Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, I think it is particularly appropriate that we are discussing this issue today. In the riding of Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, it is Take Back the Night, where a large group will gather, people will give speeches, and then there will be a march. It is very appropriate t

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, again, I thank my colleague for his passion and his desire to see people living on a good wage. However, again, I have to say that we have used a very blunt instrument with unintended consequences, when other options would probably be more effective. I have a couple

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I would like to focus in our youth and on a fairly blunt instrument in achieving what the NDP is trying to achieve, while things like the working income tax benefit and other measures would be much more appropriate. The NDP has certainly expressed concerns over the

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I would also like to welcome the member for Trinity—Spadina to the House. I am sure we will have a good year of debate forthcoming over a number of different issues. What I would like to note of particular interest is that the Liberal government had many years, but

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, the member for Davenport spent a great deal of time talking about youth, youth unemployment, and unpaid internships. That is a very important area for us to discuss. As we all know, the percentage of unemployed youth is much too high. It is important to note that ou

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, my colleague from Mississauga—Streetsville really talked about this measure as being symbolic. He talked about it as being perhaps a bit of a stunt that would impact very few workers. NDP provincial governments had the jurisdiction and the ability to make changes wh

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