Debates of Oct. 23rd, 2012

Foreign Investment

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, the minister may dance around the facts on the Canada-China investment protection agreement. However the agreement, without question, leaves Canadian taxpayers open to unlimited liabilities.

The government has protected Chinese investment but undermined our ability to certain sovereign decisions within Canada. Worse, officials admitted before committee that if a Chinese investor believes provincial actions have violated the deal, the federal government is responsible. In other words, Canadian taxpayers pay.

Will the minister relent on his opposition and hold a parliamentary debate?

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway]

Mr. Speaker, it is passing strange that over the last two weeks the opposition parties have had no less than four opportunities to debate this treaty in this House. They failed to do so.

They had opposition days. They failed to identify this treaty as being worthy of debate. It shows that they really do not care about trade and they do not care about investment.

On this side of the House, we are focusing on the priorities of Canadians and opening up new opportunities for Canadian businesses to invest abroad.

The Environment

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the Navigable Waters Protection Act ensures that industry answers questions about, for example, the 21 km diversion of the Muskeg River as part of the oil sands development project. The changes proposed by the Conservatives in the budget implementation bill will eliminate the requirement for environmental assessments of this project.

How many other assessments will be abandoned because of these changes?

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, changing the term “navigable waters” to “navigation” does not change the spirit of this law. That said, Transport Canada will continue to deal with transportation and the people at Environment Canada will deal with the environment. We are only making clarifications that should have been made a long time ago. Matters that we believe should not be handled by Transport Canada will continue to be reviewed by Environment Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and all other departments. Nothing has changed.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities's own web page contradicts his talking points.

The Navigable Waters Protection Act FAQ alone mentions the environment 23 times, and the website says of the act:

These stiff new penalties reflect the government's ongoing concern towards maintaining the safety of public navigation and the environment.

That is right, according to the department, the Navigable Waters Protection Act is about protecting the environment.

Why is the minister so confused about his portfolio?

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, changing the words “navigable waters” to “navigation” does not change the essence of this act. That is about navigation, and that is what we will continue to do.

The member asks frequent questions about the environment, and the Minister of the Environment will continue to answer those. We will continue to answer her about navigation.

Ethics

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

Mr. Speaker, in 2008, Julie Couillard was a very busy woman. In addition to being a real estate agent and businesswoman, she was paid $7,750 a month to engage in illegal lobbying. She took advantage of her contacts with the Conservatives to win contracts. She pressured the current Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism and Michael Fortier's employees to move PWGSC offices into offices owned by the Kevlar Group.

We know that ethics are not their forte, but can the minister tell us when he finally realized that he was being lobbied and why he did not report those relationships immediately to the Commissioner of Lobbying?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, President of the Treasury Board and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, this investigation concerns the private life of a citizen. We have tough laws in place in this area and we expect them to be followed. That is our response to this question.

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

Mr. Speaker, the member for Beauce has already had to resign from cabinet once for losing key security documents in the apartment of Julie Couillard. We now find out that he lost his moral compass in that apartment as well. He never bothered to tell Canadians that during that relationship she was being paid $51,000 to illegally lobby him on behalf of a Montreal corporation. How tawdry. Did he not know better?

I have a simple question. Why did the member not come clean about the illegal lobbying efforts of Ms. Couillard when she was his girlfriend?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, President of the Treasury Board and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, this was an investigation into a private citizen. We do have tough laws in place in this area, and we expect them to be followed. We have expanded the list of public servants who are covered under the act. We have increased the accuracy of reporting for all lobbyists; the five year ban on lobbying; post-employment restrictions on public office holders through a single authority.

We are on the side of accountability and making sure that lobbyists do adhere to the law.

Justice

[Roxanne James, Conservative, Scarborough Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are concerned about crime, particularly repeat offenders who commit serious violent or sexual offences.

Torontonians are particularly concerned about a series of sexual assaults allegedly committed by a young offender. Recently, women in the Christie Pits neighbourhood in downtown Toronto have been victimized by seemingly random sexual assaults. This is unacceptable to me and to the government. Hard-working, law-abiding Canadians should not have to live in fear in their own communities.

Could the Minister of Justice please update the House about the government's latest efforts to address Canada's most violent and repeat offenders?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, this government is proud to stand up for victims and law-abiding Canadians. This is why I am very pleased to say that our amendments to the Youth Criminal Justice Act are coming into force today.

Canada's justice system needs more tools to keep violent and repeat young offenders in custody when they pose a danger to society. From now on, violent and repeat young offenders will be held fully accountable for their actions.

