Darrell Samson

[Canada Pension Plan, November 17th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague touched on some important topics. He also talked about himself, his family, and how his community is extremely important.

I really liked the part of his speech when he mentioned how our government was successful in collaborating with all the provinces to make this happen. This does not just happen out of the air. This happened because of hard work by our Prime Minister and our Minister of Finance. It is impressive how they pushed forward, did not waver, and got it done.

Then I heard my colleague from Saskatoon—Grasswood, who I like very much, talk about inheritances. I do not know what that means, because I did not get one. This is about pensions and young people.

Could my colleague share a bit of information about the young people today who get jobs. There is no pension for them. This is about investing in the future. Could my colleague expand on that, please?

[Canada Pension Plan, October 25th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for a very well-delivered speech on Bill C-26.

I have to say that when we look at young Canadians today, they are not living in the same situation we did, and do, meaning that today, most of us at my age, anyway, including my colleague across the floor, have had the benefit of having a pension at the end to help us and to ensure that the golden years are golden. However, for these young people, when they start off their careers, there is no guarantee of any funds or pensions. It is our responsibility to ensure that we do the right things to make this happen.

We know that in the United States, it could be a crippling situation in 2033, as far as the benefits that would be allowed.

It is not only the Liberal Party and the government bringing this to the table. It is all 10 provinces and the territories. Are we saying that the 10 provinces, the territories, and the government are all wrong and are all doing the wrong thing?

Can you expand on that, please?

[Canada Pension Plan, October 25th, 2016]

Madam Speaker, that is a very good question. It is a gang: the CPP is coming in, the guaranteed supplement is coming in as well, and the age to receive OAS has been moved back to 65. Then we are stimulating the economy through infrastructure investment. We are ensuring that investment for young families will help with the cost of living to educate and allow their kids to—

[Canada Pension Plan, October 25th, 2016]

Madam Speaker, it is a very important question because I believe that many of the initiatives we put in place in the last year are already contributing greatly to youth and employment, and by that I mean investment in infrastructure. That is a major investment in job creation. We are looking from one extreme to the end. We are talking about 40 years, but if we look closer, in 2025 there will already be major benefits for Canadians. This is another piece of our vision to make Canada great again. With this measure, as well as the guaranteed income supplement, the OAS, the CPP, and tax reduction—I could go on for a while—there are many great things we put in place. This is one piece of the big puzzle.

[Canada Pension Plan, October 25th, 2016]

Madam Speaker, we have to have a vision, a plan to put structure in place, and move that plan forward. When we go up the ladder, we do not climb to the top; it is one step at a time, and these steps are what we have put in place. It is a very gradual approach on a seven-year plan that will help all Canadians. This is not about seniors today; this is about those who will join the senior category soon, about young people who will be seniors in time, and that is what this plan will do. It is a big-vision project initiative with many parts to it.

[Canada Pension Plan, October 25th, 2016]

Madam Speaker, I am extremely happy to rise today to speak to Bill C-26, the legislation that deals with proposed changes to the CPP. I am also happy because this is another initiative that our government has brought forward after committing to it prior to the election, and one that we continue to work on.

I want to thank our Prime Minister and our Minister of Finance for not wavering on this issue. This is an important initiative that needed the support of the provinces and territories, which we were able to successfully get.

When we talk about CPP we think about our seniors, but this is also about our youth, because over time they will become seniors. Time goes by quickly. When our youth start in the workplace they do not have any of the benefits that our generation had. The private sector chooses not to invest in the Canada pension plan, so our young people do not really have a guarantee at the end.

We want our seniors to be able to retire with respect and dignity. We want them to be able to live the golden years they worked for all of their lives. However, it is going to be difficult for our youth to do the same, because when they become seniors, there will be no pension funds available for them.

There is also the question of those who are going to soon reach the “senior age”, if I may use that term. Information from the Department of Finance in 2012 indicated that about 24% of individuals who were soon to retire were not saving enough to make sure they could continue their existing standard of living while working. That is a challenge as well.

I should add that Canadians live longer, and everyone is happy with that. I sure am. However, with that comes the need for people to save more, which can be a challenge for some individuals. By proposing changes to the Canada pension plan, the government is putting some protections in place to allow future seniors to retire in a much better way.

