Steven Blaney

[Business of Supply, March 10th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that my colleague from Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup supported our government’s softwood lumber agreement, which gave our industry a new breath of life. Last week, he could have helped the forestry industry, as he seems to claim to be doing in his remarks. In particular, he spoke about biomass conversion. The economic action plan sets aside $1 billion over five years for green infrastructure, with projects for biomass utilization, projects that are directed at communities, among others. There is $1 billion for communities, not to mention an amount of $170 million that is provided directly for the forestry sector, along with measures to stimulate the current weak demand, particularly from American customers. On one hand, we want to encourage demand, and build up infrastructure with increased lumber content in buildings. At the same time, as I have stated, we want to encourage home renovations that will certainly lead to increased demand for lumber products.

Why does my colleague not support these budget measures? Why is he not standing up for workers, especially in the forestry sector?

[Business of Supply, March 10th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, we will continue to make sure that we have access to the American market. Three-quarters of the wood from Quebec goes to the United States. We will maintain our access to the American market and we will continue with good agreements. We will not use protectionist measures in the midst of an economic crisis. It would not make sense.

[Business of Supply, March 10th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from British Columbia for his question.

It allows me to remind the House of two extremely important facts for the debate today. I want to tell him that the penalties imposed on Quebec and Canada are the reason why extreme caution is to be applied in choosing the measures to put in place so as not to penalize the forestry industry even further.

The second fact is the position of the NDP member, who refused to agree to the return of $5 billion to the forestry industry. I was listening earlier today to a Bloc member who said that, without the softwood agreement put in place by the Conservatives, the whole industry would be dead by now. We support the forestry industry. We supported it in the first month after we came to power, in 2006, and we will continue to support it.

[Business of Supply, March 10th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

Since we are talking about the forestry industry, sometimes we have to look not only at the trees, but at the whole forest. Last week, my colleague had the opportunity to support the whole forest in Quebec, because a number of measures were put forward to help workers, such as the work sharing measure we proposed. We want to keep forestry workers working. When companies decide to reduce their workforce, the work sharing period is extended. We are also extending the benefit period by five weeks. My colleague had the chance to support these measures, but unfortunately, he remained seated. I am happy I stood up to support these measures. We are talking about several hundred million dollars for worker training. My colleague had the chance to support a whole range of measures last week. Fortunately, we on this side of the House supported them.

[Business of Supply, March 10th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, it is an honour to take part in today's debate on the forestry industry.

It reminds me of the fact that my father started off as a timber scaler. He received his training in Sainte-Croix, near Quebec City. He was said to be very good at flipping the famous 2x4s over to assess their quality. He even worked at the Union catholique des cultivateurs for a wood producers union. As we can see, the forestry industry is linked not only to my family history but to Quebec's history, and that it is deeply rooted in our province. The forestry industry is a renewable resource. We are surrounded with objects made of wood in this chamber. We want efforts to be made to reintroduce wood in major construction works, so as to pass on this desire to future generations.

As the member of Parliament for Lévis—Bellechasse, I have in my riding, and particularly in the county of Les Etchemins, many forestry companies. I think of Rotobec, an export and manufacturing company — products are imported from around the world. I also think of the Audet sawmill, Bois Carvin, and a company from Lévis which was taken under the umbrella of the Ag-Bio Centre, a business incubator that received subsidies from the Economic Development Agency, and developed a biopesticide.

The forestry industry is a pillar of our economy. I have statistics here from the Quebec Forestry Industry Council. In Quebec alone, the economic activity is estimated at $12.9 billion, with nearly $4 billion going to wages and $1 billion going back to our governments. The forestry industry is profitable for governments, and it is in our interest to ensure that it does well. Across Canada, we are talking about close to 300,000 direct jobs and 450,000 indirect ones. This goes to show how important the forestry industry, an industry facing admittedly major challenges, is to our country.

In Quebec, because we export so much to the United States, a one-cent difference in the exchange rate can result in $100 million in losses to the industry in energy costs. This industry has been mismanaged over the past few years. Among other factors, there is the cost of the raw materials, whether they come from public or private forests. Several factors have combined to make our forestry industry vulnerable to plant closures—one in six in Quebec—and job losses.

