Darrell Samson

[Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 1, May 10th, 2016]

Madam Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to stand in the House today and speak to Bill C-15, the budget implementation act. I am extremely happy because the budget would deliver for constituents in my riding as well as people all across Canada. It is a budget that would help all Canadians in various capacities.

I would like to begin by speaking about Eastern Passage, an area in my riding on the north side of Halifax harbour. Eastern Passage is a vibrant community that is home to many local entrepreneurs, a small craft harbour, great restaurants, and a healthy dose of east coast hospitality. This community is proud of its neighbourhoods and its people. Many tourists from Nova Scotia, from all across Canada, and from outside of Canada visit this small but vibrant area.

The fishery and tourist industries in Eastern Passage would be much improved if the upgrading included the extension of the wharf and dredging of the harbour. This would not only help the fishermen to enter an existing harbour, but it would also stimulate the economy for the tourist industry. These two projects would create much-needed prosperity.

Some members may not know that about 250,000 visitors on cruise ships stop in Halifax harbour in the summer, spring, and fall. These people could access Eastern Passage in 15 or 20 minutes by boat. This would allow them to enjoy the hospitality of this small village and other parts of my riding.

I would love to be able to stand here today and make those official announcements but I am unable to do that. However, I am proud to say that the budget would create opportunities for many communities across Canada and enable them to access funding for many infrastructure projects. It is our responsibility to work hard and closely with various organizations and communities to help them apply and hopefully receive funding for their very important projects.

It is obvious that the last 10 years were very difficult for many communities across Canada. There was very little co-operation and very little investment in many communities over the last 10 years with the last government. This budget is evidence that we listened well to Canadians across Canada throughout our campaign and since then.

The budget not only address infrastructure, but it also addresses many other important areas that we need to talk about. It ensures that we are respecting our obligation to support our veterans who served so proudly for Canadians to ensure that we maintain peace. They fought for our freedom around the world. It is extremely important to talk about the involvement and the support of veterans.

I have a copy of a book entitled Further Than Yesterday: That's All That Counts by retired Captain Medric Cousineau, a resident of my riding in Nova Scotia. He is all too familiar with the risk of defending our country abroad. Medric was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder several years ago and suffered from depression. Luckily, he had access to a service dog named Thai that was constantly by his side. Today, Medric is in a much better place and this is reflected in his inspiring book.

Budget 2016 invests in veterans like Captain Cousineau by reopening the nine veterans offices that were closed by the previous government. This will help those veterans who in service to Canada, returned from war to Canada with various issues. We need to make sure they have these services. Reopening these offices will provide much-needed help. The budget also proposes to reduce the client-to-case manager ratio to 25:1. That means veterans across Canada will receive quality, efficient, and personalized service. These and many other measures, including the increase in earnings loss benefits, the increase in disability awards, and the expanding access to the higher grades of the permanent impairment allowance amount to one of the most significant investments in our veterans in a generation.

Just as our veterans have defended our future, our youth will build it. This is why budget 2016 also makes innovative investments in young Canadians. Also serving as minister of youth, our Prime Minister has shown strong leadership in having a government that will include the points of view of young Canadians from across the country.

That is why I am so excited about the Prime Minister's proposed youth advisory council announced in this budget. This youth advisory council will consist of young Canadians from all walks of life and will advise the Prime Minister in a non-partisan way on the issues and challenges that youth face in their day-to-day lives and on how we can maybe help address those issues.

I know there are many worthy candidates in various villages in my riding who could contribute to this advisory council. I would encourage them to put their names forward.

I would also like to emphasize our government's commitment to our country's official languages. As a proud Acadian, I am well aware of the importance of ensuring that francophones across the country have access to the services they need in their community in the language of their choice.

In Nova Scotia, we fought long and hard for the right to have high-quality education in French. We got our wish thanks to the hard work of francophone Acadian representatives and activists. Unfortunately, over the past 10 years, they saw inexcusable cuts to the services offered to the francophone and Acadian minority.

More than 400 positions at the Translation Bureau disappeared; the court challenges program was cut; the budget of the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages remained more or less the same for far too long; and the Commissioner's recommendations were ignored.

