Wayne Marston

[Softwood Lumber Products Export Charge Act, 2006, September 29th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on Bill C-24, the bill put forward by the Minister of International Trade, the softwood lumber products export charge act, 2006

As I was considering the fact that I would be speaking today, a thought crossed my mind that this softwood sellout kind of matches a definition I have used for years relative to some folks who have passed through the House, ministers, members, even governments, that we ordinary folk call rogues and scoundrels.

Mostly, the common people on the street will say it is their view that far too many people who have sat in the House or held official positions in the House have been quick to bow to an American policy on one file or another. One of the first that comes to mind, maybe even the most notorious up until this point in time especially in the minds of working Canadians, was the act of former Prime Minister John Diefenbaker when he caved into Dwight D. Eisenhower in the late 1950s. It was that prime minister, a Conservative prime minister by the way, who bowed to President Dwight D. Eisenhower and cancelled the Avro Arrow project.

In fact, we were reminded just this week that there is a prototype of the Avro Arrow that has been restored and taken to one of our national museums to be put on display I guess to say what might have been. At the time of the cancellation of that project there were five leading prototypes of an aircraft that was 20 years ahead of its time.

What happened on Black Friday? Prime Minister Diefenbaker cancelled this project and cancelled the futures of over 15,000 workers when he did that. One has to sit back and wonder why. Why would a government turn on its own people in that fashion?

Then again in the 1980s many of us, including myself in the Hamilton labour movement, saw then Prime Minister Brian Mulroney sign the free trade agreement which basically sacrificed over 500,000 manufacturing jobs in Ontario, not to mention across this country. My riding of Hamilton East—Stoney Creek was affected in major ways.

I can recall when the draft text of the free trade agreement was signed. That very day Firestone Tire announced the closure of the plant in Hamilton because it no longer needed a plant. It could simply bring goods across the border. Thus, 1,500 people lost their jobs.

Not to pick on just the Conservatives, but maybe to throw a little fire across the way to the former Liberals, it was in the 1990s, as we will recall, that the Liberal Party ran on a platform in the 1993 election saying that it would not support the GST and would cancel it. It would not sign NAFTA. I recall a full page newspaper ad that had five priorities of things it would and would not do and those were the top two on that list. Lo and behold, what did it do? It kept the GST and signed the free trade agreement and again workers in my city were sold down the river.

We will recall not too long after that event the member from Hamilton at the time resigned on the basis that she had given her word that if the GST was kept, she would resign. A byelection took place. In fact, I was the candidate for my party in that byelection. We went from fifth place to second place just simply on the anger that the people had at the time for what was going on.

Steelworkers and manufacturers in my area wonder what is next. They see this softwood sellout. It is little wonder they do not trust the government after the previous Liberal and Conservative governments have sold them down the river. Now there is a spectacle by the present government. In the campaign it ran on being a fresh face, accountability and all of those grand words. What happened? Lo and behold, just before the House convened it had an unelected person appointed as a senator.

Then, further embarrassing to the House I would suggest, we had the minister who had the file on softwood lumber cross the floor two short weeks after the election. People in that member's riding, who worked hard to elect a Liberal, suddenly found themselves waking up one morning with a Conservative member.

Maybe I should have said switching allegiances because he did not physically get up and cross the floor. I think that would have taken a bit of courage and I do not see too much of that.

The government expects steelworkers, autoworkers and other workers in manufacturing in my riding to have faith in the Minister of International Trade. I can say there is not a chance of that. They are cringing. They are wondering what industry is next, that perhaps it will be one of theirs.

Our critic on this file from Burnaby—New Westminster has been warning the people of the country and the members in the House of what is happening. The critic has been in the House day in and day out drawing the attention of Canadians to this file. He has exposed the hidden costs of the softwood agreement to Canadians. He has also exposed the bullying tactics of the Prime Minister as the government goes after the industry to force it to support the agreement.

I have a quote from our critic. He said:

The [Conservative] government, who used bullying tactics to force support from the industry, is now using the tax system to punish his opponents.

The word is today, at least in some of the circles I was travelling in this morning, this deal may well be in trouble. If that is the case, it is certainly good news to this member's ears.

