Debates of Oct. 29th, 2012

Gasoline Prices

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Minister of Industry and Minister of State (Agriculture)]

Mr. Speaker, first I must remind my colleague that we reduced the GST by two points and after that, strengthened the powers of the Competition Bureau and brought in the Fairness at the Pumps Act. In addition, when the Competition Bureau finds evidence of behaviour that violates the Competition Act, it does not hesitate to take law enforcement action to protect competition and consumers.

I must remind the member that it is his party that wants to put a $21 billion carbon tax on the shoulders of Canadians. We will not do that.

[Glenn Thibeault, NDP, Sudbury, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives just embarrass the House with their daily visit to Fantasy Island. The reality is that, in six years under their watch, gas prices have risen a whopping 39%. Canadians are paying more at the pumps than ever. That is a fact and that is the Conservative record. A former Competition Bureau investigator is now sounding the alarm.

When will they stop the daily carbon farce and start tightening regulations, protecting consumers and making sure that Canadians are paying fair, not fixed, gas prices?

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Minister of Industry and Minister of State (Agriculture)]

Mr. Speaker, with the improvements we have put into the law, there were prosecutions in the past year in Thetford Mines and Victoriaville in Quebec. This is evidence.

I can assure my colleague that Canadians will not pay a fixed price on gasoline that is fixed through a job-killing carbon tax of $21 billion that the NDP would put on their shoulders. They will never pay it.

[Annick Papillon, NDP, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, while the Conservatives speculate about what we will do when we take office, gas prices continue to rise. Right now, high gas prices are driving up the cost of essential commodities. Since gas is $1.53 a litre, merchants have to increase their prices. A former Competition Bureau investigator confirmed that there is collusion to fix prices at the pump.

The NDP is proposing tangible solutions to strengthen existing regulations and is calling for the creation of a ombudsman position.

Why are the Conservatives allowing collusion in this industry?

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Minister of Industry and Minister of State (Agriculture)]

Mr. Speaker, we have already strengthened the Competition Act and given the Competition Bureau more authority. Lawsuits have been filed in the Thetford Mines and Victoriaville regions. This is proof. These are results. We also created a fairness monitor position for gas prices. These are measures that we have put in place and that are working.

Is the hon. member getting her numbers for fixed gas prices from the same place she is getting her numbers for her party's $21 billion carbon tax? That is what this tax would cost Canadians, and that is unacceptable.

Ethics

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Elections Canada is investigating whether the member for Labrador bought himself an election. Today we learned disturbing new questions around donations that were made, which all originated from the same corporate postal code. The member blew past the legal spending limits.

He is reading the newspaper over there. Maybe he will read about the $18,000 in flights that he buried. These flights represent an illegal corporate donation because it gave him an enormous advantage.

Would he put his newspaper down, stand up and explain his role in this?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has served this place with distinction. The new official agent is working with Elections Canada to resolve any outstanding questions.

The member talked about five donations. Actually, it was 29 donations that his seatmate gave to the separatist party in Quebec. He will not answer the question as to whether he is in fact a federalist after all those donations. If the member would look to his side he can ask his colleague so that he can report to the House whether he is sitting next to a federalist or not.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there we go, we have one guy reading the newspaper and the next guy saying that he does not really care whether the donations are legal or illegal.

We are talking about illegalities here. We are talking about a man who broke the rules and then was promoted. We are talking about a campaign manager who was paid off with a plum patronage job for which he had absolutely no qualification. The Prime Minister promised he would clean up that behaviour and he broke that promise. Without any ministerial accountability, it has become a revolving door of ethical violations.

When will the member for Labrador stand up in the House and be accountable for his actions?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, actually it was our party that instituted the ban on corporate and union money. It was our party that brought in those tough rules. It was the member's party that broke those rules in accepting over $340,000 in illegal union money. It was the current NDP leader who attempted to cover up all of that illegal money.

We ask time and time again: When will they stop throwing stones when they live in such a fragile glass house?

Census

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government has recently started trying to make us believe that it believes in science, after taking the worst possible decision with respect to the long form census.

Now Stats Can tells us that the data on mother tongue and home language that were recently published in the 2011 census are unreliable and cannot be compared to previous data.

If the government really believes in science, will it reinstate the long form census?

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Minister of Industry and Minister of State (Agriculture)]

Mr. Speaker, the member should pay attention to what StatsCan has already said, the fact that the national household survey will yield useful and usable data that will meet the needs of users. It is the same thing for the census.

If the member opposite has questions concerning methodology, I invite him to ask questions directly of StatsCan.

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, scientists are concerned about the 2013 census data. This government is loudly proclaiming that it believes in science after making the worst possible decision about the census. Now, we have learned that the data on mother tongue and home language are not reliable.

