Most toxic speeches
Mr. Speaker, what do the Liberals do when a Chinese insurance company with a secret ownership structure dominated by a who's who of the Chinese Communist Party applies to buy essential seniors care facilities in Canada? They turn over the keys to one of the largest health care providers in the province of British Columbia.Nobody will do business with Anbang Insurance because of its questionable ownership, not even Wall Street firms. How can we trust it to look after our seniors in the most vulnerable times of their lives?When will the Liberals finally act in the interest of Canadian seniors and put this sale on hold?
Mr. Speaker, indeed, we have made that point very clear from the very beginning of our discussions with respect to marijuana. We are obviously going to legalize cannabis and apply a very strict regulatory regime around the use of the product. With respect to drug-impaired driving, that is already a criminal offence in Canada, and we will make sure it remains so. We will also make sure the police have the technical tools to enforce the law effectively.
Mr. Speaker, last spring, Formosa caused an environmental disaster in Vietnam that killed millions of fish, a staple in the Vietnamese diet. A new wave of repression and harassment against human rights activists followed, and 110 of those people are still behind bars. My recent letters to the Minister of Foreign Affairs remain unanswered.Will the government keep its word with regard to human rights and push for the release of these activists, including Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh and Nguyen Van Dai?
Mr. Speaker, we see a Hells Angels leader from Quebec, a Toronto man charged with possessing child pornography, an Ottawa father charged with breaking both of his newborn baby's ankles, and multiple people charged with murder. There are still over 60 vacancies on the superior court. How many more suspects will be set free on our streets before the government will take its job seriously and appoint the required judges to keep our streets safe?
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member and I think every member of this House will join me in saying that murder and sexual assault crimes are wrong. This government is taking concrete steps to appoint judges in a very efficient manner. The hon. member will know that this is the product of a judicial appointments process, which has been renewed by this government. We will continue to take recommendations from the judicial advisory committees which have been struck across this country. This will ensure that we have a criminal justice system that protects Canadians and will ensure that victims get the justice they deserve.
Mr. Speaker, during the consultations on the legalization of marijuana, Dr. Chris Rumball indicated that the Prime Minister's plan needed to take into account the sad incidents that have occurred in the United States, where the number of fatal accidents caused by drivers who tested positive for marijuana doubled in the state of Washington and tripled in Colorado.I am concerned, police officers are concerned, and Canadians are concerned. Can the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness reassure us that police officers will have the tools they need to detect whether drivers are impaired by drugs before the government legalizes marijuana?
Mr. Speaker, as the Liberals push to legalize marijuana, many Canadians are concerned about the consequences of people driving while high. We have seen these issues in Colorado, where marijuana-related traffic deaths increased by 92% between 2010 and 2014. After meetings with drug recognition experts, it is clear there is no precise way to measure impairment while under the influence of marijuana. Will the Liberals stop their drive to legalize marijuana until authorities have the tools to ensure the safety of Canadians on the road?
There we have it, Mr. Speaker, Liberal ministers getting up and saying it is status quo; every one of them except for the finance minister, who is hinting that Trump's presidency is changing everything including the budget. Therefore, instead of flowing the funds for their promises on mental health and home care, the Liberals have cynically been using that money to force provinces onto the Harper plan. As Liberal promises collapse left and right, Canadians are wondering if they will ever get the things they really need, like a national pharmacare plan. Is the Liberal government going to take responsibility for backtracking on its promises, or is it just going to blame it on Trump?
Mr. Speaker, in Texas last night, the Prime Minister received a prestigious award for his leadership in promoting dirty energy. When major polluters like Enbridge, TransCanada, BP, Shell, and others praise the Prime Minister for his policies, environmentalists and proponents of sustainable development have every reason to be concerned.Can the Minister of Environment and Climate Change provide us with some assurance that her department and the government are not on the oil companies' payroll? She could do this by killing the energy east pipeline project.
Mr. Speaker, no government in recent history has taken so long to fill watchdog vacancies as these Liberals. This should not come as a surprise as the Prime Minister is under investigation for multiple ethical transgressions. Between countless judicial vacancies and unfilled watchdog positions, the Liberals have once again proved to Canadians that they are only willing to green-light Liberal insiders and former chiefs of staff. Just yesterday, they appointed a Liberal donor to the superior court of P.E.I. The Liberals have proven once again the only families they are interested in looking after are their own.
Mr. Speaker, this government made a lot of promises that it has not kept. It keeps saying that it has helped nine out of ten families and talks about 300,000 children. Out of a population of 36 million Canadians, that is not a big proportion. Experts all agree that the vast majority of Canadians have less money in their pockets. The Liberals have no vision and they are trying to blind us with flash shots of Mr. Selfie. Spending blindly with nothing to show for it is irresponsible.When will this Liberal government finally be responsible and table a real budget to protect the future of our children and grandchildren?
Mr. Speaker, if that were accurate, the Liberals would release the numbers.Canadians are worried about the Prime Minister's plan to impose a carbon tax, while refusing to say just how much this tax will cost them. The Prime Minister is not being transparent on the carbon tax, and now he will not tell Canadians how much they are going to have to pay for his out-of-control spending.Canadians are worried that he is hiding his real agenda. Will the Liberals tell Canadians today whether they are planning on axing income splitting for seniors in this upcoming budget?
Mr. Speaker, when we were questioning the government yesterday about Canadians being turned away at the border, we were told that these persons should communicate with American authorities. In other words, the government is washing its hands of the issue, which is completely unacceptable. Instead, it should take a stand and work to guarantee the rights of Canadian citizens.Can the minister confirm that he will discuss specific cases of Canadians turned away at the border without a valid reason with his American counterpart, and ensure that there will be no further impact on Canadians who want to visit the United States?
Mr. Speaker, cuts that President Trump plans to make to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency threaten the water quality of the Great Lakes, which feed into the St. Lawrence.Until Quebec is its own country, it has to ask Ottawa to act on its behalf. Will the federal government insist that the Americans protect Quebec's largest source of drinking water, or will it turn its back on Quebeckers once again, only to kneel before dirty oil and its buddy Trump?
Mr. Speaker, the budget will not be balanced for 38 years. How is that helping our kids? The economic situation in Alberta continues to be critical. Unemployment numbers have been climbing, businesses are crippled by new taxes, and families are struggling. What Albertans need now are good jobs. Instead, the investing of local infrastructure projects by Alberta Municipalities Association says the Alberta NDP is using $300 million of the federal building Canada fund to pay down its skyrocketing debt. Can the minister guarantee that not one dollar of the Canada building fund has gone to anything but infrastructure projects?
Mr. Speaker, Swedish authorities have just arrested a Bombardier employee who has been accused of aggravated bribery. Before handing over taxpayer dollars to Bombardier, I hope that the Liberal government did its homework and checked out all of Bombardier's operations as $375 million is a lot of money and this money does not belong to the Liberals, it belongs to Canadians. My question is simple: Did the Canadian government have any knowledge of this Swedish investigation when it was giving Bombardier the money, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, last week we found out that the Liberals were cutting eight teacher positions in English language training at Brandon's Assiniboine Community College. Without language training, many of our immigrants and refugees will not be able to go to school, get jobs, or integrate into our communities.Will the Liberal government reverse this disastrous decision and reinstate this much-needed funding?
Mr. Speaker, we could do even more if the government would finally get tough on tax evasion.By voting in favour of the NDP motion this week, the government committed to close tax loopholes that benefit wealthy taxpayers. This includes tax loopholes involving stock options, which the Liberals promised to eliminate in the election campaign. Will the government commit to closing those tax loopholes in the upcoming budget?
Mr. Speaker, most Canadians would be shocked that we spend more on servicing our federal debt than we do on national defence and that a finance department report projects that continued reckless spending by the Liberals means we will not see a balanced budget until 2050. The Liberals do not want Canadians to know how bad it all is. They have simply decided to shut down the finance committee rather than study their own government's report.Can the vice-chair of the finance committee update Canadians on the priorities and planning of the finance committee for its upcoming meetings?
How about pro-environment, Mr. Speaker?Our Prime Minister keeps making promises and saying just about anything while courting American oil companies so they might award him some fairly dubious prizes.How can this government even dare to claim that it wants to meet its objectives, which it committed to by signing the Paris agreement, when clearly the Minister of the Environment is being told to keep quiet?When will this government finally be true to its word and join the G8 countries that have a strategy for the electrification of transportation?We are not going to meet our COP21 targets with four charging stations.
Mr. Speaker, it was a simple yes or no question that the Liberals refuse to answer.This reckless tax-and-spend Prime Minister will deliver a budget that will leave us with a maxed-out credit card, decades of deficit, and a huge debt that can only be financed through higher taxes.We all know that budgets actually do not balance themselves. Canadians need to know, does the Prime Minister believe that the budget should be balanced? If so, when does he plan to do it?
Qujannamiik uqaqti. Mr. Speaker, when meeting with the Daughters of the Vote in the House this Wednesday, the Prime Minister reiterated how past governments have failed indigenous people. Now is the time to right these wrongs. The Government of Nunavut has submitted two investment requests to address Nunavut's immediate need for housing and energy generation infrastructure. Will the minister commit to ensuring that Nunavummiut receive this much needed funding? Qujannamiik uqaqti.
Mr. Speaker, I do not believe that the Minister of Transport himself thinks that selling off our airports is good for travellers. If he has listened to any of the advice he has been receiving over the past year, he will have heard that this is a bad idea. However, as he has stated, the Minister of Finance will make that decision, and we now know he needs the billions of dollars that the sale of the airports to international investors will provide to hide the failure of Liberal budgeting. Just how desperate is the minister to hide his mess?
Mr. Speaker, I will take that as a yes. Now the Liberals claimed that they would spend $8 billion on infrastructure, but yesterday, the parliamentary budget officer said that they are short a whopping $2.5 billion in that promised spending. Given that the Minister of Finance enjoys increasing taxes and spending Canadians' hard-earned money, I ask the finance minister, what taxes will he be raising or introducing to vacuum even more money from Canadians to pay for this shortfall?
Mr. Speaker, for 10 long years, Stephen Harper received dozens of fossil awards. To be clear, they were ironic. Now the current Prime Minister is taking it to another level. Yesterday, a crowd of global oil and gas executives in Houston awarded the Prime Minister a true fossil award, an award for the approval of pipelines without the social licence that he said would be needed during the last election. People would be right to be confused. Is this seriously the real change Canadians were promised?
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to take this question because not only is the Canada child benefit lifting 300,000 children out of poverty across the country, but also, in my colleague's riding, families of 22,000 children are now getting a $200 tax-free benefit every month, which is more than they were getting under the previous system.
Mr. Speaker, the upcoming budget must address the tragic shortfalls in funding for mental health services. The Sask Party wants to believe everything is fine, but people in my riding face great challenges when it comes to accessing the appropriate mental health services. The federal government cannot continue to ignore the shortfall in our northern communities. People in my riding cannot afford to wait.When will the Liberals commit to a comprehensive long-term strategy that provides adequate mental health care to northerners?
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal member forgot to mention that 80% of those jobs are part time, whereas when we formed the government 80% of the jobs were full time. That is what it means to create wealth and jobs.The fact of the matter is that the next budget will be tabled on March 22, which is just around the corner. Canadians are concerned, and rightly so. Let us remember what the Liberals said. They said that they would run small deficits, but now they are running astronomical deficits. They said that they would lower taxes for Canadians, but the opposite is true. They also said that they would help small business owners, but they have done exactly the opposite by imposing additional tax burdens on them.Why would Canadians trust the Liberals?
Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Prime Minister criticized a possible new U.S. border tax, saying that he is concerned with anything that creates impediments at the border. In his words, extra tariffs are new taxes.However, it is actually this Prime Minister who is putting a new tax on all Canadians in the form of a carbon tax, which will do more to hamstring Canadian trade and competitiveness than any American border tax. Just ask Alberta and Ontario.When will the Prime Minister realize that it is his carbon tax that Canadian job creators are so worried about?
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Earlier, during oral question period, my colleague from Quebec and Minister of Families, Children and Social Development mentioned a figure about young people in my riding. We do not have the same numbers. I would like the hon. member to table his source in order to ensure that what he said in the House is true.
Mr. Speaker, every day the Minister of National Defence demonstrates what a challenge it is for him to understand fairly basic concepts.First, he made up a capability gap whose very existence the Royal Canadian Air Force denies. Second, contrary to a document he himself signed, he made a false claim about the Conservative government deploying our troops on Operation Impact without danger pay. Yesterday, he said that cadets do not use weapons, but the cadets website promotes marksmanship competitions.Is the minister giving us facts or alternative facts?
Mr. Speaker, I am happy to rise in the House again and talk about Canada having no stronger friend, partner, and ally than the United States. We share common values. We are pro jobs, pro business, and pro North America. That is why the Prime Minister and the minister are in Houston building those strong relationships with our North American partners.We have taken a balanced approach to developing our energy resources by pricing carbon pollution and creating an oceans protection plan, all the while getting our resources to market and creating 25,000 good-paying middle-class jobs.
Mr. Speaker, tax evasion and patronage scandals continue to seriously undermine the credibility of an important institution in our country. Our officials are leaving the Canada Revenue Agency to go to accounting firms that are not shy about evading taxes, firms such as KPMG, which developed a scheme with the Isle of Man. The scheme sought to help KPMG's clients avoid paying taxes in Canada. It is as simple as that.My question is simple: is the minister committed to tightening the post-employment rules to prevent situations like this, situations that erode public trust?
Mr. Speaker, recently 19 individuals crossed the border into Manitoba during a blizzard, including a pregnant woman and a toddler. The Liberal government continues to claim that the current situation is somehow the status quo, but I can say that people running across farmers' fields across the border in a blizzard is not the status quo. To make matters worse, the Prime Minister has not even answered the Premier of Manitoba's letter asking for help. During the meeting today with President Trump's official, would the Liberals point out that the U.S. no longer fits Canada's own description of a safe country for refugees?
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for his hard work on this file.The member is absolutely correct that the finance committee has no work to do. The Liberals have proposed no agenda and no bills. Conservatives put forward two motions to study jobs and to study the long-term financial impact of this budget, and the Liberal members on committee voted those Conservative motions down.Canadians sent Conservatives here to do work. Unfortunately, Liberal members on that committee do not think that way.
Mr. Speaker, I am happy to talk facts and figures, no problem. For 10 weeks, the Minister of Finance sat on a report by his own officials. It said that, if the government does not change course, the national debt will reach $1.5 trillion in 2050 and the budget will not be balanced until 2055, which is 36 years later than the Liberals projected.Why would Canadians trust people who hide such important information?
Mr. Speaker, part of the reason we are delivering for Canadians and their families is the fact that we want to get $180 billion of infrastructure into the economy and to stimulate the economy.With regard to the gas tax fund, I think there is a bit of confusion. Surely the member opposite is not suggesting that we take money and reallocate it for projects that we have already promised to deliver. Unlike the other government, we do our diligence and we announce projects when they are approved at our level. The gas tax fund does get reallocated, but not in the sums that the hon. member is suggesting. We have fulfilled that promise to transfer over to the gas tax funds the appropriate amounts allocated.
Mr. Speaker, international shipping interests are pushing for five huge commercial anchorages off the shores of Gabriola Island. This is causing great concern in the riding. This project has no local benefit. It threatens the community and the sensitive ecology of our coastline.The Liberal government should not use Harper's environmental rules to assess this project. Will the transport minister reject the request for Gabriola bulk anchorages? It is bad for our local economy, bad for climate change, and there is no upside for Canada.
Mr. Speaker, the CRA's current post-employment policy instrument is among the most stringent in Canada. Any specific disclosure of taxpayer information by either an employee or former employee is prohibited by law. Let me be very clear. This prohibition has no time limit. An employee or former employee of CRA who violates these provisions could face sanctions, including fines or imprisonment.
Mr. Speaker, our government knows that growing the economy and protecting the environment go together in the modern world. I would say that we are incredibly proud of the work this government has done on the climate change and environment file since we took office. We have accomplished more in the past year than the previous government accomplished in a decade. Our government has put in place pricing on carbon pollution. We have accelerated the phase-out of coal-fired power. We are developing a clean fuel standard to cut emissions associated with oil and gas use. We are investing in public transit and electrical vehicle infrastructure. We have taken action on short-lived climate pollutants. We have done a number of other things to ensure that we are protecting the economy while we are growing good middle-class jobs for the clean growth economy of the future.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Revenue is telling tall tales. She should start a career in stand-up. Yesterday, in response to my question, she said that the Canada Revenue Agency had very strict rules for former employees who leave to work in the private sector. In fact, there is just a handful of former CRA employees, six to be exact, who registered after going to KPMG.Enough is enough. Can someone tell us why there are no serious screening rules in place for revenue experts who set off to work for the tax evading machine?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her continued advocacy on behalf of her constituents and, indeed, all people in her province as it relates to the very real needs for mental health. She knows that we have invested in the area of mental wellness for first nations and Inuit across the country in the order of an additional $70 million that was announced earlier this year.In addition, we reached a deal with Saskatchewan, one of now nine provinces and three territories with which we have reached an agreement on mental health funding. In Saskatchewan's case, it was $150 million that will go to support expanding access to very real mental health needs in that province.
Mr. Speaker, we are committed to delivering on a mandate, and we are putting significant money, $1.5 billion, into an oceans protection plan. We need to manage our natural resources, all of our resources, and we need to spend taxpayers' money responsibly. In support of the Canadian transportation sector, it will be about building new markets and new gateways, providing better service to Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, this government is committed to creating a more innovative economy that reduces emissions, protects the environment, and creates good-paying middle-class jobs.Pricing carbon pollution will reduce emissions and provide certainty and predictability to businesses. Pricing pollution will drive innovation and clean growth. It will boost the economy and make Canada more competitive in the global market.After 10 years of inaction on the part of the previous government, this government is taking action to address climate change, and to do so in a manner that will create good middle-class jobs.
Mr. Speaker, we are committed to supporting our men and women in the Canadian Armed Forces. We do not send our troops into places like Kuwait without presenting the tax-free exemption. Our government actually got the tax-free exemption. That was done in February 2016, which was signed off by the finance minister.We are conducting a defence policy review and making sure that we are going to be looking after our troops and not just making hollow promises, as the previous government had done.
Mr. Speaker, the situation in South Sudan is deteriorating rapidly. An estimated 100,000 people are facing starvation, with a further one million people on the brink of famine. Over 250,000 children are already severely malnourished and at risk of death. Three UN agencies have declared it a famine in South Sudan. What is the government prepared to do to help the people of South Sudan?
Mr. Speaker, how wonderful to have an opportunity to announce today in this House that we have in fact come to a new agreement with three additional provinces: Alberta, Ontario, et la province de Québec.I am very pleased, because this is excellent news for the three provinces. We are going to improve health care and we going to support the provinces to ensure that Canadians have access to the health care they need.
Mr. Speaker, Canada has no stronger friend, partner, and ally than the United States. We share common values: we are pro-jobs, pro-business, and pro-North America. That is why the minister and Prime Minister are in Houston building relationships with our North American partners.We will continue to work with our continental partners to build on our energy partnership, creating good-paying middle-class jobs and opportunities for years to come. We have taken a smart, balanced approach to developing our energy resources by pricing carbon pollution and creating an ocean protections plan, all the while getting our resources to market, and creating more than 25,000 jobs.
Mr. Speaker, the coast of B.C. is home to four globally unique glass sponge reefs, the Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound glass sponge reefs. Once thought to be extinct worldwide, these 9,000-year-old glass sponges offer a vital water filtration service and are home to many aquatic species.Could the parliamentary secretary tell the House what the government is doing to protect this unique ocean feature?
Mr. Speaker, as I have said before, and as the Minister of National Revenue stated before, the CRA's current post-employment policy is among the most stringent in Canada, and the specific disclosure of taxpayer information by either an employee or a former employee is prohibited by law. Let me be very clear. This prohibition has no time limit. An employee or any former employee of the CRA who violates these provisions could face sanctions, including fines or imprisonment.
Mr. Speaker, the fact of the matter is there are over 400,000 people who move back and forth across the CanadaU.S. border every single day. This is the largest, most successful border relationship in the history of the world. We work every day to ensure that Canadians will continue to enjoy the benefits of that enormous relationship, where they will be respected and treated in the manner that any Canadian citizen has a right to expect.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are proud of our publicly funded health care system. It ensures that no Canadian has to make a choice between economic well-being and his or her health. The Minister of Health has been meeting with her provincial and territorial counterparts, reaching agreements with them on new investments on mental health and home care. As the minister has just announced, new deals have been reached with Quebec, Ontario, and Alberta. Could the minister elaborate on how this great news will benefit Canadians?
Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by thanking the member and his constituents for their recent work on the Fisheries Act.A few weeks ago, in B.C., the minister announced the Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Glass Sponge Reefs Marine Protected Area. These reefs are important habitat for many aquatic species, and I thank the indigenous, conservation, and industry partners involved in making this designation possible. Our government is further committed to increasing the proportion of marine and coastal areas that are protected to 5% this year and 10% by 2020. This is good news for Canada, and this is great news for future generations.
Mr. Speaker, CRA continues to take important steps in ensuring that we make progress in cracking down on tax cheats and ensuring a tax system that is more responsive and fair for all Canadians. Supported by the investment made in budget 2016, we made a significant investment of $444 million. Because of the investment we made, we now have more people, more technology, and more resources at our disposal. Because of these resources the agency audit activities have put in place to raise assessments of over $13 billion this fiscal year alone. This is what Canadians expect us to do
Mr. Speaker, I would be pleased to discuss with my colleague the positive impact of the Canada child benefit, not only in Canada and Quebec, but also in the Quebec City region and in his riding.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to stand in this House to remind Canadians and to remind members that it is this government that introduced a new merit-based process that is open and transparent. Every position is available online. I encourage Canadians to apply.We have taken diversity, bilingualism, and gender parity into consideration when making these important decisions. We will continue to deliver for Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, thousands of volunteer firefighters across Canada, individually, give hundreds of hours each year, risking their lives in the contribution to community safety. Roughly 80% of Alberta's firefighters are volunteers and a full 97% of fire departments are volunteer-operated. That is over 450 in our province alone. That is why the Conservative government instituted a volunteer firefighter tax credit.My question is for the finance minister, or his parliamentary secretary. Will the finance minister guarantee that this tax credit will not be cancelled in the upcoming budget?
Mr. Speaker, that answer has absolutely nothing to do with the question. Canadians are worried. The Liberal government is out of cash. The Minister of Transport refuses to say whether the government is going to sell some airports to pay the interest on the Minister of Finance's credit card.Will the minister finally give us a straight answer? Is the government going to sell the Quebec City, Montreal, and Vancouver airports, yes or no, and more importantly, tell us who the buyers will be? Canadians have the right to know.
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to rise in the House to tell Canadians that our plan is working.Today we saw that our 16 months of work paid off with the creation of 220,000 new jobs in Canada, almost all of them full-time.Anyone can see that our plan is working. We will continue to make the necessary investments in budget 2017.
Mr. Speaker, I have visited the hon. member's lovely riding and have enjoyed some of the fine wines from British Columbia and wines from across the country.The matter is under consideration by the minister. We will be happy to get back to the member very soon.
Mr. Speaker, in fact, with respect to the asylum system in our country and in the United States, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which is the authority in the world on this topic, has said that the safe third country arrangement is fully valid and without reason to change. In terms of dealing with the border crossings that are happening irregularly at places like Emerson and Lacolle, both the CBSA and the RCMP have made the appropriate arrangements to ensure that they can protect the health and safety of Canadians and the asylum seekers.
