House of Commons Hansard #101 of the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was internet.
Leona Aglukkaq ConservativeMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, Canada is well positioned in dealing with this pandemic. We have implemented the pandemic plan since April. We are in a very fortunate position now. We are able to vaccinate every single Canadian in this country, every single youth, adult, senior, et cetera.
We will continue to work with the provinces and territories for the rollout of the vaccine. Yesterday was the first day of the rollout and we will continue to see people line up to get the vaccine for the next two weeks.
Tilly O'Neill-Gordon Conservative Miramichi, NB
Mr. Speaker, auto theft has a significant impact on individual Canadians and businesses, with an estimated cost of more than $1 billion each year. While Canadians suffer the financial and emotional impacts of this crime, organized crime profits.
Would the Minister of Justice update the House on the status of our government's legislation?
Rob Nicholson ConservativeMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, the best way to fight gangs and organized crime is to disrupt the criminal enterprises they rely on. This is why our government is committed to cracking down on auto theft. We have legislation that would add new penalties in the area of property theft; more specifically, the serious crime of auto theft.
Unfortunately, that bill has been sitting in the Senate since June of this year. My message to those Liberal senators is simple. Let us get tough on crime. Let us get this bill passed. Canadians deserve better.
Carol Hughes NDP Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON
Mr. Speaker, the government's new sales tax means the home of their dreams will be further out of reach for many families. The Canadian Home Builders Association has said that the HST will add substantially to the cost of a new home. This is discouraging news for Canadian families and for home builders. This government is pricing Canadians right out of the market.
Will the finance minister cancel this tax grab? I hope he does not say that it is a provincial issue. His signature is on an agreement to pay provinces to do it.
Ted Menzies ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, it has been explained here many times. I will have to repeat that the hon. member, instead of standing in this House and voting against every tax reduction that we put forward, should actually go and talk to her premier or to her finance minister in her province because that is their jurisdiction.
Instead of wasting time here, she could be supporting some of our get tough on crime legislation, instead of asking questions like that, that do not even belong in this House.
Carol Hughes NDP Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON
Mr. Speaker, the finance minister and the Conservative government know that the HST is not a provincial issue. Even the minister's wife has written him a letter asking him to stop funding its implementation.
The HST will hit Canadians even in their times of sorrow. A $5,000 funeral will cost $400 more. Funeral director Patrick McGarry, cousin of the Conservative candidate from Ottawa Centre, is publicly encouraging people to pay for their funerals before the HST is launched: “Buy your coffin now while you can still afford one”.
Is this really the sales pitch the government wants Canadians to face?
Ted Menzies ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, I understand the hon. member got my message because she certainly spoke loud enough that the finance minister in Queen's Park could probably hear it.
Let me remind the hon. member, when she raises the issue of taxes, what she and her party over in the corner have voted against. They voted against personal tax cuts. They voted against reducing the GST for all Canadians. They voted against exempting autism-related personnel training from the GST. They voted against all of that.
Carole Lavallée Bloc Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC
Mr. Speaker, as we know, the Department of Canadian Heritage investigated Telefilm Canada in 2007. No action was taken following the investigation's report, and absolutely nothing was done about its findings, which have never been made public.
Can the government release the findings of the investigation into Telefilm Canada?
James Moore ConservativeMinister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages
Mr. Speaker, in the case of Telefilm Canada, we have changed how it operates with taxpayers' money. The report the member referred to is in the government's hands. We are taking the necessary steps to look after taxpayers' needs.
Carole Lavallée Bloc Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC
Mr. Speaker, I understand the minister plans to table the findings of that report soon, but some new facts have also emerged.
In 2002, Charles Bélanger, president of Telefilm Canada, decided on his own initiative to pay thousands of dollars in grants to Cinar, without checking with his board of directors. The House will recall that, at that time, Charles Bélanger's wife co-owned Teletoon with Cinar.
Considering this new information, combined with what Cinar has recently admitted, why does the government not re-open the investigation into the Cinar file? Who is the government trying to protect?
James Moore ConservativeMinister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages
Mr. Speaker, the allegations my colleague is talking about involve events that happened under the previous government, a Liberal government. The allegations she mentioned were the subject of an investigation and recommendations on how to improve the governance of Telefilm Canada were proposed. As a result, our government made some changes and those changes have been implemented. We are ensuring that diligence is maintained to better serve the needs of all Canadians.
