Debates of Nov. 23rd, 2012

Ethics

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

Mr. Speaker, not only do Liberals do it in the same week as their mayor in London is charged with defrauding taxpayers, but they also ask the same member who used taxpayers' funds to break the rules in order to pay rent on a property he owned.

As I have said before, we expect that the Liberals will regularly throw rocks even though they live in a glass house, but we just ask that they start to pay rent for the glass house they live in.

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary secretary can wave and deflect, but Canadians want government accountability. We know where some of the dirty money went. It went to the campaign of the industry minister, but that still leaves tens of thousands of dollars unaccounted for. Did the dirty money also end up in the current byelection campaigns, maybe in Calgary Centre? This tactic is akin to money laundering.

Will the Prime Minister call in the RCMP to get to the bottom of this money laundering scandal?

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

Mr. Speaker, he talks about waving and deflecting. Unfortunately, when Liberals wave at western Canada, they do so with only one finger. We saw that today. We heard the comments that just surfaced, the anti-Alberta comments by the member for Papineau, who said:

Canada's in bad shape right now because Albertans are controlling our community and social democratic agenda. That’s not working.

Those were the comments of the presumptive Liberal leader.

I would expect the member to finally rise in his place, apologize and announce that the youth and amateur sports critic for the Liberal Party—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. member for Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL]

That is pretty rich, Mr. Speaker. Perhaps the Minister of Foreign Affairs would like to apologize to the people of Toronto for calling them elites. Perhaps Conservatives would like to turn to their Atlantic colleagues and give them an apology from their leader, the Prime Minister, for calling us a culture of defeat, if they want to play that card.

Let us have a look at corporate funnelling. Let us look at the fact that—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, order. The hon. member for Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor has the floor.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL]

Mr. Speaker, first the member for Peterborough and now the member for Labrador have engaged in corporate funnelling. The member for Labrador is the recipient of the best seat sale I have seen in Labrador, and now there is the former communications director.

Where is the accountability on this?

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

Mr. Speaker, I do not even know where to start with that scattered question. First he attacks the member for Labrador for spending too much time working in his constituency serving the people he represents, and then he refuses to condemn the anti-Alberta comments of his friend and colleague from Papineau, who claims that all of Canada's problems are the result of hard-working Albertans. I invite him now to rise and apologize for those comments.

Citizenship and Immigration

[Jinny Sims, NDP, Newton—North Delta, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I guess the Conservatives are avoiding the premiers because they might hear things they do not like. Premier Wall called the immigration minister's reckless cuts to the refugee health care program “unbelievable”. It is unbelievable that Conservatives would deny a refugee claimant treatment for cancer. It is unbelievable that they think it is okay to stick the provinces with the bill. It is unbelievable that they would play political games with health care for the most vulnerable.

When will they reverse this reckless decision?

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

Mr. Speaker, I reject the entire premise of that question.

We respect the provinces' jurisdiction over health care and will not interfere in any way with how they choose to provide supplemental health care benefits. It is very important to distinguish between a refugee, a refugee claimant and a failed asylum claimant. It is not true to claim that asylum claimants who have cancer are no longer covered for cancer treatments under the interim federal health program. They continue to be covered for in-hospital investigation and treatment, as well as for the drugs they receive during those treatments. They also continue to be covered for all radiotherapy treatments.

[Carol Hughes, NDP, Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this policy will be disastrous, and they cannot escape its effects.

Saskatchewan is not the only province that is worried and expressing its discontent. Manitoba will soon be sending Ottawa the bill for extra costs related to refugee health. Right now, even my office is working on this problem. The Conservatives have created confusion about the coverage being provided. With these changes, the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism is attacking the most vulnerable people and sending the bill to the provinces.

When will he reverse this poor decision?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is clear that we have taken steps to ensure that genuine refugees and asylum-seekers from non-safe countries will receive health care coverage similar to what every Canadian receives in this country. That will not change.

What has changed is that those failed asylum-seekers who are in our country and who should return to their country of origin will not be receiving the treatments they have claimed under their status, based on the fact they are no longer in treatment.