Mr. Speaker, our government recognizes that a strong, integrated, and modern transportation system is fundamental to Canada's continuing economic performance and competitiveness. We will also support greater choice, better service, lower costs, and new rights for middle-class Canadian travellers.We are working hard to improve the transportation system to better serve Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to once again rise in the House today to speak about the wonderful things that our government is doing.Once again, we are going to keep investing in the economy to help the middle class and those in need. Here is some good news. According to the numbers that came out today, over 220,000 new jobs were created in Canada over the past six months. What is more, most of these jobs are full-time jobs. That is the best job growth our country has seen in the past 10 years.
Mr. Speaker, in their 2016 deficit budget, the Liberals promised to transfer uncommitted infrastructure funds from the previous Conservative government to municipalities through the gas tax transfer fund. When they took office in November 2015, there was $837 million left to distribute to municipalities across the country. On budget day just four months later, there was just $31 million left in the pot. One problem: no municipality has a record of the money coming to their municipality, so if no one has a record of the money, where did the money go?
Mr. Speaker, over 65% of people in GlengarryPrescottRussell call French their mother tongue.We speak it at work, in business, and in our everyday lives; French is an integral part of our cultural heritage and diversity.Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration tell the House how our government is strengthening francophone communities outside Quebec through immigration?
Mr. Speaker, once again I am pleased to rise in this House today to talk about the work that our government is doing. We are going to continue to do smart investments with our economy, to help our middle-class Canadians, and to help our economy prosper.Good news: the job numbers are out today. We have seen over the past six months that over 220,000 jobs have been created. New jobs. Furthermore, most of those jobs are full time, so we can see that is evidence that our plan is working. We are going to continue to make the needed investments in budget 2017.
Mr. Speaker, we are committed to fulfilling our obligations under the Official Languages Act. Language testing is used when individuals apply to certain permanent residence programs as economic immigrants.Our department is looking for ways to level the accessibility playing field, and the cost of language testing will support the immigration application process.Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada will work with the businesses and organizations that do the testing to improve the situation.
Mr. Speaker, Canada has a very long history of working collaboratively with the United States on issues associated with clean water in the Great Lakes. We remain committed as a government to the implementation of the Canada-U.S. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and to delivery on its Great Lakes commitments through a variety of national programs. We look forward to ongoing collaboration with the U.S. administration. We will work alongside our U.S. and domestic partners to continue to promote strong action on clean water in the Great Lakes.
Mr. Speaker, as the member knows, our government is taking important steps to close the totally unacceptable housing gap in northern communities. Budget 2016 invested $76.7 million over two years in Nunavut for housing. We also committed $10.7 million over two years for renewable energy projects in off-grid and northern communities.We will continue to work with the member and the Government of Nunavut to promote the well-being of the Nunavummiut.
Mr. Speaker, our government has made a commitment to middle-class Canadians and those working hard to join it. The first item that we did when we formed government was to lower taxes for middle-class Canadians. We put in place the very generous Canada child benefit program for middle-class families. Also, we continue to go forward in helping families and children because we want all Canadians to prosper.
Mr. Speaker, as the member opposite knows, this investment that we made was for the aerospace sector, a critical sector in the Canadian economy that contributes over $28 billion to our overall growth, that contributes 211,000 jobs to our economy. This investment was critical and that is why when we made this investment we did do our due diligence in advance of entering into an agreement with Bombardier.I am aware of the situation regarding Bombardier in Sweden. Any questions related to specific activities of the company should be directed to the company, but we did do our due diligence.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague's interest in the terrible situation that is occurring right now in South Sudan.In 2016, we allocated $45 million in international aid specifically for South Sudan. We are currently reviewing the various requests for humanitarian aid, particularly for the food crisis in Nigeria, Somalia, Yemen, and South Sudan. We will be in a position to contribute even more in the coming weeks.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question.Respect for human rights is one of the fundamental principles of our foreign policy. In all of our international relations, Canada urges its friends around the world to be sure that all of their actions reflect that human rights are a priority for them. That is what we are doing because respect for human rights is an integral part of who we are as Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians have elected a government that is committed to grow the economy in order to grow the middle class. We are delighted to hear today that 220,000 new jobs have been created in the last six months, most of them full-time. This is the best record in over a decade. We are very proud of that. We look forward to continuing our agenda to grow the economy and the middle class in the next budget.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to come from a riding where we have many wineries that help contribute to our economy. Many people take pride in the products Canadian vintners produce.Recently an historic agreement was reached within the Canadian wine industry that will result in more transparent labelling for cellared in Canada, also known as blended in Canada wines. As this agreement requires the approval of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, could the agriculture minister assure the House that he will expedite all processes and approvals in order to allow our wine industry to grow and prosper and grow in prestige worldwide?
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise as part of the Liberal government that believes in Alberta and believes in Albertans. We understand the challenges facing Alberta families and will continue to deliver on our commitments to invest in infrastructure and to support economic growth and improve our communities. Working with our provincial and municipal partners, we have 127 projects with project costs of $4.2 billion invested in Alberta and I will go into detail. That includes the Yellowhead Highway extension, $230 million. That includes the Southwest Calgary Ring Road, $500 million in federal contribution. I could on for several pages, but I only have about 30 seconds. That includes $30 million federal contribution for the Calgary Green Line and Edmonton's LRT plans.
Mr. Speaker, I share the hon. gentleman's concern and very keen interest in this dimension of the issue. I can assure him that we are putting the steps in place to make sure the public is properly protected. This includes over the last three or four months testing scientifically a variety of different roadside testing devices in seven different locations across the country to ensure that they function properly under Canadian conditions.
Mr. Speaker, any decision about Canada's transportation system will be in the best interests of Canadian travellers and Canadian gateways. We will make strategic investments in trade and transportation projects that build stronger more efficient transportation corridors to international markets and help Canadian businesses to compete, grow, and create more jobs for the middle class. That is the program we are on, and we are going to continue.
Mr. Speaker, our government has made a commitment to helping seniors within this country. It is our government that reversed the age of retirement from 67 to 65.We have also put in place an increase in the guaranteed income supplement for low-income seniors, and we have made an increase of 10%. That is substantial for seniors, because it is, on average, $1,000 more a month.Our government is committed to helping seniors, and we are going to continue to do so.
Mr. Speaker, our number one priority is the economy, and we realize we need to be open to trade, open to people, and open to investment. That is why we looked at this transaction and asked if it is in our overall net economic benefit, and yes it is. We did our due diligence. We made sure that the employment levels will remain high. We will make sure that Retirement Concepts has the additional resources it needs to expand. We did our job. It is good for British Columbia, good for the economy, and good for seniors.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for KingVaughan for his question.As she said, we worked with the provinces and territories for several months and discussed ways to improve the health care system for Canadians and especially investments in mental health and home care.As I just announced, today we are very happy that we have reached agreements with three additional provinces, Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec, for making new investments. In addition to increasing the Canada health transfer, every single year, we will add additional resources to these very important shared priorities.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for GlengarryPrescottRussell for his interest in francophone immigration.Very early on in its mandate, our government reinstated the Mobilité francophone immigration program, which was cancelled prematurely by the previous government. This program will support francophone and Acadian communities outside Quebec by attracting francophone talent.As a francophone and an Acadian, I am very proud that our government continues to work with stakeholders, communities, and all members to meet or even exceed our objectives and support our vibrant francophone and Acadian communities across the country.
Mr. Speaker, the member will be proud to know that this government has introduced a new government-wide appointments process that is open, transparent, and merit-based. Our approach will actually result in the recommendation of highly qualified candidates who achieve gender parity and truly reflect Canada's diversity. All opportunities to apply are available online, and I encourage Canadians to apply.
Mr. Speaker, Mary Ng, the Liberal candidate in MarkhamThornhill and former director of appointments to the Prime Minister, bragged she was responsible for the appointment of members of the Immigration and Refugee Board. The Prime Minister's hand-picked candidate is undermining the confidence in the board. Could the Prime Minister ensure that the integrity of the Immigration and Refugee Board has not been compromised as a result of Mary Ng's political ambitions?
Mr. Speaker, what do the Liberals do when a Chinese insurance company with a secret ownership structure dominated by a who's who of the Chinese Communist Party applies to buy essential seniors care facilities in Canada? They turn over the keys to one of the largest health care providers in the province of British Columbia.Nobody will do business with Anbang Insurance because of its questionable ownership, not even Wall Street firms. How can we trust it to look after our seniors in the most vulnerable times of their lives?When will the Liberals finally act in the interest of Canadian seniors and put this sale on hold?
Mr. Speaker, indeed, we have made that point very clear from the very beginning of our discussions with respect to marijuana. We are obviously going to legalize cannabis and apply a very strict regulatory regime around the use of the product. With respect to drug-impaired driving, that is already a criminal offence in Canada, and we will make sure it remains so. We will also make sure the police have the technical tools to enforce the law effectively.
Mr. Speaker, last spring, Formosa caused an environmental disaster in Vietnam that killed millions of fish, a staple in the Vietnamese diet. A new wave of repression and harassment against human rights activists followed, and 110 of those people are still behind bars. My recent letters to the Minister of Foreign Affairs remain unanswered.Will the government keep its word with regard to human rights and push for the release of these activists, including Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh and Nguyen Van Dai?
Mr. Speaker, we see a Hells Angels leader from Quebec, a Toronto man charged with possessing child pornography, an Ottawa father charged with breaking both of his newborn baby's ankles, and multiple people charged with murder. There are still over 60 vacancies on the superior court. How many more suspects will be set free on our streets before the government will take its job seriously and appoint the required judges to keep our streets safe?
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member and I think every member of this House will join me in saying that murder and sexual assault crimes are wrong. This government is taking concrete steps to appoint judges in a very efficient manner. The hon. member will know that this is the product of a judicial appointments process, which has been renewed by this government. We will continue to take recommendations from the judicial advisory committees which have been struck across this country. This will ensure that we have a criminal justice system that protects Canadians and will ensure that victims get the justice they deserve.
Mr. Speaker, during the consultations on the legalization of marijuana, Dr. Chris Rumball indicated that the Prime Minister's plan needed to take into account the sad incidents that have occurred in the United States, where the number of fatal accidents caused by drivers who tested positive for marijuana doubled in the state of Washington and tripled in Colorado.I am concerned, police officers are concerned, and Canadians are concerned. Can the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness reassure us that police officers will have the tools they need to detect whether drivers are impaired by drugs before the government legalizes marijuana?
Mr. Speaker, as the Liberals push to legalize marijuana, many Canadians are concerned about the consequences of people driving while high. We have seen these issues in Colorado, where marijuana-related traffic deaths increased by 92% between 2010 and 2014. After meetings with drug recognition experts, it is clear there is no precise way to measure impairment while under the influence of marijuana. Will the Liberals stop their drive to legalize marijuana until authorities have the tools to ensure the safety of Canadians on the road?
There we have it, Mr. Speaker, Liberal ministers getting up and saying it is status quo; every one of them except for the finance minister, who is hinting that Trump's presidency is changing everything including the budget. Therefore, instead of flowing the funds for their promises on mental health and home care, the Liberals have cynically been using that money to force provinces onto the Harper plan. As Liberal promises collapse left and right, Canadians are wondering if they will ever get the things they really need, like a national pharmacare plan. Is the Liberal government going to take responsibility for backtracking on its promises, or is it just going to blame it on Trump?
Mr. Speaker, in Texas last night, the Prime Minister received a prestigious award for his leadership in promoting dirty energy. When major polluters like Enbridge, TransCanada, BP, Shell, and others praise the Prime Minister for his policies, environmentalists and proponents of sustainable development have every reason to be concerned.Can the Minister of Environment and Climate Change provide us with some assurance that her department and the government are not on the oil companies' payroll? She could do this by killing the energy east pipeline project.
Mr. Speaker, no government in recent history has taken so long to fill watchdog vacancies as these Liberals. This should not come as a surprise as the Prime Minister is under investigation for multiple ethical transgressions. Between countless judicial vacancies and unfilled watchdog positions, the Liberals have once again proved to Canadians that they are only willing to green-light Liberal insiders and former chiefs of staff. Just yesterday, they appointed a Liberal donor to the superior court of P.E.I. The Liberals have proven once again the only families they are interested in looking after are their own.
Mr. Speaker, this government made a lot of promises that it has not kept. It keeps saying that it has helped nine out of ten families and talks about 300,000 children. Out of a population of 36 million Canadians, that is not a big proportion. Experts all agree that the vast majority of Canadians have less money in their pockets. The Liberals have no vision and they are trying to blind us with flash shots of Mr. Selfie. Spending blindly with nothing to show for it is irresponsible.When will this Liberal government finally be responsible and table a real budget to protect the future of our children and grandchildren?
Mr. Speaker, if that were accurate, the Liberals would release the numbers.Canadians are worried about the Prime Minister's plan to impose a carbon tax, while refusing to say just how much this tax will cost them. The Prime Minister is not being transparent on the carbon tax, and now he will not tell Canadians how much they are going to have to pay for his out-of-control spending.Canadians are worried that he is hiding his real agenda. Will the Liberals tell Canadians today whether they are planning on axing income splitting for seniors in this upcoming budget?
Mr. Speaker, when we were questioning the government yesterday about Canadians being turned away at the border, we were told that these persons should communicate with American authorities. In other words, the government is washing its hands of the issue, which is completely unacceptable. Instead, it should take a stand and work to guarantee the rights of Canadian citizens.Can the minister confirm that he will discuss specific cases of Canadians turned away at the border without a valid reason with his American counterpart, and ensure that there will be no further impact on Canadians who want to visit the United States?
Mr. Speaker, cuts that President Trump plans to make to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency threaten the water quality of the Great Lakes, which feed into the St. Lawrence.Until Quebec is its own country, it has to ask Ottawa to act on its behalf. Will the federal government insist that the Americans protect Quebec's largest source of drinking water, or will it turn its back on Quebeckers once again, only to kneel before dirty oil and its buddy Trump?
Mr. Speaker, the budget will not be balanced for 38 years. How is that helping our kids? The economic situation in Alberta continues to be critical. Unemployment numbers have been climbing, businesses are crippled by new taxes, and families are struggling. What Albertans need now are good jobs. Instead, the investing of local infrastructure projects by Alberta Municipalities Association says the Alberta NDP is using $300 million of the federal building Canada fund to pay down its skyrocketing debt. Can the minister guarantee that not one dollar of the Canada building fund has gone to anything but infrastructure projects?
Mr. Speaker, Swedish authorities have just arrested a Bombardier employee who has been accused of aggravated bribery. Before handing over taxpayer dollars to Bombardier, I hope that the Liberal government did its homework and checked out all of Bombardier's operations as $375 million is a lot of money and this money does not belong to the Liberals, it belongs to Canadians. My question is simple: Did the Canadian government have any knowledge of this Swedish investigation when it was giving Bombardier the money, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, last week we found out that the Liberals were cutting eight teacher positions in English language training at Brandon's Assiniboine Community College. Without language training, many of our immigrants and refugees will not be able to go to school, get jobs, or integrate into our communities.Will the Liberal government reverse this disastrous decision and reinstate this much-needed funding?
Mr. Speaker, we could do even more if the government would finally get tough on tax evasion.By voting in favour of the NDP motion this week, the government committed to close tax loopholes that benefit wealthy taxpayers. This includes tax loopholes involving stock options, which the Liberals promised to eliminate in the election campaign. Will the government commit to closing those tax loopholes in the upcoming budget?
Mr. Speaker, most Canadians would be shocked that we spend more on servicing our federal debt than we do on national defence and that a finance department report projects that continued reckless spending by the Liberals means we will not see a balanced budget until 2050. The Liberals do not want Canadians to know how bad it all is. They have simply decided to shut down the finance committee rather than study their own government's report.Can the vice-chair of the finance committee update Canadians on the priorities and planning of the finance committee for its upcoming meetings?
How about pro-environment, Mr. Speaker?Our Prime Minister keeps making promises and saying just about anything while courting American oil companies so they might award him some fairly dubious prizes.How can this government even dare to claim that it wants to meet its objectives, which it committed to by signing the Paris agreement, when clearly the Minister of the Environment is being told to keep quiet?When will this government finally be true to its word and join the G8 countries that have a strategy for the electrification of transportation?We are not going to meet our COP21 targets with four charging stations.
Mr. Speaker, it was a simple yes or no question that the Liberals refuse to answer.This reckless tax-and-spend Prime Minister will deliver a budget that will leave us with a maxed-out credit card, decades of deficit, and a huge debt that can only be financed through higher taxes.We all know that budgets actually do not balance themselves. Canadians need to know, does the Prime Minister believe that the budget should be balanced? If so, when does he plan to do it?
Qujannamiik uqaqti. Mr. Speaker, when meeting with the Daughters of the Vote in the House this Wednesday, the Prime Minister reiterated how past governments have failed indigenous people. Now is the time to right these wrongs. The Government of Nunavut has submitted two investment requests to address Nunavut's immediate need for housing and energy generation infrastructure. Will the minister commit to ensuring that Nunavummiut receive this much needed funding? Qujannamiik uqaqti.
Mr. Speaker, I do not believe that the Minister of Transport himself thinks that selling off our airports is good for travellers. If he has listened to any of the advice he has been receiving over the past year, he will have heard that this is a bad idea. However, as he has stated, the Minister of Finance will make that decision, and we now know he needs the billions of dollars that the sale of the airports to international investors will provide to hide the failure of Liberal budgeting. Just how desperate is the minister to hide his mess?
Mr. Speaker, I will take that as a yes. Now the Liberals claimed that they would spend $8 billion on infrastructure, but yesterday, the parliamentary budget officer said that they are short a whopping $2.5 billion in that promised spending. Given that the Minister of Finance enjoys increasing taxes and spending Canadians' hard-earned money, I ask the finance minister, what taxes will he be raising or introducing to vacuum even more money from Canadians to pay for this shortfall?
Mr. Speaker, for 10 long years, Stephen Harper received dozens of fossil awards. To be clear, they were ironic. Now the current Prime Minister is taking it to another level. Yesterday, a crowd of global oil and gas executives in Houston awarded the Prime Minister a true fossil award, an award for the approval of pipelines without the social licence that he said would be needed during the last election. People would be right to be confused. Is this seriously the real change Canadians were promised?
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to take this question because not only is the Canada child benefit lifting 300,000 children out of poverty across the country, but also, in my colleague's riding, families of 22,000 children are now getting a $200 tax-free benefit every month, which is more than they were getting under the previous system.
Mr. Speaker, the upcoming budget must address the tragic shortfalls in funding for mental health services. The Sask Party wants to believe everything is fine, but people in my riding face great challenges when it comes to accessing the appropriate mental health services. The federal government cannot continue to ignore the shortfall in our northern communities. People in my riding cannot afford to wait.When will the Liberals commit to a comprehensive long-term strategy that provides adequate mental health care to northerners?
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal member forgot to mention that 80% of those jobs are part time, whereas when we formed the government 80% of the jobs were full time. That is what it means to create wealth and jobs.The fact of the matter is that the next budget will be tabled on March 22, which is just around the corner. Canadians are concerned, and rightly so. Let us remember what the Liberals said. They said that they would run small deficits, but now they are running astronomical deficits. They said that they would lower taxes for Canadians, but the opposite is true. They also said that they would help small business owners, but they have done exactly the opposite by imposing additional tax burdens on them.Why would Canadians trust the Liberals?
Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Prime Minister criticized a possible new U.S. border tax, saying that he is concerned with anything that creates impediments at the border. In his words, extra tariffs are new taxes.However, it is actually this Prime Minister who is putting a new tax on all Canadians in the form of a carbon tax, which will do more to hamstring Canadian trade and competitiveness than any American border tax. Just ask Alberta and Ontario.When will the Prime Minister realize that it is his carbon tax that Canadian job creators are so worried about?
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Earlier, during oral question period, my colleague from Quebec and Minister of Families, Children and Social Development mentioned a figure about young people in my riding. We do not have the same numbers. I would like the hon. member to table his source in order to ensure that what he said in the House is true.
Mr. Speaker, every day the Minister of National Defence demonstrates what a challenge it is for him to understand fairly basic concepts.First, he made up a capability gap whose very existence the Royal Canadian Air Force denies. Second, contrary to a document he himself signed, he made a false claim about the Conservative government deploying our troops on Operation Impact without danger pay. Yesterday, he said that cadets do not use weapons, but the cadets website promotes marksmanship competitions.Is the minister giving us facts or alternative facts?
Mr. Speaker, I am happy to rise in the House again and talk about Canada having no stronger friend, partner, and ally than the United States. We share common values. We are pro jobs, pro business, and pro North America. That is why the Prime Minister and the minister are in Houston building those strong relationships with our North American partners.We have taken a balanced approach to developing our energy resources by pricing carbon pollution and creating an oceans protection plan, all the while getting our resources to market and creating 25,000 good-paying middle-class jobs.
Mr. Speaker, tax evasion and patronage scandals continue to seriously undermine the credibility of an important institution in our country. Our officials are leaving the Canada Revenue Agency to go to accounting firms that are not shy about evading taxes, firms such as KPMG, which developed a scheme with the Isle of Man. The scheme sought to help KPMG's clients avoid paying taxes in Canada. It is as simple as that.My question is simple: is the minister committed to tightening the post-employment rules to prevent situations like this, situations that erode public trust?
Mr. Speaker, recently 19 individuals crossed the border into Manitoba during a blizzard, including a pregnant woman and a toddler. The Liberal government continues to claim that the current situation is somehow the status quo, but I can say that people running across farmers' fields across the border in a blizzard is not the status quo. To make matters worse, the Prime Minister has not even answered the Premier of Manitoba's letter asking for help. During the meeting today with President Trump's official, would the Liberals point out that the U.S. no longer fits Canada's own description of a safe country for refugees?
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for his hard work on this file.The member is absolutely correct that the finance committee has no work to do. The Liberals have proposed no agenda and no bills. Conservatives put forward two motions to study jobs and to study the long-term financial impact of this budget, and the Liberal members on committee voted those Conservative motions down.Canadians sent Conservatives here to do work. Unfortunately, Liberal members on that committee do not think that way.
Mr. Speaker, I am happy to talk facts and figures, no problem. For 10 weeks, the Minister of Finance sat on a report by his own officials. It said that, if the government does not change course, the national debt will reach $1.5 trillion in 2050 and the budget will not be balanced until 2055, which is 36 years later than the Liberals projected.Why would Canadians trust people who hide such important information?
Mr. Speaker, part of the reason we are delivering for Canadians and their families is the fact that we want to get $180 billion of infrastructure into the economy and to stimulate the economy.With regard to the gas tax fund, I think there is a bit of confusion. Surely the member opposite is not suggesting that we take money and reallocate it for projects that we have already promised to deliver. Unlike the other government, we do our diligence and we announce projects when they are approved at our level. The gas tax fund does get reallocated, but not in the sums that the hon. member is suggesting. We have fulfilled that promise to transfer over to the gas tax funds the appropriate amounts allocated.
Mr. Speaker, international shipping interests are pushing for five huge commercial anchorages off the shores of Gabriola Island. This is causing great concern in the riding. This project has no local benefit. It threatens the community and the sensitive ecology of our coastline.The Liberal government should not use Harper's environmental rules to assess this project. Will the transport minister reject the request for Gabriola bulk anchorages? It is bad for our local economy, bad for climate change, and there is no upside for Canada.
Mr. Speaker, the CRA's current post-employment policy instrument is among the most stringent in Canada. Any specific disclosure of taxpayer information by either an employee or former employee is prohibited by law. Let me be very clear. This prohibition has no time limit. An employee or former employee of CRA who violates these provisions could face sanctions, including fines or imprisonment.
