Debates of Dec. 4th, 2012

Firefighters

[Glenn Thibeault, NDP, Sudbury, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when you think of the great work firefighters do in our communities, the first thought that comes to mind is probably of the dangerous work they do in protecting our families. I was able to experience some of this first hand, albeit with most of the danger removed, when I took part in a firefighters experience day earlier this fall.

As well as their important safety role, we should not overlook the great charity and advocacy work firefighters also do in our communities. The Sudbury Professional Fire Fighters Association is a great example of this. For Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Sudbury added to its fleet the first pink fire truck. Fire Chief Dan Stack said that the aim was “to inspire people to be proactive and take the steps needed for early detection against cancer”. In addition to the new truck, firefighters also volunteered their own time to drive people to and from the Ontario Breast Screening Program and sold special T-shirts, with the proceeds going to the Northern Cancer Foundation.

I am sure that MPs from all parties will take this chance to thank firefighters in Sudbury and across Canada for all their great work.

Pooled Registered Pension Plan

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, for my 200th member's statement, I would like to draw your attention to the following: since the global economy remains fragile, our government must pass our economic action plan 2012 in order to support growth and job creation in Canada.

The opposition is trying to slow our economic recovery by blocking measures that would encourage the growth that Canadians are counting on. The hon. member for Parkdale—High Park wants to undermine the government's attempts to help Canadians save for their retirement through a pooled registered pension plan. This plan is a new, low-cost option designed to help the 60% of Canadians who do not have a workplace pension plan.

Canadians will be disappointed that the NDP and its allies in the opposition are launching such a reckless attack and trying to block a measure meant to help millions of Canadians meet their retirement objectives.

Volunteerism

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Speaker, today we celebrate International Volunteer Day. Every year more than 12.5 million Canadians contribute over two billion volunteer hours. They share their time, skills and talents to make things better in their communities and in communities around the world.

Whether in classrooms or hospitals, homes or war zones, Canadians have a long and proud history of helping out. In developing countries, where too many people are still struggling with extreme poverty and violence against women and girls, or where people lack the business training they need to become self-sufficient and to contribute to their communities' success, increasingly, Canadians are lending that helping hand.

One example, from my riding of Vancouver Quadra, is Pedram Goshtasbpour, who recently returned from a volunteer assignment in Colombia. In just 14 days, Mr. Goshtasbpour trained 165 individuals in leading-edge technical tools, enabling them to offer their services and to participate as entrepreneurs in the global economy.

On behalf of my colleagues in the House, I thank all volunteers for contributing so much to so many.

Pensions

[Shelly Glover, Conservative, Saint Boniface, MB]

Mr. Speaker, once again the NDP-led opposition members are trying to stop Canada's economic recovery by moving to kill pro-growth measures Canadians depend on. One of these important measures is to reform our public sector pensions. This was introduced in the jobs and growth act. These reforms will save taxpayers a whopping $2.6 billion and will bring public sector pensions more in line with the private sector.

Our government recognizes that public sector pension plans need to be financially sustainable in the long term. This means that they need to be able to respond to future cost increases in a way that is fair to Canadian taxpayers as well as to plan members and participating employers.

In this fragile global economy, our government is supporting growth and job creation, while the NDP-led opposition members play partisan games. They finally have a chance here. Let us encourage the NDP-led opposition to support these very important measures this afternoon.

Conservative Party of Canada

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I dreamt that my statement was written by a henchman from the Prime Minister's Office. It went something like this.

Senator Mike Duffy has been a resident of Ottawa for years, but taxpayers pay his living expenses nonetheless. Once again, the Conservatives are stuffing their pockets with taxpayers' money while preaching restraint for everyone else. Had they not had to pay the living expenses of the unelected, unaccountable senator, who has no democratic legitimacy, my constituents could have bought hundreds of Sherwood hockey sticks so their children could play hockey. But no. Instead of having our young people keep the hockey stick market afloat, the Conservatives want our children to drift into the hell of drug addiction. Their proposed merger of the maritime provinces is a diversionary tactic and would transform New Brunswick into a park where they could raise dinosaurs.

