Debates of Nov. 20th, 2014

Health

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, this week The Lancet published evidence that NewLink has never made a vaccine, owns no manufacturing plan, and has never commercialized any drug.

It has now been four years since NewLink acquired the responsibility to develop an Ebola vaccine from Canada, but it only went to clinical trials last month, and only last Friday did it appoint a chief scientific officer for Ebola.

Therefore, why did the minister say this morning in committee that she had no concerns about the contract with NewLink Genetics to develop the Ebola vaccine?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, it was in fact the Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. Gregory Taylor, who said that he had no concerns about NewLink's efforts to commercialize the vaccine. He also answered the member's questions fully at committee.

I reiterate the commitment from not only the Public Health Agency of Canada but from the World Health Organization, from the U.S. Department of Defense at the Walter Reed institute, and from all of those in the international community and the private sector who are working to bring all of their influence to bear to support this Canadian vaccine, which we should all be proud of, to make sure that it gets to market safely and effectively.

[Djaouida Sellah, NDP, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, NewLink Genetics did not honour its agreement with the Canadian scientists who invented a potential cure for Ebola.

The contract states that NewLink Genetics must do everything possible to develop and sell the vaccine quickly. However, as can be seen on its website, the company just hired a scientist to take over the file. That reeks of amateurism.

Why did the Conservatives sign a contract with NewLink Genetics when the company is clearly not ready to commercialize the vaccine that Africa so desperately needs?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I reiterate again that I am happy to offer the member a more in-depth briefing on the steps that have been taken not only by the Canadian government but also by international partners and a number of other bodies in the public health community to bring all of their influence to bear to ensure that this moves as quickly as possible.

Whereas clinical trials usually take five years, this is happening in a matter of months because of the coordination, domestically and internationally, to prove that this great invention by Canadian researchers and scientists is safe and effective and that we can get it out to those people who need it.

Veterans

[Sylvain Chicoine, NDP, Châteauguay—Saint-Constant, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives' hypocrisy has reached new lows.

They love to talk about how they have increased budgets for veterans over the past few years, but they forget that 5% to 8% of Veterans Affairs Canada's budget goes unspent every year.

That portion of the budget just gets sent back to the public treasury: $1.1 billion allocated to veterans for compensation and services has been used for other purposes. That is disgusting.

Why are the Conservatives breaking their promises to veterans by cutting the committed budgets?

[Parm Gill, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, that is absolutely false. I would encourage the member to familiarize himself with the numbers and the benefits of the services that are available for Canada's veterans.

Let me list a couple. A veteran who is injured and in rehabilitation receives a minimum of $3,500 in financial benefits each month. Veterans who are more seriously injured can receive $8,000 or more a month in financial benefits from the Government of Canada and their military pension.

Our government has a strong record when it comes to standing up for Canada's veterans, and we will continue to do that.

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS]

Mr. Speaker, on my desk right now I have a file from a veteran in B.C. who was denied VIP service. I have another one from Ontario who was denied a hearing aid. I had a World War II veteran who was denied a lift so that he could go up and down his stairs.

Why? The department says that it simply cannot finance these types of initiatives, yet we find out that over $1 billion has been sent back.

I would like to ask a question directly to the parliamentary secretary. Has he no shame that these veterans and many others go without, while the government transfers $1 billion back to the finance department for its useless tax schemes?

[Parm Gill, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I have a lot of respect for the member opposite. He has been around long enough to know and understand the process.

I would encourage the member, honestly, to not play politics or partisan games when it comes to Canada's veterans. On every single initiative our government has brought forward to help Canada's veterans, that member and his party—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. The parliamentary secretary now has the floor. I will ask members on this side of the House to let the parliamentary secretary answer the question.

[Parm Gill, Conservative, Brampton—Springdale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, that hon. member and his party have voted virtually against every initiative our government has brought forward to help Canada's veterans. As I mentioned earlier, if he and his party really care about Canada's veterans, I would encourage them to start standing and voting in favour of the measures we are bringing in for Canada's veterans.

International Trade

[John Carmichael, Conservative, Don Valley West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last night, the House finally had an opportunity to express its view on the historic Canada-EU trade agreement. With details and benefits of this agreement available for all to see, the Conservatives voted in favour of recommending the implementation of this agreement. It comes as no surprise that the NDP stood in this place and voted against this historic free trade agreement.

Could the Minister of International Trade please update the House on this important agreement?

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, last night the smoke cleared, and the NDP members made it clear that they oppose the Canada-EU free trade agreement. While the NDP opposes this important agreement, Canadians from coast to coast to coast have echoed their support for it.