Mr. Speaker, our government knows that growing the economy and protecting the environment go together in the modern world. I would say that we are incredibly proud of the work this government has done on the climate change and environment file since we took office. We have accomplished more in the past year than the previous government accomplished in a decade. Our government has put in place pricing on carbon pollution. We have accelerated the phase-out of coal-fired power. We are developing a clean fuel standard to cut emissions associated with oil and gas use. We are investing in public transit and electrical vehicle infrastructure. We have taken action on short-lived climate pollutants. We have done a number of other things to ensure that we are protecting the economy while we are growing good middle-class jobs for the clean growth economy of the future.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Revenue is telling tall tales. She should start a career in stand-up. Yesterday, in response to my question, she said that the Canada Revenue Agency had very strict rules for former employees who leave to work in the private sector. In fact, there is just a handful of former CRA employees, six to be exact, who registered after going to KPMG.Enough is enough. Can someone tell us why there are no serious screening rules in place for revenue experts who set off to work for the tax evading machine?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her continued advocacy on behalf of her constituents and, indeed, all people in her province as it relates to the very real needs for mental health. She knows that we have invested in the area of mental wellness for first nations and Inuit across the country in the order of an additional $70 million that was announced earlier this year.In addition, we reached a deal with Saskatchewan, one of now nine provinces and three territories with which we have reached an agreement on mental health funding. In Saskatchewan's case, it was $150 million that will go to support expanding access to very real mental health needs in that province.
Mr. Speaker, we are committed to delivering on a mandate, and we are putting significant money, $1.5 billion, into an oceans protection plan. We need to manage our natural resources, all of our resources, and we need to spend taxpayers' money responsibly. In support of the Canadian transportation sector, it will be about building new markets and new gateways, providing better service to Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, this government is committed to creating a more innovative economy that reduces emissions, protects the environment, and creates good-paying middle-class jobs.Pricing carbon pollution will reduce emissions and provide certainty and predictability to businesses. Pricing pollution will drive innovation and clean growth. It will boost the economy and make Canada more competitive in the global market.After 10 years of inaction on the part of the previous government, this government is taking action to address climate change, and to do so in a manner that will create good middle-class jobs.
Mr. Speaker, we are committed to supporting our men and women in the Canadian Armed Forces. We do not send our troops into places like Kuwait without presenting the tax-free exemption. Our government actually got the tax-free exemption. That was done in February 2016, which was signed off by the finance minister.We are conducting a defence policy review and making sure that we are going to be looking after our troops and not just making hollow promises, as the previous government had done.
Mr. Speaker, the situation in South Sudan is deteriorating rapidly. An estimated 100,000 people are facing starvation, with a further one million people on the brink of famine. Over 250,000 children are already severely malnourished and at risk of death. Three UN agencies have declared it a famine in South Sudan. What is the government prepared to do to help the people of South Sudan?
Mr. Speaker, how wonderful to have an opportunity to announce today in this House that we have in fact come to a new agreement with three additional provinces: Alberta, Ontario, et la province de Québec.I am very pleased, because this is excellent news for the three provinces. We are going to improve health care and we going to support the provinces to ensure that Canadians have access to the health care they need.
Mr. Speaker, Canada has no stronger friend, partner, and ally than the United States. We share common values: we are pro-jobs, pro-business, and pro-North America. That is why the minister and Prime Minister are in Houston building relationships with our North American partners.We will continue to work with our continental partners to build on our energy partnership, creating good-paying middle-class jobs and opportunities for years to come. We have taken a smart, balanced approach to developing our energy resources by pricing carbon pollution and creating an ocean protections plan, all the while getting our resources to market, and creating more than 25,000 jobs.
Mr. Speaker, the coast of B.C. is home to four globally unique glass sponge reefs, the Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound glass sponge reefs. Once thought to be extinct worldwide, these 9,000-year-old glass sponges offer a vital water filtration service and are home to many aquatic species.Could the parliamentary secretary tell the House what the government is doing to protect this unique ocean feature?
Mr. Speaker, as I have said before, and as the Minister of National Revenue stated before, the CRA's current post-employment policy is among the most stringent in Canada, and the specific disclosure of taxpayer information by either an employee or a former employee is prohibited by law. Let me be very clear. This prohibition has no time limit. An employee or any former employee of the CRA who violates these provisions could face sanctions, including fines or imprisonment.
Mr. Speaker, the fact of the matter is there are over 400,000 people who move back and forth across the CanadaU.S. border every single day. This is the largest, most successful border relationship in the history of the world. We work every day to ensure that Canadians will continue to enjoy the benefits of that enormous relationship, where they will be respected and treated in the manner that any Canadian citizen has a right to expect.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are proud of our publicly funded health care system. It ensures that no Canadian has to make a choice between economic well-being and his or her health. The Minister of Health has been meeting with her provincial and territorial counterparts, reaching agreements with them on new investments on mental health and home care. As the minister has just announced, new deals have been reached with Quebec, Ontario, and Alberta. Could the minister elaborate on how this great news will benefit Canadians?
Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by thanking the member and his constituents for their recent work on the Fisheries Act.A few weeks ago, in B.C., the minister announced the Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Glass Sponge Reefs Marine Protected Area. These reefs are important habitat for many aquatic species, and I thank the indigenous, conservation, and industry partners involved in making this designation possible. Our government is further committed to increasing the proportion of marine and coastal areas that are protected to 5% this year and 10% by 2020. This is good news for Canada, and this is great news for future generations.
Mr. Speaker, CRA continues to take important steps in ensuring that we make progress in cracking down on tax cheats and ensuring a tax system that is more responsive and fair for all Canadians. Supported by the investment made in budget 2016, we made a significant investment of $444 million. Because of the investment we made, we now have more people, more technology, and more resources at our disposal. Because of these resources the agency audit activities have put in place to raise assessments of over $13 billion this fiscal year alone. This is what Canadians expect us to do
Mr. Speaker, I would be pleased to discuss with my colleague the positive impact of the Canada child benefit, not only in Canada and Quebec, but also in the Quebec City region and in his riding.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to stand in this House to remind Canadians and to remind members that it is this government that introduced a new merit-based process that is open and transparent. Every position is available online. I encourage Canadians to apply.We have taken diversity, bilingualism, and gender parity into consideration when making these important decisions. We will continue to deliver for Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, thousands of volunteer firefighters across Canada, individually, give hundreds of hours each year, risking their lives in the contribution to community safety. Roughly 80% of Alberta's firefighters are volunteers and a full 97% of fire departments are volunteer-operated. That is over 450 in our province alone. That is why the Conservative government instituted a volunteer firefighter tax credit.My question is for the finance minister, or his parliamentary secretary. Will the finance minister guarantee that this tax credit will not be cancelled in the upcoming budget?
Mr. Speaker, that answer has absolutely nothing to do with the question. Canadians are worried. The Liberal government is out of cash. The Minister of Transport refuses to say whether the government is going to sell some airports to pay the interest on the Minister of Finance's credit card.Will the minister finally give us a straight answer? Is the government going to sell the Quebec City, Montreal, and Vancouver airports, yes or no, and more importantly, tell us who the buyers will be? Canadians have the right to know.
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to rise in the House to tell Canadians that our plan is working.Today we saw that our 16 months of work paid off with the creation of 220,000 new jobs in Canada, almost all of them full-time.Anyone can see that our plan is working. We will continue to make the necessary investments in budget 2017.
Mr. Speaker, I have visited the hon. member's lovely riding and have enjoyed some of the fine wines from British Columbia and wines from across the country.The matter is under consideration by the minister. We will be happy to get back to the member very soon.
Mr. Speaker, in fact, with respect to the asylum system in our country and in the United States, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which is the authority in the world on this topic, has said that the safe third country arrangement is fully valid and without reason to change. In terms of dealing with the border crossings that are happening irregularly at places like Emerson and Lacolle, both the CBSA and the RCMP have made the appropriate arrangements to ensure that they can protect the health and safety of Canadians and the asylum seekers.
Mr. Speaker, our government recognizes that a strong, integrated, and modern transportation system is fundamental to Canada's continuing economic performance and competitiveness. We will also support greater choice, better service, lower costs, and new rights for middle-class Canadian travellers.We are working hard to improve the transportation system to better serve Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to once again rise in the House today to speak about the wonderful things that our government is doing.Once again, we are going to keep investing in the economy to help the middle class and those in need. Here is some good news. According to the numbers that came out today, over 220,000 new jobs were created in Canada over the past six months. What is more, most of these jobs are full-time jobs. That is the best job growth our country has seen in the past 10 years.
Mr. Speaker, in their 2016 deficit budget, the Liberals promised to transfer uncommitted infrastructure funds from the previous Conservative government to municipalities through the gas tax transfer fund. When they took office in November 2015, there was $837 million left to distribute to municipalities across the country. On budget day just four months later, there was just $31 million left in the pot. One problem: no municipality has a record of the money coming to their municipality, so if no one has a record of the money, where did the money go?
Mr. Speaker, over 65% of people in GlengarryPrescottRussell call French their mother tongue.We speak it at work, in business, and in our everyday lives; French is an integral part of our cultural heritage and diversity.Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration tell the House how our government is strengthening francophone communities outside Quebec through immigration?
Mr. Speaker, once again I am pleased to rise in this House today to talk about the work that our government is doing. We are going to continue to do smart investments with our economy, to help our middle-class Canadians, and to help our economy prosper.Good news: the job numbers are out today. We have seen over the past six months that over 220,000 jobs have been created. New jobs. Furthermore, most of those jobs are full time, so we can see that is evidence that our plan is working. We are going to continue to make the needed investments in budget 2017.
Mr. Speaker, we are committed to fulfilling our obligations under the Official Languages Act. Language testing is used when individuals apply to certain permanent residence programs as economic immigrants.Our department is looking for ways to level the accessibility playing field, and the cost of language testing will support the immigration application process.Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada will work with the businesses and organizations that do the testing to improve the situation.
Mr. Speaker, Canada has a very long history of working collaboratively with the United States on issues associated with clean water in the Great Lakes. We remain committed as a government to the implementation of the Canada-U.S. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and to delivery on its Great Lakes commitments through a variety of national programs. We look forward to ongoing collaboration with the U.S. administration. We will work alongside our U.S. and domestic partners to continue to promote strong action on clean water in the Great Lakes.
Mr. Speaker, as the member knows, our government is taking important steps to close the totally unacceptable housing gap in northern communities. Budget 2016 invested $76.7 million over two years in Nunavut for housing. We also committed $10.7 million over two years for renewable energy projects in off-grid and northern communities.We will continue to work with the member and the Government of Nunavut to promote the well-being of the Nunavummiut.
Mr. Speaker, our government has made a commitment to middle-class Canadians and those working hard to join it. The first item that we did when we formed government was to lower taxes for middle-class Canadians. We put in place the very generous Canada child benefit program for middle-class families. Also, we continue to go forward in helping families and children because we want all Canadians to prosper.
Mr. Speaker, as the member opposite knows, this investment that we made was for the aerospace sector, a critical sector in the Canadian economy that contributes over $28 billion to our overall growth, that contributes 211,000 jobs to our economy. This investment was critical and that is why when we made this investment we did do our due diligence in advance of entering into an agreement with Bombardier.I am aware of the situation regarding Bombardier in Sweden. Any questions related to specific activities of the company should be directed to the company, but we did do our due diligence.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague's interest in the terrible situation that is occurring right now in South Sudan.In 2016, we allocated $45 million in international aid specifically for South Sudan. We are currently reviewing the various requests for humanitarian aid, particularly for the food crisis in Nigeria, Somalia, Yemen, and South Sudan. We will be in a position to contribute even more in the coming weeks.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question.Respect for human rights is one of the fundamental principles of our foreign policy. In all of our international relations, Canada urges its friends around the world to be sure that all of their actions reflect that human rights are a priority for them. That is what we are doing because respect for human rights is an integral part of who we are as Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians have elected a government that is committed to grow the economy in order to grow the middle class. We are delighted to hear today that 220,000 new jobs have been created in the last six months, most of them full-time. This is the best record in over a decade. We are very proud of that. We look forward to continuing our agenda to grow the economy and the middle class in the next budget.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to come from a riding where we have many wineries that help contribute to our economy. Many people take pride in the products Canadian vintners produce.Recently an historic agreement was reached within the Canadian wine industry that will result in more transparent labelling for cellared in Canada, also known as blended in Canada wines. As this agreement requires the approval of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, could the agriculture minister assure the House that he will expedite all processes and approvals in order to allow our wine industry to grow and prosper and grow in prestige worldwide?
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise as part of the Liberal government that believes in Alberta and believes in Albertans. We understand the challenges facing Alberta families and will continue to deliver on our commitments to invest in infrastructure and to support economic growth and improve our communities. Working with our provincial and municipal partners, we have 127 projects with project costs of $4.2 billion invested in Alberta and I will go into detail. That includes the Yellowhead Highway extension, $230 million. That includes the Southwest Calgary Ring Road, $500 million in federal contribution. I could on for several pages, but I only have about 30 seconds. That includes $30 million federal contribution for the Calgary Green Line and Edmonton's LRT plans.
Mr. Speaker, I share the hon. gentleman's concern and very keen interest in this dimension of the issue. I can assure him that we are putting the steps in place to make sure the public is properly protected. This includes over the last three or four months testing scientifically a variety of different roadside testing devices in seven different locations across the country to ensure that they function properly under Canadian conditions.
Mr. Speaker, any decision about Canada's transportation system will be in the best interests of Canadian travellers and Canadian gateways. We will make strategic investments in trade and transportation projects that build stronger more efficient transportation corridors to international markets and help Canadian businesses to compete, grow, and create more jobs for the middle class. That is the program we are on, and we are going to continue.
Mr. Speaker, our government has made a commitment to helping seniors within this country. It is our government that reversed the age of retirement from 67 to 65.We have also put in place an increase in the guaranteed income supplement for low-income seniors, and we have made an increase of 10%. That is substantial for seniors, because it is, on average, $1,000 more a month.Our government is committed to helping seniors, and we are going to continue to do so.
Mr. Speaker, our number one priority is the economy, and we realize we need to be open to trade, open to people, and open to investment. That is why we looked at this transaction and asked if it is in our overall net economic benefit, and yes it is. We did our due diligence. We made sure that the employment levels will remain high. We will make sure that Retirement Concepts has the additional resources it needs to expand. We did our job. It is good for British Columbia, good for the economy, and good for seniors.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for KingVaughan for his question.As she said, we worked with the provinces and territories for several months and discussed ways to improve the health care system for Canadians and especially investments in mental health and home care.As I just announced, today we are very happy that we have reached agreements with three additional provinces, Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec, for making new investments. In addition to increasing the Canada health transfer, every single year, we will add additional resources to these very important shared priorities.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for GlengarryPrescottRussell for his interest in francophone immigration.Very early on in its mandate, our government reinstated the Mobilité francophone immigration program, which was cancelled prematurely by the previous government. This program will support francophone and Acadian communities outside Quebec by attracting francophone talent.As a francophone and an Acadian, I am very proud that our government continues to work with stakeholders, communities, and all members to meet or even exceed our objectives and support our vibrant francophone and Acadian communities across the country.
Mr. Speaker, the member will be proud to know that this government has introduced a new government-wide appointments process that is open, transparent, and merit-based. Our approach will actually result in the recommendation of highly qualified candidates who achieve gender parity and truly reflect Canada's diversity. All opportunities to apply are available online, and I encourage Canadians to apply.
Mr. Speaker, Mary Ng, the Liberal candidate in MarkhamThornhill and former director of appointments to the Prime Minister, bragged she was responsible for the appointment of members of the Immigration and Refugee Board. The Prime Minister's hand-picked candidate is undermining the confidence in the board. Could the Prime Minister ensure that the integrity of the Immigration and Refugee Board has not been compromised as a result of Mary Ng's political ambitions?
Most negative speeches
Mr. Speaker, I do not believe that the Minister of Transport himself thinks that selling off our airports is good for travellers. If he has listened to any of the advice he has been receiving over the past year, he will have heard that this is a bad idea. However, as he has stated, the Minister of Finance will make that decision, and we now know he needs the billions of dollars that the sale of the airports to international investors will provide to hide the failure of Liberal budgeting. Just how desperate is the minister to hide his mess?
Mr. Speaker, in Texas last night, the Prime Minister received a prestigious award for his leadership in promoting dirty energy. When major polluters like Enbridge, TransCanada, BP, Shell, and others praise the Prime Minister for his policies, environmentalists and proponents of sustainable development have every reason to be concerned.Can the Minister of Environment and Climate Change provide us with some assurance that her department and the government are not on the oil companies' payroll? She could do this by killing the energy east pipeline project.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for his hard work on this file.The member is absolutely correct that the finance committee has no work to do. The Liberals have proposed no agenda and no bills. Conservatives put forward two motions to study jobs and to study the long-term financial impact of this budget, and the Liberal members on committee voted those Conservative motions down.Canadians sent Conservatives here to do work. Unfortunately, Liberal members on that committee do not think that way.
Mr. Speaker, what do the Liberals do when a Chinese insurance company with a secret ownership structure dominated by a who's who of the Chinese Communist Party applies to buy essential seniors care facilities in Canada? They turn over the keys to one of the largest health care providers in the province of British Columbia.Nobody will do business with Anbang Insurance because of its questionable ownership, not even Wall Street firms. How can we trust it to look after our seniors in the most vulnerable times of their lives?When will the Liberals finally act in the interest of Canadian seniors and put this sale on hold?
Mr. Speaker, during the consultations on the legalization of marijuana, Dr. Chris Rumball indicated that the Prime Minister's plan needed to take into account the sad incidents that have occurred in the United States, where the number of fatal accidents caused by drivers who tested positive for marijuana doubled in the state of Washington and tripled in Colorado.I am concerned, police officers are concerned, and Canadians are concerned. Can the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness reassure us that police officers will have the tools they need to detect whether drivers are impaired by drugs before the government legalizes marijuana?
Mr. Speaker, this government made a lot of promises that it has not kept. It keeps saying that it has helped nine out of ten families and talks about 300,000 children. Out of a population of 36 million Canadians, that is not a big proportion. Experts all agree that the vast majority of Canadians have less money in their pockets. The Liberals have no vision and they are trying to blind us with flash shots of Mr. Selfie. Spending blindly with nothing to show for it is irresponsible.When will this Liberal government finally be responsible and table a real budget to protect the future of our children and grandchildren?
Mr. Speaker, last spring, Formosa caused an environmental disaster in Vietnam that killed millions of fish, a staple in the Vietnamese diet. A new wave of repression and harassment against human rights activists followed, and 110 of those people are still behind bars. My recent letters to the Minister of Foreign Affairs remain unanswered.Will the government keep its word with regard to human rights and push for the release of these activists, including Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh and Nguyen Van Dai?
Qujannamiik uqaqti. Mr. Speaker, when meeting with the Daughters of the Vote in the House this Wednesday, the Prime Minister reiterated how past governments have failed indigenous people. Now is the time to right these wrongs. The Government of Nunavut has submitted two investment requests to address Nunavut's immediate need for housing and energy generation infrastructure. Will the minister commit to ensuring that Nunavummiut receive this much needed funding? Qujannamiik uqaqti.
Mr. Speaker, every day the Minister of National Defence demonstrates what a challenge it is for him to understand fairly basic concepts.First, he made up a capability gap whose very existence the Royal Canadian Air Force denies. Second, contrary to a document he himself signed, he made a false claim about the Conservative government deploying our troops on Operation Impact without danger pay. Yesterday, he said that cadets do not use weapons, but the cadets website promotes marksmanship competitions.Is the minister giving us facts or alternative facts?
Mr. Speaker, last week we found out that the Liberals were cutting eight teacher positions in English language training at Brandon's Assiniboine Community College. Without language training, many of our immigrants and refugees will not be able to go to school, get jobs, or integrate into our communities.Will the Liberal government reverse this disastrous decision and reinstate this much-needed funding?
There we have it, Mr. Speaker, Liberal ministers getting up and saying it is status quo; every one of them except for the finance minister, who is hinting that Trump's presidency is changing everything including the budget. Therefore, instead of flowing the funds for their promises on mental health and home care, the Liberals have cynically been using that money to force provinces onto the Harper plan. As Liberal promises collapse left and right, Canadians are wondering if they will ever get the things they really need, like a national pharmacare plan. Is the Liberal government going to take responsibility for backtracking on its promises, or is it just going to blame it on Trump?
Mr. Speaker, in their 2016 deficit budget, the Liberals promised to transfer uncommitted infrastructure funds from the previous Conservative government to municipalities through the gas tax transfer fund. When they took office in November 2015, there was $837 million left to distribute to municipalities across the country. On budget day just four months later, there was just $31 million left in the pot. One problem: no municipality has a record of the money coming to their municipality, so if no one has a record of the money, where did the money go?
Mr. Speaker, over 65% of people in GlengarryPrescottRussell call French their mother tongue.We speak it at work, in business, and in our everyday lives; French is an integral part of our cultural heritage and diversity.Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration tell the House how our government is strengthening francophone communities outside Quebec through immigration?
Mr. Speaker, international shipping interests are pushing for five huge commercial anchorages off the shores of Gabriola Island. This is causing great concern in the riding. This project has no local benefit. It threatens the community and the sensitive ecology of our coastline.The Liberal government should not use Harper's environmental rules to assess this project. Will the transport minister reject the request for Gabriola bulk anchorages? It is bad for our local economy, bad for climate change, and there is no upside for Canada.
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member and I think every member of this House will join me in saying that murder and sexual assault crimes are wrong. This government is taking concrete steps to appoint judges in a very efficient manner. The hon. member will know that this is the product of a judicial appointments process, which has been renewed by this government. We will continue to take recommendations from the judicial advisory committees which have been struck across this country. This will ensure that we have a criminal justice system that protects Canadians and will ensure that victims get the justice they deserve.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague's interest in the terrible situation that is occurring right now in South Sudan.In 2016, we allocated $45 million in international aid specifically for South Sudan. We are currently reviewing the various requests for humanitarian aid, particularly for the food crisis in Nigeria, Somalia, Yemen, and South Sudan. We will be in a position to contribute even more in the coming weeks.
Mr. Speaker, when we were questioning the government yesterday about Canadians being turned away at the border, we were told that these persons should communicate with American authorities. In other words, the government is washing its hands of the issue, which is completely unacceptable. Instead, it should take a stand and work to guarantee the rights of Canadian citizens.Can the minister confirm that he will discuss specific cases of Canadians turned away at the border without a valid reason with his American counterpart, and ensure that there will be no further impact on Canadians who want to visit the United States?
Mr. Speaker, Swedish authorities have just arrested a Bombardier employee who has been accused of aggravated bribery. Before handing over taxpayer dollars to Bombardier, I hope that the Liberal government did its homework and checked out all of Bombardier's operations as $375 million is a lot of money and this money does not belong to the Liberals, it belongs to Canadians. My question is simple: Did the Canadian government have any knowledge of this Swedish investigation when it was giving Bombardier the money, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, as the member opposite knows, this investment that we made was for the aerospace sector, a critical sector in the Canadian economy that contributes over $28 billion to our overall growth, that contributes 211,000 jobs to our economy. This investment was critical and that is why when we made this investment we did do our due diligence in advance of entering into an agreement with Bombardier.I am aware of the situation regarding Bombardier in Sweden. Any questions related to specific activities of the company should be directed to the company, but we did do our due diligence.
Mr. Speaker, the situation in South Sudan is deteriorating rapidly. An estimated 100,000 people are facing starvation, with a further one million people on the brink of famine. Over 250,000 children are already severely malnourished and at risk of death. Three UN agencies have declared it a famine in South Sudan. What is the government prepared to do to help the people of South Sudan?
