Debates of Oct. 4th, 2011

National Defence

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague is correct. My friend was in attendance, along with many members who are specifically tasked with how we deal with the scourge of post-traumatic stress and many of the challenges related to overseas deployments.

I am very pleased to report that Canada has in fact become a world leader in fighting the stigmatization and raising awareness of post-traumatic stress disorder and other operational stress injuries. As well, we have increased mental health awareness and we have increased the number of mental health professionals who are dealing specifically with these challenges.

Veterans Affairs

[Sean Casey, Liberal, Charlottetown, PE]

Mr. Speaker, there is a great need to enhance suicide prevention programs in Canada. With respect to our veterans, the data is alarming. The suicide rate in the armed services is nearly three times that of the general population.

According to a departmental study of all males who enrolled in the regular forces after 1972 and were released before 2007, a total of 2,620 died and almost 700 of them were suicides.

Could the minister outline new steps or strategies that his department is undertaking to tackle this crisis among veterans?

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his important question.

While mental health was taboo then, it is a priority for our government now. That is why we have established, in conjunction with the Department of National Defence, 17 operational stress injury clinics that provide services to veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress across the country and at various levels that they might experience.

This approach is working. As of June, Veterans Affairs Canada is helping more than 14,300 veterans with mental health conditions and their families, and--

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order. The hon. member for Surrey North.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

[Jasbir Sandhu, NDP, Surrey North, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Province of British Columbia and its municipalities have pleaded with the government to come back to the table and negotiate a new RCMP contract in good faith. They are ready and willing to break the impasse, but the government would rather play hardball with the provinces and use our front-line officers as bargaining chips.

Why is the government callously playing fast and loose with the safety of British Columbians and why will the Public Safety minister not immediately meet with the B.C. government and move the discussions forward?

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, as you are well aware, there have been four years of intensive negotiations. Our government is willing to renew contract policing agreements with the provinces, and in fact I am awaiting the suggestions that the B.C. Solicitor General indicated that she would forward to my attention. To date I have not received that. She indicated on September 9 that she would be forwarding those suggestions. I have not heard from her.

[Randall Garrison, NDP, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the government cannot seem to get its story straight on this file. First the minister says there is a deadline and no more negotiations. Then on Friday, the member for Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, speaking as the cabinet minister in B.C., told B.C. municipalities he was sure the government would strike a deal on the new RCMP contract.

Which is it? Are the government members going to meet and negotiate, or are they going to complain that no one has told them what the issues are?

Will the Conservatives stop trying to play good cop, bad cop and sit down and negotiate seriously with British Columbia so that front-line RCMP officers can focus on their real work, which is keeping our communities safe?

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, it is quite surprising to hear the NDP members talking about keeping our communities safe when they have consistently voted against every single measure that would keep dangerous repeat offenders in prison. It is a shame that they would have the audacity to stand in the House and accuse this government, after all of the work that we have done to repair the damage that was done by the Liberals, for failing to train appropriate numbers of RCMP officers.

Foreign Affairs

[Kevin Sorenson, Conservative, Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the killing continues in Syria and the Assad regime continues its slide into isolation.

The United Nations Security Council is meeting today to consider a resolution against Syria. Media reports indicate that it could be weakened. It may be blocked or even vetoed.

Could the Foreign Affairs minister please tell the House what Canada is doing to support the Syrian people and to ensure that we keep up pressure on the illegitimate Assad regime?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, Canada is concerned about the ever-deteriorating situation in Syria and the plight of Syrian civilians. We will not wait for the United Nations to act. I am pleased to announce that we have expanded sanctions against the Syrian regime and its backers even further.

We will do our part to ensure that the full weight of the world is brought to bear on Assad and those who support him. We stand by the Syrian people in their hour of struggle.

Suicide Prevention

[Hedy Fry, Liberal, Vancouver Centre, BC]

Mr. Speaker, suicide is the third-highest cause of death among adult men in Canada. Every day 10 Canadians take their own lives, and for every one suicide there are 100 attempts, with 23,000 hospitalizations a year. These high rates of mortality and morbidity surrounding suicidal behaviour constitute a major public health crisis.

