Debates of Nov. 23rd, 2012

Aboriginal Affairs

[John Duncan, Conservative, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, we are in the lead up to the Assembly of First Nations meeting in the Ottawa area and that is the time when we get these kinds of stories emanating. I do not know where the member is coming from but I will take his question under advisement and let him know.

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, communities face crumbling roads, aging water systems, mould in houses and schools, far below the standards that we expect as Canadians. However, we have heard that the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development thinks he should cut back on investments to first nations infrastructure. This is both shameful and irresponsible.

Will the minister confirm that he has asked for $56 million to be cut from first nations infrastructure?

[John Duncan, Conservative, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, we are making unprecedented investments in first nations education, infrastructure, particularly water, and other health and safety issues on reserve. I do not know where the members are coming from.

The Economy

[John McKay, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance has developed a fondness for lecturing Canadians on their household debt. Unfortunately for us, he has no compunction about maxing out Canada's credit card.

On Saturday, the Conservatives will have run up the national debt to over $600 billion; an ugly milestone if ever there was one. In a mere six years, they have added $142 billion to the national debt after being handed a $13 billion surplus by the Liberals.

When will the Minister of Finance start practising what he preaches?

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister has been practising very sound management of the Canadian economy, including our fiscal situation, which is why we have the strongest fiscal position of any of the major developed economies. Our net debt to GDP ratio is 33%. The net debt for the G7 average is 80% compared with our 33%. In fact, our deficit has been cut in half under our economic action plan. Those are results being delivered by our Minister of Finance and Prime Minister.

Health

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

Mr. Speaker, prescription drug abuse is a public health emergency. Health ministers across Canada are unanimous. Approving a generic form of OxyContin will make it worse.

The College of Family Physicians of Canada is against it. The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police is against it. Aboriginal leaders from across the country are against it.

If the minister will not reverse her decision, will she at least ensure that generic OxyContin will be excluded from the federal drug benefit lists?

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

Mr. Speaker, the issue of prescription drug abuse is bigger than one specific pill. That is why our government announced tough new licensing rules that will help to prevent drugs like OxyContin from being illegally distributed.

I want to ensure that if Health Canada scientists say that these drugs are beneficial, that they will be available to patients who actually need them. Unlike the opposition, we will not politically interfere with these decisions. These decisions are up to scientists. Politicians should not be making these decisions.

Status of Women

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill, MB]

Mr. Speaker, women have been waiting for fair wages from Canada Post for 30 years now. This is something they were entitled to and never received as a result of gender discrimination. One year ago, the Supreme Court ruled that Canada Post had to compensate employees for the wage gap. Canada Post is still dragging its feet.

When will the government take action to ensure that Canada Post corrects this injustice once and for all?

[Steven Fletcher, Conservative, Minister of State (Transport)]

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to high-quality mail service for all Canadians. The crown corporation is arm's-length from government, as the member knows, and that includes its human resource issues. Canada Post officials respect the Supreme Court decision on pay equity and will implement the court's ruling as soon as possible.

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill, MB]

Mr. Speaker, we want to know when. These women have been waiting for 30 years. We are talking about the longest pay equity suit in Canadian history. The Supreme Court ruled that those women had been discriminated against and that they deserved equal pay for their work of equal value. It is now a full year after the ruling and Canada Post still admits that it does not have enough resources to start making the payments.

Where is the federal government? Thousands of women across Canada are waiting. Will the government ensure that Canada Post is supported to make these payments immediately?

[Steven Fletcher, Conservative, Minister of State (Transport)]

Mr. Speaker, I have answered the question. Canada Post is working as fast as it possibly can to implement the Supreme Court ruling. Naturally, we would like Canada Post to do it as fast as possible.

However, while I have the floor, that member is not representing men or women in her riding when she stands up and advocates for policies against the resource extraction industry, a carbon tax and other things that would harm families.

Foreign Affairs

[Peter Braid, Conservative, Kitchener—Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are travelling more than ever before. Last year alone, Canadians took 56 million trips worldwide. That is exactly why we are modernizing and improving the scope of services to Canadians abroad.

Could my favourite Minister of Foreign Affairs please tell this House about the exciting new development that his colleagues are announcing all across Canada today, just in time for the holiday travel season?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, what an unexpected compliment from the member for Kitchener—Waterloo.

On behalf of my colleague, the Minister of State of Foreign Affairs , I am pleased to announce that our government has launched an important tool to help Canadians make informed decisions when they travel abroad. Our new travel.gc.ca website is more efficient and effective than ever, a one-stop shop where Canadians will find the key information to keep themselves safe beyond our borders.

