Debates of June 21st, 2011

Auditor General's Report

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to quote the man who has disappeared in this House, who said yesterday in committee that it was factually incorrect to say that money was diverted. Page 37 in the Auditor General's report clearly contradicts him. If he wants to take that up with the cops, I am sure it is going to go very well for him.

I would like to say to this House that if he gets away with this $50 million scheme, then start counting the spoons and silverware dear public because they have just given this man the keys to the Treasury Board.

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I listened with great interest to the comment made by the member opposite. I did not hear a question.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, I once again asked the member for Parry Sound—Muskoka to explain the $50 million spending spree. Unfortunately, his critic was unable to tell us why documents explaining how projects were selected were unavailable.

The President of the Treasury Board still refuses to address this matter in the House. Today, we understand why: the RCMP is conducting an investigation.

Is the RCMP carrying out an investigation because, as the Auditor General has indicated, this spending is completely unjustifiable?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth. The member opposite said overspending. In fact, this fund was under spent by more than $5 million.

The money was spent on each of the 32 infrastructure projects. Every single penny was accounted for. Every construction project was on time. Costs came in under budget and all costs recorded were used for the purposes intended. In terms of documentation, there is an individual contribution agreement for each of the 32 projects.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the President of the Treasury Board is attempting to spend $50 million without justification; however, this is so suspicious that it has sparked an RCMP investigation.

We are now realizing that this government’s actions look a lot like what the Liberals did during the sponsorship scandal. The same practices lead to the same outcomes, and that is why the RCMP is investigating this dubious spending.

Will the President of the Treasury Board co-operate with the RCMP and provide all relevant documents?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, let us be frank, there is a public relations stunt going forward. The interim Auditor General has spoken very strongly to this issue. I have read two specific quotes when he released his report. He came forward with some legitimate concerns about grants and contributions. He came forward with some legitimate observations on how we can report to Parliament in a more open and transparent way. We fully accepted the good advice of the Auditor General.

The G20 Summit

[Sylvain Chicoine, NDP, Châteauguay—Saint-Constant, QC]

Mr. Speaker, one year after the G20 summit in Toronto, we are learning new details about that monumental fiasco.

The charges laid against 100 or so students who were sleeping in the University of Toronto gymnasium have been dropped because the police had no warrant when they made the arrests. A warrant is a necessary prerequisite in our justice system.

When will this government commit itself to holding a public inquiry to shed light on the mismanagement and the record arrests at the G8 and G20 summits?

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, Canada was responsible for the safety and security of all those involved in the summits, from world leaders, visitors, delegates, and those who lived in the surrounding areas. If the member has any specific concerns about police conduct, he should take those up concerns with the appropriate authorities.

[Jasbir Sandhu, NDP, Surrey North, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it has been a year since the G20 summit in Toronto. It was not only a mismanaged boondoggle, it was the largest mass arrest in Canada's history and Canadians are now shocked to learn that it was completely unnecessary. Well over half of those detained had their charges dropped. Only a handful have been convicted. Clearly something went wrong.

Can the minister explain why so many Canadians were arrested without cause?

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, as the member opposite is aware, specific bodies exist to handle complaints regarding the conduct of police. As I have said many times before, I encourage anyone who has a complaint in respect of any specific incident to bring it forward to the appropriate body. In this case, it would be a provincial body.

[Françoise Boivin, NDP, Gatineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the G20 summit is truly a blot on Canadian history. Many women were arrested and strip-searched, they were denied access to hygiene products and they were not even able to go to the toilet without being constantly within the sight of police officers. Many cases of sexual harassment have also been reported. Only a public inquiry into the mismanagement of the G20 summit will get to the bottom of things and restore public confidence.

My question is simple: When is the government going to announce a public inquiry? When is the government going to take action?

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, as the member opposite knows, there are in fact processes in place to deal with these types of concerns. It would be inappropriate for me to comment on any disciplinary or criminal procedure, but I would encourage the member, if she has specific knowledge about any specific event, to take that to the appropriate provincial authority and allow the authorities who are designated to deal with these complaints to handle them appropriately.

Government Spending

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we now know there has been an outcome in the Muskoka scandal. In reply to a letter that our former colleague Marlene Jennings wrote to the director of public prosecutions, there is now an RCMP investigation into an apparent misappropriation of funds in the riding of the current President of the Treasury Board. Unlike the NDP, which is trying to get its 15 seconds, I want an answer.