He also said:

Under the softwood lumber agreement, [the Prime Minister] and the [Minister of International Trade] are coercing Canadian softwood companies to hand over to the United States $1 billion of the $5.3 billion in duty deposits illegally collected by the Unites States Customs as a result of the softwood lumber dispute.

On top of that, we have had case after case where we have won rulings on this dispute. It is beyond me why our government would cave in and position us in front of the Americans as people who are on our knees when we do not have to be. We can win the next round of legal battles, the future litigation that is going to carry on, but more importantly, we have to prepare the way for the next sector that comes under attack from the Americans.

The Conservative government is again slapping on the Canadian softwood companies that refuse to join in this fiasco, for the lack of a better word, a 19% charge applied as a percentage of the refunded deposits. The charge would not be collected from companies who abide by the agreement. This is an abuse of power, especially when we have won, as I have said before, in the court of law. Canadian companies owe nothing to the United States. It baffles me why we are giving a billion dollars to the Americans.

Steelworkers and members from Hamilton are very concerned. American litigation will likely resume on future files. The Bush government recently moved to overturn the U.S. court decisions of April 7 and July 14 on the NAFTA and the Byrd amendment. This is clearly a very plain and simple, even simple enough for the government to get it, indication of what is coming.

We have a dispute settlement mechanism within NAFTA that we are flouting with this agreement. It is beyond belief that our government would do this to the workers in the softwood industry.

Our leader was in Thunder Bay recently. He was there to show the workers that at least some members in this House were standing with them on this. It was very clear that the members of the government were not.

In the words of our leader, “The Prime Minister has sold out northern Ontario”. That is a fact. “This is a total failure,” he said. “One billion dollars left on the table in Washington”, he said, but worse, “the Bush administration now has a direct say in how we manage our forestry industry”.

Clearly, the actions of the Minister of International Trade fly in the face of democracy. I say the minister has sold out our country. He deserves to be ranked among the rogues and scoundrels that I spoke of in my opening remarks. I think the government will go down in history for this, maybe not ahead of the Diefenbaker government for cancelling the Avro, but it will be very close on the sellout of softwood lumber.

[Business of Supply, September 28th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I came into the House upset, as everyone will gather from my tone. I am the human rights critic for my party and I find it a sad turn of events to see what is happening to an organization that has fought so hard for so many years to elevate the human rights of women in Canada.

The member opposite might note that there seems to be an art of deflection taking place on the government side. It does not seem to want to talk about the fact that this organization, the Status of Women, that is being cut has promoted gender equality and full participation of women in the economic and social culture and political life in Canada and focuses on improving women's economic condition.

As we know, the fact is that women are concentrated in the lowest levels of pay in this country. Youth and women account for 83% of the minimum wage workers in our country. The average prepay income for women is just 62% of that of men.

Would the member agree that this is a slap in the face to Canadian women, especially those who have worked so hard to move the women's agenda ahead in this country? To see it happen in a time of historic surpluses is just unconscionable.

[Petitions, September 25th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I have a second petition on behalf of my constituents of Hamilton East—Stoney Creek. The petition is in regard to the changing of the age of consent.

[Petitions, September 25th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36 and on behalf of the constituents of Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, I am presenting a petition concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Canadian financial aide to the Palestinian Authority.

[Justice, September 21st, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I stand here today very concerned. The Arar report provides significant evidence that the RCMP and other agencies do not do enough to share information in a way that promotes a healthy respect for human rights and protection of Canadians who may be at risk of torture.

The report indicates that our government has, on several occasions, failed Canadians who have been held abroad. It is also clear that this has resulted in torture and sometimes in the use of information collected under torture.

As the NDP critic for human rights, I will be watching the Conservative government's record on implementing these important recommendations to stand up for Canadians abroad.

Maher Arar deserves no less. Huseyin Celil and other Canadians held abroad who may well be at risk of torture deserve more. The Tories' reaction to the report has been to blame the Liberals and yet the government has done nothing to get Canadians like Mr. Celil out of harm's way.

It is time for the new Government of Canada to listen to its own campaign slogan and stand up for Canadians.