Even if all Quebec companies together did $13 billion worth of business, they still would not be among the 10 largest companies. There has been some consolidation. A major global phenomenon is happening, and we want to stand by our forestry industry and help it.

I would like to cite one last statistic. Seventy-five per cent of the softwood fibre harvested is used to make lumber or newsprint. Demand for these products is declining, and they are among the least value-added forestry products. Today, I agree with those of my colleagues in the House who have said that it is important to invest in innovation and research, to create new sectors so that our forestry industry can find a niche where it can perform well. I wanted to paint a picture of this extremely important industry.

I would now like to turn to the measures we have included in our economic action plan to support the forestry industry through this crisis. As my hon. colleague, the Minister of State for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec just explained, we will continue working with the forestry industry to help it get through this crisis.

This is a market problem, due in part to the problems our American ally is going through, but it is also a credit problem. We want to work closely with the industry, and that is what we are doing, to help it maintain liquidity so that it can keep making high-quality forest products and stay competitive on the world market.

Access to credit is not only key for the forestry industry, but also for all manufacturing sectors, be it mining or other Canadian companies. That is why the economic action plan is providing $200 billion for companies, all industrial sectors and families: to help them and ensure that our companies can access cash.

The $200 billion in the economic action plan has been approved. It was approved here last week with the support of my colleagues, those from other provinces and the support of my colleague from Saint Boniface as well as the member for Roberval—Lac-Saint-Jean. These measures are in place, and we hope to get them off the ground to support our industry, in particular our forestry industry.

We also want to create demand. We know that there is a problem and that there is not much demand. We want to increase demand by improving Canada's building inventory and by stimulating investments in home renovations. That is why we have set aside $7.8 billion. Perhaps there is someone at home listening today who wants to renovate, invest $10,000, replace windows or finish a basement. All of these projects require wood. The government can give him up to $1,350 to encourage him to modernize and protect his assets. That will increase the demand for wood. If only one person does it, that is not much, but if there is $7.8 billion for the entire country, it means that many households can do something to stimulate our forestry industry.

As my colleague, the minister and member for Roberval—Lac-Saint-Jean, said a moment ago, we are working closely with aboriginal communities in Quebec and everywhere in Canada. There will be $400 million injected to improve housing. We know this is a major need. That too will be grist for our mill, our paper mills, as is obviously the case, and we will stimulate demand on that side.

In the economic action plan, we are investing nearly $12 billion in our infrastructures, and we hope that this will generate economic activity that will help our forestry sector. Certainly the measures proposed in the economic action plan lay a solid foundation to help our forestry product and mining sectors, and the communities that depend on them. In spite of all the measures we put in place in Canada, with the decline in demand in the United States, there may be setbacks, and that is why, in a time of economic upheaval, we have proposed measures for communities and workers, for heads of household who are directly affected by the crisis. We have instituted an older worker adjustment and community adjustment program. We have also implemented measures to promote innovation, develop markets, provide access to credit, as I mentioned, and provide tax relief.

To come back to the measure for communities, that is $1 billion. We hear the opposition saying there is only $170 million for forestry. If that money is invested well, it can help our forestry sector, but that is just one of the measures we have implemented. Those other measures include the $1 billion for communities. That money will go primarily to the forestry sector and other sectors affected by the economic upheaval. This means that $1 billion will be injected into communities that are vulnerable because of the situation we are experiencing. Those measures will help our workers make the transition, preserve their ability to keep working and, as they say, put bread on the table.

I referred to $170 million. That is the amount to be spent on innovation. We are talking about it a lot today because that is how we hope to help our forestry sector stimulate its industry.

I would also mention that nearly $440 million will be available to enable our forestry industries to invest. In the late 1970s, the forestry industry invested and that is what allowed it to make a significant recovery. In the 1980s, the paper mills also invested in treating their waste water, and that is entirely to their credit. They are good corporate citizens that got their emissions under control. So we are stimulating them and creating a favourable situation for them to be able to invest.

I also want to say that we will be supporting workers with an $8.3 billion program to help them stay in the work force, whether in the company or once they have left the company.

