Debates of April 5th, 2012

Kellie Leitch Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and to the Minister of Labour

Mr. Speaker, let me be clear. The member did vote against it. This government has been exceptionally supportive of individuals who are vulnerable and in need. Whether that be the 16,500 new homes for low-income families or the 615,000 individuals across the country who benefited from the economic action plan and our investments in construction and renovations for low-income housing units, I do not know what else to say but we are doing our part. Why do they not support us?

Kellie Leitch Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and to the Minister of Labour

Mr. Speaker, we have been committed to helping vulnerable Canadians be self-sufficient and have a house they can live in. This year alone, the government provided over 615,000 individuals with subsidized housing.

Last summer we announced significant funding in collaboration with the provinces, a framework ongoing for many years. This government is committed to making sure that low-income Canadians have a roof over their heads. I ask the NDP, why does it never support these initiatives?

Cheryl Gallant Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON

Mr. Speaker, Canadians across the country are voicing concern over what they are paying at the pumps. In a country as vast as Canada, driving is not an option if people want to take their children to soccer or ringette practice, or if they drive a truck. Will the Minister of Industry please update the House on what measures the government is taking to protect consumers when they go to fill up their cars, trucks or vans?

Christian Paradis Minister of Industry and Minister of State (Agriculture)

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her good question. Gas prices are indeed a concern. Both the NDP and the Liberals would impose a job-killing carbon tax on Canadians that would see gas prices skyrocket.

Fortunately, Canadians spoke in the last election.

I must say to the House that we have reduced the GST by 2%, we have strengthened the powers of the Competition Bureau and we brought in the Fairness at the Pumps Act. These are real, concrete measures that we are very proud of.

Justin Trudeau Papineau, QC

Mr. Speaker, the government deceived us to the tune of $10 billion on the F-35 budget. Put into perspective, $10 billion is enough to fund the Katimavik program for over 700 years.

Every year Katimavik takes over 1,000 kids and gets them to serve their country, one community at a time.

Last year, those young people did 572,000 hours of service for the most vulnerable people everywhere in Canada.

Does this government understand that by cutting Katimavik from this budget it is completely off base?

James Moore Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague knows that the Katimavik program has been one of the most expensive programs the Government of Canada has run. It has a one-third dropout rate.

Katimavik has received up to $21 million per year from taxpayers for over 30 years. It is time it stands on its own two feet.

If Katimavik is so great, so important and so well-run, perhaps the member for Papineau can explain why his own government cut it by over $2 million.

Linda Duncan Edmonton—Strathcona, AB

Mr. Speaker, students in Attawapiskat are yet again being forced to plead with the government to release the allowances due to them. It is humiliating. The Conservatives' third-party manager is not even returning their calls. Instead of preparing for their final exams like other Canadian students, they are being forced to try to scramble for money to buy food and simply buy bus fare.

What happened to the government's commitment to quality education for aboriginal students? Why are these students being subjected to this mistreatment?

John Duncan Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development

Mr. Speaker, I would like to inform the member for Edmonton—Strathcona that the money is in the student account for post-secondary education as of today.

John Williamson New Brunswick Southwest, NB

Mr. Speaker, Canadians gave our government a mandate to end the wasteful and ineffective $2 billion long gun registry once and for all.

Yesterday, the Senate voted overwhelmingly to scrap this law that targets law-abiding farmers, hunters and shooters, which does absolutely nothing to protect law-abiding Canadians.

Law-abiding Canadians are finally free at last.

Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety please update the House on what the Canadian government will be doing and when this measure will become law?

Candice Bergen Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to report that our government has ended the long gun registry once and for all. This afternoon the royal assent of Bill C-19 will be proclaimed.

We were happy yesterday to receive the support of three Liberal senators who supported ending the long gun registry. We have received support from two NDP members of Parliament, and we received support from three Liberal senators. Together, we are ending the long gun registry once and for all. We have fulfilled our commitment to Canadians.

Charmaine Borg Terrebonne—Blainville, QC

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives cut funding for the Katimavik program without notice. As a result, 600 young Canadians who were supposed to enter the program this summer have been left in the lurch.

The Conservatives are penalizing these young people in order to save just $14 million. However, this government has no problem spending billions of dollars on F-35s.

What does the minister have to say to these 600 young people?

James Moore Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages

Mr. Speaker, let us be clear.

We will continue supporting youth programs that work.

As a matter of fact, just this past Monday we signed a three-year agreement with Encounters with Canada, a program that is efficient and effective and works.

Katimavik had a cost of over $28,000 per participant and a one-third dropout rate. It received up to $21 million a year from taxpayers over the past 30 years.

As Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, I have to make difficult decisions and easy decisions. Ending funding for Katimavik is one of the easiest decisions I have ever made.

André Bellavance Richmond—Arthabaska, QC

Mr. Speaker, a survivor of the École polytechnique shooting, Nathalie Provost, summed up yesterday's deplorable vote in the Senate quite well: “Something we built has just been demolished with a simple vote.”

With its majority, the Conservative government is ignoring the victims and insisting on preventing Quebec from setting up its own registry using the data that Quebeckers have already paid for. Nonetheless, the Conservative government cannot ignore the Government of Quebec's application for an injunction.

Will the Conservative government have the decency to wait for the ruling from the Superior Court of Quebec, which is hearing the case as we speak, before it starts to destroy the firearms registry, especially the data?