Debates of Nov. 8th, 2012

41st General Election

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of State for Democratic Reform has made it quite clear that we need to improve Canada's elections laws. That is why he will bring forward legislation to do exactly that. We continue to gather input from other sources.

Just the other day I saw media reports of a further report from the chair of Elections Canada suggesting that we should be considering other changes. He will look comprehensively at what needs to be changed and bring forward proposals that will address those problems so we will not have the kind of issues we have had with the Liberals with loans that are not being paid back from their leadership contestants that are effectively illegal donations and the kind of illegal donations—

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Barry Devolin]

Order, please. The hon. member for Toronto Centre.

Correctional Service Canada

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is again for the Minister of Public Safety. Could the minister tell us what facts and documentation in possession of the government led it to settle out of court with Ashley Smith's family? Does the government still have in its possession other videos and documentation with respect to Ashley Smith going back further than just one year? Will the government guarantee that it will not destroy the other videos and documentation in its possession with respect to the treatment of people who have mental challenges and mental problems who have ended up in Canada's prisons?

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, any of the records the leader of the third party is asking for would be in the custody of Correctional Service Canada. As members know, the government has clearly directed Correctional Service Canada to work with the coroner's inquest. This matter is being dealt with in a public forum and in a fully transparent way.

Intergovernmental Affairs

[Scott Andrews, Liberal, Avalon, NL]

Mr. Speaker, we all know that the member for Labrador is drowning in his election irregularities. The management of the relationship between the federal government and the provinces is a major job and the minister is simply not doing his job. His own website shows only three meetings with provincial counterparts, and that was all in 2011. God only knows what he has been doing in 2012. He has been ripping off taxpayers by not doing his job.

Will the minister admit to not doing his job and resign immediately?

[Peter Penashue, Conservative, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada]

Mr. Speaker, sometimes I just cannot believe how rude and how bullish those people can be.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Barry Devolin]

Order, please. The Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs.

[Peter Penashue, Conservative, Labrador, NL]

Mr. Speaker, our government has a strong relationship with provincial and territorial governments. I meet with counterparts regularly and focus on the strength of the province and growing Canada's economy. New exploration and investment are occurring across Canada, especially in Labrador.

In my role as Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, I get to share these success stories with people from coast to coast to coast. I am working hard to ensure that all Canadians benefit.

Justice

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

Mr. Speaker, while the government is slashing front-line services to Canadians, it is spending a record half a billion dollars on lawyers, an increase of almost 40% in the past three years alone. Instead of doing the right thing, it is telling people it will see them in court. The Conservatives are using the courts to quash first nations child rights and to fight with veterans over the clawback of their military pensions.

When will the government work with Canadians on finding real solutions rather than spending millions of dollars on lawyers?

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

Mr. Speaker, at any given time the federal government is involved with nearly 50,000 litigation files. The costs are based on a number of cases, including fighting on behalf of residential school survivors as well as fighting against big tobacco.

We make no apologies for defending the rights of Canadians in court.

Foreign Investment

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

Mr. Speaker, the chief energy researcher at CNOOC recently gave a speech in Beijing. He warned oil industry executives that if Canada did not approve the construction of pipelines to China, the oil sands would become outdated.

The Nexen deal has not even been approved and CNOOC is already announcing its intentions to get greater access to the oil sands.

Why are the Conservatives letting themselves be intimidated by this Chinese state-owned company that only wants to help itself to our energy resources?

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

Mr. Speaker, with all due respect to the member, there was a lot of fabrication in her question.

Obviously, every decision regarding foreign investment is always made in the best interests of Canadians. As for the potential CNOOC-Nexen deal, it is a matter of determining whether there is a net benefit to Canada. I repeat that the deal is now being carefully examined.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives seem to have a hard time understanding their new investment agreement with China.

Do the Conservatives realize that under this agreement, giving national treatment to Chinese state-owned companies means that they have the same rights as those given to Canadian companies with respect to purchasing new oil leases and expanding their operations in Canada?