[Questions on the Order Paper, September 18th, 2006]

With regard to the agreement with the government of the United States of America concerning the handling of detainees in Afghanistan: (a) is there a Canada-USA detainee transfer agreement and, if so, (i) does that agreement remain in force notwithstanding the existence of the Canada-Afghanistan agreement and (ii) how do the two agreements relate to each other, especially in a situation where an individual detainee is specifically requested by the USA; and (b) have any detainees been transferred to USA custody since the Canada-Afghanistan arrangement was signed

[Income Tax Act, June 21st, 2006]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-339, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (exclusion of income received by an athlete from a non-profit club, society or association).

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Winnipeg North for seconding the introduction of my very first private member's bill.

It is an act to amend the Income Tax Act to exclude income received by an athlete from a non-profit club, society or association.

We all know that athletes have difficulties making ends meet while they pursue their athletic goals. Many not for profit clubs, societies and associations try to help out and provide some income for athletes.

When income is declared by athletes, however, it can jeopardize scholarships and other opportunities amateur athletes can have because it is seen as being paid. The bill would allow up to $8,000 per year received to be tax free and also would be retroactive.

I look forward to the support of my colleagues in the passage of this important bill.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[Community Events, June 19th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, this past weekend, I was honoured to be invited to march and participate in events celebrating two diverse communities.

The Sikh community gathered and I marched five kilometres with it to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the martyrdom of one of its most beloved gurus, Arjan Dev.

Guru Arjan Dev laid the foundation for the Golden Temple in Amritsar and is celebrated for his work in writing The Guru Granth Sahib, which compiled the writings of past gurus into one book.

I also joined several hundred friends and members of the Hamilton area gay, lesbian and transgendered community in a march celebrating our community's diversity through downtown Hamilton.

Once again, members of the downtown business community showed its support for Pride events and there were a series of successful events including a gala awards reception recognizing important community leaders.

This weekend's events served to remind that diversity and equality, core Canadian values, are alive and well in our community and we are one step closer to ensuring it is free of racism and hate.

[Business of Supply, June 15th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, not only must older Canadians be seen as the creative, active and valued members of our society that they are, but we as parliamentarians must ensure that we are doing everything we can to make that happen.

I am pleased to rise in this chamber today to join with the efforts of my colleagues in the NDP, which have been ongoing for many years. Almost seven years ago the United Nations celebrated the international year of the older person. At that time, a former member of our caucus, Michelle Dockrill, then seniors and pensions critic for the NDP, began work on a seniors charter. That work has been followed up by the members for Windsor West and Hamilton Mountain. I wish to take a moment to congratulate my colleagues on their efforts, their passion and their dedication to the very important issues that face the seniors of our country.

This motion has two key but separate components. First, it would provide guarantees through a charter to enshrine certain economic, social and cultural rights for seniors. Second, it would create the position of a seniors advocate, who would act as an ombudsman for older persons on policies and programs.

As the member for Hamilton East--Stoney Creek, I am pleased to actively support the NDP seniors charter. In the short time that I have been in office, I have heard many concerns from seniors in my community, concerns that would be addressed by this charter.

Hamilton's Social Planning and Research Council's May 2005 report indicated that 24% of seniors in my community live in poverty. That is almost one in four seniors. That is not the worst news. This same report indicated that senior women over the age of 75 experience poverty at double the rate of men in the same age group. In my community of Hamilton, 36% of women over the age of 75 live in poverty. That is nothing less than shameful.

Our current income security system is a complex patchwork that does not cover all the holes. Hamilton is not alone. While the incomes of seniors in Canada have risen more than those of any other age group over the past 30 years, seniors still have, on average, lower incomes than people in most other age groups. Nationally, over 270,000 seniors, or almost 8%, live in poverty.

The time for action is now. Instead of a comprehensive plan like the one being presented here today, neither the Liberals, after 13 years in government, nor the Conservatives have put anything similar before the people of Canada. Instead of guaranteeing income security through protected pensions and indexed public income support for a reasonable state of economic welfare, the Conservatives campaigned on a commitment of no reduction to the three pillars of public income support, CPP, OAS and GIS. There was no increase and there was no indexing to inflation or the consumer price index--just no reduction. That is very short-sighted.