I will also point out that there was no real funding increase to the road map over the past eight years. This created numerous challenges for the associations and organizations in our rural communities throughout the country. Our government is going to turn the page on that.

Following a motion moved in committee by my colleague from Ottawa—Vanier, we are currently developing some recommendations to improve and support the Translation Bureau. We have already relaunched the court challenges program, and we will be reviewing the Commissioner's recommendations.

That being said, we will not stop there. We know that francophone immigration will be a key element in sustaining those communities and ensuring their vitality.

We will also launch consultations with communities regarding the road map, in order to make the necessary changes.

In conclusion, I would like to repeat something that I have said often in this House. I am very proud to be a part of this government, a government that is delivering for Canadians.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 1., May 5th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his most interesting speech, which was resolutely focused on the economy. I have a great deal of respect for him.

My father was an entrepreneur, a plumber and electrician. He often served as a municipal councillor as well. He had dealings with the community and with industry. As he would often say, it takes money to make money. You have to invest to make money. If you do not borrow, you cannot invest, and the best time to borrow is now, while interest rates are very low.

Is my colleague saying that small and large businesses should not borrow to invest in their economy and their work, in order to create more prosperity in the local economy as well as in Canada?

[The Budget, April 14th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my esteemed colleague. Not only is he a member in this House, but he also sits on the Standing Committee on Official Languages.

I am happy that he asked this question, since it is an extremely important one.

We are certainly in the process of examining the roadmap. We have started fast-tracking some major consultations to ensure that the roadmap better meets the needs of our communities and organizations.

There are two important notes, here. I think that the minister has already made some excellent changes. There were some serious problems in the past, and I experienced this myself when I was the superintendent of the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial. First of all, the various organizations had to wait a very long time before getting funding guarantees, and as a result they lost some very good employees. They could not keep them because they did not have guaranteed funding. This has been fixed. Furthermore, there were no multi-year funding agreements. The minister just announced this change.

These are two excellent and major changes made by this government.

[The Budget, April 14th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for asking the important questions and the two points in reference.

There is no question that the budget is a comprehensive and impressive one, because not only does it help taxpayers with a 7% tax reduction, which is a very importance piece, but it also invests in the Canada child benefit program, which is tax-free money. That tax-free money is a lot more, almost $3,000 more, than any family was receiving. Those monies will enable families to invest in different types of sports programs and have support for the costs of these items.

The income-splitting question is a good one, because the individuals the member is speaking of would be making a lot more money. Of course, we have income splitting available for seniors, and that is what is important.

This is a very comprehensive budget that supports many Canadians across Canada.

[The Budget, April 14th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to stand today before the House to speak to budget 2016. This budget is extremely important to allow growth and prosperity to the middle class.

My speech will touch on three major areas: investment in the middle class; our relationship with indigenous people, which is extremely important; and of course the historic investment in infrastructure, which would see growth and prosperity in the near future.

During the campaign, I met a gentleman named Tyler in my riding of Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, and in talking with him, I realized the challenges he had. He was making a modest income, he had three young kids, and his wife was a stay-at-home mom, supporting the children. With that income, it is quite challenging for families. When we look at how items in the budget could support Tyler's family, it is quite impressive.

By that I mean that the Canada child benefit program would see $1,116 per month going toward the support of his family and some of the challenges of the costs. That represents $13,400 of tax-free money. There is no question that this budget would make a big difference to his family and many young families across the country.

There are many families out there, some who are even more vulnerable and have even more challenges, and this budget would support more than 300,000 families and pull them out of poverty. We would also see nine out of 10 families benefiting from this budget.

It is very obvious that this is a major investment in the middle class. Studies have shown in the past that, when we invest in young families early, it reduces the costs to government in the future. That is the type of government we have here.

The second point I would make is about our indigenous people.

I would like to talk about indigenous people and the challenges they have been facing for far too long. What is really impressive is that this government is going to invest in these communities because they have enormous challenges. Past governments of all stripes did not really invest as much as they should have, and that is why this budget is important.

What kind of investments do we have here? The government is going to invest $8.4 billion to support indigenous people. Furthermore, I am pleased that it will invest $2.6 billion in education. This is vital for primary and secondary education on reserves.

