Thomas Mulcair

[Foreign Affairs, March 21st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, seven months ago Alison Azer's children were kidnapped. We are talking about four Canadian children taken to Kurdistan in the middle of a war zone. Today, I met with Alison in Ottawa, and she is asking once again for the Canadian government to intervene and help bring her children home.

The need for action is urgent. Why has the Prime Minister not bothered to call President Barzani to bring these kids home?

[Indigenous Affairs, March 21st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I cannot wait.

First nations children across the country are living in crisis because the federal government does not provide them with the same resources other Canadian kids get. We have children in Kashechewan suffering from horrible sores because they do not have access to clean, safe drinking water. We have children who desperately want to learn but are forced to attend schools in third world conditions.

Will the Liberal budget provide full equivalent funding to end the gap on health, water, and education for first nations children?

[Employment Insurance, March 21st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, job losses are mounting elsewhere in Canada as well. Workers need help, but fewer than four out of 10 people who need employment insurance have access to it.

The Liberals voted against our motion to force them to honour their own commitments on employment insurance. The budget will be tabled tomorrow.

Will the Prime Minister finally honour his own commitments on employment insurance, yes or no?

[Aerospace Industry, March 21st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, today we learn that Bombardier is planning to move another 200 good Canadian jobs abroad.

This is in addition to the 2,400 Canadian families who lost their livelihood at Bombardier last month. Our aerospace industry needs help, but not at the expense of our workers and their families.

Does the Prime Minister intend to protect good Canadian jobs in any assistance agreement he might sign with Bombardier?

[Pensions, March 9th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, if the Prime Minister were really sincere about corporate tax fairness, he would start by reducing and getting rid of the cuts to corporate taxes that the Conservatives brought in with the Liberals' complicity, as they voted for the Conservative budget.

Our seniors should never, ever have to choose between paying for their groceries, their housing or their medication. The Liberals promised, and I quote, “to immediately [boost] the guaranteed income supplement...by 10%”.

Five months later, nothing has changed and seniors continue to suffer.

What exactly did they mean by “immediately”?

[Child Care, March 9th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is such a good reader, but he is not answering my questions. He read the same thing twice, but that is not the question. Have there been other times, yes or no?

Yesterday, I asked the Prime Minister about the government's promise for affordable, high-quality, flexible, and fully inclusive child care. It is at page 20 of his platform in case he has not been able to find it.

Instead of giving us another talking point, could the Prime Minister simply tell us what is the government's budget for that specifically defined child care plan the Liberals boasted about in their platform?

[Canada Revenue Agency, March 9th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, it is not pursuing this matter before the courts and that is the problem. It is letting them off the hook with no fine, no penalty, and no interest to pay.

Canadians are sick of this flim-flammery that allows multi-millionaires to avoid paying taxes and to be coddled by the government.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister could not even tell us whether he disagreed with this deal.

I have a very specific question for the Prime Minister. Can he confirm that this is the one and only time that the government has offered this kind of sweetheart deal to millionaires? Yes or no? Are there other similar agreements?

[Canada Revenue Agency, March 9th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, I asked the Prime Minister about the recent deal that the government made with millionaire tax cheats. He responded that all Canadians should pay their taxes “in the future”. To those currently filling out their tax forms, it is a bit of a surprise to learn that this was not the case before, and that the government lets multi-millionaire tax cheats off the hook with no penalty whatsoever.

I will ask the Prime Minister again. Will he conduct an investigation and put a stop to these sweetheart deals for multi-millionaire tax cheats?

[Official Languages, March 9th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of all of my colleagues, I would like to say that we are all so happy to see you in the chair today.

Last week, the member for Ottawa—Vanier was congratulated for his work supporting francophone minority communities in Ottawa. The NDP shares his belief that we must protect and celebrate our official languages all across this country.

Nearly one out of seven francophones lives outside Quebec. We must do more to ensure that all Canadians have access to services in the official language of their choice, regardless of where they live.

How is the Prime Minister planning to continue and to build on the excellent work done by the hon. member for Ottawa—Vanier? How will he improve services and support linguistic minority communities in Canada?

[Taxation, March 8th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, as this case illustrates, the problem is that the rich are not paying their fair share and are let off the hook by the Canada Revenue Agency.

The question was this. Is the Prime Minister going to order an investigation to figure out how this happened? He cannot hide behind the fact that it was a previous administration. Canadians have a right to know that the tax system is equal for all Canadians. This case proves just the opposite. There is one set of rules for the rich and another for everyone else. What is the Prime Minister going to do about investigating this case so that Canadians know there is tax fairness in this country? Stop protecting the rich. Start protecting a tax system that is fair for all.