The Conservative promise is not worth much to the senior who is forced to go without food to pay the hydro bill or who cannot pay a telephone bill because the oil and home heating bills are so high. The Liberals, even after 13 years of government, were still campaigning in the last election on waiting for a report later this month before making a real promise or commitment on pharmacare or home care. For those seniors who are at risk by self-medicating or who are cutting pills in half or taking one dose instead of two daily as prescribed because they cannot afford the prescription, Liberal promises of pharmacare were cold comfort.

In my community of Hamilton, I have heard from many seniors who are injured workers. Many were forced into early retirement. Many live below the poverty line when they were used to much higher incomes. I have heard too many stories of the choices they have to make to go without food so they can pay for the medications that will allow them to get through the day.

Older Canadians have a right to income security, a right to accessible and affordable housing and a right to quality health care that includes primary, home, dental, palliative and geriatric care and pharmacare. The NDP is the only party to put forward a plan on how to achieve that. The NDP is also the only party talking about how to put forward plans for lifelong accessible and affordable recreation, education and training.

Lifelong learning opportunities is a very nice term that sometimes masks the problem many workers have in going back to school or retraining later in life when trying to secure employment after a layoff or downsizing in our changing economy. Making more loans available to our youth to become more indebted without addressing the rising costs of tuition for post-secondary education is not a solution to providing affordable and accessible education for our youth. More loans are also not a solution for retraining and education for many older persons, who must undertake this for the purpose of work retraining or other self-development later in life.

Many Canadians in their forties and fifties are forced to seek student loans to access education and training. This means that more and more people approaching retirement or in retirement are accumulating student debt. It is difficult enough to live on fixed incomes. It is even more difficult when one has an OSAP payment to make.

Yet what does the Conservative government make available to people who are seeking education and retraining opportunities to better themselves and contribute to our economy? More loans, but no tuition reduction.

Education is not the right of youth alone. Affordable education must be for Canadians of all ages. With this motion, the NDP seeks to enshrine seniors' rights to lifelong access to education and retraining as part of a larger effort on ensuring access to affordable education.

The second and equally important part of the NDP's seniors motion that we are discussing here today is the creation of a federal seniors advocate. There are many government services and programs that are targeted specifically to seniors. Although many provinces have a cabinet minister directly responsible for seniors, there is no federal equivalent. We cannot in good faith simply enact a charter of rights without ensuring that there are mechanisms available to enforce those rights.

In the case of the NDP's seniors charter, we are proposing a seniors advocate. Ensuring access to services and programs requires a coordinated effort. For example, if we look at income support programs, we see that several ministries are involved and that none of the programs are automatic. Even though the federal government has access to reliable, annual, updated information regarding people's addresses, ages and incomes, it does not do a great job of making sure people know the programs and services are available to them.

Although applying for income support programs is reasonable, it is not reasonable to allow individuals to fall through the cracks because we do not do a good enough job of letting people know when they are eligible.

In my community of Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, I am conducting information sessions on the disability tax credit to ensure that all people in my riding know about the tax credits that are available to them. The first of several forums planned will take place on June 24. These are very important, because the government, even though it knows very few people actually receive the tax credit, does not ensure that everybody who might be eligible receives the information on it.

Having an advocate for seniors, with oversight responsibilities assigned to a cabinet minister, would help coordinate federal programs directed at seniors. It would be an advocate for seniors who acts as an ombudsman, an advocate who reports annually to Parliament and examines policies and programs to ensure that there is one easy point of access for all seniors.

Although we do not have one, several other countries do. In fact, New Zealand created a minister of senior citizens in 2001. That office has many of the same reporting, monitoring and advocacy roles that today's motion suggests we adopt here in Canada.

During election campaigns, all politicians stand up and say how they are going to fight for seniors. Today in this House MPs from all parties have an opportunity to stand in the House and be counted. I hope all MPs in the House will remember their promises and support the NDP's seniors charter.

[Business of Supply, June 15th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, the repetition that comes from the member on the opposite side never ceases to amaze me. During the election campaign I ran against the former government House leader, a member of the Liberal Party. Seniors in Hamilton East—Stoney Creek told me quite clearly that 24% of them were living in poverty thanks to the magnificent job of the former Liberal Party.

I will say the same thing to the member as I said to the former prime minister, that it was not the NDP that gave his government the boot; it was the people of Canada.