Mr. Speaker, most Canadians would be shocked that we spend more on servicing our federal debt than we do on national defence and that a finance department report projects that continued reckless spending by the Liberals means we will not see a balanced budget until 2050. The Liberals do not want Canadians to know how bad it all is. They have simply decided to shut down the finance committee rather than study their own government's report.Can the vice-chair of the finance committee update Canadians on the priorities and planning of the finance committee for its upcoming meetings?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her continued advocacy on behalf of her constituents and, indeed, all people in her province as it relates to the very real needs for mental health. She knows that we have invested in the area of mental wellness for first nations and Inuit across the country in the order of an additional $70 million that was announced earlier this year.In addition, we reached a deal with Saskatchewan, one of now nine provinces and three territories with which we have reached an agreement on mental health funding. In Saskatchewan's case, it was $150 million that will go to support expanding access to very real mental health needs in that province.
Mr. Speaker, for 10 long years, Stephen Harper received dozens of fossil awards. To be clear, they were ironic. Now the current Prime Minister is taking it to another level. Yesterday, a crowd of global oil and gas executives in Houston awarded the Prime Minister a true fossil award, an award for the approval of pipelines without the social licence that he said would be needed during the last election. People would be right to be confused. Is this seriously the real change Canadians were promised?
Mr. Speaker, tax evasion and patronage scandals continue to seriously undermine the credibility of an important institution in our country. Our officials are leaving the Canada Revenue Agency to go to accounting firms that are not shy about evading taxes, firms such as KPMG, which developed a scheme with the Isle of Man. The scheme sought to help KPMG's clients avoid paying taxes in Canada. It is as simple as that.My question is simple: is the minister committed to tightening the post-employment rules to prevent situations like this, situations that erode public trust?
Mr. Speaker, our government has made a commitment to middle-class Canadians and those working hard to join it. The first item that we did when we formed government was to lower taxes for middle-class Canadians. We put in place the very generous Canada child benefit program for middle-class families. Also, we continue to go forward in helping families and children because we want all Canadians to prosper.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question.Respect for human rights is one of the fundamental principles of our foreign policy. In all of our international relations, Canada urges its friends around the world to be sure that all of their actions reflect that human rights are a priority for them. That is what we are doing because respect for human rights is an integral part of who we are as Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, Mary Ng, the Liberal candidate in MarkhamThornhill and former director of appointments to the Prime Minister, bragged she was responsible for the appointment of members of the Immigration and Refugee Board. The Prime Minister's hand-picked candidate is undermining the confidence in the board. Could the Prime Minister ensure that the integrity of the Immigration and Refugee Board has not been compromised as a result of Mary Ng's political ambitions?
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal member forgot to mention that 80% of those jobs are part time, whereas when we formed the government 80% of the jobs were full time. That is what it means to create wealth and jobs.The fact of the matter is that the next budget will be tabled on March 22, which is just around the corner. Canadians are concerned, and rightly so. Let us remember what the Liberals said. They said that they would run small deficits, but now they are running astronomical deficits. They said that they would lower taxes for Canadians, but the opposite is true. They also said that they would help small business owners, but they have done exactly the opposite by imposing additional tax burdens on them.Why would Canadians trust the Liberals?
Mr. Speaker, thousands of volunteer firefighters across Canada, individually, give hundreds of hours each year, risking their lives in the contribution to community safety. Roughly 80% of Alberta's firefighters are volunteers and a full 97% of fire departments are volunteer-operated. That is over 450 in our province alone. That is why the Conservative government instituted a volunteer firefighter tax credit.My question is for the finance minister, or his parliamentary secretary. Will the finance minister guarantee that this tax credit will not be cancelled in the upcoming budget?
Mr. Speaker, I share the hon. gentleman's concern and very keen interest in this dimension of the issue. I can assure him that we are putting the steps in place to make sure the public is properly protected. This includes over the last three or four months testing scientifically a variety of different roadside testing devices in seven different locations across the country to ensure that they function properly under Canadian conditions.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Revenue is telling tall tales. She should start a career in stand-up. Yesterday, in response to my question, she said that the Canada Revenue Agency had very strict rules for former employees who leave to work in the private sector. In fact, there is just a handful of former CRA employees, six to be exact, who registered after going to KPMG.Enough is enough. Can someone tell us why there are no serious screening rules in place for revenue experts who set off to work for the tax evading machine?
Mr. Speaker, we are committed to supporting our men and women in the Canadian Armed Forces. We do not send our troops into places like Kuwait without presenting the tax-free exemption. Our government actually got the tax-free exemption. That was done in February 2016, which was signed off by the finance minister.We are conducting a defence policy review and making sure that we are going to be looking after our troops and not just making hollow promises, as the previous government had done.
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Earlier, during oral question period, my colleague from Quebec and Minister of Families, Children and Social Development mentioned a figure about young people in my riding. We do not have the same numbers. I would like the hon. member to table his source in order to ensure that what he said in the House is true.
Mr. Speaker, Canada has no stronger friend, partner, and ally than the United States. We share common values: we are pro-jobs, pro-business, and pro-North America. That is why the minister and Prime Minister are in Houston building relationships with our North American partners.We will continue to work with our continental partners to build on our energy partnership, creating good-paying middle-class jobs and opportunities for years to come. We have taken a smart, balanced approach to developing our energy resources by pricing carbon pollution and creating an ocean protections plan, all the while getting our resources to market, and creating more than 25,000 jobs.
Mr. Speaker, the CRA's current post-employment policy instrument is among the most stringent in Canada. Any specific disclosure of taxpayer information by either an employee or former employee is prohibited by law. Let me be very clear. This prohibition has no time limit. An employee or former employee of CRA who violates these provisions could face sanctions, including fines or imprisonment.
Mr. Speaker, as I have said before, and as the Minister of National Revenue stated before, the CRA's current post-employment policy is among the most stringent in Canada, and the specific disclosure of taxpayer information by either an employee or a former employee is prohibited by law. Let me be very clear. This prohibition has no time limit. An employee or any former employee of the CRA who violates these provisions could face sanctions, including fines or imprisonment.
Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Prime Minister criticized a possible new U.S. border tax, saying that he is concerned with anything that creates impediments at the border. In his words, extra tariffs are new taxes.However, it is actually this Prime Minister who is putting a new tax on all Canadians in the form of a carbon tax, which will do more to hamstring Canadian trade and competitiveness than any American border tax. Just ask Alberta and Ontario.When will the Prime Minister realize that it is his carbon tax that Canadian job creators are so worried about?
Mr. Speaker, it was a simple yes or no question that the Liberals refuse to answer.This reckless tax-and-spend Prime Minister will deliver a budget that will leave us with a maxed-out credit card, decades of deficit, and a huge debt that can only be financed through higher taxes.We all know that budgets actually do not balance themselves. Canadians need to know, does the Prime Minister believe that the budget should be balanced? If so, when does he plan to do it?
Mr. Speaker, the upcoming budget must address the tragic shortfalls in funding for mental health services. The Sask Party wants to believe everything is fine, but people in my riding face great challenges when it comes to accessing the appropriate mental health services. The federal government cannot continue to ignore the shortfall in our northern communities. People in my riding cannot afford to wait.When will the Liberals commit to a comprehensive long-term strategy that provides adequate mental health care to northerners?
Mr. Speaker, as the Liberals push to legalize marijuana, many Canadians are concerned about the consequences of people driving while high. We have seen these issues in Colorado, where marijuana-related traffic deaths increased by 92% between 2010 and 2014. After meetings with drug recognition experts, it is clear there is no precise way to measure impairment while under the influence of marijuana. Will the Liberals stop their drive to legalize marijuana until authorities have the tools to ensure the safety of Canadians on the road?
Mr. Speaker, the budget will not be balanced for 38 years. How is that helping our kids? The economic situation in Alberta continues to be critical. Unemployment numbers have been climbing, businesses are crippled by new taxes, and families are struggling. What Albertans need now are good jobs. Instead, the investing of local infrastructure projects by Alberta Municipalities Association says the Alberta NDP is using $300 million of the federal building Canada fund to pay down its skyrocketing debt. Can the minister guarantee that not one dollar of the Canada building fund has gone to anything but infrastructure projects?
Mr. Speaker, we could do even more if the government would finally get tough on tax evasion.By voting in favour of the NDP motion this week, the government committed to close tax loopholes that benefit wealthy taxpayers. This includes tax loopholes involving stock options, which the Liberals promised to eliminate in the election campaign. Will the government commit to closing those tax loopholes in the upcoming budget?
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise as part of the Liberal government that believes in Alberta and believes in Albertans. We understand the challenges facing Alberta families and will continue to deliver on our commitments to invest in infrastructure and to support economic growth and improve our communities. Working with our provincial and municipal partners, we have 127 projects with project costs of $4.2 billion invested in Alberta and I will go into detail. That includes the Yellowhead Highway extension, $230 million. That includes the Southwest Calgary Ring Road, $500 million in federal contribution. I could on for several pages, but I only have about 30 seconds. That includes $30 million federal contribution for the Calgary Green Line and Edmonton's LRT plans.
Mr. Speaker, cuts that President Trump plans to make to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency threaten the water quality of the Great Lakes, which feed into the St. Lawrence.Until Quebec is its own country, it has to ask Ottawa to act on its behalf. Will the federal government insist that the Americans protect Quebec's largest source of drinking water, or will it turn its back on Quebeckers once again, only to kneel before dirty oil and its buddy Trump?
Mr. Speaker, no government in recent history has taken so long to fill watchdog vacancies as these Liberals. This should not come as a surprise as the Prime Minister is under investigation for multiple ethical transgressions. Between countless judicial vacancies and unfilled watchdog positions, the Liberals have once again proved to Canadians that they are only willing to green-light Liberal insiders and former chiefs of staff. Just yesterday, they appointed a Liberal donor to the superior court of P.E.I. The Liberals have proven once again the only families they are interested in looking after are their own.
Mr. Speaker, I will take that as a yes. Now the Liberals claimed that they would spend $8 billion on infrastructure, but yesterday, the parliamentary budget officer said that they are short a whopping $2.5 billion in that promised spending. Given that the Minister of Finance enjoys increasing taxes and spending Canadians' hard-earned money, I ask the finance minister, what taxes will he be raising or introducing to vacuum even more money from Canadians to pay for this shortfall?
Mr. Speaker, recently 19 individuals crossed the border into Manitoba during a blizzard, including a pregnant woman and a toddler. The Liberal government continues to claim that the current situation is somehow the status quo, but I can say that people running across farmers' fields across the border in a blizzard is not the status quo. To make matters worse, the Prime Minister has not even answered the Premier of Manitoba's letter asking for help. During the meeting today with President Trump's official, would the Liberals point out that the U.S. no longer fits Canada's own description of a safe country for refugees?
Mr. Speaker, our government has made a commitment to helping seniors within this country. It is our government that reversed the age of retirement from 67 to 65.We have also put in place an increase in the guaranteed income supplement for low-income seniors, and we have made an increase of 10%. That is substantial for seniors, because it is, on average, $1,000 more a month.Our government is committed to helping seniors, and we are going to continue to do so.
Mr. Speaker, indeed, we have made that point very clear from the very beginning of our discussions with respect to marijuana. We are obviously going to legalize cannabis and apply a very strict regulatory regime around the use of the product. With respect to drug-impaired driving, that is already a criminal offence in Canada, and we will make sure it remains so. We will also make sure the police have the technical tools to enforce the law effectively.
Mr. Speaker, our government knows that growing the economy and protecting the environment go together in the modern world. I would say that we are incredibly proud of the work this government has done on the climate change and environment file since we took office. We have accomplished more in the past year than the previous government accomplished in a decade. Our government has put in place pricing on carbon pollution. We have accelerated the phase-out of coal-fired power. We are developing a clean fuel standard to cut emissions associated with oil and gas use. We are investing in public transit and electrical vehicle infrastructure. We have taken action on short-lived climate pollutants. We have done a number of other things to ensure that we are protecting the economy while we are growing good middle-class jobs for the clean growth economy of the future.
Mr. Speaker, as the member knows, our government is taking important steps to close the totally unacceptable housing gap in northern communities. Budget 2016 invested $76.7 million over two years in Nunavut for housing. We also committed $10.7 million over two years for renewable energy projects in off-grid and northern communities.We will continue to work with the member and the Government of Nunavut to promote the well-being of the Nunavummiut.
Mr. Speaker, we are committed to fulfilling our obligations under the Official Languages Act. Language testing is used when individuals apply to certain permanent residence programs as economic immigrants.Our department is looking for ways to level the accessibility playing field, and the cost of language testing will support the immigration application process.Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada will work with the businesses and organizations that do the testing to improve the situation.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for KingVaughan for his question.As she said, we worked with the provinces and territories for several months and discussed ways to improve the health care system for Canadians and especially investments in mental health and home care.As I just announced, today we are very happy that we have reached agreements with three additional provinces, Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec, for making new investments. In addition to increasing the Canada health transfer, every single year, we will add additional resources to these very important shared priorities.
Mr. Speaker, part of the reason we are delivering for Canadians and their families is the fact that we want to get $180 billion of infrastructure into the economy and to stimulate the economy.With regard to the gas tax fund, I think there is a bit of confusion. Surely the member opposite is not suggesting that we take money and reallocate it for projects that we have already promised to deliver. Unlike the other government, we do our diligence and we announce projects when they are approved at our level. The gas tax fund does get reallocated, but not in the sums that the hon. member is suggesting. We have fulfilled that promise to transfer over to the gas tax funds the appropriate amounts allocated.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for GlengarryPrescottRussell for his interest in francophone immigration.Very early on in its mandate, our government reinstated the Mobilité francophone immigration program, which was cancelled prematurely by the previous government. This program will support francophone and Acadian communities outside Quebec by attracting francophone talent.As a francophone and an Acadian, I am very proud that our government continues to work with stakeholders, communities, and all members to meet or even exceed our objectives and support our vibrant francophone and Acadian communities across the country.
Mr. Speaker, the coast of B.C. is home to four globally unique glass sponge reefs, the Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound glass sponge reefs. Once thought to be extinct worldwide, these 9,000-year-old glass sponges offer a vital water filtration service and are home to many aquatic species.Could the parliamentary secretary tell the House what the government is doing to protect this unique ocean feature?
Mr. Speaker, I am happy to rise in the House again and talk about Canada having no stronger friend, partner, and ally than the United States. We share common values. We are pro jobs, pro business, and pro North America. That is why the Prime Minister and the minister are in Houston building those strong relationships with our North American partners.We have taken a balanced approach to developing our energy resources by pricing carbon pollution and creating an oceans protection plan, all the while getting our resources to market and creating 25,000 good-paying middle-class jobs.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to stand in this House to remind Canadians and to remind members that it is this government that introduced a new merit-based process that is open and transparent. Every position is available online. I encourage Canadians to apply.We have taken diversity, bilingualism, and gender parity into consideration when making these important decisions. We will continue to deliver for Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, our number one priority is the economy, and we realize we need to be open to trade, open to people, and open to investment. That is why we looked at this transaction and asked if it is in our overall net economic benefit, and yes it is. We did our due diligence. We made sure that the employment levels will remain high. We will make sure that Retirement Concepts has the additional resources it needs to expand. We did our job. It is good for British Columbia, good for the economy, and good for seniors.
Mr. Speaker, we are committed to delivering on a mandate, and we are putting significant money, $1.5 billion, into an oceans protection plan. We need to manage our natural resources, all of our resources, and we need to spend taxpayers' money responsibly. In support of the Canadian transportation sector, it will be about building new markets and new gateways, providing better service to Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, once again I am pleased to rise in this House today to talk about the work that our government is doing. We are going to continue to do smart investments with our economy, to help our middle-class Canadians, and to help our economy prosper.Good news: the job numbers are out today. We have seen over the past six months that over 220,000 jobs have been created. New jobs. Furthermore, most of those jobs are full time, so we can see that is evidence that our plan is working. We are going to continue to make the needed investments in budget 2017.
Mr. Speaker, I would be pleased to discuss with my colleague the positive impact of the Canada child benefit, not only in Canada and Quebec, but also in the Quebec City region and in his riding.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by thanking the member and his constituents for their recent work on the Fisheries Act.A few weeks ago, in B.C., the minister announced the Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Glass Sponge Reefs Marine Protected Area. These reefs are important habitat for many aquatic species, and I thank the indigenous, conservation, and industry partners involved in making this designation possible. Our government is further committed to increasing the proportion of marine and coastal areas that are protected to 5% this year and 10% by 2020. This is good news for Canada, and this is great news for future generations.
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to take this question because not only is the Canada child benefit lifting 300,000 children out of poverty across the country, but also, in my colleague's riding, families of 22,000 children are now getting a $200 tax-free benefit every month, which is more than they were getting under the previous system.
Mr. Speaker, the member will be proud to know that this government has introduced a new government-wide appointments process that is open, transparent, and merit-based. Our approach will actually result in the recommendation of highly qualified candidates who achieve gender parity and truly reflect Canada's diversity. All opportunities to apply are available online, and I encourage Canadians to apply.
Mr. Speaker, if that were accurate, the Liberals would release the numbers.Canadians are worried about the Prime Minister's plan to impose a carbon tax, while refusing to say just how much this tax will cost them. The Prime Minister is not being transparent on the carbon tax, and now he will not tell Canadians how much they are going to have to pay for his out-of-control spending.Canadians are worried that he is hiding his real agenda. Will the Liberals tell Canadians today whether they are planning on axing income splitting for seniors in this upcoming budget?
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to rise in the House to tell Canadians that our plan is working.Today we saw that our 16 months of work paid off with the creation of 220,000 new jobs in Canada, almost all of them full-time.Anyone can see that our plan is working. We will continue to make the necessary investments in budget 2017.
Mr. Speaker, that answer has absolutely nothing to do with the question. Canadians are worried. The Liberal government is out of cash. The Minister of Transport refuses to say whether the government is going to sell some airports to pay the interest on the Minister of Finance's credit card.Will the minister finally give us a straight answer? Is the government going to sell the Quebec City, Montreal, and Vancouver airports, yes or no, and more importantly, tell us who the buyers will be? Canadians have the right to know.
Mr. Speaker, the fact of the matter is there are over 400,000 people who move back and forth across the CanadaU.S. border every single day. This is the largest, most successful border relationship in the history of the world. We work every day to ensure that Canadians will continue to enjoy the benefits of that enormous relationship, where they will be respected and treated in the manner that any Canadian citizen has a right to expect.
How about pro-environment, Mr. Speaker?Our Prime Minister keeps making promises and saying just about anything while courting American oil companies so they might award him some fairly dubious prizes.How can this government even dare to claim that it wants to meet its objectives, which it committed to by signing the Paris agreement, when clearly the Minister of the Environment is being told to keep quiet?When will this government finally be true to its word and join the G8 countries that have a strategy for the electrification of transportation?We are not going to meet our COP21 targets with four charging stations.
Mr. Speaker, our government recognizes that a strong, integrated, and modern transportation system is fundamental to Canada's continuing economic performance and competitiveness. We will also support greater choice, better service, lower costs, and new rights for middle-class Canadian travellers.We are working hard to improve the transportation system to better serve Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, in fact, with respect to the asylum system in our country and in the United States, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which is the authority in the world on this topic, has said that the safe third country arrangement is fully valid and without reason to change. In terms of dealing with the border crossings that are happening irregularly at places like Emerson and Lacolle, both the CBSA and the RCMP have made the appropriate arrangements to ensure that they can protect the health and safety of Canadians and the asylum seekers.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are proud of our publicly funded health care system. It ensures that no Canadian has to make a choice between economic well-being and his or her health. The Minister of Health has been meeting with her provincial and territorial counterparts, reaching agreements with them on new investments on mental health and home care. As the minister has just announced, new deals have been reached with Quebec, Ontario, and Alberta. Could the minister elaborate on how this great news will benefit Canadians?
Mr. Speaker, this government is committed to creating a more innovative economy that reduces emissions, protects the environment, and creates good-paying middle-class jobs.Pricing carbon pollution will reduce emissions and provide certainty and predictability to businesses. Pricing pollution will drive innovation and clean growth. It will boost the economy and make Canada more competitive in the global market.After 10 years of inaction on the part of the previous government, this government is taking action to address climate change, and to do so in a manner that will create good middle-class jobs.
Mr. Speaker, we see a Hells Angels leader from Quebec, a Toronto man charged with possessing child pornography, an Ottawa father charged with breaking both of his newborn baby's ankles, and multiple people charged with murder. There are still over 60 vacancies on the superior court. How many more suspects will be set free on our streets before the government will take its job seriously and appoint the required judges to keep our streets safe?
Mr. Speaker, I have visited the hon. member's lovely riding and have enjoyed some of the fine wines from British Columbia and wines from across the country.The matter is under consideration by the minister. We will be happy to get back to the member very soon.
Mr. Speaker, I am happy to talk facts and figures, no problem. For 10 weeks, the Minister of Finance sat on a report by his own officials. It said that, if the government does not change course, the national debt will reach $1.5 trillion in 2050 and the budget will not be balanced until 2055, which is 36 years later than the Liberals projected.Why would Canadians trust people who hide such important information?
Mr. Speaker, Canadians have elected a government that is committed to grow the economy in order to grow the middle class. We are delighted to hear today that 220,000 new jobs have been created in the last six months, most of them full-time. This is the best record in over a decade. We are very proud of that. We look forward to continuing our agenda to grow the economy and the middle class in the next budget.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to once again rise in the House today to speak about the wonderful things that our government is doing.Once again, we are going to keep investing in the economy to help the middle class and those in need. Here is some good news. According to the numbers that came out today, over 220,000 new jobs were created in Canada over the past six months. What is more, most of these jobs are full-time jobs. That is the best job growth our country has seen in the past 10 years.
Mr. Speaker, any decision about Canada's transportation system will be in the best interests of Canadian travellers and Canadian gateways. We will make strategic investments in trade and transportation projects that build stronger more efficient transportation corridors to international markets and help Canadian businesses to compete, grow, and create more jobs for the middle class. That is the program we are on, and we are going to continue.
Mr. Speaker, CRA continues to take important steps in ensuring that we make progress in cracking down on tax cheats and ensuring a tax system that is more responsive and fair for all Canadians. Supported by the investment made in budget 2016, we made a significant investment of $444 million. Because of the investment we made, we now have more people, more technology, and more resources at our disposal. Because of these resources the agency audit activities have put in place to raise assessments of over $13 billion this fiscal year alone. This is what Canadians expect us to do
Mr. Speaker, Canada has a very long history of working collaboratively with the United States on issues associated with clean water in the Great Lakes. We remain committed as a government to the implementation of the Canada-U.S. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and to delivery on its Great Lakes commitments through a variety of national programs. We look forward to ongoing collaboration with the U.S. administration. We will work alongside our U.S. and domestic partners to continue to promote strong action on clean water in the Great Lakes.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to come from a riding where we have many wineries that help contribute to our economy. Many people take pride in the products Canadian vintners produce.Recently an historic agreement was reached within the Canadian wine industry that will result in more transparent labelling for cellared in Canada, also known as blended in Canada wines. As this agreement requires the approval of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, could the agriculture minister assure the House that he will expedite all processes and approvals in order to allow our wine industry to grow and prosper and grow in prestige worldwide?
Mr. Speaker, how wonderful to have an opportunity to announce today in this House that we have in fact come to a new agreement with three additional provinces: Alberta, Ontario, et la province de Québec.I am very pleased, because this is excellent news for the three provinces. We are going to improve health care and we going to support the provinces to ensure that Canadians have access to the health care they need.
