House of Commons Hansard #181 of the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was nation.

Topics

JusticeOral Questions

2:45 p.m.

Provencher Manitoba

Conservative

Vic Toews ConservativeMinister of Public Safety

Mr. Speaker, what the member seems to forget is that it was our government that put $40 million annually into funding for the National Crime Prevention Centre, which was created by our government. We put $37.5 million into funding for the youth gang prevention fund. We made the programming permanent with $7.5 million in ongoing funding.

What did the member opposite do? He voted against those programs.

JusticeOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

NDP

Rosane Doré Lefebvre NDP Alfred-Pellan, QC

Mr. Speaker, victims do not want partisan politics; they want services. They deserve a lot more than the Conservatives' grand promises.

The Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime needs $115,000 a year to provide services to victims. That is peanuts in a $6 billion budget.

Instead of trying to score political points, will the minister commit to ensuring long-term, stable funding to the centre and to other victim support groups?

JusticeOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Provencher Manitoba

Conservative

Vic Toews ConservativeMinister of Public Safety

Mr. Speaker, the NDP likes to talk about crime prevention measures, but when it really counts, it has consistently voted against these very measures. It is our Conservative government that created programs like the national crime prevention strategy and the youth gang prevention fund. I hope the member opposite will finally stop the double-talk and get serious about supporting our measures to support victims.

JusticeOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

NDP

Françoise Boivin NDP Gatineau, QC

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are not tough on crime, they are cheap on crime.

Our justice system is crumbling under the weight of the Conservatives' inaction. Our courts are full to the brim, we do not have enough judges, wait times are growing longer and longer, and legal aid is underfunded. The provinces and territories already spoke out about these cuts at the last meeting of the ministers of justice.

Will the Conservatives finally commit to solving these urgent problems by ensuring the sustainability of our justice system?

JusticeOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Niagara Falls Ontario

Conservative

Rob Nicholson ConservativeMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Mr. Speaker, that is exactly what we have been doing over these six years. We consider all requests from the provinces, as we have over the years. It is too bad that every single one of our efforts to crack down on crime and to stand up for victims and law-abiding Canadians is consistently opposed by the NDP. When is the NDP going to get its act together and start standing up for law-abiding Canadians? When?

JusticeOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

NDP

Françoise Boivin NDP Gatineau, QC

Mr. Speaker, just because the hon. member is yelling his answer does necessarily mean people are going to take him more seriously. Either the minister did not listen to my question or he decided to deliberately disregard it. This type of defence does not stand up in court.

The Conservatives are introducing bills without taking into account their consequences. They are not even aware of the consequences because they are imposing gag orders left and right and they are not examining these bills properly. Then, when it comes time to do damage control, they stick their heads in the sand. Our courtrooms are overburdened and underfunded, and the situation is growing worse every day.

Why is the Minister of Justice opposed to providing adequate funding to our justice system so that it can run properly?

JusticeOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Niagara Falls Ontario

Conservative

Rob Nicholson ConservativeMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Mr. Speaker, I do not know where the hon. member has been, but we have increased the number of judges in this country for the first time in many years, recently with two new judges for Nunavut. None of this got the attention of the opposition. They were so busy fighting us on all our crime agenda, I am sure it was completely lost on them. Any requests for additional judges or additional resources are always considered seriously by this government, because we make this a priority.

Aboriginal AffairsOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Liberal

Carolyn Bennett Liberal St. Paul's, ON

Mr. Speaker, the documents from the Shawanaga First Nation's school make the first nation student funding gap crystal clear. Yesterday, the minister tried to defend the indefensible by calling the funding gap apples to oranges. First nations know better. The comparison is apples to apples. Students living off reserve get a full apple. Students on reserve get half an apple. When will the government stop misleading Canadians and fund first nation students at the same level as students off reserve?

Aboriginal AffairsOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Vancouver Island North B.C.

