Debates of Oct. 30th, 2012

Citizenship and Immigration

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Calgary Southeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals had ministers of immigration who issued special permits to campaign volunteers and to other illegal immigrants.

The view of this government is that the fair rules established by this Parliament should be consistently applied, and we need to discourage people from working illegally and taking jobs that would otherwise be available to Canadians and permanent residents.

Public Safety

[Judy Foote, Liberal, Random—Burin—St. George's, NL]

Mr. Speaker, it was three months. That is how long it took the cabinet to respond to an international warrant for Conservative insider Nathan Jacobson.

Did the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Public Safety sit on this case for months?

The government members cannot wait to rush two poor Nigerian foreign students out of the country, but their Conservative buddy walks around with impunity. Were they waiting for Jacobson's donation cheques to clear before they acted?

Why the special treatment? Why the hypocrisy?

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, as Mr. Jacobson's good friend from Winnipeg Centre, the NDP member, indicated, he was unaware of any of these legal difficulties that Mr. Jacobson was having.

I was similarly unaware, and I do not involve myself in the day-to-day matters involving the arrest of individuals.

For that person to make that kind of accusation is simply scurrilous, and she knows better.

Taxation

[Randall Garrison, NDP, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Mr. Speaker, workers, businesses and investors are all voicing concerns over Bill C-377, including Canada's police officers.

The bill would require that names and addresses of police who retire or officers who are sick or injured be posted on the Canada Revenue Agency website.

Not only is this a massive breach of privacy; it also puts the safety of front-line police officers at risk.

Does the Minister of Public Safety agree with his Conservative colleagues that retired, sick and injured police officers should have their names and addresses posted online?

[Shelly Glover, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, if that member had been paying attention to our committee business, he would have seen and heard that there are actually some amendments that will be proposed to deal with some of these measures.

Let me remind the House that Bill C-377 is a private member's bill, not a government bill, and we will do due diligence in the finance committee in examining the entire bill.

If the hon. member would like to sit in, I encourage him to take the spot of another member.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in the meantime, no one has seen these famous amendments.

This bill was poorly drafted to begin with, and it will cause significant collateral damage for our workers and our economy. It violates privacy rights, attacks pension funds and buries them under paper work, attacks private companies that do business with unions, and will cost millions of dollars to oversee.

All that because just six people filed a grievance against 4.2 million unionized workers. What is more, all the cases have been settled.

Does the Minister of Labour agree with her colleague from Edmonton—St. Albert that this bill is ill-conceived and will she oppose the creation of this bureaucratic monster?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is obvious the reason why NDP members would not want to have any more transparency when it comes to unions. After all, they already accepted at least $340,000 in illegal union money.

We do not know how much other illegal union money the party has accepted, and that is why we need more transparency here.

We could also use transparency on the member's position. He gave 29 donations to a hard-line separatist Quebec party. Why does he not stand and indicate to us in the spirit of transparency whether he is a federalist?

Ethics

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am always happy to see the hon. member practising asking questions for when he becomes a member of the opposition. That day is coming. It is coming.

Let us now speak about the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and his unpaid flights, which mean that he illegally exceeded his election spending limits or accepted an equally illegal corporate donation. But that is not all. Six directors of a construction company donated huge amounts to his election campaign, and five of them used their employer's postal code to make the donations. Illegal donations do not magically disappear at the whim of the person who is making a mockery of this chamber.

Will the minister finally rise and explain himself today?

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

Mr. Speaker, the official agent will answer all of Elections Canada's questions.

I find the audacity of the hon. member impressive, his ability to stand and talk about illegal donations when he and the rest of his party, especially his leader, tried to cover up $340,000 in illegal union money. While he gave donations to a separatist party while sitting in a supposedly federalist caucus, he then stands in the House of Commons and refuses to answer today if he is a federalist or not. Now is his chance.

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure that the new official agent can explain this. It is the minister who needs to take some responsibility and show transparency. We have top executives at Pennecon collectively donating $5,500 to the minister's election campaign and the problem is the context behind these donations. They came in after the minister had won his seat, and five of these donors claimed Pennecon's postal code as their own. On top of this, the minister has had business connections to Pennecon.

When will the member for Labrador own up and start answering the growing questions around his campaign?

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

Mr. Speaker, the official agent is answering all those questions to Elections Canada. The real issue before the House is when the NDP will own up to the $340,000 in illegal union money that it forced out of the pockets of unwilling workers right across this country. We still do not have any answers to when the leader of the NDP knew about these illegal donations, or why it is that when asked repeatedly on the floor of the House of Commons to come clean about them, he covered them up.