Mr. Speaker, I do not believe that the Minister of Transport himself thinks that selling off our airports is good for travellers. If he has listened to any of the advice he has been receiving over the past year, he will have heard that this is a bad idea. However, as he has stated, the Minister of Finance will make that decision, and we now know he needs the billions of dollars that the sale of the airports to international investors will provide to hide the failure of Liberal budgeting. Just how desperate is the minister to hide his mess?
Mr. Speaker, in Texas last night, the Prime Minister received a prestigious award for his leadership in promoting dirty energy. When major polluters like Enbridge, TransCanada, BP, Shell, and others praise the Prime Minister for his policies, environmentalists and proponents of sustainable development have every reason to be concerned.Can the Minister of Environment and Climate Change provide us with some assurance that her department and the government are not on the oil companies' payroll? She could do this by killing the energy east pipeline project.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for his hard work on this file.The member is absolutely correct that the finance committee has no work to do. The Liberals have proposed no agenda and no bills. Conservatives put forward two motions to study jobs and to study the long-term financial impact of this budget, and the Liberal members on committee voted those Conservative motions down.Canadians sent Conservatives here to do work. Unfortunately, Liberal members on that committee do not think that way.
Mr. Speaker, what do the Liberals do when a Chinese insurance company with a secret ownership structure dominated by a who's who of the Chinese Communist Party applies to buy essential seniors care facilities in Canada? They turn over the keys to one of the largest health care providers in the province of British Columbia.Nobody will do business with Anbang Insurance because of its questionable ownership, not even Wall Street firms. How can we trust it to look after our seniors in the most vulnerable times of their lives?When will the Liberals finally act in the interest of Canadian seniors and put this sale on hold?
Mr. Speaker, during the consultations on the legalization of marijuana, Dr. Chris Rumball indicated that the Prime Minister's plan needed to take into account the sad incidents that have occurred in the United States, where the number of fatal accidents caused by drivers who tested positive for marijuana doubled in the state of Washington and tripled in Colorado.I am concerned, police officers are concerned, and Canadians are concerned. Can the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness reassure us that police officers will have the tools they need to detect whether drivers are impaired by drugs before the government legalizes marijuana?
Mr. Speaker, this government made a lot of promises that it has not kept. It keeps saying that it has helped nine out of ten families and talks about 300,000 children. Out of a population of 36 million Canadians, that is not a big proportion. Experts all agree that the vast majority of Canadians have less money in their pockets. The Liberals have no vision and they are trying to blind us with flash shots of Mr. Selfie. Spending blindly with nothing to show for it is irresponsible.When will this Liberal government finally be responsible and table a real budget to protect the future of our children and grandchildren?
Mr. Speaker, last spring, Formosa caused an environmental disaster in Vietnam that killed millions of fish, a staple in the Vietnamese diet. A new wave of repression and harassment against human rights activists followed, and 110 of those people are still behind bars. My recent letters to the Minister of Foreign Affairs remain unanswered.Will the government keep its word with regard to human rights and push for the release of these activists, including Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh and Nguyen Van Dai?
Qujannamiik uqaqti. Mr. Speaker, when meeting with the Daughters of the Vote in the House this Wednesday, the Prime Minister reiterated how past governments have failed indigenous people. Now is the time to right these wrongs. The Government of Nunavut has submitted two investment requests to address Nunavut's immediate need for housing and energy generation infrastructure. Will the minister commit to ensuring that Nunavummiut receive this much needed funding? Qujannamiik uqaqti.
Mr. Speaker, every day the Minister of National Defence demonstrates what a challenge it is for him to understand fairly basic concepts.First, he made up a capability gap whose very existence the Royal Canadian Air Force denies. Second, contrary to a document he himself signed, he made a false claim about the Conservative government deploying our troops on Operation Impact without danger pay. Yesterday, he said that cadets do not use weapons, but the cadets website promotes marksmanship competitions.Is the minister giving us facts or alternative facts?
Mr. Speaker, last week we found out that the Liberals were cutting eight teacher positions in English language training at Brandon's Assiniboine Community College. Without language training, many of our immigrants and refugees will not be able to go to school, get jobs, or integrate into our communities.Will the Liberal government reverse this disastrous decision and reinstate this much-needed funding?
There we have it, Mr. Speaker, Liberal ministers getting up and saying it is status quo; every one of them except for the finance minister, who is hinting that Trump's presidency is changing everything including the budget. Therefore, instead of flowing the funds for their promises on mental health and home care, the Liberals have cynically been using that money to force provinces onto the Harper plan. As Liberal promises collapse left and right, Canadians are wondering if they will ever get the things they really need, like a national pharmacare plan. Is the Liberal government going to take responsibility for backtracking on its promises, or is it just going to blame it on Trump?
Mr. Speaker, in their 2016 deficit budget, the Liberals promised to transfer uncommitted infrastructure funds from the previous Conservative government to municipalities through the gas tax transfer fund. When they took office in November 2015, there was $837 million left to distribute to municipalities across the country. On budget day just four months later, there was just $31 million left in the pot. One problem: no municipality has a record of the money coming to their municipality, so if no one has a record of the money, where did the money go?
Mr. Speaker, over 65% of people in GlengarryPrescottRussell call French their mother tongue.We speak it at work, in business, and in our everyday lives; French is an integral part of our cultural heritage and diversity.Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration tell the House how our government is strengthening francophone communities outside Quebec through immigration?
Mr. Speaker, international shipping interests are pushing for five huge commercial anchorages off the shores of Gabriola Island. This is causing great concern in the riding. This project has no local benefit. It threatens the community and the sensitive ecology of our coastline.The Liberal government should not use Harper's environmental rules to assess this project. Will the transport minister reject the request for Gabriola bulk anchorages? It is bad for our local economy, bad for climate change, and there is no upside for Canada.
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member and I think every member of this House will join me in saying that murder and sexual assault crimes are wrong. This government is taking concrete steps to appoint judges in a very efficient manner. The hon. member will know that this is the product of a judicial appointments process, which has been renewed by this government. We will continue to take recommendations from the judicial advisory committees which have been struck across this country. This will ensure that we have a criminal justice system that protects Canadians and will ensure that victims get the justice they deserve.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague's interest in the terrible situation that is occurring right now in South Sudan.In 2016, we allocated $45 million in international aid specifically for South Sudan. We are currently reviewing the various requests for humanitarian aid, particularly for the food crisis in Nigeria, Somalia, Yemen, and South Sudan. We will be in a position to contribute even more in the coming weeks.
Mr. Speaker, when we were questioning the government yesterday about Canadians being turned away at the border, we were told that these persons should communicate with American authorities. In other words, the government is washing its hands of the issue, which is completely unacceptable. Instead, it should take a stand and work to guarantee the rights of Canadian citizens.Can the minister confirm that he will discuss specific cases of Canadians turned away at the border without a valid reason with his American counterpart, and ensure that there will be no further impact on Canadians who want to visit the United States?
Mr. Speaker, Swedish authorities have just arrested a Bombardier employee who has been accused of aggravated bribery. Before handing over taxpayer dollars to Bombardier, I hope that the Liberal government did its homework and checked out all of Bombardier's operations as $375 million is a lot of money and this money does not belong to the Liberals, it belongs to Canadians. My question is simple: Did the Canadian government have any knowledge of this Swedish investigation when it was giving Bombardier the money, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, as the member opposite knows, this investment that we made was for the aerospace sector, a critical sector in the Canadian economy that contributes over $28 billion to our overall growth, that contributes 211,000 jobs to our economy. This investment was critical and that is why when we made this investment we did do our due diligence in advance of entering into an agreement with Bombardier.I am aware of the situation regarding Bombardier in Sweden. Any questions related to specific activities of the company should be directed to the company, but we did do our due diligence.
Mr. Speaker, the situation in South Sudan is deteriorating rapidly. An estimated 100,000 people are facing starvation, with a further one million people on the brink of famine. Over 250,000 children are already severely malnourished and at risk of death. Three UN agencies have declared it a famine in South Sudan. What is the government prepared to do to help the people of South Sudan?
Mr. Speaker, most Canadians would be shocked that we spend more on servicing our federal debt than we do on national defence and that a finance department report projects that continued reckless spending by the Liberals means we will not see a balanced budget until 2050. The Liberals do not want Canadians to know how bad it all is. They have simply decided to shut down the finance committee rather than study their own government's report.Can the vice-chair of the finance committee update Canadians on the priorities and planning of the finance committee for its upcoming meetings?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her continued advocacy on behalf of her constituents and, indeed, all people in her province as it relates to the very real needs for mental health. She knows that we have invested in the area of mental wellness for first nations and Inuit across the country in the order of an additional $70 million that was announced earlier this year.In addition, we reached a deal with Saskatchewan, one of now nine provinces and three territories with which we have reached an agreement on mental health funding. In Saskatchewan's case, it was $150 million that will go to support expanding access to very real mental health needs in that province.
Mr. Speaker, for 10 long years, Stephen Harper received dozens of fossil awards. To be clear, they were ironic. Now the current Prime Minister is taking it to another level. Yesterday, a crowd of global oil and gas executives in Houston awarded the Prime Minister a true fossil award, an award for the approval of pipelines without the social licence that he said would be needed during the last election. People would be right to be confused. Is this seriously the real change Canadians were promised?
Mr. Speaker, tax evasion and patronage scandals continue to seriously undermine the credibility of an important institution in our country. Our officials are leaving the Canada Revenue Agency to go to accounting firms that are not shy about evading taxes, firms such as KPMG, which developed a scheme with the Isle of Man. The scheme sought to help KPMG's clients avoid paying taxes in Canada. It is as simple as that.My question is simple: is the minister committed to tightening the post-employment rules to prevent situations like this, situations that erode public trust?
Mr. Speaker, our government has made a commitment to middle-class Canadians and those working hard to join it. The first item that we did when we formed government was to lower taxes for middle-class Canadians. We put in place the very generous Canada child benefit program for middle-class families. Also, we continue to go forward in helping families and children because we want all Canadians to prosper.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question.Respect for human rights is one of the fundamental principles of our foreign policy. In all of our international relations, Canada urges its friends around the world to be sure that all of their actions reflect that human rights are a priority for them. That is what we are doing because respect for human rights is an integral part of who we are as Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, Mary Ng, the Liberal candidate in MarkhamThornhill and former director of appointments to the Prime Minister, bragged she was responsible for the appointment of members of the Immigration and Refugee Board. The Prime Minister's hand-picked candidate is undermining the confidence in the board. Could the Prime Minister ensure that the integrity of the Immigration and Refugee Board has not been compromised as a result of Mary Ng's political ambitions?
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal member forgot to mention that 80% of those jobs are part time, whereas when we formed the government 80% of the jobs were full time. That is what it means to create wealth and jobs.The fact of the matter is that the next budget will be tabled on March 22, which is just around the corner. Canadians are concerned, and rightly so. Let us remember what the Liberals said. They said that they would run small deficits, but now they are running astronomical deficits. They said that they would lower taxes for Canadians, but the opposite is true. They also said that they would help small business owners, but they have done exactly the opposite by imposing additional tax burdens on them.Why would Canadians trust the Liberals?
Mr. Speaker, thousands of volunteer firefighters across Canada, individually, give hundreds of hours each year, risking their lives in the contribution to community safety. Roughly 80% of Alberta's firefighters are volunteers and a full 97% of fire departments are volunteer-operated. That is over 450 in our province alone. That is why the Conservative government instituted a volunteer firefighter tax credit.My question is for the finance minister, or his parliamentary secretary. Will the finance minister guarantee that this tax credit will not be cancelled in the upcoming budget?
Mr. Speaker, I share the hon. gentleman's concern and very keen interest in this dimension of the issue. I can assure him that we are putting the steps in place to make sure the public is properly protected. This includes over the last three or four months testing scientifically a variety of different roadside testing devices in seven different locations across the country to ensure that they function properly under Canadian conditions.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Revenue is telling tall tales. She should start a career in stand-up. Yesterday, in response to my question, she said that the Canada Revenue Agency had very strict rules for former employees who leave to work in the private sector. In fact, there is just a handful of former CRA employees, six to be exact, who registered after going to KPMG.Enough is enough. Can someone tell us why there are no serious screening rules in place for revenue experts who set off to work for the tax evading machine?
Mr. Speaker, we are committed to supporting our men and women in the Canadian Armed Forces. We do not send our troops into places like Kuwait without presenting the tax-free exemption. Our government actually got the tax-free exemption. That was done in February 2016, which was signed off by the finance minister.We are conducting a defence policy review and making sure that we are going to be looking after our troops and not just making hollow promises, as the previous government had done.
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Earlier, during oral question period, my colleague from Quebec and Minister of Families, Children and Social Development mentioned a figure about young people in my riding. We do not have the same numbers. I would like the hon. member to table his source in order to ensure that what he said in the House is true.
Mr. Speaker, Canada has no stronger friend, partner, and ally than the United States. We share common values: we are pro-jobs, pro-business, and pro-North America. That is why the minister and Prime Minister are in Houston building relationships with our North American partners.We will continue to work with our continental partners to build on our energy partnership, creating good-paying middle-class jobs and opportunities for years to come. We have taken a smart, balanced approach to developing our energy resources by pricing carbon pollution and creating an ocean protections plan, all the while getting our resources to market, and creating more than 25,000 jobs.
Mr. Speaker, the CRA's current post-employment policy instrument is among the most stringent in Canada. Any specific disclosure of taxpayer information by either an employee or former employee is prohibited by law. Let me be very clear. This prohibition has no time limit. An employee or former employee of CRA who violates these provisions could face sanctions, including fines or imprisonment.
Mr. Speaker, as I have said before, and as the Minister of National Revenue stated before, the CRA's current post-employment policy is among the most stringent in Canada, and the specific disclosure of taxpayer information by either an employee or a former employee is prohibited by law. Let me be very clear. This prohibition has no time limit. An employee or any former employee of the CRA who violates these provisions could face sanctions, including fines or imprisonment.
Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Prime Minister criticized a possible new U.S. border tax, saying that he is concerned with anything that creates impediments at the border. In his words, extra tariffs are new taxes.However, it is actually this Prime Minister who is putting a new tax on all Canadians in the form of a carbon tax, which will do more to hamstring Canadian trade and competitiveness than any American border tax. Just ask Alberta and Ontario.When will the Prime Minister realize that it is his carbon tax that Canadian job creators are so worried about?
Mr. Speaker, it was a simple yes or no question that the Liberals refuse to answer.This reckless tax-and-spend Prime Minister will deliver a budget that will leave us with a maxed-out credit card, decades of deficit, and a huge debt that can only be financed through higher taxes.We all know that budgets actually do not balance themselves. Canadians need to know, does the Prime Minister believe that the budget should be balanced? If so, when does he plan to do it?
Mr. Speaker, the upcoming budget must address the tragic shortfalls in funding for mental health services. The Sask Party wants to believe everything is fine, but people in my riding face great challenges when it comes to accessing the appropriate mental health services. The federal government cannot continue to ignore the shortfall in our northern communities. People in my riding cannot afford to wait.When will the Liberals commit to a comprehensive long-term strategy that provides adequate mental health care to northerners?
Mr. Speaker, as the Liberals push to legalize marijuana, many Canadians are concerned about the consequences of people driving while high. We have seen these issues in Colorado, where marijuana-related traffic deaths increased by 92% between 2010 and 2014. After meetings with drug recognition experts, it is clear there is no precise way to measure impairment while under the influence of marijuana. Will the Liberals stop their drive to legalize marijuana until authorities have the tools to ensure the safety of Canadians on the road?
Mr. Speaker, the budget will not be balanced for 38 years. How is that helping our kids? The economic situation in Alberta continues to be critical. Unemployment numbers have been climbing, businesses are crippled by new taxes, and families are struggling. What Albertans need now are good jobs. Instead, the investing of local infrastructure projects by Alberta Municipalities Association says the Alberta NDP is using $300 million of the federal building Canada fund to pay down its skyrocketing debt. Can the minister guarantee that not one dollar of the Canada building fund has gone to anything but infrastructure projects?
Mr. Speaker, we could do even more if the government would finally get tough on tax evasion.By voting in favour of the NDP motion this week, the government committed to close tax loopholes that benefit wealthy taxpayers. This includes tax loopholes involving stock options, which the Liberals promised to eliminate in the election campaign. Will the government commit to closing those tax loopholes in the upcoming budget?
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise as part of the Liberal government that believes in Alberta and believes in Albertans. We understand the challenges facing Alberta families and will continue to deliver on our commitments to invest in infrastructure and to support economic growth and improve our communities. Working with our provincial and municipal partners, we have 127 projects with project costs of $4.2 billion invested in Alberta and I will go into detail. That includes the Yellowhead Highway extension, $230 million. That includes the Southwest Calgary Ring Road, $500 million in federal contribution. I could on for several pages, but I only have about 30 seconds. That includes $30 million federal contribution for the Calgary Green Line and Edmonton's LRT plans.
Mr. Speaker, cuts that President Trump plans to make to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency threaten the water quality of the Great Lakes, which feed into the St. Lawrence.Until Quebec is its own country, it has to ask Ottawa to act on its behalf. Will the federal government insist that the Americans protect Quebec's largest source of drinking water, or will it turn its back on Quebeckers once again, only to kneel before dirty oil and its buddy Trump?
Mr. Speaker, no government in recent history has taken so long to fill watchdog vacancies as these Liberals. This should not come as a surprise as the Prime Minister is under investigation for multiple ethical transgressions. Between countless judicial vacancies and unfilled watchdog positions, the Liberals have once again proved to Canadians that they are only willing to green-light Liberal insiders and former chiefs of staff. Just yesterday, they appointed a Liberal donor to the superior court of P.E.I. The Liberals have proven once again the only families they are interested in looking after are their own.
Mr. Speaker, I will take that as a yes. Now the Liberals claimed that they would spend $8 billion on infrastructure, but yesterday, the parliamentary budget officer said that they are short a whopping $2.5 billion in that promised spending. Given that the Minister of Finance enjoys increasing taxes and spending Canadians' hard-earned money, I ask the finance minister, what taxes will he be raising or introducing to vacuum even more money from Canadians to pay for this shortfall?
Mr. Speaker, recently 19 individuals crossed the border into Manitoba during a blizzard, including a pregnant woman and a toddler. The Liberal government continues to claim that the current situation is somehow the status quo, but I can say that people running across farmers' fields across the border in a blizzard is not the status quo. To make matters worse, the Prime Minister has not even answered the Premier of Manitoba's letter asking for help. During the meeting today with President Trump's official, would the Liberals point out that the U.S. no longer fits Canada's own description of a safe country for refugees?
Mr. Speaker, our government has made a commitment to helping seniors within this country. It is our government that reversed the age of retirement from 67 to 65.We have also put in place an increase in the guaranteed income supplement for low-income seniors, and we have made an increase of 10%. That is substantial for seniors, because it is, on average, $1,000 more a month.Our government is committed to helping seniors, and we are going to continue to do so.
Mr. Speaker, indeed, we have made that point very clear from the very beginning of our discussions with respect to marijuana. We are obviously going to legalize cannabis and apply a very strict regulatory regime around the use of the product. With respect to drug-impaired driving, that is already a criminal offence in Canada, and we will make sure it remains so. We will also make sure the police have the technical tools to enforce the law effectively.
Mr. Speaker, our government knows that growing the economy and protecting the environment go together in the modern world. I would say that we are incredibly proud of the work this government has done on the climate change and environment file since we took office. We have accomplished more in the past year than the previous government accomplished in a decade. Our government has put in place pricing on carbon pollution. We have accelerated the phase-out of coal-fired power. We are developing a clean fuel standard to cut emissions associated with oil and gas use. We are investing in public transit and electrical vehicle infrastructure. We have taken action on short-lived climate pollutants. We have done a number of other things to ensure that we are protecting the economy while we are growing good middle-class jobs for the clean growth economy of the future.
Mr. Speaker, as the member knows, our government is taking important steps to close the totally unacceptable housing gap in northern communities. Budget 2016 invested $76.7 million over two years in Nunavut for housing. We also committed $10.7 million over two years for renewable energy projects in off-grid and northern communities.We will continue to work with the member and the Government of Nunavut to promote the well-being of the Nunavummiut.
Mr. Speaker, we are committed to fulfilling our obligations under the Official Languages Act. Language testing is used when individuals apply to certain permanent residence programs as economic immigrants.Our department is looking for ways to level the accessibility playing field, and the cost of language testing will support the immigration application process.Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada will work with the businesses and organizations that do the testing to improve the situation.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for KingVaughan for his question.As she said, we worked with the provinces and territories for several months and discussed ways to improve the health care system for Canadians and especially investments in mental health and home care.As I just announced, today we are very happy that we have reached agreements with three additional provinces, Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec, for making new investments. In addition to increasing the Canada health transfer, every single year, we will add additional resources to these very important shared priorities.
Mr. Speaker, part of the reason we are delivering for Canadians and their families is the fact that we want to get $180 billion of infrastructure into the economy and to stimulate the economy.With regard to the gas tax fund, I think there is a bit of confusion. Surely the member opposite is not suggesting that we take money and reallocate it for projects that we have already promised to deliver. Unlike the other government, we do our diligence and we announce projects when they are approved at our level. The gas tax fund does get reallocated, but not in the sums that the hon. member is suggesting. We have fulfilled that promise to transfer over to the gas tax funds the appropriate amounts allocated.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for GlengarryPrescottRussell for his interest in francophone immigration.Very early on in its mandate, our government reinstated the Mobilité francophone immigration program, which was cancelled prematurely by the previous government. This program will support francophone and Acadian communities outside Quebec by attracting francophone talent.As a francophone and an Acadian, I am very proud that our government continues to work with stakeholders, communities, and all members to meet or even exceed our objectives and support our vibrant francophone and Acadian communities across the country.
Mr. Speaker, the coast of B.C. is home to four globally unique glass sponge reefs, the Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound glass sponge reefs. Once thought to be extinct worldwide, these 9,000-year-old glass sponges offer a vital water filtration service and are home to many aquatic species.Could the parliamentary secretary tell the House what the government is doing to protect this unique ocean feature?
Mr. Speaker, I am happy to rise in the House again and talk about Canada having no stronger friend, partner, and ally than the United States. We share common values. We are pro jobs, pro business, and pro North America. That is why the Prime Minister and the minister are in Houston building those strong relationships with our North American partners.We have taken a balanced approach to developing our energy resources by pricing carbon pollution and creating an oceans protection plan, all the while getting our resources to market and creating 25,000 good-paying middle-class jobs.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to stand in this House to remind Canadians and to remind members that it is this government that introduced a new merit-based process that is open and transparent. Every position is available online. I encourage Canadians to apply.We have taken diversity, bilingualism, and gender parity into consideration when making these important decisions. We will continue to deliver for Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, our number one priority is the economy, and we realize we need to be open to trade, open to people, and open to investment. That is why we looked at this transaction and asked if it is in our overall net economic benefit, and yes it is. We did our due diligence. We made sure that the employment levels will remain high. We will make sure that Retirement Concepts has the additional resources it needs to expand. We did our job. It is good for British Columbia, good for the economy, and good for seniors.
Mr. Speaker, we are committed to delivering on a mandate, and we are putting significant money, $1.5 billion, into an oceans protection plan. We need to manage our natural resources, all of our resources, and we need to spend taxpayers' money responsibly. In support of the Canadian transportation sector, it will be about building new markets and new gateways, providing better service to Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, once again I am pleased to rise in this House today to talk about the work that our government is doing. We are going to continue to do smart investments with our economy, to help our middle-class Canadians, and to help our economy prosper.Good news: the job numbers are out today. We have seen over the past six months that over 220,000 jobs have been created. New jobs. Furthermore, most of those jobs are full time, so we can see that is evidence that our plan is working. We are going to continue to make the needed investments in budget 2017.
