CANADA House of Commons Debates VOLUME 141 Ï NUMBER 019 Ï 1st SESSION Ï 39th PARLIAMENT OFFICIAL REPORT (HANSARD) Tuesday, May 9, 2006 Speaker: The Honourable Peter Milliken CONTENTS (Table of Contents appears at back of this issue.) Also available on the Parliament of Canada Web Site at the following address: http://www.parl.gc.ca 1097 HOUSE OF COMMONS Tuesday, May 9, 2006 The House met at 10 a.m. company should there not be enough remaining assets to distribute to make up back wages, benefits or pension contributions. This bill is vital for protecting working families in Canada. I want Prayers to thank both the United Steelworkers and my colleague, the member for Winnipeg Centre, without whose friendship, support and tireless work I would not have been able to bring the bill before the ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS House today. (Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed) Ï (1000) [English] *** COMMISSIONER OF OFFICIAL LANGUAGES Ï (1005) The Speaker: I have the honour, pursuant to section 66 of the [Translation] Official Languages Act, to lay upon the table the annual report of the Commissioner of Official Languages, covering the period from April PETITIONS 1, 2005 to March 31, 2006. CHILD CARE [Translation] Mr. Michael Savage (Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, Lib.): Mr. Pursuant to Standing Order 108(3)(f), this report is deemed Speaker, I am pleased to table a petition signed by Nova Scotian permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Official families who are concerned about the government's intention to Languages. cancel the daycare agreement. *** [English] [English] This petition comes from the Atlantic Centre of Excellence for BANKRUPTCY AND INSOLVENCY ACT Women's Health. The petitioners are very concerned about the Ms. Chris Charlton (Hamilton Mountain, NDP) moved for government's plan to kill child care. It is signed by distinguished leave to introduce Bill C-270, An Act to amend the Bankruptcy and leaders in the child care community, such as Christine Dunn and Insolvency Act, the Canada Business Corporations Act, the many others, who have asked me to bring this forward. It is my Employment Insurance Act and the Employment Insurance Regula- pleasure to do so. tions. [Translation] She said: Mr. Speaker, I am privileged to introduce Bill C-270, the short title of which is the workers first bill, which will at last put IMMIGRATION workers first in the event of a bankruptcy. In a country that sees over Ms. Johanne Deschamps (Laurentides—Labelle, BQ): Mr. 10,000 commercial bankruptcies a year, it is essential that any back Speaker, on behalf of myself and of the member for Vaudreuil- wages, benefits or pension contributions owing to employees rank Soulanges, I have the honour to table a petition concerning lives in first when the assets of a bankrupt company are distributed, not last, limbo signed by 4,000 people. The petitioners are asking the as is all too often the case. government to establish a process that will facilitate granting It is also necessary to make consequential amendments to the EI permanent residency to any individual who has been in Canada for act so that benefits to workers from the distribution of the assets of more than three years and who comes from one of the countries the bankruptcy are not clawed back as income from benefits under under a moratorium, such as Afghanistan, Burundi, the Democratic EI. Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Iraq, Liberia, Rwanda and Zimbabwe. Finally, through this bill, the process will be expedited by which This state of uncertainty is a major cause of human anguish and employees can seek redress from the directors of a bankrupt suffering, so we believe it must be acted on quickly. 1098 COMMONS DEBATES May 9, 2006 The Budget [English] system, which was started under the previous Liberal government. Mr. Paul Dewar (Ottawa Centre, NDP): Mr. Speaker, I wish to Again, this budget fails to meet that need. table a petition on behalf of the Canadian Council for Refugees and other partners, calling on the Canadian government to establish a Lastly, my constituents want to see significant investments made process to facilitate the granting of permanent residence to persons in post-secondary education. Once again, this budget fails to meet who have been in Canada for more than three years and who are that need as well. from countries on which Canada has imposed a moratorium on removals. Mississauga—Brampton South is a dynamic and robust region and is growing at a very rapid pace. The local economies are *** thriving. The population growth in these two urban centres is QUESTIONS ON THE ORDER PAPER outpacing the average population growth in the rest of Canada. Mr. Rod Bruinooge (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister