House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2015, with 64% of the vote.
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board May 28th, 2009
First, Mr. Speaker, it is important to correct the misinformation in that question. The Canada pension plan is actuarially sound. The benefits to Canadians are guaranteed for many decades to come.
The board is responsible independently for remuneration for the management of the plan. I noticed, by the way, that the board in fact did drop a total compensation for its executives by 31% last year, but that is a board decision, not a government decision.
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board May 28th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, as the Minister of Finance has explained several times, that is not a decision that the government makes. The Canada Pension Plan is an independent plan. Members of the board of directors are appointed by both levels of government. It is not a federal government decision.
The Economy May 28th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, we have improved employment insurance benefits, and the benefits to the population and the unemployed have increased a great deal in recent months, because of the recession and because of our policies. The Bloc Québécois opposed all that. Ours is a realistic position for all the people, unlike the ideological opposition of the Bloc Québécois.
The Economy May 28th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, the recession has started. We have changed the rules to give the unemployed more benefits. The deficit has increased because we are giving more to the unemployed, but despite the fact that we are giving more to the unemployed, there is one thing that has not changed: the Bloc Québécois is opposed to these benefits to the unemployed.
The Economy May 28th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, I could even quote the Toronto Star, a Liberal newspaper, which asks what the opposition wants to do about the deficit. Do they want the government to start slashing its spending? No, quite the contrary, the opposition is demanding that the government spend more.
The editorial in the Toronto Star goes on to say it is time to have a real conversation. It says:
[The Liberal leader] has said he would be open to the idea of raising taxes. [The Prime Minister] isn't.
The Economy May 28th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, the record of the Liberal Party is this: Liberals got this country into deficits when borrowing was at record levels, and then when recession came, they were cutting the unemployed and raising taxes right in the middle of a recession, something this party will never do.
The Economy May 28th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, at the end of this year, the deficit will depend obviously on the performance of the economy, but what Canadians are wondering about when it comes to more is the leader of the Liberal Party.
He comes here and tries to criticize the deficit, but day after day he is here demanding literally tens of billions of dollars of new spending from this government, new spending, permanent spending, unaffordable spending to be paid for by tax increases. Everyone knows his position on the deficit. It is just hypocrisy.
Finance May 27th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, let me be absolutely clear once again. Canada is responding to a global recession from a position of fiscal strength. Our debts are low and our deficits are manageable and affordable compared to other countries. That deficit has gone up because the recession is deeper. If the recession gets deeper, we will do more to help the unemployed and to help people.
The hypocrisy of the leader of the Liberal Party is breathtaking. He cannot decry a deficit when he comes here and demand spending, not just this year but permanently.
The Economy May 27th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, the leader of the NDP demands the government should do deficit spending one day and the next day he says we should not. One day he is for corporate tax cuts and the next day he is not. One day he is demanding we bring in improvements to employment insurance and infrastructure, and when we do that he votes against it and says we are spending too much money.
There was a day when the NDP used to stand for something. Now it is just against everything.
The Economy May 27th, 2009
Mr. Speaker, all of the factors contributing to the deficit, including the rise of the deficit, are short-term factors. They are not long-term factors; they are short-term factors. There are rising payments to the unemployed, because of the things we are doing to help unemployed people in this country, and rising payments to communities, to the auto sector.
We are also experiencing lower tax revenues including lower corporate tax revenues, not because of corporate tax cuts but because corporations are not making profits. But it should not worry the leader of the NDP because when he was in the coalition, he was all for corporate tax cuts anyway.