Lawrence MacAulay Liberal Cardigan, PE
Mr. Speaker, the government should be well aware that the people involved in the fishing community worldwide are concerned about the preservation of the fish stocks. The government should be fully aware that the herring stocks in the southern gulf are under extreme pressure.
Why would the government lower the minimum size for the large herring seiners from 24.5 to 23.5 centimetres? Will the minister do what is right, reverse this decision, and put it back to 24.5 centimetres for the sake of the herring stocks?
Gail Shea ConservativeMinister of Fisheries and Oceans
Mr. Speaker, the small fish protocol is actually within science advice.
However, I want to make the House aware that the hon. member went to the press a few weeks about our herring policy and about the seiner policy. He led people to believe that we are allowing more small fish to be fished.
I want to point out that it was the Liberal government back in 1998 that put in place a 35% small fish protocol, which we actually lowered.
Lawrence MacAulay Liberal Cardigan, PE
Mr. Speaker, the issue here is to put a stop to the elimination of the herring stocks in the southern gulf.
Along with lowering the herring size to suit the large seiners, the Conservative government also changed the bycatch for the seiners from 10% to 30%, which means approximately one-third of the herring catch can be immature stock.
Has the government put the elimination of the herring stock in the southern gulf on fast-track, or will it do the right thing and reinstate the bycatch to 10% in an effort to save the herring stock in the southern gulf?
Gail Shea ConservativeMinister of Fisheries and Oceans
Mr. Speaker, does the member have a problem hearing? He obviously did not hear what I said.
He intentionally mis--
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
Order, please. There seems to be a little bit of tumult in the House. It is very difficult to hear the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans who has the floor. The President of the Treasury Board says it is a red herring, but the answer is not.
The Minister of Fisheries and Oceans has the floor and members will want to hear the response. Order, please.
Gail Shea Conservative Egmont, PE
Mr. Speaker, I do want to point out, as I just did previously, that under the Liberal government in 1998 the small fish protocol was set at 35%, not 10%. The hon. member should tell the truth to the fishing community.
Yvon Godin NDP Acadie—Bathurst, NB
Mr. Speaker, this morning, Statistics Canada informed us that the number of people receiving employment insurance benefits fell in August. But the situation is much more complicated. The number of recipients increased in New Brunswick and in Quebec. In Ontario and Saskatchewan, the decrease was caused by the fact that many workers reached the end of their benefit period.
In Ontario, Manitoba and Alberta, 40% of people are not eligible, and that number keeps increasing. What does the government plan on doing?
Diane Finley ConservativeMinister of Human Resources and Skills Development
Mr. Speaker, we have already done a lot to help those who have been unfortunate enough to lose their jobs. What we have already done is to add five additional weeks of EI benefits, which helped 300,000 Canadians this year. We expanded the work-sharing program, which is currently protecting more than 165,000 jobs. Furthermore, I remind members that we are trying to expand the support system for long-tenured workers.
Yvon Godin NDP Acadie—Bathurst, NB
Mr. Speaker, a representative from the International Union of Operating Engineers, who appeared before the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, recommended that apprentices be put in the same category as workers who receive special benefits. In short, he was asking that the new legislation encourage apprentices to continue learning their trades and pursue training, instead of penalizing them by making them ineligible for EI benefits. Bill C-50 penalizes apprentices.
Is the government prepared to amend Bill C-50 to avoid penalizing apprentices?
Diane Finley ConservativeMinister of Human Resources and Skills Development
Mr. Speaker, the one thing that we have done as a Conservative government is to encourage apprenticeships. We did that, right out of the chute, with our apprenticeship incentive grants of up to $2,000 for students who sign up in apprenticeship programs.
In our economic action plan we enlarged on that by providing the apprenticeship completion grant, so now students in the trades can collect up to $4,000 in grants to help them achieve their goal of skills in the skilled trades.
I would point out that the hon. member and all the members of his party voted against both those initiatives.
Mike Allen Conservative Tobique—Mactaquac, NB
Mr. Speaker, we know that organized crime is flourishing with the advancement of modern technology and Canadians also recognize the violence associated with it.
Our government has implemented a comprehensive approach to combatting organized crime and gangs in this country. For two years, we have fought the opposition to pass identity theft legislation that will give police the tools they need to fight this lucrative activity.
I am pleased that our government's Bill S-4 has received royal assent and will soon be the law of the land. Could the Minister of Justice tell the House what this will mean for Canadians?