January 21, 2015
Member of Parliament Stephen Woodworth Announces New Support for the Kitchener-Waterloo Working Centre 

The Government is making improvements to the EI program to ensure that it is fair, continues to meet the needs of Canadians and is responsive to local labour market demands, both now and in the future.

In the coming months we will be introducing new ways to further help Canadians claiming EI learn about job opportunities in their local area, to help them get back to work faster.

As we face unprecedented skills shortages, it will be increasingly important to connect local employers with potential local employees before turning to temporary foreign workers.

The Opposition are fear-mongering that these changes will force Canadians to move away from areas of high unemployment. This is simply not true. In fact, it's the opposite: we are ramping up our efforts to ensure people know about the local opportunities in their area.

Canadians on EI want to get back to work - we are working to provide them with the tools they need so that they can find gainful and meaningful employment.

* Our Government is committed to sustainable social programs and a secure retirement for Canadians.

* The facts on OAS are clear:

* The number of Canadians over the age of 65 will increase from 4.7 million to 9.3 million over the next 20 years. * The OAS program was built when Canadians were not living the longer, healthier lives they are today. * Consequently, the cost of the OAS program will increase from $36B per year in 2010 to $108B per year in 2030. * Meanwhile, by 2030, the number of taxpayers for every senior will be 2 - down from 4 in 2010.

* In order to ensure the sustainability of OAS, the age of eligibility will be gradually raised to 67 starting in 2023 and fully implemented in 2029.

* We have ensured that the changes are made with substantial notice and with an adjustment period. They will not affect current retirees or those close to retirement and will give others plenty of time to adjust to the changes and plan for their retirement.

* Our changes will ensure OAS is put on a sustainable path so it is there when Canadians need it.

Backgrounder

Sustainable Social Programs and a Secure Retirement

We will:

* Gradually increase the age of eligibility for Old Age Security (OAS) and Guaranteed Income Supplement benefits from 65 to 67. This change will start in April 2023, with full implementation by January 2029, and will not affect anyone who is 54 years of age or older as of March 31, 2012.

TABLE 4.2 OAS/GIS Age of Eligibility by Date of Birth

Month of Birth

Year of Birth

1958

1959

1960

1961

1962

OAS/GIS Eligibility Age

Jan.

65

65 + 5 months

65 + 11 months

66 + 5 months

66 + 11 months

Feb. - Mar.

65

65 + 6 months

66

66 + 6 months

67 for all individuals born on or after February 1, 1962

Apr. - May

65 + 1 month

65 + 7 months

66 + 1 month

66 + 7 months

June - July

65 + 2 months

65 + 8 months

66 + 2 months

66 + 8 months

Aug. - Sept.

65 + 3 months

65 + 9 months

66 + 3 months

66 + 9 months

Oct. - Nov.

65 + 4 months

65 + 10 months

66 + 4 months

66 + 10 months

Dec.

65 + 5 months

65 + 11 months

66 + 5 months

66 + 11 months

* Increase the ages at which the Allowance and the Allowance for the Survivor are provided from 60-64 today, to 62-66 starting in April 2023. This change will not affect anyone who is 49 years of age or older as of March 31, 2012.

* Allow for the voluntary deferral of OAS pension, for up to five years, starting on July 1, 2013. This will give Canadians the option to defer take-up of their OAS pension to a later time and receive a higher, actuarially adjusted pension.

* Put in place a proactive enrolment regime for OAS and GIS to reduce the burden on seniors of completing application processes and reduce the Government's administrative costs. Proactive enrolment will be implemented in a phased-in approach from 2013 to 2015.

* The Government will compensate provinces and territories for net additional costs they face resulting from the increase in the age of eligibility for OAS benefits.

* The Harper Government is focused on jobs, growth and long-term prosperity.

* Emerging markets around the world have provided Canada with a tremendous opportunity to responsibly develop our abundant natural resources for the benefit of all Canadians.

* In 2010, natural resource sectors employed over 760,000 workers in communities throughout the country. In the next 10 years, more than 500 major economic projects representing over $500 billion in new investments are planned across Canada.

* Unfortunately, major economic projects in Canada are currently subject to long, unpredictable and potentially endless delays because of a needlessly complex and duplicative approval process.

* This is why the Harper Government is taking action in Economic Action Plan 2012 to streamline the review process for major economic projects.

* As part of our plan, major economic projects will have fixed timelines for:

* Panel Reviews - 24 months * NEB Hearings - 18 months * Standard environmental assessments - 12 months

* Fixed timelines will create certainty and predictability for business which will lead to good, well-paying and skilled jobs for Canadians.

* At the same time, we will strengthen environmental protection and focus on the highest rate projects.

