Debates of Jan. 30th, 2013

Intergovernmental Affairs

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. member for Essex.

The Economy

[Jeff Watson, Conservative, Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's economy is the envy of our largest trading partners. From creating more than 900,000 net new jobs since July 2009 to being among the strongest GDP growth in the G7, