Debates of Nov. 29th, 2012

Compton-Stanstead Townshippers' Association

[Jean Rousseau, NDP, Compton—Stanstead, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is rewarding and a pleasure to be an MP when we take stock of all the work done by different groups in civil society to fill the gap in front-line services left by the Conservative government.

I am always very honoured to meet with people who champion all manner of worthy causes that are often vitally important to the people of a region.

For example, it is important to mention all the work done by the volunteers with the Townshippers' Association in the riding of Compton—Stanstead and throughout the Eastern Townships. The Lennoxville office is a model of co-operation and collaboration among various organizations that help a very important community, one that is part of the identity of this region of Quebec.

Without the tireless efforts of the leaders of the Eastern Townships English-speaking community, the entire history of their ancestors and also a cultural heritage that is important for future generations would be lost. Like them, I will never give in to this government that is desperately trying to divide the Canadian people—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order. The hon. member for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke.

Algonquin College

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to announce that today marks the grand opening of Algonquin College's new $36 million waterfront campus in Pembroke.

Increasing enrollments and the requirement to update classroom and teaching facilities, as well as the need to provide accessible post-secondary education to students in the upper Ottawa valley, made the case for the college which has been serving the needs of students for 45 years.

As the member of Parliament for Algonquin College's Ottawa valley campus, it was my pleasure to work with my caucus colleagues, whose ridings included the Woodroffe and Perth campuses of the college, in providing the federal funding necessary to make this expansion go from a dream to a reality. That includes acquiring $3 million in federal government funding to ensure our new Ottawa valley college campus would be fully accessible to disabled students.

I congratulate college president, Dr. Kent MacDonald, the staff and the students. I hope they enjoy their beautiful new college on the Ottawa River.

Pat Connolly

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Speaker, it is with sadness that I stand in the House today to pay tribute and say goodbye to legendary sports announcer Pat Connolly.

Pat was a fixture in Nova Scotia sports, covering sport news for several radio stations and provincial newspapers. He was a key part of the Halifax Mooseheads team as the announcer. Not all Nova Scotians knew Pat but everyone could recognize his voice calling the plays.

Pat dedicated his life to sports and broadcasting and was inducted into both the Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame and the Cape Breton Sports Hall of Fame. He also gave his time to support numerous community events and charities.

Like the late Danny Gallivan, Pat was vivacious and loquacious. He loved literary tools and tricks and a nice turn of phrase.

His velvet voice will long be missed.

The Environment

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

Mr. Speaker, less than 18 months ago, my colleague from Dufferin—Caledon and I rose in the House to oppose the megaquarry.

A Boston hedge fund wanted to come to Canada and destroy 2,500 acres of prime farmland and natural habitat in Dufferin county by creating one of the largest open pit quarries in Canada. This megaquarry would have stretched three miles across, plunged 200 feet deep and pumped 600 million litres of freshwater each day.

A public outcry ensued. Local residents and organizations, like the North Dufferin Agricultural and Community Task Force, worked tirelessly to fight this megaquarry.

Last week, the Highland Companies responded to the public outcry and withdrew its application. The people spoke. The company withdrew its application. Democracy worked. For now, this prime farmland in southwestern Ontario has been saved.

Employment Insurance

[Craig Scott, NDP, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, losing a job is a terrible blow, but that is why we pay into EI throughout our working lives, expecting the safety net to be there when needed. However, too often EI is unavailable, as I have been learning from constituents in Toronto—Danforth.

David used to be in the telecom sector and paid into EI for 18 years. When he lost his job he went on EI, but after he did a short contract job a month later, he was ruled ineligible for any further EI. With neither a job nor EI, he emphasizes how much stress there is on him and his family.

Nick lost his management job in 2008 when his work unit was outsourced. When EI ran out, he felt he had no other choice but to take reduced CPP to make ends meet. Nick wants to work, not be forced into early retirement.

