House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2015, with 33% of the vote.
The Budget March 27th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, I want to be very clear and honest, as I have been. I do read some of the budget book, but I did not read it page by page. I rely on the critics' assessments. I rely on those other resources. In terms of management style, that is what one does. One uses the tools at hand to help one make decisions.
I would suggest that if the government is looking at foreign workers it should be talking to people in the construction trades and the Canadian Labour Congress and getting some advice.
The Budget March 27th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, the response is very simple and straightforward. We passed the seniors charter in the House. There was a clear direction from the House to the government as to what we wanted done for seniors and, to be very frank, the government did not get the job done.
The Budget March 27th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, this is what I would call a very easy question in the sense that yes, I would agree with the statement.
Further to that, I just read recently in the paper where there was a company that was supposed to audit the books of a company. It misstated its profits which affected the price on the stock exchange and it paid tens of millions of dollars in penalties for that act. There is the example of Enron and the loss to the people who invested in Enron. We have in this country, from time to time, as the member has indicated, called into question how the pension funds of the workers of Canada are invested. Who is accounting to whom and who has ownership has always been a significant issue.
This is deferred income for people for their retirement years and there should always be workers from those areas on the boards of these institutions. There is a court case in New York, I believe, that is taking place right now, where an individual went after the pensions of the Dominion store employees many years ago. Different people in different organizations have done very questionable things.
In light of the circumstances of Enron, where people are looking to the justice system for justice, it would have been a most appropriate time for the government to evaluate these processes.
The Budget March 27th, 2007
I apologize, Mr. Speaker.
They asked for more government help with tuition for students, so rich or poor have a chance to go. There are seniors rights and I could go on.
Specifically on this budget, for children and child care, over one million Canadian children continue to live in poverty and go to bed hungry at night. This budget will not help them. The $250 million for child care spaces actually represents a cut of $1 billion. In our estimation it is an admission of the failed 2006 budget in what was supposed to come out of that in child care spaces.
The transfer will not help to build a national child care plan, something the government apparently does not believe in, but in two-thirds of two parent families both parents have to work.
There is some modest support for cultural and recreational facilities which seems to rely heavily on the P3 approach but is unlikely to make a significant dent in the $15 billion deficit in amateur sport facilities.
In terms citizenship and immigration, there is $51 million over two years in the temporary foreign workers program. Temporary foreign workers are often the most exploited in Canadian society. There is nothing to indicate that any of this budgetary commitment will ensure conditions and wages for temporary foreign workers will be equal to Canadians. There is nothing to ensure Canadians who are available and trained to work have the first opportunity for jobs. There is nothing to address the existing huge backlog of the 800,000 people in queue trying to immigrate to Canada.
There is a foreign credential referral office which will be created with a $13 million investment over two years, but in 2006 the Conservatives announced $18 million over two years for the establishment of a foreign credentials agency. This year they are announcing $13 million in operating money, yet there is still no agency and no program.
Hard-working immigrants will continue to face chronic low income and struggle to have their skills recognized. There is no new money for the adaptation programs or language training. New immigrants will continue to struggle as they try to adapt to Canadian society. There is no support to deal with the flaws in the immigration act and no refugee appeal process. Landing immigrant fees have not been removed.
The budget continues to carry forward the $9 billion in corporate tax cuts contained in the first budget and it runs on to 2011. Though manufacturers will get a 50% capital cost allowance for 2007-08, the oil sands will keep its 100% capital cost allowance until the year 2010.
The budget fails to use tax incentives strategically for capital investments that are directly tied to upgrade the capacity, job creation, the implementation of environmental technology or skills training. Each dollar of corporate tax cuts adds about 25¢ to bank and insurance company profits.
In the area of culture, specifically the arts are basically ignored in this budget. There is no specific money for the Canada Council or promoting artists. Heritage is not on the agenda of the government and the minister has been extremely ineffectual up to this point in her tenure.
There are no tax measures for artists, ACTRA called for tax averaging, or support for arts programs for kids. The Canadian Television Fund remains without additional stable funding and museums have no support.
Under foreign aid, this budget actually decreases the percentage of foreign aid as opposed to gross national income from .34% to .31%, less than half the .7% that we internationally agreed to many years ago. The government says that it will increase foreign aid to $900 million but the only money it has actually allotted in this budget is the $200 million already announced for Afghanistan and the $115 million already announced along with the Gates Foundation.
