Debates of Nov. 27th, 2012

The Environment

[Terence Young, Conservative, Oakville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, for years the Liberals ignored climate change and did absolutely nothing when it came to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We know the NDP want to implement a job-killing carbon tax that would cripple our economy and raise the price of everything. Our government is working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions without disrupting the economy, and we are getting it done.

Can the minister tell us what new measures he has put in place to make real greenhouse gas reductions?

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Oakville for a rational question.

Compared to 2008 models, vehicles rolling off the line in 2025 will produce almost 50% fewer greenhouse gas emissions and consume up to 50% less fuel. This improved fuel efficiency is expected to save Canadians upwards of $900 per year, per car, while reducing GHGs by 162 megatonnes between 2017 and 2025.

We have a plan. It is working.

[Anne Minh-Thu Quach, NDP, Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC]

Mr. Speaker, people are still very concerned. Canadians who want the Conservatives to take real action on climate change will once again be extremely disappointed.

I am not talking about today's bogus announcement; those measures will not even kick in until 2017, when the Conservatives will no longer even be in power.

A new study shows that Canada is simply not prepared to deal with the effects of melting ice in the Arctic, despite the fact that an Environment Canada report pointed this problem out to the minister in 2007.

Are the Conservatives waiting for a major crisis before they protect the north?

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, to correct my colleague, today's announcement of regulations from 2017 to 2025 follow on regulations announced a year and a half ago, two years ago for the model years 2011 to 2016. Our accounting methods for our sector-by-sector approach have been recognized. They are accepted internationally. I will be going to Doha to work with like-minded countries to ensure that we create a new climate change regime including all major emitters.

[Dennis Bevington, NDP, Western Arctic, NT]

Mr. Speaker, if the Conservatives want to work with other countries, there are many ways to do that. We know the north is particularly vulnerable to climate change. We see it every day. Canadians in the north and across this country are living, now, with the consequences of the Conservative inaction on climate change. Time and time again the government ignores opportunities to act.

As chair of the Arctic Council, why will the minister not put climate change front and centre on that agenda going forward?

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP was proud that it did not read budget 2012 and voted against it. NDP members also did not read budget 2011, where our government committed $150 million to adaptation to climate change focused primarily in the north, focused on communities, focused on infrastructure such as roads, railroads and airports affected by melting permafrost, and on better meteorological weather services for advance warning of extreme weather.

We have a plan. We are getting it done.

Fisheries and Oceans

[Philip Toone, NDP, Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, lobster fishers in eastern Canada and Quebec are concerned about further cuts to Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

In January, DFO will stop distributing tags and logbooks. These tools are critical to discouraging illegal fishing and protecting the lobster industry.

This is the latest in a series of attacks on fishers and their families. It follows on the heels of fleet separation, cuts to the employment insurance system and all kinds of changes to the Fisheries Act.

Why do the Conservatives want to encourage illegal lobster fishing?

[Gail Shea, Conservative, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, let me be clear, gear identification tools such as trap tags are still required in fisheries where industry has deemed they are necessary. That includes the lobster fishery. DFO has sent information letters to all affected fish harvesters and has posted information online in relation to the new method for tag supplies. We will continue to improve programs for fish harvesters, and we are committed to protecting our Canadian fisheries.

[Robert Chisholm, NDP, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Mr. Speaker, today is the kickoff for the new lobster season in southwest Nova Scotia. However, fishermen are concerned about the new regulatory changes that DFO is imposing. The Canadian Independent Fish Harvesters have asked the minister for a year to transition to the new tagging system. They have even reluctantly agreed to pay for it. However, DFO is ignoring them.

The east coast lobster fishery brings in $1 billion annually. On behalf of lobster fishermen, their families and coastal communities, why will the minister not stop being uncooperative and agree to this one-year transition?

[Gail Shea, Conservative, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, I can assure the hon. member I have not ignored lobster fishers or the industry. I have met with many of them over the past month. Many organizations, including those industry organizations, have shown interest in the opportunity to provide this service to the fishers. This is something they can do. The proposals will be considered, and the tags program will be in place.

Finance

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

Mr. Speaker, even though the Prime Minister promised a balanced budget for 2014 in the last election, the Minister of Finance recently said that it would not be balanced until 2016.

Despite the contradiction, the Prime Minister claims that he will keep his election promise.

To make that happen, the Minister of Finance will have to cut $9 billion more than he already has.

Is the Minister of Finance planning to cut services to Canadians by $9 billion more?