I would like to briefly outline what is being put in place with the provinces' agreement. This process will begin in 2019 and end approximately seven years later. The investments will be modest at first, but will increase over the seven years. The money invested will increase benefits from 25% to 33%, which is huge. In 2025, a person who is now earning an average salary of $50,000 will have $4,000 more for their pension. That is a sizeable increase.

The other important aspect is that those who retire and have a lower income will be able to benefit from the gains without contributing more. By the end of this initiative, the pension amount will have increased by 50%.

This means that people who receive $13,100 today could receive up to $20,000, which is a dramatic increase. That is a good example of a government that is working closely with the provinces and territories to ensure that Canadians will benefit more fully.

It also shows our government is proactive. We are not sitting back and risking that times will be really tough and Canadians will not have something with which to retire. We are being proactive.

Let us look at other jurisdictions. Let us talk about the U.S., for example. The social welfare programs could be somewhat in danger. I am quoting from what I believe is called the American social security program that is projecting that the benefits Americans are receiving now when they are retiring will not be guaranteed to still be there in 2033. That could be devastating for Americans, today and in the future and for future generations. That is extremely dangerous.

There is no question that our government is taking a proactive approach to this, and I believe this is a shining example of working together with the provinces and the territories. I believe this is what I would call true federalism, where people, communities, and governments are coming together to put in place an initiative that would make life better for Canadians in the future.

This is not the only initiative that our government has put forward. When we were first elected, the first main initiative we put in place was the 7% tax reduction for Canadians. On top of that, we were the only ones who were willing to and who did put an increase on income tax for the wealthiest Canadians. That was a major initiative that our government put in place.

The second one, which we know—and as I travel across my riding, seniors and Canadians who will retire soon share that—is the fact that the age for OAS was returned to 65 years old. Canadians are extremely happy that they do not have to work those extra two years. That is another major initiative that our government brought forward.

There are all kinds of those. We can look at the budget. The 2016 budget focused on the child care benefit. That child care benefit program, while I was campaigning, was the most important thing.

We are saying Canada needs more people. We want immigrants, we want refugees, and we also want to have more kids, young families; so we need to support them, and we are supporting them with that major initiative of the child care benefit.

The infrastructure investment will create jobs and create foreign investment. Those are initiatives that will be very positive.

I have to say in closing that I am extremely happy with this initiative. I know that the people in my riding will be extremely happy with this, and I also know that Canadians will be happy. This is the Canadian way of doing business, and it is how government should work, working together for the betterment of all Canadians.

[Hurricane Matthew, October 17th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my support and that of the people in my riding of Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook for the relief efforts to help those affected by the flooding in Cape Breton.

As members know, communities that face terrible situations such as this need a lot of support, and I would like to commend the families and individuals involved for their efforts.

As a native of Cape Breton, I am extremely proud of the people of Cape Breton and how they came to support each other, which they always do. They never leave anybody behind in tough situations. I am proud to be a native of Cape Breton.

I would like to thank the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness for being present on the ground, helping and talking with individuals about our government. I want to thank, of course, the members of Parliament for Sydney—Victoria and Cape Breton—Canso, and the premier of Nova Scotia for being on the ground, talking, sharing, and showing how Nova Scotia will support all Cape Bretoners.

[Veterans, September 26th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to share some feedback from the town hall I held with veterans last week in my riding. I would state first and foremost that Nova Scotia has the largest number of veterans and military members in the country per capita, and the riding of Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook has the highest percentage in Nova Scotia.

It was a great evening. Many veterans and military members were able to share their perspective on various issues and concerns they might have. Many were sharing the good things that are happening, as well as some suggestions about how we could improve. It was an excellent night.

However, there were a few things that came out of that discussion. One was the need for lifelong pensions, which is extremely important to them. Another was that they would like to see a 24-hour clinic at the Camp Hill hospital to provide specialized care.

I want to thank the minister for having invited MPs to share their feedback.

I also want to thank all of the veterans who came out and shared that information with me.

[Business of Supply, September 22nd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I will be supporting the motion. I know that based on the information that this side of the House has provided the Prime Minister will make the right decision and we will have very qualified candidates to choose from. I am confident this is what will happen.

[Business of Supply, September 22nd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

It is worth noting that in our old system, no one was bilingual. It was impossible. We are therefore proposing candidates who can speak French, who have a good level of written and oral comprehension, and who can get by in the language in question.

What is relevant is that we are making progress once again. There is nothing to fear. We are going forward where the previous government would not, and this shows that we are much more open.