The government defended its record on the economy and job creation Monday as it came under attack from the opposition during the first day of Parliament's fall session.Official Opposition Leader Nycole Turmel kicked off question period by accusing Prime Minister Stephen Harper of wearing rose-coloured glasses when he looks at the Canadian economy and she asked when the government will take action to create more jobs and prevent the country from slipping into recession.
Harper congratulated Turmel for asking her first question as the NDP's interim leader in the House of Commons then went on to say Canada is part of a fragile global economy and that the government is taking targeted measures to manage the economy and create jobs.
"There are more people working in Canada today than before the recession," Harper said, adding that Turmel needs to get her facts straight. The government is investing in research and development, opening trade markets and keeping taxes low, he said.
Turmel, who is leading the NDP until a permanent leader to succeed the late Jack Layton is chosen in March, said the government's plan isn't working and her party's finance critic, Peggy Nash, continued the line of attack. She criticized the government for corporate tax cuts and said the Conservatives are falling short on job creation, an accusation that was rejected by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty.
"Our job record is second to none," he said. Flaherty said the unemployment rate is still too high and the government is working on it but the way to bring it down is not by raising taxes on businesses.
Liberal interim leader Bob Rae also chose the economy as the topic for his first question of the fall session, asking Harper if the government would provide a fall economic statement in the next three weeks and if it would concentrate on the "jobs crisis."
Rae did not get an answer and when he asked the question a second time, Harper again said nothing about a fall economic statement. Harper said Canada is facing risks from the fragile global economy and that his government is taking responsible actions.
All parties agree that the economy should be a primary focus for Parliament this fall but they don't agree on what to do about it. There are a number of other issues that are poised to cause division in the House of Commons in the coming weeks, as indicated by the legislative priorities laid out earlier in the day by Conservative House Leader Peter Van Loan and by the other issues that came up in question period.
In addition to the economy, MPs also got fired up over the government's plan to scrap the Canadian Wheat Board and over the chief of the defence staff's use of Challenger jets. The NDP also tried to stir controversy around Tory MP Bob Dechert, whose flirty emails to a Chinese journalist landed him in hot water, and around the G8 legacy fund.
Earlier in the day, Van Loan said that the government will remain focused on the economy and job creation this fall and its "top legislative priority" is to pass a bill to implement more measures from the spring budget.
"Our Economic Action Plan is working, we must stay on track," Van Loan said. The bill will include measures to implement various tax credits for small businesses and parents. The government will also re-introduce bills that died when the election was called that would implement free trade agreements with Panama and Jordan. Van Loan said these deals will help create jobs.
Beyond the economy, a second priority for the government is its omnibus crime bill that bundles together several previous bills and the Conservatives pledged during the election would be passed within 100 days. "We will keep that commitment," said Van Loan.
Crime has always been a focus for the Conservatives and critics have questioned why it is such a priority when crime rates have been dropping in Canada.
Van Loan said he's encouraged by the statistics, "But crime is still far too high in this country and our agenda is to make our communities safer."
"That is what our comprehensive crime bill will seek to do and I believe it has the strong support of Canadians," he said.
But the NDP says it is going to be an effective Official Opposition party this fall and is poised to attack the Conservatives over the crime bill.
"At a time when hundreds of thousands of Canadians are looking for work and the economy is in the possibility at least of slipping into another recession, we found out today from the Conservatives that it's their so-called law and order agenda that's the top priority," the NDP's house leader Thomas Mulcair told reporters. "In other words, investing in prisons rather than in infrastructure, rather than in keeping the economy going. We will be holding them to account for that," he said.
Van Loan accused the opposition parties of blocking previous crime and justice bills from progressing in previous sessions of Parliament. Now with a majority in the House of Commons, the Senate and on committees, the Conservatives have more control over how quickly their bills can be passed. Van Loan said the omnibus crime bill contains measures that have already been studied at length in committees and they don't require extensive consultations again.
He rejected the idea, however, that the government won't be listening to input from experts on the mega-bill.
"Legislators have already had the benefit of much input," he said. "We always listen to the best experts and we think the best experts in Canada are Canadians, are the voters who gave us a mandate to do what we said we would do."
Mulcair said the NDP, however, will be pushing for hearings on the omnibus bill, particularly because the cost to implement it hasn't been revealed.
"We simply don't have a number. That's one of the reasons you have to have full, open, transparent hearings on this so that the real numbers can be put on the table," he said.
The opposition and government are also set to face off on a number of other issues this fall including the Conservatives' plan to scrap the Canadian Wheat Board and the controversial long-gun registry.
Canada's participation in the NATO mission in Libya, set to expire on Sept.27, will also be a contentious issue in the Commons. The NDP is opposed to any extension but Van Loan said Monday that Canada wants to be part of the mission until it is concluded successfully.
"Things are very, very close," he said. "If it is necessary to complete the mission to have an extension, we of course are committed to having a vote of the House to do that if that's necessary."
Monday's fall session of Parliament began with emotional tributes to the NDP's late leader Jack Layton, followed by a minute of silence. Layton died in August and his seat was symbolically left vacant in the Commons Monday.
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Source: CBC
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