Tax incentives to pharmaceutical companies are not the way to effectively meet the needs of people living with HIV-AIDS and other diseases in the developing world.
Further on health, there is a total of $2.6 billion in new health care investments, but there is no assurance that the principles of the Canada Health Act will be respected and that all Canadians will have equal access to quality care.
The government will establish a Canadian mental health commission to lead the development of a national mental health strategy. The problem here is that many people with mental health problems are ending up on our streets and there is no support for homeless people within housing.
Previous speakers have spoken to the fact that there are more and more homeless people on our streets. There are no new monetary commitments made to CMHC, low income housing, retrofitting or social housing programs. I have page after page of research that our staffs have put together, along with our own research that I could comment on, but I look forward to questions.
The Budget March 27th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak on budget 2007, a weighty document I have with me. But before I do that, when I was running for this office, I promised the constituents of my riding that I would bring their message here instead of the government's message to them.
One of the messages I have been getting loud and clear in the last few days is that they want me to address a disconcerting situation occurring in the House. As parliamentarians we try to put the sense of entitlement and arrogance of the limousine Liberals from the past government behind us, but during this debate it was brought to my attention, and of course being in the House I saw it firsthand, that we are now suddenly smacked with a new smugness from the Conservatives.
They resort to quips instead of substance. It is particularly insulting to the members of the House to hear a response to a serious question followed by another question asking if we had read the book or the budget. All hon. members present will know that all parties rely on the critics for their major evaluations needed to properly assess this particular 477 page document. Of course, as well, we rely very heavily as members on our research staff along with the resource facilities from organizations like perhaps the Canadian Labour Congress, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, along with NGOs that are impacted by the federal budget.
As I am speaking, we can hear members of the Conservative Party laughing and chuckling. It is because their mikes are not turned on. They constantly berate or aggravate members in the House who are trying to do the business of the House.
I want to assure that the members of the House do do their due diligence necessary to properly represent their constituents' interests in this particular budget and all matters before the House. As I was rereading parts of the budget during question period, I found myself barely unable to hear because of the catcalls which prompted me to raise this today. There is ridicule heaped upon one another by the Conservative government and the Liberal opposition.
Canadians want respectful debate in this place, to be able to respect all members in the House. It is time for all parliamentarians to rise above the crass political gamesmanship and take our discourse to a level in Parliament that Canadians deserve.
The budget does nothing to close the every widening prosperity gap. My constituents tell me they believe the budget paid more attention to the boardroom table. They had hoped that they would be listened to, the ideas in conversations such as they have around their kitchen tables. I sent mailings out to my constituents prior to the budget during the so-called consultation phase that the government was going through.
Here are some of the responses that I received: “Jobs that are not through a temporary company”, “Without good jobs you can't pay the rent”, “Disallow corporations access to employees' pension and retirement funds”, “A starting entry liveable wage of a minimum of $9.50 an hour”.
The proposition in this House is of course for $10.
Another response said: “Tax cuts, not what Mr. Harper has done in his first budget but real tax cuts for low income worker--
Slave Trade Abolition March 26th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, it is with a great sense of humility that I rise on behalf of the NDP caucus to speak on this occasion of marking the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade, one of the most evil enterprises in our history.
Millions of men, women and children in Africa were forcibly abducted and relocated across an ocean. Countless lost their lives in the journey and those who survived were subjected to some of the most heinous and reprehensible treatment imaginable.
In recognizing and marking the bicentenary, it is time to focus on the slave trade and some truly inspirational individuals who dedicated the fight for human dignity that brought it to its end.
Many of those have been mentioned here today. I want the House to know that we in the NDP are equally appreciative and awed by the inspirational work of political representatives, grassroots activists, and in many instances soldiers and law enforcement officials in many countries, including Canada, who helped bring about the end of this disgraceful endeavour.
As a member from Hamilton I was proud when I heard the name of the Hon. Lincoln Alexander mentioned earlier here today. Linc, as he is affectionately known, remains a fine example of a man with the principles and beliefs that made Canada the great country it is today.
It is also critical at this time of commemoration that we focus on the impact of the slave trade and what it still has in our world today. The slave trade fostered the more modern issue that continues to affect Canada and many countries around the world and that is racism.
