News

By: Sarah Simpson, The Citizen

Jean Crowder doesn't want the workforce to get "dinged" for making environmentally conscious decisions.

The Nanaimo-Cowichan MP supports Bill C-466, a proposed change to the Income Tax Act, aimed at facilitating green commuter choices for Canadians by making employer-provided benefits for transit, carpooling and bicycle commuting tax-free at the federal level.

She said currently if an employer offers incentives or benefits to their staff, the employee has to claim it on their federal income tax forms.

Ms. Jean Crowder (Nanaimo—Cowichan, NDP): Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House today to speak to Bill C-9, the jobs and economic growth act. As the member for Outremont, our finance critic, has indicated, the New Democrats will be voting against this particular piece of legislation.

When pieces of legislation come before the House, we have responsibilities as members of Parliament to give them full consideration. Although we do support pieces of this legislation, there are other pieces of it that we are fundamentally opposed to. The Conservative government has decided to jam into this piece of legislation things that should properly be considered by other parliamentary standing committees and should have stand-alone legislation.

Ms. Jean Crowder (Nanaimo—Cowichan, NDP): Mr. Speaker, I know the member wants to talk about fisheries, and we are on opposite ends of the country. The east coast has slighty different issues than the west coast around fisheries, but we have a common interest in preserving our fisheries.

The member will be well aware of the fact that on the west coast the Fraser River Sockeye run this year was absolutely decimated. The member for Sackville—Eastern Shore has consistently called for investments in conservation, in enforcements and in habitat restoration.

Ms. Jean Crowder (Nanaimo—Cowichan, NDP): Mr. Speaker, the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations voted yesterday to turn financial control of First Nations University over to the University of Regina.

Will the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development agree now that he should reinstate funding to the university, or will he let a great institution die, just when the Speech from the Throne says that education is a priority?

By: Robert Barron, Daily News

The federal parties representing Nanaimo are of two minds on initiatives to lessen the tax burden on Canadian corporations, including B.C.'s pulp and sawmills.

Nanaimo-Cowichan NDP MP Jean Crowder said Ottawa's ongoing measures to reduce Canada's corporate tax rates to be the lowest in the G8 group of countries by 2015 will likely mean average Canadians will have to pay more taxes as governments bow to corporate demands. But Nanaimo-Alberni Conservative MP James Lunney said if we don't make tax concessions to Canada's companies, they could become less competitive internationally, which would result in the loss of the taxes they pay and the jobs they provide.

Ms. Jean Crowder (Nanaimo—Cowichan, NDP): Madam Speaker, I am pleased to speak to the budget. I will be splitting my time with the member for New Westminster—Coquitlam.

I want to spend my brief 10 minutes talking about two different aspects of the budget. I want to talk about how it affects people who live in my riding of Nanaimo—Cowichan, but in my role as the aboriginal affairs critic for the NDP, I also want to talk about how it affects first nations, Métis and Inuit throughout the country.

Tax season is just around the corner, and I'm sure many of you are concerned about putting together your taxes in such a way that maximizes your tax return!
Filing you taxes can be a stressful task and it can be difficult to know what credits you are eligible for, or what expenses you can claim. Many people don't claim all that they are able to, and therefore don't receive all of the money to which they are entitled.

Are you the proprietor of a community-based not-for-profit organization? Are you involved in promoting tourism to our beautiful community? Is your organization involved in protecting Nanaimo-Cowichan’s environment? Most importantly, do you need extra help this summer and don’t have the resources to hire someone?

If you answered yes to one of these questions, you may be interested in learning more about the Canada Summer Jobs 2010 program.

By: Darrell Bellaart, The Daily News

Seniors will not be reimbursed for federal government pension shortfalls caused by an error in how Statistics Canada calculated the rate of inflation.

The federal government has no plan to correct the error, which resulted in a slight underestimation of the consumer price index between 2001 and 2006.

A.J. Murch, a 75-year-old Nanaimo pensioner, got that news in a letter from the office of Nanaimo-Alberni MP James Lunney.

January 12, 2009

STATEMENT BY MP JEAN CROWDER ON TRIBAL WI-CHI-WAY-WIN COURT CASE

I fully support the decision by Tribal Wi-Chi-Way-Win Capital Corp. (TWCC) to sue the federal government after being shut out of a new program designed to increase capital available to small and medium businesses in Aboriginal communities.