Debates of Dec. 15th, 2010

Ethics

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, President of the Treasury Board and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway]

Mr. Speaker, it was this government that brought in the Federal Accountability Act, in fact to deal with a Liberal scandal. It was this government that brought in the Lobbying Act. It was this government that brought in the provisions to require lobbyists to report. It is this government that has taken this initiative. We will continue to do that.

We remind people that it was done in the light of the Liberal leadership scandal. I echo the question from my friend from Medicine Hat. Where is that $40 million that disappeared?

Contaminated Water in Shannon

[Christiane Gagnon, Bloc, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on November 25, after a motion was adopted by the majority of the House ordering that reports on the analysis of the Valcartier base water supply system dating back to 1970 be produced, the Minister of Defence promised me that he would make these documents publics.

Notwithstanding the documents received last week, which have nothing to do with those mentioned in the motion, can the minister commit to making public the documents requested by the House before the trial beings in January 2011, as is being called for by the lawyers in the class action suit by the victims of contaminated water in Shannon?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the member has partly answered her own question. Because the matter is before the courts, this complicates the issue significantly. However, as per the parliamentary motion, these documents will be properly examined and released in due course.

Port of Quebec City

[Christiane Gagnon, Bloc, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Transport told us that the Quebec City port authority is an arm's-length body, implying that he has no intention of shouldering his responsibilities in terms of the controversial appointment of the Quebec City port authority's CEO.

Will the minister do more than just write a letter to the board of directors, and will he personally ensure that the Canada Marine Act and the Quebec City port authority's code of conduct are followed?

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

Mr. Speaker, obviously the government respects the role the courts play in Canada. We respect their independence and we respect the right of them to take decisions as they deem appropriate.

Obviously once a year theMinister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities will table reports in this place and will continue to ensure that the Canadian economy and the port of Quebec are well served.

Census

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the total cost of the 2011 census could reach $660 million. We know that the 2006 census cost almost $100 million less than that. What does that mean? Millions of dollars more for less reliable information.

The government is paying Cadillac prices for a used Chevy Pinto without an engine.

When will the government do the right thing and restore the mandatory long form census?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member can join me at the next auto show, and maybe that will help her learn about the auto sector.

In serious response to her question, I believe that Statistics Canada and the Government of Canada more importantly will be spending $660 million on the 2011 census. That is a good deal of money. It is taxpayers' money. We want to make sure it is spent wisely and it in fact leads to a successful census and a national household survey, as well.

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

Mr. Speaker, experts have expressed serious concern that the government's incessant fearmongering on the long form census will have disastrous effects on Canadians being willing to fill out the short form census. Now we learn that the government has slashed and reallocated that very budget to persuade Canadians to participate in the census.

Will the government stop misleading Canadians about the privacy of the census data, start telling the truth and restore the mandatory long form census?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, let me assure the House that I have had discussions with StatsCan. There is a $15 million fund that will help Canadians learn why it is important to fill out the mandatory census.

The Chief Statistician and I agree that that is an adequate amount to get the message out on how important it is to fill out the mandatory short form census. In fact, we have a whole outreach strategy for the national household survey as well.

Employment Insurance

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the pilot project for qualification after 840 hours ended on December 5. When I asked the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development about it, she replied that the pilot project was too expensive and that it was not a good program. It was expensive because workers were using it. Instead of this program, the minister and the Conservative government would rather give tax cuts to the banks and big oil companies.

My question is for the minister. Would her government rather give money to the banks and big oil companies, or help workers who have lost their jobs?

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

Mr. Speaker, the pilot project the member is referring to was meant to test some ideas. It did not really work out. It did not achieve its objectives and was very costly. It is our responsibility to spend taxpayers' money wisely, and this program was not doing that. The member should have supported us in helping unemployed workers get the training they need to get the jobs of the future.

Canada Post Corporation

[Alex Atamanenko, NDP, British Columbia Southern Interior, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we see where the priorities of the government are.

Canada Post continues to wreak havoc in our rural B.C. communities. Sixty part-time workers will have their hours cut. The notice went out as a Christmas present.

A woman in my riding who is barely making ends meet will have her hours cut back from seven hours per week to three hours. Her $560 monthly salary is now cut back to $220 per month. What a slap in the face to our rural communities.

At the same time Canada Post is making huge profits and is mandated to turn over part of these profits to the federal government. Will the minister finally put an end to this ruthless and ridiculous policy—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order. The hon. Minister of State for Transport..

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

Mr. Speaker, let me help my hon. colleague with some information.

With regard to Canada Post, there is a very solid collective agreement. There are no Canada Post employees who can actually be terminated under their contract.

When it comes to revitalization of Canada Post for the future, we are very proud of our government that has invested in and allowed Canada Post to be able to borrow, to be able to revitalize and sustain the best postal system in the world as it moves forward.

