House of Commons Hansard #163 of the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was provisions.
Jinny Sims NDP Newton—North Delta, BC
Mr. Speaker, what is clear is that Canadians cannot trust Conservatives.
Companies are planning to hire as many as 2,000 temporary foreign workers to work in B.C. coal mines. Conservatives have encouraged more foreign workers by allowing companies to pay them 15% less than Canadian workers. This is from the same government whose junior minister of finance told out-of-work Canadians that they should go and get a job in the mines.
Why will the government not defend Canadian workers?
Diane Finley ConservativeMinister of Human Resources and Skills Development
Mr. Speaker, we are doing exactly that. For any company to bring in offshore workers, they must first prove that there are no Canadians available to do the job. We want to make sure that Canadians get first crack at every job in this country.
There are rules in place to make sure the pay is comparable to what Canadians get paid, and those rules are very strictly enforced by the provinces. If a company breaks those rules, there are sanctions that will keep them from being able to bring in foreign workers in the future.
Brad Butt Conservative Mississauga—Streetsville, ON
Mr. Speaker, Canadians want to know that the private information they entrust to government will stay private. That is why our Conservative government takes cyber security so seriously.
In 2010, we unveiled Canada's first cyber security strategy, which is something that the previous Liberal government failed to do.
Can the Minister of Public Safety please update this House on how our Conservative government plans to achieve a more secure, stable and resilient digital infrastructure?
Vic Toews ConservativeMinister of Public Safety
Mr. Speaker, our government is continuously working to defend against electronic threats, hacking and cyber espionage. That is why I announced significant new funding to further implement Canada's cyber security strategy. To ensure a continued secure reliable service, we have enhanced the security of government networks and systems to protect against malicious cyber threats.
More and more Canadians interact with their government online. We are committed to ensuring that the personal information of Canadians remains private and protected from those who wish to harm us.
Anne-Marie Day NDP Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
Mr. Speaker, it is always quite something to witness the government's ability to toot its own horn.
The Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development has announced major changes to employment insurance that will result in lower salaries, have serious consequences for seasonal workers, and limit access to the program. The Conservatives have made changes without consulting anyone: not the workers or the employers who pay for employment insurance, nor the provinces that will have to fill the gaps with social assistance.
Will the minister finally commit to consulting Canadians instead of making unilateral decisions that are wreaking havoc on employment insurance?
Diane Finley ConservativeMinister of Human Resources and Skills Development
Mr. Speaker, if the hon. member had spoken to employees across the country, she would know that there is a labour shortage across the country.
Also, too many people are unemployed. What we are trying to do, unlike the NDP, is to connect the unemployed with the jobs that are available in their region so that they can have better living conditions for themselves, their family and their community. That is what we are doing.
Chris Charlton NDP Hamilton Mountain, ON
Mr. Speaker, for every job vacancy there are five unemployed Canadians. The unemployed do not need to be punished; they need jobs. However, instead of coming up with a job creation strategy, the government came up with punitive reforms that even the parliamentary secretary now admits will force Canadians to move across the country. Workers, employers and the provinces have all said that the proposed changes do not work. However, the minister did not consult any of them.
Will the minister now make things right and listen to Canadians instead of arbitrarily and unilaterally destroying EI?
Diane Finley ConservativeMinister of Human Resources and Skills Development
Mr. Speaker, what we are doing is making it possible for people to work so they do not need EI. So far, over 800,000 net new jobs have been created in this country. They are high-quality jobs, and 90% of them are full-time. That is much better money than people can earn on EI.
We are helping Canadians who have lost their job, through no fault of their own, get access to other jobs, through significant investments for over a million people, in upgrading their skills for new jobs, by making them aware of jobs in their skill range in their areas.
We are helping Canadians get back to work. The NDP should try doing that for a change themselves.
Philip Toone NDP Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine, QC
Mr. Speaker, the problem with the Conservatives is that they make arbitrary decisions without consulting anyone.
Nine projects in my riding were supported for months by Canada Economic Development, but then the minister suddenly and arbitrarily changed the parameters, thereby depriving those projects of the necessary funding.
Instead of coming into our communities and posing for photo ops in front of budget propaganda signs, can the minister outline the criteria he uses when selecting projects?