Mr. Speaker, it was just a nightmare. In this place, the misuse of public funds is unacceptable. We do not feel the need to make up stories just to lay it on thicker. The Conservatives should perhaps give it a try. It feels good to tell the truth, and it makes one look less foolish.

Unions

[Mark Adler, Conservative, York Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yet again the NDP leader is refusing to take a principled stand on what matters most to Canadians. The NDP leader refuses to condemn the Canadian Union of Postal Workers for sending a delegation to an anti-Israel hatefest in Brazil.

What does going on a tropical vacation to spread anti-Zionist propaganda and call for the release of one of the world's most vicious terrorists of our time have to do with the mandate of the CUPW? Shame on the CUPW for having the nerve to send union bosses and cronies to an anti-Israel conference and to expect Canada Post to pay their way. What is even more disgraceful is that NDP leader finds nothing wrong with this.

It is time unions stopped trying to spend Canadians' hard-earned money to spread hate. Unions should return to their roots and focus on improving workers' conditions.

The Economy

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, on Friday Canadians learned that economic growth in our country has slowed to a rate of six-tenths of 1%. That is well below the projections made by the Minister of Finance just a couple of weeks ago in his economic update.

The Prime Minister knows all too well that the Canadian economy would have to grow at a rate of over 4% in the next quarter to meet his minister's most recent projection. We all know that will not happen.

Will the Prime Minister be straight with Canadians and provide a plausible forecast to replace the numbers put forward by his Minister of Finance just three weeks ago?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I will give you the facts. Since July 2009, we have seen the creation of some 820,000 net new jobs.

Here, I am pleased to correct the record from yesterday, because unbeknownst to the Leader of the Opposition, 75% of those jobs were in the private sector.

In this fragile economy, the House needs to have the NDP stop fighting the job-creating hiring credit for small business, stop fighting the new, economically vital Windsor-Essex to Detroit crossing and get behind the budget bill of the Minister of Finance.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, two years ago, the Conservatives predicted that, in 2012, this year, Canada's economic growth would reach 3%. However, the Conservatives have had to admit that they were completely wrong. Job prospects are therefore not as good.

At the same time, the employment insurance eligibility rate has fallen to its lowest level in 10 years. There are 350,000 more unemployed workers now than there were in 2008. When people work, they work fewer hours, and so when they lose their jobs, they are less likely to be eligible to receive employment insurance benefits.

How can the Conservatives justify this situation, which is what is truly happening?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, for those Canadians seeking employment, the single greatest thing that this government, this country, can do is to get a growing economy creating jobs.

We have seen more than 820,000 net new jobs created since July 2009. That is almost 400,000 more jobs than when the economic downturn started.

What we need to point out to Canadians is that they should be disappointed that the NDP continues its reckless attack on some of the key job creation and pro-economic growth measures. Measures like the hiring credit for small business, the NDP members are fighting. Measures like the economically vital Windsor-Detroit bridge, the NDP members are fighting. Measures like the registered disability savings plan—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. Leader of the Opposition.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, for generations, the first nations have suffered the consequences of the federal government's bad faith.

Four years ago, the Prime Minister worked with Jack Layton to publicly apologize to the first nations on behalf of the government for the residential schools tragedy. This was a defining moment in our Parliament's history.

Unfortunately, the government is currently fighting in court to keep millions of relevant documents secret. There will be no truth and reconciliation if the truth is intentionally hidden.

Can the government act in good faith for once and make these documents accessible? That way, we will have access to the truth.

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, our government remains committed to bringing closure to the legacy of residential schools, and we will continue to honour the Indian residential school settlement.

As of November 30, the government has in fact disclosed almost one million documents to the commission. In addition, we are working with 23 other government departments and with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to ensure that all relevant Indian residential schools-related documents are made available to the commission.