Our government cares about our citizens abroad and we encourage Canadians to be smart, safe travellers and to read up and register on travel.gc.ca.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to talk about some worrisome situations in Africa.

The Ivory Coast appeared to be relatively stable, but this is proving not to be the case; in northern Mali, terrorist networks could start taking hold if nothing is done; and in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, a resurgence of violence is forcing thousands of families to flee their homes.

Some international initiatives are in the works to prevent, contain or resolve these issues.

Does the Government of Canada plan on getting involved—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs.

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the interest the member for Ottawa—Vanier has in Mali. We are deeply concerned, as he is, about the humanitarian situation and the significant amount of territory in Mali that has been taken over by terrorists. We are prepared to work with our allies and with Mali's neighbours on ways with which we can be supportive of an effort to tackle this significant challenge.

I would be very happy to meet with the member and share some of the work that my department is working on concerning this important issue.

Infrastructure

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the plan for a secondary sewage treatment plant in Victoria has been attacked by the Liberals and now there are concerns that the Conservatives are waffling. The New Democrats have been consistent in their support for this plant. It is sad to see other parties flip-flopping on the issue of raw sewage dumping. Even the local Conservative candidate has now come out against, in opposition to his own party.

Will the minister confirm that he disagrees with that candidate and will he stand by the Conservatives' promise to invest in this project?

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada recognizes the importance of clean water and its impacts on human health and the environment. We have taken action by committing over $2.3 billion for waste water infrastructure across Canada and by implementing new federal waste water regulations.

We are pleased to have committed over $250 million in funding to the capital regional district for a waste water treatment program. Once completed, this project will meet federal and provincial waste water treatment standards and help to protect human health and the environment.

Raoul Wallenberg

[Laurie Hawn, Conservative, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, this past Wednesday was the official opening of the Raoul Wallenberg exhibit at the Canadian War Museum.

Mr. Wallenberg was an extraordinarily brave man who risked his life in order to save almost 100,000 Hungarian Jews from execution during the Second World War. In 1985, Mr. Wallenberg was granted honorary Canadian citizenship, the first ever in our nation's history. Mr. Wallenberg's heroism is and will continue to be an inspiration to all Canadians and people around the world.

Would the Minister of State for Transport please update this House on the tribute Canada Post has unveiled in honour of Mr. Wallenberg's heroism and honourable legacy?

[Steven Fletcher, Conservative, Minister of State (Transport)]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to inform the House that Raoul Wallenberg's legacy will be honoured by Canada Post with a Raoul Wallenberg commemorative stamp.

Our government is proud to honour Canada's first honorary citizen on the 100th year of his birth. The sacrifices he made to save tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews during the Second World War will always be remembered.

Housing

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

Mr. Speaker, next April the Conservatives will have to explain to the UN why they are unable to honour their housing commitments in this country. They have been stalled on this issue for four years now, and in the meantime, thousands of Canadians are having to choose between paying their rent and buying groceries.

Experts agree that Canada needs a national housing strategy. That is exactly what is proposed in my bill.

Will the Conservatives face the facts, honour their commitment and vote in favour of my bill?

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

Mr. Speaker, if NDP members were truly serious about helping those who are in need of affordable housing, they would have voted for any number of the programs in which we have delivered just that to Canadians. In fact, in our economic action plan, 14,000 projects, which house many more families than that, were created, but, of course, the NDP voted against it. There are over 600,000 affordable homes that would not be there if it were up to the NDP.

Ethics

[André Bellavance, Bloc, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, one businessman told the Charbonneau commission that he had used false names to finance political parties, and we also know that some people whose names appear on the list of Conservative Party donors in 2009 categorically deny having donated even a penny. And yet, they are listed as giving $1,000 each. That looks a lot like straw men. That year, the Conservative association in Laurier—Sainte-Marie raised $288,000.

Can the government explain this situation and tell us whether a straw man system was in use?

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

Mr. Speaker, all the details were provided to Elections Canada, which certified the information years ago.

[André Bellavance, Bloc, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we have learned today that these people are claiming that their names were used falsely. They donated without really wanting to donate. That is what the Conservative government is refusing to talk about today.

The problem is not confined to the riding of Laurier—Sainte-Marie. In the riding of Rivière-des-Mille-Îles in 2008, in just over a month, the Conservatives raised $88,000 for Claude Carignan’s election campaign; he is now a senator. The Conservatives raised those thousands of dollars from Lino Zambito himself, Leo Housakos, Giulio Maturi, other construction businesses, and many members of their families.

In the face of such revelations, is the government going to tell us—yes or no—whether it used false names?