Debates of Nov. 28th, 2012

Justice

[Bernard Trottier, Conservative, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are worried about crime. That is why the government has kept its promise to pass comprehensive law-and-order legislation in the first 100 sitting days of Parliament. The Safe Streets and Communities Act sets out stiffer sentences for child predators and eliminates house arrest for serious crimes such as sexual assault. This legislation is now in effect across Canada.

Can the Minister of Justice inform the House about the constitutional status of our government's crime legislation?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to inform the House that this week, our government's legislation to establish mandatory penalties for drive-by and other reckless shootings was found constitutional by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

While I will not comment specifically on court challenges, I can say with confidence that a majority of Quebeckers support tougher sentences for serious crimes. This is why we enacted mandatory sentencing for all sexual offences committed against children and for serious drug trafficking offences.

We made a commitment to Canadians that we would quickly pass these measures. Canadians responded by giving us a strong mandate to do that. We make no apologies for that.

Foreign Investment

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

Mr. Speaker, there are more and more questions about the Chinese government's takeover of Nexen. Yesterday we learned that CNOOC and Nexen had jointly withdrawn and resubmited their offer for the acquisition of Nexen shares in the United States. The Americans are concerned about this deal, and rightly so.

Do the Conservatives know what is in the new offer? And what impact will this move have on the minister's decision on whether to approve the deal?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is very clear. Pursuant to section 20 of the act, there are six factors that must be taken into account. These guidelines have been in place since 2007, and some provisions were added in 2009. That is the legal framework we are working under right now.

That said, the NDP wants to block everything, all types of deals and investments, but we do not agree with that school of thought, nor do we agree with the Liberals' approach of blindly approving everything.

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we have learned that CNOOC and Nexen have jointly withdrawn and resubmitted their bid for U.S. Nexen assets because of CFIUS and because of a clear review process in the U.S.

However, here in Canada, the Minister of Industry continues to evade public and parliamentary scrutiny. He has refused to come up with a transparent review process. He has failed in establishing clear criteria, and now we learn that the Conservatives have chosen the Prime Minister's unelected chief of staff to manufacture some investment guidelines, still in secret. It is a mess.

How can Canadians have confidence in the Minister of Industry when even the Prime Minister does not trust him to do his job?

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

Mr. Speaker, the opposition likes to speak light about everything, but to be clear, we will not speak light on any review. This is a responsible approach.

We are open for foreign investment, and these foreign investments have to provide a net benefit to Canada. We will not push the agenda like the NDP, which would virtually block everything: no investment, no free trade. That is not responsible.

We will not rubber stamp any form of investment, as the Liberals would do, as they said last week. Canadians can count on a responsible government on this point.

Regional Development

[Robert Chisholm, NDP, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Mr. Speaker, a recent study estimates that 4,400 full-time federal jobs will be cut from the Atlantic region by 2015, a withdrawal that will cost the Atlantic economy over $300 million. On top of that, crown corporations are expected to shed several hundred more jobs. These public sector cuts will also translate into thousands of job losses in the private sector and an overall weakening of the Atlantic economy.

Why does the government continue to make decisions that are devastating to Atlantic Canadians and their communities?

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

Mr. Speaker, I have three points. In the first place, we have been very clear that every region across the country will retain their proportion of federal jobs. That was true before, and it is now true after.

The hon. member mentions a study. We are talking about an NDP-aligned, left-wing, so-called think tank. It is just pure bunk. Please do not get sucked in by this left-wing think tank. If the unions paid for this, they and their union bosses should want their money back. This is ridiculous.

[Ryan Cleary, NDP, St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL]

Mr. Speaker, aside from the unbalanced economic impact these cuts will have, the report also states that disproportionate job losses will rob opportunities from Atlantic Canadians and will weaken regional planning.

We know the Prime Minister once diagnosed the entire Atlantic region as having a culture of defeat. That is no bunk. However, by attacking youth, regional planning and the east coast economy, it is the Conservatives who have a defeatist attitude toward Atlantic Canada.

Why is the government abandoning east coast jobs and abandoning the Atlantic economy?

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

Mr. Speaker, here is how this union-paid study came up with its conclusions. It excluded any of the job losses in the national capital region. That is where 58% of the jobs are when it comes to the public service.

If the NDP members are aspiring to government and have been listening to this stuff, they have a long way to go. Canadians can rest assured that we will be managing the economy and the public service in the best interests of Canadians.

Justice

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Barreau du Québec is challenging the constitutionality of the omnibus Bill C-10, which has been criticized by lawyers who maintain that mandatory minimum sentences are ineffective, pointless and discriminatory. Furthermore, our courts have found that these sentences are unconstitutional.

When will the government respect our lawyers, judges and experts and abandon this misguided, discredited and unfair approach?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Many of the mandatory minimums in the Criminal Code were actually brought in by the Liberal Party, Mr. Speaker. I might just point that out to him as a point of interest.

That being said, the bill that we have had before Parliament is very targeted. It goes after the individuals who sexually exploit children and the people involved in organized crime, the mobsters who are bringing drugs into Canada. Yes, there were serious penalties brought in by this government and we make no apologies for that to anybody.