Since the federal government has already established national strategies in other critical areas such as cancer, does it not agree that suicide demands a similar multi-jurisdictional approach?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Minister of Health and Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency]

Mr. Speaker, as I have stated, we have made an investment in establishing the Mental Health Commission of Canada since we formed government. At the same time, we have made significant investments through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to address mental health illness, recognizing that there is not one answer to address suicide.

Our government has made a number of investments, as I outlined in my earlier response, but many of these initiatives are in addition to what we invest in supporting provinces and territories in delivering their health care. This is a collective effort that will continue.

Official Languages

[Charmaine Borg, NDP, Terrebonne—Blainville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, a woman in my riding is dying from cancer while waiting for access to health insurance. To help her get access, we had to communicate with the department's consular affairs office, but it was impossible to get service in French. Yet the rules are clear, and I quote, “Ministers' offices...must have the capacity to communicate...in both official languages.”

Does this government respect our country's bilingualism and its obligation to provide services to its citizens, whatever their language?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Minister of Health and Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency]

Mr. Speaker, as the member should know, provinces and territories do deliver health care to their populations.

Our government provides support through the Canada Health Act and transfers to jurisdictions, as I have stated many times, but we have also made significant investments in the area of cancer prevention throughout Canada. We have renewed funding for the cancer partnerships across Canada.

International Co-operation

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

Mr. Speaker, the G20 research group at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs recently released its annual analysis of G20 commitments. The report tracks G8 and G20 members' progress in meeting their promises from the November 2010 Seoul summit until June 2011.

Could the hon. Minister of International Cooperation please update the House on Canada's progress?

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Minister of International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has said that it is not enough to make pledges at conferences: it is important to pay what is pledged. Under his leadership, Canada met its 2009 food security commitment, and in fact was the first G8 country to do so. That is why he was asked to co-chair the UN commission for accountability in women's and children's health.

The Munk School report says that Canada has fully complied with its official development assistance commitments. In fact, in meeting the G20 commitments, Canada ranked ahead of the U.K., the U.S.A.--

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please.

The hon. member for British Columbia Southern Interior.

Taxation

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

Mr. Speaker, thousands of law-abiding Canadians are being made to feel like criminals by the U.S. IRS. The Minister of Finance and the Prime Minister have received a letter from a constituent in my riding. His wife has been working and paying taxes in Canada since 1968 and has only had a Canadian passport. The U.S. government has informed her that she owes the IRS $70,000 in penalties for failing to file her forms.

I thank the minister for his public stance against this assault on Canadian citizens. Will he now outline what specific measures he has taken to protect the life savings of this couple and others from the U.S. government's cash grab?

[Ted Menzies, Conservative, Minister of State (Finance)]

Mr. Speaker, we share the hon. member's concerns. It is absolutely unfair when hard-working, law-abiding Canadian citizens have misunderstood a U.S. law.

These are not high rollers. They are not avoiding taxes. We have called on the U.S. government to look upon these individuals with leniency and we have stressed that we will not, under our Canadian revenue agency, be collecting any of these supposed penalties.

The Environment

[Maria Mourani, Bloc, Ahuntsic, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the report by the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development is crystal clear: the Conservatives' so-called environmental plan will not enable Canada to meet its targets. And this situation is unlikely to change considering the mediocre data, which are insufficient to even assess the government's expenditures and efforts, combined with the elimination of environmental programs and the cuts to Environment Canada.

Why is the Minister of the Environment still trying to convince people how serious his government is, when we know that the only thing the Conservatives have reduced is their own greenhouse gas reduction targets—by 90%?

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, again I lament the fact that the opposition will not recognize the positive remarks by the Auditor General's Commissioner of the Environment, but I must say that I was delighted that he acknowledged our international and national commitments to both Copenhagen and Cancun and our commitment to achieving a 17% reduction from 2005 base levels of greenhouse gases by 2020.

Our government was elected to protect both the environment and the economy, and that is what it is doing.

Presence in Gallery

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

I would like to draw to the attention of hon. members the presence in the gallery of His Excellency Nassirou Bako-Arifari, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Integration, Francophonie and the Beninese Abroad, of the Republic of Benin.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

I would also like to draw to the attention of hon. members the presence in the gallery of the Honourable Mike Olscamp, Minister of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries for New Brunswick.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!