Such stories as Nick's and David's reveal that EI is broken at the same time as quality jobs are disappearing in Toronto. Both job creation and fixing EI will be priorities of an NDP government.

Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medals

[Parm Gill, Conservative, Brampton—Springdale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians who have distinguished themselves in service to others are an inspiration to us all.

This past weekend, I had the tremendous privilege to present the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal to 27 truly deserving individuals. I would like to take a moment to acknowledge them before the House: Mayor Susan Fennell, Chief Jennifer Evans, Kathleen Jean Armitage, George Chiu, Michael Gagnon, Gurdev Singh Gill, Jagdish Grewal, Bobby Hundal, Rakesh Mohan Joshi, Ashwani Kanda, Nancy Kastner, Tenzin Khangsar, Iqbal Mahal, Verinder Malhotra, Winston Mapp, Nirmal Brar, Ravinder Singh Pannu, William Robert Pesant, Bridge Ramdewar, Kuldip Rai Sahi, Gursharan Bobby Sidhu, Param Sidhu, Anu Srivastava, Bhajan Thind, Jayarajan Palat-Chirakkara-Veetil, Gayle Wilding and Yudhvir Jaswal.

I would like to congratulate every recipient across this great nation who have put forward their tremendous time and effort to help others.

Krystyna Rudko

[Lois Brown, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is with great sadness that I announce the passing of a good friend to many on Parliament Hill, Krystyna Rudko.

Krys was a loyal and respected friend who touched the lives of many. A long-time resident of Ottawa West—Nepean, Krys was internationally recognized for her communications and public policy work. However, her passion was always politics, and she spent many years serving within Conservative circles, taking on leadership roles both at the federal and provincial level.

Always a professional in her career, Krys was just as diligent in her personal life, caring deeply for her friends and community. She served as director of many groups such as the National Capital Opera Society, Canadian Nature Federation and Kiwanis Club.

Krys was also a devoted daughter and cared deeply for her parents, caring for them in their elder years. She was very proud of her Ukrainian heritage and every year hosted a Ukrainian Easter for her neighbours and friends.

Our condolences are extended to friends and family of Krystyna Rudko. She will be missed.

Outaouais Region

[Françoise Boivin, NDP, Gatineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last weekend, the Gatineau Chamber of Commerce held a gala of excellence to recognize the hard work and vision of local companies. Line Charette of Chabitat Construction, La Relance Outaouais, the Château Cartier hotel, Garage du Parc, Nordik Spa-Nature, Rossignol, Bolec, Glatfelter and the Centre cardio-respiratoire Outaouais all made a name for themselves over the past year.

They were given the Excelor award in recognition of their important contribution to our region's entrepreneurial culture. I would like to commend them for their tireless efforts and perseverance in these difficult economic times.

I would also like to mark the passing of the great Marcel Beaudry, a man who played a key role in Gatineau's development during the many years that he chaired the National Capital Commission. He did a great deal for the development of the Outaouais region and its people.

He gave me my first job when I was a young law student. He was a great visionary.

I would therefore like to pay tribute to the memory of this pillar of my community and express my sincere condolences to Marcel Beaudry's family and friends.

Taxation

[Rob Clarke, Conservative, Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK]

Mr. Speaker, winter is finally upon us and with it comes many things that Canadians look forward to, things such as ice skating, outdoor hockey, eggnog and holiday treats, to name a few. Constituents of mine will begin to put up Christmas decorations and make plans for one of our favourite times of the year.

I have heard loud and clear that at this time of year they absolutely do not want to see a $21 billion carbon tax from the NDP. This tax would raise the cost on everything Canadians love over the winter months and throughout the holiday season. This sneaky tax scheme will take money directly from the pockets of my hard-working constituents.

Thankfully, Canadians can maintain their peace of mind this holiday season, for our government will continue to keep taxes low so that they can focus on the things that matter most.

Au Diable Vert Outdoor Centre

[Pierre Jacob, NDP, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Au Diable Vert, which is located in Glen Sutton, in my riding of Brome—Missisquoi. This eco-lodging facility received the Small or Medium-sized Business of the Year Award on November 20 at the 2012 Canadian Tourism Awards.

