Debates of Nov. 26th, 2014

Canada Revenue Agency

[Ève Péclet, NDP, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in just four months, there have been 100 privacy-related breaches in various government departments. The Conservatives can no longer pretend that this is not a systemic problem. That is nearly one breach a day. This is serious. The personal information that was leaked this week is merely a drop in the Conservative bucket.

Instead of treating this leak like an isolated case, why are the Conservatives not redoubling their efforts to stop this massive hemorrhaging?

[Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Conservative, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said, we are proud of our record at the Canada Revenue Agency overall in the handling of sensitive taxpayer information. We understand that it is our number one priority, and we take it very seriously when a breach does occur.

On this particular matter, we have an internal investigation that I have directed. When we determine the outcome of that, we will take both remedial steps and disciplinary action.

Veterans

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General's report outlines the serious problems that affect the disability benefits paid to injured veterans. Claude Rainville's wife, Jenifer Migneault, was desperately trying to speak to the Minister of Veterans Affairs earlier this year. He ran away from her. Jenifer was forced to quit her job to take care of her husband.

Why is this government dragging its feet when it comes to taking care of people like Jenifer and her husband?

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

Mr. Speaker, our government has a strong record when it comes to providing benefits and services for Canada's veterans, which is precisely why we have spent over $30 billion since taking office. That is $5 billion more than what the Liberals would have spent in additional dollars.

We will take no lessons from the Liberals over there. Canadians still remember that it was under the Liberal government that our men and women in uniform suffered a decade of darkness.

[Frank Valeriote, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Mr. Speaker, 15,000 veterans applied for disability benefits for mental health services since 2006. Nearly one-quarter were denied. One-third appealed, and 65% of them received the benefits they deserve.

What of those frustrated and hurting who did not appeal, veterans who fought for our country and did not expect to have to fight against it to get help? What is the government doing to help those frustrated thousands the Auditor General identified who gave up, even though many were entitled to the mental health benefits they were denied?

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

Mr. Speaker, our commitments in the Veterans Affairs' mental health action plan are very clear. We are improving the disability benefit application process to reduce barriers to a timely access to benefits. We are strengthening our outreach effort to better inform the reserve forces of mental health care services, as well as reaching out to families and family physicians. We will measure and report on the effectiveness of our mental health strategy.

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Gregory Matters was a long-serving member suffering from PTSD and released from the forces in 2009. In 2012, he was shot and killed by the RCMP in Prince George while he was acting erratically.

That very same day, Veterans Affairs had called Greg, saying that his claim for PTSD was finally approved but that he that still faced more hoops to jump through before any payment would flow, and this was after literally years without help or compensation.

In fact, Greg had been treated by a psychiatrist, but on his own dime. Why will the Conservatives not stop pretending everything is okay and fix this tragic mess?

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

Mr. Speaker, our government has consistently increased its support for Canadian veterans. Last week, we announced an additional $200 million investment to strengthen mental health services for members of the Canadian Armed Forces, veterans, and their families.

Our veterans' mental health is something our government takes very seriously, and we will continue to improve upon those services.

Aboriginal Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, thousands of Labrador Inuit experienced the trauma of residential schools. They deserve an apology and compensation, like other survivors.

However, despite promising reconciliation with indigenous peoples, Conservatives are now saying the residential schools in Newfoundland and Labrador technically do not count.

Why does the current government always fight indigenous peoples every step of the way through the courts? Why not sit down with them in good faith and provide survivors with the settlement and the reconciliation that they deserve?

[Bernard Valcourt, Conservative, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, the record is clear. Our government has demonstrated its commitment to addressing the legacy of the Indian residential schools. That is why the Prime Minister made a historic apology on behalf of all Canadians. We have provided nearly 4.2 million documents to the truth and reconciliation commission. We are abiding by the agreement that has been reached by all parties, and we will continue in that vein.

[Romeo Saganash, NDP, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, nearly 100,000 boxes are waiting to be archived, and in some cases, they have been waiting for over 10 years.

This massive boondoggle is preventing the the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada from carrying out its mandate. It cannot shed light on the injustices committed against aboriginal people because no one can find the necessary documents. Conservative incompetence is preventing families from turning the page and getting closure.

How could the minister have allowed such a mess to occur?

[Bernard Valcourt, Conservative, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that our government has provided the commission with $1.6 million to do research at Library and Archives Canada so that key documents will continue to be uncovered.

Several million documents have been found, and we will continue to discharge the responsibilities that Canada has taken on under the agreement that was reached between all parties.

Northern Development

[Romeo Saganash, NDP, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, frankly, the Auditor General confirmed our worst fears: the nutrition north Canada program is a failure. Despite a $60 million contribution, prices are not going down in the north. APTN reports that families in Nunavut are picking through garbage for food because they do not have enough money to buy groceries. That is happening here in Canada, in 2014.

If the Conservative program is not lowering the prices and does not cover every isolated or remote community, can someone then explain to us what the point of the program is?

