Debates of Nov. 6th, 2012

The Economy

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

Mr. Speaker, this week our Prime Minister is in Asia telling the Canadian economic success story to the world. That story is one of the best job growth in the G7, the best fiscal position in the G7 and a beacon of economic light to the world. Under our Prime Minister's great leadership, Canada has become the economic model to the world. Canada is a better place for it. The world is a better place for it.

While the NDP advances a $21 billion job-killing carbon tax, also known as the NDP economic pain, our government will advance our Conservative economic plan, the economic plan that is the model for the world and will ensure a great quality of life for Canadians for generations to come.

Foreign Affairs

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, in trade talks with India, Canada has consistently demanded the independent power to verify that Canadian nuclear material is used only for peaceful purposes.

Can the government confirm that the Prime Minister obtained such guarantees from the Indian government?

In trade talks with India, Canada has consistently demanded the independent power to verify that Canadian nuclear material is used only for peaceful purposes. Could the government tell us, yes or no, whether the Prime Minister's nuclear agreement with India includes these guarantees?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has strong obligations with respect to nuclear proliferation. They are obligations we take incredibly seriously. I can tell the House and all Canadians that the agreement the Prime Minister signed today will not only help create a lot of jobs in Canada, it will honour all of our international agreements to ensure that Canadian nuclear material does not make its way into a weapons program.

Foreign Investment

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have a funny habit.

The Prime Minister was in Russia when he announced the new investment agreement with China. The Prime Minister was in Switzerland when he announced that the retirement age would go from 65 to 67 here in Canada. Yesterday, in Beijing, Canada's ambassador said that the decision to approve the Nexen takeover would be made by December 10 and that the deadline would not be furthered extended.

Why was this announcement made in China and not in Canada? Why do they give Chinese executives more information than they are prepared to give Canadians?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I think that report has since been corrected.

The Prime Minister announced a foreign investment promotion and protection agreement to ensure that Canadian businesses enjoy in China the same rights and privileges that Chinese businesses have in Canada. He announced that in China after meeting with his Chinese counterpart and was able to sign it on the margins of an international conference.

We can all be very proud that Canadian businesses are competing around the world, and our government is doing all it can to ensure they are successful abroad so they can create more jobs here at home.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the question is, why do Canadians learn about these decisions from late night press releases, while Chinese oil executives are given a full briefing by our ambassador?

Under the Conservatives' new Canada-China investment agreement, China will now have the unlimited right to buy up new leases on Canadian natural resources, through companies like Nexen. If a province such as Alberta tries to limit Chinese ownership, it could be challenged under the law and dragged into international courts. Is this what Conservative MPs came to Ottawa to do, to sell off Alberta's natural resources to China?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, there he goes again with his tinfoil hat predictions.

The foreign promotion and protection agreement is something that Canadian investors, Canadians, Canadian businesses and people who look at their pension plans and RRSPs want in order to ensure that with any investments made in China, Canadian operations have the same rights and privileges ensuring that those investments are safe and secure.

Canadian businesses are competing around the world. They are competing with the best and they are winning. We want to ensure that they enjoy the same legal protection. That is exactly what our government is doing, and that is creating a lot of jobs and opportunity.

Government Accountability

[Peggy Nash, NDP, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Budget Officer's most recent report proves that the Conservatives are still hiding key information about the budget cuts.

Canadians are being asked to tighten their belts, but the Conservatives are refusing to explain the impact of the cuts on services. The Parliamentary Budget Officer has less than 3% of the information on the Conservatives' cuts.

Why are they hiding this information?

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

Mr. Speaker, we continue to be accountable to Parliament in accordance with the usual procedures regarding estimates, quarterly financial reports and public accounts. The departments provide Parliament with public information about their finances, and the government continues to provide the PBO information in accordance with his mandate.

[Peggy Nash, NDP, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, they are not doing great so far.

When the Indian government offered bulletproof Mercedes S-Class for the Prime Minister, he said “no thanks” and blew $36,000 an hour to bring over his own limos. Meanwhile, the Conservatives are throwing people out of work and slashing programs and services that Canadians rely on.

However, when the PBO asked for details, only a third of departments reported the number of planned staff reductions. Is this information being deliberately withheld from the PBO, or do they honestly have no idea what they are doing?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I am tremendously proud, and all Canadians are tremendously proud, to see our Prime Minister representing our great country abroad, fighting for trade and jobs.

Operational security issues are dealt with by the RCMP, as we would expect them to be. I want to say that all of us on this side of the House, when we have to deal with terrorism, when we have to deal with security, are going to take the advice of the RCMP over the NDP every single time.

Intergovernmental Affairs

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as we do know that the Prime Minister is prepared to go almost anywhere in the world, is he also prepared to meet with the premiers in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada to deal with the issues that affect all Canadians on the economy?