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite seems to have some difficulty with numbers, which was not unusual in the Liberal Party over the time they were in power. If he looks at the fall economic update, the member will see that the numbers show a deficit within the adjustment for risk in the fiscal year 2015-16 of $1.8 billion, which, as I say, is within the adjustment for risk within the cushion built into the budget for risk. Therefore, we are on track to balance the budget in this term of Parliament.

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance promised to balance the books by 2013. Then it was 2014 and then 2015. In his November 2012 fall update, he is saying 2016 to 2017. Adding to the confusion, the day after that, the Prime Minister promised that the books would be balanced by the next election.

Does the Prime Minister intend to follow his own law and hold the election in 2015 or is his timing for the next election as flexible as his minister's promise to balance the books?

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, far be it from me to be able to explain the member opposite's confusion with respect to numbers. The numbers are plain. We are on track to balance the budget during the current session of Parliament.

Canadian Heritage

[Pierre Nantel, NDP, Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is as if we are not worthy of getting the truth here.

Visitors to the Canadian Postal Museum got a big surprise this week. The museum had been quietly closed, which prevented thousands of philatelists and other interested visitors from seeing it.

We know that the Conservatives are closing post offices all across the country. But going from there to closing a museum surely should have caused them some slight embarrassment.

It is strange: sabotaging that museum was not mentioned at all when the minister announced the rebranding of the Canadian Museum of Civilization. It seems that it was “understood”. I see. Are any other museum closures ”understood” in his announcements?

[James Moore, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member should know full well that, in budget 2012 that we are debating here in the House of Commons, we have kept every penny of our investments in the museums of Canada.

This is what the executive director of the Canadian Museums Association said: “The federal government is demonstrating strong support towards Canada's museums and art sector…”.

We continue to invest in our country's national and local museums to ensure that the museums continue to do what they are already doing: being the jewels of our culture across the country. We will continue to fund and invest in our museums.

[Andrew Cash, NDP, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, notwithstanding the fine words, this is another example of how the Conservatives have abandoned the cultural communities of this country. Many young people learned about the postal service and its importance to the history of our country through this museum. Basic decency would mean at least an official announcement of closure and a recognition of the contributions Canadians have made to this museum. None of that happened.

Canada's history is more than just the War of 1812. Canadians know that. Why does this minister not?

[James Moore, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Postal Museum is part of the Canadian Museum of Civilization. The Canadian Museum of Civilization just received $25 million more to become the Canadian Museum of History. We are very proud of that investment and we are proud of this museum.

Contrary to the New Democrats' understanding, when we add $25 million more to the budget to enlarge the museum's mandate to make it more pan-Canadian in terms of its content, to include the Canadian Postal Museum and much more, we are strengthening the largest museum in Canada to do what it does so well, which is to teach Canadian history to all Canadians, whether New Democrats understand it or not.

Labour

[Russ Hiebert, Conservative, South Surrey—White Rock—Cloverdale, BC]

Mr. Speaker, something happened yesterday that may be unprecedented in the House. The NDP filibustered to try to stop a private member's bill. At the finance committee, for two hours the New Democrats spoke non-stop to avoid a vote on amendments to my bill on labour organization transparency.

Will the Government of Canada—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. I will ask hon. members to hold off on their applause until the hon. member for South Surrey—White Rock—Cloverdale is finished asking his question. The hon. member has the floor.

[Russ Hiebert, Conservative, South Surrey—White Rock—Cloverdale, BC]

Mr. Speaker, will the Government of Canada please state its position on my bill, the amendments and the NDP's scheme to avoid financial transparency?

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

Mr. Speaker, yes, the NDP's attempt to block this union transparency bill and block workers' rights only strengthens our party's resolve to support that member's bill and its amendments.

The reality is that never before has one party in Parliament been so dominated by a single-interest group. One in three members of that caucus are past union bureaucrats or union bosses. They accepted $300,000 in illegal union money. No wonder they want to block workers from knowing how their money is spent.

The Environment

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, 2011 was the most severe in terms of natural disasters, according to the global climate risk index just released in Doha. Floods and storms claimed thousands of lives and cost billions of dollars in damages.

With this new-found belief that extreme weather can actually be linked to climate change, will the Minister of the Environment abandon his delay tactic and release a comprehensive climate change plan that meets our 2020 target, instead of just making up the numbers?

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, this House and Canadians need to remember that for 13 long years the previous Liberal government paid only lip service to climate change and then campaigned—