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May 5, 2015 - House of Commons, Canada Question Period Megan Leslie Halifax, NS: Mr. Speaker, the numbers do not lie. The Conservatives' economic policy is getting us nowhere. According to Statistics Canada, Canada's trade deficit has reached $3 billion. The Conservative government's policies are making Canadian companies less competitive and getting in the way of creating of good jobs. Will the Conservatives do something about this? What is their plan for reducing the trade deficit? Ed Fast Minister of International Trade: Mr. Speaker, no government has done more to advance Canada's trading relationships. We concluded trade agreements with 38 different countries over 9 years. What is more, last year, Canada's trade surplus was $5.2 billion, which was a turnaround of $12 billion. Exports last year were up another 10% from the previous year. Our government remains focused on creating jobs through aggressive trade promotion, while of course the NDP wants to raise taxes on the middle class. That is not what we are going to do. Megan Leslie Halifax, NS: Mr. Speaker, the Conservative economic plan is failing Canada. Under its mismanagement, we just posted another record trade deficit, swelling to $3 billion in March alone. The Conservative plan is also failing families that face layoffs and growing job uncertainty while struggling with rising costs, and still the Conservatives have no plan to create even a single affordable child care space. When will the Conservatives stop ignoring the needs of Canadian families and deliver the NDP's plan for $15 a day child care? Candice Bergen Minister of State (Social Development): Mr. Speaker, what we recognize is that families across the country have a variety of child care needs. We refuse to dictate to Canadian families how they should be looking after their children. We refuse to say that, if they are not using a licensed daycare spot, they do not deserve support. That is not what we are saying. That is what the NDP says. What we are saying is that every family in the country with children deserves support. That is what we are delivering in tax cuts, in direct benefits, and in other tax benefits, like our child fitness tax credit. We are supporting families. We are supporting their right to choose how they look after their children. Megan Leslie Halifax, NS: Mr. Speaker, both the old-line parties have tax gifts for the wealthy instead of creating affordable child care spaces. While our trade deficit is soaring, imports of industrial machinery actually fell. That is a bad sign for a manufacturing sector that suffered from Conservatives' neglect. We have lost more than 400,000 jobs under their watch alone. Fewer good manufacturing jobs means more families are struggling to pay the bills as costs like child care continue to rise. Will the Conservatives scrap handouts to the wealthy and instead invest in boosting job creation and creating affordable child care spaces? James Moore Minister of Industry: Mr. Speaker, on the subject of manufacturing, in this year's budget we put forth accelerated capital cost allowance, which has been called for by the manufacturing sector for a long time. While New Democrats may not like our policies when it comes to manufacturing, here is who is endorsing our budget: the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, the Railway Association of Canada, the Canadian Steel Producers Association, the Agricultural Manufacturers of Canada, the Canadian Plastics Industry Association, and the Canadian Tooling and Machining Association. I could go on, but those who know what it takes to build manufacturing in Canada support our government and support our budget.