Debates of Nov. 28th, 2012

Ethics

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

Mr. Speaker, instead of attacking an appointment that never occurred by a government that did not have the power to make it, the hon. member should use the time he has on his feet in the House of Commons to explain what he has been doing.

After promising, three times, that he would vote to eliminate the wasteful billion dollar long gun registry, he had the chance to do just that. Instead, he went back on his word, betrayed his constituents and voted the opposite of what he had promised.

Why does the member not stand and explain that?

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know where the member was. I did stand and explain to all the voters in Timmins—James Bay, and we beat the Conservatives by a landslide. We did not have to buy an election.

Let us talk about their attempts and what the Conservatives told voters. We know now the calls that were made were identified to non-Conservative voters. We now know the robocalls went right back to Conservative Party headquarters. Therefore, someone on that side must know who is involved.

If we are talking about an organized campaign to suppress the vote, we are talking about breaking the law. The member should put down his little peashooter over there and stand and say when the government will get serious about holding the Conservative Party to account for voter fraud.

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

Mr. Speaker, the member talks about buying elections. In fact, it was his party that used over $340,000 of illegal union money in successive elections. We do not know for what those members used that money. We do not know how many robocalls they bought with it or how many nasty negative attack ads they bought, or if they needed to spend that money to explain away that member's broken promises.

What we know for sure is that the member still has not explained why his leader tried to cover up that illegal money for so long.

Government Priorities

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative fiscal record is massive debt, obliterating the gains of the previous decade and eviscerating front-line services to Canadians, especially public health and safety.

The Conservatives squander millions on government ads, but cut prison security, border services, search and rescue, consumer labelling, crime prevention, emergency preparedness, food safety, environmental science, fish habitat, navigation and aboriginal health.

Why do Conservatives cut the most from the vital front line services that keep Canadians safe?

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

Mr. Speaker, I can tell the hon. member something else about our economic action plan. It has helped generate 820,000 net new jobs for the people of Canada, 90% of them full-time. We are doing so in an environment where there is increased instability throughout the rest of the world. We are doing so in a way that makes sure that we can get back, in the medium term, to balance. We are making sure that we are investing in our infrastructure and are investing in science and research. We are on the right track, and Canadians know it.

Employment Insurance

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

Mr. Speaker, all governments have their ups and downs, but the ups of this government are hurting Canadians. Unemployment is up. The trade deficit is up. The national debt is up by $140 billion. The only thing that has gone down is service to Canadians.

The Minister of Human Resources inherited an EI system where people got their first cheque in three weeks 80% of the time. She has stretched the standard herself and now only hits an embarrassing target of a one-month turnaround. She only hits that 30% of the time. Why do those Canadians most at risk have to pay the price for this Conservative fiscal incompetence?

[Kellie Leitch, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and to the Minister of Labour]

Mr. Speaker, Service Canada continues to improve its operations ensuring that Canadians have--

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order. The hon. parliamentary secretary has the floor.

[Kellie Leitch, Conservative, Simcoe—Grey, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as I was mentioning, Service Canada continues to focus on improving, but let us be serious about what is important to Canadians. Canadians care about having jobs, and this government is focused on creating new jobs. We have created 820,000 net new jobs since the downturn of the recession--

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order. The hon. parliamentary secretary still has the floor, and I would like to finish hearing the answer.

[Kellie Leitch, Conservative, Simcoe—Grey, ON]

Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear that 90% of those jobs are full-time jobs. We are making sure that Canadians have jobs, unlike the opposition, which likes to vote against all of those initiatives that have made sure that Canadians have high-quality jobs for their families.

Aboriginal Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, Conservative fiscal incompetence has driven the federal debt to more than $600 billion since 2006, and now aboriginal people in Canada are paying the price. Aboriginal programs for diabetes, youth suicide, health workers, substance abuse—slashed. Budgets for national aboriginal organizations for health and healing—slashed. The Aboriginal Healing Foundation—gone.

Why should the health of aboriginal people be put at risk because of the fiscal incompetence of the Conservative government?

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

Mr. Speaker, we have made some changes in our budgetary process. We made those changes because we are prudent managers. We made those changes in a way that protected community-level delivery of services. I think that was a very sophisticated and appropriate way to do this. We have otherwise made very important investments that are community oriented and that provide for the health and safety of first nations.

International Co-operation

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

Mr. Speaker, this evening we will have an opportunity to move one step closer to giving millions of people in developing countries access to medicines. Grandmothers associations, religious leaders, international health experts, the generic drug industry and even the brand name drug industry believe that this bill should be examined in committee. Excuses citing intellectual property and the WTO simply do not hold water.

This evening, will the Conservatives vote for or against the—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. Minister of Industry.

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

Mr. Speaker, let us be clear: despite its good intentions, the bill will not help the people it purports to help.

First of all, it will not save any more lives and it will not ensure the delivery of any more medicines.

Our government is tackling the real challenges. We are leaders when it comes to funding the shipment of medicine to countries in need. We have invested over $4 billion, which has helped secure $10 billion internationally for the shipment of medicine to countries in need.

We hope the opposition will support us on these important initiatives.

Foreign Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, I do not really understand, because everyone, including the generic drug industry and international experts, but not this government, believes that it will help.

Let us now move on to another important matter. Tomorrow, the world will gather at the United Nations to consider a resolution on Palestine's status within that organization. A number of our allies are working on this resolution to ensure that it will kickstart Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

In the meantime, what has Canada done to encourage—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs.

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, first and foremost, Canada has encouraged both parties to stop negotiating about the negotiating and to sit down at the negotiating table and try to work toward establishing a lasting peace. That is exactly what Canada has been doing. We are working in concert with our allies to make this happen.

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we agree that a future Palestinian state will be realized through negotiations with Israel. That is why our allies, including the U.K., France and the U.S., are doing the hard diplomatic work of trying to restart negotiations. We are concerned that the Conservatives have taken an unbalanced approach and have decided to issue threats against moderates rather than work with them to find a consensus.

How is the government's threatening approach helping to encourage moderates who want to pursue the path of politics rather than the path of violence?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we are tremendously disappointed with the Palestinian Authority for the action it is taking. It is obvious that this will affect our relationship.

This government makes no apologies for standing with the Jewish state. This government makes no apologies for standing with Israel at the UN. I will travel to New York tomorrow to be there to speak and to cast Canada's vote. We encourage both parties to get back to the negotiating table to establish a long and lasting peace.

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we have the opportunity to advance the cause of peace. Canada has an obligation to help bring the two sides closer to an agreement. A negotiated two-state solution is the best way to ensure that Israelis and Palestinians can live side by side in peace and security. Cutting off diplomatic relations with the Palestinian Authority will undermine the cause of peace, and cutting off aid will undermine security.

Will the government now join our allies in trying to use this vote as an opportunity to restart the negotiations?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP has once again come back to its roots and shown where it really stands when it comes to Israel.

A unilateral action, by going to the United Nations, violates more than seven different accords, seven different resolutions, at the United Nations. We believe that these parties should sit down at the negotiating table and negotiate a lasting peace deal. We are prepared to do anything we can to support that. What we will not support is a unilateral action by the Palestinian Authority at the United Nations. We will stand with the Jewish state. We will stand with the people of Israel.