Debates of Oct. 25th, 2012

Correctional Service Canada

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

Mr. Speaker, the government is turning our prisons into warehouses for those with mental illness. Ashley Smith's tragic death in a federal prison is now the subject of a coroner's inquest. Ashley ended up in jail rather than treatment and fell through the cracks. Instead of using this tragic incident as an opportunity to strengthen mental health treatment, the government is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to cover up its failure.

Why is the government fighting an inquiry designed to save lives, instead of investing in mental health treatment to prevent deaths like Ashley's from ever occurring again?

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I expect that this provincial coroner's inquest will examine the facts concerning this tragic incident. We have indicated very clearly our condolences and respect to the family. What this does is demonstrate the need for mental health care to be addressed by provinces rather than having these individuals landing in our prison system. We are continuing to work with the provinces to ensure that we find ways to divert from prisons those who need medical and mental health attention.

Health

[Hedy Fry, Liberal, Vancouver Centre, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in weeks OxyContin's patent expires and the drug will be replaced by a new version harder to tamper with. This will open the door to generic production of the old drug. OxyContin is very addictive. Since it was added to provincial drug plans, deaths went up 500%, especially in aboriginal communities.

Provincial and territorial ministers have asked the Minister of Health not to approve generic versions, since OxyContin addiction costs the system half a billion dollars, not counting the human suffering. Will the minister commit today to refusing approval of generic OxyContin?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Minister of Health and Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency]

Mr. Speaker, we told the provincial and territorial health ministers that we would be reviewing this matter and be making a decision shortly on the request from the provincial and territorial health ministers.

Foreign Investment

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the hon. member for Brossard—La Prairie took advantage of the presence of representatives from the Calgary Chamber of Commerce at the Standing Committee on Finance meeting to ask them whether the decline in value of Progress Energy and Nexen stocks and the Canada pension plan could have been avoided had the government reformed the Investment Canada Act as the NDP asked it to do. Their response was unequivocal. They answered that such was indeed the case.

When exactly will the Conservatives listen to the NDP and the Calgary Chamber of Commerce?

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

Mr. Speaker, this is the type of frightening question that the NDP likes to ask.

I can reassure Canadians. We will not listen to the NDP because the NDP is against investment and free trade. The NDP is against all that.

The NDP is in favour of a carbon tax that would put a $21 billion burden on the shoulders of Canadian taxpayers.

To come back to foreign investment, I would like to say that every decision that this government makes is in the best interests of Canadians.

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

Mr. Speaker, the government should be listening to Calgarians and other Canadians on this issue and it is not. Maybe it is time to have a hard-working NDP MP in Calgary. It sure has helped in Edmonton.

The Calgary Chamber of Commerce witness said yesterday at committee there was a lack of confidence reflected in the markets in the government on this issue. When asked if the NDP had done its work on the issue, the witness from the chamber of commerce replied, “absolutely”.

Calgarians want to know if new and clear rules are going to be in place before the decision on Nexen, and when is the government going to stop dropping the ball on Investment Canada?

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

Mr. Speaker, the member should talk about what the chamber of commerce is thinking about NDP policies: anti-trade, anti-investment and a carbon tax of $21 billion on the shoulders of Canadians that would raise the price of everything, including gasoline and groceries. Did the NDP ask that question of the chamber of commerce?

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, tens of thousands of Canadians have written to parliamentarians about the Canada–China investment agreement. They are seeking consultation, caution and transparency on this new deal. However, yesterday the Minister of International brushed off these concerns. He said that this FIPA is similar to other agreements, but it is not. It involves the second-largest economy in the world, it lacks reciprocity and the taxpayers of Canada are subject to millions of potential liabilities. The minister is also refusing to schedule a debate or a vote. Will he at least allow a proper study and hear from Canadians?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would remind the member that the NDP has had three opportunities to debate this treaty in the House. It choose not to do so. That was its decision.

Across Canada, Canadian investors have been applauding the agreement. In fact, the member should be listening to Jason Myers of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters who said: “These agreements strengthen Canada's position as a strategic partner for China, advance our commercial interests within the second largest market in the world, and promise to deliver enhanced access to China's market for Canadian exporters”.

On this side of the House we are focusing on the priorities of Canadians, not the special interest groups that the NDP panders to.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have had 21 days to schedule debate in the House and they have failed to do so. They control the agenda in the House, not us.

I now have a question for the chair of the international trade committee. This deal needs review by experts, provinces, business leaders and stakeholders. Canadians are asking us to look at it. The minister claims he is open to debate and that his trade approach is open and transparent. This afternoon I will move a motion to study this FIPA at committee. Will the committee agree to debate my motion in public?

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member appears not to understand the rules of the House. I can understand that because this government changed the rules for ratification of treaties and significant agreements. For the first time ever, these are submitted to the House, creating an opportunity for debate. That is the step the government has taken.