It is very important to note that only 36% of indigenous youth graduate from high school, compared to 72% for the general population. As we can see, this is a very serious situation that must be addressed. That is what this government intends to do. There is also a great need for renovations to school infrastructure in indigenous communities. This money will also be used for that purpose. Furthermore, an investment will be made to provide access to clean drinking water and improve health services and the quality of education. As we know, education is probably the most important thing we can give young people. This investment will help them develop their skills and also help them return to their communities to make a contribution, which is key for any group of individuals.

I would also like to talk about the tax credit for teachers, which is extremely important. Many teachers use their own personal money so that they can add equipment or material to their classrooms. I see this happening often. I have personal experience. I am a teacher, my wife is a teacher, and my two daughters are teachers. This tax credit of 15% would be a big piece to support this initiative, up to $1,000 of course. It recognizes the investment made by teachers and the hard work they do for students across Canada.

For the last part of my speech I would like to talk about the infrastructure investment. When we talk about infrastructure, people think right away about bridges and roads, but the investment in infrastructure by this government is about more than that. It is about social investment, digital investment, and environmental investment. These are much larger categories and would help a greater number of people.

Let me talk about social infrastructure. Many communities in my riding require affordable senior housing. This would ensure that seniors stayed in their own communities where they could see their children and their grandchildren grow. That is important. Statistics Canada has indicated that Nova Scotia has one of the oldest populations in the country. The needs in my riding of Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook are extremely important.

As well, we are seeing investments for veterans. Our government would reopen the nine veteran offices that were closed by the past government. We owe a deep debt of gratitude and appreciation to all veterans for their service. This is one small step, but we are going in the right direction.

Also, with respect to digital infrastructure, rural broadband access is important in my riding and across Canada. I have participated in the rural community caucus, which has clearly announced that broadband is a top priority. Our government would invest $500 million over five years in this budget for high-speed Internet, which would allow small rural and remote communities to thrive and provide people with the necessary equipment for the challenges of the 21st century.

I am working on many major projects in my community: for example, the Burnside-Sackville expressway, the dredging of the inlet in Eastern Passage, the Aerotech Business Park, and so forth. What I like about this budget is that the categories would be set now for us to take advantage of and get these jobs done. It is extremely important that every member in the House, not just Liberal members, has access to these types of categories to help the people in their ridings.

It is a nice feeling to stand here today and know that we are seeing steps toward what we promised to our constituents in this budget, and many of the things we promised are going to get done. Over the next four years, we will see many more great things happen to help and support all Canadians.

[International Day of La Francophonie, March 21st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, March 20, we celebrated the International Day of La Francophonie, which is an opportunity to celebrate our linguistic diversity and to appreciate just how closely the Acadian and French languages and cultures are intertwined with history and shared values. It is something that unites francophones around the world.

As the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, the secretary general of La Francophonie, said so well:

...let us seize the opportunity presented today, March 20, to make the language we share the language of resistance, by restoring meaning and power to the words that bind and unite us.

I would like to tell francophones around the world to consider immigrating to minority environments, such as Nova Scotia, if they are considering immigrating to Canada.

In order to safeguard our vibrancy, our language and our culture, we must fully include new Canadians.

[Income Tax Act, March 11th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, it is funny. As the Liberals were laying out their strong platform, it was becoming more and more evident throughout the campaign, and the closer we got to October 19, that Canadians had made up their minds that this platform would ensure the middle class, young families, youth, seniors, all Canadians, would have opportunities to improve and would have many more opportunities in this country to prosper.

That is what good government is. That is why I am proud to be a Liberal member in this governing party.

[Income Tax Act, March 11th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question. However, I must say that this is another reason why the NDP did not succeed in the election on October 19.

The NDP only looks at what happens on an individual basis. As I said in my speech, they do not see that the Liberal government strategy is horizontal. We are providing tax relief, but we are also making major investments in the child benefit to help young families. This benefit will put another $2,500 in the pockets of middle-class families. Our government has a comprehensive vision for its full four-year term.

[Income Tax Act, March 11th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, when I made reference to 30%, I was talking about 30% of the people in my riding who will benefit from that tax cut.

