Debates of Oct. 21st, 2011

Lisa Raitt Minister of Labour

Mr. Speaker, our government remains supportive of free collective bargaining. We have always said that the best deal the parties will get are the ones they find themselves. That is why I am so pleased to announce today to all Canadians that Air Canada and the Canadian Union of Public Employees have negotiated a resolution to avoid a work stoppage and to maintain full service for passengers of Air Canada.

We congratulate both parties for their diligent efforts and their efforts at resolving the labour dispute and avoiding this work stoppage. Canadians gave our government a strong mandate to protect the economic recovery of the country, and that is exactly what we are doing.

Guy Caron Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Foreign Affairs has claimed over and over again that the G8 projects came in on budget. However, now we learn that projects in Huntsville came in at over $5 million more than projected. Huntsville will need to raise its taxes to pay its part of the G8 slush fund.

How can the Conservatives say that the project came in on budget?

John Baird Minister of Foreign Affairs

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to announce to members of the House that of the 23,000 projects that this government funded under Canada's economic action plan, we did not pay one cent of money over budget.

Guy Caron Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC

Mr. Speaker, no matter how much the government insists that all expenses were justified, the fact remains that the President of the Treasury Board refused to provide all documentation to the Auditor General during her investigation. The three amigos—the minister, the mayor and the hotel manager—recommended projects without providing the necessary documentation.

Will the President of the Treasury Board commit to handing all documentation in his possession over to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts?

John Baird Minister of Foreign Affairs

Mr. Speaker, Infrastructure Canada and the Government of Canada co-operated fully with the good work of the Auditor General.

Throughout her 10 years as Auditor General, Sheila Fraser did an outstanding job fighting for the interests of taxpayers. She came forward with a solid report, which made a good number of observations on how this government could do things better, on how this government could be more open and on how this government could be more transparent to Parliament. This government has accepted every one of her recommendations in this regard.

Dennis Bevington Western Arctic, NT

Mr. Speaker, we are still trying to get a clear picture of what is going on at CanNor.

First, we have an audit that shows that every financial rule in the book was broken. Then, the minister says that it is just a draft and that she is waiting for the final audit before acting. Then, the Prime Minister chimes in saying that all is fixed and there is nothing to worry about. Then, at the start of this week, the head of policy for the agency contradicted the Prime Minister when he told the natural resources committee that it was waiting for the final audit before acting.

Which is it? Has the government fixed the problems or is it still waiting to find out what the problems are?

Leona Aglukkaq Minister of Health and Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the member opposite should have paid closer attention to the individuals from the north who are supporting our government in establishing a highway between Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk. Unfortunately, the member from Northwest Territories voted against our government's great initiative.

In regard to CanNor, we have already started to address the issues and to make improvements. Obviously, we accept all of the recommendations and we will address all of the recommendations.

Our government takes any indication of poor financial management by officials very seriously, and we are addressing it.

Dennis Bevington Western Arctic, NT

Mr. Speaker, I do not think that obfuscation and passing the blame will really solve this issue. Here is another problem. According to the agency's head of policy, all decisions are being made by the minister rather than by non-partisan public servants. These are financial decisions. My constituents tell me that the minister's inbox is overflowing with applications waiting for a decision.

While the minister dithers, economic development for the north is being delayed. When will the minister take up her responsibilities and get things going there?

Leona Aglukkaq Minister of Health and Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency

Mr. Speaker, our government is responding to the needs of northerners through the many great initiatives of CanNor. We are processing applications as quickly as possible.

It is unfortunate that the member from Northwest Territories did not support the major investments by our government in establishing a highway between Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk, which creates jobs for the north and opens up many opportunities for the north.

In terms of the CanNor audit, the audit was publicly released this week. If the member wishes to review that audit, he can go to the website. Our government is addressing all--

The Speaker Andrew Scheer

Order, please. The hon. member for Kings--Hants.

Scott Brison Kings—Hants, NS

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have fought and voted against every advancement of gay rights in Canada, from pension benefits to marriage to transgender rights, and yet, yesterday, the Conservatives came out in support of the “It Gets Better” gay youth campaign.

If the Conservatives are now serious about helping gay youth, will they recognize the support that pride festivals provide to struggling young gays? Will the Conservatives restore the funding that they themselves cut for these important pride festivals across Canada?

Paul Calandra Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage

Mr. Speaker, I will reiterate the answer we gave earlier.

This government has provided extraordinary amounts of funding in the arts and culture sector across this country, and we are very proud to do so. In my own riding and in ridings across this country, festivals are being supported.

We get a lot of applications for a lot of different things. We support a lot of different cultural festivals in communities across Canada. We look at all of those applications on their merit and we support the ones that Canadians ask us to support and the ones that meet the criteria of the programs that we establish.

Mark Eyking Sydney—Victoria, NS

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government is slashing ACOA. Its budget has been cut by almost 40% from 2005 levels, which is stunning, given that the Prime Minister stated in his 2006 campaign, “We're going to maintain the budget for ACOA”. This is at a time when the ACOA minister is hiring defeated Conservative candidates at top-rate salaries.

Would the minister table a list of all ACOA cuts and, along with that list, a list of individuals hired by ACOA since the Conservatives came into power?

Gerald Keddy Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade

Mr. Speaker, Canadians gave us a clear mandate to keep taxes low and balance our budget by 2014-15. ACOA has identified ways to make its internal services more efficient--for example, by reducing costs associated with travel and internal operations.

Over the next year, we will continue to cut the fat out of government. We will review all spending. We will review all hiring.

This government has done more for ACOA than the previous government, and we continue to support it.