House of Commons Hansard #159 of the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was criminals.
John Baird ConservativeMinister of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Speaker, one out of five Canadian jobs depends on trade. That is why this government and this Prime Minister are working hard to have more markets for Canadian goods right around the globe. That means more jobs, more hope and more opportunity.
The NDP only mentioned the word “trade” one single time in its campaign platform. What does it say about trade? Cap and trade revenues by year: $21 billion of new tax. That will kill jobs, it will hurt Canadian families and we will not let it happen.
Lawrence MacAulay Liberal Cardigan, PE
Mr. Speaker, the mandate of the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans is to manage our fisheries and provide services to our fishers but the government has not heard the message. It is downloading logbooks and at-sea observers to our fishers. It has fired over 400 critical DFO employees and now it wants to download the best conservation tool the Government of Canada has.
Will the minister stand up for our fisheries and keep gear tags as a federal responsibility? It is an important conservation measure.
Keith Ashfield ConservativeMinister of Fisheries and Oceans and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway
Mr. Speaker, this government is responsible for the fishery and we will continue to do so. With regard to gear tags, we believe it is the cost of doing business and the people who are doing the business should be responsible for their cost.
Claude Patry NDP Jonquière—Alma, QC
Mr. Speaker, 130 Rio Tinto Alcan workers in Alma have endured a long fight, a long lockout, without a penny since July 10, 2012. The vague employment insurance rules that apply to labour disputes mean that these workers are not considered unemployed.
Will the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development intervene in this situation immediately to resolve the problem faced by these workers, who can no longer afford their rent, food or bills and who are filing claims for social assistance?
Kellie Leitch ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and to the Minister of Labour
Mr. Speaker, the employment insurance program is designed to maintain neutrality and not to interfere in labour disputes. That is why EI benefits are not payable during a labour dispute. Service Canada is working collaboratively with unions as well as employer representatives to resolve this issue as quickly as possible.
I encourage affected employees, who have already been encouraged, to apply for their EI benefits.
Ron Cannan Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
Mr. Speaker, our Conservative government believes that any violation of Canada's veterans privacy is totally unacceptable.We put in place strict measures through the privacy action plan and the announcement of privacy action plan 2.0 to ensure the personal information of veterans remains protected.
Could the caring, compassionate Minister of Veterans Affairs please inform the House what the status is of the privacy action plan 2.0?
Steven Blaney ConservativeMinister of Veterans Affairs
Mr. Speaker, I first want to thank the hon. member for Kelowna—Lake Country for his ongoing interest in veterans, which he shares with all members of the caucus I am proud to be a part of. By the way, I am also very proud to be Canadian.
I can inform the House that the key element of the veterans privacy action plan 2.0 has been fully implemented as the Privacy Commissioner pointed out in her report tabled today. My department has implemented major improvements to better protect the privacy of our veterans and we will keep doing so.
François Lapointe NDP Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Mr. Speaker, since August, Michèle Lajoie from my riding has been waiting for a drug that is manufactured abroad to treat an orphan disease. Her health is deteriorating quickly. The oncologist treating Ms. Lajoie says that she urgently needs this drug, but that she cannot get it because of an administrative dispute between Health Canada and certain hospitals.
The department is taking four times longer than usual. Yes, I said four times. I informed the minister of this unacceptable situation on Tuesday. We still do not have any explanation.
When will the minister take responsibility and deliver this drug immediately? Four Canadians suffer from—
Leona Aglukkaq ConservativeMinister of Health and Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency
Mr. Speaker, our concern is always the health of Canadians. A special access program gives doctors access to medicines that is not available to Canadians. When a doctor makes an application under the program, Health Canada is in contact with that physician within 24 hours. However, the first step is for the physician to make an application to Health Canada and within 24 hours the department will respond to the physician.
Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC
Mr. Speaker, 16 sitting days to go until the Canada-China investment treaty is automatically approved without a debate or a vote in the House. It will bind Canada for the next 15 years, giving Chinese state-owned enterprises, indeed the Communist Party of China, the right to sue Canada in secret arbitration hearings.