Mr. Speaker, I would be pleased to discuss with my colleague the positive impact of the Canada child benefit, not only in Canada and Quebec, but also in the Quebec City region and in his riding.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by thanking the member and his constituents for their recent work on the Fisheries Act.A few weeks ago, in B.C., the minister announced the Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Glass Sponge Reefs Marine Protected Area. These reefs are important habitat for many aquatic species, and I thank the indigenous, conservation, and industry partners involved in making this designation possible. Our government is further committed to increasing the proportion of marine and coastal areas that are protected to 5% this year and 10% by 2020. This is good news for Canada, and this is great news for future generations.
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to take this question because not only is the Canada child benefit lifting 300,000 children out of poverty across the country, but also, in my colleague's riding, families of 22,000 children are now getting a $200 tax-free benefit every month, which is more than they were getting under the previous system.
Mr. Speaker, the member will be proud to know that this government has introduced a new government-wide appointments process that is open, transparent, and merit-based. Our approach will actually result in the recommendation of highly qualified candidates who achieve gender parity and truly reflect Canada's diversity. All opportunities to apply are available online, and I encourage Canadians to apply.
Mr. Speaker, if that were accurate, the Liberals would release the numbers.Canadians are worried about the Prime Minister's plan to impose a carbon tax, while refusing to say just how much this tax will cost them. The Prime Minister is not being transparent on the carbon tax, and now he will not tell Canadians how much they are going to have to pay for his out-of-control spending.Canadians are worried that he is hiding his real agenda. Will the Liberals tell Canadians today whether they are planning on axing income splitting for seniors in this upcoming budget?
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to rise in the House to tell Canadians that our plan is working.Today we saw that our 16 months of work paid off with the creation of 220,000 new jobs in Canada, almost all of them full-time.Anyone can see that our plan is working. We will continue to make the necessary investments in budget 2017.
Mr. Speaker, that answer has absolutely nothing to do with the question. Canadians are worried. The Liberal government is out of cash. The Minister of Transport refuses to say whether the government is going to sell some airports to pay the interest on the Minister of Finance's credit card.Will the minister finally give us a straight answer? Is the government going to sell the Quebec City, Montreal, and Vancouver airports, yes or no, and more importantly, tell us who the buyers will be? Canadians have the right to know.
Mr. Speaker, the fact of the matter is there are over 400,000 people who move back and forth across the CanadaU.S. border every single day. This is the largest, most successful border relationship in the history of the world. We work every day to ensure that Canadians will continue to enjoy the benefits of that enormous relationship, where they will be respected and treated in the manner that any Canadian citizen has a right to expect.
How about pro-environment, Mr. Speaker?Our Prime Minister keeps making promises and saying just about anything while courting American oil companies so they might award him some fairly dubious prizes.How can this government even dare to claim that it wants to meet its objectives, which it committed to by signing the Paris agreement, when clearly the Minister of the Environment is being told to keep quiet?When will this government finally be true to its word and join the G8 countries that have a strategy for the electrification of transportation?We are not going to meet our COP21 targets with four charging stations.
Mr. Speaker, our government recognizes that a strong, integrated, and modern transportation system is fundamental to Canada's continuing economic performance and competitiveness. We will also support greater choice, better service, lower costs, and new rights for middle-class Canadian travellers.We are working hard to improve the transportation system to better serve Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, in fact, with respect to the asylum system in our country and in the United States, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which is the authority in the world on this topic, has said that the safe third country arrangement is fully valid and without reason to change. In terms of dealing with the border crossings that are happening irregularly at places like Emerson and Lacolle, both the CBSA and the RCMP have made the appropriate arrangements to ensure that they can protect the health and safety of Canadians and the asylum seekers.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are proud of our publicly funded health care system. It ensures that no Canadian has to make a choice between economic well-being and his or her health. The Minister of Health has been meeting with her provincial and territorial counterparts, reaching agreements with them on new investments on mental health and home care. As the minister has just announced, new deals have been reached with Quebec, Ontario, and Alberta. Could the minister elaborate on how this great news will benefit Canadians?
Mr. Speaker, this government is committed to creating a more innovative economy that reduces emissions, protects the environment, and creates good-paying middle-class jobs.Pricing carbon pollution will reduce emissions and provide certainty and predictability to businesses. Pricing pollution will drive innovation and clean growth. It will boost the economy and make Canada more competitive in the global market.After 10 years of inaction on the part of the previous government, this government is taking action to address climate change, and to do so in a manner that will create good middle-class jobs.
Mr. Speaker, we see a Hells Angels leader from Quebec, a Toronto man charged with possessing child pornography, an Ottawa father charged with breaking both of his newborn baby's ankles, and multiple people charged with murder. There are still over 60 vacancies on the superior court. How many more suspects will be set free on our streets before the government will take its job seriously and appoint the required judges to keep our streets safe?
Mr. Speaker, I have visited the hon. member's lovely riding and have enjoyed some of the fine wines from British Columbia and wines from across the country.The matter is under consideration by the minister. We will be happy to get back to the member very soon.
Mr. Speaker, I am happy to talk facts and figures, no problem. For 10 weeks, the Minister of Finance sat on a report by his own officials. It said that, if the government does not change course, the national debt will reach $1.5 trillion in 2050 and the budget will not be balanced until 2055, which is 36 years later than the Liberals projected.Why would Canadians trust people who hide such important information?
Mr. Speaker, Canadians have elected a government that is committed to grow the economy in order to grow the middle class. We are delighted to hear today that 220,000 new jobs have been created in the last six months, most of them full-time. This is the best record in over a decade. We are very proud of that. We look forward to continuing our agenda to grow the economy and the middle class in the next budget.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to once again rise in the House today to speak about the wonderful things that our government is doing.Once again, we are going to keep investing in the economy to help the middle class and those in need. Here is some good news. According to the numbers that came out today, over 220,000 new jobs were created in Canada over the past six months. What is more, most of these jobs are full-time jobs. That is the best job growth our country has seen in the past 10 years.
Mr. Speaker, any decision about Canada's transportation system will be in the best interests of Canadian travellers and Canadian gateways. We will make strategic investments in trade and transportation projects that build stronger more efficient transportation corridors to international markets and help Canadian businesses to compete, grow, and create more jobs for the middle class. That is the program we are on, and we are going to continue.
Mr. Speaker, CRA continues to take important steps in ensuring that we make progress in cracking down on tax cheats and ensuring a tax system that is more responsive and fair for all Canadians. Supported by the investment made in budget 2016, we made a significant investment of $444 million. Because of the investment we made, we now have more people, more technology, and more resources at our disposal. Because of these resources the agency audit activities have put in place to raise assessments of over $13 billion this fiscal year alone. This is what Canadians expect us to do
Mr. Speaker, Canada has a very long history of working collaboratively with the United States on issues associated with clean water in the Great Lakes. We remain committed as a government to the implementation of the Canada-U.S. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and to delivery on its Great Lakes commitments through a variety of national programs. We look forward to ongoing collaboration with the U.S. administration. We will work alongside our U.S. and domestic partners to continue to promote strong action on clean water in the Great Lakes.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to come from a riding where we have many wineries that help contribute to our economy. Many people take pride in the products Canadian vintners produce.Recently an historic agreement was reached within the Canadian wine industry that will result in more transparent labelling for cellared in Canada, also known as blended in Canada wines. As this agreement requires the approval of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, could the agriculture minister assure the House that he will expedite all processes and approvals in order to allow our wine industry to grow and prosper and grow in prestige worldwide?
Mr. Speaker, how wonderful to have an opportunity to announce today in this House that we have in fact come to a new agreement with three additional provinces: Alberta, Ontario, et la province de Québec.I am very pleased, because this is excellent news for the three provinces. We are going to improve health care and we going to support the provinces to ensure that Canadians have access to the health care they need.
Most positive speeches
Mr. Speaker, how wonderful to have an opportunity to announce today in this House that we have in fact come to a new agreement with three additional provinces: Alberta, Ontario, et la province de Québec.I am very pleased, because this is excellent news for the three provinces. We are going to improve health care and we going to support the provinces to ensure that Canadians have access to the health care they need.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to come from a riding where we have many wineries that help contribute to our economy. Many people take pride in the products Canadian vintners produce.Recently an historic agreement was reached within the Canadian wine industry that will result in more transparent labelling for cellared in Canada, also known as blended in Canada wines. As this agreement requires the approval of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, could the agriculture minister assure the House that he will expedite all processes and approvals in order to allow our wine industry to grow and prosper and grow in prestige worldwide?
Mr. Speaker, Canada has a very long history of working collaboratively with the United States on issues associated with clean water in the Great Lakes. We remain committed as a government to the implementation of the Canada-U.S. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and to delivery on its Great Lakes commitments through a variety of national programs. We look forward to ongoing collaboration with the U.S. administration. We will work alongside our U.S. and domestic partners to continue to promote strong action on clean water in the Great Lakes.
Mr. Speaker, CRA continues to take important steps in ensuring that we make progress in cracking down on tax cheats and ensuring a tax system that is more responsive and fair for all Canadians. Supported by the investment made in budget 2016, we made a significant investment of $444 million. Because of the investment we made, we now have more people, more technology, and more resources at our disposal. Because of these resources the agency audit activities have put in place to raise assessments of over $13 billion this fiscal year alone. This is what Canadians expect us to do
Mr. Speaker, any decision about Canada's transportation system will be in the best interests of Canadian travellers and Canadian gateways. We will make strategic investments in trade and transportation projects that build stronger more efficient transportation corridors to international markets and help Canadian businesses to compete, grow, and create more jobs for the middle class. That is the program we are on, and we are going to continue.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to once again rise in the House today to speak about the wonderful things that our government is doing.Once again, we are going to keep investing in the economy to help the middle class and those in need. Here is some good news. According to the numbers that came out today, over 220,000 new jobs were created in Canada over the past six months. What is more, most of these jobs are full-time jobs. That is the best job growth our country has seen in the past 10 years.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians have elected a government that is committed to grow the economy in order to grow the middle class. We are delighted to hear today that 220,000 new jobs have been created in the last six months, most of them full-time. This is the best record in over a decade. We are very proud of that. We look forward to continuing our agenda to grow the economy and the middle class in the next budget.
Mr. Speaker, I am happy to talk facts and figures, no problem. For 10 weeks, the Minister of Finance sat on a report by his own officials. It said that, if the government does not change course, the national debt will reach $1.5 trillion in 2050 and the budget will not be balanced until 2055, which is 36 years later than the Liberals projected.Why would Canadians trust people who hide such important information?
Mr. Speaker, I have visited the hon. member's lovely riding and have enjoyed some of the fine wines from British Columbia and wines from across the country.The matter is under consideration by the minister. We will be happy to get back to the member very soon.
Mr. Speaker, we see a Hells Angels leader from Quebec, a Toronto man charged with possessing child pornography, an Ottawa father charged with breaking both of his newborn baby's ankles, and multiple people charged with murder. There are still over 60 vacancies on the superior court. How many more suspects will be set free on our streets before the government will take its job seriously and appoint the required judges to keep our streets safe?
Mr. Speaker, this government is committed to creating a more innovative economy that reduces emissions, protects the environment, and creates good-paying middle-class jobs.Pricing carbon pollution will reduce emissions and provide certainty and predictability to businesses. Pricing pollution will drive innovation and clean growth. It will boost the economy and make Canada more competitive in the global market.After 10 years of inaction on the part of the previous government, this government is taking action to address climate change, and to do so in a manner that will create good middle-class jobs.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are proud of our publicly funded health care system. It ensures that no Canadian has to make a choice between economic well-being and his or her health. The Minister of Health has been meeting with her provincial and territorial counterparts, reaching agreements with them on new investments on mental health and home care. As the minister has just announced, new deals have been reached with Quebec, Ontario, and Alberta. Could the minister elaborate on how this great news will benefit Canadians?
Mr. Speaker, in fact, with respect to the asylum system in our country and in the United States, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which is the authority in the world on this topic, has said that the safe third country arrangement is fully valid and without reason to change. In terms of dealing with the border crossings that are happening irregularly at places like Emerson and Lacolle, both the CBSA and the RCMP have made the appropriate arrangements to ensure that they can protect the health and safety of Canadians and the asylum seekers.
Mr. Speaker, our government recognizes that a strong, integrated, and modern transportation system is fundamental to Canada's continuing economic performance and competitiveness. We will also support greater choice, better service, lower costs, and new rights for middle-class Canadian travellers.We are working hard to improve the transportation system to better serve Canadians.
How about pro-environment, Mr. Speaker?Our Prime Minister keeps making promises and saying just about anything while courting American oil companies so they might award him some fairly dubious prizes.How can this government even dare to claim that it wants to meet its objectives, which it committed to by signing the Paris agreement, when clearly the Minister of the Environment is being told to keep quiet?When will this government finally be true to its word and join the G8 countries that have a strategy for the electrification of transportation?We are not going to meet our COP21 targets with four charging stations.
Mr. Speaker, the fact of the matter is there are over 400,000 people who move back and forth across the CanadaU.S. border every single day. This is the largest, most successful border relationship in the history of the world. We work every day to ensure that Canadians will continue to enjoy the benefits of that enormous relationship, where they will be respected and treated in the manner that any Canadian citizen has a right to expect.
Mr. Speaker, that answer has absolutely nothing to do with the question. Canadians are worried. The Liberal government is out of cash. The Minister of Transport refuses to say whether the government is going to sell some airports to pay the interest on the Minister of Finance's credit card.Will the minister finally give us a straight answer? Is the government going to sell the Quebec City, Montreal, and Vancouver airports, yes or no, and more importantly, tell us who the buyers will be? Canadians have the right to know.
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to rise in the House to tell Canadians that our plan is working.Today we saw that our 16 months of work paid off with the creation of 220,000 new jobs in Canada, almost all of them full-time.Anyone can see that our plan is working. We will continue to make the necessary investments in budget 2017.
Mr. Speaker, if that were accurate, the Liberals would release the numbers.Canadians are worried about the Prime Minister's plan to impose a carbon tax, while refusing to say just how much this tax will cost them. The Prime Minister is not being transparent on the carbon tax, and now he will not tell Canadians how much they are going to have to pay for his out-of-control spending.Canadians are worried that he is hiding his real agenda. Will the Liberals tell Canadians today whether they are planning on axing income splitting for seniors in this upcoming budget?
Mr. Speaker, the member will be proud to know that this government has introduced a new government-wide appointments process that is open, transparent, and merit-based. Our approach will actually result in the recommendation of highly qualified candidates who achieve gender parity and truly reflect Canada's diversity. All opportunities to apply are available online, and I encourage Canadians to apply.
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to take this question because not only is the Canada child benefit lifting 300,000 children out of poverty across the country, but also, in my colleague's riding, families of 22,000 children are now getting a $200 tax-free benefit every month, which is more than they were getting under the previous system.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by thanking the member and his constituents for their recent work on the Fisheries Act.A few weeks ago, in B.C., the minister announced the Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Glass Sponge Reefs Marine Protected Area. These reefs are important habitat for many aquatic species, and I thank the indigenous, conservation, and industry partners involved in making this designation possible. Our government is further committed to increasing the proportion of marine and coastal areas that are protected to 5% this year and 10% by 2020. This is good news for Canada, and this is great news for future generations.
Mr. Speaker, I would be pleased to discuss with my colleague the positive impact of the Canada child benefit, not only in Canada and Quebec, but also in the Quebec City region and in his riding.
Mr. Speaker, once again I am pleased to rise in this House today to talk about the work that our government is doing. We are going to continue to do smart investments with our economy, to help our middle-class Canadians, and to help our economy prosper.Good news: the job numbers are out today. We have seen over the past six months that over 220,000 jobs have been created. New jobs. Furthermore, most of those jobs are full time, so we can see that is evidence that our plan is working. We are going to continue to make the needed investments in budget 2017.
Mr. Speaker, we are committed to delivering on a mandate, and we are putting significant money, $1.5 billion, into an oceans protection plan. We need to manage our natural resources, all of our resources, and we need to spend taxpayers' money responsibly. In support of the Canadian transportation sector, it will be about building new markets and new gateways, providing better service to Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, our number one priority is the economy, and we realize we need to be open to trade, open to people, and open to investment. That is why we looked at this transaction and asked if it is in our overall net economic benefit, and yes it is. We did our due diligence. We made sure that the employment levels will remain high. We will make sure that Retirement Concepts has the additional resources it needs to expand. We did our job. It is good for British Columbia, good for the economy, and good for seniors.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to stand in this House to remind Canadians and to remind members that it is this government that introduced a new merit-based process that is open and transparent. Every position is available online. I encourage Canadians to apply.We have taken diversity, bilingualism, and gender parity into consideration when making these important decisions. We will continue to deliver for Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, I am happy to rise in the House again and talk about Canada having no stronger friend, partner, and ally than the United States. We share common values. We are pro jobs, pro business, and pro North America. That is why the Prime Minister and the minister are in Houston building those strong relationships with our North American partners.We have taken a balanced approach to developing our energy resources by pricing carbon pollution and creating an oceans protection plan, all the while getting our resources to market and creating 25,000 good-paying middle-class jobs.
Mr. Speaker, the coast of B.C. is home to four globally unique glass sponge reefs, the Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound glass sponge reefs. Once thought to be extinct worldwide, these 9,000-year-old glass sponges offer a vital water filtration service and are home to many aquatic species.Could the parliamentary secretary tell the House what the government is doing to protect this unique ocean feature?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for GlengarryPrescottRussell for his interest in francophone immigration.Very early on in its mandate, our government reinstated the Mobilité francophone immigration program, which was cancelled prematurely by the previous government. This program will support francophone and Acadian communities outside Quebec by attracting francophone talent.As a francophone and an Acadian, I am very proud that our government continues to work with stakeholders, communities, and all members to meet or even exceed our objectives and support our vibrant francophone and Acadian communities across the country.
Mr. Speaker, part of the reason we are delivering for Canadians and their families is the fact that we want to get $180 billion of infrastructure into the economy and to stimulate the economy.With regard to the gas tax fund, I think there is a bit of confusion. Surely the member opposite is not suggesting that we take money and reallocate it for projects that we have already promised to deliver. Unlike the other government, we do our diligence and we announce projects when they are approved at our level. The gas tax fund does get reallocated, but not in the sums that the hon. member is suggesting. We have fulfilled that promise to transfer over to the gas tax funds the appropriate amounts allocated.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for KingVaughan for his question.As she said, we worked with the provinces and territories for several months and discussed ways to improve the health care system for Canadians and especially investments in mental health and home care.As I just announced, today we are very happy that we have reached agreements with three additional provinces, Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec, for making new investments. In addition to increasing the Canada health transfer, every single year, we will add additional resources to these very important shared priorities.
Mr. Speaker, we are committed to fulfilling our obligations under the Official Languages Act. Language testing is used when individuals apply to certain permanent residence programs as economic immigrants.Our department is looking for ways to level the accessibility playing field, and the cost of language testing will support the immigration application process.Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada will work with the businesses and organizations that do the testing to improve the situation.
Mr. Speaker, as the member knows, our government is taking important steps to close the totally unacceptable housing gap in northern communities. Budget 2016 invested $76.7 million over two years in Nunavut for housing. We also committed $10.7 million over two years for renewable energy projects in off-grid and northern communities.We will continue to work with the member and the Government of Nunavut to promote the well-being of the Nunavummiut.
Mr. Speaker, our government knows that growing the economy and protecting the environment go together in the modern world. I would say that we are incredibly proud of the work this government has done on the climate change and environment file since we took office. We have accomplished more in the past year than the previous government accomplished in a decade. Our government has put in place pricing on carbon pollution. We have accelerated the phase-out of coal-fired power. We are developing a clean fuel standard to cut emissions associated with oil and gas use. We are investing in public transit and electrical vehicle infrastructure. We have taken action on short-lived climate pollutants. We have done a number of other things to ensure that we are protecting the economy while we are growing good middle-class jobs for the clean growth economy of the future.
Mr. Speaker, indeed, we have made that point very clear from the very beginning of our discussions with respect to marijuana. We are obviously going to legalize cannabis and apply a very strict regulatory regime around the use of the product. With respect to drug-impaired driving, that is already a criminal offence in Canada, and we will make sure it remains so. We will also make sure the police have the technical tools to enforce the law effectively.
Mr. Speaker, our government has made a commitment to helping seniors within this country. It is our government that reversed the age of retirement from 67 to 65.We have also put in place an increase in the guaranteed income supplement for low-income seniors, and we have made an increase of 10%. That is substantial for seniors, because it is, on average, $1,000 more a month.Our government is committed to helping seniors, and we are going to continue to do so.
Mr. Speaker, recently 19 individuals crossed the border into Manitoba during a blizzard, including a pregnant woman and a toddler. The Liberal government continues to claim that the current situation is somehow the status quo, but I can say that people running across farmers' fields across the border in a blizzard is not the status quo. To make matters worse, the Prime Minister has not even answered the Premier of Manitoba's letter asking for help. During the meeting today with President Trump's official, would the Liberals point out that the U.S. no longer fits Canada's own description of a safe country for refugees?
Mr. Speaker, I will take that as a yes. Now the Liberals claimed that they would spend $8 billion on infrastructure, but yesterday, the parliamentary budget officer said that they are short a whopping $2.5 billion in that promised spending. Given that the Minister of Finance enjoys increasing taxes and spending Canadians' hard-earned money, I ask the finance minister, what taxes will he be raising or introducing to vacuum even more money from Canadians to pay for this shortfall?
Mr. Speaker, no government in recent history has taken so long to fill watchdog vacancies as these Liberals. This should not come as a surprise as the Prime Minister is under investigation for multiple ethical transgressions. Between countless judicial vacancies and unfilled watchdog positions, the Liberals have once again proved to Canadians that they are only willing to green-light Liberal insiders and former chiefs of staff. Just yesterday, they appointed a Liberal donor to the superior court of P.E.I. The Liberals have proven once again the only families they are interested in looking after are their own.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise as part of the Liberal government that believes in Alberta and believes in Albertans. We understand the challenges facing Alberta families and will continue to deliver on our commitments to invest in infrastructure and to support economic growth and improve our communities. Working with our provincial and municipal partners, we have 127 projects with project costs of $4.2 billion invested in Alberta and I will go into detail. That includes the Yellowhead Highway extension, $230 million. That includes the Southwest Calgary Ring Road, $500 million in federal contribution. I could on for several pages, but I only have about 30 seconds. That includes $30 million federal contribution for the Calgary Green Line and Edmonton's LRT plans.
Mr. Speaker, cuts that President Trump plans to make to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency threaten the water quality of the Great Lakes, which feed into the St. Lawrence.Until Quebec is its own country, it has to ask Ottawa to act on its behalf. Will the federal government insist that the Americans protect Quebec's largest source of drinking water, or will it turn its back on Quebeckers once again, only to kneel before dirty oil and its buddy Trump?
Mr. Speaker, we could do even more if the government would finally get tough on tax evasion.By voting in favour of the NDP motion this week, the government committed to close tax loopholes that benefit wealthy taxpayers. This includes tax loopholes involving stock options, which the Liberals promised to eliminate in the election campaign. Will the government commit to closing those tax loopholes in the upcoming budget?
Mr. Speaker, the budget will not be balanced for 38 years. How is that helping our kids? The economic situation in Alberta continues to be critical. Unemployment numbers have been climbing, businesses are crippled by new taxes, and families are struggling. What Albertans need now are good jobs. Instead, the investing of local infrastructure projects by Alberta Municipalities Association says the Alberta NDP is using $300 million of the federal building Canada fund to pay down its skyrocketing debt. Can the minister guarantee that not one dollar of the Canada building fund has gone to anything but infrastructure projects?