Pensions

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Mr. Speaker, our Conservative government is putting an end to the wrong and unfair practice of prisoners receiving tax-funded old age security benefits through Bill C-31, Eliminating Entitlements for Prisoners Act.

Prisoners already have their basic needs met at the expense of taxpayers. Canadians should not be paying for these criminals twice.

Could the Minister of HRSDC please update this House as to the status of our bill to take these benefits away from prisoners?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to announce that Bill C-31, Eliminating Entitlements for Prisoners Act is scheduled to receive royal assent today.

This means that as of January 1, criminals like Clifford Olson who are serving time in a federal prison will no longer receive taxpayer-funded old age security and GIS benefits. This is just another example of how our Conservative government is putting victims first, not criminals.

Foreign Affairs

[Bryon Wilfert, Liberal, Richmond Hill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, for two years this government has done nothing while Canadian resident, Saeed Malekpour, has languished in Iran's notorious Evin prison. It did nothing when he was kidnapped and thrown into jail, nothing when he was forced to confess under torture, and nothing when he was sentenced to death.

The Prime Minister's Office and the Minister of Foreign Affairs have voiced concerns about other detainees who have done nothing in terms of connections to this country, while Mr. Malekpour has received barely a passing mention by the parliamentary secretary.

Is this government actually prepared to do anything to save the life of Mr. Malekpour?

[Deepak Obhrai, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and to the Minister of International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, our government remains deeply concerned by the continued flagrant disregard by the Iranian authorities for the rights of Iranians. This appears to be another case in which someone in Iran is facing a death sentence after a highly questionable process.

Canada, with the international community, is striving to hold Iran accountable for such human rights violations. This includes Canada's leadership on the resolution on the situation of human rights in Iran that was recently adopted in the third committee of the UN General Assembly for the eighth consecutive year.

Employment

[Josée Beaudin, Bloc, Saint-Lambert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, a recent Statistics Canada study confirms that young workers were the hardest hit by the economic crisis, especially students, whose summer employment rate dropped 7% during the most recent recession. This is the biggest drop since 1982.

In light of these findings, how can the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development slash $10 million from the budget for the 2011 Canada summer jobs program?

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

Mr. Speaker, although our youth unemployment rate is much lower than in other countries, we take it very seriously. That is why we introduced and expanded a number of programs in our economic action plan to help young people. For example, we added $10 million a year to help young people and create 3,500 jobs each summer. It is too bad the Bloc Québécois did not support our efforts.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill, MB]

Mr. Speaker, today the Grand Chief of the MKO representing northern Manitoba first nations brought a message to Ottawa that it is high time we tackled the underlying causes behind the third world diseases that aboriginal people face in Canada, such as the high rates of diabetes, another fatal flu outbreak, and the shocking rates of tuberculosis which in Nunavut are 62 times the national average.

When is the federal government going to act decisively to put an end to the third world living conditions facing Canada's aboriginal people?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, as former health minister of the north, I understand the impact of the geographic location as well as the unique culture of aboriginals in our communities that require specific health care considerations. That is why our government has committed $285 million to federal aboriginal health programs. This funding will assist over 150 community-based projects such as: the TB elimination strategy, $9.6 million; the aboriginal diabetes initiative, $110 million; the aboriginal youth suicide prevention strategy, $95 million; and child and maternal health.

We are getting the job done.

Canadian Forces

[Robert Sopuck, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette, MB]

Mr. Speaker, every day our Canadian Forces work to make the world a safer place. In the face of danger and away from their families, friends and loved ones, these brave men and women are examples of all the good things Canadians are capable of.

Our largest overseas deployment is serving in Afghanistan and this winter they will be celebrating the holidays without the comforts of home.

Would the Minister of State for Transport please tell the House about the program in place to help the families and friends of these soldiers stay connected with our troops during the holiday season?

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

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I welcome my hon. colleague to the House with his first great question.

It is truly amazing what our troops do overseas every day of the year for us, especially at the holiday season. They have chosen to leave the comforts of home and country to do the outstanding work that we are very proud of every day.

It is a great pleasure for me to inform the House that Canada Post is allowing, for the fifth consecutive year, free parcel delivery for the friends, family and Canadians from coast to coast to coast to our troops overseas. We welcome everybody to exercise this right.

Royal Assent

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order, please. I have the honour to inform the House that a communication has been received as follows:

Rideau Hall

Ottawa

December 15, 2010

Mr. Speaker:

I have the honour to inform you that the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, will proceed to the Senate Chamber today, the 15^th day of December, 2010 at 4:15 p.m., for the purpose of giving Royal Assent to certain bills of law.

Yours sincerely,

Sheila-Marie Cook

Secretary to the Governor General