Conservative

John Duncan ConservativeMinister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development

Mr. Speaker, our numbers reflect the total spending per student. The member opposite is only including partial expenses that reflect only a portion of the costs for on-reserve schools. Every year our government is investing $1.7 billion for 117,000 students on reserve. Since 2006, we have invested in 263 school projects, including 33 new schools. We are proud to support first nation students toward their career goals and the prosperity they seek.

HealthOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Liberal

Hedy Fry Liberal Vancouver Centre, BC

Mr. Speaker, alarming evidence now links energy drinks to severe illness and death in children and youth. A year ago, the minister's own expert panel warned her of the high risk of energy drinks, advising her to regulate them to behind the counter and prohibit sales to persons under 18. She ignored their advice, opting for industry self-regulation.

The minister's responsibility is to protect the health of Canadians. Why does she continue to choose the best interests of industry over the well-being of Canada's children and youth?

HealthOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Nunavut Nunavut

Conservative

Leona Aglukkaq ConservativeMinister of Health and Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency

Mr. Speaker, Health Canada has been very clear that caffeinated energy drinks are not recommended for children. Last year our government announced a new approach to regulating energy drinks that would include limits on the levels of caffeine in these products. It also includes improved labelling in order to support consumers and parents in making informed decisions. The new measures will help Canadians make informed decisions about the amount of caffeine they consume.

The EnvironmentOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

NDP

Anne Minh-Thu Quach NDP Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC

Mr. Speaker, in committee yesterday, the Minister of the Environment responded to one of my questions with a trivial statement.

When I asked him about the cost of the ineffective sector-by-sector approach adopted by the Conservatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the minister said that the figures were not important.

Let us be clear: either the minister has no idea of the cost of his policies, or he wants to hide it.

Since I like to be courteous, I will give him another chance. How much is the Conservatives' sector-by-sector approach going to cost taxpayers?

The EnvironmentOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Thornhill Ontario

Conservative

Peter Kent ConservativeMinister of the Environment

Mr. Speaker, that is a slight mischaracterization of our exchange yesterday in committee.

Our sector-by-sector plan to reduce GHG emissions started with the regulation of the two sectors that contribute the greatest number of megatonnes every year: tailpipe emissions and coal-fired electricity. The cost-benefit estimates of those regulations can be found on the Environment Canada website with the regulatory impact assessment statement.

The EnvironmentOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

NDP

Megan Leslie NDP Halifax, NS

Mr. Speaker, a mischaracterization? We have the transcripts.

The minister seems to know a lot more about made up NDP policies than he does about his own portfolio. Experts confirm that his sector-by-sector approach is not working. It is the least effective and the most expensive approach to GHG reductions. Six months ago we asked the minister how much the plan costs. There was no answer. Yesterday, he said that to him the numbers really are not that important.

Is the minister hiding the answer or does he really not know the cost?

The EnvironmentOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Thornhill Ontario

Conservative

Peter Kent ConservativeMinister of the Environment

Mr. Speaker, obviously my colleague was not listening to my previous question and was not in attendance at the committee meeting yesterday. The first two sectors have been regulated. The cost-benefits are available. A total number cannot be given until we regulate all of the other sectors in our sector-by-sector plan.

The number that Canadians are interested in is the proposed $21 billion carbon tax that the NDP would pick out of the pockets of hard-working Canadian taxpayers.

Foreign AffairsOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Conservative

Dean Allison Conservative Niagara West—Glanbrook, ON

Mr. Speaker, today is Universal Children's Day, a day devoted to promoting the welfare of children around the world. Our government is committed to protecting our children and safeguarding the well-being of these most vulnerable citizens.

Could the Minister of State of Foreign Affairs responsible for the Americas and Consular Affairs please tell the House about her latest efforts to help left-behind parents and protect Canadian children wrongfully abducted abroad?

Foreign AffairsOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Calgary Nose Hill Alberta

Conservative

Diane Ablonczy ConservativeMinister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas and Consular Affairs)

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the engagement of my colleague from Niagara West—Glanbrook on this important issue.

