Debates of Nov. 2nd, 2012

Government Accountability

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

Mr. Speaker, we have done the exact opposite, as I mentioned, through our quarterly financial reports, estimates and other means in the House. We have co-operated with the Parliamentary Budget Officer, of course. These decisions were made to get us to a balanced budget, which is part of our jobs plan for this country. Economic growth is important to us on this side of the House.

On the other side, the members vote against these things. However, they are all in favour of $21 billion of extra burden on taxes when it comes to their carbon tax. That is their record. We will take our record seven days out of seven.

National Defence

[Guy Caron, NDP, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the cost of Canada's mission in Afghanistan continues to rise, long after our combat operation has ended.

Because of Conservative mismanagement of our diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates and due to the subsequent closure of our base, Camp Mirage, in the country, we now have to pay between half a billion dollars and a billion dollars to bring our equipment home.

Why do Canadian taxpayers have to foot the bill because of the Conservative diplomatic meltdown with the United Arab Emirates?

[Bernard Valcourt, Conservative, Associate Minister of National Defence and Minister of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency) (La Francophonie)]

Mr. Speaker, let me begin by acknowledging, first, the valiant efforts made by thousands of Canadians in Afghanistan. Next week, I will take time, along with all Canadians, to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

In response to the question, as the Minister of National Defence told the committee of the whole last May, the government expects to invest $8.7 billion in Canada's military commitment to Afghanistan. That figure includes incremental costs, including the end of the combat mission.

[Guy Caron, NDP, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives' had the time to figure out how to reduce these expenses, but they did not do it. And now, taxpayers must foot the bill for the Conservatives' incompetence. They will have to pay between $500 million and $1 billion to bring back equipment from Afghanistan.

Why did the Conservatives not budget for these expenses from the beginning? Why deliberately take a diplomatic hard line knowing that taxpayers will have to foot the bill?

[Bernard Valcourt, Conservative, Associate Minister of National Defence and Minister of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency) (La Francophonie)]

Mr. Speaker, as the Minister of National Defence indicated in the House and in committee, the Afghanistan mission will cost the defence department a total of $8.7 billion, which includes the cost of bringing home equipment and closing down the mission in Afghanistan. That information was clearly articulated to the House and the committee.

Correctional Service Canada

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are appalled by the grotesque videos now in the public domain, showing the abuse of young, mentally ill Ashley Smith while she was in federal custody. The scenes in the videos are an integral part of a lengthy tragedy of events that led to her death. The government has fought relentlessly to keep the videos secret and to limit any public examination to provincial matters only.

Now that Canadians know what the government was hiding and are disgusted by it, will the government stop the charade, fully co-operate and allow the videos as evidence at the Ashley Smith inquest?

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

Mr. Speaker, as we all agree, some of the behaviour seen in these videos is absolutely unacceptable and reiterates what a very sad case this is.

Our government has directed the Correctional Service of Canada to fully co-operate with the coroner's inquest. That is what we expect it to do.

Citizenship and Immigration

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, with respect to the two Nigerian students stranded in a Regina church, the government keeps repeating the falsehood that these two young women are not students and had been working extensively. However, the University of Regina says that is not true. The government of Saskatchewan says that is not true.

Why is the government calling the province and the university liars? Can the government say whether any inducements were offered to these two young women by the federal officials handling their cases?

[Rick Dykstra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, we have been trying to confirm the facts of these cases with the University of Regina for several days now and the university, despite feeling free to speak to the media, is refusing to co-operate with both the CBSA and the CIC, even to answer simple basic questions. The fact is that Ms. Ordu admitted to CBSA officers that she knew she was working illegally.

I call on the member for Wascana to help us get all of the facts from the University of Regina, instead of standing in the House and being political about an issue that we can work with the ministry on.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, just a few weeks ago, the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism was touting Canada as a haven for persecuted gays and lesbians, lauding his government's work to resettle 100 gay refugees from Iran. The Conservatives proclaimed that standing up for gay rights was a key plank of their foreign policy.

Yet now the government is refusing safe haven to a man from St. Vincent and the Grenadines who fled to Canada two years ago after being beaten so badly for being gay that he was left in a coma and brain damaged.

I ask the Minister of Foreign Affairs, why the hypocrisy?

[Rick Dykstra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Dennie claims that his refugee claim in Canada was rejected because the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada did not believe his claim that he was gay. This is false. Mr. Dennie's previous criminal activities were at issue, not his sexual orientation. According to public court documents, Mr. Dennie has been convicted of multiple crimes, including aggravated assault on his wife.

Foreign Investment

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

Mr. Speaker, the deadline for approving the Nexen deal is now only nine days away. If this deal is approved, a Chinese state-owned company will be given the unlimited right to buy Canadian natural resources.

Because of this new investment agreement, if a province such as Quebec tries to limit foreign ownership of its natural resources in any way, it could be taken to court.

