Debates of April 30th, 2012

Natural Resources

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

Mr. Speaker, if the government is acting on behalf of Canadians, it should know that Canadians want and deserve a government that conducts responsible environmental reviews.

The government's approach is irresponsible natural resources policy, irresponsible environmental policy and bad energy economics. To be sustainable over the long term and maintain access to markets, we have to responsibly manage the impacts of our natural resources sector, so why is the government changing the rules to exclude Canadians and exclude scientific experts from reviews around crucial issues such as pipelines?

[Joe Oliver, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, there will be every opportunity for a full, comprehensive, independent scientific review.

Furthermore, there will be an opportunity for those who have expertise to appear and to be heard at the hearings. Furthermore, those with a direct interest in the construction of the pipeline will have an opportunity to be heard.

There is a scope for these hearings, and those who have something to say about the scope of the hearings will have an opportunity to be heard. This is an overt and transparent policy.

International Co-operation

[Romeo Saganash, NDP, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the poorest countries are getting cut while wealthy countries are maintaining their aid levels.

This favouritism makes it clear the government is playing games with foreign aid, but what can Canadians expect from a minister who takes $1,000 limo rides to a conference called “Saving Children's Lives”?

Will the Conservatives end this malicious transformation of Canada's previously respected aid system and commit to reversing these inappropriate cuts once and for all?

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Minister of International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, our government wants to ensure that those living in poverty are going to have a great future over the long term.

That is why we want to make sure that our aid is effective and is going to make a difference. This means creating employment, making sure that unemployed youth have a great future. It means saving lives of mothers and children. By being focused, targeted and looking for results, we will succeed and we will help those living in poverty.

[Romeo Saganash, NDP, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of International Cooperation is getting a lot of attention, but for all the wrong reasons.

While she is spending thousands of dollars on limousines and lavish suites, her department is slashing aid to the poorest countries.

Zambia, Rwanda, Niger and Zimbabwe are among the poorest countries in the world, yet they are losing nearly all the assistance they were receiving from the Canadian government.

Can the minister justify the cuts in international aid, especially relative to her luxury lifestyle?

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Minister of International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, we want to get results, as I have said.

For example, today there are 8,000 producers, 150 micro and small agricultural enterprises that saw their revenue increase from 20% to 65% in Senegal. In Burkina Faso 173 organizations have used quality technical financial services to help their people come out of poverty.

This is getting more teachers, more kids in school, more vaccines for children. This is getting results.

Seniors

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, York West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I recently met with advocates against seniors poverty and was told that OAS is the tip of the spear when it comes fighting poverty among Canadian seniors, especially the disabled.

During a recent meeting, the president of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities said that many disabled Canadians count the days until they are 65 so that they can live poverty-free for the first time. Shame on those kinds of statements.

The disabled want to know this: why is the Prime Minister hurting those who can least afford these meanspirited cuts to the OAS?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development]

Mr. Speaker, what we are doing is making sure that OAS is there not just for today's retirees but for future generations as well.

What we are trying to do is make sure that we have a sustainable system that will help all seniors. The member should remember that it was our government that introduced the registered disability savings plan and that signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Our government is standing up for the disabled. It is too bad the opposition will not do the same.

Homelessness

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in Quebec, people can count on the Réseau d'aide aux personnes seules et itinérantes de Montréal, or RAPSIM, an organization that works with 90 agencies that help homeless people. RAPSIM embodies Quebec's consciousness of the reality of homelessness. Indeed, times are tough, but they are even tougher for the homeless.

Why is the minister setting a precedent by refusing to grant RAPSIM its modest subsidy under the federal homelessness partnering strategy, when a federal-provincial committee strongly recommended doing so?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development]

Mr. Speaker, it was our government that signed an agreement with the provinces and the territories in order to provide funding for five years to fight homelessness. We did that.

Across Canada, there are projects with merit, but they will have to apply for funding next year because other applications have greater merit.

Aboriginal Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, it has been almost four years since the Prime Minister stood in this House and promised healing and reconciliation for the aboriginal people of Canada as part of the apology. Since that time, the government has acted in exactly the opposite direction. First, astonishingly, the Conservatives killed the Aboriginal Healing Foundation. Now they have slashed the funding for first nations, Inuit and Métis organizations delivering health and healing from coast to coast to coast in this country.

Will the Prime Minister reverse these cuts or will he admit that the apology was just hollow and a sham?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Minister of Health and Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency]

Mr. Speaker, my priority is to protect the front-line essential services of health care throughout Canada. The answer relating to NAHO is very simple. There was an AFN resolution and a letter from three of the five National Aboriginal Health Organization members. We were asked by NAHO to wind down the organization because it was dysfunctional, and we listened. Why does the member opposite not accept that recommendation coming from the aboriginal leaders?