We will continue to support the forestry sector. On this side of the House, we will continue to look for solutions, working with our partners and with industry, so that our industry comes out of this crisis in a better position in global terms.

[International Trade, March 5th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, during these challenging economic times, our government is working tirelessly to create commercial opportunities for Canadian businesses. From signing free trade agreements with Europe and the Americas to opening new trade offices in China and India, our team is working overtime.

Can the Minister of International Trade inform the House of recent initiatives to maintain our leadership in Canadian free trade?

[Business of Supply, March 5th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, this allows me the opportunity to acknowledge the outstanding work of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada in ensuring that those who need their benefits receive them as quickly as possible. I can assure the member of my full cooperation as these people are forced to face such hardship, in order to ensure that they receive their benefits as soon as possible. These are benefits they are entitled to and have paid into.

I am nevertheless surprised that my colleague would ask me a question about workers. Yesterday, this same member had the chance to rise in this House to support the measure, like the one I just mentioned, through which nearly $200 million would serve to extend work-sharing programs to keep Canadians employed. With a package of measures worth $8.3 billion for workers before the House, when he could have stood up to support those measures, how is it that he did not do as my government colleagues did, and that he chose not to support them?

[Business of Supply, March 5th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for giving me an opportunity to explain how the measures in our economic action plan enable workers and employers to breathe more easily. At this point, we want to provide some oxygen to our employers who are dealing with an uncertain economic situation.

I am pleased to inform my colleague that the rate of contribution to employment insurance is at the lowest it has been since 1982 and will remain unchanged until 2010. I am also pleased to say that, by maintaining rates at this level, we will be in a position to inject $4.5 billion. This money will remain in the pockets of employers and employees.

[Business of Supply, March 5th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, I want to say that I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Saskatoon—Wanuskewin.

I am pleased to rise today in this debate proposed by the representative for the riding of Hamilton Mountain. Our government is very concerned about the current economic situation. It is concerned about the employment situation in Canada and about the industries that are struggling. It is concerned about the all too many families that are in financial difficulty because of the economic crisis. We are not the only ones who are concerned. A recent Ipsos-Reid poll showed that one Canadian in four is worried about losing his or her job because of the current economic crisis.

I want to tell these people today that our government is unwavering in its desire to help them get through these difficult times. For our government, the status quo and doing nothing are not possible options. A time when our economy is being shaken by worldwide shock waves is no time simply to fold our arms. On the contrary, we have implemented a number of measures over the last months, and more recently, there is our economic action plan, which includes massive, rapid, targeted investments. We are tackling this crisis, taking the bull by the horns so to speak, in order to help out families, working people and seniors.

This action plan will not just help our fellow citizens, businesses and cities in five or ten years but right now. It is helping them immediately, on an emergency basis, when they are most in need. This action plan is directed first at the people who are most affected and our priorities include working people. The economic action plan was passed yesterday in the House. I rose then on the very spot where I am standing now to support this plan for our working people, families and seniors.

There is a program for people who unfortunately lose their jobs. It is employment insurance, which is very helpful in tough economic times. Our government is acting to ensure it provides additional assistance to Canadians who lose their jobs. After carrying out consultations, we extended the pilot project providing five additional weeks of benefits to all of Canada to help people who are unemployed for longer periods.

In addition to these efforts, we announced that the current employment insurance contribution rate, which is at its lowest level since 1982, will remain unchanged in 2010. This alone will put $4.5 billion back into the pockets of our companies and working people. But that is not all.

We are also adopting measures in our economic action plan to assist the regions facing the highest unemployment, as is the case in Bas-Saint-Laurent, Côte-Nord, Centre-du-Québec, Chicoutimi-Jonquière and Trois-Rivières. We will continue the 14 best weeks program until December 2010, as well as the program for labour force re-entrants. So these are concrete, targeted measures for the regions most in need of them. This is in our economic action plan, which was adopted yesterday and which we are implementing as quickly as possible.

These are projects that make a difference in the lives of thousands of Quebec families, that increase workers' benefits by letting them qualify for the system with fewer hours. That is not all we are doing for Canadians. Other measures are being taken. We plan to help more Canadians keep working when the companies that hire them suffer temporary slowdowns. This is an essential element of our budget. We are focusing our efforts on preserving jobs, keeping people employed, and providing training.