[Gerald Keddy, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, as I explained yesterday, the FIPA between Canada and China is about recognizing Chinese investment rights in Canada and Canadian investment rights in China. It is as simple as that. There is nothing nefarious about this.

I would ask the hon. member, though, why the NDP consistently opposes trade. Why would it allow members of the NDP, like the member for British Columbia Southern Interior, to say that trade threatens the very existence of our nation? Where does that mindset come from and what does that say about the future of the NDP?

Government Accountability

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates worked diligently to identify key reforms to improve the capacity of MPs to deliver their constitutional duty to scrutinize government spending, reforms based on the advice of renowned parliamentary experts. Despite two similar reports over the last decade, the government voted to throw these reforms in the dustbin.

Why is the government refusing to make the very reforms needed to usher in the once-promised open, transparent, participatory democracy?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada overwhelmingly agreed with the recommendations from that particular committee. Specifically, I can say to the House that there is a direct relationship now, a new structure, for approving spending that will provide taxpayers and parliamentarians with a clear and traceable line between spending approvals and specific government programs. No other government has done this. We are proud of the initiatives that we have taken to improve transparency and improve the ability of parliamentarians to review the budget.

[Denis Blanchette, NDP, Louis-Hébert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in any case, they did not listen to the key recommendation with regard to the Parliamentary Budget Officer.

At the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates, the Conservatives contributed to drafting and adopting the committee report, which suggested many ways to make government finances more transparent. The committee spent months and months working on this.

But yesterday, instead of standing up, doing their job and defending the report, the Conservatives supported an irresponsible amendment to shelve it and undo their own work.

Can any of the Conservative members of the committee explain this about-face?

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Barry Devolin]

Order.

The President of the Treasury Board.

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

Mr. Speaker, as I said, we agreed with most of this committee's and the report's recommendations. It is important to have more transparency and accountability. We accept this report. It is important in order to have members' support for the budget. We accept most of the recommendations.

Veterans Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, Remembrance Day is a time for all Canadians to remember the sacrifices of Canada's fallen. As parliamentarians, we are privileged to stand in the House regardless of political differences and represent the very democracy of Canada's veterans who fought and gave their lives for us.

Would the Minister of Veterans Affairs comment on the importance of recognizing the services and sacrifices of Canada's veterans?

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the member for Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, a former RCMP officer, is absolutely right. We as Canadian parliamentarians owe a tribute to our veterans because it is due to their sacrifice that we can stand for democracy in this very House.

On the weekend, I invite all parliamentarians to take the time to thank the veterans, reach out to them, lay a wreath and say thank you. Canada thanks you for the sacrifices you made for our country.

The Environment

[François Pilon, NDP, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, because of bad Conservative policies, only four lakes in Quebec are now protected.

I would reply to my hon. colleague from Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel that the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities has even said that he would not go everywhere and into every café to consult people. He believes that consultation with representatives is enough.

Can the minister tell us who in Sorel finds it acceptable that Lac Saint-Pierre is no longer protected, even though it is home to the largest archipelago in the St. Lawrence and the largest heronry in North America?

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague is talking about herons, while we on the other hand are talking about boats. That makes all the difference. We are talking about two completely different things. What we want to talk about is navigation. We want to manage any area where navigation is used. Environment officials will manage the environment and Fisheries and Oceans people will manage their department. The opposition members are mixing everything up.

As for navigation, we will continue to ensure that what needs to be done is done for Canada's economy. The municipalities and provinces have all asked us to eliminate delays in awarding contracts and issuing mandates.

[Dan Harris, NDP, Scarborough Southwest, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Muskoka minister made sure that his lakes and rivers were protected in the budget, just not other important waterways that support recreation and fishing.

The Bowmanville Creek in the riding of Durham is a great example. The creek has recently seen salmon stocks improve due to local efforts. Sadly, the Conservatives' new budget bill would remove protection from this waterway. Bridges and impediments would go through without federal review.

Why did the Conservatives abandon the protection of this waterway?