Debates of Nov. 22nd, 2010

Aboriginal Affairs

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar, SK]

Mr. Speaker, aboriginal reserve chiefs are being paid jaw-dropping salaries. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation reports that approximately 222 reserve chiefs and councillors were paid more than their respective premiers in fiscal 2008-09.

Can the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development say if he will support my private member's bill, Bill C-575, An Act respecting the accountability and enhanced financial transparency of elected officials of first nations communities, and is he willing to go further to disclose all sources of income for band chiefs?

[John Duncan, Conservative, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar for sponsoring her bill. We are committed to improving the transparency and accountability of funds flowing to first nations. First nation community members and all Canadians have a right to know how tax dollars are spent and how much money chiefs and councillors earn.

We are seeking to expand Bill C-575 to cover all sources of income. I hope that this bill receives support from members from all parties in the House.

Haiti

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, nearly one year ago, Haiti was devastated by earthquake. Canadians responded with extraordinary generosity, and the government promised to double their contributions. Eight months later, our friends in Haiti have received barely a third of the money. The need is great, because the country is now in the grip of a cholera pandemic that has already killed more than 1,000 people and sent tens of thousands to hospital.

What is the government waiting for to respond to this crisis, and is it preparing to send the DART to Haiti?

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Minister of International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, in fact, Canada has been responding to the cholera outbreak. On Friday, I announced an additional $4 million, which means $5 million in total, to fight and help with the cholera outbreak.

This represents 30% of the total international response worldwide to help those people in Haiti with clean water, treatment, rehydration medicine, as well as prevention programs. Canada is doing its part.

City of Lévis

[Christiane Gagnon, Bloc, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have checked with the people in charge of the 2011 festivities and, contrary to what the Minister of Canadian Heritage claims, Lévis will get only $1 million from the cultural capitals program. Yet Vancouver, which is in the same category according to the program criteria, will get $1.75 million.

Can the minister tell us whether Lévis will at least be treated like Vancouver and also receive $1.75 million from the cultural capitals program?

[Dean Del Mastro, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I addressed this question on Friday. Obviously, we are very proud that Lévis was one of three cities that was selected as a cultural capital for 2011. It is a great story.

In fact, I lauded the efforts of the member for Lévis—Bellechasse and how hard he worked on this. However, I forgot the lobby efforts of the member for Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière. He worked incredibly hard on this.

It was one of three cities selected and we are so proud that a cultural capital has been established in 2011 in the city of Lévis.

Airport Security

[Dennis Bevington, NDP, Western Arctic, NT]

Mr. Speaker, new mandatory pat-downs in U.S. airport security are raising concerns here in Canada that similar invasive measures may be soon on their way. These enhanced pat-downs have been ordered as a way to force people to use intrusive and unwelcome full body scanners. We have already seen the Conservatives cave in handing private information to U.S. law enforcement.

Will the government follow the over-the-top American actions or can the minister assure Canadians that he will protect their personal dignity and not allow this full frontal assault?

[Rob Merrifield, Conservative, Minister of State (Transport)]

Mr. Speaker, our government is absolutely committed to the safety and security of our airports. It is very important that people understand that they are respected as they go through the lines. CATSA has assured me that it is committed to continuously improving the effectiveness and efficiency of how it treats passengers.

I am currently doing a review of CATSA to determine further ways to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of security for all air travellers in Canada.

The Economy

[Tilly O'Neill-Gordon, Conservative, Miramichi, NB]

Mr. Speaker, almost 430,000 more Canadians are working today than in July 2009. Canada is leading the industrialized world in exiting the recession. Clearly, Canada's economic action plan is working, but the global economy remains fragile. We must stay the course and focus on the economy.

As we approach next year's budget, our government is consulting with Canadians. Could the parliamentary secretary please inform the House on what is happening today?

[Ted Menzies, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister continues to speak with Canadian families, families like the Bucci family in Oakville, about Canada's economy. They are a typical hard-working Canadian family that makes this country great.

Helping protect the financial security of hard-working Canadians and their families is our priority. That means living within our means and keeping our taxes low. That is why the next budget will not include reckless new government spending.

Haiti

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, $5 million for Haiti is great, but the government is sitting on $350 million in its coffers that has already been allocated to that country. That money is needed right away. It is time for the government to release all the funding it promised. Canadians and Haitians were expecting the government to help our friends in their time of need. This government has to stop stalling and react accordingly.

Will this government keep its word? What is it waiting for to release the funds and help Haiti?

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Minister of International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, as the House knows, we are part of an international effort on the recovery and reconstruction of Haiti. Canada is already moving ahead on rebuilding the police academy, a hospital in Ganthier, as well as providing support so the Haitian government can undertake its responsibilities.

Canada will always support the Haitian people.

Poverty

[Olivia Chow, NDP, Trinity—Spadina, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in Canada, one in six kids lives in poverty. Children of working parents have to wait years for affordable and high-quality child care. Kids are much heavier today than two decades ago. Yet the government has no child care program, no children's food policy and no plan to make child poverty history.

Canada just celebrated National Child Day. Twenty-one years ago this coming Wednesday, Parliament promised to make child poverty history.

When will the government stop ignoring the needs of Canadian children?

[Ed Komarnicki, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and to the Minister of Labour]

Mr. Speaker, all Canadian parents know what is best for their children. The one size fits all model does not work for everyone in Canada's diverse families.