Why is the Conservative government endangering Canada's natural resources?

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

Mr. Speaker, the opposite is true. The hon. member is talking about the Nexen deal, which we have always said will be scrutinized very closely. Before making a decision, we must determine whether the transaction provides a net benefit to Canada. Every decision will be made in the best interests of Canadians.

What we will not advocate for are the kinds of policies advocated by the members of the NDP who are anti-trade, anti-investment, against the development of natural resources and for a job-killing carbon tax of $21 billion that would be put on the shoulders of Canadians. We will not stand for it.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is not just that Conservatives make stuff up, they do not even seem to understand their own agreement. After FIPA, after Nexen, a Chinese state-owned company will have the unlimited right to buy up Canadian natural resources. CNOOC and Sinopec have already set their eyes on potash. If a province like Saskatchewan or Alberta tries to limit foreign ownership of its natural resources, it will be challenged under the law.

Did western Conservative MPs really come to Ottawa to preside over the greatest sell-off of our natural resources in Canadian history? Why are they so irresponsible?

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

Mr. Speaker, the member is simply wrong and the louder he speaks, the less worthy he is of an answer.

Canada's economic fundamentals lead most of the developed world. In fact, we lead the G7 in terms of job creation, 820,000 new jobs, but the economic recovery is fragile. That is exactly why we need trade and investment to drive economic growth and job creation here at home.

What we do not need during these fragile times is an NDP $21 billion carbon tax that will increase the cost of groceries and gasoline.

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, how can we promote trade with countries like India when investors around the world still do not know what the rules are for investing in Canada?

Two years ago, the Conservatives promised Canadians transparent criteria for evaluating foreign takeovers. Two years later, Canadians are still in the dark.

When will the minister stop the late night leaks, put an end to the midnight announcements and give Canadians clear rules for evaluating foreign takeovers?

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

Mr. Speaker, since being in office we have put in place guidelines for state-owned enterprises in 2007 and provisions for national security issues.

As I said, for this transaction, like the other ones, we have to determine if it provides a net benefit to Canada. Therefore, this transaction will scrutinized very closely.

What we will not do is to go with the kinds of policies advocated by the NDP, which would deter any form of investment in this country. Beyond that, the NDP would put $21 billion carbon tax on the shoulders of Canadians. We will not stand for that, never.

[Alain Giguère, NDP, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we cannot wait any longer.

Canadians have been waiting for two years for clear regulations to be established with regard to foreign takeovers. We cannot promote trade with countries such as India without clear and predictable rules for foreign investors.

Rather than focusing on establishing these rules, the minister is making announcements at midnight like a thief in the night.

Will the Conservatives now propose clear rules for evaluating foreign takeovers?

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

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, we have been very clear.

We are in favour of investment. It creates jobs and allows our businesses to move up the global value chain. That being said, there are criteria that must be followed. One of them is that such agreements must provide a net benefit to Canada. This criterion is used for every transaction that is evaluated, and every decision is made in the best interests of Canada.

What is clear is that the members on other side of the House are against trade, investment and the development of natural resources and support a $21 billion carbon tax that would kill the economy.

That is clear, and Canadians clearly do not want that.

Employment

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, our Conservative government is focused on what matters to Canadians: helping to create jobs, supporting economic growth and securing our long-term prosperity.

While we are focused on our low tax plan that would help create jobs, the NDP is pushing high tax schemes to kill jobs. The NDP's massive carbon scheme would not only take $21 billion out of the pockets of Canadians, it would also cripple Canadian businesses and kill Canadian jobs.

Could the Minister of State (Finance) please update the House on the state of the Canadian job market?

[Ted Menzies, Conservative, Minister of State (Finance)]

Indeed that is true, Mr. Speaker. Stats Canada today announced that we have more than 7,000 new full-time jobs as of last month, in fact 2,000 overall. That contributes to 80,000 net new jobs in the last three months, for a total of over 820,000 net new jobs since July 2009.

We have a plan for jobs and growth and it is working. It is helping businesses to employ more Canadians every day.

National Defence

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the President of the Treasury Board, having awarded a $645,000 contract to KPMG to analyze the costs of purchasing the F-35s, has confirmed that this independent analysis was nothing but a cut-and-paste copy of the report by the American Department of Defense. The KPMG report was to have been made public in July.

Where is the KPMG report and why must we pay for data that already existed? Why?

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

Mr. Speaker, KPMG was hired to perform an independent audit of the costs for the F-35s. The report will be made public.

[Ryan Cleary, NDP, St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL]

Mr. Speaker, according to the now discredited seven-point plan, the independent cost estimates should have been presented to Parliament in July. We are still waiting.

Treasury Board has confirmed that the secretary will be using numbers from the U.S. Department of Defense that were made public last March, eight months ago.

Why did the government not release those numbers in 60 days, like it said it would. It has already hidden $10 billion from Canadians. When will the government release the real numbers?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I already said, the report will be made public soon.