House of Commons Hansard #139 of the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was fisheries.
Kellie Leitch ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and to the Minister of Labour
Mr. Speaker, it feels a little like Groundhog Day. I want to say, yet again, in order to ensure that we have a sustainable social system, we are gradually increasing the age from 65 to 67, from 2023 to 2029. We want to ensure there are sustainable social programs for Canadians.
With respect to the GIS, this government has been the one that has gradually and continually increased GIS to ensure that those low-income seniors have what they need.
Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON
Mr. Speaker, people currently paying into these systems are being hung out to dry. Alarm bells are ringing.
The head of the CPP Investment Board said that the Conservative's PRPP needed significant changes, that it would not get the job done. However, the Conservatives are not interested in the facts. They are using this Trojan Horse budget bill to undermine our social safety net.
When will the Conservatives start listening to the experts and the people of our country about what they want and need for decent retirement?
Ted Menzies ConservativeMinister of State (Finance)
Mr. Speaker, that hon. member does not even understand that Canadians do not contribute on an individual basis to OAS. I actually thought the NDP members understood this program. I guess that is why we have heard, and I hope it is wrong, that after question period when we vote on the pooled registered pension plan, a plan that all of the provinces support the framework going forward on, the NDP will vote against it.
It is absolutely unbelievable. We offer up something that would help Canadians and what do NDP members do? They vote against it.
Costas Menegakis Conservative Richmond Hill, ON
Mr. Speaker, when our constituents turn on their TVs or read their newspapers, they can not help but hear what is currently taking place in Europe. After years of high levels of debt spending, many European countries are facing financial crisis. As this eventually could seriously impact the global economy, Canadians watch with concern. While the NDP might want to engage in reckless deficit spending and create bloated government bureaucracies, we see the cost of such fiscal irresponsibility.
Could the Minister of State for Finance please update Parliament on the latest developments on the situation in Europe?
Ted Menzies ConservativeMinister of State (Finance)
Mr. Speaker, it is a very serious situation that we are watching unfold in Europe. We are encouraging Europe to continue supporting itself, not with Canadian tax dollars but with its own money. It has the capacity and the capability to overwhelm this challenge. It is very important that it does.
We have consistently told the Europeans that they have the resources to solve this problem. We certainly hope they will move forward to a timely implementation of this. It is very important for them and it is important for the rest of the world.
Alexandre Boulerice NDP Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister is in trouble these days, and even in hot water.
Information in the Ottawa Citizen indicates that tens of thousands of calls were made for him, in his riding, during the 2008 election campaign, except that this information does not appear in his election report. It is strange. However, telephone calls are made by local campaigns, are they not? Many pieces of the puzzle are missing here.
Will he do the only honourable thing and step aside until the authorities can get to the bottom of this controversy?
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is still making baseless allegations. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister did his job properly and we support him. He has already given the information to Elections Canada.
The member opposite made donations to an openly separatist party, Québec solidaire. Does he continue to support Québec solidaire? Is it still the provincial equivalent to the NDP?
Alexandre Boulerice NDP Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC
Mr. Speaker, trying to change the subject and sending someone to bat to defend the member does not answer the questions we are asking.
Let us get back to the issue at hand. I am not trying to put the cart before the horse; the presumption of innocence still applies, but the allegations against the hon. member for Peterborough are extremely serious.
The Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister says that he will submit new documents. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities says that all the documents have already been submitted. Who is telling the truth?
Once again, will the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister do the honourable thing and step aside during the Elections Canada investigation?
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, I have already answered that question, but the hon. member has not answered the question posed to him.
Québec solidaire is a party that says the PQ and the Bloc Québécois are not separatist enough. The hon. member gave donations totalling $3,700, including $150 which he gave while sitting in a supposedly federal Parliament.
I invite the member to stand in this House and confirm if he continues to be an active financial supporter of the hardest line separatist party in Quebec.
Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON
Mr. Speaker, given the seriousness of the issue, I would suggest the member for Peterborough get a more qualified advocate than the conspiracy theorist from Nepean, because it has been over a week since the election investigation in Peterborough story broke and they still cannot seem to get their stories straight.
The Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister has told Canadians that he will be coming forward with all of the documents soon, but the member from Nepean keeps saying that all of the documents were handed over four years ago. This is a question about the accuracy of the documents and his credibility. When will he bring forward those documents?
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, we have already answered all of those questions, but the NDP has not answered the question that I just twice posed. Perhaps the member who just stood could turn to his seatmate and ask him if he continues to support Québec solidaire, a party to which he gave donations.
While he is at it, he might ask his leader how much in illegal union donations did the NDP accept and how much is it being forced to pay back.
Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON
Mr. Speaker, I do appreciate the eagerness of the member from Nepean to get in the story and change the channel with his little partisan ankle biter routine, but he is not helping the member for Peterborough. We now know thousands of calls were made into Peterborough in the 2008 election and yet no record apparently exists. Where are those documents?
Unfortunately, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister has been compromised. The government can treat this as a joke, or it can take it with the seriousness it deserves. I am asking the hon. member to do the right thing for his party and for Parliament and stand aside while this investigation is ongoing. Will he do that?
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, let us observe the difference here.
The hon. member gave all of the documents that Elections Canada requested almost four years ago. They were audited. They were verified. He has heard nothing from Elections Canada ever since.
On that side, they accepted donations from unions in clear contravention of the law. They were investigated, it was confirmed, and they were found guilty. Now they need to stand and explain to Canadians how many illegal union donations they accepted and how much they paid back.