We have invested more funds than the previous Liberal government. In 2009-10, we invested $5.9 billion in early learning and child care. We introduced the universal child care benefit, which provides $100 a month for every child under six years of age. This has lifted 22,000 families with about 57,000 children out of the low income level.

We have done a number of initiatives in this regard.

Government Response to Petitions

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's responses to 24 petitions.

Justice and Human Rights

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the eighth report of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights.

In accordance with the order of reference of Friday, September 24, and pursuant to Standing Orders 110 and 111, your committee has considered the order in council appointment of Susan O'Sullivan as Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime. Your committee has examined the qualifications and competence of the appointee and finds her competent to perform the duties of the position, and fully endorses her appointment.

The committee agreed on Thursday, November 18 to report to the House the committee's endorsement of the appointment.

Library of Parliament

[Royal Galipeau, Conservative, Ottawa—Orléans, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the second report of the Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament concerning the supplementary estimates (B) 2010-11, vote 10b under Parliament.

Afghanistan

[Jim Maloway, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by dozens of Canadians to end Canada's involvement in Afghanistan.

In May 2008, Parliament passed a resolution to withdraw Canadian Forces by July 2011. The Prime Minister, with agreement from the Liberal Party, broke his often-repeated promise to honour the parliamentary motion.

Committing 1,000 soldiers to a training mission still presents danger to our troops and an unnecessary expense when our country is faced with a $56 billion deficit. The military mission has cost Canadians more than $18 billion so far, money that could have been used to improve health care and seniors' pensions right here in Canada.

The polls show that a clear majority do not want Canada's military presence to continue after the scheduled removal date of July 2011. Therefore, the petitioners call upon the Prime Minister to honour the will of Parliament and bring the troops home now.

Veterans Affairs

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions today.

The first is addressed to the Government of Canada by petitioners of all ages and walks of life who genuinely support and value the contributions of our veterans. They regard a veteran as a veteran, regardless of where or in which deployment he or she may have served.

These petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to extend the mandate of veterans' hospitals to include veterans who have served in conflicts and peacekeeping operations since 1953, end the clawback of veterans' pensions, eliminate the reduction of veterans' pensions at age 65, change the widows' benefit to a non-taxable benefit, create a veterans' advisory panel to provide input on the selection of future veterans' ombudspersons, and ensure that Veterans Affairs Canada remains as a stand-alone department.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is from supporters of the Native Women's Association of Canada, who understand that as part of the Sisters in Spirit campaign, NWAC has identified nearly 600 missing and murdered aboriginal women whose cases go back to 1970. The equivalent in the whole Canadian population would be 18,000 missing or murdered women.

The research done by NWAC has convinced Canadians that violence against aboriginal women must be stopped and that we need to find strategies, resources and tools to stop women from disappearing. They call upon the Parliament of Canada to ensure that NWAC receives the funding it was promised to continue its important work protecting women through its Sisters in Spirit initiative, and to invest in initiatives recommended by NWAC to help prevent more women from disappearing.

Employment Insurance

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present another petition concerning employment insurance. Over the past little while, we have been talking about this quite a bit, especially when it comes to the pilot projects. I hate to burden the government with more paper, as I can see that it is going through what we have presented it with thus far.

Nonetheless, I do want to talk about employment insurance in the sense that we do need some reforms here, certainly when it comes to the sector regarding seasonal employment, which is primarily in the fishing industry and the tourism industry in Newfoundland and Labrador which has grown exponentially. As a result, if some of the pilot projects, for example the 14 weeks issue, were to be made permanent, it would allow these industries to flourish because it would eliminate the disincentive to work and the employers would be just as happy as the employees.

I thank the employees who signed this petition who are primarily from around Little Catalina, Newman's Cove, King's Cove and Trinity Bay. These are the areas deeply affected by hurricane Igor.

[Scott Andrews, Liberal, Avalon, NL]

Mr. Speaker, continuing on with my colleague's comments on EI, I am pleased to present a petition containing 172 names.

The petitioners are calling upon the government not to end the best 14 weeks pilot project that it announced the death of in eight months' time. It is crucial for the farmers, the fishers, the tourism industry and the forestry industry in rural Newfoundland and Labrador that they be able to look at their best 14 weeks. They also want the government to continue on with EI pilot project number 12 where they can earn 40% while they are on a claim. These incentives were put in place to encourage people to work and to be honest when reporting their claims. These petitioners are from the fish plant in the Baie Verte area.

Status of Women

[Bruce Hyer, NDP, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition from women and men from Thunder Bay—Superior North who are concerned about equal pay for equal work.

The petitioners wish to point out that after decades of advocacy on the part of many and after being written into the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, women in Canada are still not receiving the equal treatment they deserve. Canadian women receive 21¢ less than what men receive on every dollar of income, which is almost a quarter less.

Sixty per cent of all women over 50 are in the workforce, almost half of our workers in Canada are women, and three-quarters of Canadians living in poverty are women and children, many of them single parents and most of those single parent families run by women.

Questions on the Order Paper

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the following questions will be answered today: Nos. 419, 427 and 430.

Question No. 419

[Judy Foote, Liberal, Random—Burin—St. George's, NL]

With regard to the government program Broadband Canada: Connecting Rural Canadians: (a) how many applications have been submitted to the program since it began in 2009; (b) what is the total dollar value of all applications submitted to the program since it began; (c) what is the total dollar value of all applications approved for funding through the program since it began; and (d) for every project that has received funding in Newfoundland and Labrador, what is the (i) name of the project, (ii) number of people gaining broadband internet access through the program, (iii) amount of funding granted, (iv) date of the announcement?