Debates of Feb. 18th, 2011

Public Safety

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

Mr. Speaker, I wish, for once, the Liberal Party would talk about the costs of crime to the victims who suffer from crime.

We tabled in the House a response to the questions that the Liberal members requested. What about the cost to insurance? What about the cost to victims when their cars are stolen, particularly in the city of Winnipeg where the number of automobiles that are stolen is incredibly high?

I would like to ask the Liberals, would they for once consider the cost to victims of crime?

[Massimo Pacetti, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, that is exactly what we are asking for: the costs. According to documents tabled yesterday, 13 crime bills will not cost a single penny.

The Conservatives are seriously trying to make us believe that it will not cost anything to keep prisoners in their cells, that it will not cost anything to feed them and that prison guards are volunteers.

What fairy tale is the Minister of Public Safety living in?

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

Mr. Speaker, the information that we tabled before Parliament yesterday is in response to the questions the Liberals asked.

One of the bills that will cost a significant amount of money is the truth in sentencing bill. This is the terrible situation where criminals get a two-for-one benefit to their sentencing.

Interestingly enough, when the bill passed Parliament on June 8, the Liberals made no request for how much this would cost. They are now asking how much it will cost after they voted for it.

Why did they not do their job and ask these questions before they supported this important legislation?

Finance

[Russ Hiebert, Conservative, South Surrey—White Rock—Cloverdale, BC]

Mr. Speaker, while the Liberals launch a tour to promote their Liberal leader's reckless $6 billion tax hike, our Conservative government is standing up for lower taxes at home and abroad.

On the global stage we are fighting a global financial transaction tax on Canadians. This tax would hit Canadians in their wallets, taking their hard-earned money out of our local communities to fund an unprecedented global tax.

Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance please tell the House what our Conservative government is doing to oppose reckless tax hikes?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would be happy to answer that question.

Our Conservative government believes in low taxes, not higher taxes. We are fighting against the Liberal tax hike on job-creating businesses. We oppose any global financial transaction tax on Canadians as well. Unfortunately, the Liberal-NDP-Bloc coalition does not agree.

I am absolutely shocked to report that the NDP member for Burnaby—New Westminster is introducing a bill to impose a financial transaction tax on Canadians. We will fight against a new coalition tax both--

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order. The hon. member for Burnaby--New Westminster.

International Trade

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Mr. Speaker, just like everything else, the government now has a major problem with its botched trade agreement between Canada and the European Union.

Last week, we learned that this agreement will result in increased drug prices. Today, we learned that Canada's automobile industry is also threatened by this agreement. People are worried that Canada's automobile industry is being sold at a rock-bottom price.

What does this government intend to do to reject this faulty deal now that this sector has joined the likes of agriculture, arts and the municipalities? What will they do now that this agreement—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade.

[Gerald Keddy, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear. The member is simply incorrect in his entire statement.

Canadian manufacturers compete with the best in the world. They can count on our government to continue to open markets and allow them to do this. A trade agreement with the European Union could boost Canada's economy by $12 billion. That includes improvements for sectors across the Canadian economy.

Negotiations are ongoing. There is no agreement yet. The hon. member and Canadians can rest assured that any agreement will be in the best interests of Canadians.

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Mr. Speaker, that is not what the auto sector is saying.

We have seen what the Conservatives can do. They badly botched negotiations on softwood lumber, costing our softwood communities $1.2 billion and counting, and 50,000 jobs. Our companies are still being denied access to the U.S. because of botched buy American negotiations.

The auto sector now joins other sectors to say no to the botched EU negotiations.

How can we trust a government so willing to sell out Canadian jobs? It does not do its homework. It does not do its due diligence. It is incompetent at the negotiating table. How can we trust Conservatives when they have failed Canadians again and again?

[Gerald Keddy, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I will tell the member what our government is committed to.

We are committed to promoting free trade, opening new markets and creating jobs for Canadians, unlike the member opposite and his party who are committed to creating higher taxes and having jobs leave Canada for the rest of the world. We want jobs to stay in Canada.

