Debates of Nov. 26th, 2012

International Trade

[Hélène LeBlanc, NDP, LaSalle—Émard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the agreement with China and the Buy America provisions are proof that the Conservatives are incapable of obtaining reciprocal benefits for Canadians.

A leaked European Commission document reveals that the EU wants to prohibit the use of certain recognized cheese names by Canada. The EU also wants us to open our market to new imports, even though it maintains the right to refuse Canadian beef and pork.

Will the cheese industry suffer because the Conservatives are managing the trade negotiations badly?

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

Mr. Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth. We have made a commitment to Canadians that we will only sign an agreement that is in their best interests. We seek a balanced outcome to make sure that Canadian interests are promoted.

I would add that over the coming weeks we will continue to engage with the EU and its negotiators. We are confident that at the end of the day we will have an agreement that is truly in the best interests of Canadians.

Sports

[Matthew Dubé, NDP, Chambly—Borduas, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this summer, the Conservatives spent more than $4 million on advertising during the London Olympic Games. That is ridiculous, especially in light of the fact that it is 20 times the total bonuses paid to amateur athletes who won medals.

Instead of spending that kind of money on advertising for an old war, why not take the money and give it directly to our athletes, who made us so proud during the Olympics?

[James Moore, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, we are also proud of Canada's heritage and history. That is why we are creating the new Canadian Museum of History.

We are also proud of our athletes' performances in London and in Vancouver in 2010, and we will be proud of them in Sochi. We will continue to make investments both to protect and promote Canada's history and to celebrate and promote our athletes at international competitions.

[Matthew Dubé, NDP, Chambly—Borduas, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we are not talking about museums. We are talking about directly rewarding athletes who contribute to our national pride as well.

It is an issue that every party should be speaking out on, but Conservatives would rather spend more on ads than athletes. Many of our leading amateur athletes live under constant financial stress, very close to the poverty line, but the Conservatives choose to spend more money on advertising the Lucky Loonie than rewarding their successes.

When will the government get its priorities straight? When it comes to propaganda advertising, why will it not put athletes first?

[James Moore, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, we do indeed put our athletes first. If we look at the Own the Podium program and the investments we have made in that, certainly after the 2010 Olympics we have been very proud of our Canadian athletes.

Of course, we take every opportunity to highlight the brilliance of our athletes. We have welcomed them here on Parliament Hill, supported their programs to ensure that they do indeed shine on the international stage, and have done so not only by supporting athletes directly but also by supporting opportunities for them. For example, this government, this Conservative Party, was proud to support the 2010 Olympics, whereas the NDP actually campaigned to stop Canada from hosting the 2010 Games. Shame on them.

Citizenship and Immigration

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the premiers have not only been critical of the inability of the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism to deal with refugees in a fair fashion—a minister who is very much anti-refugee, one must say—but there are also concerns at the premiers' conference regarding this minister's failure to meet the needs of the provincial nominee program.

There are provinces like Ontario that need and want more. There are provinces like Manitoba that want to maintain the numbers they are currently getting. The minister sits on his laurels and does nothing.

My question is, why?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Minister of Citizenship]

Mr. Speaker, with respect to refugees, the government is increasing by 20% the number of resettled refugees we welcome to Canada. We are increasing by 20% the integration assistance they get. We are introducing for the first time the refugee appeal division to enhance the fairness of the IRB, something that the Liberal government refused to do.

With respect to the provincial nominee program, we have increased that program tenfold since coming to office, going from 4,000 permanent residents a year admitted through the provincial nominee programs to over 40,000. There has never been more provincial involvement in immigration in Canadian history.

Aboriginal Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, every current and future member of the House will feel the responsibility to residential school survivors as the light from the new stained glass window, commemorating their legacy, shines down upon us.

The Prime Minister's apology stated a “desire to move forward together”. Will the minister commit today to providing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission with the budget and time needed to do the job properly. Will he include the Métis day students and ensure that all survivors and their families have the support necessary on their healing journey?

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

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to achieving a fair and lasting resolution to the legacy of Indian residential schools. The Indian Residential School Settlement agreement is court directed and agreed to by multiple parties, including legal counsel for former students and the Assembly of First Nations. Our government will continue to honour its obligations under the Indian residential schools agreement.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

[Randall Garrison, NDP, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Safety has very little credibility when it comes to tackling the issue of sexual harassment in the RCMP. If he were serious, he would have asked for an action plan more than a year ago and the minister would never be asking the RCMP to implement an action plan without any new resources.

How does the government expect the RCMP to pay for this much-needed anti-harassment plan: more cuts to victim services, further cuts to front-line policing? How can the minister deny the RCMP the resources for an anti-harassment plan he has not even seen and did not even ask for until Friday?

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

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate finally receiving a question from the opposition on this very important analysis from the RCMP. We have deep concerns about it. That is why the minister has asked Commissioner Paulson to prepare a comprehensive plan to deal with gender issues and to deal with this analysis and the concerns within it.