Was the decision to approve this deal by order in council in order to keep it from the Canadian people or to avoid having to force Canadian Conservative MPs into voting for something they do not believe in?
Peter Van Loan ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member's question is way off the mark. The agreement, which is intended to protect Canadian investors, Canadians who are seeking to do business so that their investments in China are actually protected, was tabled in the House of Commons. We have rules that allow it to be debated in the House of Commons should the opposition parties decide among themselves to have it debated. They have already had two opportunities this week and they chose not to have it debated.
We have the most open process any government in Canada has ever had for agreements of this type, unprecedented openness and an unprecedented democratic process, but that will not stop us from moving forward to help Canadians invest and create prosperity.
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise on behalf of the opposition to ask what the government has in store for the House for the remainder of this week and the days following the Thanksgiving constituency week.
Last week, we heard from the government House leader that he used his very valuable time to continue to point out Conservative misinformation. Canadians deserve a lot better.
The government has added to its impressive and growing record of disseminating these machinations and falsehoods by recently suggesting that the New Democrats are somehow responsible for the recent failures of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food because we are holding up a Senate bill on food safety. To suggest that the official opposition has any impact on the progress of a bill in the other place is embarrassing to the government. The bill in question, Bill S-11, has been over in the Senate with the government's partisan fundraisers and ex-spin doctors for 119 days and the House of Commons has yet to see it. If the government wants to get Bill S-11 moving, perhaps it should phone some of its friends and ask that they actually do their jobs and move the bill forward.
The problem is that Canadians expect something a lot better from the government than spreading misinformation.
I would ask my friend across the way to set aside his typically partisan and somewhat embarrassing remarks and just stick to the facts of what the upcoming business would be for the House. It would be refreshing for a change and welcomed by all Canadians.
With that, Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the opposition, particularly the official opposition, the New Democrats, I would like to wish you and your family, and, indeed, all Canadians from coast to coast to coast, a happy and peaceful Thanksgiving holiday.
Peter Van Loan ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, I will begin by addressing Bill S-11, the food safety bill. It was introduced by this government in the Senate to bring about changes that would strengthen our food safety system further following the implementation of the 57 recommendations of the Weatherill report, which further strengthened our system.
I believe the comments, to which the member referred, by the Conservative caucus were not about the NDP obstructing the bill in the Senate but rather about statements that had been made by NDP members previously following the introduction of the bill that the NDP would oppose the bill. Of course, the issue we are looking forward to is having it pass successfully in the Senate. We hope that people will see the urgency more clearly, that we will get the support of the Liberals and that we will see its rapid passage here in the House. We would be delighted if we had support to do that very quickly from the NDP and other parties.
Now for the business ahead of us.
This afternoon, we will continue our safe streets and communities week with second reading debate on Bill C-43, Faster Removal of Foreign Criminals Act.
In last year's election, the Conservative Party promised to put a stop to foreign criminals relying on endless appeals in order to delay their removal. This bill follows through on our commitment to Canadians.
We will resume debate tomorrow, when I am optimistic, based on discussions, that debate will end—and, then, we will have concluded the first three weeks of our hard-working, productive and orderly fall sitting.
On our constituency week, I hope all members of Parliament and staff in this place will have an opportunity relax. Many of our pages will have their first opportunity to go home since they started the year here. I hope on our return we will all be ready to be productive and work hard because we have much to do.
On Monday, October 15, before question period, the House will start the second reading of Bill S-7, the combating terrorism act. We will also debate this bill on Wednesday and Friday of that week. This, of course, is designed to continue to make Canada and, in fact, the whole world, a safer place.
After question period on October 15, we will kick-off debate on Bill S-9, the nuclear terrorism act, which shares the same objectives. It would implement Canada's international obligations under the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism.
Tuesday, October 16, shall be the fifth allotted day, which will see the House debate a Liberal motion. We eagerly await the content of that motion.
Thursday, October 18, shall be the sixth allotted day when we will consider the New Democratic proposal.
It is my personal hope that having given the NDP three chances already this fall to articulate to the House and to all Canadians how it will implement its $21.5 billion job killing carbon tax that it will finally choose this as its subject for debate. I hope the NDP members will seize that opportunity and let Canadians know once and for all the fine details of their scheme to raise the price of gas, groceries, electricity and winter heat.