Regional Economic DevelopmentOral Questions
Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière Québec
Conservative
Jacques Gourde ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services
Mr. Speaker, all Canada Economic Development projects are assessed on their merit at regional offices, and I would like to congratulate the Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada, who always makes Quebec's regions a priority, unlike the NDP with its plans to introduce a carbon tax, which will be bad for Quebec.
Ryan Cleary NDP St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives continue to cut ACOA while keeping a political appointee on salary. The Public Service Commission ruled against Kevin MacAdam's appointment, the appointment of the Minister of National Defence's buddy. Now the Conservatives' only defence is to quote from court documents filed by Mr. MacAdam himself.
If the Conservatives are so confident that the Public Service Commission report backs up their claims, why do they not release the report in full?
Gerald Keddy ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade
Mr. Speaker, the answer is pretty simple. This is not a political issue. The public court records—
The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer
Order, please.
The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade has the floor.
Gerald Keddy Conservative South Shore—St. Margaret's, NS
Mr. Speaker, I am always surprised that they do not want to hear the answer, because the answer is the same every time.
The public court records state that the commissioner found problems with the way that the public service ran its hiring process. However, they did not find any political interference by ministers or political staff. The matter is now before the courts.
Why is that not good enough for the hon. member?
Carolyn Bennett Liberal St. Paul's, ON
Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Health finally, but lamely, answered a question on the E. coli outbreak, saying that the Public Health Agency was working with the provinces and the territories.
The National Advisory Committee on SARS stated that the Chief Public Health Officer should serve as the leading national voice for public health, particularly in outbreaks and other health emergencies. Such language is echoed in the Public Health Agency of Canada Act.
Where is the trusted voice of public health, and why is the minister not allowing the Public Health Agency of Canada to speak directly to Canadians about the safety of their food?
Gerry Ritz ConservativeMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board
Mr. Speaker, we have done exactly that. CFIA began working on these issues on September 4. On September 6, the Public Health Agency of Canada became involved. We have had a number of technical briefings over the last two or three weeks. Public Health has been at every one and has taken part.
Carolyn Bennett Liberal St. Paul's, ON
Mr. Speaker, E. coli has been in the food chain for over a month, but for question period after question period the Minister of Health sits in her chair playing on her iPad.
I have been asked if the minister has been playing Angry Birds and to let her know that Canadians are angrier than Angry Birds, because she has refused to tell worried Canadians the facts about this ongoing public—
The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer
Order, order. It is getting very difficult to hear both the question and the answer. There are a few seconds left for the hon. member for St. Paul's to finish her question.
Carolyn Bennett Liberal St. Paul's, ON
Mr. Speaker, will the minister call a televised press conference and allow the Public Health Agency of Canada to speak directly to Canadians?
Gerry Ritz ConservativeMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board
Mr. Speaker, I do not know where the member has been for the last three or four weeks. We have been doing exactly that.
There have been televised technical briefings. The media has been invited. We actually tried to put one together for the opposition members, and instead of taking advantage of that, they decided to have a silly emergency debate that went nowhere. We will certainly have another technical briefing, should they decide to do one.
Robert Aubin NDP Trois-Rivières, QC
Mr. Speaker, the 600 security screeners at the Montreal airport overwhelmingly rejected the latest concessions being demanded by their employer, Securitas. Negotiations with Securitas broke down after Conservative cuts of about $19.4 million. In 2015, cuts will total $60 million a year. If officers do not have the working conditions they need to do their job properly, passenger safety will be compromised.
Why are the Conservatives jeopardizing passenger safety?
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, aviation safety is Transport Canada's top priority. That is why we are trying to properly manage available resources and ensure that they are distributed in the best possible way. The outcome, not the cost, of an activity is how we judge success.
Andrew Cash NDP Davenport, ON
Mr. Speaker, there was another hard blow to the greater Toronto area yesterday when 700 workers lost their jobs at Loblaws in Brampton. Now that is Conservative corporate tax giveaways working. It means 700 families will have to make ends meet with less, with less EI, in a very expensive city.
With the Ontario Liberals giving up on governing the province altogether, will the Conservatives finally take action and address the Toronto jobs crisis?