Unfortunately, the construction of more roads, more lanes and of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal upgrades to highways has not been able to keep pace with the Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians, CPC): Mr. population growth. This is causing an enormous amount of traffic Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand. congestion and slowdowns. For example, what used to be a quick The Speaker: Is that agreed? eight minute drive from highway 403 to highway 407 along Hurontario has turned into a 30 minute crawl. Trust me: when trying Some hon. members: Agreed. to get to my constituency office it is a very painful drive and that is on a good day. GOVERNMENT ORDERS However, this is more than just a matter of gridlock. At its core, this is a quality of life issue. Mothers and fathers, husbands and [English] wives and daughters and sons are spending more time on the road THE BUDGET and less time with their loved ones. Fortunately, there are a few local initiatives under way to help reduce gridlock and modernize the FINANCIAL STATEMENT OF MINISTER OF FINANCE public transit systems. Unfortunately, the government has failed to deliver any such commitment in the budget for these very important The House resumed from May 8 consideration of the motion that initiatives. this House approves in general the budgetary policy of the government, and of the amendment. The AcceleRide system in Brampton and the bus rapid transit Hon. Navdeep Bains (Mississauga—Brampton South, Lib.): system in Mississauga are two very innovative initiatives to improve Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for North public transit systems in order to promote local use of an efficient Vancouver. and quality public transit system. A first class and convenient public transit system will motivate more residents to ride the bus to work On May 2, the Minister of Finance presented the budget to the instead of clogging up the roads with their cars, but in order for House of Commons. I will state from the outset that I cannot support commuters to want to use such a system, it must be beneficial for this budget because it lacks the vision, the imagination, the creativity them. The modernizing of these systems would include lane and, more importantly, the leadership that Canadians are looking for. widening, transit signal priority, and the purchase of new vehicles This budget is not in the best interests of Canadians, but more at an estimated cost of $280 million for AcceleRide and $270 million importantly, in my opinion as a representative for Mississauga— for the BRT. Brampton South, this budget is not in the best interests of my constituents. The Government of Ontario presented its budget last month and Since June 2004, I have had the honour and privilege of speaking has committed to providing $95 million for AcceleRide and $90 to many constituents in my riding of Mississauga—Brampton South. million for the BRT. This represents one-third of the funding. This is I have maintained an ongoing dialogue with them through various not the first time I have raised this issue in the House of Commons, means: householders, via the Web, discussions, town hall meetings, so the government is fully aware of the issue. It has failed to deliver and meeting with my constituents at events. Also, as a resident of for the residents of Mississauga—Brampton South. Not only has the Mississauga—Brampton South, I know their concerns. I know their government failed my constituents, the residents of my particular priorities. I can confidently say that this budget does not represent riding of Mississauga—Brampton South, but it has failed all their priorities or mine. constituents in the greater Toronto area. I will articulate what our priorities are. The next budget issue I would like to talk about is child care. This The constituents of Mississauga—Brampton South want to see budget has also failed to deliver on the child care needs of my commitments made to improve the infrastructure that is causing constituents. Learning is a lifelong venture. It is important that gridlock. This budget fails to meet that need. children under the age of six receive the proper care and education they need. It has been clearly demonstrated that early learning My constituents also want to see the government commit to provides a foundation that kids need to succeed as they develop into building the foundations of a national early learning and child care adults. May 9, 2006 COMMONS DEBATES 1099 The Budget Ï (1010) I have talked about the budget very clearly and I have outlined three key areas. I will once again reiterate those areas: first, a lack of The majority of households in my riding cannot afford to have investment in post-secondary education; second, a lack of invest- only one parent working.