[Bernard Valcourt, Conservative, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, our government wants northern residents to have access to nutritious and high-quality food, just as other Canadians do. That is why we created the nutrition north Canada program. As I said yesterday, the results are very clear. Through this program, 25% more healthy food was shipped to the communities during the first two years and, in fact, the cost of a food basket for a family of four went down by more than $110 a month.

The hon. member cannot deny that.

[Dennis Bevington, NDP, Northwest Territories, NT]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to invite the minister to come to Lutsel K’e or Fort Good Hope in my riding and repeat what he just said here.

Anyone trying to feed their families in remote communities will say that Nutrition North is not meeting their needs. Why has the minister ignored them for so long? Why did the NDP have to get the Auditor General to publicly embarrass him before he would agree to act?

[Bernard Valcourt, Conservative, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, again, the fact is that Nutrition North has resulted in an approximately 25% increase in the average annual volume of healthy food being shipped to northern and remote communities. A food basket for a family of four has gone down by $110 a month, and this is only in the first two years. If that does not count, the further investments we just announced last week will see an increase of $11 million a year, so that in the next two years we will spend $130 million for subsidies.

The Economy

[Lawrence Toet, Conservative, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the OECD reaffirmed that Canada has a sound fiscal footing under the leadership of our Prime Minister. Our economy is envied around the world thanks to our Conservative Government's low-tax plan, and over 1.2 million net new jobs have been created. However, the global economy remains fragile, and the constituents of my riding of Elmwood—Transcona know that we must stay the course with our low-tax plan for jobs and growth.

Can the Minister of Finance please update this House on what the world is saying about Canada's economy?

[Joe Oliver, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the International Monetary Fund's mission to Canada applauded our Conservative government for the progress we have made in eliminating deficits and for our actions to reduce taxes for hard-working Canadian families. The IMF also said that our measures to ensure the long-term sustainability of the housing market were effective. The report is further evidence that our economic action plan is doing very well. Canadians can be proud.

Government Accountability

[Peggy Nash, NDP, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad to see that the Minister of Finance is no longer benched.

The Conservatives refuse to be accountable to Canadians about the assistance given to GM. The Auditor General informed us that out of the $4 billion given to GM, $1 billion ended up in the United States. Neither Industry Canada nor Export Development Canada had any records documenting the use of these funds, according to the Auditor General.

Can the minister tell us what that money was used for?

[James Moore, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, that is not at all what the Auditor General said.

My colleague is clearly asking the question, what was the purpose of the investment and what did it do? Well, it secured almost 500,000 jobs in Canada's auto sector. That is what it did. For the auto sector, and directly for these two firms, Chrysler and GM, it protected 52,000 jobs in Canada. That is what this investment did.

The Auditor General has put forward four recommendations. We have already implemented two of the four. We are going to follow through on the other two.

Let there be no doubt: we are very proud of the work that we have done to protect and build Canada's auto sector.

[Peggy Nash, NDP, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we are talking about $1 billion that was not accounted for here and that went to the U.S. Maybe the minister should show some sense that he realizes this is a problem.

Even after rejecting Chrysler and GM's initial plans, the Conservatives never bothered to follow up and look at the automakers' final restructuring. There was a troubling lack of transparency, the kind the Auditor General has flagged again and again.

Can the minister even admit that there are problems?

[James Moore, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague, when she was out of politics a couple of years ago, worked at the Canadian Auto Workers. When she was working at the Canadian Auto Workers, the Canadian Auto Workers commended the federal government for its commitment to the Canadian auto industry, saying “This will ensure that the Canadian industry is protected. ... This is a very sound decision....”, meaning the investment the member just chastised.

That is what she said just two years ago when she worked at the Canadian Auto Workers Union. That is what they said in praising our government, and we are proud to stand with Canadian auto workers.

International Trade

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, with $1 billion missing, one would think the government would have at least a little humility and show some contrition to Canadians.

Prince Rupert is a beautiful coastal British Columbia community with proud, hard-working Canadians. We can understand their surprise and total frustration that a ferry terminal upgrade at their port will be subject to Buy America policies on a Canadian port on Canadian federal crown land, where no Canadian steel or iron will be used.

This is a direct result of Conservative failure to stand up for Canada. Why will the Conservatives not, for once, defend our interests here in Canada?

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, we are deeply concerned by this attempt to apply Buy America restrictions to a project at the port of Prince Rupert.

This is another example of how illogical and counterproductive it is to try to segregate our highly integrated economies. We have consistently opposed, and will continue to oppose, protectionist measures such as the Buy America restrictions.

We are exploring all options to address this absurd situation.

[Chris Charlton, NDP, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have never fought to protect Canadian workers from Buy America policies, and companies are tired of being shut out.

Now they are even being shut out of projects in Canada on federally owned lands. Because of Buy America policies, steel for a northern B.C. ferry terminal must be bought from the U.S., excluding Canadian steel companies from places such as Hamilton from even bidding.

How did the Conservatives let it get this far? What are they doing to fix the situation? When will they stand up for Canadian jobs?