Debates of Nov. 3rd, 2011

Veterans

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I can assure the member that we are implementing the newest and most recent scientific evidence. I praise the member for Edmonton East for raising those important issues and for raising $200,000 for the returning veterans who took part in the campaign in Italy.

I invite every veteran who is putting his or her life at risk in such a case to get in touch with our skilled professionals, who will ensure they get all the programs and benefits to which they are entitled and which they fully deserve. We will stand by our—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please.

The hon. member for Wascana.

Taxation

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, with the world economy in turmoil, it is no time for complacency. Standards of living are flat, disposable incomes are stagnant, household debt is high and the gulf between the very wealthy and everyone else is widening.

To make Canadians less vulnerable and to encourage growth, will the government forgo its $1.2 billion EI payroll tax increase, allow 10 million low-income Canadians to access tax credits now reserved for only the better off and help seniors whose RSPs have been devastated in the stock market? Will the government do those three sensible things?

[Shelly Glover, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I want to acknowledge that we are cautiously optimistic with the news coming out of Europe. However, it is interesting to find the Liberal Party standing up and talking about tax credits and helping people like our seniors and our most vulnerable. When we talk about our volunteer firefighters tax credit, I remember firefighters begging the Liberal Party, when it was in government, to do something, and it did absolutely nothing, so I will take no lessons from the Liberals on how to improve a credit they denied them for years.

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Speaker, here is a lesson: it is to stop raising taxes and killing jobs. On the government's watch--

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. The member for Vancouver Quadra has the floor. We will hear the question.

The hon. member for Vancouver Quadra.

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Speaker, on the government's watch, job creation is declining quarter after quarter. According to leading economists, the few jobs being created are almost all low-paying, part-time, or temporary. In fact, today Canada still has over half a million fewer full-time jobs compared to August 2008.

Given this sad situation, why is the government hurting private sector job creation with a whopping EI payroll tax increase, an almost $2 billion burden in the last two years?

[Shelly Glover, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I found it interesting when the member mentioned raising taxes. Was it not the Liberal Party, in its platform, that wanted to put a carbon tax on everyone--all Canadians, vulnerable or not?

That said, let us give the facts and the accurate statistics. Statistics Canada's facts are clear: 650,000 net new jobs have been created since July 2009, 90% of those have been full-time jobs, and 80% of them are in the private sector. This is a wonderful story, and we are going to tell it again and again.

Auditor General

[Élaine Michaud, NDP, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this morning, by approving the appointment of a unilingual auditor general, the Conservatives once again showed their contempt for bilingualism. They ignored all the concerns raised by the NDP and francophones across the country. Although the government claims that Mr. Ferguson was the most qualified candidate, he does not speak French. How will he be able to do his job?

Will the Auditor General conduct investigations only in English and ignore all the French documentation?

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

Mr. Speaker, as we have already said, the government looked for bilingual candidates. I said that yesterday. Upon completion of a very rigorous process, the most qualified candidate was chosen. Mr. Ferguson told a House committee and the Senate that it is important to learn French, that he wants to learn French and that he is going to learn French.

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

Mr. Speaker, the government is still hiding things from us. We do not yet know whether the candidate was asked any questions in French during the interview. Yet, the job posting in the Canada Gazette clearly indicated that the candidate had to be bilingual—that proficiency in both official languages was essential.

Why is the government still trying to suggest that the appointment was based on merit and that the candidate selected was the most qualified? The candidate does not even meet one of the hiring criteria. Is this what bilingualism means to the Conservatives?

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

Mr. Speaker, I absolutely reject the premise of that question. The person who chose to be considered for this position is absolutely the most qualified. This individual was given a battery of questions and tests. Sheila Fraser, the former auditor general, has endorsed his candidacy. Others who have been involved with him in the New Brunswick legislature have endorsed him, including the opposition Liberal leader.

He is the best candidate, and we stand by this appointment.

FedNor

[Bryan Hayes, Conservative, Sault Ste. Marie, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada proudly announced new funding for the cyclotron medical research facility in Thunder Bay. This $4 million investment will go towards creating long-term jobs in that great city and will help to bring private sector investment to a growing high-tech industry in northern Ontario.

Can the minister responsible for FedNor please rise and give an update to members on this important investment?

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the Conservative member for that question. The member for Sault Ste. Marie is doing some excellent work in his riding.