* Streamlining the approval process for major economic projects will result in the creation of good, well-paying and skilled jobs while still protecting the environment.

Backgrounder

Major economic projects create jobs and spur development across Canada. In 2010, natural resource sectors employed over 760,000 workers in communities throughout the country. In the next 10 years, more than 500 major economic projects representing $500 billion in new investments are planned across Canada.

Yet those who wish to invest in our resources have been facing an increasingly complicated web of rules and bureaucratic reviews that have grown over time, adding costs and delays that can deter investors and undermine the economic viability of major projects.

The Government recognizes that the existing system needs comprehensive reform. The Government will bring forward legislation to implement system-wide improvements to achieve the goal of "one project, one review" in a clearly defined time period.

Economic Action Plan 2012 proposes to streamline the review process for major economic projects, support consultation with Aboriginal peoples, and strengthen pipeline and marine safety. The Economic Action Plan proposes investments totalling $165 million over two years for responsible resource development that creates jobs while protecting the environment. This includes:

. Streamline the review process for major economic projects by reducing duplication and red-tape, and focus resources on large projects where the potential environmental impacts are the greatest.

. Fixed beginning-to-end timelines for major economic projects:

o Panel reviews: 24 months

o NEB Hearings: 18 months

o Standard environmental assessments: 12 months.

. $54 million over two years to renew the Major Projects Management Office initiative to support effective project approvals.

. $13.6 million over two years to support consultations with Aboriginal peoples to ensure that their rights and interests are respected.

. $35.7 million over two years to support responsible energy development. This includes:

o New regulations which will enhance the existing tanker inspection regime by strengthening vessel inspection requirements.

o Improved navigational products, such as updated charts for shipping routes.

o Appropriate legislative and regulatory frameworks related to oil spills, and emergency preparedness and response.

o A review of handling processes for oil products by an independent international panel of tanker safety experts.

o Research to improve our scientific knowledge and understanding of marine pollution risks, and to manage the impacts on marine resources, habitats and users in the event of a marine pollution incident.

. $13.5 million over two years to strengthen pipeline safety.

. $47 million over two years to the Northern Pipeline Agency to support federal regulatory responsibilities related to the Alaska Pipeline Project.

. Extension of the temporary 15-per-cent Mineral Exploration Tax Credit for flow-through share investors for an additional year.

* The Harper Government is focused on jobs, growth and long-term prosperity.

* Economic Action Plan 2012 takes action to create jobs now and provide more opportunities to Canadians.

* To create jobs now, we will:

* Extend by one year the Hiring Credit for Small Business - a practical, proven measure which encourages businesses to hire more workers. * Provide new funding to improve border infrastructure. * Make new investments in local infrastructure, through the Community Infrastructure Improvement Fund. * Renew the fleet of the Canadian Coast Guard, now celebrating its 50th anniversary.

* To provide more opportunities for Canadians, we will:

* Continue to help older workers in transition find good, new jobs. * Increase funding for skills training and career experiences, for young Canadians and for Canadians with disabilities. * Make it much easier for Canadians who are out of work to identify new opportunities and for employers to find the workers they need. * For EI recipients in areas of sporadic employment, we will initiate modest changes to the program to better focus our support for Canadians who are eager to work. * Provide new incentives and opportunities for members of First Nations living on reserve, to participate fully in our economy and to gain greater self-sufficiency. * Take action to build a fast and flexible economic immigration system that will be better able to fill gaps in our labour force while attracting more of the entrepreneurs we need.

* Economic Action Plan 2012 takes important steps to address the challenges and help take advantage of the opportunities of the global economy, while ensuring sustainable social programs and sound public finances for future generations.

* Mr. Mulcair believes the oil sands are "taking more money out of the Canadian economy than they are putting in." (Edmonton Journal, March 27, 2012; Policy Options, March 2012) * Mr. Mulcair compares jobs in Canada's energy sector to Chinese labourers who built the railway in British Columbia. (Policy Options, March 2012) * Mr. Mulcair blames the oil sands for the decline of Canadian manufacturing. (CBC The National, March 25, 2012) * Mr. Mulcair's carbon tax will cost Western Canadian energy producers billions of dollars - financing government spending hikes and killing jobs and economic growth. (National Post, March 20, 2012) * Mr. Mulcair advocates for a carbon tax which equates to a "second GST applied on fuel for transportation and heating." (Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, March 27, 2012)

AFL-CIO advisor Christopher Smillie said "The NDP would be very bad for workers and the entire Canadian economy." (Calgary Herald, October 1, 2011). Smillie represents about 200,000 trades workers in the same oil and gas sector the NDP wants to shut down

Grant MacEwen University Political scientist Chaldeans Mensah says, "Mulcair's views on the oil sands are as strident as they get." (National Post, March 20, 2012)

While, the NDP continue their war on the oil sands, our government stands up for the responsible development of the oil sands. An industry that, directly and indirectly, employs hundreds of thousands of Canadians across the country.