What is important to keep in mind is that nine out of ten Canadians will benefit across Canada. That is what is extremely important, that nine out of ten Canadians and over 315,000 children will be pulled out of poverty. Those are the types of programs and laws that this party wants to bring forward.

[Income Tax Act, March 11th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I am rising for two reasons. The first is personal, and the second is to talk about Bill C-2

I would like to inform the House that this morning, my wife and I became new grandparents. Our first grandchild was born, and we are so proud. My daughter, Chantal, and her husband, Mathieu Hayley, are the proud parents of a beautiful little girl named Maëlle.

I am extremely proud and happy to rise on Bill C-2, the law that talks about benefits for the middle class. That is what was so important about our election campaign. This was a promise that we made throughout our campaign platform, and this will make good on it.

I was very happy to hear our Prime Minister indicate that this would be the first priority of our government in this 42nd Parliament. This was a platform promise that we felt was essential because over the last 10 years the middle class has been struggling. That has been extremely difficult for many people across Canada, in many communities.

This idea is not something that came from within. This is something we heard throughout the campaign, because we were listening to and consulting with Canadians during door-to-door visits. We heard clearly that the middle class were in need of some type of tax relief for them, as they were struggling. Many people were telling me that they were working extremely hard and yet did not seem to be getting ahead because the cost of living was rising, because of the challenges of paying for personal family needs, for day care, etc. After 10 years of what I would call a low-growth economy, Canadians were looking for real change.

Our Minister of Finance has been hard at work as well, consulting with Canadians for the upcoming budget. He has consulted from coast to coast to coast. He was in Nova Scotia and had great attendance by youth at the university, and as well at the chamber of commerce. This allowed many Canadians to be engaged in this process of sharing some innovative and creative ideas. This is another sign of what I call a government that is open, transparent, and accessible. Our minister displayed that throughout that process, and I am very pleased with that.

The reality is that people have to pay the mortgage, as well as for groceries and other essentials, like child care and so on. It is very difficult for the middle class. This formula is not good for the economy, that is for sure. The bill we are debating today will allow us to shift the tax burden, so that those who have a little more will get a little less and those who have a little less will get a little more.

In my riding, over 30% of the citizens will gain from this tax reduction. Over nine million Canadians will also be taking advantage of this tax reduction. This means that a family of four will have about $540 more in their pockets for spending on things that are essential for the family.

It is also important to note that this is only part of the plan. Our plan is much more horizontal, if you will; in other words, many other initiatives that were set out in our platform will be rolled out over the next four years. What we want is to support the middle class. Our government will also be investing in infrastructure and transportation, which is absolutely crucial to stimulating the economy.

In my riding, which is Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, public transit and transportation are extremely important. One has to understand that there are both urban and rural parts of my riding, and I am working closely with my colleague from Dartmouth—Cole Harbour on the construction of the long-awaited Sackville-Burnside expressway. It is essential and must move forward as soon as possible.

In addition, our government is committed to creating a Canada child benefit. This will help families with day care, a fairer system, one that would see Canadians who have a little more get a little less, and those who have less getting more. That is a fairer system. There are nine out of ten Canadians who would benefit from this. Over 315,000 children will be pulled out of poverty. That is the type of plan that will be effective for Canadians. That means about $2,500 more per year for families, tax-free. Add that to the $540, and it is over $3,000 per year per family. That is a very important aspect of taxes for Canadians. There will be more money in their pockets.

Our government has focused on fairness. We want to support the middle class by ensuring they have money in their pockets and that they are able to prosper.

I would like to make one final point regarding Bill C-2. We made some changes to tax-free savings accounts. The Conservatives had increased the contribution limit to $10,000. We dropped it back down to $5,500, given that 93% of Canadians were not taking advantage of the increase, because they could not afford to. The only people who will not benefit from this measure are the wealthy, not the middle class. In fact, the $10,000 limit was giving more money to those who already had the most, and the Canadian government was having to pay millions of dollars more over five years, and billions more in the long term. This will mean less spending, but it will go to those who need it most.

For the last 10 years, like I said, the middle class has been ignored. This government is putting the middle class at the forefront. This government will ensure that our policies reflect what is important for middle-class Canadians.