Debates of Nov. 1st, 2011

Firearms Registry

[Nycole Turmel, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, let me quote the Conservatives' Associate Minister of National Defence:

A very obvious concern to us in policing is that I want my police officers to know where there are firearms when they respond to calls, especially those that very often entail dangerous situations.

Does the Prime Minister agree that the semi-automatic weapon used at École Polytechnique is dangerous?

Does he agree with his Associate Minister of National Defence that it is an obvious concern for our police officers to know where these guns are when they respond to a dangerous situation?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Once again, Mr. Speaker, the system for the classification of firearms was established long ago. The government follows the process. It is not changed in any way by the bill.

The government has been clear. It favours the elimination of the long gun registry. The government will not do anything to support the creation of a registry by other levels of government.

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, under the legislation, semi-automatics and armour-piercing sniper rifles, even those capable of dropping a target two kilometres away, will no longer need to be registered. The government is making it easier for these dangerous firearms to fall into the wrong hands.

The government likes to talk about hunters, but the last time I checked, hunters were not going after armoured targets one and one-half kilometres away.

How is the government's decision to remove the last line of defence against these high-powered rifles in the interest of public safety?

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate the members opposite are relying on a very misleading Toronto Star story for their research.

Claims that our government has changed the process for classification of firearms are simply not correct. In fact, the current process was put in place by the former Liberal government and that process continues.

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, they are required to be registered now.

The Ruger Mini-14 semi-automatic rifle was the weapon used by Marc Lepine in Canada's worst-ever mass shooting in Montreal. Now the government wants to remove restrictions from this weapon and others like it.

As if trashing years of valuable registry records in spite of victims' pleas was not enough, now the government is removing controls over high-powered rifles.

Why is the government making it harder to track who has these dangerous weapons? Why has it not learned from the past?

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, it is very unfortunate the member engages in that type of fearmongering that is misleading. He knows it is misleading.

Claims that our government has changed the process for classification of firearms are simply not correct. The fact is that the current process was put in place by the former Liberal government. That process is continuing.

The Economy

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in light of the alarming economic news with respect to the decision on the part of the government of Greece to call a referendum and the impact that is having on uncertainty in the world, I wonder if the Prime Minister would reconsider the government's refusal so far to do two very simple things.

First, will the Prime Minister postpone the increase in employment insurance premiums which will cost at least $1.2 billion to the economy? Second, will he make sure that all of the tax credits which are being put forward by the government become refundable so that the lowest income Canadians, the poorest Canadians, could take advantage of those tax credits?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, obviously, the events in Europe over the past couple of days have once again increased uncertainty and have highlighted the fragility that does exist in the global economy.

That is why this government has an economic action plan and has measures before the House that would give important tax breaks to families and to small businesses to help people out and to help create jobs. I would encourage the Liberal Party to stop finding excuses and instead to support those important initiatives.

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we urge the Prime Minister to examine the impact of these measures on the poorest families. There are families who do not earn enough money to pay taxes. Why not give these families the same benefits as families that pay taxes? That is the situation.

Employment insurance premiums result in job losses. I am not the only one to think that; so does the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. Why does the government not change its strategy in order to give the poorest families a chance?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, every time this government proposes tax cuts for families and SMEs to Parliament, the Liberal Party does not support them. That is an irresponsible position. There are other measures before this Parliament. I encourage the Liberal Party to change its position and support these measures, which are important for our families and our businesses.

National Defence

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the Prime Minister has not heard us. We are encouraging the Prime Minister to go further with respect to providing some degree of stability for ordinary Canadians going through a difficult time. That is exactly what we are proposing. I do not know why the Prime Minister is being so intensely ideological in refusing to get to grips on this thing because it is so important.

Speaking of ideology, when is the Prime Minister going to come to grips with the true cost of the F-35 contract? At the same time as he is talking about cuts elsewhere in the economy, why does he not do something to ensure that there is real fairness and real competition with a contract that everybody knows the price is--

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order. The right hon. Prime Minister.

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the only ideological position here is that of the Liberal Party, which opposes every single tax break this government brings forward for families, which opposes every single tax break this government brings forward for small- and medium-size business in this country, and which in some bizarre proposal is now suggesting that we would be somehow helping the economy by cancelling aerospace contracts with 65 Canadian companies.

The government has no intention of doing any of those irresponsible things. We call on the Liberal Party to start to support the Canadian economy.

Poverty

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we learned today just how badly the government is failing families. A whopping 851,000 Canadians used food banks in March 2011 alone, the second highest number ever. The Conservatives boast about their recession fighting skills, but food bank use has jumped 26% since 2008. Fighting a recession means helping families recover, not just giving big corporations tax breaks.

Why is the government letting struggling families rely on food banks? Why is it leaving them out in the cold?

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

Mr. Speaker, we all know that tackling this problem requires a plan, and we have a plan.

The best way to fight poverty is to get Canadians working. The economic action plan is doing just that by helping grow our economy and by creating 650,000 net new jobs since July 2009.

Every action we are taking is to help Canadians and their families become independent and help them to contribute to the economy and to their communities.

Whether it be the working income tax benefit or helping lower income families get over the welfare wall, we have a plan and we are implementing it.

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we are talking about working families who have jobs, but they still cannot afford to pay their bills and feed their kids. Food banks say that working families--I am talking working families here--are being left to struggle thanks to part-time low-wage work. The IMF and Mark Carney both say we should be worried about our economy. How much more proof does the government need?

When will the government stop relying on misleading job numbers and come up with a real plan to kickstart job creation for families in need?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I just mentioned, the best way to fight poverty is to get Canadians working. The economic action plan is doing exactly that with over 650,000 net new jobs since July 2009. Every action we are taking is to help Canadian families, allow them to become independent and help them to contribute to the economy and their communities.

Why are the members of the NDP not voting for these initiatives to make sure that Canadians can have a successful job and a successful future?

Persons with Disabilities

[Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet, NDP, Hochelaga, QC]

Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that it is difficult to live with a disability, physical or intellectual. It seriously compromises a person's ability to make a living. Canada has signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This government must fulfill its commitment and take real action to help persons with disabilities.

The government has clear responsibilities towards all Canadians. What does it intend to do to discharge those responsibilities?

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

Mr. Speaker, no government has done more to support Canadians with disabilities than our Conservative government has done. Our government is removing barriers to participation in the economy and communities because the participation of Canadians with disabilities in our economy means that they are successful and we as a nation are successful.

[Mike Sullivan, NDP, York South—Weston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there is a dramatic increase in the number of people visiting food banks for help. One in seven of them is someone with a disability. People with disabilities are not being hired, including in the public service. According to the president of the Public Service Commission, the situation just keeps getting worse.

Why will the government not do more to fix this embarrassing situation and encourage the hiring of people living with disabilities?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, President of the Treasury Board and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, we thank the president of the Public Service Commission for her work. Certainly we see that some of the measures we put in place are indeed working in terms of the diversity of the public service workforce and ensuring that it is a robust public service that is reflective of our community. We will continue to work in that regard.

Seniors

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

Mr. Speaker, the guaranteed income supplement was put in place 40 years ago to address seniors' poverty in Canada, but because of the government's failure to keep up with the times, seniors are falling behind. Costs are rising on everything from food to home heating. Once again, seniors are being left out in the cold. We learned today that the number of seniors using food banks has escalated over the past decade.

What is the government's plan to help impoverished Canadian seniors?

[Alice Wong, Conservative, Minister of State (Seniors)]

Mr. Speaker, I will take no lesson from an opposition party which has voted against all of our measures to help seniors. Canada's seniors have--

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order. The hon. Minister of State has the floor.