Debates of Oct. 1st, 2012

Search and Rescue

[Philip Toone, NDP, Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, another example of an irresponsible budget cut is the closure of the search and rescue centre in Quebec City. This centre responds to roughly 1,500 maritime distress calls a year and it is the only centre that provides bilingual service in Canada.

In his report, the Commissioner of Official Languages clearly states that there is a risk that distress calls made in French will not be handled properly if they are handled in Halifax or Trenton.

Why risk the safety of fishers, mariners and boaters by closing the Quebec City search and rescue centre?

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

Mr. Speaker, as we have said many times before, we are doing this transition and consolidation of the sub-centre into Trenton very carefully and ensuring we have the necessary linguistic services. We are confident that we will be able to do that. That is why we are going slowly, though. We have already done the other one. This will not be until next spring, to ensure we do have the necessary services in place.

Airline Safety

[Olivia Chow, NDP, Trinity—Spadina, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Conservatives' budget cuts to airline safety are putting Canadians at risk. The Auditor General reported one out of three air safety inspections were not being done because there were not enough inspectors to do the job. The Conservatives plan to cut another $9 million from aviation safety programs in the coming year. These cuts would increase the safety risk of Canadian air passengers. How does the minister justify these risky cuts when air traffic is increasing?

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, that is false. We do not have cuts in inspectors. Security and safety are very important.

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, considering the relevance of the minister's answers, I must insist.

Last spring, the Auditor General was clear: the civil aviation inspection system contains some serious flaws, and Transport Canada has no plan to improve its monitoring program. These flaws could put the safety of millions of travellers at risk. What is the Conservatives' solution? To cut Transport Canada's budget even further. It is completely absurd and, frankly, very, very dangerous.

Can the Conservatives explain to us how cutting services will translate into enhanced safety for passengers?

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, those statements are completely unfounded and are meant to scare people, which the NDP has a tendency to do.

Aviation safety is extremely important to our government. We are regarded as a model in many parts of the world. Many organizations, such as the pilots association and COPA, praise the Canadian system. We do not want to engage in fearmongering, but rather to find solutions. That is what we are doing.

Public Safety

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, instead of strengthening the border, increasing efficiency, the government decided to cut and slash border services to Canadians. It is cutting front-line border officer jobs, including 40 intelligence officers, and the detector dog programs.

When we cut $143 million from border services, we get thickening of the border, longer wait times and an open invitation for organized crime to enter and exist Canada.

Why is the government risking the public safety of Canadians in border towns? Why is it watching all our jobs be lost by thickening of the border and longer wait times at the border?

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, since coming to office, our government has increased front-line border officers by 26%. We have taken steps to make the border faster and more efficient for law-abiding Canadians.

However, what I can tell members is the continuous opposition to working together with our American partners in order to ensure that criminals and other undesirables do not enter into our North American perimeters is in fact delaying matters.

I would ask that member to consider his own constituency instead of continually speaking against his own interests.

[Anne Minh-Thu Quach, NDP, Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would invite the minister to come to my riding to see first-hand that the numbers he just gave are not at all effective.

Budget cuts have consequences. Ignoring the problems, as the Conservatives are doing, will not make them go away. What did this government do for border security? It cut $143 million from our customs budget. This translates into the following: more crime in border communities, increased risk that our children will come into contact with drugs, and more illegal weapons on our streets—all contributing to a more dangerous Canada.

Can the Conservatives tell us why they have walked away from their responsibility to protect border communities?

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, let me repeat. Since coming to office, our government has increased front-line border officers by 26%.

When we bring in legislation to toughen up our laws in order to ensure that criminals, in fact, dangerous and violent criminals, spend time behind bars, that member stands and votes against it.

Employment Insurance

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

Mr. Speaker, twice last week the human resource minister told the House that anybody collecting EI benefits and working while on claim would lose every cent they earned after $75.00, which is patently wrong.

I gave her a little quiz, a true or false. She did not do that well. Today, I am going to try a multiple choice.

The minister's answers have been wrong because: (a) she does not know her files; (b) she does not care about her files; (c) her answers are tactically misleading; or (d) all of the above?

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

Mr. Speaker, I suggest the hon. member get with the times.

We are focused on helping connect Canadians with the jobs that are out there. We have employers right across the country, even in areas of high unemployment, looking for skills and labour. We are trying to connect Canadians with those jobs through advancing and multiplying our job alerts program, through broadening the job bank.