Indeed, the government did make that important investment in the last budget. Unfortunately, the member for Thunder Bay—Superior North and his party voted against that worthwhile project twice.

Of course, we will not be hearing from the member for Thunder Bay—Superior North here in this House, thanks to the heavy-handedness of the NDP in disciplining that member. Members heard it here first. However, his constituents can count on us to represent them. We will do the right thing.

Veterans

[Sean Casey, Liberal, Charlottetown, PE]

Mr. Speaker, Remembrance Day approaches. The Conservatives are commemorating this occasion by cutting more than $200 million in funding to Veterans Affairs and axing more than 500 jobs. They suggest that the cuts will be absorbed through attrition, which is false, and by calculating the mortality rate of veterans, which is offensive. The ombudsman says that new vets are outpacing the death rate of older vets.

No one believes the minister except the echo chamber around him. When will Conservatives stop their assault on veterans and exempt the department from cuts?

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is out in left field—a potato field, I suppose—because the echo that is reverberating from one end of the country to the other indicates that our government has made a variety of improvements over the past six years: it introduced the new veterans charter, set up the Office of the Veterans Ombudsman and resolved the agent orange issue. Never have we invested so much in our veterans and we will continue to do so because we love our veterans and we believe in them.

Fisheries and Oceans

[Fin Donnelly, NDP, New Westminster—Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans' response to the potential discovery of infectious salmon anemia has been slow and inadequate.

There is a potential catastrophe unfolding on the Pacific coast, and the government is still weeks away from having confirmation from the CFIA. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans has a mandate to protect wild salmon. In all other jurisdictions where ISA has been found, it has had devastating consequences.

When will the minister finally take action and test these salmon?

[Randy Kamp, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and for the Asia-Pacific Gateway]

Mr. Speaker, I can assure my colleague that we are taking this issue very seriously because our government places a high priority on the good health and management of our fish stocks.

That is why in recent years we tested over 5,000 wild and farmed B.C. salmon. There was not a single case of confirmed ISA in B.C.

At this time, the reported findings to which the member refers are not conclusive. Federal officials are conducting tests in our certified ISA lab to verify these claims.

Instead of using unsubstantiated claims to undermine an important Canadian industry, I encourage this member to wait for the test results.

Political Donations

[Jay Aspin, Conservative, Nipissing—Timiskaming, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians deserve politics in which special interests do not have special access to political parties.

We already know that the NDP received at least $85,000 from big labour unions for its recent convention in Vancouver. Added to that, the secretive NDP Federal Council met behind closed doors to set the rules for the NDP leadership race.

Can the Minister of State (Democratic Reform) please update the House on the status of removing big money influence over political parties?

[Tim Uppal, Conservative, Minister of State (Democratic Reform)]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his hard work in this regard.

Every day Canadians are expected to pay back loans under strict conditions, and we should expect the same from politicians.

Our government has committed to removing big money influence over our political parties. That is why we reintroduced the political loans accountability act. The act will reduce undue influence of big money, including big unions, in the political process.

We encourage the NDP, its national council and its leadership candidates to live up to the spirit of this reintroduced legislation. Canadians deserve politics in which special interests—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order. The hon. member for Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord.

Employment Insurance

[Jonathan Tremblay, NDP, Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the employment insurance transitional measures and the pilot projects are essential to my riding and other regions. Even the Conservative candidate who was defeated in my riding in the last election, who is now the Conservatives' spokesperson for eastern Quebec, is calling for the recent pilot projects to become law. By refusing to take action, the Conservatives are abandoning the workers of Charlevoix and Haute-Côte-Nord.

Will the minister listen to the NDP and his own employees and extend the employment insurance transitional measures and pilot projects?

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

Mr. Speaker, our government's top priority is getting Canadians back to work and promoting job growth and job creation.

We are committed to timely services and proper access to our systems for all Canadians. While there are seasonal fluctuations and changes in services, we know that Canadians need access to modern services.

Our government is focused on providing excellent value for taxpayers' dollars, unlike the NDP, which wants to raise our taxes. Why do NDP members not want to modernize our system?

Government Policies

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, from 1913 to 1956, a period of over 40 years, time limits on debates were used 10 times. In the last 40 days, a time limit has been used seven times, making a new historical record.

What used to be the exception to the rule appears to now be the rule.