Debates of Sept. 17th, 2012

Ethics

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to following election rules, the NDP has always conducted itself with integrity, but the same cannot be said for the Conservatives.

The situation is quite simple: Barrick Gold lobbied the Prime Minister's chief of staff. Nothing wrong to that point. But there is a problem when we consider all the personal relationships between the Prime Minister's chief of staff and Barrick Gold. That is suspicious, and we wonder if political decisions were influenced. This must stop. The Conservatives must assume their responsibilities and follow the rules.

Where is the Conservative plan to ensure that friends of the party will never again be given preferential treatment?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I said it in French and I will say it in English. Mr. Wright is a man of unimpeachable integrity. He has followed all of the rules. There is no evidence whatsoever to the contrary.

What we know for certain is that the NDP has been caught and found guilty of accepting $340,000 in illegal union money. We banned union donations because we did not believe that workers should be forced against their will to give to political causes they do not support. The NDP did not care. It was happy to rob workers blind. We will not stand for it.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, enough of the fantasy, let us look at the facts.

When Barrick Gold wanted to get the ear of the Prime Minister, it called its good buddy Nigel Wright. He of all people should understand the importance of conflict of interest, but he allowed himself to be lobbied not once, not twice, but three times in a classic case of “who you know in the PMO”.

Will the government recognize that it needs to clean up its act and work with us to bring in some real legislation with real teeth to close up this kind of backroom lobbying?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, we already brought in such legislation. It is called the Accountability Act. It was our first priority and the first bill that we passed in the House of Commons. Happily all of our government, including and especially the Prime Minister's chief of staff, has been following it ever since.

The same cannot be said of the NDP, because that very same act banned union contributions to political parties. The NDP knew that because it voted to ban those contributions, but then proceeded to accept them and then cover it up. Even when they were asked how much was involved, they refused to admit it. It took a courageous NDP whistleblower to actually get the news out of what their leader was trying to cover up: $340,000.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this issue is sticking to them like Skippy peanut butter. I would like to ask the member not to try and skip away from the ethical lapses, whether it be the slush fund in Muskoka or peddling off radio stations at basement fundraisers or having a secret bat phone for Barrick Gold into the PMO.

The Conservatives are challenged. Will they work with us to actually start cleaning up their act and bring in legislation that would stop this kind of backroom manipulation, yes or no?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the question is not whether we will introduce such legislation, it is whether the NDP will start following it.

When we brought in a bill to crack down on excessive lobbying, the members of that party knew what was in the bill. They also knew that it included an explicit ban on union contributions. There is no ambiguity on that subject whatsoever, yet over the years they systematically accepted $340,000 in illegal union money. They tried to cover it up. Canadians, particularly workers, will not stand for it.

Government Advertising

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, on the heels of Gomery, the Conservatives came to power promising frugality and transparency in spending on advertising. Instead of meeting deadlines, instead of being transparent, instead of frugality, the government has spent more and dragged its heels reporting. When asked why the delay in reporting on the last two years' advertising costs, the response was, “It's complicated”.

Accountability is only complicated when we are trying to avoid it. When will the government disclose the full costs of promoting the economic action plan?

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

Mr. Speaker, of course, this government will report in due course to Parliament, as we are obligated to do, when we have all the facts on the table.

Speaking of facts on the table, it is a fact that the party on the other side, her party, wanted to impose an additional $20 billion on taxpayers throughout this country through its carbon tax scheme.

Why is she not talking about that and apologizing to Canadians about that?

Employment Insurance

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

Mr. Speaker, like many Canadians, I took the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development at her word when she said changes would be made to benefit those who work while on claim to keep more of what they earn.

Whether or not she was aware, at the time, she said nothing about the new hidden disincentives to work. Clawing back wages from the first dollar made was a change that was never mentioned by the minister. I am sure she knows now these changes will hurt low weekly wage earners.

Will she admit today, in fact, there is a new hidden clawback and, further, will she commit to having it removed?

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

Mr. Speaker, our role as the government is to create jobs and to let the economy grow. As we create those jobs, we need people to help fill those jobs. Therefore, we are taking away disincentives that were in the EI program that discouraged people from working when there was a job available to them.

We are working so that Canadians, when they are on claim and they have the opportunity to work, two, three, or four days of work, it is worth their while. We are supporting them and helping them connect with the jobs that are available to them.

[Judy Foote, Liberal, Random—Burin—St. George's, NL]

Mr. Speaker, the minister responsible for EI wrongly claims new rules benefit those who accept additional work. That is not the case for claimants making less than $264 per week.

Loretta Ward, from my riding, earned $230 every two weeks, working part time at a school, but was forced to quit her job after the government clawed back $115 from her paycheque. Factoring in work-related expenses, it no longer made sense for her to accept additional work.

When will the government stop attacking low-income earners and remove this financial disincentive to work?

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

Mr. Speaker, it used to be the case when someone went on claim and they worked three or four days a week, their earnings would got clawed back off their EI, dollar for dollar. Every time they worked and got paid another dollar, they lost a dollar in EI, so they were discouraged from working.