Julie Zeitlinger and Jeremy Fontana, the owners of this wonderful outdoor centre, accepted this prestigious award at the gala that I attended.

The tourism industry is a real economic engine that generates many jobs in my riding. This industry is driven mostly by small and medium-sized businesses like Au Diable Vert that demonstrate determination, innovation and initiative.

Congratulations to Au Diable Vert on this wonderful accomplishment.

The Economy

[Wladyslaw Lizon, Conservative, Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, over the last six years, Canadians have trusted and can continue to trust this Prime Minister, this Minister of Finance and this government with our economy. As a result, what they have and can continue to count on is a record that Canadians can be proud of, including 820,000 new net jobs, 90% of which are full time, and the lowest debt to GDP ratio in the G7. In addition, the IMF and OECD project Canada to have among the strongest growth in the G7. These are only a few examples of this government's proven record with respect to the economy.

On the other hand, the only thing that Canadians can count on from the NDP is a $21 billion carbon tax with a bonus 1% increase on the GST.

Our record or the NDP's experiments, the choice is clear.

HIV-AIDS

[Frank Valeriote, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Saturday, December 1 is World AIDS Day, an annual commemoration of the more than 25 million people who have died since 1981, and a day to support the 33 million who still live with HIV today.

Through days of awareness such as this and year-long efforts, rates of infection are stabilizing. However, 7,100 people are still newly infected every day and 7,100 will become infected with HIV on World AIDS Day. It is not only vital that we continue to raise awareness, dispel myth and remove stigma, but it is essential that, in memory of those tens of millions dead, we continue to act and prevent further illness and death.

Yesterday we had such an opportunity when voting on Bill C-398. I am saddened that many in the House turned their backs on such an opportunity and the measure failed.

It is with a heavy heart that we commemorate World AIDS Day this year, but it is with hope that I look to the millions of Canadians who work every day to fight this terrible disease.

Liberal Party of Canada

[David Anderson, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Mr. Speaker, it was seven years ago today that, with the ghosts of David Dingwall's entitlements and the Liberal sponsorship scandal haunting these halls, members of the House of Commons stood in their places and defeated the Liberal government. The vote brought an end to the decade of darkness for the men and women in the Canadian armed forces, to the lobbyists making sneaky deals with their Liberal minister friends, to a government with hundreds of priorities but no plan to accomplish any of them, to the Liberal anti-western attitude governing this country, and to the Liberal culture of entitlement.

Since that day seven years ago, the Conservative Party has worked tirelessly to equip the men and women of the armed forces, to clean up the mess of the Liberal sponsorship scandal and to ensure that Canadian families have a low-tax environment that helps create jobs and growth.

We have not stopped there. It was that vote seven years ago that laid the groundwork for our strong, stable, national majority Conservative government.

Conservative Party of Canada

[Pierre Nantel, NDP, Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher, QC]

Mr. Speaker, like my colleague from Sudbury said yesterday evening, I too had a terrible nightmare last night. I dreamed that my statement had been written by a clown, specifically, people from the Prime Minister's Office who were putting words in my mouth.

It went something like this: “My constituents are worried about the Conservatives' decision to impose a $36 billion car tax. This tax will destroy our entire economy, leaving nothing but dust. This tax will force families to crowd into sleds and move to the far north, where there are no cars at all. This tax will even claim the life of little Joey, who lives out in the boonies, because he will now have to walk 30 miles in the snow with no boots to buy potatoes. Why do the Conservatives want to destroy jobs, families and Canada? What kind of federalists are they?” Fortunately, it was just my imagination running wild.

The NDP will never lower itself to that kind of nonsense because NDP members are honest. Still, I realized how difficult it must be to utter the hypocritical nonsense supplied by the Prime Minister's Office over and over. It is not easy to be a government member.