Sadly, the Liberal record on trade is one of utter neglect. During 13 long years in government, Liberals completed only three free trade agreements. In a short 8 years, our government has concluded trade agreements with 38 different countries.

It is this Conservative government that can be trusted to create jobs and opportunity by increasing Canadian exports all around the world.

Public Safety

[Françoise Boivin, NDP, Gatineau, QC]

Where is the bill, Bill?

Mr. Speaker, the number of prisoners in Quebec went up by 11% in two years. Criminal justice decisions made in Ottawa cost the provinces, which administer prisons. The minister cannot just wash his hands of it.

Jean-Marc Fournier, Quebec's minister for Canadian intergovernmental affairs, asked the government to sit down with the provinces and share the cost. Will the government do that?

[Robert Goguen, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice]

Mr. Speaker, we need mandatory prison sentences for serious crimes because Canadians need to know that people who commit serious crimes and repeat offenders will not have a chance to threaten their safety again. In the past, Canadians lost confidence in the justice system because punishments did not fit crimes.

Lax Liberal policies on crime failed to protect Canadian families and communities, so our government is committed to restoring confidence in the justice system. Mandatory minimum prison sentences show Canadians that the rights of criminals will not take precedence over the rights of victims of crime.

[Françoise Boivin, NDP, Gatineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am tempted to ask the parliamentary secretary to put his money where his mouth is.

If the government is serious about the fight against crime, it has to work more with its main partners, the provinces. It has not been proven that Bill C-10 has had a significant impact on crime, but it is definitely having a major impact on the provinces' budgets.

Will the minister sit down with his provincial counterparts to share the cost, as Quebec in particular has been asking for? It is a matter of money, not of knowing how good they are.

[Robert Goguen, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice]

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to defending the rights of Canadians and protecting our communities, she has nothing to criticize. Values are incredibly important to this government, which is why we have put these measures in place. They are to protect Canadians

We continue to work in partnership with the provinces. Transfer payments to the provinces are at record levels. Our government will keep crime in our sights and protect victims.

CBC/Radio-Canada

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

Mr. Speaker, during the town hall meeting about CBC/Radio-Canada, the host of the popular show Découverte came forward with an impassioned plea for the future of our public broadcaster. He said, and I quote, “It’s gone too far. We don’t have the means to do what we should be doing, and well.” He denounced the successive cuts by the Conservatives and the Liberals that have hurt the corporation.

Will the minister acknowledge that CBC's board of directors needs fewer Conservative cronies and more people like Charles Tisseyre who are passionate about culture and information?

[Shelly Glover, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, as Hubert Lacroix clearly stated, there are challenges “of the new media world that are facing all...broadcasters.”

CBC/Radio-Canada is attracting fewer viewers. That is the problem. It still receives $1 million a year from taxpayers. It is up to the corporation to come up with programming to attract viewers. The problem is lower advertising revenues and fewer viewers.

I urge it to continue to work to attract more viewers.

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

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Lacroix also said that he would not ask for even one more penny from this government because he knows he would not get it, despite the fact that the public broadcaster is struggling to fulfil its mandate and comply with the law.

The young CBC staff—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

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

Pipe down, for Christ's sake.

Mr. Speaker, the CEO said, as did Charles Tisseyre, that young people are driving the digital shift, but the corporation coldly continues to show them the door. That is what he said; members can look it up.

Is killing the CBC's future the Conservatives' real objective? What will the member for Saint-Boniface tell young Franco-Manitobans? Will she tell them to see if there is any French content on Netflix?

[Shelly Glover, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, I will tell my constituents, the young constituents in particular, that I learned how to speak French listening to Radio-Canada. I will encourage them to continue to do so.

I will also tell them that we continue to provide CBC/Radio-Canada with over $1 billion every year so it can deliver quality programming that Canadians want to listen to and watch.

In the meantime, I will encourage that member to continue to encourage those young people to learn both English and French, and to respect the national broadcaster and the work it does.

Citizenship and Immigration

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, immigration officials have confirmed that within the government's existing plans there is space for more than 10,000 additional government-assisted refugees over the next three years.

At a minimum, and I know Jean Chrétien would want to do more, will the minister use his existing spaces to admit 10,000 new Syrian refugees over the next three years, while also creating new spaces for refugees from other countries?

[Chris Alexander, Conservative, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, as the member already knows, Canada has already received nearly 22,000 refugees from both Syria and Iraq.

Here is what the Liberals would have us do. They would have left our asylum system clogged with claimants from rich and safe countries. They would offer to bogus claimants better health care than Canadians actually get. Instead of helping millions of people displaced inside Iraq and Syria made refugees by a terrible conflict where brutal terrorists are murdering minorities every day, they would have us sit on the sidelines.