Our thoughts are with those who have had a child abducted by the other parent. It is truly a heartbreaking experience. To help, today we launched a new publication entitled, “International Child Abduction: A Guidebook for Left-Behind Parents”. I encourage all members of the House to visit travel.gc.ca to read this manual and to order copies for their riding offices.

Children are our most important resource and this government is doing its utmost to protect and defend them.

EthicsOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Liberal

Stéphane Dion Liberal Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC

Mr. Speaker, how can the Minister of State for Democratic Reform tolerate that the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, right in the middle of the federal election, asked his department to assess his popularity and to report on partisan events?

Will the minister ask the Public Service Commission of Canada to investigate this serious affront to democracy? How many times has the government undermined the neutrality of the public service and attempted to subject it to the Conservative Party?

EthicsOral Questions

3 p.m.

Calgary Southeast Alberta

Conservative

Jason Kenney ConservativeMinister of Citizenship

Mr. Speaker, these questions are absolutely ridiculous.

The former Liberal government did not spend a cent on monitoring ethnocultural media because the Liberals were not interested in the opinions of new Canadians and members of cultural communities.

This government has addressed the priorities of new Canadians, in part by listening to the voices of new Canadians in ethnocultural media. The department manages the media monitoring contracts. This government, unlike the previous Liberal government, is addressing the priorities of new Canadians.

Regional DevelopmentOral Questions

3 p.m.

NDP

John Rafferty NDP Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON

Mr. Speaker, with a storage capacity of 1.2 million tonnes, Thunder Bay is North America's largest grain port, contributing over $28 million a year in federal taxes. Yet the government wants to jeopardize this world-renowned asset by cutting hundreds of jobs at the Canadian Grain Commission. These cuts will be added to Conservative firings at Veterans Affairs, the coast guard, the military, Service Canada, the CRA and Citizenship and Immigration in Thunder Bay.

Why are Conservatives bleeding services in Thunder Bay? Why are they destroying the economic link between the Prairies and central Canada?

Regional DevelopmentOral Questions

3 p.m.

Parry Sound—Muskoka Ontario

Conservative

Tony Clement ConservativePresident of the Treasury Board and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario

Mr. Speaker, we are on track when it comes to making sure that government spends within its means. We are doing so because that creates jobs and opportunity in the private sector, including in northern Ontario.

We have a great record in Thunder Bay and the surrounding region. FedNor and other federal agencies have been working with local proponents to create new jobs and new opportunities and research in the mining sector and other natural resource sectors, including forestry. We are proud of our record in Thunder Bay. We will continue to work with local officials to make sure that we get more jobs and opportunity there.

International CooperationOral Questions

3 p.m.

Conservative

Tilly O'Neill-Gordon Conservative Miramichi, NB

Mr. Speaker, today is Universal Children's Day.

The maternal, newborn and child health initiative is just one of the many ways that our government is supporting children in need. Could the Minister of International Cooperation please update the House on our results?

International CooperationOral Questions

3 p.m.

Vaughan Ontario

Conservative

Julian Fantino ConservativeMinister of International Cooperation

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to helping the world's most vulnerable children survive and lead a better life. We are achieving tangible results for those most in need. For example, in Afghanistan, 7.8 million children have been vaccinated against polio. In Bangladesh we have helped more than 120,000 vulnerable children involved in child labour to improve their literacy and life skills. In South Sudan we have helped provide over 15,000 at risk youth with education and life skills so they can find jobs and improve their livelihoods.

Ensuring that children are safe, healthy and educated is—

International CooperationOral Questions

3 p.m.

Conservative

The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer

The hon. member for Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel.

Aboriginal AffairsOral Questions

3 p.m.

NDP

Mylène Freeman NDP Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC

Mr. Speaker, on this National Child Day, we recognize the importance of our young people, who represent the future of our communities. Unfortunately, young people do not all have the same rights, and the government is still neglecting the youth of Kanesatake.

Kanesatake's national child benefit reinvestment was unexpectedly cut. The investment meant that children would not go without food all day long and that there were after school programs to keep teens off the streets.

Why are Conservatives undermining Kanesatake's future generations and leaving first nations' children behind?