Should we have additional time that week upon our return, or even this week if we move quickly, the House will also consider second reading of Bill C-37, the increasing offenders' accountability for victims act; Bill C-15, the strengthening military justice in the defence of Canada act; Bill S-2, the family homes on reserves and matrimonial interests or rights act; and Bill S-8, the safe drinking water for first nations act.
Of course, I am always open to suggestions from the opposition. If they are willing to accelerate any of those bills for quick passage, I will call them.
Finally, I wish everyone here a happy Thanksgiving. I hope that everyone has a productive and hard-working week working with their constituents.
Frank Valeriote Liberal Guelph, ON
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. If you seek it, I believe you would find unanimous consent for the motion: That the Canadian Food Inspection Agency provide the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food the names, locations and job descriptions of all inspectors employed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency no later than Tuesday, October 9.
The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer
Does the hon. member have the unanimous consent of the House to propose this motion?
Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC
Mr. Speaker, I am rising on a point of order related to what I think you may agree with me on. There has been a deteriorating quality of S. O. 31s. They are descending into a fairly unpleasant political spin, instead of what they are supposed to be. Of course, Mr. Speaker, I do not need to remind you of the rules. They are to deal with issues of national or local importance and are never to be personal attacks.
They are getting really quite despicable, for lack of a better word. I refer in particular to one yesterday by the member for Wild Rose, who used his S. O. 31 to attack me. In fact, I was flabbergasted by this. I am making more of a generic point that they are going downhill.
Peter Van Loan ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, for the benefit of the hon. member, I will read to her what Standing Order 31 actually says. It states:
A Member may be recognized, under the provisions of Standing Order 30(5), to make a statement for not more than one minute. The Speaker may order a Member to resume his or her seat if, in the opinion of the Speaker, improper use is made of this Standing Order.
There is nothing saying that the content must be local, there is nothing saying it must be national, there is nothing saying that it cannot touch on policy. There is broad scope and range to it. In fact, there is no limitation whatsoever, other than the Speaker's normal ability to determine that something is unparliamentary. Therefore, I fail to see what she is complaining about.
I would add one final point. I can understand, perhaps having fewer members than some of the other parties, that she is frustrated that other people get to say more than her, but that is not a reason to try to suppress the rights of others to have their say in this place.
Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC
Mr. Speaker, in point of fact, I have spoken more often in the House over the last year than any other member. That is not the source of my complaint. My complaint is that previous Speakers, particularly Speaker Sauvé, were very clear in setting out guidelines. It is not helpful to the maintenance and improvement of decorum in this place to have S. O. 31s used for personal attacks or for nonsense such as the ridiculous non-stop carbon tax back and forth debate between the official opposition and the government. S. O. 31s are not the place for that.
Peter Van Loan Conservative York—Simcoe, ON
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member says that we should not be allowed to speak about a carbon tax in the House now. Every member of Parliament is responsible to his or her constituents who, if they were faced with a $21.5 billion carbon tax, would have to pay that and their personal lives would be affected by it. Nothing could be more important for a member of Parliament than to stand up for constituents on issues like taxes. I cannot imagine why she would want to shut down that debate, other than she does not like it.
The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer
There have been previous Speaker rulings on what S. O. 31s should and should not be used for. I will go back and look at the particular S. O. 31 that the member has complained about and, if necessary, I will come back to the House after the Thanksgiving break.
The House resumed consideration of the motion that Bill C-43, An Act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, be read a second time and referred to a committee.
Alain Giguère NDP Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC
Mr. Speaker, Bill C-43 should be a law that protects Canadians, a law that finally addresses past injustices. Unfortunately, the very opposite is true. This bill attacks the civil rights of Canadians. Never has a bill been such a huge disappointment.
For example, I shall quote Sir Winston Churchill who, during the Anzio Battle, said to an American general who had not been very active: “I had hoped we were hurling a wildcat into the shore, but all we got was a stranded whale.” The whale, in this case, is Bill C-43, a piece of legislation that in no way corresponds to what Canada needs. I will give three reasons for this.