Mr. Speaker, as the Liberals push to legalize marijuana, many Canadians are concerned about the consequences of people driving while high. We have seen these issues in Colorado, where marijuana-related traffic deaths increased by 92% between 2010 and 2014. After meetings with drug recognition experts, it is clear there is no precise way to measure impairment while under the influence of marijuana. Will the Liberals stop their drive to legalize marijuana until authorities have the tools to ensure the safety of Canadians on the road?
Mr. Speaker, the upcoming budget must address the tragic shortfalls in funding for mental health services. The Sask Party wants to believe everything is fine, but people in my riding face great challenges when it comes to accessing the appropriate mental health services. The federal government cannot continue to ignore the shortfall in our northern communities. People in my riding cannot afford to wait.When will the Liberals commit to a comprehensive long-term strategy that provides adequate mental health care to northerners?
Mr. Speaker, it was a simple yes or no question that the Liberals refuse to answer.This reckless tax-and-spend Prime Minister will deliver a budget that will leave us with a maxed-out credit card, decades of deficit, and a huge debt that can only be financed through higher taxes.We all know that budgets actually do not balance themselves. Canadians need to know, does the Prime Minister believe that the budget should be balanced? If so, when does he plan to do it?
Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Prime Minister criticized a possible new U.S. border tax, saying that he is concerned with anything that creates impediments at the border. In his words, extra tariffs are new taxes.However, it is actually this Prime Minister who is putting a new tax on all Canadians in the form of a carbon tax, which will do more to hamstring Canadian trade and competitiveness than any American border tax. Just ask Alberta and Ontario.When will the Prime Minister realize that it is his carbon tax that Canadian job creators are so worried about?
Mr. Speaker, the CRA's current post-employment policy instrument is among the most stringent in Canada. Any specific disclosure of taxpayer information by either an employee or former employee is prohibited by law. Let me be very clear. This prohibition has no time limit. An employee or former employee of CRA who violates these provisions could face sanctions, including fines or imprisonment.
Mr. Speaker, as I have said before, and as the Minister of National Revenue stated before, the CRA's current post-employment policy is among the most stringent in Canada, and the specific disclosure of taxpayer information by either an employee or a former employee is prohibited by law. Let me be very clear. This prohibition has no time limit. An employee or any former employee of the CRA who violates these provisions could face sanctions, including fines or imprisonment.
Mr. Speaker, Canada has no stronger friend, partner, and ally than the United States. We share common values: we are pro-jobs, pro-business, and pro-North America. That is why the minister and Prime Minister are in Houston building relationships with our North American partners.We will continue to work with our continental partners to build on our energy partnership, creating good-paying middle-class jobs and opportunities for years to come. We have taken a smart, balanced approach to developing our energy resources by pricing carbon pollution and creating an ocean protections plan, all the while getting our resources to market, and creating more than 25,000 jobs.
Mr. Speaker, we are committed to supporting our men and women in the Canadian Armed Forces. We do not send our troops into places like Kuwait without presenting the tax-free exemption. Our government actually got the tax-free exemption. That was done in February 2016, which was signed off by the finance minister.We are conducting a defence policy review and making sure that we are going to be looking after our troops and not just making hollow promises, as the previous government had done.
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Earlier, during oral question period, my colleague from Quebec and Minister of Families, Children and Social Development mentioned a figure about young people in my riding. We do not have the same numbers. I would like the hon. member to table his source in order to ensure that what he said in the House is true.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Revenue is telling tall tales. She should start a career in stand-up. Yesterday, in response to my question, she said that the Canada Revenue Agency had very strict rules for former employees who leave to work in the private sector. In fact, there is just a handful of former CRA employees, six to be exact, who registered after going to KPMG.Enough is enough. Can someone tell us why there are no serious screening rules in place for revenue experts who set off to work for the tax evading machine?
Mr. Speaker, I share the hon. gentleman's concern and very keen interest in this dimension of the issue. I can assure him that we are putting the steps in place to make sure the public is properly protected. This includes over the last three or four months testing scientifically a variety of different roadside testing devices in seven different locations across the country to ensure that they function properly under Canadian conditions.
Mr. Speaker, thousands of volunteer firefighters across Canada, individually, give hundreds of hours each year, risking their lives in the contribution to community safety. Roughly 80% of Alberta's firefighters are volunteers and a full 97% of fire departments are volunteer-operated. That is over 450 in our province alone. That is why the Conservative government instituted a volunteer firefighter tax credit.My question is for the finance minister, or his parliamentary secretary. Will the finance minister guarantee that this tax credit will not be cancelled in the upcoming budget?
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal member forgot to mention that 80% of those jobs are part time, whereas when we formed the government 80% of the jobs were full time. That is what it means to create wealth and jobs.The fact of the matter is that the next budget will be tabled on March 22, which is just around the corner. Canadians are concerned, and rightly so. Let us remember what the Liberals said. They said that they would run small deficits, but now they are running astronomical deficits. They said that they would lower taxes for Canadians, but the opposite is true. They also said that they would help small business owners, but they have done exactly the opposite by imposing additional tax burdens on them.Why would Canadians trust the Liberals?
Mr. Speaker, Mary Ng, the Liberal candidate in MarkhamThornhill and former director of appointments to the Prime Minister, bragged she was responsible for the appointment of members of the Immigration and Refugee Board. The Prime Minister's hand-picked candidate is undermining the confidence in the board. Could the Prime Minister ensure that the integrity of the Immigration and Refugee Board has not been compromised as a result of Mary Ng's political ambitions?
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question.Respect for human rights is one of the fundamental principles of our foreign policy. In all of our international relations, Canada urges its friends around the world to be sure that all of their actions reflect that human rights are a priority for them. That is what we are doing because respect for human rights is an integral part of who we are as Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, our government has made a commitment to middle-class Canadians and those working hard to join it. The first item that we did when we formed government was to lower taxes for middle-class Canadians. We put in place the very generous Canada child benefit program for middle-class families. Also, we continue to go forward in helping families and children because we want all Canadians to prosper.
Mr. Speaker, tax evasion and patronage scandals continue to seriously undermine the credibility of an important institution in our country. Our officials are leaving the Canada Revenue Agency to go to accounting firms that are not shy about evading taxes, firms such as KPMG, which developed a scheme with the Isle of Man. The scheme sought to help KPMG's clients avoid paying taxes in Canada. It is as simple as that.My question is simple: is the minister committed to tightening the post-employment rules to prevent situations like this, situations that erode public trust?
Mr. Speaker, for 10 long years, Stephen Harper received dozens of fossil awards. To be clear, they were ironic. Now the current Prime Minister is taking it to another level. Yesterday, a crowd of global oil and gas executives in Houston awarded the Prime Minister a true fossil award, an award for the approval of pipelines without the social licence that he said would be needed during the last election. People would be right to be confused. Is this seriously the real change Canadians were promised?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her continued advocacy on behalf of her constituents and, indeed, all people in her province as it relates to the very real needs for mental health. She knows that we have invested in the area of mental wellness for first nations and Inuit across the country in the order of an additional $70 million that was announced earlier this year.In addition, we reached a deal with Saskatchewan, one of now nine provinces and three territories with which we have reached an agreement on mental health funding. In Saskatchewan's case, it was $150 million that will go to support expanding access to very real mental health needs in that province.
Mr. Speaker, most Canadians would be shocked that we spend more on servicing our federal debt than we do on national defence and that a finance department report projects that continued reckless spending by the Liberals means we will not see a balanced budget until 2050. The Liberals do not want Canadians to know how bad it all is. They have simply decided to shut down the finance committee rather than study their own government's report.Can the vice-chair of the finance committee update Canadians on the priorities and planning of the finance committee for its upcoming meetings?
Mr. Speaker, Swedish authorities have just arrested a Bombardier employee who has been accused of aggravated bribery. Before handing over taxpayer dollars to Bombardier, I hope that the Liberal government did its homework and checked out all of Bombardier's operations as $375 million is a lot of money and this money does not belong to the Liberals, it belongs to Canadians. My question is simple: Did the Canadian government have any knowledge of this Swedish investigation when it was giving Bombardier the money, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, as the member opposite knows, this investment that we made was for the aerospace sector, a critical sector in the Canadian economy that contributes over $28 billion to our overall growth, that contributes 211,000 jobs to our economy. This investment was critical and that is why when we made this investment we did do our due diligence in advance of entering into an agreement with Bombardier.I am aware of the situation regarding Bombardier in Sweden. Any questions related to specific activities of the company should be directed to the company, but we did do our due diligence.
Mr. Speaker, the situation in South Sudan is deteriorating rapidly. An estimated 100,000 people are facing starvation, with a further one million people on the brink of famine. Over 250,000 children are already severely malnourished and at risk of death. Three UN agencies have declared it a famine in South Sudan. What is the government prepared to do to help the people of South Sudan?
Mr. Speaker, when we were questioning the government yesterday about Canadians being turned away at the border, we were told that these persons should communicate with American authorities. In other words, the government is washing its hands of the issue, which is completely unacceptable. Instead, it should take a stand and work to guarantee the rights of Canadian citizens.Can the minister confirm that he will discuss specific cases of Canadians turned away at the border without a valid reason with his American counterpart, and ensure that there will be no further impact on Canadians who want to visit the United States?
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague's interest in the terrible situation that is occurring right now in South Sudan.In 2016, we allocated $45 million in international aid specifically for South Sudan. We are currently reviewing the various requests for humanitarian aid, particularly for the food crisis in Nigeria, Somalia, Yemen, and South Sudan. We will be in a position to contribute even more in the coming weeks.
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member and I think every member of this House will join me in saying that murder and sexual assault crimes are wrong. This government is taking concrete steps to appoint judges in a very efficient manner. The hon. member will know that this is the product of a judicial appointments process, which has been renewed by this government. We will continue to take recommendations from the judicial advisory committees which have been struck across this country. This will ensure that we have a criminal justice system that protects Canadians and will ensure that victims get the justice they deserve.
Mr. Speaker, international shipping interests are pushing for five huge commercial anchorages off the shores of Gabriola Island. This is causing great concern in the riding. This project has no local benefit. It threatens the community and the sensitive ecology of our coastline.The Liberal government should not use Harper's environmental rules to assess this project. Will the transport minister reject the request for Gabriola bulk anchorages? It is bad for our local economy, bad for climate change, and there is no upside for Canada.
Mr. Speaker, over 65% of people in GlengarryPrescottRussell call French their mother tongue.We speak it at work, in business, and in our everyday lives; French is an integral part of our cultural heritage and diversity.Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration tell the House how our government is strengthening francophone communities outside Quebec through immigration?
Mr. Speaker, in their 2016 deficit budget, the Liberals promised to transfer uncommitted infrastructure funds from the previous Conservative government to municipalities through the gas tax transfer fund. When they took office in November 2015, there was $837 million left to distribute to municipalities across the country. On budget day just four months later, there was just $31 million left in the pot. One problem: no municipality has a record of the money coming to their municipality, so if no one has a record of the money, where did the money go?
There we have it, Mr. Speaker, Liberal ministers getting up and saying it is status quo; every one of them except for the finance minister, who is hinting that Trump's presidency is changing everything including the budget. Therefore, instead of flowing the funds for their promises on mental health and home care, the Liberals have cynically been using that money to force provinces onto the Harper plan. As Liberal promises collapse left and right, Canadians are wondering if they will ever get the things they really need, like a national pharmacare plan. Is the Liberal government going to take responsibility for backtracking on its promises, or is it just going to blame it on Trump?
Mr. Speaker, every day the Minister of National Defence demonstrates what a challenge it is for him to understand fairly basic concepts.First, he made up a capability gap whose very existence the Royal Canadian Air Force denies. Second, contrary to a document he himself signed, he made a false claim about the Conservative government deploying our troops on Operation Impact without danger pay. Yesterday, he said that cadets do not use weapons, but the cadets website promotes marksmanship competitions.Is the minister giving us facts or alternative facts?
Mr. Speaker, last week we found out that the Liberals were cutting eight teacher positions in English language training at Brandon's Assiniboine Community College. Without language training, many of our immigrants and refugees will not be able to go to school, get jobs, or integrate into our communities.Will the Liberal government reverse this disastrous decision and reinstate this much-needed funding?
Qujannamiik uqaqti. Mr. Speaker, when meeting with the Daughters of the Vote in the House this Wednesday, the Prime Minister reiterated how past governments have failed indigenous people. Now is the time to right these wrongs. The Government of Nunavut has submitted two investment requests to address Nunavut's immediate need for housing and energy generation infrastructure. Will the minister commit to ensuring that Nunavummiut receive this much needed funding? Qujannamiik uqaqti.
Mr. Speaker, last spring, Formosa caused an environmental disaster in Vietnam that killed millions of fish, a staple in the Vietnamese diet. A new wave of repression and harassment against human rights activists followed, and 110 of those people are still behind bars. My recent letters to the Minister of Foreign Affairs remain unanswered.Will the government keep its word with regard to human rights and push for the release of these activists, including Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh and Nguyen Van Dai?
Mr. Speaker, this government made a lot of promises that it has not kept. It keeps saying that it has helped nine out of ten families and talks about 300,000 children. Out of a population of 36 million Canadians, that is not a big proportion. Experts all agree that the vast majority of Canadians have less money in their pockets. The Liberals have no vision and they are trying to blind us with flash shots of Mr. Selfie. Spending blindly with nothing to show for it is irresponsible.When will this Liberal government finally be responsible and table a real budget to protect the future of our children and grandchildren?
Mr. Speaker, during the consultations on the legalization of marijuana, Dr. Chris Rumball indicated that the Prime Minister's plan needed to take into account the sad incidents that have occurred in the United States, where the number of fatal accidents caused by drivers who tested positive for marijuana doubled in the state of Washington and tripled in Colorado.I am concerned, police officers are concerned, and Canadians are concerned. Can the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness reassure us that police officers will have the tools they need to detect whether drivers are impaired by drugs before the government legalizes marijuana?
Mr. Speaker, what do the Liberals do when a Chinese insurance company with a secret ownership structure dominated by a who's who of the Chinese Communist Party applies to buy essential seniors care facilities in Canada? They turn over the keys to one of the largest health care providers in the province of British Columbia.Nobody will do business with Anbang Insurance because of its questionable ownership, not even Wall Street firms. How can we trust it to look after our seniors in the most vulnerable times of their lives?When will the Liberals finally act in the interest of Canadian seniors and put this sale on hold?
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for his hard work on this file.The member is absolutely correct that the finance committee has no work to do. The Liberals have proposed no agenda and no bills. Conservatives put forward two motions to study jobs and to study the long-term financial impact of this budget, and the Liberal members on committee voted those Conservative motions down.Canadians sent Conservatives here to do work. Unfortunately, Liberal members on that committee do not think that way.
Mr. Speaker, in Texas last night, the Prime Minister received a prestigious award for his leadership in promoting dirty energy. When major polluters like Enbridge, TransCanada, BP, Shell, and others praise the Prime Minister for his policies, environmentalists and proponents of sustainable development have every reason to be concerned.Can the Minister of Environment and Climate Change provide us with some assurance that her department and the government are not on the oil companies' payroll? She could do this by killing the energy east pipeline project.
Mr. Speaker, I do not believe that the Minister of Transport himself thinks that selling off our airports is good for travellers. If he has listened to any of the advice he has been receiving over the past year, he will have heard that this is a bad idea. However, as he has stated, the Minister of Finance will make that decision, and we now know he needs the billions of dollars that the sale of the airports to international investors will provide to hide the failure of Liberal budgeting. Just how desperate is the minister to hide his mess?
Mr. Speaker, how wonderful to have an opportunity to announce today in this House that we have in fact come to a new agreement with three additional provinces: Alberta, Ontario, et la province de Québec.I am very pleased, because this is excellent news for the three provinces. We are going to improve health care and we going to support the provinces to ensure that Canadians have access to the health care they need.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to come from a riding where we have many wineries that help contribute to our economy. Many people take pride in the products Canadian vintners produce.Recently an historic agreement was reached within the Canadian wine industry that will result in more transparent labelling for cellared in Canada, also known as blended in Canada wines. As this agreement requires the approval of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, could the agriculture minister assure the House that he will expedite all processes and approvals in order to allow our wine industry to grow and prosper and grow in prestige worldwide?
Mr. Speaker, Canada has a very long history of working collaboratively with the United States on issues associated with clean water in the Great Lakes. We remain committed as a government to the implementation of the Canada-U.S. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and to delivery on its Great Lakes commitments through a variety of national programs. We look forward to ongoing collaboration with the U.S. administration. We will work alongside our U.S. and domestic partners to continue to promote strong action on clean water in the Great Lakes.
Mr. Speaker, CRA continues to take important steps in ensuring that we make progress in cracking down on tax cheats and ensuring a tax system that is more responsive and fair for all Canadians. Supported by the investment made in budget 2016, we made a significant investment of $444 million. Because of the investment we made, we now have more people, more technology, and more resources at our disposal. Because of these resources the agency audit activities have put in place to raise assessments of over $13 billion this fiscal year alone. This is what Canadians expect us to do
Mr. Speaker, any decision about Canada's transportation system will be in the best interests of Canadian travellers and Canadian gateways. We will make strategic investments in trade and transportation projects that build stronger more efficient transportation corridors to international markets and help Canadian businesses to compete, grow, and create more jobs for the middle class. That is the program we are on, and we are going to continue.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to once again rise in the House today to speak about the wonderful things that our government is doing.Once again, we are going to keep investing in the economy to help the middle class and those in need. Here is some good news. According to the numbers that came out today, over 220,000 new jobs were created in Canada over the past six months. What is more, most of these jobs are full-time jobs. That is the best job growth our country has seen in the past 10 years.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians have elected a government that is committed to grow the economy in order to grow the middle class. We are delighted to hear today that 220,000 new jobs have been created in the last six months, most of them full-time. This is the best record in over a decade. We are very proud of that. We look forward to continuing our agenda to grow the economy and the middle class in the next budget.
Mr. Speaker, I am happy to talk facts and figures, no problem. For 10 weeks, the Minister of Finance sat on a report by his own officials. It said that, if the government does not change course, the national debt will reach $1.5 trillion in 2050 and the budget will not be balanced until 2055, which is 36 years later than the Liberals projected.Why would Canadians trust people who hide such important information?
Mr. Speaker, I have visited the hon. member's lovely riding and have enjoyed some of the fine wines from British Columbia and wines from across the country.The matter is under consideration by the minister. We will be happy to get back to the member very soon.
Mr. Speaker, we see a Hells Angels leader from Quebec, a Toronto man charged with possessing child pornography, an Ottawa father charged with breaking both of his newborn baby's ankles, and multiple people charged with murder. There are still over 60 vacancies on the superior court. How many more suspects will be set free on our streets before the government will take its job seriously and appoint the required judges to keep our streets safe?
Mr. Speaker, this government is committed to creating a more innovative economy that reduces emissions, protects the environment, and creates good-paying middle-class jobs.Pricing carbon pollution will reduce emissions and provide certainty and predictability to businesses. Pricing pollution will drive innovation and clean growth. It will boost the economy and make Canada more competitive in the global market.After 10 years of inaction on the part of the previous government, this government is taking action to address climate change, and to do so in a manner that will create good middle-class jobs.
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are proud of our publicly funded health care system. It ensures that no Canadian has to make a choice between economic well-being and his or her health. The Minister of Health has been meeting with her provincial and territorial counterparts, reaching agreements with them on new investments on mental health and home care. As the minister has just announced, new deals have been reached with Quebec, Ontario, and Alberta. Could the minister elaborate on how this great news will benefit Canadians?
Mr. Speaker, in fact, with respect to the asylum system in our country and in the United States, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which is the authority in the world on this topic, has said that the safe third country arrangement is fully valid and without reason to change. In terms of dealing with the border crossings that are happening irregularly at places like Emerson and Lacolle, both the CBSA and the RCMP have made the appropriate arrangements to ensure that they can protect the health and safety of Canadians and the asylum seekers.
Mr. Speaker, our government recognizes that a strong, integrated, and modern transportation system is fundamental to Canada's continuing economic performance and competitiveness. We will also support greater choice, better service, lower costs, and new rights for middle-class Canadian travellers.We are working hard to improve the transportation system to better serve Canadians.
How about pro-environment, Mr. Speaker?Our Prime Minister keeps making promises and saying just about anything while courting American oil companies so they might award him some fairly dubious prizes.How can this government even dare to claim that it wants to meet its objectives, which it committed to by signing the Paris agreement, when clearly the Minister of the Environment is being told to keep quiet?When will this government finally be true to its word and join the G8 countries that have a strategy for the electrification of transportation?We are not going to meet our COP21 targets with four charging stations.
Mr. Speaker, the fact of the matter is there are over 400,000 people who move back and forth across the CanadaU.S. border every single day. This is the largest, most successful border relationship in the history of the world. We work every day to ensure that Canadians will continue to enjoy the benefits of that enormous relationship, where they will be respected and treated in the manner that any Canadian citizen has a right to expect.
Mr. Speaker, that answer has absolutely nothing to do with the question. Canadians are worried. The Liberal government is out of cash. The Minister of Transport refuses to say whether the government is going to sell some airports to pay the interest on the Minister of Finance's credit card.Will the minister finally give us a straight answer? Is the government going to sell the Quebec City, Montreal, and Vancouver airports, yes or no, and more importantly, tell us who the buyers will be? Canadians have the right to know.
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to rise in the House to tell Canadians that our plan is working.Today we saw that our 16 months of work paid off with the creation of 220,000 new jobs in Canada, almost all of them full-time.Anyone can see that our plan is working. We will continue to make the necessary investments in budget 2017.
Mr. Speaker, if that were accurate, the Liberals would release the numbers.Canadians are worried about the Prime Minister's plan to impose a carbon tax, while refusing to say just how much this tax will cost them. The Prime Minister is not being transparent on the carbon tax, and now he will not tell Canadians how much they are going to have to pay for his out-of-control spending.Canadians are worried that he is hiding his real agenda. Will the Liberals tell Canadians today whether they are planning on axing income splitting for seniors in this upcoming budget?
Mr. Speaker, the member will be proud to know that this government has introduced a new government-wide appointments process that is open, transparent, and merit-based. Our approach will actually result in the recommendation of highly qualified candidates who achieve gender parity and truly reflect Canada's diversity. All opportunities to apply are available online, and I encourage Canadians to apply.
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to take this question because not only is the Canada child benefit lifting 300,000 children out of poverty across the country, but also, in my colleague's riding, families of 22,000 children are now getting a $200 tax-free benefit every month, which is more than they were getting under the previous system.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by thanking the member and his constituents for their recent work on the Fisheries Act.A few weeks ago, in B.C., the minister announced the Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Glass Sponge Reefs Marine Protected Area. These reefs are important habitat for many aquatic species, and I thank the indigenous, conservation, and industry partners involved in making this designation possible. Our government is further committed to increasing the proportion of marine and coastal areas that are protected to 5% this year and 10% by 2020. This is good news for Canada, and this is great news for future generations.
Mr. Speaker, I would be pleased to discuss with my colleague the positive impact of the Canada child benefit, not only in Canada and Quebec, but also in the Quebec City region and in his riding.
Mr. Speaker, once again I am pleased to rise in this House today to talk about the work that our government is doing. We are going to continue to do smart investments with our economy, to help our middle-class Canadians, and to help our economy prosper.Good news: the job numbers are out today. We have seen over the past six months that over 220,000 jobs have been created. New jobs. Furthermore, most of those jobs are full time, so we can see that is evidence that our plan is working. We are going to continue to make the needed investments in budget 2017.