Fisheries and Oceans

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

Mr. Speaker, families from coast to coast to coast rely on the fisheries for their livelihoods. This industry is an important part of our economy, so people are asking themselves why the government is rolling back decades of important progress in the protection of fish habitat and the sustainability of this important industry.

Why has the Minister of Finance allowed himself to be shoved aside by his colleagues, who are shilling for big oil, and allowed his act to be gutted?

[Keith Ashfield, Conservative, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway]

Mr. Speaker, I welcome the question from the member opposite and congratulate him on his new position.

We are focusing our fish habitat protection rules on Canada's fisheries, not on farmers' fields. For too long, we have heard countless stories about DFO protecting ditches and man-made reservoirs and flood plains when they should have been protecting the rivers, lakes and oceans that are home to our fish.

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

Mr. Speaker, we are not talking about ditches; we are talking about rivers and lakes and the fact that they are not isolated bodies. Their health depends on the entire watershed, just as the health of our fisheries depends on a deeply interconnected ecosystem. Why does the minister not get the fact that firing fish scientists and gutting fish habitat protection will harm our fishing communities and the people who depend on it?

[Keith Ashfield, Conservative, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway]

Mr. Speaker, I was pleased to announce new measures to focus on managing threats to Canada's fisheries to ensure their ongoing productivity and sustainability. These changes will provide greater certainty and consistency for stakeholders such as landowners and will enhance partnership opportunities with provinces, territories, conservation organizations, aboriginals and others.

Foreign Affairs

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this weekend Swiss officials laid charges against a former vice-president of SNC-Lavalin over very serious concerns about corruption, fraud and money laundering in North Africa. It is clear that something is amiss at SNC-Lavalin. Just months ago, the Conservatives sold off Canada's nuclear company, AECL, to the same business. Were they aware of the problems at SNC-Lavalin when they decided to hand over AECL at a rock-bottom price?

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, Canadian consulate officials stand ready to provide consular assistance to Mr. Ben Aissa and are liaising with local authorities to determine his situation.

[Nycole Turmel, NDP, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Mr. Speaker, corruption, fraud, tax evasion: concerns about SNC-Lavalin are not new. We should not forget that it was going to build a $275 million prison for the Gadhafi regime.

Canada must set high standards for companies working abroad. The office responsible for this oversight costs taxpayers money, but produces no results.

Is the government co-operating with Switzerland? Does the tax evasion concern Canada? Will corporate social responsibility finally be taken seriously?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, there are very serious allegations being made against this company. There are very serious investigations going on. The government will do everything it can to support these investigations and to be as helpful as we possibly can.

Anyone who breaks the law should bear the full force of the law. That is something this government strongly supports, in Canada or abroad. High ethical standards for Canadian enterprise are not up for negotiation.

Aboriginal Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, being a former RCMP member and a member of the aboriginal caucus, I can tell members that Canadians are concerned about crime, which is why they gave our government a strong mandate to keep our streets and communities safe. Unlike the opposition, we believe in a balanced approach, which includes stronger sentencing, rehabilitation for those who are truly committed and support for community crime prevention programs.

Can the Minister of Justice please update this House as to the status of the aboriginal justice strategy?

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

Mr. Speaker, this government is committed to the safety and security of Canada's streets and communities. Today, I am pleased to confirm that the government will continue to support the aboriginal justice strategy. This funding helps make the justice system more fair, effective and accessible for first nations. These programs ensure that offenders are held to account. They also have been shown to reduce recidivism rates.

The aboriginal justice strategy helps to address the overrepresentation of aboriginal people in the Canadian justice system both as victims and as offenders. This is further proof that we are the party with a balanced approach to fighting crime in this country.

Government Priorities

[Djaouida Sellah, NDP, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, families of gravely ill children need help right now, not a photo op with the Prime Minister.

The Conservatives made a commitment to help families with gravely ill children during the last election campaign, as well as families of missing and murdered children, but in the recent budget they have not kept their promise.

Why are the Conservatives going back on their promise and washing their hands of sick children and their families?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development]

Mr. Speaker, our government is well aware of the difficulties facing families with seriously ill members. That is why our government has expanded eligibility for compassionate care benefits. And during the last election campaign, we promised Canadians to review these provisions and to help people with gravely ill children. We will keep that promise.

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives keep making cuts they were never honest about before, like the decision to cut the OAS. Now they are backing away from the commitment that they made to the parents of gravely ill children.

The Conservatives brag about having acted to help parents of crime victims, so why are they failing the parents of children who have fallen victim to illness? The Conservatives promised to help. When will they fulfill that promise and why was it not in the budget?