Gudie Hutchings

Madam Speaker, we know that working collaboratively to renew the relationship based on recognition of rights, respect, co-operation and partnership is key to achieving reconciliation and moving forward on self-determination for our indigenous people in Canada. The assertion of jurisdiction over education is just one step towards self-determination, and it is vital for communities to be able to teach their children in a way that underscores the importance of their culture and their language. Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations update the House on the efforts to accelerate self-determination for indigenous people while closing the unacceptable education gap in our indigenous communities?

Mr. Speaker, construction workers in my riding and across the country have approached me to explain how late payments affect them and their families. Small businesses count on getting paid in a timely manner in order to feed their families.This has been an issue for far too long. Can the minister please update the House as to what action our government is taking to ensure that contractors, especially subcontractors, in the construction industry are paid in a timely manner?

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House we do understand small business.One of the things I would like all my colleagues to realize is our bizpal program. Entrepreneurs have made it clear to us that navigating through permits and licences, through all levels of government, is confusing, frustrating, and, most important, time consuming.We are proud of our bizpal program. It is one of the many ways we align our efforts with provincial, territorial, and municipal governments to support and respond to what all entrepreneurs and small businesses are asking of us.They want to succeed. They want to create jobs and drive—

Mr. Speaker, indigenous women and girls face unique challenges in their day-to-day life. Their rate of poverty is three times that of the general population. Women's groups across the country are working hard to remove barriers so all women and girls can fully reach their potential. With collaboration and partnership, we create more opportunities for women and advance gender equality.Could the Minister of Status of Women tell the House how this government is strengthening the women's movement so it can address issues impacting indigenous women?

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for the question. We know that the small business tax rate is there to help companies grow and create jobs, but we need to make sure that the small business tax system is fair and being used appropriately. The loophole is allowing far too many people to use this rate to get out of paying personal income taxes that the rest of us pay each and every year. This loophole is costing taxpayers over $500 million a year. We need to fix the problem so that those using the small business tax rate are the small business owners who are creating jobs for our communities.

Mr. Speaker, as a former small business owner and operator, I know how important women entrepreneurs are, not only to the economy in my riding of the Long Range Mountains, but to my province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and to our entire country. I would like to take this opportunity to ask the Minister of Small Business and Tourism what steps our government is taking to help encourage more women to be their own bosses and become successful entrepreneurs.

Mr. Speaker, the tourism industry is an important economic driver for all our communities from coast to coast to coast, especially in my beautiful rural riding of the Long Range Mountains. In Newfoundland and Labrador alone, tourism provides close to 30,000 good jobs for middle-class Canadians. However, we know that better is always possible. Could the Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie update the House on the government's plan to grow our tourism sector, create more jobs and grow our economy.

Mr. Speaker, we are in support of small business and we know small business needs a robust economy.I would to remind my hon. colleague of some of the things that we are doing to make very important investments that are directly helping small business. We are investing over $11 billion in infrastructure spending; $500 million for broadband in rural and remote areas, which is definitely for small business; another $50 million for the industrial research program; $4 million for the Canadian technical accelerator initiative; and $800 million for innovation.This government is definitely helping small business.

Madam Speaker, while our hearts go out to those in the oil fields, I would like to make one point. This government does understand small business. We made a huge investment into Destination Canada this year. The small business operators tell us that they want customers. I am pleased to report that Destination Canada has said that tourism was up by over 10%, for June, July, and August. It was the best summer we have had since 2002. Small business operators wanted more customers, and that is what we have given them.

Mr. Speaker, we on this side of the House love to talk about small business. Our government is committed to ensuring tax fairness and to making sure every Canadian pays his or her share. All our measures are meant to encourage and support small business owners. They are creating good jobs for the middle class, and they are growing our economy for the long term.What small businesses need more than anything is a strong, thriving economy, and that is the kind of environment our government is working to create through smart, necessary, and prudent investments in our economy, in our communities, and in our middle class.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my hon. colleague of another initiative we had in our budget that we are very proud of, which was the increased marketing money for Destination Canada, increasing it by $50 million.We know that most of these tourism industries are small and medium-sized businesses. What that $50 million is going to do is bring more customers to them, driving across our new roads and bridges too, I might add.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise in the House as a small business owner and operator in Newfoundland and Labrador for over 25 years. I am proud to stand with a government that understands small business owners need and want a robust economy to succeed. We know that the small business tax rate is there to help companies grow, but we also know there is a loophole, as I mentioned yesterday. That is costing taxpayers an estimated $500 million a year. We are going to fix that problem and I look forward to being part of the team that will fix that.