Mr. Speaker, we are committed to delivering on a mandate, and we are putting significant money, $1.5 billion, into an oceans protection plan. We need to manage our natural resources, all of our resources, and we need to spend taxpayers' money responsibly. In support of the Canadian transportation sector, it will be about building new markets and new gateways, providing better service to Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, our number one priority is the economy, and we realize we need to be open to trade, open to people, and open to investment. That is why we looked at this transaction and asked if it is in our overall net economic benefit, and yes it is. We did our due diligence. We made sure that the employment levels will remain high. We will make sure that Retirement Concepts has the additional resources it needs to expand. We did our job. It is good for British Columbia, good for the economy, and good for seniors.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to stand in this House to remind Canadians and to remind members that it is this government that introduced a new merit-based process that is open and transparent. Every position is available online. I encourage Canadians to apply.We have taken diversity, bilingualism, and gender parity into consideration when making these important decisions. We will continue to deliver for Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, I am happy to rise in the House again and talk about Canada having no stronger friend, partner, and ally than the United States. We share common values. We are pro jobs, pro business, and pro North America. That is why the Prime Minister and the minister are in Houston building those strong relationships with our North American partners.We have taken a balanced approach to developing our energy resources by pricing carbon pollution and creating an oceans protection plan, all the while getting our resources to market and creating 25,000 good-paying middle-class jobs.
Mr. Speaker, the coast of B.C. is home to four globally unique glass sponge reefs, the Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound glass sponge reefs. Once thought to be extinct worldwide, these 9,000-year-old glass sponges offer a vital water filtration service and are home to many aquatic species.Could the parliamentary secretary tell the House what the government is doing to protect this unique ocean feature?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for GlengarryPrescottRussell for his interest in francophone immigration.Very early on in its mandate, our government reinstated the Mobilité francophone immigration program, which was cancelled prematurely by the previous government. This program will support francophone and Acadian communities outside Quebec by attracting francophone talent.As a francophone and an Acadian, I am very proud that our government continues to work with stakeholders, communities, and all members to meet or even exceed our objectives and support our vibrant francophone and Acadian communities across the country.
Mr. Speaker, part of the reason we are delivering for Canadians and their families is the fact that we want to get $180 billion of infrastructure into the economy and to stimulate the economy.With regard to the gas tax fund, I think there is a bit of confusion. Surely the member opposite is not suggesting that we take money and reallocate it for projects that we have already promised to deliver. Unlike the other government, we do our diligence and we announce projects when they are approved at our level. The gas tax fund does get reallocated, but not in the sums that the hon. member is suggesting. We have fulfilled that promise to transfer over to the gas tax funds the appropriate amounts allocated.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for KingVaughan for his question.As she said, we worked with the provinces and territories for several months and discussed ways to improve the health care system for Canadians and especially investments in mental health and home care.As I just announced, today we are very happy that we have reached agreements with three additional provinces, Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec, for making new investments. In addition to increasing the Canada health transfer, every single year, we will add additional resources to these very important shared priorities.
Mr. Speaker, we are committed to fulfilling our obligations under the Official Languages Act. Language testing is used when individuals apply to certain permanent residence programs as economic immigrants.Our department is looking for ways to level the accessibility playing field, and the cost of language testing will support the immigration application process.Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada will work with the businesses and organizations that do the testing to improve the situation.
Mr. Speaker, as the member knows, our government is taking important steps to close the totally unacceptable housing gap in northern communities. Budget 2016 invested $76.7 million over two years in Nunavut for housing. We also committed $10.7 million over two years for renewable energy projects in off-grid and northern communities.We will continue to work with the member and the Government of Nunavut to promote the well-being of the Nunavummiut.
Mr. Speaker, our government knows that growing the economy and protecting the environment go together in the modern world. I would say that we are incredibly proud of the work this government has done on the climate change and environment file since we took office. We have accomplished more in the past year than the previous government accomplished in a decade. Our government has put in place pricing on carbon pollution. We have accelerated the phase-out of coal-fired power. We are developing a clean fuel standard to cut emissions associated with oil and gas use. We are investing in public transit and electrical vehicle infrastructure. We have taken action on short-lived climate pollutants. We have done a number of other things to ensure that we are protecting the economy while we are growing good middle-class jobs for the clean growth economy of the future.
Mr. Speaker, indeed, we have made that point very clear from the very beginning of our discussions with respect to marijuana. We are obviously going to legalize cannabis and apply a very strict regulatory regime around the use of the product. With respect to drug-impaired driving, that is already a criminal offence in Canada, and we will make sure it remains so. We will also make sure the police have the technical tools to enforce the law effectively.
Mr. Speaker, our government has made a commitment to helping seniors within this country. It is our government that reversed the age of retirement from 67 to 65.We have also put in place an increase in the guaranteed income supplement for low-income seniors, and we have made an increase of 10%. That is substantial for seniors, because it is, on average, $1,000 more a month.Our government is committed to helping seniors, and we are going to continue to do so.
Mr. Speaker, recently 19 individuals crossed the border into Manitoba during a blizzard, including a pregnant woman and a toddler. The Liberal government continues to claim that the current situation is somehow the status quo, but I can say that people running across farmers' fields across the border in a blizzard is not the status quo. To make matters worse, the Prime Minister has not even answered the Premier of Manitoba's letter asking for help. During the meeting today with President Trump's official, would the Liberals point out that the U.S. no longer fits Canada's own description of a safe country for refugees?
Mr. Speaker, I will take that as a yes. Now the Liberals claimed that they would spend $8 billion on infrastructure, but yesterday, the parliamentary budget officer said that they are short a whopping $2.5 billion in that promised spending. Given that the Minister of Finance enjoys increasing taxes and spending Canadians' hard-earned money, I ask the finance minister, what taxes will he be raising or introducing to vacuum even more money from Canadians to pay for this shortfall?
Mr. Speaker, no government in recent history has taken so long to fill watchdog vacancies as these Liberals. This should not come as a surprise as the Prime Minister is under investigation for multiple ethical transgressions. Between countless judicial vacancies and unfilled watchdog positions, the Liberals have once again proved to Canadians that they are only willing to green-light Liberal insiders and former chiefs of staff. Just yesterday, they appointed a Liberal donor to the superior court of P.E.I. The Liberals have proven once again the only families they are interested in looking after are their own.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise as part of the Liberal government that believes in Alberta and believes in Albertans. We understand the challenges facing Alberta families and will continue to deliver on our commitments to invest in infrastructure and to support economic growth and improve our communities. Working with our provincial and municipal partners, we have 127 projects with project costs of $4.2 billion invested in Alberta and I will go into detail. That includes the Yellowhead Highway extension, $230 million. That includes the Southwest Calgary Ring Road, $500 million in federal contribution. I could on for several pages, but I only have about 30 seconds. That includes $30 million federal contribution for the Calgary Green Line and Edmonton's LRT plans.
Mr. Speaker, cuts that President Trump plans to make to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency threaten the water quality of the Great Lakes, which feed into the St. Lawrence.Until Quebec is its own country, it has to ask Ottawa to act on its behalf. Will the federal government insist that the Americans protect Quebec's largest source of drinking water, or will it turn its back on Quebeckers once again, only to kneel before dirty oil and its buddy Trump?
Mr. Speaker, we could do even more if the government would finally get tough on tax evasion.By voting in favour of the NDP motion this week, the government committed to close tax loopholes that benefit wealthy taxpayers. This includes tax loopholes involving stock options, which the Liberals promised to eliminate in the election campaign. Will the government commit to closing those tax loopholes in the upcoming budget?
Mr. Speaker, the budget will not be balanced for 38 years. How is that helping our kids? The economic situation in Alberta continues to be critical. Unemployment numbers have been climbing, businesses are crippled by new taxes, and families are struggling. What Albertans need now are good jobs. Instead, the investing of local infrastructure projects by Alberta Municipalities Association says the Alberta NDP is using $300 million of the federal building Canada fund to pay down its skyrocketing debt. Can the minister guarantee that not one dollar of the Canada building fund has gone to anything but infrastructure projects?
Mr. Speaker, as the Liberals push to legalize marijuana, many Canadians are concerned about the consequences of people driving while high. We have seen these issues in Colorado, where marijuana-related traffic deaths increased by 92% between 2010 and 2014. After meetings with drug recognition experts, it is clear there is no precise way to measure impairment while under the influence of marijuana. Will the Liberals stop their drive to legalize marijuana until authorities have the tools to ensure the safety of Canadians on the road?
Mr. Speaker, the upcoming budget must address the tragic shortfalls in funding for mental health services. The Sask Party wants to believe everything is fine, but people in my riding face great challenges when it comes to accessing the appropriate mental health services. The federal government cannot continue to ignore the shortfall in our northern communities. People in my riding cannot afford to wait.When will the Liberals commit to a comprehensive long-term strategy that provides adequate mental health care to northerners?
Mr. Speaker, it was a simple yes or no question that the Liberals refuse to answer.This reckless tax-and-spend Prime Minister will deliver a budget that will leave us with a maxed-out credit card, decades of deficit, and a huge debt that can only be financed through higher taxes.We all know that budgets actually do not balance themselves. Canadians need to know, does the Prime Minister believe that the budget should be balanced? If so, when does he plan to do it?
Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Prime Minister criticized a possible new U.S. border tax, saying that he is concerned with anything that creates impediments at the border. In his words, extra tariffs are new taxes.However, it is actually this Prime Minister who is putting a new tax on all Canadians in the form of a carbon tax, which will do more to hamstring Canadian trade and competitiveness than any American border tax. Just ask Alberta and Ontario.When will the Prime Minister realize that it is his carbon tax that Canadian job creators are so worried about?
Mr. Speaker, the CRA's current post-employment policy instrument is among the most stringent in Canada. Any specific disclosure of taxpayer information by either an employee or former employee is prohibited by law. Let me be very clear. This prohibition has no time limit. An employee or former employee of CRA who violates these provisions could face sanctions, including fines or imprisonment.
Mr. Speaker, as I have said before, and as the Minister of National Revenue stated before, the CRA's current post-employment policy is among the most stringent in Canada, and the specific disclosure of taxpayer information by either an employee or a former employee is prohibited by law. Let me be very clear. This prohibition has no time limit. An employee or any former employee of the CRA who violates these provisions could face sanctions, including fines or imprisonment.
Mr. Speaker, Canada has no stronger friend, partner, and ally than the United States. We share common values: we are pro-jobs, pro-business, and pro-North America. That is why the minister and Prime Minister are in Houston building relationships with our North American partners.We will continue to work with our continental partners to build on our energy partnership, creating good-paying middle-class jobs and opportunities for years to come. We have taken a smart, balanced approach to developing our energy resources by pricing carbon pollution and creating an ocean protections plan, all the while getting our resources to market, and creating more than 25,000 jobs.
Mr. Speaker, we are committed to supporting our men and women in the Canadian Armed Forces. We do not send our troops into places like Kuwait without presenting the tax-free exemption. Our government actually got the tax-free exemption. That was done in February 2016, which was signed off by the finance minister.We are conducting a defence policy review and making sure that we are going to be looking after our troops and not just making hollow promises, as the previous government had done.
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Earlier, during oral question period, my colleague from Quebec and Minister of Families, Children and Social Development mentioned a figure about young people in my riding. We do not have the same numbers. I would like the hon. member to table his source in order to ensure that what he said in the House is true.
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Revenue is telling tall tales. She should start a career in stand-up. Yesterday, in response to my question, she said that the Canada Revenue Agency had very strict rules for former employees who leave to work in the private sector. In fact, there is just a handful of former CRA employees, six to be exact, who registered after going to KPMG.Enough is enough. Can someone tell us why there are no serious screening rules in place for revenue experts who set off to work for the tax evading machine?
Mr. Speaker, I share the hon. gentleman's concern and very keen interest in this dimension of the issue. I can assure him that we are putting the steps in place to make sure the public is properly protected. This includes over the last three or four months testing scientifically a variety of different roadside testing devices in seven different locations across the country to ensure that they function properly under Canadian conditions.
Mr. Speaker, thousands of volunteer firefighters across Canada, individually, give hundreds of hours each year, risking their lives in the contribution to community safety. Roughly 80% of Alberta's firefighters are volunteers and a full 97% of fire departments are volunteer-operated. That is over 450 in our province alone. That is why the Conservative government instituted a volunteer firefighter tax credit.My question is for the finance minister, or his parliamentary secretary. Will the finance minister guarantee that this tax credit will not be cancelled in the upcoming budget?
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal member forgot to mention that 80% of those jobs are part time, whereas when we formed the government 80% of the jobs were full time. That is what it means to create wealth and jobs.The fact of the matter is that the next budget will be tabled on March 22, which is just around the corner. Canadians are concerned, and rightly so. Let us remember what the Liberals said. They said that they would run small deficits, but now they are running astronomical deficits. They said that they would lower taxes for Canadians, but the opposite is true. They also said that they would help small business owners, but they have done exactly the opposite by imposing additional tax burdens on them.Why would Canadians trust the Liberals?
Mr. Speaker, Mary Ng, the Liberal candidate in MarkhamThornhill and former director of appointments to the Prime Minister, bragged she was responsible for the appointment of members of the Immigration and Refugee Board. The Prime Minister's hand-picked candidate is undermining the confidence in the board. Could the Prime Minister ensure that the integrity of the Immigration and Refugee Board has not been compromised as a result of Mary Ng's political ambitions?
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question.Respect for human rights is one of the fundamental principles of our foreign policy. In all of our international relations, Canada urges its friends around the world to be sure that all of their actions reflect that human rights are a priority for them. That is what we are doing because respect for human rights is an integral part of who we are as Canadians.
Mr. Speaker, our government has made a commitment to middle-class Canadians and those working hard to join it. The first item that we did when we formed government was to lower taxes for middle-class Canadians. We put in place the very generous Canada child benefit program for middle-class families. Also, we continue to go forward in helping families and children because we want all Canadians to prosper.
Mr. Speaker, tax evasion and patronage scandals continue to seriously undermine the credibility of an important institution in our country. Our officials are leaving the Canada Revenue Agency to go to accounting firms that are not shy about evading taxes, firms such as KPMG, which developed a scheme with the Isle of Man. The scheme sought to help KPMG's clients avoid paying taxes in Canada. It is as simple as that.My question is simple: is the minister committed to tightening the post-employment rules to prevent situations like this, situations that erode public trust?
Mr. Speaker, for 10 long years, Stephen Harper received dozens of fossil awards. To be clear, they were ironic. Now the current Prime Minister is taking it to another level. Yesterday, a crowd of global oil and gas executives in Houston awarded the Prime Minister a true fossil award, an award for the approval of pipelines without the social licence that he said would be needed during the last election. People would be right to be confused. Is this seriously the real change Canadians were promised?
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her continued advocacy on behalf of her constituents and, indeed, all people in her province as it relates to the very real needs for mental health. She knows that we have invested in the area of mental wellness for first nations and Inuit across the country in the order of an additional $70 million that was announced earlier this year.In addition, we reached a deal with Saskatchewan, one of now nine provinces and three territories with which we have reached an agreement on mental health funding. In Saskatchewan's case, it was $150 million that will go to support expanding access to very real mental health needs in that province.
Mr. Speaker, most Canadians would be shocked that we spend more on servicing our federal debt than we do on national defence and that a finance department report projects that continued reckless spending by the Liberals means we will not see a balanced budget until 2050. The Liberals do not want Canadians to know how bad it all is. They have simply decided to shut down the finance committee rather than study their own government's report.Can the vice-chair of the finance committee update Canadians on the priorities and planning of the finance committee for its upcoming meetings?
Mr. Speaker, Swedish authorities have just arrested a Bombardier employee who has been accused of aggravated bribery. Before handing over taxpayer dollars to Bombardier, I hope that the Liberal government did its homework and checked out all of Bombardier's operations as $375 million is a lot of money and this money does not belong to the Liberals, it belongs to Canadians. My question is simple: Did the Canadian government have any knowledge of this Swedish investigation when it was giving Bombardier the money, yes or no?
Mr. Speaker, as the member opposite knows, this investment that we made was for the aerospace sector, a critical sector in the Canadian economy that contributes over $28 billion to our overall growth, that contributes 211,000 jobs to our economy. This investment was critical and that is why when we made this investment we did do our due diligence in advance of entering into an agreement with Bombardier.I am aware of the situation regarding Bombardier in Sweden. Any questions related to specific activities of the company should be directed to the company, but we did do our due diligence.
Mr. Speaker, the situation in South Sudan is deteriorating rapidly. An estimated 100,000 people are facing starvation, with a further one million people on the brink of famine. Over 250,000 children are already severely malnourished and at risk of death. Three UN agencies have declared it a famine in South Sudan. What is the government prepared to do to help the people of South Sudan?
Mr. Speaker, when we were questioning the government yesterday about Canadians being turned away at the border, we were told that these persons should communicate with American authorities. In other words, the government is washing its hands of the issue, which is completely unacceptable. Instead, it should take a stand and work to guarantee the rights of Canadian citizens.Can the minister confirm that he will discuss specific cases of Canadians turned away at the border without a valid reason with his American counterpart, and ensure that there will be no further impact on Canadians who want to visit the United States?
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague's interest in the terrible situation that is occurring right now in South Sudan.In 2016, we allocated $45 million in international aid specifically for South Sudan. We are currently reviewing the various requests for humanitarian aid, particularly for the food crisis in Nigeria, Somalia, Yemen, and South Sudan. We will be in a position to contribute even more in the coming weeks.
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member and I think every member of this House will join me in saying that murder and sexual assault crimes are wrong. This government is taking concrete steps to appoint judges in a very efficient manner. The hon. member will know that this is the product of a judicial appointments process, which has been renewed by this government. We will continue to take recommendations from the judicial advisory committees which have been struck across this country. This will ensure that we have a criminal justice system that protects Canadians and will ensure that victims get the justice they deserve.
Mr. Speaker, international shipping interests are pushing for five huge commercial anchorages off the shores of Gabriola Island. This is causing great concern in the riding. This project has no local benefit. It threatens the community and the sensitive ecology of our coastline.The Liberal government should not use Harper's environmental rules to assess this project. Will the transport minister reject the request for Gabriola bulk anchorages? It is bad for our local economy, bad for climate change, and there is no upside for Canada.
Mr. Speaker, over 65% of people in GlengarryPrescottRussell call French their mother tongue.We speak it at work, in business, and in our everyday lives; French is an integral part of our cultural heritage and diversity.Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration tell the House how our government is strengthening francophone communities outside Quebec through immigration?
Mr. Speaker, in their 2016 deficit budget, the Liberals promised to transfer uncommitted infrastructure funds from the previous Conservative government to municipalities through the gas tax transfer fund. When they took office in November 2015, there was $837 million left to distribute to municipalities across the country. On budget day just four months later, there was just $31 million left in the pot. One problem: no municipality has a record of the money coming to their municipality, so if no one has a record of the money, where did the money go?
There we have it, Mr. Speaker, Liberal ministers getting up and saying it is status quo; every one of them except for the finance minister, who is hinting that Trump's presidency is changing everything including the budget. Therefore, instead of flowing the funds for their promises on mental health and home care, the Liberals have cynically been using that money to force provinces onto the Harper plan. As Liberal promises collapse left and right, Canadians are wondering if they will ever get the things they really need, like a national pharmacare plan. Is the Liberal government going to take responsibility for backtracking on its promises, or is it just going to blame it on Trump?
Mr. Speaker, every day the Minister of National Defence demonstrates what a challenge it is for him to understand fairly basic concepts.First, he made up a capability gap whose very existence the Royal Canadian Air Force denies. Second, contrary to a document he himself signed, he made a false claim about the Conservative government deploying our troops on Operation Impact without danger pay. Yesterday, he said that cadets do not use weapons, but the cadets website promotes marksmanship competitions.Is the minister giving us facts or alternative facts?
Mr. Speaker, last week we found out that the Liberals were cutting eight teacher positions in English language training at Brandon's Assiniboine Community College. Without language training, many of our immigrants and refugees will not be able to go to school, get jobs, or integrate into our communities.Will the Liberal government reverse this disastrous decision and reinstate this much-needed funding?
Qujannamiik uqaqti. Mr. Speaker, when meeting with the Daughters of the Vote in the House this Wednesday, the Prime Minister reiterated how past governments have failed indigenous people. Now is the time to right these wrongs. The Government of Nunavut has submitted two investment requests to address Nunavut's immediate need for housing and energy generation infrastructure. Will the minister commit to ensuring that Nunavummiut receive this much needed funding? Qujannamiik uqaqti.
Mr. Speaker, last spring, Formosa caused an environmental disaster in Vietnam that killed millions of fish, a staple in the Vietnamese diet. A new wave of repression and harassment against human rights activists followed, and 110 of those people are still behind bars. My recent letters to the Minister of Foreign Affairs remain unanswered.Will the government keep its word with regard to human rights and push for the release of these activists, including Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh and Nguyen Van Dai?
Mr. Speaker, this government made a lot of promises that it has not kept. It keeps saying that it has helped nine out of ten families and talks about 300,000 children. Out of a population of 36 million Canadians, that is not a big proportion. Experts all agree that the vast majority of Canadians have less money in their pockets. The Liberals have no vision and they are trying to blind us with flash shots of Mr. Selfie. Spending blindly with nothing to show for it is irresponsible.When will this Liberal government finally be responsible and table a real budget to protect the future of our children and grandchildren?
Mr. Speaker, during the consultations on the legalization of marijuana, Dr. Chris Rumball indicated that the Prime Minister's plan needed to take into account the sad incidents that have occurred in the United States, where the number of fatal accidents caused by drivers who tested positive for marijuana doubled in the state of Washington and tripled in Colorado.I am concerned, police officers are concerned, and Canadians are concerned. Can the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness reassure us that police officers will have the tools they need to detect whether drivers are impaired by drugs before the government legalizes marijuana?
Mr. Speaker, what do the Liberals do when a Chinese insurance company with a secret ownership structure dominated by a who's who of the Chinese Communist Party applies to buy essential seniors care facilities in Canada? They turn over the keys to one of the largest health care providers in the province of British Columbia.Nobody will do business with Anbang Insurance because of its questionable ownership, not even Wall Street firms. How can we trust it to look after our seniors in the most vulnerable times of their lives?When will the Liberals finally act in the interest of Canadian seniors and put this sale on hold?
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for his hard work on this file.The member is absolutely correct that the finance committee has no work to do. The Liberals have proposed no agenda and no bills. Conservatives put forward two motions to study jobs and to study the long-term financial impact of this budget, and the Liberal members on committee voted those Conservative motions down.Canadians sent Conservatives here to do work. Unfortunately, Liberal members on that committee do not think that way.
Mr. Speaker, in Texas last night, the Prime Minister received a prestigious award for his leadership in promoting dirty energy. When major polluters like Enbridge, TransCanada, BP, Shell, and others praise the Prime Minister for his policies, environmentalists and proponents of sustainable development have every reason to be concerned.Can the Minister of Environment and Climate Change provide us with some assurance that her department and the government are not on the oil companies' payroll? She could do this by killing the energy east pipeline project.
Mr. Speaker, I do not believe that the Minister of Transport himself thinks that selling off our airports is good for travellers. If he has listened to any of the advice he has been receiving over the past year, he will have heard that this is a bad idea. However, as he has stated, the Minister of Finance will make that decision, and we now know he needs the billions of dollars that the sale of the airports to international investors will provide to hide the failure of Liberal budgeting. Just how desperate is the minister to hide his mess?