We are changing that. Now they get to keep 50¢ on the dollars that they make. That is good for them, and it is good for their families and for their communities.

[Lise St-Denis, Liberal, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in Bill C-38, the current government imposes new appeal and review procedures on employment insurance applicants. Applicants' files will now be reviewed by public servants, which effectively eliminates any legal challenge process.

Is the government trying to do away with the principles of judicial independence that have always guided the decisions made by previous governments?

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

Mr. Speaker, we want every claimant who appeals a decision to receive a fair and quick decision. We are making changes to the program to bring in full-time public servants who will specialize in the field and who will make fairer and more consistent decisions. These public servants will enable people to receive a decision in an efficient and fair manner.

The Environment

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives had the entire summer to listen to Canadians and reconsider their decision to close the Experimental Lakes Area. They will be abandoning several years of investment in research, which helped ban phosphates and combat acid rain and could help us better understand the effects of exploiting the oil sands.

We know that the Conservatives do not want to understand, but why deprive Canadians of this expertise?

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, we are not closing the Experimental Lakes Area.

We have made it very clear to all stakeholders and interested parties that the intent is not to close the Experimental Lakes Area. Environment Canada will assist the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in finding a suitable organization or a consortium to manage operations so that research by the academic community can continue.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, that is not going to work because we have had international scientists who say that this work cannot be replaced. However, the cuts to ELA are just part of a larger worrying trend because the Conservatives are on track to eliminate all funding for contaminants research across all government departments. This is a reckless policy that puts the health of Canadians at risk. Stopping the study of pollution is not going to make it go away.

When will the Conservatives stop acting like 1950s tobacco executives? When are they going to stop downloading the cost of environmental cleanup on the next generation?

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, again, the assumption in that question is simply false.

Getting back to the experimental lakes program, Environment Canada is now using the very important science that we drew from that program to look at acid rain situations in other lakes in other parts of the country that are threatened by expanding development. As the responsible management decision, Environment Canada is now placing emphasis on other areas of potential negative impact, including acid rain and its impact on vulnerable lakes.

Fisheries and Oceans

[Guy Caron, NDP, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Conservative attacks on science do not stop at the experimental lakes.

Everyone in eastern Quebec has been very concerned because an unusually high number of baby belugas, fish and Northern gannets have been found dead in the St. Lawrence ecosystem.

While experts are looking for answers, the Conservatives have fired two-thirds of the scientists in the ecotoxicology department at the Maurice Lamontagne Institute, which studies marine polluters, and they want to shut down the entire department within two years, even though they were the ones who opened it in 2007.

Do the Conservatives not understand that their cuts to science are hurting the entire country?

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

Mr. Speaker, obviously science is the backbone of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and we are committed to maintaining our investments in science. Our record is solid. We have spent millions and millions of dollars since 2006 to ensure that our environment is protected, and our species are protected whether they be ocean or air.

Science and Technology

[Kennedy Stewart, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the reality is that the Conservatives are attacking scientific funding and research right across the board. After getting rid of his science adviser, ending the Experimental Lakes Area and cutting Canada's ozone network, this summer the Prime Minister went on to give us the punchline to this sad joke:

—things are evaluated on an independent basis, scientifically, and not simply on political criteria.

Could the Minister of State for Science and Technology name one policy decision where he was in fact guided by science and not politics?

[Gary Goodyear, Conservative, Minister of State (Science and Technology) (Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario)]

Mr. Speaker, this government has increased support for science and technology, and research and development at every single opportunity we have had, including eight billion new dollars since 2006. Every single time the NDP has voted against it. In fact, I want to welcome the member to the science and technology file because none of this was in his party's election platform. Welcome to the 1990s at least.

Foreign Affairs

[Costas Menegakis, Conservative, Richmond Hill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Iran continues to move forward with its nuclear ambitions while ignoring its international obligations. Its human rights record is atrocious and it has shown utter contempt for the Vienna Convention in the past.

Could the hardworking Minister of Foreign Affairs please update the House on the principled approach Canada has taken with its relations to Iran?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, Iran continues to ignore its international obligations. It continues to ignore the United Nations. Its nuclear program is moving forward unabated. Iran continues to abuse the fundamental human rights of the Iranian people and, most importantly, it continues to ignore its responsibilities under the Vienna Convention to protect foreign diplomats.

As such, we have taken the difficult but necessary decision to remove our staff from Tehran and to expel Iranian diplomats here in Ottawa. We are also pleased to announce today that Italy has agreed to act as Canada's protecting power in Tehran and, as always, we strongly implore Canadians against travelling to Iran.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[Malcolm Allen, NDP, Welland, ON]

Mr. Speaker, severe moisture shortages coupled with record high temperatures have left many farmers in Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada in dire straights.

The Conservative government's response is to offer little support and to ignore farmers altogether. For example, the recently announced livestock deferral program does not even cover all the drought affected areas and it does absolutely nothing for the horticultural growers.

When will the government finally come forward with a balanced and robust response to this devastating drought?