I do not understand why the NDP is so focused on the past when we are trying to help Canadian build a future for them and their families.

[Judy Foote, Liberal, Random—Burin—St. George's, NL]

Mr. Speaker, last week the minister responsible for employment insurance was non-committal regarding the future of the employment insurance program for fishers.

Given the frightening experience that people are having with the government's working while on a claim program, fishers are justifiably concerned that the government will gut the employment insurance program to which they are having access.

Will the minister confirm that the Conservative government has no plans to change any part of the employment insurance program that the fishers now access, today or in the future?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am not quite sure where the hon. member was last week if she did not hear me say that the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and I had spoken on this at length. There are no changes to the EI fishers program.

That being said, they are beneficiaries of the EI program, which does require that for the right to access EI benefits, people have a responsibility to be actively looking for work. We expect all claimants to be doing that and to accept reasonable work within their geographic area if it is offered to them while they are on claim.

Service Canada

[Sean Casey, Liberal, Charlottetown, PE]

Mr. Speaker, Prince Edward Island is the only province without a passport office. Prince Edward Island is the only province without a citizenship and immigration office. Prince Edward Island is the only province without a district office to serve veterans. Prince Edward Island is the only province with no counter service at Revenue Canada. Prince Edward Island will be one province severely punished by changes to employment insurance.

Would it be too much to ask for someone, anyone in the cabinet over there, to stand up to the Prime Minister and defend Prince Edward Island?

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, as the member should know, the island is currently being serviced by five locations of Service Canada. Islanders can apply for passports at each one of those locations.

Foreign Affairs

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this morning, the Minister of Foreign Affairs took advantage of his time in New York City to lambaste the United Nations.

This comes on the heels of Canada being the last western country to repatriate an inmate from Guantanamo Bay. The return of Omar Khadr was inevitable, but the Conservatives dragged their feet and tried to score political points at the expense of our relationship with the United States.

How does attacking the United Nations and alienating our main ally serve the interests of Canadians?

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, as the member should know by now, Canada's policy is no longer to please every dictator with a vote at the United Nations. We have taken a strong, principled position to promote freedom, human rights and the rule of law and we will continue to do so.

The member may have heard the Minister of Foreign Affairs make his address to the UN General Assembly this morning, where he said:

Our commitment to the United Nations has been tested and is proven. Not in spite of our commitment, but because of our commitment to this body, we cannot and will not participate in endless, fruitless inward-looking exercises.

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, finger wagging at the UN and alienating our closest ally is a heck of a way to get along with our closest ally, the United States—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. The hon. member for Ottawa Centre has the floor. The parliamentary secretary needs to come to order.

The hon. member for Ottawa Centre.

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I know it is a sensitive issue for the Conservatives because they are not representing our interests on the world stage.

Conservatives delayed Mr. Khadr's case for years at a great cost to taxpayers. The government admitted that the U.S. pressured Canada to stop dragging its heels. Secret American documents were leaked, a serious breach of trust.

How is mishandling the Omar Khadr case and alienating the U.S. good for Canadians' interests with our U.S. friends and our reputation on the world stage?

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, let me be clear. The Government of Canada was not in possession of the transcript of the interview that was leaked and did not create one. Access to this material was strictly controlled in Canada. I can assure the House that Canadian officials did not leak this material.

What I can also say is that the transfer of Omar Khadr occurred following a process initiated by the American government and conducted in accordance with Canadian law. It did not include consideration of foreign relations.

International Co-operation

[Romeo Saganash, NDP, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we can all agree that dysfunctional diplomatic relations are just one example of the Conservatives' mismanagement on the world stage.

Aid to the poorest countries in the world is another example. Now the Conservatives are cutting funding to a school in Kandahar, Afghanistan. For the past five years, women have been risking their lives to attend their classes and at the last minute, the United States had to step in to save the school.

Why are the Conservatives turning their backs on female students in Afghanistan?

[Julian Fantino, Conservative, Minister of International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, Canadian taxpayers' investments through CIDA continue to deliver real results for the people of Afghanistan most in need. Canadians are proud to align Canada's development efforts toward the full participation of Afghan women and girls in building their country. Afghanistan's last instalment has not yet been fully exhausted.

In all projects a sustainability plan is top priority for CIDA so that the organization may continue to deliver results independently.