I welcome the comments made here today by the government and other opposition party colleagues but, as I did several months ago and again on Friday when the motion was passed to commemorate the bicentenary, I must repeat that this is not enough.
Our words here today are not enough. We cannot fight human trafficking whose roots are likely found in the slave trade by making statements alone.
Only with real efforts to eradicate poverty and injustice throughout the world can we combat the reasons why people are abducted, sold or trafficked in our modern world. Last week's budget put us nowhere ahead in the push to meet our international commitment of 0.7% of national GDP in official foreign aid.
We cannot just be grateful for the women's committee recent report. We must act now on the 33 recommendations made in the report on combating human trafficking.
We cannot educate our youth about the bicentenary if we do nothing to support the grassroots efforts around this country that are trying to hold public educational events and programs commemorating the end of the slave trade.
Last week's budget and the response of Canadian Heritage to date has been to ignore the requests for help from individuals and groups across this country seeking to educate and commemorate this important anniversary. We should be commemorating this important bicentenary with a plan of action to move forward to continue the fight against racism.
It is not too late and I hope the words in this House today will help rededicate all in this House to the important fight against inequality, injustice and intolerance.
Construction Workers March 26th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, for ordinary, hard-working Canadians, last week's budget is a total failure. It fails to address the growing prosperity gap and throws about new programs and tax credits to the few lucky enough to get a place around the boardroom table where it was written.
Governments, whether Liberal or today's Conservatives, continue to ignore the reasonable demands of a group of Canadian workers, our construction workers. There are no measures for construction workers by trade and apprentices to deduct travel and accommodation expenses incurred by employment away from their homes. People who work from home can deduct certain expenses relating to a home office but people for whom the very nature of their jobs require frequent travel to job sites, the location over which they have no control, there is nothing similar.
The NDP is the only party to put forward a concrete legislative solution to this problem with a private member's bill introduced by my colleague from Hamilton Mountain. The long distance truck driver has an enhanced meal credit program in recognition of the additional expense borne while travelling for work, why not construction workers?
It is long past time--
The Budget March 26th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, following the Liberal error, I mean era--I guess error could apply and it is a Freudian slip if I ever heard one--there are more Canadian people sleeping in our streets and more Canadian children going to bed hungry. There is nothing in the budget to address poverty.
Beyond that, the new mayor of Hamilton, Mayor Eisenberger, came here and spoke to the government in regard to Randle Reef, the most significant environmental hot spot in the Great Lakes. Ninety million dollars is needed to clean up that one spot alone, but there is a mere $11 million in the budget.
As well, in Hamilton there is a crisis in manufacturing, as there is across Ontario. We have lost 125,000 jobs. Hamilton Specialty Bar Corporation is in crisis and is about to fold. Can the member tell me why an industrial strategy to protect Canada's manufacturing sector and to keep those jobs was not contained in this budget?
Elimination of Racial Discrimination March 21st, 2007
Mr. Speaker, as we have heard, today marks the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, but sadly, despite the sincere hope and the real values of ordinary Canadians, today we still see examples of hate and racially motivated crimes.
Unfortunately, we have seen very little concrete action from the government. We need to be officially recognizing the bicentenary of the end of the Atlantic slave trade, but the government has not. It is only through understanding the root causes of racism that we can examine and address the social and economic inequality that breeds hatred and bigotry.
We need a budget from a government that does not ignore our human rights responsibilities. We are failing to meet our international commitments, particularly as they relate to aboriginal people and women, but this week's budget puts nothing toward improving our human rights record at home.
I know I speak on behalf of the NDP caucus when I demand that we not only mark the International Day for the Elimination of Racism but act to eliminate racism.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the parliamentary secretary for his response, but it is as much about what we do as what we say.
We should be setting the stage and we should be acting on recommendations from the United Nations human rights bodies. We should be keeping our international commitments. We should be leading on human rights to live up to our own position on the UN Human Rights Council.
Canada was elected as one of the members of the new Human Rights Council to replace the old discredited commission. In running for that position we made clear commitments to improving our record. Yet, recent reports say that Canada has a poor record in implementing our international commitments and our obligations at home.
Just as an example, the optional protocol on torture which we took to the United Nations and which we saw through the United Nations has not been signed by Canada.
However, as I said, I would like to thank the parliamentary secretary for his response.