Canada aims to disclose all remaining documents relevant to the commission's mandate by June 30.

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, forcing the commission to go before the courts demonstrates the Conservatives' bad faith.

They are refusing to provide the Truth and Reconciliation Commission with access to millions of documents it needs to do its work. If the commission does not have access to these documents, it will not be able to examine them before its mandate expires.

Will the Conservatives stop interfering in this process and give these documents to the commission immediately so that it can get to the bottom of this matter?

[John Duncan, Conservative, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, I responded to those questions by this very same member yesterday in committee.

We are displaying good faith. We are following the terms and conditions of the Indian residential schools settlement agreement. It is a court supervised agreement. We have turned over a million documents. We are working with 23 other federal departments.

We plan to have all of the federal documents in the hands of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission by next summer.

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the chiefs are on the Hill today demanding answers because of the government's lack of good faith. It is disgraceful that the commission has been forced to take the Conservatives to court.

To make an apology more than just words, the government must act now. The 150,000 residential school survivors, and all Canadians committed to reconciliation, deserve the full truth about this dark episode of Canadian history. Was the Prime Minister's historic apology just empty words? Are they trying to sabotage the commission's work, or will the Prime Minister direct all departments to fully co-operate with the commission, now?

[John Duncan, Conservative, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, the federal departments are all co-operating now. That is the point of this whole exercise. We are doing this in good faith, and we doing it in the spirit of reconciliation.

Taxation

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, a full 8.4 million of the people who file their income tax in fact do not have any taxable income. They are therefore ineligible for the income tax credits that are given to people who have an income. I would like to ask the minister once again: Why would the Government of Canada not make its hockey equipment tax credit, its music lesson tax credit, its caregiver tax credit and its disability tax credit available to people who really, really need it?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the real question in this regard is the outstanding work that the Minister of Human Resources has done supporting people with disabilities and the real leadership of the Minister of Finance.

I think what Canadians want to know is why the Liberal Party voted against every single one of those credits for taxpayers. Why did it do that?

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Party's position is very clear: the credits must be refundable in order to ensure that they are given to people who really need them. That is the most important thing.

Five million women, particularly single mothers, are not entitled to receive the tax credits. Like the others, they have children. Like the others, they have parents. They are in the same situation except that they have less money. Why not give them the same access to tax credits?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, as one of the first actions of our government, we gave a tax cut to every single Canadian. That is called a cut on the GST. The Liberal Party of Canada stood and fought us tooth and nail, every step of the way.

The Liberal Party at the time, when it came to the opportunities fund for people with disabilities, the employment innovation fund for people with disabilities, the registered disability savings program, called all these tax credits economically inefficient and refused to support them. Why can they not get behind these formidable measures brought forward by the Minister of Finance to help Canadians with disabilities, to help all Canadians?

Health

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, earlier today, my colleagues had a press conference with the chiefs from Northern Ontario, who talked once again about the crisis with respect to OxyContin and the abuse of prescription drugs in their communities. There has been widespread interest in this question. Fully over 80% of all the prescriptions for painkillers in the world are given out to North Americans. We have a serious issue in our country with respect to this. I wonder why the minister would not delay the market sale of OxyContin by not issuing a drug ID number, which she has the full power to? Will she tell us why she will not meet with the chiefs at a time when she is prepared to—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. Minister of Health.

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, our government has implemented tough new controls to prevent these drugs from being illegally distributed. We have tightened the rules under the non-insured health benefit program and have seen a 50% reduction in the amount of these drugs provided. These are just some examples of what we are doing.

However, I do have a question for the Liberal Party. OxyContin was approved in 1996 under the Liberal government. The member opposite was also the public health minister at that time. Why, for 10 years, did the Liberals do nothing to strengthen the controls on this drug and prevent its abuse?

National Defence

[Mathieu Ravignat, NDP, Pontiac, QC]

Mr. Speaker, senior officials have confirmed that the Prime Minister and the—