Mr. Speaker, this government does understand the importance of small and medium-size businesses. We understand that they are the backbone of the economy. They are proud of the work that they do, especially in the tourism industry where we have seen a boom of $90 billion this summer for 192,000 small and medium-size businesses. And they are small businesses.Also, with the investments we have done in infrastructure, they, too, are small and medium-size businesses. We are doing a lot to help them, and we will continue to do so.

The investment in Destination Canada is going to have a huge impact from coast to coast to coast in our tourism industries.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the minister responsible for seniors about an issue that occurred in the past month. Some seniors living separately for no reason of their own seem to be being denied their GIS benefits. Can the minister tell the House what action he has taken to ensure our seniors get all the benefits they deserve?

Mr. Speaker, our government has been working hard to advance gender equality, and our plan is working. One million jobs have been created and there are now more women working then ever before. Women's organizations are at the forefront of gender equality, yet they often remain underfunded, undermined, despite the vital role they play. Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Women and Gender Equality please tell the House how our government will change the way government funds women's organizations to make them more sustainable and stable for the future?

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for the question because we know that there is a loophole that allows some to use the tax rate to get out of paying the personal income taxes the rest of us pay all year. But we do understand small business and I understand small business and we know they need a robust economy and they need strong consumers. With our middle-class income tax cuts, the child benefits, the investments in infrastructure, in broadband, in incubators and accelerators, in tourism marketing, the list goes on, absolutely all of it helps small and medium-sized businesses.

Mr. Speaker, this government understands the importance of small and medium-size businesses. We understand that they represent over 90% of the businesses in this country and contribute to over 40% of the GDP. That is why we are proud to deliver on our platform of reducing taxes for small businesses.As my minister said earlier in the week, watch for the budget and the details will be there.

Mr. Speaker, we need to look at the budget as a whole, because we understand and we know that the budget focuses on the middle class, which is the key for small business. We know that middle-class Canadians are those who own and work in small businesses. They are also customers and clients. We know a strong, vibrant middle class is great for business, and our government is making very important investments, which will directly help small business.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my colleague of a few details in the budget that make us proud that we are supporting small businesses.We know they are strong and vibrant part of our economy. Our government is making very important investments which will directly help small businesses, like the $11.9 billion in infrastructure spending. We want to make sure that goods and services and clients can get to these businesses. We are spending $500 million in broadband in rural and remote areas that is going to have an impact on small businesses, $15 million for the industrial research program, another $4 million for the Canadian technology acceleration initiative, and $800 million for—

Mr. Speaker, in 1949, my province joined Confederation as Canada's 10th province. Since then, it has been our constitutional right as Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to be guaranteed a connection to Canada's mainland. Eastern Canadian ferries are essential for tourism, for the movement of goods and services and for providing locals with an alternative source of transportation. Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport please advise my constituents and all those who rely on the ferry services how our government's plans are improving our connection to the mainland?

Mr. Speaker, we do like to talk about small businesses and the things we are doing to help them.Small business owners and operators tell us that they want and need a robust economy. We are making investments to ensure we support that growth. They want consumers, so we have given them the middle-class tax cut, the Canadian child benefit, investments in infrastructure, broadband, tourism marketing, incubators, accelerators, and the list goes on. All of this definitely supports small business and those in it.

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague and friend, the member for Ottawa West—Nepean, for her passion and her excellent work in the tourism industry.Canada's rural and urban communities have much to share with the world. Last week, the Minister of Small Business and Tourism announced Canada's new vision. This is our pan-Canadian approach to improving tourism marketing, making it easier to get here, and developing new experiences, such as indigenous tourism, LGBTQ tourism, culinary tourism, and so much more.Canada's tourism industry is vital to our economy. It supports more than 1.7 million jobs and thousands of small businesses. I encourage everyone to explore not only—

Mr. Speaker, this week is Tourism Week in Canada. It is a chance to highlight the incredible work and phenomenal success of our tourism industry. From coast to coast to coast, our industry is world class. It has created over 26,000 jobs just since 2015. Culinary tourism in my province of Newfoundland and Labrador is some of the best in the country, as we have seen from chef Ross Larkin's recent win on Top Chef Canada.Could the Minister of Small Business and Tourism please tell the House what our government is doing to make 2018 the best year for Canadian tourism?

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my hon. colleague of the list of items that I just read off to help small businesses.We do understand the impact to small business. We understand that they represent 90% and contribute over 40% of our GDP. That is why we are working hard with them to ensure they can avail of all the programs and initiatives that we announced in our budget that we are proud of. We will work with small and medium-sized businesses from coast to coast to coast to ensure they get the support they need going forward.

Mr. Speaker, this past Monday marked the 70th anniversary since my province of Newfoundland and Labrador joined Confederation.Since 1949, our province has made an invaluable contribution to the social and cultural fabric of our nation. We have seen some unprecedented economic growth and development.Can the Prime Minister please update this House on the details of the renewed Atlantic Accord with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and how this will benefit every single person in our province?