Employment Insurance

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

Mr. Speaker, in advance of the next budget, the Bloc Québécois has toured Quebec to get a sense of what Quebeckers expect; more than ever, a comprehensive reform of the employment insurance system is necessary. Older workers, seasonal workers, young victims of discriminatory clauses, independent workers and women working part time came forward to denounce the flaws in the system.

Instead of misappropriating EI contributions, will the government finally start improving the system?

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

Mr. Speaker, during the global recession, we have introduced a number of initiatives to help those most affected by the global recession. That is why we had programs for long-tenured workers, in order to increase the benefit period by five weeks. We have a number of other programs, including programs to train workers for another job, another career, after the recession. However, the Bloc voted against all our initiatives.

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

Mr. Speaker, instead of improving the employment insurance system, the Conservatives are limiting access to EI by not renewing the pilot project for regions with a high rate of seasonal employment. In the Gaspé and on the Magdalen Islands, this change has had dramatic consequences.

Will the government show some compassion and reinstate pilot project No. 13 to help seasonal workers?

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

Mr. Speaker, the government is using pilot projects to determine whether one idea or another will achieve the government's goals. Since this government is accountable to Canada's taxpayers and this pilot project did not achieve our goals, we abolished it.

Taxation

[Francis Scarpaleggia, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, victims of Earl Jones have been defrauded of their life savings by a man who cared not one bit for their well-being despite the trusting exterior he projected. His victims are not only victims of a con artist, they are also victims of the federal taxman.

The Canada Revenue Agency has refused to reimburse the victims of Earl Jones the taxes they paid on years of fictitious income.

Where is the CRA when victims of white-collar crime come knocking to ask for their money back?

[Dave MacKenzie, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, this is ironic. This issue came up in the House this week with Bill C-59. The victims of Earl Jones have been very clear on their expectations of the party opposite. They have been sadly let down. They were the first to tell us that.

I wish the member would have stood in his place and supported Bill C-59, but he remained silent.

[Francis Scarpaleggia, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we are talking about money that belongs to the victims of Earl Jones that the government is sitting on and earning interest on. For years the victims of Earl Jones paid taxes on money they actually paid to themselves. In other words, the so-called interest they received and were taxed on was paid out of their own capital. Earl Jones recycled their money as part of his scheme.

Why can the government not understand this and give the victims of Earl Jones their money back? Why is the government sitting on taxes paid on fictitious income?

[Dave MacKenzie, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I can tell the member that the victims of Earl Jones and other large frauds wonder what that party did for 13 years. They wonder what that party is doing right now on Bill C-59 and why those members did not support the bill.

It is high time that members listened to their constituents. I know that Senator Larry Smith is listening to constituents. I wish the Liberals would.

The Environment

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canada committed at the Cancun climate change negotiations to deliver a national low-carbon development strategy, but while the world waits and watches, the government does nothing. Despite promises at the G20 to end perverse subsidies to fossil fuels, it continues to give billions to coal-fired power and oil sands while investing peanuts on alternative energy solutions.

Time is running out. Why will the government not level the playing field for cleaner energy solutions and give Canada a clean energy future? Where is the strategy, and who is being consulted?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order. The hon. Minister of Natural Resources.

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, it is very ironic to hear the member stand in the House to say that we did not invest a lot in the energy sector when we made a lot of historic investments.

We are going to a clean energy superpower. What did the member and her party do in the House of Commons? They stood up and voted against the budget. This is unacceptable.

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canada committed under the NAFTA environment agreement to directly engage concerned Canadians in decisions impacting the environment, yet Canadians remain shut out.

The government supported my motion for a comprehensive public review of environment and safety risks from unconventional oil and gas development, but it refused to commission the review.

The Conservatives ran on a platform of openness and transparency, but opposed my bill to enshrine Canadians' rights to participate and hold the government accountable.

Will the government finally deliver on these promises and support passage of Bill C-469?

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, it is a very simple answer: no.

Counter-Drug Operations

[Patricia Davidson, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians do not want illegal drugs in our communities. We do not want the problems that illegal drugs bring to the communities.

Our government has brought in strong measures to fight the illegal drug trade with new, tough crime laws, but illegal drugs are a scourge against which many countries around the world are fighting.

Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence update us on the things that Canadian Forces are doing in this international fight against illegal drugs?