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Mr. Speaker, while we were debating Bill C-10, the former Quebec justice minister, the National Assembly of Quebec and experts in Quebec all agreed that this legislation violates human rights, undermines the rule of law and flies in the face of Quebec's values on justice.

When will the federal government respect Quebec, its values, judicial independence, evidence and the rule of law?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, we respect laws that protect victims in this country and send out the correct message to individuals who break the law in this country, that if they are in the business of sexually exploiting children, if they are in the business of child pornography, if they are part of organized crime and think it is a great idea to bring drugs into Canada, they will find no friends in this party and we make no apologies for that. We stand with Canadians.

Public Safety

[Marc-André Morin, NDP, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the magnificent region that I represent attracts thousands of visitors from around the world.

It could attract even more, but the Conservatives continue to neglect the Mont-Tremblant International Airport. The airport is an excellent economic driver for the region, but it is facing problems with regard to customs services.

The only thing I am asking the Minister of Public Safety is to take a few moments to meet with me to try to find solutions to these problems.

Will he finally respond to my many meeting requests?

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

Mr. Speaker, our border security does an excellent job of making sure that legitimate trade and travel is facilitated, while at the same time protecting our borders from illegitimate and illegal operations.

If the member has something he wants to discuss, we are always open to having discussions to see where we can help and work together.

Small Business

[François Lapointe, NDP, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, entrepreneurial renewal is key to the country's economic development.

Over the next 10 years, half of Canadian entrepreneurs will sell their assets as a result of demographic changes. If we want to prevent the closure of thousands of SMEs and job losses that will harm the economy, we need entrepreneurial renewal assistance programs that are accessible across the country, such as the youth employment strategy, which was simply eliminated in Montmagny. We must take immediate action to help young people take over from these thousands of entrepreneurs.

What is the Minister of State for Small Business's plan—not scattered and improvised measures, but a plan—to effect this essential entrepreneurial renewal?

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism)]

Mr. Speaker, the plan is really simple and it is working.

The plan is to lower taxes to allow entrepreneurs to make their dreams a reality. We must free entrepreneurs so that they can spend more time doing what they want—and that is building their businesses—instead of filling out government forms.

The plan includes listening to entrepreneurs, as I did in Montreal yesterday when I met with Startup Canada, and encouraging young people to become entrepreneurs.

My time is up, but I would like to be asked this question again so that I can provide more information.

The Environment

[Kyle Seeback, Conservative, Brampton West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals' lip service on climate change set us back decades. Their failure to connect their rhetoric with action can only be described as an absolute breakdown between policy and reality. On the other hand, the NDP's $21 billion carbon tax would increase the cost of everything and do nothing to decrease emissions.

Can the minister outline the positive steps we have taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and lay out our goals for Doha?

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, Canada generates less than 2% of global greenhouse gas emissions, but we are doing our part. We are half way toward our ambitious Copenhagen targets of reducing GHGs by 17%.

The failure of Kyoto to impose binding commitments on major emitting countries cannot be repeated. Too much is at stake. Our government continues to balance the need to lower emissions with job creation and economic growth. We are working for a post-Kyoto agreement that would get real results and bind all major emitters.

Finance

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Speaker, over a year ago, a task force asked the government to give Canadians and businesses better tools to make payments digitally, as with mobile wallets. It noted that not doing so is costing our economic productivity $32 billion a year. Yet, the incompetent government has done nothing, just as it did nothing when businesses were slammed by extra fees for premium credit cards just a few years ago.

Despite the minister's rhetoric a few minutes ago, when will he earn his paycheque and bring forward the rules that we need to keep small businesses from being gouged?

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

Mr. Speaker, if my colleague had been listening about two weeks ago, she would have heard that we actually extended the code of conduct for credit and debit cards to include mobile payments.

We understand that technology advances and that Canadians need to keep up with it, but they also need to be protected to make sure that they understand all of the challenges that come along with this new technology. We are making sure that Canadians are protected, not only from scams but also from the NDP.

Health

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, provinces across the country are concerned about the approval of generic OxyContin. Provincial health ministers have repeatedly asked the government for support but the minister has refused to show any leadership in addressing their legitimate concerns.

For 10 years we have known about the public safety impacts of OxyContin. Why is the minister refusing to co-operate when the provinces have been clear that they are seeking a reasonable solution to an urgent health problem that she should be assisting them with?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, 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 make sure that if Health Canada scientists say these drugs can be beneficial, that these will then be available to the patients who need them. Unlike the opposition, we will not politically interfere in science.

Foreign Affairs

[John Carmichael, Conservative, Don Valley West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, despite repeated calls from the international community not to proceed, the Palestinian Authority is expected to seek non-member observer state status tomorrow at the UN General Assembly. I am extremely concerned by these actions, which will unfortunately do nothing more than to move the parties away from a negotiated settlement.

Would the Minister of Foreign Affairs please update the House on our government's position on these steps and where he will be tomorrow?