Every single issue that affects the federal government affects the provinces as well. Every successful federation involves prime ministers and premiers, first ministers, all meeting together in co-operation. Whether it is Germany or India or any other federation in the world, first ministers meet.

Why would they not meet when the Prime Minister goes to Halifax?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister regularly meets with provincial premiers and territorial premiers from coast to coast to coast, all the time.

We have a constructive working relationship. At the bottom of the economic downturn, when the Canadian economy was really struggling, we had unprecedented co-operation with Conservative, Liberal and New Democratic governments, all working together to bring forward a stimulus plan to create more jobs and more opportunities.

I have good news: the plan worked. We have seen more than 800,000 net new jobs created. That is the Prime Minister's leadership.

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure that Canadians would not mind if the Prime Minister took his limousine to Halifax if he wanted, if that meant that the Prime Minister would finally meet not just a premier or two, but all the provincial premiers together in order to deal with our economic problems and challenges.

That is how every successful federation operates. The Prime Minister of Canada is the only one who refuses to attend the first ministers' meeting. Why not deal with our economic challenges together instead of individually?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, under the Prime Minister's leadership, we have had unprecedented co-operation in tackling Canada's economic challenges over the past four years.

Every single provincial premier, Liberal, NDP, Conservative, all put politics aside. We brought forward one of the most ambitious economic action plans. We worked together quickly to roll that out, and great things happened. Since the bottom of the recession, we have seen the creation of some 800,000 net new jobs. That is an incredible accomplishment, and it happened through co-operation and through leadership by this Prime Minister.

Foreign Investment

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when talking about the situation of the economic environment in India, the Minister of International Trade said that “we [still] have a relatively opaque investment environment here in India”.

I wonder if the minister can tell us, what did the Prime Minister tell the Indian government about the climate for foreign investment in Canada? What did he tell them about the rules? What did he tell them about the definition of net benefit? What did he tell them about the process that would be gone through? What did he tell them about the transparency in this country?

It could well be argued that we have an opaque economic environment—

[The Speaker, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs.

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I can tell the members what the Prime Minister discussed with our Indian friends during his visit. What he is discussing is how Canada is a magnate for jobs, investment and opportunity. He told them about our low tax plan to create jobs. He told them about our plans to ensure we have effective but not overly burdensome regulations. He told them about the fact that we do not have a large $21 billion carbon tax. He told them that the source of so much Indian wealth could be buying goods and services from this great country, that Canada is responding to the international trade challenges, and that we can create a lot of jobs together.

Correctional Service Canada

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

Mr. Speaker, in her 11 and a half months in federal custody, Ashley Smith was involved in 160 use of force incidents. She was subjected to a barrage of inhumane treatment: pepper spray, tasering, duct tape, and chemical restraints.

We know our correction system failed Ashley Smith, and we know that the correctional investigator has put forward basic recommendations to prevent tragedies like this from ever happening again.

Once again I ask the minister, will he commit today to fully implementing these recommendations on dealing with mental illness in our correction system so there are no more tragedies like Ashley Smith's?

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, this is a very sad case. Our thoughts go out to Ms. Smith's family.

This tragedy continues to show that individuals with mental health issues do not belong in prisons but in professional facilities. At the same time, our government continues to take concrete steps on the issue of mental health in prison. Since 2006, we have invested nearly $90 million in mental health for prisoners, and we have taken action to improve access to mental health treatment and training for staff.

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

Mr. Speaker, a tragedy is an accident; it is something that cannot be foreseen. In the case of Ashley Smith and too many women suffering from mental illness, someone should have seen this coming.

For a week now, the NDP has been asking questions about this and calling on the Conservatives to implement the recommendations made by the Correctional Investigator of Canada. For some time now, the investigator has been calling for the creation of treatment programs for offenders who have a history of self-injury.

Will the Conservatives take the advice of the Correctional Investigator of Canada, yes or no?

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, we continue to work with the correctional investigator, and we review all of his recommendations.

However, I would note that the NDP, while consistently speaking on behalf of prisoners, never speaks on behalf of the victims of these prisoners. It never talks about the damage done to people outside of prisons. I wish New Democrats would take a more balanced view about what it means to have a safe society, not simply the individuals in the prisons, but those who are abused outside of the prisons.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, is that minister capable of understanding that she was the victim here?

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I have made it very clear where our government stands on that, and I am very proud of the position that the Prime Minister took in terms of ensuring that our officials in Correctional Service Canada co-operate completely with the coroner.

I would like to ask that member, who has never once stood and spoken for victims, why is it that he is always silent when it comes to victims outside of our prisons?

Veterans Affairs

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this week before Remembrance Day is not a time for partisan rhetoric. We should be focused on improving care for veterans and their families. We should all agree that impoverished veterans deserve a proper burial service equal to the sacrifice they made for this country.

I would like to ask the minister once again, does he believe that every veteran who serves this country deserves a proper and dignified burial service?