Debates of March 7th, 2011

Former Public Sector Integrity Commissioner

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

Mr. Speaker, with all due respect to my friend, I cannot believe he accepted it, without any complaint, when that scripted diatribe was handed to him. I just cannot believe he accepted it.

The cases that she did not look into were looked into by the Auditor General. The Auditor General has made certain recommendations, which are being followed. We took immediate action to put in place an interim commissioner, who is doing a full review of all of those cases.

The former commissioner is going to be before the standing policy committee this week.

Child Care

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

Mr. Speaker, by refusing to even consider a national child care policy, the Conservatives are not only insulting families, they are damaging the economy too.

According to the YWCA, the lack of accessible, affordable child care is keeping women out of the workforce. Tomorrow is International Women's Day.

New Democrats have an affordable, pragmatic plan for national child care. Does the minister have the courage to admit her family policies are a failure? Will her party get behind the NDP plan?

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

Mr. Speaker, few governments have ever done as much as we have to support families. We believe in them.

We believe that parents are in the best position to decide how to raise their children. It is they who should decide what form of child care they get, whether it is institutional care, or it is mom or dad staying home or granny around the corner.

It is their choice, not the government's. We support the choice of parents all the way.

Oral Questions

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, you will recall from my questions during question period that I was making reference to the fact that the Prime Minister had decided to re-brand the Government of Canada to the “H” government. I made it quite clear that I felt this was outrageous as an act and also that it went against strict rules. Civil servants have been instructed to make those necessary changes.

My question today has to do with Parliament. Parliament is the designation that has now been pushed on the civil service by the Prime Minister. Is it considered parliamentary? Because we will be often referring to the Government of Canada in this chamber and in the Senate, I would like to have a ruling from you, Mr. Speaker, as to whether the new designation replacing “Government of Canada” is considered to be parliamentary.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

I suspect it is not, but I will certainly look at the matter and return to the House if necessary.

[Diane Ablonczy, Conservative, Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas and Consular Affairs)]

Mr. Speaker, this is in response to the question that was asked to me in question period by the hon. member for St. John's South—Mount Pearl. Through the magic of the Internet, my assistant let me know, after the question, that, in fact, I had a letter in my office from the Ethics Commissioner, which arrived on Friday. She had not told me about it yet.

However, because I did not file the document within 30 days, as I was supposed to, the Ethics Commissioner has let me know that I will be liable for a $100 fine, which I will pay forthwith with apologies to the Ethics Commissioner for my tardiness.

[Siobhan Coady, Liberal, St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to advise the House, and I will be happy to table the documentation, which is the public notice of administrative monetary penalty issued under the authority of the Conflict of Interest Act, that gives the nature of the violation, the name of the public office-holder, the amount of the penalty, as was discussed, and also the notice of the date of violation, which was January 26, 2011. I ask leave to table this document.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Does the hon. member have the unanimous consent of the House to table this document?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

No.

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Speaker, during question period the President of the Treasury Board referred to a legal opinion, which he said justified paying the former integrity commissioner half a million dollars for utterly failing to do her job. The Integrity Commissioner is an officer of Parliament. She reports to the House. It seems to me it would be appropriate for the President of the Treasury Board to table that legal opinion. Would he do so?

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

Mr. Speaker, was this a point of order?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

It is a point of order. It may be a question. He did ask if the minister was prepared to table the document to which he referred.

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

Mr. Speaker, if the member opposite wants to get into tabling legal opinions, we could go back and perhaps table the legal opinions provided to the previous Liberal government from the sponsorship scandal.

Government Response to Petitions

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, under the provisions of Standing Order 36(8), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to three petitions.

Citizenship and Immigration.

[David Tilson, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 10th report of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration in relation to a motion adopted at the committee, on Tuesday, March 1, on the negotiations between L'Association québecoise des pharmaciens propriétaires and the Department of Citizenship and Immigration Canada pertaining to the interim federal health program.

Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics

[Shawn Murphy, Liberal, Charlottetown, PE]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 12th Report of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics in relation to its study of the follow up of the Information Commissioner's report cards.

Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the ninth report of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities in relation to the 2011 census.

I also have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 10th report of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, which pertains to Canada summer jobs.

Tobacco Act

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-631, An Act to amend the Tobacco Act (smokeless tobacco and little cigars).

