Debates of Nov. 2nd, 2012

Public Works and Government Services

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

ah nonMr. Speaker, once again the Conservatives have proven they are not fiscally prudent.

This time their poor money management has meant cost overruns of half a billion dollars, and Canadian taxpayers are on the hook. The Parliament Hill renovations were estimated at $770 million. The reported price tag has now ballooned to $1.2 billion only partway through the project.

Can the Minister of Public Works and Government Services explain how she made such a mess of the project and allowed these costs to escalate?

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, that is entirely untrue. The budget approved for this project has not increased.

The government is determined to ensure that the taxpayers’ money is spent properly on these renovation projects.

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

Mr. Speaker, it does not take a rocket scientist to realize that a $500 million overrun is completely unreasonable. The renovations to Parliament Hill's West Block are now expected to cost $1.2 billion. Considering the way costs have ballooned under the Conservatives’ disastrous management, there is no reason to think they will not rise even higher. Who will pay this exaggerated bill? Canadians.

Why have the Conservatives been twiddling their thumbs instead of keeping a close watch on these costs?

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, these statements are completely false.

On the contrary, these needed renovations are being done because the previous government allowed some of the Parliament buildings to fall into a serious state of disrepair.

Health

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is three years since CCSVI became known to the world. While the government has failed to collect a shred of evidence, 60 other countries have undertaken 30,000 procedures and 1,200 Canadians with MS have died waiting for action.

Now Bill S-204 is being debated by the Senate where Conservative senators are refusing to hear from MS patients. Why is the government silencing MS patients? Why is it shutting down these important voices?

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the truth is that our government recognizes the difficulties and the heartbreak faced by the thousands of MS patients and their families across Canada.

We have been clear all along that we are committed to funding a clinical trial for CCSVI once all the necessary medical and ethical standards have been met. That is why the Minister of Health announced at the ministers of health meeting that after a rigorous review process, clinical trials for CCSVI have been approved and recruitment of participants will begin next month.

41st General Election

[Francis Scarpaleggia, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in a story aired last night, a former Conservative staffer revealed that only a small number of high-ranking Conservatives had access to the call lists used to suppress votes during the 2011 election. He also said it would be very easy to trace the identities of the people who had access to that database.

Why will the government not hand that information over to Elections Canada?

When the Conservatives want to pass an omnibus bill, they can move quickly, but when it comes to dealing with an attack on democracy, they drag their feet. Why is that?

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

These questions on what may have happened in elections and party lists, I do not find that they fall into the area of government responsibility. I see the parliamentary secretary standing to answer, so I will allow him the opportunity to do so.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative Party is working proactively with Elections Canada to find all the answers with respect to allegations about what happened in Guelph.

As we all know, only one person and one party have been found guilty of violating the Canada Elections Act by making robocalls, and that was the Liberal candidate for Guelph. We all know this. He was caught and was found guilty. It is now up to the Liberal Party to work with Elections Canada to uncover the truth.

Fisheries and Oceans

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

Mr. Speaker, this week the Cohen commission revealed serious and persistent Conservative mismanagement of Canada's fishery.

From the feckless Conservative changes to the Fisheries Act that devastated habitat protection to the failure to fund essential fishery sciences and the laying off of countless scientists, Conservative incompetence is putting fisheries at risk.

Will the minister prove he is capable of protecting our fishery and implement the Cohen commission recommendations?

[Gail Shea, Conservative, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, Justice Cohen spent nearly 36 months and $26 million drafting this report and it would be disservice not to consider it carefully. We must do our due diligence, review the report carefully and speak with all of our stakeholders and partners about the next steps.

Natural Resources

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have mastered the art of incompetence. They are refusing to assume their responsibilities in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Last year, the minister flatly refused to hold environmental consultations on Old Harry, despite requests from the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board to do so. Since this affects five provinces, the board does not have the resources it needs to fill the void created by the federal government's disengagement.

When can we expect a real public consultation process?

[David Anderson, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, the member knows that what he says is not true. A strategic environmental assessment is taking place to ensure that any drilling in the gulf would be safe for the environment and Canadians. We look forward to the recommendations from the scientific assessment of that region.

