Debates of June 8th, 2012

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

Mr. Speaker, none of that is true. The changes to the Fisheries Act that are contained in Bill C-38 would allow Fisheries and Oceans Canada to focus more effectively in a practical way on the protection of commercial, aboriginal and recreational fisheries.

There are some additional protections in that act. For example, it would allow the minister to identify some ecologically sensitive areas, which he currently does not have the ability to do, which will provide even greater protection to those fisheries than they currently have.

There are some new tools to identify and regulate aquatic invasive species, which is a serious problem in this country.

Philip Toone Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine, QC

Mr. Speaker, yesterday when I asked the minister a question about fleet separation, a very important issue for fishers on the east coast, he responded that he had no idea what I was talking about.

Is he really so out of touch with Canadians on the east coast? Fleet separation is essential to the survival of our fishers. When will the Conservatives stop threatening to slash fleet separation?

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

Mr. Speaker, Canada has a very complex system of rules that we use for fisheries management. The rules tell us who may fish, what they can fish for, where they can fish, when they can fish, how much they can catch, the size of the boat, the size of the nets, where they can land the fish and many others.

The minister, in his consultations earlier in the year, was out talking to fishermen about those policies and others, asking if they had any suggestions about how they could perhaps be changed in a way that would allow them greater flexibility to ensure greater prosperity.

Alexandre Boulerice Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC

Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister has demonstrated his contempt for democracy time and time again in this House. He handled the biggest fraud in Canadian history as though it were merely a hiccup.

And now he is under investigation by Elections Canada. Apparently, he gave his own campaign 10 times the allowable limit. Not once or twice as much—10 times more.

Will the parliamentary secretary step aside until the investigation of his election spending is complete?

Pierre Poilievre Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport

Mr. Speaker, the hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister handed the documents over to Elections Canada almost four years ago. Elections Canada verified and accepted those documents.

However, the member opposite donated $3,700 to Québec solidaire, a party that says in its statement of principle that it wants a sovereign Quebec.

The hon. member gave them $150 last year when he was a federal member of Parliament. Does he believe in Canada?

Alexandre Boulerice Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC

Mr. Speaker, I have three words to say to my Conservative colleagues: in and out.

The man who assists the Prime Minister, his parliamentary secretary, the person who continually rises in the House to say that the Conservatives—

The Speaker Andrew Scheer

Order, please. The hon. member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie.

Pierre Poilievre Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport

Mr. Speaker, speaking of in and out, this party believes that Quebec should be in Canada. Québec solidaire believes that Quebec should be out of Canada. That is what it says in their statement of declaration, “Québec Solidaire Opts for Independence/Sovereignty”

That member donated to the hardest line separatist party in the country while sitting in the federal Parliament of Canada proposing himself as a future cabinet minister.

If one wants to be minister in the Government of Canada, one must start by first believing in Canada. That is not done by donating—

The Speaker Andrew Scheer

Order, please. The hon. member for Scarborough Southwest.

Dan Harris Scarborough Southwest, ON

Mr. Speaker, reports out today show possible voter interference by the Conservative campaign manager from Etobicoke Centre.

The campaign manager's obstruction at a senior centre poll shut it down just long enough so that many seniors would not get a chance to vote. Every day a new accusation comes out: $21,000 cheques, voter disenfranchisement.

When will the Conservatives start taking responsibility for their actions?

Pierre Poilievre Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport

Mr. Speaker, speaking of electoral financing, I just pointed out that a member of that party's shadow cabinet is giving money to the hardest line separatist party in Quebec.

The problem that the Québec solidaire has with the PQ and the Bloc Québécois is that those parties are not separatist enough. That member is making donations to that party at the same time as he sits in the federal Parliament in a supposedly federalist party proposing himself to be a future federal cabinet minister.

Can that member actually stand in the House and confirm whether all members of the NDP caucus believe in a united Canada?