Veterans Affairs

[Laurie Hawn, Conservative, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, members of the Canadian Forces serve this country with unparalleled honour, valour and dedication. Our Conservative government has consistently stood up to ensure that these heroes are provided with the support they need, not only while they serve but also as they transition from military to civilian life.

Could the Minister of Veterans Affairs share what steps our government is taking to make that transition as smooth as possible?

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to sit next to the hon. member for Edmonton Centre given his unwavering support for our veterans.

Today, I announced a comprehensive veterans transition action plan, including cutting red tape, improving service delivery for veterans and creating new career opportunities. As well, our government is providing funding to support the groundbreaking veterans transition program that was developed by the University of British Columbia. This is a group-based, peer support, soldier-to-soldier approach that provides valuable assistance to transitioning veterans, and we are pleased to designate this program as an official provider from Veterans Affairs Canada and the government.

National Defence

[Christine Moore, NDP, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after months of doing nothing, the Conservatives have hired an independent firm to redo the AG's work. KPMG is already studying the costs, an independent firm must now study the process, and the fabled PWGSC National Fighter Procurement Secretariat is studying other options, just as a special defence committee is doing.

Given all of those studies, can someone finally tell us, apart from the F-35, what other aircraft are being considered?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, I am not clear if the member is opposed to using outside experts and independent members to review the work that we are doing, but I am definitely in favour of it. That is why we set up the national federal procurement secretariat and we have two independent members sitting on that secretariat. In addition, we are hiring external firms with external experts. We want to get this right. We have not spent any money on the acquisition of any aircraft to replace the CF-18, and we will not spend any money until we do the full due diligence, and that is what these firms are hired to do.

[Matthew Kellway, NDP, Beaches—East York, ON]

Mr. Speaker, one would not know it from that answer, but my colleague's question was actually quite simple: Name some planes other than the F-35.

We have heard about the seven-point plan that became a six-point plan. We know about the $1 million that the government is spending to find someone to contradict the AG.

Here is another simple question: Has the Minister of National Defence amended the statement of requirements so that it is not wired for the F-35?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, again, the member knows full well that we have set up the National Fighter Procurement Secretariat to ensure that there is full transparency and due diligence in the seven-point plan.

We have accepted the recommendation of the Auditor General. His one recommendation was to ask the Department of National Defence to table updated cost estimates in the House. We agreed with that, but we took it one step further. We want independent validation of DND's numbers. In fact, we are also reviewing the process leading up to the decisions that were made.

I think that doing independent validation is a good thing. We want to make sure that we have all the information on the table, all the options on the table, before we make a decision.

Poverty

[Chris Charlton, NDP, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Mr. Speaker, a new report from Food Banks Canada released today shows that food bank use has hit record levels this year. More than 882,000 Canadians had to use a food bank just to make ends meet. That is 31% higher than before the recession began. It shows that the government's management of the economy is failing vulnerable Canadians.

When will the government finally take hunger seriously and adopt a comprehensive long-term strategy on food insecurity and poverty in Canada?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development]

Mr. Speaker, we do feel for those who are struggling and we are trying to help them in a number of ways. We are helping them get the training they need to get a job. Also, more than 750,000 families are benefiting from our affordable housing efforts, and there are 46,000 new affordable housing units. We brought in the working income tax benefit to help people get over the welfare wall when they do work.

We are doing these things because we want to help our vulnerable. It is a real shame that the NDP has not supported any one of these initiatives.

[Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet, NDP, Hochelaga, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to poverty and food security, the HungerCount 2012 report clearly demonstrates the Conservatives' incompetence. A record number of Canadians had to turn to a food bank this year. Some families have to choose between paying their rent and buying groceries, because there is a shortage of affordable housing. Despite the federal government's disengagement, CMHC is still subsidizing co-operatives and social housing, but the agreements are about to expire.

Do the Conservatives realize that by privatizing CMHC, they are putting many of these agreements at risk?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development]

Mr. Speaker, our hearts go out to people in need, and that is why we have introduced a number of measures to help them, such as the working income tax benefit, which has helped over 1,500 people. We have also invested in affordable housing, which is helping over 750,000 families. That is very important. We are doing these things to help people. We are also helping people find jobs. Unfortunately, the NDP opposes all of our efforts.

Pensions

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, if there is one in the government, to delay the old age security to 67 years of age would provide the federal government a meagre three-tenths of one percent of the GDP in 2030. However, the federal government committed to offset provincial costs for all the seniors who would, unfortunately, need welfare.

What would remain of this three-tenths of one percent once the provinces are compensated?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development]

Mr. Speaker, I am not quite sure where that question is going—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order. The hon. Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development has the floor.

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Haldimand—Norfolk, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am not quite sure where that question is going, but I can tell members where we are going—