Mr. Speaker, we do like to talk about small businesses and the things we are doing to help them.Small business owners and operators tell us that they want and need a robust economy. We are making investments to ensure we support that growth. They want consumers, so we have given them the middle-class tax cut, the Canadian child benefit, investments in infrastructure, broadband, tourism marketing, incubators, accelerators, and the list goes on. All of this definitely supports small business and those in it.

Mr. Speaker, construction workers in my riding and across the country have approached me to explain how late payments affect them and their families. Small businesses count on getting paid in a timely manner in order to feed their families.This has been an issue for far too long. Can the minister please update the House as to what action our government is taking to ensure that contractors, especially subcontractors, in the construction industry are paid in a timely manner?

Mr. Speaker, we are in support of small business and we know small business needs a robust economy.I would to remind my hon. colleague of some of the things that we are doing to make very important investments that are directly helping small business. We are investing over $11 billion in infrastructure spending; $500 million for broadband in rural and remote areas, which is definitely for small business; another $50 million for the industrial research program; $4 million for the Canadian technical accelerator initiative; and $800 million for innovation.This government is definitely helping small business.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my hon. colleague of the list of items that I just read off to help small businesses.We do understand the impact to small business. We understand that they represent 90% and contribute over 40% of our GDP. That is why we are working hard with them to ensure they can avail of all the programs and initiatives that we announced in our budget that we are proud of. We will work with small and medium-sized businesses from coast to coast to coast to ensure they get the support they need going forward.

Mr. Speaker, this government does understand the importance of small and medium-size businesses. We understand that they are the backbone of the economy. They are proud of the work that they do, especially in the tourism industry where we have seen a boom of $90 billion this summer for 192,000 small and medium-size businesses. And they are small businesses.Also, with the investments we have done in infrastructure, they, too, are small and medium-size businesses. We are doing a lot to help them, and we will continue to do so.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for the question because we know that there is a loophole that allows some to use the tax rate to get out of paying the personal income taxes the rest of us pay all year. But we do understand small business and I understand small business and we know they need a robust economy and they need strong consumers. With our middle-class income tax cuts, the child benefits, the investments in infrastructure, in broadband, in incubators and accelerators, in tourism marketing, the list goes on, absolutely all of it helps small and medium-sized businesses.

Mr. Speaker, this week is Tourism Week in Canada. It is a chance to highlight the incredible work and phenomenal success of our tourism industry. From coast to coast to coast, our industry is world class. It has created over 26,000 jobs just since 2015. Culinary tourism in my province of Newfoundland and Labrador is some of the best in the country, as we have seen from chef Ross Larkin's recent win on Top Chef Canada.Could the Minister of Small Business and Tourism please tell the House what our government is doing to make 2018 the best year for Canadian tourism?

The investment in Destination Canada is going to have a huge impact from coast to coast to coast in our tourism industries.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my hon. colleague of another initiative we had in our budget that we are very proud of, which was the increased marketing money for Destination Canada, increasing it by $50 million.We know that most of these tourism industries are small and medium-sized businesses. What that $50 million is going to do is bring more customers to them, driving across our new roads and bridges too, I might add.

Mr. Speaker, the tourism industry is an important economic driver for all our communities from coast to coast to coast, especially in my beautiful rural riding of the Long Range Mountains. In Newfoundland and Labrador alone, tourism provides close to 30,000 good jobs for middle-class Canadians. However, we know that better is always possible. Could the Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie update the House on the government's plan to grow our tourism sector, create more jobs and grow our economy.

Madam Speaker, while our hearts go out to those in the oil fields, I would like to make one point. This government does understand small business. We made a huge investment into Destination Canada this year. The small business operators tell us that they want customers. I am pleased to report that Destination Canada has said that tourism was up by over 10%, for June, July, and August. It was the best summer we have had since 2002. Small business operators wanted more customers, and that is what we have given them.

Madam Speaker, we know that working collaboratively to renew the relationship based on recognition of rights, respect, co-operation and partnership is key to achieving reconciliation and moving forward on self-determination for our indigenous people in Canada. The assertion of jurisdiction over education is just one step towards self-determination, and it is vital for communities to be able to teach their children in a way that underscores the importance of their culture and their language. Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations update the House on the efforts to accelerate self-determination for indigenous people while closing the unacceptable education gap in our indigenous communities?

Mr. Speaker, we on this side of the House love to talk about small business. Our government is committed to ensuring tax fairness and to making sure every Canadian pays his or her share. All our measures are meant to encourage and support small business owners. They are creating good jobs for the middle class, and they are growing our economy for the long term.What small businesses need more than anything is a strong, thriving economy, and that is the kind of environment our government is working to create through smart, necessary, and prudent investments in our economy, in our communities, and in our middle class.

