Hon. Alice Wong, P.C.

On October 18, 2016, Alice Wong presented a petition in the House of Commons, one concerning a national strategy for seniors (Petition No. 421-00771).

The following is a transcript:

Hon. Alice Wong (Richmond Centre, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, I would like to present a petition today regarding a national seniors strategy for Canada.

The petitioners call on the government to appoint a minister for seniors and to develop a national strategy for seniors.

On October 18, 2016, Alice Wong asked two questions in the House of Commons on the topic of Small Business.

The following is a transcript:

Hon. Alice Wong (Richmond Centre, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, first the Liberals cancelled the small business tax cut. Then they decided to cancel the hiring credit and raise CPP premiums, which will make it difficult for employers to hire new staff. To make matters worse, the Liberals’ new tax on everything will make it harder for small businesses to survive. The Liberals are determined to make job creators pay for their reckless spending.

How can the minister justify this treatment of our small businesses?

Hon. Bill Morneau (Minister of Finance, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, I am happy to take this question. I would like to address one particular issue in that question, and that is around the Canada pension plan.

We were so proud to work together with nine provinces to come up with a Canada pension plan enhancement. What that is going to do for small businesses, we know, is to allow them to put in place a very gradual increase in contributions from employees and from companies, a contribution that will go from 2018 to 2025. We put in place a long implementation plan that will allow us to increase the amount of retirement security for Canadians, enabling small businesses to keep their employees comfortable for the long term.

Hon. Alice Wong (Richmond Centre, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, our small business owners are our middle class and are being attacked by the Liberals’ policies.

With this week marking small business week, can the minister assure small business owners that the Liberals will do the right thing and reinstate the small business tax cut?

Hon. Bardish Chagger (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, I am so proud to stand on this day to answer the member’s question, especially because it is small business week. Small business week was started 37 years ago under the leadership of the Business Development Bank, a bank exclusively committed to small business owners.

This government has lowered taxes on middle-class Canadians. Middle-class Canadians are our small business owners, they are our consumers, and they are the people who support the backbone of the Canadian economy.

This government has invested $11.9 billion in infrastructure spending. This government has invested $500 million in broadband for rural and remote areas, and the list goes on.

On October 6, 2016, Alice Wong asked one question in the House of Commons on the topic of Taxation.

The following is a transcript:

Hon. Alice Wong (Richmond Centre, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals keep quoting millionaire CEOs in defence of the new carbon tax, but like their millionaire friends, the Liberals do not care about the real impact that a carbon tax will have on small business owners.

This tax would drive up costs for restaurants and retailers, and make small businesses less competitive for international markets.

The Liberals seem determined to run our small businesses into the ground. How can they justify increasing the tax burden on our small businesses again?

Hon. Navdeep Bains (Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, as my colleague has so clearly mentioned, putting a price on pollution creates predictability, and that predictability is so important for businesses, including small businesses.

That allows them the ability to innovate and come up with new clean-tech jobs. These jobs will be created from coast to coast to coast. This is the kind of initiative we want. We want to grow the economy. We want to help small businesses. We are going to put forward an innovation agenda that focuses on small businesses and clean jobs.

On September 21, 2016, Alice Wong spoke in the House of Commons on Bill C-5, An Act to repeal Division 20 of Part 3 of the Economic Action Plan 2015 Act, No. 1:

The following is a transcript:

Hon. Alice Wong (Richmond Centre, CPC):
Madam Speaker, I applaud my colleague’s attempt to let us know what the true picture is in our public service.

I have been consulting a lot in the private sector lately about the need for productivity and to create more jobs and to make sure that the government spends money wisely.

Many of the small and medium-sized business people in my riding said that they want to make sure that there is productivity in their workplace.

We can look at all the benefits public servants are getting. They are banking all those sick days, 114.7 million sick leave days. Those will be paid, and have been paid, by private sector taxpayers.

How do you justify having only the public sector benefiting and reaping all the good benefits while the private sector is sacrificing?

The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes):
I just remind the hon. member to address the questions to the chair.

Hon. Pierre Poilievre:
Madam Speaker, I thank the member, the former minister, for her question.

I think this is the balance the previous government and the current government are trying to strike, which is between respect for taxpayers, that is, the private sector, as the member refers to it, and public servants in delivering a sick leave and short-term disability program that is there for public servants when they need it and is affordable for the taxpayers who are paying all the bills.

I am hopeful that the President of the Treasury Board continues with a mandate for his officials to achieve that balance, because there are better ways. We have right now a system in which younger public servants, or those new to the federal public service, do not even have enough sick leave days to get through to a short-term disability plan if, God forbid, they fall terribly ill.

Our previous government had attempted to rectify that problem by extending short-term disability through a fairer, balanced, and affordable regime. I think the current government has picked up that approach and hopefully is making progress with its partners and the bargaining agent to achieve something that will work for both taxpayers and employees.

On September 19, 2016, Alice Wong spoke in the House of Commons on Bill C-13, An Act to amend the Food and Drugs Act, the Hazardous Products Act, the Radiation Emitting Devices Act, the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, the Pest Control Products Act and the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act and to make related amendments to another Act:

The following is a transcript:

Hon. Alice Wong (Richmond Centre, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member opposite for this bill. We will probably support this, mainly because we all know that one in five jobs is created by trade. The Asia–Pacific gateway is in my riding of Richmond Centre in British Columbia, so trade is very important to my riding and also to British Columbia.