Foreign Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, whether here in Canada or outside our borders, the Conservatives remain consistent: they always abandon those most vulnerable. The conflict in Congo, which has already claimed millions of lives, is another sad example. The rebels have taken Goma and are now threatening to take control of the rest of the country.

What are the Conservatives doing to help prevent all-out war in this African country?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, our government is deeply concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, particularly in the east. We unequivocally condemn the acts of the rebel group M23 and call for an end to its aggressive actions against Goma and the surrounding area. We call on any and all support to M23 to cease immediately. Neighbouring countries must work together to resolve this crisis. We will continue to call for all parties to respect human rights and allow for the safe and unhindered access of humanitarian assistance.

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, that is an answer from a party that wants to turn development aid into business aid.

However, let us talk about protecting those civilians who are in conflict zones like the Congo. In the Congo millions have died and rape is being used as a weapon of war. The government has offered only sympathetic words but has refused to take effective action in the past.

What action will the government now take to help protect the hundreds of thousands of civilians caught up in the rebels' takeover of Goma?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, my friend from Ottawa Centre said this government has taken no action in the past. Since 2006 our government has invested more than $450 million in the Congo. That is a considerable amount of development assistance. This funding has been used for humanitarian efforts to prevent and respond to sexual violence, one of the issues my friend mentioned; to improve health care; and investments have been made in long-term peace and stability and in democratic development. Since 2010 we have deployed six civilian police officers from this country, and the people of the Congo can count on Canada for its support.

Member for Papineau

[Jim Hillyer, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal energy critic recently suggested that Albertans do not belong in Parliament. This is not just one Liberal gone astray. When asked if Canada were better served with Albertans in power, the member for Papineau said he was a Liberal, so that of course he did not believe Albertans should hold power. He does not just want us out of government; he does not even want to share the country with us. He said, “Canada, it belongs to us”, to the exclusion of Albertans.

Our strong national government is made up of MPs from all across the country. Could the Minister of Public Works explain our position on national—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. Minister of Public Works.

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, as a member of Parliament from Alberta, I was very disappointed in the comments by the member for Papineau. We knew of course that this anti-Alberta attitude was deeply held in the Liberal Party but we did not know how close to the surface it was. Yesterday, I think honourably, the Liberal Party's senior spokesperson on natural resources was forced to resign after his divisive anti-Alberta comments.

I would like to ask the member for Papineau if he is going to do the right thing, the honourable thing, and also resign from his critic portfolio.

Parks Canada

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives definitely have a habit of going back on their word and forgetting their past promises. By closing the winter trails in Forillon National Park and leaving buildings to fall into disrepair, they are disrespecting the sacrifice of the people whose land was expropriated and failing to comply with the emphyteutic agreement that created the park, as well as the June 2010 management plan.

Will the Conservatives fulfill their obligations under the terms of the emphyteutic lease and the management plan?

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, as we have said numerous times in the House, our government has an excellent track record of supporting parks across this country. In fact, we have increased protected spaces across the country by over 50% since taking office in 2006.

With regard to the maintenance of Parks Canada spaces across the country, Parks Canada will continue to be well funded and visitors will continue to have excellent experiences through programs, such as my parks pass. We have a great track record in this area.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am sorry but we do not have an increase of 50% of the trails in our parks. We will have 0% available this winter. The Forillon Park is terribly important to the people in my riding. The sacrifice of those who were expropriated must not be in vain. The answer we just received seems to show that the parliamentary secretary does not really understand the issue. Does she even know what an emphyteutic lease is?

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to Forillon National Park, parking lots will continue to be maintained so that visitors can continue to access snowshoe trails and other trails that are in that park right now. With regard to the rest of our parks across this country, we will continue to maintain our excellent track record in funding and ensuring positive visitor experiences for all Canadians across the country.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Jonathan Genest-Jourdain, NDP, Manicouagan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, while the Assembly of First Nations is preparing for the chiefs meeting about the promise in section 35 that has been broken, today, we learned that the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development is preparing to cut close to $56 million from first nations infrastructure. How ironic. Infrastructure for first nations communities is already chronically underfunded. This is not the time to make more cuts.

Is the minister actually going to cut $56 million from the first nations infrastructure budget?