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Mark Gerretsen

Member of Parliament
Member of the Board of Internal Economy Deputy House leader of the government
Liberal

Kingston and the Islands
Ontario
Voting Attendance: 68%
Expenses Last Quarter: $112,228.33

Government Page

Mr. Mark Gerretsen (Kingston and the Islands, Lib.)

May/6/24 5:44:39 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have heard a number of Conservatives use the same line, that only 18% of Canadians, or one out of every five, think this should be a priority. I guess the fact that one out of every five Canadians needs something is not enough for the Conservatives. What is their number? When does it warrant a program? If it is not one out of every five Canadians, is it two out of every five, is it three, is it four, or is it when everybody demands this program? If one out of five Canadians needing this is not good enough for him, could the member tell me what number Conservatives will accept where, yes, it is good enough for Canadians?

122 words

Context: House Hansard - 89 - Jun/15/22

Mr. Mark Gerretsen (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (Senate), Lib.)

Jun/15/22 5:38:18 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-228

Madam Speaker, Bill C-228 has been introduced by the member for Sarnia—Lambton, and I first want to express my support for her passion as it relates to the bill. The concept of superpriority, in terms of making sure that it is put in the proper order, is something that I have been interested in since I first arrived in the House. I am very interested in seeing the bill go to committee so that the committee can do the proper work and send its recommendations back to the House. Unfortunately, over time, we have seen a shift in the way that corporations treat their employees, quite frankly. We have seen a number of corporations, and some even within my riding, declare bankruptcy and, as a result, give themselves the ability to neglect payments to pensioners in particular. Shortly after I was elected, I was very impressed by a group from the Invista plant in Kingston, which manufactures nylon. A group of not employees, but managers came forward. They would not have been affected by any legislation such as this. The group was led by Peter Strauss and some other individuals from my riding. They came forward, as previous management of this plant, on behalf of the employees who would be affected when decisions were made to allow companies to declare bankruptcy in these positions. I was very moved by that, because it showed that there was deep concern. We have to reflect on the fact that there are many pensioners out there who paid into pensions throughout their working careers and are, quite frankly, relying on this income at the end of their careers for their retirement. In many cases, individuals are limited with respect to how much they can contribute to RRSPs if they are expecting to receive a pension that they are paying into. It should certainly not be the fault of individual employees, pensioners, if a company declares bankruptcy once they have retired. I was really concerned a few years ago after seeing some corporations declare bankruptcy. I think of Sears in particular, and when it declared bankruptcy. Prior to declaring bankruptcy, it started to move assets into other companies. For example, it moved buildings and land into other companies so that it could shield those assets from the bankruptcy and insolvency operations that would take place once the company put itself in that position. I can see the frustration that some individuals would have around circumstances like that, and I know that they would be extremely upset to discover that this type of activity had been happening. However, the reality is that this is the model allowed for these corporations.

447 words

All Topics

Context: House Hansard - 63 - May/3/22

Mr. Mark Gerretsen

May/3/22 1:53:27 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-8

Madam Speaker, for the record, I am way less animated today than I was yesterday. I am sorry that member missed that speech. We heard the reality in his question. That member said that this is a priority for the PMO. This bill, and the details of this bill, should be a priority for every member of the House. The supports in here are for teachers and small businesses. The Conservative member for Regina—Lewvan basically said in his question that this is not a priority for the Conservatives but that it is a priority of the PMO, and that is the only reason why this side of the House wants to get it passed. Not everything comes down to a political agenda. From time to time, even though the member might not realize this, we are here to serve Canadians.

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Member of the Board of Internal Economy Deputy House leader of the government

Mark Gerretsen