Debates of Nov. 26th, 2010

Product Safety

[Glenn Thibeault, NDP, Sudbury, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is not the colour of the unelected senators' tie, it is whether they will respect the will of the House.

The protection of our children should be paramount to the government. Parents have a right to know that the products they are giving their children are safe and toxin free. This is why the government needs to ensure that Bill C-36 is passed before Christmas.

Will the government show some leadership and tell its unelected bagmen in the Senate to adopt this important legislation for the safety of our children?

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

Mr. Speaker, I find it absolutely astonishing that the NDP, on one hand, would complain about the Senate of Canada and then, on the other hand, not agree to support our legislation to reform the Senate.

We have been trying to get the NDP and all opposition parties to support our reforms to the Senate for many months. I cannot find anything more hypocritical than a member of the NDP saying, on the one hand, that the Senate is bad and yet he will not try to make it good.

Public Safety

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Mr. Speaker, this week, the public safety committee heard from witnesses on an important bill that would eliminate pardons on serious crimes. Committee members heard from ex-cons who want to leave the pardon system as is. It also heard from first-hand victims who said that while criminals' jail terms may end, their suffering lasts a lifetime.

Would the Minister of Public Safety tell the House how this bill would make repeat offenders more accountable?

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, a criminal's right should not come first in our criminal justice system. As I said at the public safety committee, we need to draw the line somewhere. Our proposals are tough but reasonable and would make repeat offenders more accountable to victims for their crimes.

We call upon the opposition to support Bill C-23B, a bill that would deny child sex offenders the right to ever receive a pardon.

Canadian Somali Community

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Don Valley West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I recently met with the Ottawa Orléans Somali Community Organization. It shared its deep concern about the current situation for the Somali community in Ontario, particularly youth.

In Ottawa, where over 8,000 of them live, more than 60% of Somalis live below the poverty line. Understandably, they are worried about the future of their kids. They lack the necessary language training, settlement services, educational and recreational opportunities to thrive here.

What will the government do to help Somali Canadians in Ontario?

[John Baird, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, I share the concern the member opposite has raised about the Somali community in Ottawa. We have taken a number of measures through the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development to support these important members of our community.

We have also worked with the provincial government and have come to a better agreement with respect to immigration settlement funding. For far too long, Ontario did not get its fair share under the previous Liberal government, but now it is getting a substantial amount more. A significant amount of work is still required to be done and we will continue to work hard on this.

Official Languages

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the most recent report by the Commissioner of Official Languages concerning the Olympic Games in Vancouver confirms that the government has once again failed in its duty by not including linguistic clauses in the contribution agreements to provide more of a framework for organizations that receive funding.

With preparations underway for the Canada Games in Halifax and the Pan American Games in Toronto, will the minister act in accordance with his responsibilities and ensure that the linguistic rights of francophones are respected?

[Greg Rickford, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary for Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, we will read the report once it is released by the Commissioner of Official Languages and we will take the time needed to review his recommendations.

We will continue working with the commissioner, as we have always done, in order to support Canada's two official languages.

Employment Insurance

[Malcolm Allen, NDP, Welland, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in the communities of my riding, where thousands have lost their jobs, unemployment rates are among the highest in the country and yet less than one-third of unemployed Ontarians qualify for EI benefits. The extended benefit pilot project was reinstated to 21 regions facing high unemployment but the communities I represent were excluded by the government.

When will the government end this regional discrimination and commit to extending the same EI benefits to hard hit communities in Ontario?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development]

Mr. Speaker, throughout the recession, we did make special arrangements to help those who were most affected by the global economic downturn. We did provide five extra weeks of benefits right across the country. We took a pilot project and made it national. We also provided extra support for long-tenured workers because we recognized that it would take longer for them to get back to work.

Most of the changes in our economic action plan were designed to be targeted, timely and temporary through the worst of the recession. We are trying to help Canadians. It is too bad the NDP never supports any of our efforts.

Citizenship and Immigration

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

Mr. Speaker, lower approval rates at the independent Immigration and Refugee Board are sending a clear message to human smugglers and to those who jump the queue: if people come to Canada improperly, the Government of Canada will send them back. It also underscores the need for the opposition to support legislation currently in front of the House that would combat those who would undermine the integrity of our immigration system and undermine the confidence that Canadians have in this system.

Will the government update the House on the status of this legislation?

[Rick Dykstra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, certainly Bill C-49, our tough legislation to prevent human smugglers from abusing Canada's immigration system, gives us the tools we need to stop illegal smuggling boats. Longer detention will keep our streets safer. Preventing illegal immigrants from obtaining sponsoring relatives for five years reduces the incentive to queue jump. Finally, we will have the tools under our criminal law to pursue and punish the captain and crew.

We did it with Bill C-11, refugee reform legislation. We did it with Bill C-35, dealing with crooked immigration consultants. Let us work together to get this bill through the House.

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Don Valley West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the government House leader and the government are long on words but short on action.