We support the bill because it would enable Canada to implement the trade facilitation agreement, the TFA, which was concluded under the previous Conservative government. Canadian investors, importers, and exporters of goods, including small and medium-sized businesses, the SMEs, which I have listened to, would benefit from the implementation of the TFA. Also the inactivity of many SMEs as players in international trade has more to do with red tape than with tariff barriers.

Will the Liberals adhere to the recent G7 leaders’ declaration and the economic impact report by the Office of the Chief Economist and commit to ratifying the trans-Pacific partnership, independent of the United States?

Mr. David de Burgh Graham:
Mr. Speaker, I am always happy to hear that the Conservatives support one of our bills. The TPP is an issue that is still under consultation. My riding is certainly affected. There are a lot of exports coming from my riding, even though we are not anywhere near the border, and I will be following this very closely.

I appreciate the question. There is more to come.

A motion was adopted by the Special Committee on Electoral Reform on July 7, 2016 stating:

“That the Committee be directed to issue an invitation to each Member of Parliament to conduct a town hall in their respective constituencies and provide the Committee with a written report of the input from their constituents to be filed with the Clerk of the Committee no later than October 14, 2016.”

The office of MP Alice Wong is in the process of soliciting feedback from the residents of Richmond Centre on their views of electoral reform.

To ensure that everybody that wants to participate in this consultation can do so, our office is accepting electronic and written submissions, which will be compiled into a report that is sent to the Special Committee on Electoral Reform. To allow us time to compile feedback, we have set a deadline of October 11, 2016 for us to consider views of constituents.

The following reference documents give a background on our electoral system, and electoral systems used elsewhere in the world. In addition, there is a slide deck, and also a publication that our office published and sent to all residents in Richmond Centre via Canada Post. The submission form is also below.

Reference Documents:

Electronic Submission:

The consultation ended on October 11, 2016. Thank you to those that sent in their feedback!

The following is a transcript:

Hello. On July 1st Canadians from across the country will come together to celebrate our great nation’s 149th birthday. With Canada’s strong values, inclusive and rich culture, and incredible natural beauty, we are fortunate to call Canada our home. I hope you will be able to join me by attending one of the many wonderful events in our community to mark this special day. Happy Canada Day!

Statement on Petition e-397

Electronic petition e-397 was initiated by a Richmond Centre constituent on the topic of birthright citizenship and a practice referred to as “Birth Tourism”.

A Member of Parliament must sponsor a petition in order for the government to provide a response to the petitioners. Once the required number of signatures are collected, it must be presented in the House of Commons by the sponsoring Member. The House of Commons is not scheduled for a regular session until September.

MP Alice Wong represented one of her constituents in the process of presenting a petition to Parliament. While a sponsoring Member of Parliament does not have to agree with the opinions or request set out in the petition, this topic affects the constituents of Richmond Centre and the Liberal government has the responsibility to respond with its position. The government has 45 days to respond to the petition after it is tabled in the House of Commons.

Questions relating to the origin and content of the petition should be directed toward the creator of the petition. The creator of the petition is Kerry Starchuk, a resident of Richmond Centre. She has given our office permission to share her contact e-mail which can be obtained by e-mailing the MP Alice Wong office.

The petition can be found at https://petitions.parl.gc.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-397.

For further information, contact:
Office of Hon. Alice Wong, MP (Richmond Centre)
613-995-2021
alice.wong@parl.gc.ca

June 13, 2016
STATEMENT BY ALICE WONG

Richmond, BC – Alice Wong, Member of Parliament for Richmond Centre, is unable to attend votes in the House of Commons during the week of June 13 to 17 due to a bone fracture in her foot.

Alice Wong remarked, “I will not be able to attend the votes on matters in Ottawa this week, including Bill C-15, the Budget Implementation Bill, which I have already spoken against in the House of Commons.”

Alice Wong continued, “I would like to thank the medical professionals at Richmond General Hospital for the excellent care they provided.”

For inquiries, contact:
Office of Hon. Alice Wong, MP (Richmond Centre)
alice.wong@parl.gc.ca
613-995-2021

On June 9, 2016, Alice Wong asked one question in the House of Commons on the topic of Small Business.

The following is a transcript:

Hon. Alice Wong (Richmond Centre, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, in the last election, the Liberals promised to continue the small business tax cuts brought in by Conservatives. Instead, once in power, they broke their promise and raised its taxes.

Also, just last night, the Liberals actually voted against a motion that would allow them to follow through on their promise.

Why did the Liberals break their promise and turn their backs on our job creators?

Hon. Bardish Chagger (Minister of Small Business and Tourism, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, budget 2016 focuses on growing our economy for all Canadians. We know that a healthy economy improves business conditions for small and medium-sized enterprises and Canadian businesses. We know that helping Canadian consumers and families will help businesses, as they are their customers and we can better sell their goods and services.

A better economy for all Canadians and more revenue for business helps everyone. This will make a stronger economy for all Canadians. That is the good work we are doing.