Can the Prime Minister tell me whether his President of the Treasury Board and his Minister of Foreign Affairs have been contacted by the RCMP, and whether he is prepared to cooperate himself?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, let us just call this what it is. This is a defeated Liberal candidate in the last election who was pulling off a public relations stunt rather than focusing on the issues that really matter to Canadians.

Let me say this. The Auditor General, in releasing his report, said two things: one, that there was no evidence to suggest that it was a deliberate attempt to mislead and, two, he was not aware of any specific law that was broken. Obviously the Auditor General's report that was tabled in the House is substantially different from the one involved in the Liberal public relations stunt.

Employment

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are now making cuts they knew about well before the recent election but chose to hide. On the chopping block are thousands of jobs, including the entire Audit Services Canada department, the auditors that serve all the other departments of government. This is a rather self-serving move for a government that was found in contempt due to secrecy and dishonesty, I would say. In fact, the Prime Minister just claimed auditors need to be fired to ensure Canada's dollars are well spent. That is incredible.

Why can the minister not tell us why he has been hiding the planned program cuts from—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have given us a clear mandate to keep taxes low and balance the budget in 2014-2015. We have examined spending carefully and we have identified the least productive and lowest priority programs for achieving savings.

[Scott Andrews, Liberal, Avalon, NL]

Mr. Speaker, we know the government cut $53 million from DFO before any strategic review. The Maritime Rescue sub-centres in St. John's and Quebec City have become victims of these cuts.

The government has been silent on what other cuts are coming. However, the President of the Treasury Board is quoted as saying government employees will get first notice about job losses and that it would not be done through the media.

I ask the minister when the employees in St. John's were notified of their jobs cuts and is it true that he is now notifying other employees of DFO that they are losing their jobs?

[Keith Ashfield, Conservative, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway]

Mr. Speaker, we like to be quite clear. We have a responsibility to Canadians to ensure that we spend their dollars wisely. We are cutting programs that we do not need.

I have answered the question in terms of the facility in Newfoundland on a number of occasions.

I have to advise the member that we have made significant improvements to the Canadian Coast Guard to the tune of 33% personnel in Newfoundland and $1.4 billion in investment.

Foreign Investment

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

Mr. Speaker, the London Stock Exchange is trying to take over the TMX to gain control of Canadian capital markets. New concerns are being raised throughout the country concerning the takeover of the TMX, including those voiced by the Premier of Quebec and by other provinces. Now more than ever we need a public consultation process.

Why is the minister refusing to listen to the Canadian public? Why is he refusing to hold public hearings on this matter?

[Mike Lake, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, the minister has received an application for a review under the Investment Canada Act from the London Stock Exchange Group.

The minister's officials are conducting a thorough analysis of this proposed investment and will consult extensively, including with affected provinces and territories, to ensure that they have all of the information required to make the best decision.

It should be noted that the minister will only approve applications where an investment demonstrates that it is likely to be of net benefit to Canadians.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives seem to like secretive closed-door decisions. The NDP welcomes public input. That is the difference.

The Prime Minister agreed with us that the Investment Canada Act needs to be substantially changed; public hearings, public conditions, penalties for non-compliance, but so far it has been yet another Conservative failure, hashtag fail, and we are getting a lot of Conservative failures in the first few weeks of this Parliament.

Canadians do not want more secrecy. Canadians want public consultations. What does the government have against open and transparent public consultations?

[Mike Lake, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, foreign investment is the key to the growth of the Canadian economy and our government will continue to encourage it.

The hon. member is new to the industry committee, but he might consult with his colleague who was on the committee in the previous Parliament when we put forward a motion to study the Investment Canada Act. It was consistently delayed by opposition members.

Small and Medium-Sized Businesses

[Raymond Côté, NDP, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, a large part of our economic success is attributable to the dynamism of small and medium-sized businesses, which generate approximately 70% of jobs in Canada. Rather than supporting this driver of our economy, the Conservative government prefers to cut the taxes of big corporations, which are already raking in gargantuan profits.

When will this government take concrete action to support the real creators of jobs in this country, the small and medium-sized businesses?

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism)]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to inform my colleague that this government has taken concrete action, and has been doing so for quite some time. Right from the outset, when we were first elected, we reduced the small business tax rate from 12% to 11% in our first budget, in 2006-2007. We continued to do so in subsequent budgets, helping to increase the turnaround for small businesses from $300,000 to $500,000, and so on and so forth. I am very disappointed that my opposition colleague did not vote for our last budget, which once again helped Canadian small businesses to be more successful.