Opposition to jobs and growth shows the risk Thomas Mulcair and the anti-trade, anti-job NDP represent to Canadian families' standard of living.

The NDP's Immigration critic even tweeted a photograph of the group's logo and praised its campaign to stop all deportations, including deportations of violent foreign criminals, war criminals, and bogus asylum claimants.

This is not the first time the NDP has lent its support to "No One Is Illegal". Last May 28, NDP MP Jamie Nicholls attended a "No One Is Illegal" rally in Montreal, demanding immediate amnesty for all illegal immigrants and an end to deportations of foreign criminals.

Let's be clear: "No One Is Illegal" is not simply another noisy activist group. They are hard-line, anti-Canadian extremists who:

* oppose all immigration laws; * demand immediate amnesty for all illegal immigrants; * support human smuggling; * believe that there should be unlimited access to Canadian health care and welfare for everyone in the world who wants it; * believe Canada (which they call "Kanada") is illegitimate. In fact, No One Is Illegal organiser Luam Kidane said <http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/video/featured/prime-time/867432237001/no-one- is-illegal/947769145001> : "I don't recognise and neither does No One Is Illegal that the Canadian state is a legitimate entity," and further added that "Canada is an occupying state on colonised land, Turtle Island"; * support the destruction of property as a protest against capitalism;

* and endorse terrorism against Israel.

While the NDP is attending rallies in support of an organization that doesn't even believe Canada has a right to exist, our Conservative Government is focused on the real problems facing Canadians: creating jobs and growing the economy.

The NDP's cheerleading for anarchists and anti-capitalist mobs is yet another example of the danger they pose to the Canadian economy.

Unlike the NDP, Conservatives believes in reforms to Canada's immigration system to focus it on fuelling economic prosperity for our country.

These illegal calls failed to identify that they were authorised by the Liberal campaign, as required by the law.

The illegal calls were placed only hours after the Liberal Party held a training session to teach campaign workers to use their US-based Liberalist campaign tool to robocall voters.

Bob Rae tried to deny Liberalist's existence on Thursday during a debate in the House of Commons. Now that Liberals have been caught, will they tell us:

1) Why did Valeriote allow this illegal robocall?

2) How many households did this illegal call target?

3) How many other Liberal campaigns used illegal robocalls?

They have agreed that Canadians should be paying more taxes. Higher taxes for job employers, higher taxes for investors, higher taxes on banking, higher income taxes, higher sales taxes and several candidates have enthusiastically endorsed a carbon tax that would raise the price of gas, electricity and almost everything Canadian families buy. It is clear that under an NDP government, hard-working Canadian families would pay more and would have less in their pockets.

The candidates have agreed that the government should put in place obstacles to the development of Canada's resources. The candidates oppose pipelines that will expand Canada's export opportunities and one candidate's position is simply: "We have to stop the growth of the oil sands." The next NDP leader will stand with the elitists who oppose development of Canadian resources rather than with the millions of ordinary Canadians who support their families by working in the resource industries.

Canadians watching the debates looking for NDP's idea on how to deal with the current global economic uncertainty will have been disappointed. Throughout the six debates the candidates have pledged to spend billions of dollars on new spending for special interest groups. As nations around the world struggle with out of control debt the candidates have simply offered the same failed policies that threaten to bankrupt some countries and have attacked the Conservative plan to ensure that Canada does not face that exact problem.

The NDP hopefuls also have not had much to say about keeping Canadians safe over the course of several hours of debates. In their brief discussion on crime they all agreed that the government should let dangerous criminals spend less time behind bars and more time on the streets.

While the identity of the next NDP leader is not yet known, it is apparent that whoever that leader is they will offer Canadians the choice of high taxes, high spending and less economic growth. For everyday hard-working Canadian families looking for a government that will put them first, it is clear that the only choice is Stephen Harper's Conservative government.

This is ironic coming from the NDP, since they should know that those who don't show up to work shouldn't get promotions.

Canadians gave our Government a strong mandate to pass tougher sentences for violent criminals within the first 100 sitting days of Parliament.

The Safe Streets and Communities Act will ensure jail time for sexual predators, drug dealers who target our children and will restore fairness for victims of terrorism.

We call on the opposition parties to stop playing silly games, get on board with victims' advocates and pass the Safe Streets and Communities Act without further delays.