If they are committed to helping Somali Canadians, why have they failed to deliver the funds promised under the Canada–Ontario immigration agreement? As this agreement expired, the Conservative government withheld $207 million under the agreement. Almost half of Canada's immigrants settle in Ontario and the government is letting us down.

When will the government pay its bill? When will it sit down with Ontario and negotiate a new agreement? That is $207 million.

[Rick Dykstra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, this government is going to make no apologies for the amount of settlement funding that we have put in place since we were elected in 2006. Whether it is Ontario or any other province in this country, every province and every community has benefited from the settlement funding that it requires to do what is necessary, versus what the previous administration did, which was absolutely nothing. In fact, it cut settlement funding.

What we are doing now is ensuring, especially with Ontario, that we have a deal in place that serves the needs of the people in the province of Ontario. We are more than open for negotiations and they are happening right now.

Guaranteed Income Supplement

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when we asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development why the government refused to increase the guaranteed income supplement by $110 a month, we were told that the government is already helping seniors through the TFSA, as though our most vulnerable citizens have the means to play the stock market with their GIS cheques.

How can the Conservative government be so out of touch with the reality facing our seniors?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development]

Mr. Speaker, we have done a great deal to help seniors. That is why we have one of the world's lowest levels of poverty among seniors. The GIS is automatically adjusted when the consumer price index increases. We have also increased the exemption credit twice and the Bloc Québécois voted against this initiative to help the seniors who built our country.

Taxation

[John Rafferty, NDP, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

Mr. Speaker, people from Thunder Bay to Rainy River woke up this morning to more than 15 centimetres of snow. They are also feeling the burden of the Conservatives' HST. Snow removal now costs 8% more. Home heating is up 8% too. This means that people already hit by the economic downturn will also face colder days and dangerous sidewalks.

If the HST is so great, why is it already causing so much harm to the people of northern Ontario?

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I knew the taxation was responsible for some things. I did not know it was responsible for snowfall in Thunder Bay in the winter.

The HST is a provincial responsibility. Provinces can decide to harmonize or not. Some provinces have. This is a decision that the provinces make.

The sales tax that we have federally is called the GST. We have reduced it from 7% to 6% to 5%, as we promised in the last election. Promises made, promises kept.

Every time we want to reduce taxes, the NDP votes against it.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. member for Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte is rising on a point of order.

Oral Questions

[Gerry Byrne, Liberal, Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte, NL]

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated during the course of question period, I will be seeking unanimous consent to table documents that are in direct reference to the government's recent decision to amend the OAS regulations to exclude RRIF funds from an optional exercise of the calculation for purposes of the guaranteed income supplement.

Specifically I would like to table five items.

One is a recent letter that I referred to during question period, from the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development to a constituent of mine. This letter indicates that she understood the program, accepted the program and defended the program. It is the same program that she now says she knows nothing about.

The second item is on the regulations, the actual revisions to the functional guidance given to members of Service Canada in revising the program. This is dated May 17, 2010. These are the functional guidance orders that the minister authorized to amend the program that she says she knows nothing about.

The third item is a court case, which the minister refers to in her letters to my constituent. One is the case of Ellen Ward, made January 11, 2008 by Justice Hershfield. When we talk about whether or not the minister was aware of this, I will read the following for the relevance of members so that they understand whether to accept that or not:

[I]t may be necessary for the appropriate policy and legislative department of government to revisit the subject provision with a view to ensuring that it operates in a manner that reflects the policies of government in an intelligible way and in a way that does not discriminate against one group of retired persons...[versus] another

These are all relevant documents that I am sure hon. members will want to have tabled in the House.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Does the hon. member have the unanimous consent of the House?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

No.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

There is no consent.

The hon. Minister of Natural Resources also has a point of order.

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, I want to let you know that during question period, the member for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine misled the House by referring to a report on which I had been questioned last December. There was an investigation report, and I said at the time that it would be made public shortly.

The member is alleging today that this report had to do with the renovations to the West Block, which is completely false. I never said that in the House. The report was about the actions of an official at Public Works and Government Services Canada. The Leader of the Government in the House of Commons even said as much in response to previous questions, and the report has been posted on the Public Works and Government Services website.

Either the member is completely unaware of the facts or she simply did not do her homework. Gratuitous allegations like the ones she has made damage an institution for no reason, but more importantly, they mislead the House. She should immediately withdraw what she said.

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to speak to this point of order.

At the time, I was the member who questioned the Minister of Public Works and Government Services on behalf of the Liberal Party. I asked him about an internal investigation at Public Works and Government Services Canada and I also asked him whether there had been any interference in the awarding of the contract for the renovations to the north tower of the West Block. Those two issues were quite often dealt with together in my questions and in the responses from the Minister of Natural Resources, who was Minister of Public Works and Government Services at the time.

It was in response to one of my questions—and this can be checked in Hansard—that the minister said there would be a report. That should be checked in Hansard. I suggest my colleagues check that. I will also check it, and I think the minister should as well. Then we can talk about this again.