If this government really believes that science is important and wants to prove it, will it bring back the mandatory long form census?

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Minister of Industry and Minister of State (Agriculture)]

Mr. Speaker, as I just told the hon. member, Statistics Canada has already indicated that the survey will produce useful and usable results that will meet users' needs. If the hon. member has any more questions about Statistics Canada's method, I invite him to ask his questions to that organization directly.

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the current mandatory short form census and the census for agriculture still have a potential penalty of jail time, two years after the government argued that it was totally unacceptable to send someone to prison for not filling out a census.

The government's primary fearmongering about the mandatory long form census was potential jail time. Will it stop the hypocrisy and immediately remove jail time from every other type of census?

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Minister of Industry and Minister of State (Agriculture)]

On the contrary, Mr. Speaker, we took action on this file. I agree with my colleague that it is unacceptable to send people to jail for not filling out a census.

Therefore, we improved the system, and as I said now, the data will provide useful and usable data for the users.

Regarding the methodology used, if the members opposite want to ask more questions of the organization, they have to address them to StatsCan.

Fisheries and Oceans

[Fin Donnelly, NDP, New Westminster—Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Cohen Commission, on Fraser River sockeye, releases its report today. This $26 million report heard from 160 witnesses and covers testimony about serious political mismanagement by the federal government. This may be a landmark report on the state of salmon in British Columbia, and people are looking for action.

The Conservatives will receive a copy today. Canadians want to know, will the government commit today to implement the recommendations in this report?

[Randy Kamp, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and for the Asia-Pacific Gateway]

Mr. Speaker, as a British Columbian, I can assure my colleague that our government recognizes the cultural and economic importance of salmon to British Columbia. In fact, that is why we established the Cohen commission after unexpectedly low returns of sockeye salmon to the Fraser River in 2009.

The report will be tabled in the House of Commons on Wednesday, October 31.

[Fin Donnelly, NDP, New Westminster—Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we are looking for a commitment. That is not good enough.

The Conservatives cut spending on science and enforcement at DFO. They gutted the Fisheries Act, removing habitat protection, all without proper consultation and before seeing the Cohen report.

The commission will today make the important recommendations about management of the fisheries in British Columbia., so I ask, why did the government take such destructive action before even seeing the commission's report?

[Randy Kamp, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and for the Asia-Pacific Gateway]

Mr. Speaker, we put in place the Cohen commission in order to learn some things. That is why we will be reading it, as I encourage the member to do, when it is tabled in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

Official Languages

[Alexandrine Latendresse, NDP, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, since the Conservatives came to power, they have had little regard for official bilingualism. A bunch of key positions in this country are currently held by unilingual individuals. The Prime Minister acknowledged his error at a meeting of the Conservative caucus. To turn things around, here is what they should do: vote in favour of my bill, which would require that the individuals appointed to 10 key officer of Parliament positions be bilingual.

Can the Conservatives publicly confirm that they will support my bill?

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, as members know, we are currently studying Bill C-419. Our government makes appointments on the basis of merit, and its top priority is to offer Canadians the best possible services.

[Alexandrine Latendresse, NDP, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, that is not enough. Supporting bilingualism goes beyond promising bogus committees on French in businesses under federal jurisdiction, as they did a few months ago, without ever delivering the goods.

According to La Presse, the Prime Minister confirmed to the Conservative caucus that he would vote in favour of my bilingualism bill. This does not mean that his colleagues will also support francophone communities across the country.

After the uproar caused by the appointment of a unilingual judge and a unilingual Auditor General, we have every reason to wonder whether they have learned from their mistakes. Can I expect widespread support from the Conservatives for my bill or not?

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, I remind the member that during the campaign for the May 2, 2011, election, the NDP ran unilingual anglophone candidates in francophone ridings in Quebec.

Taxation

[Jim Hillyer, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, later today the NDP's national revenue critic will co-host an education session with a far left organization backed by big union bosses from CUPE and CAW, called Canadians for Tax Fairness, where tax fairness means tax increases. Its president, Murray Dobbin, called for the nationalization of Canada's oil and gas sector and praised Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez.

Could the Minister of State for Finance comment on how our government will continue to keep taxes low for Canadians?

[Ted Menzies, Conservative, Minister of State (Finance)]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP's partnering with the far left organization called Canadians for Tax Fairness certainly does sound like quite an unholy alliance. It will only bring to light how the high tax agenda of the NDP actually would hurt Canadians. It is no wonder that we have seen that party vote against every tax reduction we have put on this floor since 2006. Canadians do not need to see the NDP supporting a $21 billion tax on everything. We will fight against that.