The next step is up to the opposition. They have to decide if they think it is an agreement worthy of debate and if they want to see a vote on it. The NDP had three opportunities to debate it, and the Liberals had one. They all chose other subjects because they did not think it was important.

He has to ask his own House leader why he did not think it was important enough.

Justice

[Joy Smith, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Mr. Speaker, our government believes that prostitution is bad for society and harmful to communities, women and vulnerable persons. Prostitution victimizes the vulnerable and forces those who have few choices into a world of even fewer choices. Our government is also of the view that the decriminalization of prostitution would fail to address the harm that it does to our communities and that, indeed, it would facilitate the further exploitation of women.

Could the Minister of Justice please update the House as to the latest developments in the Bedford case?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to report that there was another important decision of the Supreme Court of Canada today. The court granted the government's leave for appeal in the Bedford prostitution matter.

The member is correct, in that prostitution is harmful to vulnerable persons, especially women. We believe that the current Criminal Code provisions are constitutionally sound, as they denounce and deter the most harmful aspects of prostitution.

I am proud to report to the House and to Canadians that the government will continue to vigorously defend these laws before the courts.

Public Safety

[Randall Garrison, NDP, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Mr. Speaker, by next year the Conservatives will have to spend $3 billion on prisons. That is in one year. What is all that money buying? Corrections Canada reported a 44% jump in gang members in prisons in the past five years. In his report this week, the correctional investigator said that public safety was being compromised by prison overcrowding.

When will the minister admit that his tough on crime prisons agenda is not only unaffordable but is also putting corrections workers and, ultimately, the public at risk.

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, in one year the NDP's estimate of the capital costs of prisons has come down from $17 billion to $3 billion now, which is about $2.5 billion too high.

However, it is no surprise that there are in fact more gangsters in prison. Our government has created a number of initiatives to ensure that gangsters who commit violent crimes against innocent people should be, and are, in prison. Unlike the NDP's catch and release prisons, we believe that dangerous gangsters should be in prison.

[Rosane Doré Lefebvre, NDP, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, over the past two years, the federal prison population has increased by 1,000 people. That is equivalent to two large medium-security prisons.

Double-bunking jeopardizes the health of correctional officers and inmates. This problem and many others were raised by the Correctional Investigator, who is highly critical of the Conservatives.

Will the Minister of Public Safety implement the measures suggested by the Office of the Correctional Investigator?

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, is it not strange that every time the NDP members get up to speak about crime, their sympathy is with the prisoners? Never once do they stand up and talk about the victims of these prisoners. We believe that the gangsters who are victimizing ordinary Canadians should in fact be in prison.

Health

[Mylène Freeman, NDP, Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Zarontin, an anti-seizure medication that can save lives, is longer being made in Canada. Patients and doctors are having a hard time finding a replacement drug. Some patients are so desperate that they are travelling to the U.S. to get the drug. Chronic drug shortages are causing more and more alarm in Canada.

How does the minister plan to help people who are suffering because they no longer have access to Zarontin?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Minister of Health and Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency]

Mr. Speaker, the issue of drug shortages is a complex global problem. The recent shortage that was widely reported resulted from decisions by provinces and territories to sole-source drug contracts. Our role is to enforce the safety of drugs before they enter the market. Going forward, we encourage provinces to look at purchasing drugs in such a way that the decisions of one drug marketer will not seriously disrupt the entire health care system.

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is a problem the minister is not willing to tackle.

On March 14 of this year, the House voted unanimously in favour of an NDP motion to mitigate the drug shortage crisis. The motion called for the government to “develop a nationwide strategy to anticipate, identify, and manage shortages of essential medications”.

It sure looks like the government failed when it came to Zarontin. Now families are struggling to cope. What is the government's plan to get this crucial drug into the hands of Canadians who desperately need it?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Minister of Health and Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency]

Mr. Speaker, on another matter, this summer a study showed that higher costs of living have negative impacts on the health of Canadians and that is why our government has focused on jobs and prosperity.

When our government went to Washington this summer to raise the issue of indigenous and aboriginal people fully participating in the international AIDS conference after some 30 years, that member joined a march on the White House demanding higher taxes. Higher taxes in the United States and higher taxes in Canada, we all know are not good for the health of Canadians.

Foreign Investment

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, after days of questioning on the Canada-China investment agreement, the government continues to deny Canadians their democratic right: a debate in the House. Every day new evidence confirms that the Prime Minister is making high-risk policy on the fly, putting Canadian taxpayers at the risk of unlimited liability for provincial decisions that impact on Chinese investors. Even senior officials are saying that we need a new approval process.

Why will the Prime Minister not re-examine this deal, given the mountain of evidence of the risk that is involved? Will he allow Canadians their voice?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is pretty rich for the Liberals now to talk about transparency in debating this. Over 13 long, dark years of a Liberal government, they never once had a tabling policy for these kinds of treaties.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!