In addition, the work-sharing program is an existing element of the program. It allows a company experiencing a slowdown to keep these people on the job with employment insurance benefits until business picks up again.

Conscious of the level of uncertainty that many businesses are facing at this time of instability in global markets, our minister has today announced that, over the next two years, our government will be extending the work-sharing agreements by 14 weeks, to a maximum of 52 weeks.

Furthermore, we will be facilitating access to these agreements by making the qualifying criteria more flexible and by simplifying the process for employers. So we will be cutting the red tape. It is strangling our businesses, and we want to reduce it.

As I have mentioned, action on training is important. Skilled workers are workers who stay employed. In a society in transformation, with a plethora of new technologies, it is important that we help our workforce keep pace.

Over the next two years, we will be investing $500 million so that long-tenured workers who lose their job can receive extended income benefits while they are in longer-term training for new employment opportunities. This investment will allow earlier access to regular EI benefits for workers who use some or all of their severance package to purchase skills upgrading for themselves.

We will increase the funding for training paid to the provinces and territories by $1 billion over two years.

In addition, we will make another investment of $500 million for a strategic training and transition fund to meet the needs of persons who do not qualify for the training offered through employment insurance. I remind you that we have also provided for special measures for the self-employed. We will examine in particular the improvements that can be made to maternity leave.

We shall of course continue to pay particular attention to those older workers who, as they approach a well-earned retirement, see their job disappear and their industry hard hit. Some people are having a hard time. I am thinking among others of the forestry workers in parts of Quebec. We will support them: we will be at their side to help them through. Since 2007, 4,000 Canadians have received assistance through the targeted initiative for older workers, which is an effective federal-provincial partnership. But we are going to do more, because the present situation is very demanding.

We are going to invest an additional $20 million. We will repeat this over the next three years for this initiative, which is working well and yielding good results. We will also broaden the eligibility criteria so that larger communities with populations of up to 250,000 can benefit from it.

Societies seeking a better future must equip the next generation with the means to acquire knowledge and experience. Over the coming summers, we are going to invest an additional $20 million to provide more work experience for students across the country.

We are putting in place nearly $8.3 billion worth of measures. They were passed yesterday. Obviously, I supported them, as did all my colleagues on this side of the House. If we take appropriate measures to keep people employed, the crisis will have less of an effect. Even before the eye of the economic hurricane reaches our borders, we want to act as a catalyst and be ready to meet this crisis head on. Accordingly, in addition to the $8.3 billion, we are setting up a community adjustment fund of $1 billion for the country to help the communities affected most by the economic crisis to restructure, to take control and to move forward in order to adjust and find new opportunities.

I am pleased that the official opposition supported our economic action plan, which breathes life and hope into our communities. Unfortunately, the people moving today's motion did not support our economic action plan. The New Democrats and the Bloc opposed the measures I have just enumerated, measures targeting workers, seniors, our youth and training. We have measures that cover everyone. These are not just fancy words. We also have specific targeted measures and we want to put them in place as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the Bloc and the New Democrats voted against these measures.

We want to help the unemployed and older workers to find new jobs. This is why we support the economic action plan and why we will continue to make real efforts for the workers and the employers of our country.

[Bloc Québécois, March 3rd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc used its parliamentary budget, taxpayers' money, to fund a newspaper that prints extremist rhetoric and preaches intolerance. The Réseau de résistance du Québécois showed its contempt for democracy during the debate around the commemoration of the battle of the Plains of Abraham, using fear, intimidation and calls for violence.

How does the Bloc plan to compensate the Quebec City area for the losses caused by the cancellation of the historical re-enactment, losses the city's tourism office estimates at more than $3 million? More importantly, why is the Bloc aiding and abetting splinter groups that are trying to deny a defining event in our history? As Quebec's motto states, “Je me souviens”, I remember, and as a Quebecker, I condemn the narrow-mindedness and self-centredness of the Bloc Québécois, which is mortgaging Quebec's future by denying its past.