Public Safety

[Joe Daniel, Conservative, Don Valley East, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians will not tolerate being held hostage in their own communities by thugs and criminals who are members of street gangs. Our government has been clear that this sort of illegal activity is unacceptable. That is why we have passed legislation to get tough on organized crime, including harsh mandatory minimum sentences for those involved in drive-by shootings and murders related to organized crime.

Could the parliamentary secretary please update the House on any major enforcement operations to crack down on organized crime?

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the RCMP, working with the SQ and 20 other police partners, concluded a cross-Canada crackdown on guns, gangs and drugs. More than a hundred arrests were made, taking dangerous criminals off the streets. Additionally, police seized 35 vehicles, 9 kilograms of cannabis and 3 kilograms of cocaine, as well as more than $180,000.

I would like to thank our front-line police officers for the good work they do to keep our streets and communities safe from criminals and gangsters.

Science and Technology

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the National Research Council is closing the medical research lab in Halifax after promising partners that the lab would be safe for at least three years. The Institute for Biodiagnostics has improved patient care and created job opportunities for the expanding biosciences sector in Nova Scotia. Closing the lab will impact health care and halt groundbreaking medical research. It will also kill high quality jobs in Atlantic Canada.

Why will the minister not take immediate action and keep the lab open?

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

Mr. Speaker, our government committed to conducting a strategic review in order to maximize resources. We have asked all organizations to optimize all of their research activities. At the same time, we have invested over $8 billion in research and development. That is a record amount in the history of this country, and we will continue in that direction. We will never apologize for doing a better job of managing the nation's business.

Firearms Registry

[Françoise Boivin, NDP, Gatineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives made quite a fuss about destroying the firearms registry data and about the cost of managing the registry.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

[Françoise Boivin, NDP, Gatineau, QC]

The Conservatives cannot or will not say how much it will cost to destroy the registry, or how much money they are saving by getting rid of it. As we can see, the applause has died down.

Is this the result of confusion, ignorance, incompetence, or all of the above? The troubling incompetence of the minister has left Quebec pondering one main question: will the government respect the court order and provincial jurisdiction with respect to the Quebec registry data?

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, we are very pleased to announce that the long gun registry has ended. All of the data has been destroyed. There is no longer information being gathered on law-abiding Canadians. Instead, as I just answered previously, we are cracking down on criminals, on gangsters and individuals who are using guns in crimes.

We have saved millions of dollars every year for the Canadian taxpayers. We want to put those resources into fighting real criminals and real criminal activity, not targeting law-abiding gun owners.

International Trade

[LaVar Payne, Conservative, Medicine Hat, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is no secret that the NDP's anti-trade, anti-investment ideology is driven by its radical activist allies. In fact, columnist John Ivison wrote today that the anti-trade Council of Canadians “are back and they're driving the New Democratic trade bus”. This activist group has consistently opposed all efforts to create jobs and growth.

Our government has been clear. We are creating new opportunities for Canadian exporters. Could the hard-working Minister of International Trade please share with the House how our government is doing just that?

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his hard work for the constituents of Medicine Hat.

The NDP is truly a party that is beholden to the big union bosses and the radical anti-trade activists. In opposing trade and investment, the NDP and its special interest factors continue to fearmonger and misrepresent the facts. These are challenging times for the global economy and our government is engaged in the most ambitious pro-trade plan in Canadian history. We are using trade to drive new opportunities for Canadian exporters in the world's fastest growing markets. This is creating jobs and economic growth right here at home.

Housing

[Marie-Claude Morin, NDP, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, food aid use is at record levels in Canada. Food Banks Canada has said that government measures to increase the number of affordable housing units is the primary solution to this problem. However, there was no such commitment in the most recent budget. The end of operating agreements is jeopardizing a significant number of housing units.

We have solutions. My private member's bill would establish a national housing strategy. Why is the government not supporting this initiative, which would help all Canadians in need to have access to decent housing?

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

Mr. Speaker, our government believes that people should have access to affordable and safe housing. That is why, through our economic action plan, we have increased our investment in affordable housing for Canadians across the country by more than $2 billion. However, the NDP voted against these initiatives to help thousands of Canadians.