We are taking a balanced approach, which recognizes the need for rehabilitation while ensuring the protection of the public is paramount. Canadians can continue to count on this government to strengthen—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. member for LaSalle—Émard.

Foreign Investment

[Hélène LeBlanc, NDP, LaSalle—Émard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after their late-night rejection of the Petronas deal, the Conservatives are now saying that changes are needed to the definition of “net benefit”.

The NDP has been saying that for years, but the Conservatives have argued to the contrary in this House over and over again. The Conservatives' improvisation is undermining the confidence of investors.

And what about the Nexen deal? Will the new foreign investment rules be made public before anyone makes a decision about Nexen?

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Minister of Industry and Minister of State (Agriculture)]

Mr. Speaker, I remind the member that changes have already been made to the legislation. For example, in 2007, with respect to guidelines for state-owned enterprises; in 2009, with respect to additional provisions for national security; and in 2009 and 2012 with respect to means of communication.

As for the two deals she just mentioned, and more specifically the Petronas deal, I said that I was not satisfied that the transaction would be a net benefit for Canada. As of the date the decision was made, Petronas has 30 days to intervene and take further steps.

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

Mr. Speaker, after their gross mishandling of the Petronas decision, the Conservatives are now saying that more clarity is needed in the Investment Canada Act. This is just days after they stated emphatically that no more clarity was needed at all. This is why investors and so many others are losing confidence in the government. The Conservatives just seem to be confused and improvising; but now that they have admitted that the NDP was right all along and clarity is needed, there are serious concerns about CNOOC, and the deadline is looming.

Will the Conservatives put in place new rules before the decision on the CNOOC takeover of Nexen? Canadians deserve that.

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Minister of Industry and Minister of State (Agriculture)]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to the CNOOC proposed transaction, I reiterate to my colleague that this transaction will be scrutinized very closely. We will have to make sure that it provides a net benefit for Canada. All decisions by this government will be taken in the best interests of Canadians.

Food Safety

[Malcolm Allen, NDP, Welland, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in its press release announcing the purchase of XL Foods, JBS did not mince words. It stated, “under no scenario will JBS USA assume any of XL Foods' debt or liabilities”.

We have witnessed the largest beef recall in Canadian history, and now the company responsible for that outbreak of E. coli and that recall is bought out of existence.

I have a simple question for the minister. Could the minister tell the House who will take responsibility for the debts and liabilities from XL Foods' E. coli crisis?

[Gerry Ritz, Conservative, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, this is a business decision between two different entities. Certainly those types of things will be worked out as we move forward. Canadians have access to the court system. The plant is reopened as of today. CFIA sent me a letter saying that it is reassessing the plant, making an opening, some time early next week, we understand.

National Defence

[Matthew Kellway, NDP, Beaches—East York, ON]

Mr. Speaker, moments ago one of the ministers covering the procurement file finally confirmed that they are looking into a plan B for replacing the CF-18. It was a start, but can we get a little more clarity, please? Can the minister tell us: when was the committee established, what are its terms and when can we expect it to report to the House?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, as the member knows, the National Fighter Procurement Secretariat was set up to do this substantive work. Its work is ongoing. It is doing excellent work. It includes all of the senior deputy ministers involved on the procurement file, led by Public Works, and two independent members, including a very well respected former auditor general for Canada. The Department of National Defence will be managing the portion of the options analysis and, again, it is continuing with its work. It is doing substantive work, and I would ask the member to be patient.

[John McKay, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is only through blind dumb luck that Sub-Lieutenant Delisle was discovered with $50,000 in his pockets after a quick trip to Brazil. Fortunately, a sharp immigration officer alerted the military. Otherwise, Delisle might well be still among us.

Why does the minister hide behind the skirts of national security and keep Parliament in the dark, and why is it that the Russians seem to know more about Canadian security than Parliament itself?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, that is such a ludicrous question on such a serious issue that I really do not know even how to respond.

The member knows full well that this matter was investigated; this individual was prosecuted and now is awaiting sentencing. To suggest that this was some kind of a fluke that this individual was arrested and taken before the courts is, of course, completely false and misleading, which the member is very good at.

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

Mr. Speaker, in espionage cases there is normally some form of sanction against the offending country. It took the Canadian government too long to figure out that Jeffrey Delisle was spying, and we continue to wait for decisive Canadian leadership on this issue.

What has the government done to make clear to the Russian government that this behaviour is unacceptable in a bilateral relationship, and when will there be a judicial inquiry?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, as Minister of Foreign Affairs for the last 18 months and in all my time in public office, I have never been known as one to be shy or retired, and I have always communicated the government's pleasure or displeasure in no uncertain terms, and I will continue to do that.