Marc Garneau Liberal Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC
Mr. Speaker, the government is so incompetent on the F-35 that we are not going to know the cost until October. Oops, there goes point three on the seven point plan, which the government has bragged so much about.
The government decided to buy this airplane two years ago, and we still do not know the cost. What a way to run government. Normally when one buys something, one knows the cost; otherwise it is not very smart to come out and talk about buying it.
Why is the government so incompetent? The taxpayers are getting soaked.
Rona Ambrose ConservativeMinister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women
Mr. Speaker, let me remind the hon. member that no money has been spent on the acquisition of fighter aircraft. What we did see, though, is the Department of National Defence did put forward cost estimates on the F-35, which the Auditor General did not think were accurate. We agree with the Auditor General. We think more due diligence needs to be done. On that note, we have put forward a seven point plan to meet the Auditor General's recommendations.
I will not support tabling the updated cost estimates from the Department of National Defence until they are independently validated and verified. The secretariat has made the recommendation that it needs more time, and we agree with it.
Geoff Regan Liberal Halifax West, NS
Mr. Speaker, defence experts warn that the national shipbuilding program is in jeopardy due to Conservative bungling.
It is worrisome that there is not one signed shipbuilding contract. This would not be the first time the Conservatives failed to deliver on their promise. Arctic icebreakers, supply ships, armoured trucks are just a few examples.
The government is always big on photo ops, but short on delivery. How can shipyard workers have any confidence in the government's job promises?
Rona Ambrose ConservativeMinister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women
Mr. Speaker, after a very transparent, successful and competitive process, two shipyards were chosen in Canada to build our Navy and Coast Guard ships moving forward. Agreements were signed with both shipyards. I have every confidence that both shipyards, Irving and Seaspan, will work very closely over the many years we have a relationship with them to make sure our ships for the Coast Guard and Navy are built on time.
Of course, this does entail a lot of co-operation, collaboration and trust between the shipyards and the Navy and Coast Guard, and I fully expect that will happen.
Niki Ashton NDP Churchill, MB
Mr. Speaker, in Manitoba, the francophone and Métis cultures are under attack from the Conservatives.
Major cuts to culture, such as to the weekly paper La Liberté, are going to undermine our heritage. It is vital to keep the former funding formula, which allows La Liberté to be the voice of French-speaking Manitoba.
Do the Conservatives realize that, with these attacks on the future of the Franco-Manitoban community, they are destroying our rich cultural heritage? When will they reverse the cuts and stand up for Manitoba instead of taking us for granted?
James Moore ConservativeMinister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages
Mr. Speaker, let me provide the hon. member with a clarification. There have been no cuts.
Our investments in this area are completely protected in the budget that is currently before the House of Commons. Our government has increased its funding and has protected it in each of its budgets. We will continue to invest in our heritage in both of Canada's official languages.
The changes she mentions were announced three years ago. I am happy that she has finally opened her eyes and ears, but the announcement was made three years ago. There is no reduction in our investments in this area and for publications of this kind.
Pat Martin NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB
Mr. Speaker, Louis Riel was a hero, not a traitor, a champion to the Métis nation, the founder of Manitoba, a Father of Confederation murdered by the crown, and some even argue the best member for Provencher that Canada has ever elected.
Riel House will not survive without the stable core funding that was reduced to zero in the brutal budget bill. Is $60,000 a year too much to honour the memory of the best member for Provencher ever elected, to honour this great Canadian hero, this icon?
Peter Kent ConservativeMinister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, my colleague asks a great question, but it is somewhat insufficient on facts. We have not eliminated the budget. We have trimmed the budget. Parks Canada is doing its part, as all departments and agencies across government are doing this year.
Riel House National Historic Site is not closing. Visitors will still be able to enjoy self-guided tours, as they can at all of Canada's less visited historic sites. The house will remain open.
Chris Warkentin Conservative Peace River, AB
Mr. Speaker, economic action plan 2012 is a plan for jobs, growth and long-term prosperity here in Canada, a plan that keeps taxes low and helps encourage businesses to expand and create jobs. It is no surprise that on March 29, after only a few short minutes, the tax and spend NDP declared its opposition to this pro-jobs, pro-growth plan. Now, nearly three months later, the NDP, led by its high-tax, big-spending leader, is playing procedural games to try to further delay the implementation of economic action plan 2012.
Would the Minister of State for Finance explain to Canadians why it is so important that we get Bill C-38 passed?
Ted Menzies ConservativeMinister of State (Finance)
Mr. Speaker, in talking to the member for Peace River, I understand that his constituents are very deeply concerned, as are many Canadians, that the NDP is playing games with what is very important at this time, and that is moving forward with our economic action plan, a plan for jobs, growth and long-term sustainability.
I know NDP members think the resource industry is a disease on the country. It is a driver in our country. What are the NDP members voting against? They are planning on voting against a more efficient approval process for these resource development projects. They are planning on voting against better oversight for Canada's housing market and more--
Denis Coderre Liberal Bourassa, QC
Mr. Speaker, let us talk about Riel House. Not only are the Conservatives going to cut the guided tours, they also want to close down the house. All visitors will get will be a leaflet. I am asking for some respect. It was the Conservatives who hanged Louis Riel. Today, they should at least honour his memory.
What are the Conservatives waiting for to make an investment of $50,000 to honour the memory of one of the Fathers of Confederation and the founder of Manitoba?
The hon. member for Saint Boniface is doing nothing and the Métis want something to be done. What are the Conservatives waiting for? They oppose a sex exhibit, but what are they doing to protect—
