House of Commons Hansard #132 of the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was refugees.
Randy Kamp ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and for the Asia-Pacific Gateway
Mr. Speaker, I think my colleague is suffering from the heartbreak of premature exaggeration.
We have said a number of times in this House that the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans had a conversation with fisheries stakeholders about changes they would propose in order to make the fisheries more prosperous and sustainable for the future. The minister and his officials are continuing to look at that feedback and will make some decisions in the future.
Joyce Murray Liberal Vancouver Quadra, BC
Mr. Speaker, a batch of weak responses and inappropriate jokes when 1,000 people are being cut from the staff of Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
It is unworthy to assault knowledgeable and dedicated former ministers for voicing their real concerns about the plan to weaken habitat protection for fish. The government's strategy is to attack anyone who disagrees with it. The four former fisheries ministers from B.C. are just the latest targets.
West coast salmon are far too important to British Columbians to be lost because of the government's petty ideology and gross mismanagement. Why condemn the Pacific fisheries to the fate of the Atlantic cod?
Randy Kamp ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and for the Asia-Pacific Gateway
Mr. Speaker, we did not have much of a conversation with former minister Siddon about Atlantic cod. I suppose we could have.
Let me remind the member that salmon are part of aboriginal, commercial and recreational fisheries. We are going to be protecting those with excellence to ensure that they are available for future generations.
Mark Eyking Liberal Sydney—Victoria, NS
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of International Cooperation is well known for her lavish spending habits and was recently forced to repay taxpayers again for impulsive hotel changes and limos.
Yesterday we learned that she changed her public travel expense claims with no explanation.
Is the minister ready to admit that there are more $16 glasses of orange juice that she has charged to taxpayers? When will she be accountable for her bad behaviour?
Peter Van Loan ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, I think I have answered this a number of times.
Our government is committed to keeping expenses of ministers travelling at a reasonable cost to taxpayers. That is why they are much lower than the hon. member's party spent on ministerial travel when that party was in government.
In the case of the minister in question, all inappropriate costs have been repaid.
Mark Eyking Liberal Sydney—Victoria, NS
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives think it is okay to steal from the poor.
The CIDA minister is an embarrassment to Canada. She is abandoning the world's poorest of the poor by cutting over $400 million from the CIDA budget, just like a laser. At the same time, she is sipping on $16 glasses of orange juice and picking up the tab for wealthy mining companies.
The minister cannot even manage her own travel expenses let alone Canada's international aid and development.
When will the Prime Minister fire the incompetent minister?
Peter Van Loan ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, by that member's standard when his Liberal Party was in government, every single minister in that government would have had to resign. The hospitality expenses of ministers in this government are a small fraction of what the Liberals spent on hospitality. In fact, the spending of all ministers in this government is well below that of the Liberals.
In the case of this one minister, any inappropriate spending has all been repaid.
Dennis Bevington NDP Western Arctic, NT
Mr. Speaker, climate change is opening the Arctic Ocean to fishing for the first time.
Currently there is no international agreement on Arctic Ocean fisheries. Over 2,000 global scientists have called upon the five Arctic coastal countries to hold back the start of commercial fishing in Arctic waters until research is done and management plans are in place.
Canada knows how much damage is done by unregulated international fishing.
In 2013 Canada will be the chair of the Arctic Council. Will the government show leadership and push for a treaty governing fishing in the Arctic?
Randy Kamp ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and for the Asia-Pacific Gateway
Mr. Speaker, the member has raised an important issue.
The minister is engaged in this. He will be consulting, obviously, with his officials and will be moving forward with what is in the best interests of Canada.
Dennis Bevington NDP Western Arctic, NT
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives' hastily announced hunting and angling advisory panel has angered Canada's first nations, Métis and Inuit with their exclusion. They see this action as another attempt by the government to cut them out of environmental decision-making. This is similar to the way the Conservatives want to dismantle environmental review boards in the Northwest Territories.
At the same time, the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development will not reappoint the Inuit chair of the Nunavut Impact Review Board.
Why do the Conservatives want to shut out first nations, Métis and Inuit from roles in protecting their lands and their resources?
Peter Van Loan ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, this is about supporting the traditional practices in Canada of hunting and fishing. This includes the ability of people to engage in those traditional practices, practices that were being interfered with by the very policies supported by that member and the NDP in terms of Canada's long gun registry. We have taken steps to ensure that the long gun registry is now out of the way so that those traditional rights can be preserved.
We are going to have an ongoing dialogue. We are certainly happy to look at others who are interested in supporting those same traditional Canadian values of hunting and fishing.
Niki Ashton NDP Churchill, MB
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives' attacks on science have claimed yet another victim, the world-renowned Experimental Lakes Area research program. This is a devastating blow to environmental science that will be felt for generations, particularly in provinces like Manitoba.
There is no other facility in the world that does this work. In fact, the loss of this program is so serious that scientists around the world are speaking out.
Will the government reinstate this vital research program?
Randy Kamp ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and for the Asia-Pacific Gateway
Mr. Speaker, of course our government is committed to the Freshwater Institute and clean, fresh water. We have shown that by the funds we have put into the Lake Simcoe cleanup fund, for example.