We have also introduced the enhancing accountability for the RCMP act, which, unfortunately, the NDP has said it will not support. This enhancement would give the RCMP the ability to deal not only with harassment but also with other serious issues in the RCMP.

[Rosane Doré Lefebvre, NDP, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the RCMP commissioner lacks the resources necessary to meet the sexual harassment elimination objectives. We are currently in a period of fiscal austerity. That means that the commissioner does not have the means to do what the minister is asking him to do. We have two choices: either the Conservatives cut funding for national security and front-line police services or they abdicate their responsibility for eliminating sexual harassment.

What choice is the minister going to make?

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

Mr. Speaker, the member is completely incorrect. We have not cut funding at all to front-line officers. In fact, what the RCMP and the commissioner have asked for is that they have the ability to update and modernize the human resources management processes to give the complaints commissioner more ability, among other things. That is what Bill C-42 would do.

We are giving the RCMP what it has asked for, but the NDP continues to vote against common sense, reasonable measures to help the RCMP restore pride. New Democrats talk a lot about it, but when it comes to action, they do nothing.

Taxation

[Scott Armstrong, Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley, NS]

Mr. Speaker, our Conservative government is delivering historic tax relief for Canadian families. In fact, the average Canadian family is paying $3,100 less in taxes a year than when we took office.

Can the Minister of State for Finance please inform the House of the latest measure we are putting in place so that Canadians will save on their taxes and keep more of their hard-earned dollars where they belong, in their pockets?

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

Mr. Speaker, today our government announced that starting on January 1 of 2013, Canadians can contribute $500 more into their tax-free savings accounts, bringing it up to a $5,500 annual contribution. The tax-free savings accounts have been tremendously successful. In fact, over eight million Canadians have now opened those accounts.

This is an extension of our low-tax agenda directly opposing the high-tax agenda of the NDP. It is good to note that the NDP actually voted against the tax-free savings account.

Employment Insurance

[Lise St-Denis, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Mattawin adventure centre located in Trois-Rives, in the Mauricie region, is asking us whether qualified seasonal employees will be required to leave the centre to accept other jobs now that Bill C-38 has passed. We are still waiting for answers to give to these tourism stakeholders.

Can the minister responsible rise today and reassure the seasonal employers targeted by this change to employment insurance?

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

Mr. Speaker, the government's priorities are job creation and the economy. Workers are needed to create jobs. The changes to the employment insurance system help people find jobs. Full-time jobs are better for workers, are they not? That is why we are trying to help people find jobs.

The Environment

[Anne Minh-Thu Quach, NDP, Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the Conservatives are preparing to let an opportunity to fight climate change slip through their fingers. The international community has committed to putting money into a fund to help developing countries do their part in this global fight, but there is no money in the fund to start off with and the amounts promised at Copenhagen in 2009 are still missing.

Does the Minister of the Environment intend to take advantage of the Doha conference to push his colleagues to keep their promises or is he going to let another opportunity pass him by?

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague knows, our government is balancing the need for lower greenhouse gas emissions with job creation and economic growth.

Canada will continue working with our international partners in Doha over the next two weeks to create a new binding post-Kyoto agreement that will bind all major emitters.

Canada is halfway toward meeting our Copenhagen targets. Our plan will reduce greenhouse gas emissions without the job-killing carbon tax favoured by the NDP.

Bank of Canada

[James Rajotte, Conservative, Edmonton—Leduc, AB]

Mr. Speaker, earlier today the Minister of Finance announced that Mark Carney, current Governor of the Bank of Canada, has been appointed as Governor of the Bank of England effective July 1, 2013.

Since 2007, he has guided our nation's monetary policy and fulfilled a crucial role at the international level on financial sector regulation. On behalf of all parliamentarians, I would like to thank Governor Carney for his outstanding work at the Bank of Canada and offer our best wishes in his future role as the first foreign national to serve as Governor of the Bank of England.

I would like to ask the Minister of State for Finance to comment on what this appointment means for Canada.

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

Mr. Speaker, I too am thankful to Governor Carney for his leadership. I would also like to thank the chair of the finance committee for his own leadership capabilities and the great work he has done at committee.

This appointment marks the first time that a foreign national has headed the Bank of England. It is another strong example of Canada's strength in its monetary and fiscal systems. While other countries have faced significant turbulence, Canada has consistently ranked among the soundest in the world.

There is a usual practice for selection. The board of directors of the Bank of Canada will select a committee that will search for a new governor—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. member for Laurier—Sainte-Marie.

Foreign Affairs

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have finally let the cat out of the bag. The Conservative candidate in the Calgary byelection said that if she was elected, voters would have better passport services. Passports are an essential service that must be provided equitably to all Canadians, regardless of who represents them.

But it seems as though the Conservatives think that partisanship comes before consular services. Does the Minister of Foreign Affairs agree with his party's candidate, or will he condemn her comments?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I think that Joan Crockatt will make an excellent member of Parliament for Calgary. People in that constituency can count on her to fight for what is right and what is wrong. They can count on her to fight the NDP's $21.5 billion carbon tax. The Liberal Party will finally have met its match when she arrives here in the House of Commons.