Winston Churchill

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Nepean—Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on Winston Churchill's 75th birthday a young photographer said to him, “I hope, sir, that I will shoot your picture on your hundredth birthday”. He replied, “I don't see why not, young man. You look reasonably fit and healthy”.

If we were to take Winston Churchill's picture tomorrow on his 138th birthday, we would see a warrior in the Boer War, where he was captured and escaped, leaving a note of thanks to his captors for their hospitality; the chief of the Admiralty in the First World War; and the chief defender of western civilization in the Second World War.

On winning the Nobel Prize for literature, the citation said that he was a Caesar with the gift of Cicero's pen. That pen authored 58 books. President Kennedy said, "He mobilized the English language and sent it into battle".

The House of Commons was his battlefield for 62 years where he was the greatest parliamentarian the world has ever seen. On behalf of all parliamentarians, I say happy birthday to Winston Churchill.

Food Safety

[Nycole Turmel, NDP, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Mr. Speaker, a memo that was sent to Canadian Food Inspection Agency and XL Foods inspectors in 2008 asked them to ignore the quality of meat sold in Canada. Here is an excerpt:

Ensure that non-Japan-eligible carcasses are not inspected...Ignore them.

The result: processed beef for Canadian consumers was not inspected as closely as that destined for export.

Why was this directive given?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, in reality, the CFIA confirmed that the meat sold in Canada is just as safe as that exported to other markets, including Japan. In fact, that is the law in Canada.

[Nycole Turmel, NDP, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Mr. Speaker, if the health of Canadians was not in jeopardy, why did the minister change this dangerous directive less than two weeks ago?

Last spring, the minister presented his department's report on plans and priorities, which sets out approximately $46 million in cuts to the CFIA. He compromised the process for inspecting beef for Canadian consumption.

How many inspections will not occur because of these cuts? What fecal contamination rate are the Conservatives willing to accept?

[Gerry Ritz, Conservative, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, everyone knows that safe food is a priority for the government and for CFIA, which enforces those regulations. We continue to build a robust food safety system in the country. We have added 20% to its budgets. We have added hundreds of front line food inspectors. We continue to do that, despite the NDP voting against those initiatives.

[Nycole Turmel, NDP, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Mr. Speaker, what does this minister actually do? It seems he is not responsible for anything.

He failed in his responsibility and duty to ensure that food is safe. This memo, which comes from an agency that he oversees, proves that a two-tier food safety system was put in place under the Conservatives.

Will the Prime Minister apologize for giving priority to export markets to the detriment of Canadians' health?

[Gerry Ritz, Conservative, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, those allegations are absolutely unfounded and untrue. My role as minister is to ensure that CFIA has the capacity from a regulatory standpoint. We just voted through Bill S-11, the safe food for Canadians act, adding to its regulatory powers and ensuring that it has the budgetary capacity and manpower to enforce those regulations.

[Malcolm Allen, NDP, Welland, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the capacity the minister is talking about, clearly this memo was sent in 2008. We then saw 22 Canadians die of listeriosis and they resent the same memo. We then had the Weatherill report and they resent the memo.

Was the minister really not aware front line food inspectors were being directed to ignore food safety procedures? Conservatives have lost all credibility on food safety, so will they now agree to an absolute audit of CFIA, as instructed in the Weatherill report, and do it now?

[Gerry Ritz, Conservative, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, safe food for Canadians is a priority of the government and of CFIA, which enforces those regulations. The member opposite just sat through two hours of CFIA and myself giving pertinent information about these allegations, which are totally unfounded. CFIA has the budgetary capacity, thanks to our government and not thanks to the NDP.

[Malcolm Allen, NDP, Welland, ON]

Mr. Speaker, what we heard for the last two hours was clearly that we had the largest beef meat recall in the county's entire history, courtesy of the minister and CFIA.

Canadians are truly worried about the food they put on their plates. The minister should have resigned months ago, but if the Prime Minister is too stubborn to fire him, will he at least remove CFIA from his portfolio and give it to someone who can actually do the job?