Mr. Speaker, as a former small business owner and operator, I know how important women entrepreneurs are, not only to the economy in my riding of the Long Range Mountains, but to my province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and to our entire country. I would like to take this opportunity to ask the Minister of Small Business and Tourism what steps our government is taking to help encourage more women to be their own bosses and become successful entrepreneurs.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise in the House as a small business owner and operator in Newfoundland and Labrador for over 25 years. I am proud to stand with a government that understands small business owners need and want a robust economy to succeed. We know that the small business tax rate is there to help companies grow, but we also know there is a loophole, as I mentioned yesterday. That is costing taxpayers an estimated $500 million a year. We are going to fix that problem and I look forward to being part of the team that will fix that.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the minister responsible for seniors about an issue that occurred in the past month. Some seniors living separately for no reason of their own seem to be being denied their GIS benefits. Can the minister tell the House what action he has taken to ensure our seniors get all the benefits they deserve?

Mr. Speaker, our government has been working hard to advance gender equality, and our plan is working. One million jobs have been created and there are now more women working then ever before. Women's organizations are at the forefront of gender equality, yet they often remain underfunded, undermined, despite the vital role they play. Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Women and Gender Equality please tell the House how our government will change the way government funds women's organizations to make them more sustainable and stable for the future?

Mr. Speaker, we need to look at the budget as a whole, because we understand and we know that the budget focuses on the middle class, which is the key for small business. We know that middle-class Canadians are those who own and work in small businesses. They are also customers and clients. We know a strong, vibrant middle class is great for business, and our government is making very important investments, which will directly help small business.

Mr. Speaker, in 1949, my province joined Confederation as Canada's 10th province. Since then, it has been our constitutional right as Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to be guaranteed a connection to Canada's mainland. Eastern Canadian ferries are essential for tourism, for the movement of goods and services and for providing locals with an alternative source of transportation. Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport please advise my constituents and all those who rely on the ferry services how our government's plans are improving our connection to the mainland?

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my colleague of a few details in the budget that make us proud that we are supporting small businesses.We know they are strong and vibrant part of our economy. Our government is making very important investments which will directly help small businesses, like the $11.9 billion in infrastructure spending. We want to make sure that goods and services and clients can get to these businesses. We are spending $500 million in broadband in rural and remote areas that is going to have an impact on small businesses, $15 million for the industrial research program, another $4 million for the Canadian technology acceleration initiative, and $800 million for—

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for the question. We know that the small business tax rate is there to help companies grow and create jobs, but we need to make sure that the small business tax system is fair and being used appropriately. The loophole is allowing far too many people to use this rate to get out of paying personal income taxes that the rest of us pay each and every year. This loophole is costing taxpayers over $500 million a year. We need to fix the problem so that those using the small business tax rate are the small business owners who are creating jobs for our communities.

Mr. Speaker, indigenous women and girls face unique challenges in their day-to-day life. Their rate of poverty is three times that of the general population. Women's groups across the country are working hard to remove barriers so all women and girls can fully reach their potential. With collaboration and partnership, we create more opportunities for women and advance gender equality.Could the Minister of Status of Women tell the House how this government is strengthening the women's movement so it can address issues impacting indigenous women?

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague and friend, the member for Ottawa West—Nepean, for her passion and her excellent work in the tourism industry.Canada's rural and urban communities have much to share with the world. Last week, the Minister of Small Business and Tourism announced Canada's new vision. This is our pan-Canadian approach to improving tourism marketing, making it easier to get here, and developing new experiences, such as indigenous tourism, LGBTQ tourism, culinary tourism, and so much more.Canada's tourism industry is vital to our economy. It supports more than 1.7 million jobs and thousands of small businesses. I encourage everyone to explore not only—

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House we do understand small business.One of the things I would like all my colleagues to realize is our bizpal program. Entrepreneurs have made it clear to us that navigating through permits and licences, through all levels of government, is confusing, frustrating, and, most important, time consuming.We are proud of our bizpal program. It is one of the many ways we align our efforts with provincial, territorial, and municipal governments to support and respond to what all entrepreneurs and small businesses are asking of us.They want to succeed. They want to create jobs and drive—

Mr. Speaker, this past Monday marked the 70th anniversary since my province of Newfoundland and Labrador joined Confederation.Since 1949, our province has made an invaluable contribution to the social and cultural fabric of our nation. We have seen some unprecedented economic growth and development.Can the Prime Minister please update this House on the details of the renewed Atlantic Accord with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and how this will benefit every single person in our province?

Mr. Speaker, this government understands the importance of small and medium-size businesses. We understand that they represent over 90% of the businesses in this country and contribute to over 40% of the GDP. That is why we are proud to deliver on our platform of reducing taxes for small businesses.As my minister said earlier in the week, watch for the budget and the details will be there.