CANADA House of Commons Debates VOLUME 145 Ï NUMBER 126 Ï 3rd SESSION Ï 40th PARLIAMENT OFFICIAL REPORT (HANSARD) Tuesday, February 8, 2011 Speaker: The Honourable Peter Milliken CONTENTS (Table of Contents appears at back of this issue.) 7833 HOUSE OF COMMONS Tuesday, February 8, 2011 The House met at 10 a.m. Ï (1005) JUSTICE FOR VICTIMS TERRORISM ACT Prayers Hon. Stockwell Day (for the Minister of Public Safety) moved for leave to introduce Bill S-7, An Act to deter terrorism and to amend the State Immunity Act. ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS (Motion deemed adopted and bill read the first time) SUPPLEMENTARY ESTIMATES (C), 2010-11 A message from His Excellency the Governor General transmit- *** ting supplementary estimates (C) for the financial year ending March 31, 2011, was presented by the President of the Treasury Board and PETITIONS read by the Speaker to the House. *** NEUROLOGICAL DISEASES Ï (1000) Ms. Denise Savoie (Victoria, NDP): Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to [English] present two petitions that Victorians have signed because of the NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR SERIOUS INJURY diligent efforts of Chris Groot, an 18-year-old student at St. Michaels REDUCTION IN AMATEUR SPORT ACT University in Victoria, to help more than 100,000 Canadians Mr. Glenn Thibeault (Sudbury, NDP) moved for leave to suffering from Parkinson's diseases and other neurological diseases. introduce Bill C-616, An Act respecting a national strategy to reduce the incidence of serious injury in amateur sport. The petitioners note the growing gravity of these conditions and are asking the government to increase federal funding for the He said: Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to stand in the House today to prevention of neurological diseases and for a cure for Parkinson's introduce a bill that represents an important first step in addressing disease. the serious concussion epidemic plaguing our sports community. This bill is the result of a great deal of research and consultation with the sports, health and academic communities. MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS This bill is entitled an act respecting a national strategy to reduce Ms. Denise Savoie (Victoria, NDP): Mr. Speaker, I have a third the incidence of serious injury in amateur sport. If passed, the bill petition signed by 70 of my constituents who are asking the will create a national sports injury surveillance and data collection government to accelerate the efforts to make the CCSVI treatment system, establish substantive concussion guidelines, including a available to Canadians suffering from multiple sclerosis. sufficient deterrent mechanism to ensure athletes are not being returned to play against expressed medical recommendations, create AFGHANISTAN a national strategy and educational standards for coaches and other persons involved in amateur sport, and institute incentivized funding Mr. Jim Maloway (Elmwood—Transcona, NDP): Mr. Speaker, guidelines to assist amateur sports organizations in implementing my petition deals with Canada's military involvement in Afghani- these protocols. stan. I encourage all members to support the bill. I encourage the government to review the contents of the bill and consider what is As we all know, in May 2008, Parliament passed a resolution to being asked. The government has an opportunity to take a leadership withdraw the forces by July 2011. The Prime Minister, with the role on this public health crisis and I hope for the sake of our young agreement of the Liberal Party, broke his oft-repeated promise to athletes that it rises to the challenge. honour the parliamentary motion and, furthermore, refuses to put it (Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed) to a vote in the House. 7834 COMMONS DEBATES February 8, 2011 Business of Supply Committing 1,000 soldiers to a training mission still presents a never risking the public treasury or the programs that Canadian danger to our troops and an unnecessary expense when our country families depended on. is faced with a $56 billion deficit. The military mission has cost Canadians more than $18 billion so far, money that could have been What a difference five years under the Conservatives has made. used to improve health care and seniors pensions right here in Canada. Ï (1010) In fact, polls show that a clear majority of Canadians do not want [Translation] Canada's military presence to continue after the scheduled removal date of July 2011. Therefore, the petitions call upon the Prime When the Conservatives were elected, they inherited a surplus of Minister to honour the will of Parliament and bring the troops home $13 billion from the Liberal government. But after increasing now. spending by 18% in three years—three times higher than the *** inflation rate—the Conservatives plunged Canada into a deficit before the financial crisis even hit. QUESTIONS ON THE ORDER PAPER Mr. Tom Lukiwski (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of [English] the Government in the House of Commons, CPC): Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allow to stand. They increased the size of government by a whopping 40% in just The Speaker: Is that agreed. four years while, at the same time, with their ill-advised, economic- ally stupid tax policy, they gutted the government's capacity to pay Some hon. members: Agreed. for the programs that it was spending on. The Conservatives borrowed and spent their way toward a record $56 billion deficit, the largest in Canadian history. GOVERNMENT ORDERS While the finance minister is now promising to balance the books [English] by 2015-16, the truth is that he has no credible plan to get Canada there. It is no wonder that the Parliamentary Budget Officer and the BUSINESS OF SUPPLY IMF both report that the finance minister will not be able to keep his OPPOSITION MOTION—TAX RATE FOR LARGE CORPORATIONS word and balance the books. Hon. Scott Brison (Kings—Hants, Lib.) moved: In fact, after five years of the Conservatives' borrow and spend That, in the opinion of the House, the Government’s decision to proceed with cuts to the tax rate for large corporations fails to address the economic needs of Canadian agenda, the IMF and the PBO believe that the Conservatives have families, and this House urges the Government to reverse these corporate tax cuts and given Canada a structural deficit. Structural deficits are bad for restore the tax rate for large corporations to 2010 levels in the upcoming Budget. business. They create uncertainty. With ballooning debt levels, the public's ability to sustain investments in infrastructure and social He said: Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time today with the programs like health care and education are imperiled. Persistent member from Brossard—La Prairie. deficits also create higher taxes for the future as tax bills get deferred The Liberal Party has a history of prudent fiscal management and and higher interest costs are factored in. The best thing that the balanced budgets. Under the previous Liberal government, deficits government can do to improve the business climate in Canada is to that had persisted for decades were finally eliminated by Prime get back to balanced budgets. Minister Chrétien and finance minister, Paul Martin. The books were balanced and Canada posted nine consecutive surpluses. [Translation] The Chrétien and Martin governments put prudent financial We must bring Canada back to a balanced budget. measures in place, including the $3 billion annual contingency reserve, otherwise known as the rainy day fund. We made sound [English] investments in public infrastructure, in research and development and in people. The Liberals listened to and worked with the There is also a moral imperative for the government to prepare for provinces. Historic health and social transfer agreements were the large demographic shift facing our country and its people. We reached, giving the provinces long-term, predictable funding that have a rapidly aging population that will place greater demands on enabled them to make investments and provide the services that our health care system. At the same time, more and more Canadians Canadian families and our aging population needed. are looking to retire, at least those who can afford to, so there will be Within this environment of sound fiscal management, the Liberals fewer people in the labour force paying taxes. cut personal and corporate income taxes. I believe in personal and corporate income tax cuts and so does the Liberal Party. In fact, the Under the Conservatives, we are also seeing both higher Liberals cut the corporate income tax rate from 28% to 21% in four unemployment numbers and, at the same time, higher labour years as part of the largest income tax cut in Canadian history. shortages. We have jobs without people and people without jobs. However, as Liberals we did so sensibly, during times of surplus, The need to invest in learning and training has never been greater. February 8, 2011 COMMONS DEBATES 7835 Business of Supply With record deficits, an aging population, increased demands on The Conservatives' record deficits and fiscal mismanagement have health care and education and a shrinking tax base, this is no time for once again presented Canada with extraordinary circumstances. That the Conservatives to gut Canada's fiscal capacity with corporate tax is why I moved the motion, which reads: cuts on borrowed money, corporate tax cuts we simply cannot afford right now. That, in the opinion of the House, the government's decision to proceed with cuts to the tax rate for large corporations fails to address the economic needs of Canadian families, and this House urges the government to reverse these corporate tax cuts and As cost-sharing agreements with the provinces get ready to expire restore the tax rate for large corporations to 2010 levels in the upcoming budget.