The member is from Manitoba. She knows the Freshwater Institute will still continue to function. We just think that the work done at the Experimental Lakes facility would be better done by a non-governmental association or university.
John Rafferty NDP Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are simply making stuff up as they go along. The minister knows the Experimental Lakes Area is the research facility that made groundbreaking discoveries about acid rain. He knows it identified and helped reduce mercury contamination in coal-fired plants. He knows phosphorus is banned in detergents now because of the facility's work.
The Conservatives need to wake up. When will they stop their dangerous cuts to put our water, our environment and our health at risk?
Randy Kamp ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and for the Asia-Pacific Gateway
Mr. Speaker, as I said, we are committed to research on fresh water. That is why much of what we do at the Freshwater Institute in Winnipeg has generated some very good results in Lake Winnipeg, for example, and in other lakes in central Canada.
On this side of the House, we do not believe that the government has to do everything. We think that the Experimental Lakes facility, which was so useful in the acid rain era, now would be better managed by either a university or a non-governmental organization.
Scott Armstrong Conservative Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley, NS
Mr. Speaker, every year, millions of Canadian families take vacations abroad and they often bring back goods. They often bring back presents. They often bring back mementos from their trips.
However, some of the rules applied to the goods purchased abroad have not been adjusted in decades. That is why our government is adjusting the value of goods that Canadians can bring home duty free and tax free after trips of 24 hours and 48 hours.
Could the parliamentary secretary please explain to us why these changes are good for all Canadians?
Shelly Glover ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, today's change to the travellers' exemption will ease congestion at our borders to help boost trade and allow our border agents to better focus on keeping Canada secure.
This measure will expedite customs clearance for returning Canadian consumers, making business and personal travel more convenient for Canadians. Consumer groups, like the Consumers' Association of Canada, have long asked for this change as well.
However, it is important to note that this will only impact limits for trips over 24 hours, making the exemption amounts for Canadians exactly the same as what Americans can spend here in Canada.
Anne Minh-Thu Quach NDP Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC
Mr. Speaker, half of all children get only three hours of exercise a week. Childhood obesity rates are rising and putting undue pressure on our health and education systems.
When we asked the Minister of State for Sport whether he was worried about the situation, the only thing he could think to say was, and I quote, “keeping our kids active and involved in sports leads to healthier, happier lifestyles”. Honestly.
Is the Minister of State for Sport aware of the extent of the problem and can he tell us exactly what he plans to do to help our children be more active?
Bal Gosal ConservativeMinister of State (Sport)
Mr. Speaker, keeping our kids active and involved in sports leads to healthier and happier lifestyles. That is why our government is working hard to provide families and children with opportunities to take part in physical activity. We have created the children's fitness tax credit and continue to work with Participaction, Le Grand défi, and the provinces and territories to make sure young Canadians stay active and healthy.
Participaction was revived by our government after being let go by the previous government.
Anne Minh-Thu Quach NDP Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC
Mr. Speaker, again we get the same ridiculous and meaningless answer.
Are the Conservatives aware of the extent of the situation? They keep telling us that more and more children are getting physical exercise, but a report released this week shows that that is absolutely not true. Our young people are increasingly sedentary and need more guidance before the situation gets worse.
The minister needs to be honest and admit that he has dropped the ball on this.
Can he do his homework and cut the vapid talking points, which do nothing to help children become more active?
Bal Gosal ConservativeMinister of State (Sport)
Mr. Speaker, we have created a children's fitness tax credit and the NDP voted against it.
Also, working together with Canadian Tire Jumpstart, we have helped nearly 400,000 kids get involved in sports. That is what we are doing for our kids. We want all kids healthy, active and happy. That is what we are doing for children.
Dan Harris NDP Scarborough Southwest, ON
Mr. Speaker, the minister seems to forget that the tax credit does absolutely nothing to help poor kids get active.
The minister keeps fouling out on this issue. Children's health is vital to a healthy future and a healthy Canada. The organization, Active Healthy Kids Canada, gave our kids an F and, just to be clear, that does not stand for fantastic.
In the active play category, something is wrong. The Minister of State for Sport keeps fumbling his portfolio when he cannot even be bothered to read the report. It is not exactly heavy lifting.
Could the minister quote one recommendation from the report?
Bal Gosal ConservativeMinister of State (Sport)
Mr. Speaker, as I said before, keeping our kids active and involved in sports leads to healthier, happier lifestyles, and that is what we are doing.
Working with the provinces, we have created the children's fitness tax credit. Participaction is another program that was revived by the Conservative government and it is helping a lot of kids around the country get involved in physical activity and sports.
Also, with the help of Canadian Tire Jumpstart, we have helped nearly 400,000 kids get involved in sports, in which they were not involved before. That is what we are doing for all Canadian kids.
Dan Harris NDP Scarborough Southwest, ON
Mr. Speaker, it is clear that the minister knows his talking points quite well, and so does everyone else at this point.
The minister is unable to stand and answer the most basic questions about the report. Why is that? It is because the report contradicts his PMO-sponsored talking points. The minister could not even say if he thinks it is acceptable that half of Canadian children get less than three hours of physical activity a week—