Canada is a country in which the rule of law prevails. When someone does something wrong, he can expect to have justice meted out to him—this is true for everyone, not just those people that the Conservatives consider a little dangerous. It seems that the political powers that be are still intent on meddling in the management of immigration issues. People want the exact opposite of this bill. They do not want any more political interference in immigration matters. There has been far too much interference in the past, and as a result, what we need now is new legislation, and not simply a rehashing of old ideas from old governments.
We are seeing an increasingly arbitrary concentration of powers in the hands of the minister. The minister now not only wields political power, he also wants to wield legal power. As Machiavelli once said, “Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” What we are seeing in Canada is a government that interferes in immigration matters and merges electoral partisanship with legal duty. This problem should have been fixed; unfortunately, it is being perpetuated.
Bar associations and stakeholders in the legal community and the field of immigration rights have criticized the concentration of political power in the hands of the minister. They all agree that we should not do this, that we should do exactly the opposite. Some even say that the minister has discretionary power to determine the inadmissibility of a deportee’s family members. This is absolute discretionary power. If you are nice, if you look good for the media, and if you could be useful during a campaign, the minister will support you. And if not, it is a pity, but you will suffer the consequences.
As Montesquieu noted, there is no liberty if the power of judging be not separated from the legislative and executive powers. These basic democratic principles, these fundamental principles of our Constitution state that the legislative branch must be separate from the judiciary and from the executive branch. In this case, the government is trying to do exactly the opposite.
The government also wants to do away with the minister's responsibility to examine humanitarian considerations. Generally, in a judicial process, the whole file is considered so that a fair decision can be handed down. That is the normal judicial process. That is what we expected, but the government is doing the opposite. The most essential and most basic rights are being attacked, and this poorly conceived, poorly executed piece of legislation is going to be the subject of a court challenge. And once again, the government will lose, like it loses time and time again. It is a bad piece of legislation.
They were asked to stand up for Canada. What are they doing? The opposite: attacking Canadians. They are attacking their notion of the law.
They are attacking their right to a fair judgment.
Legal proceedings are an essential part of the legislation. However, in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, commission members are appointed in haste, based on their ability to raise money for a political party, based on their personal friendships. This was already the case under the former government of a former political party.
The Conservatives are repeating the same mistakes, all the while saying that they will be tough on crime. No, this is the exact opposite of what they should be doing. We are asking for qualified individuals with solid legal training to make solid judgments. What are they doing? It is mediocrity at its finest: they are doing nothing. They are repeating the same mistakes that were made in the past. It is disastrous. We have never seen anything so pathetic.
It was proven that, upon reading the same legislation, some commission members accepted 98% of refugees, while a certain other commission member, in accordance with the same act, accepted only 2%. On the face of it, it is clear that this formula is not worth very much.
Cases of corruption have not just been pointed out, but they have been proven in court. These people have been convicted, found guilty of corruption beyond a shadow of a doubt. No corrections are made. We are asking for judges to be appointed, individuals who have judicial independence. Once again, they are appointing officials, friends, people who may not even be qualified. The government is not proving that they are qualified.
Once again, they are deciding to do the same things as in the past, with the same flaws, and they are going a step further by saying that they are going to fix the situation. Unfortunately, nothing at all is being fixed.
Now comes the third point, namely, whom they are targeting. All Canadian citizens who were not born in Canada may feel threatened. But that is where the major problem comes in. We are expecting a "Rizzuto" law. Mr. Rizzuto committed murders and is now in prison. He was not born in Canada, but he comes back here and everyone knows it. What is he going to do? He is going to commit murders. The police know it, all the criminal law experts know it. He comes to avenge his father and son, who were killed in a gang war.
We had hoped that this government, which claims to be tough on crime, would prevent individuals like that from coming to spread poison into our lives. But no, it seems to be clear that they are going after the little fish, the petty crooks, the small-time drug dealers, the people who get six months in jail. Yes, they have to be deported, but let us not forget the big fish, the people who bring in cocaine by the container-load. We are forgetting them, we are ignoring them.