Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, previous to my colleague giving his speech we heard from the member for Acadie—Bathurst. He talked about how he thought the government was not taking good care of workers in this country. I would like my colleague to talk further about some of those measures that we

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I have to say that I am proud of the record of our government in terms of what we have done for people across this country, whether it is seniors and income splitting, the working income tax benefit, the biggest increase to GIS in many years, or the universal child c

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I find it ironic that NDP members supported moving to the system that we have now and as well are acknowledging that only a few people would be affected. Obviously every person is important. Things like providing the working income tax benefit, splitting pension pla

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I want to reiterate that the number of Canadians living below the low-income cut-off is now 8.8%. It is the lowest number in Canada's history. I find it very unusual. Many years ago, when we moved from a federal system to aligning with the provincial system, the NDP

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I think it is important to recognize that labour is predominantly in the provincial jurisdiction. The majority of workers are in the provincial jurisdiction. To be quite frank, we have a government that respects jurisdiction. It respects jurisdiction for health care.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue and for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. I think we did clearly articulate what the upcoming labour needs will be across this country. My children are in their twe

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, things like our working income tax benefit have had an enormous impact across the country. The NDP voted in 1996 to align with the provinces. Our government respects the provinces. We believe they are in a good position to look at the local market conditions and th

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I welcome my colleague to the House. We look forward to many opportunities to debate issues over the upcoming year. What we have talked about is really jurisdiction and impact. What we have consistently said is that it is appropriate for provincial governments to h

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join the debate today. Canada's economic well-being and ability to harness the benefits of its ambitious trade agenda depend absolutely on our labour force. It is unusual for us to be debating an issue about raising the minimum wage. The NDP consist

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, obviously I find the debate very interesting today because it is an important debate. Our government believes that the best way to move people above the low-income cut-off is through measures such as creating jobs. The NDP has put forward a motion that will affect 0

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I listened to my hon. colleague with great interest. I think there are a few important notes to look at. Our record is very significant. We agree that creating jobs is important and that creating well-paying jobs is very important, but I would like to contrast the Co

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I would also like to note that I had the great privilege of doing some travelling this summer. I was in Cape Breton, a beautiful area of the country, and Vancouver, of course another beautiful area of the country. However, what became very clear to me is that in ev

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, the minister very articulately spoke to the provinces being in the best position to set the minimum wage guidelines. Today we are debating a motion that seems somewhat arbitrary. It seems as though the NDP has picked a number and moved forward with it. I wonder if s

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, today I hope to have the opportunity to correct some of the misinformation out there in terms of the living wage. We heard about 1996, when we moved away from aligning with the provincial standard, and I understand the NDP supported that at that time. Those members

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, there are certainly a number of concerns and flaws in the argument put forward by my hon. colleague. He talks about how many families this would impact. To be quite frank, the federally regulated workforce is what it will impact, and by most recent estimates, 0.05%