison

[Employment Insurance, September 22nd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives' EI tax credit is getting slammed by economists ranging from Jack Mintz to Mike Moffatt.

Today's Globe and Mail says that it is:

...creating a perverse disincentive for small companies to grow.

It gives firms around $200 to hire someone, but over $2,200 to fire someone. The Liberals have a solution, use the money to give job creators an EI holiday for new jobs.

When will the Conservatives drop their failed scheme and adopt the Liberal plan that would actually reward job creation and growth?

[Employment Insurance, September 19th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian economy has stalled. Only 15,000 net new full-time jobs were created last year. Our growth has fallen behind Australia, the U.K., and the U.S. The Conservatives are hurting the economy further by cutting infrastructure and keeping EI taxes high to pad their books. Even with the small business tax credit, the Conservatives will continue to collect over $3 billion in excess EI premiums next year.

Will the Conservatives reverse their anti-growth agenda of high EI taxes and infrastructure—

[Employment Insurance, September 19th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, economists like Jack Mintz and Mike Moffatt are slamming the Conservatives new EI credit. Moffatt said it has “...structural flaws that...give firms an incentive to fire workers and cut salaries”.

Instead of going ahead with this flawed scheme, the government should adopt the Liberal plan to provide employers with an EI holiday on new jobs. It would fix the problem and help create new jobs.

Will the minister listen to reason and introduce an EI holiday on new jobs?

[Employment Insurance, September 19th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the small business hiring credit is flawed. According to Jack Mintz, it will discourage growth. It gives businesses $180 for every new hire and over $2,200 for every layoff.

Why does the minister not recognize the flaw in his plan and switch to the Liberal plan, a plan that works?

[Employment Insurance, September 16th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the new EI credit has a design flaw. It gives firms up to $191 to hire someone, but over $2,200 to fire someone. Jack Mintz calls this “a disincentive to growth”.

The Liberal plan would cut EI premiums for all employers who hire new workers. It fixes the problem and it would come at the same cost as the Conservative scheme, but would create around 176,000 jobs. Will the minister recognize the flaw in his plan, and will he adopt a plan that works and gets more Canadians working?

[Business of Supply, September 16th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I just heard my colleague opposite's comments that the reason we ought not to establish a national standard for federally regulated industries in terms of minimum wage is that the cost of living and other factors vary depending on where one is in the country. Is he espousing or putting forward the idea that MPs should be paid differently depending on the cost of living in their areas? We are clearly federally regulated, given that we are in the House of Commons. The logical corollary of his argument is that we, as legislators, ought to be paid differently based on the economic reality of the regions we represent. Is that what he is suggesting?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, September 15th, 2014]

With regard to government advertising: (a) how much has each department, agency, or Crown corporation spent to purchase advertising on Xbox, Xbox 360, or Xbox One in each fiscal year since 2006-2007 inclusive; (b) what was the (i) nature, (ii) purpose, (iii) target audience or demographic, (iv) cost of each individual advertising purchase; (c) what was the Media Authorization Number for each advertising purchase; and (d) what are the file numbers of all documents, reports, or memoranda concerning each advertising purchase or of any post-campaign assessment or evaluation?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, September 15th, 2014]

With regard to the use of government-issued credit cards by Ministerial exempt staff, for each Minister since May 31, 2012: (a) how many Ministerial exempt staff failed to pay the amount owing within the required time frame; (b) for each case identified in (a), (i) what is the name of the Ministerial exempt staff member, (ii) what was the amount owing; (c) how many Ministerial exempt staff used government-issued credit cards for non-governmental business; (d) for each case identified in (c), (i) what is the name of the Ministerial exempt staff member, (ii) what specific transactions were made and for what amounts; (e) how much has the government had to pay to cover the delinquent accounts of Ministerial exempt staff; and (f) of the amount in (e) how much has the government recovered from the relevant Ministerial exempt staff members?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, September 15th, 2014]

With respect to Canada’s participation in the Organization of American States (OAS), since April 2010: (a) what are the names, titles, and affiliations of all persons who have represented Canada at events or meetings related to the OAS; and (b) what are the dates, file numbers, and titles of all documents prepared for the Canadian delegations or representatives, or otherwise in respect of such events or meetings?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, September 15th, 2014]

With regard to the Government Operations Centre, for each protest or demonstration reported to the Centre by government departments or agencies since January 1, 2006, what was the (i) date, (ii) location, (iii) description or nature, and (iv) department or agency making the report?