Mr. Speaker, health experts agree that flavoured tobacco products are consumed by young Canadians as a stepping stone to consuming non-flavoured tobacco products. By banning flavoured tobaccos, we will help reduce smoking rates in Canada.

Bill C-32, which amended the Tobacco Act and came into force in October 2009, was supposed to ban flavoured cigarillos. However, we learned last year that tobacco manufacturers found a loophole in the definitions that allowed them to continue selling flavoured cigarillos.

The bill I am tabling today would close that loophole. The bill would also ban all forms of flavoured smokeless tobacco, something that government officials promised to do by June 2010. They did not fulfill that promise and this bill would fill that legislative gap.

I would like to thank my New Democrat health critic predecessor, Judy Wasylycia-Leis, for her significant efforts to have flavoured tobacco banned in Canada and the work that led to the passage of Bill C-32. While she is no longer a member of Parliament, her legacy of good work remains a testament to her time in office.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Service Canada Mandate Expansion Act

[Bryon Wilfert, Liberal, Richmond Hill, ON]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-632, An Act to expand the mandate of Service Canada in respect of the death of a Canadian citizen or Canadian resident.

Mr. Speaker, currently when a Canadian dies, a family member typically has to contact about a dozen federal departments and agencies to cancel tax records, passports, social insurance cards and various other benefits and IDs. This is a hard process, especially for people who are already grieving the loss of a loved one. It is unfair for the government to force them to repeat the story over and over again to different federal agents.

The bill would establish a one-stop shop for grieving Canadians to contact all federal departments with a single phone call or email after a loved one dies. It would eliminate a burdensome obligation for Canadians going through a very difficult period and I believe would ultimately save Canadian taxpayers a tremendous amount of money and stress.

It is important that we deal with the issue of bereavement in a very professional and compassionate way and this bill seeks to do that through the human resources department of Service Canada.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Housing

[Daniel Paillé, Bloc, Hochelaga, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition from people in Hochelaga who are concerned about low income housing.

These buildings were constructed in the 1970s and are in dire need of renovations. People from across Quebec have spoken to me about this type of problem.

Air Canada

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, it is with pleasure that I bring forward another petition in regard to Air Canada and the jobs that are being threatened.

The petitioners call upon the government to have Air Canada held accountable to the Air Canada Public Participation Act, believing, as I do, that Air Canada is in violation of the law.

Personally, we have to do whatever we can to protect those jobs. That applies to Winnipeg, Montreal and Mississauga. We are talking about thousands of good quality jobs. There was a commitment when Air Canada was privatized. We are calling for the government to do the right thing and protect those jobs as it states in the Air Canada Public Participation Act.

The Environment

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am adding a group of petitions to an already sizable number signed by Canadians who have written to the minister and to the government. These petitioners are from Prince Rupert, Victoria and Nanaimo.

They call upon the government to finally enact a legislative tanker ban on the north coast of British Columbia, in light of the threat of a proposed raw bitumen pipeline from Alberta to B.C.'s north coast.

The petitioners, many dozens of whom are British Columbia residents, consider this to be an area that deserves the protection and the attention of the Canadian government, which has already recognized the area for a federal park and a marine park.

The petitioners strongly urge the government to immediately legislate a ban on bulk oil tanker traffic off B.C.'s north coast.

Firearms Registry

[Mark Warawa, Conservative, Langley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have four petitions that I am honoured to present. The first one is with regard to the long gun registry.

The petitioners indicate that the registry has not saved one single life since it was introduced and that the costs have spiralled out of control to over $2 billion a decade later.

The petitioners call upon the House of Commons to pass any legislation that would cancel the Canadian long gun registry and streamline the Firearms Act.

Skin Cancer

[Mark Warawa, Conservative, Langley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition has to do with skin cancer.

The petitioners note that one in seven Canadians will develop skin cancer in their lifetime. Melanoma is the most serious type of skin cancer and one of the most rapidly increasing cancers in Canada.

The petitioners call upon Parliament to support a national skin cancer and melanoma initiative to provide much needed access to newer drug treatments and funding for research and educational programs.

Employment Insurance

[Mark Warawa, Conservative, Langley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the next petition is in regard to medical benefits.

The petitioners note that there are a number of severe, potentially life-threatening conditions that do not qualify for disability programs. Pre-existing conditions or poverty may prevent individuals from purchasing private coverage.

Therefore, the petitioners call upon the House of Commons to adapt specific and precise legislation to provide additional medical EI benefits that are at least equal to maternity EI benefits.