QUESTION PERIOD — Finance
Budget 2019
April 4, 2019
Honourable senators, my question is to the Leader of the Government in the Senate.
Senator Harder, we all know to what lengths the Prime Minister will go to save jobs. He has even lost two senior ministers over this concern. Last month, Minister Morneau brought in a budget which was full of bobbles, bangles, bells and bright shiny things.
As a highly intelligent person, can you tell me why Minister Morneau ignored the pillars of good financial planning? I’m thinking of productivity — we all know Canada lags the G7 in productivity — tax competitiveness, and there is nothing to attract investment into Canada. We know that foreign investment has fallen off badly. Are you leaving this for the next government to deal with?
I thank the honourable senator for her question, particularly the preamble in which she referenced my genius. I don’t often have the occasion to thank senators for their preambles.
Let me reiterate the priority this government has in making investments in a period of some anxiety in the workplace. Those investments have, over the course of now four budgets, yielded Canada’s growth to be the highest in the G7. That has led to an ever-diminishing debt-to-GDP ratio, which is the anchor, which has led to the lowest unemployment rate in many years, and these investments are achieving the results of bringing some stability to the labour markets and some economic growth that otherwise would not be there.
The honourable senator references properly the ongoing historic concern in Canada with regard to private sector productivity and innovation. The honourable senator will know there have been, over the course of these four budgets, investments in the innovation sector, particularly targeted investments, that are strengthening the capacity of the Government of Canada to work with the private sector and innovators to not only bring their products to market, but to find new markets to invest in the highly qualified personnel who are the essential requirement of an innovative and highly competitive marketplace.
These are ongoing projects. They are multi-year and, frankly, they have been multi-government. They will have to have more attention over the course of budgets in the future.
Honourable senators, my question is also for the Leader of the Government in the Senate.
Senator Harder, in the present budget, the government very quietly — and some journalists have suggested deviously — has again, unfortunately, targeted Alberta industry, this time the Alberta tourist industry. On page 295 of the recent budget, the government has eliminated the $7 million Jasper Icefields Trail project. Quietly, just gone.
Of equal significance, on page 328, the Government of Canada indicates that it intends to amend the National Parks Act to alter the agreed boundaries of the ski area in Banff National Park. This, unfortunately, has been done after protracted and failed negotiations between the government and the industry.
The CEO of Sunshine Village, which many of you would know as one of North America’s leading ski resorts, has indicated that they were intending to invest $75 million in that resort over the next five years. If what the government is now threatening should come to fruition, perhaps they will invest $5 million over the next 20 years.
Leader, this is no major investment in ski areas or in tourism. Jobs will suffer, tourism will suffer and it will continue to make businesses in this country uncompetitive.
Leader, can you please seek clarity from Environment Canada that they will respect the interests of the tourist industry and the citizens of Alberta and reverse these plans?
I thank the honourable senator for his question.
I want to assure him and all senators that Parks Canada is committed to downhill skiing in national parks. Downhill skiing has provided a cornerstone for the winter tourism ski areas, as he will know, having participated in such activity.
The amendments identified in the budget are administrative in nature and reflect what was developed and agreed upon collaboratively with the Lake Louise ski area as they develop their site guidelines with Parks Canada. In each case, the ski area operator agreed to make significant environmental improvements which resulted in a reduction of their lease area without impacting visitor experience. These amendments are well known to the respective ski area operators and support the commitments they have made to Parks Canada’s ski area planning process.
As the honourable senator will know, I would expect that the budget implementation act will be before the Senate for pre-study and, later in the session, before the Senate chamber, and I would invite him to probe on this matter as appropriate. But I do want to assure him, as I hope I have, with respect to the intentions behind this matter.
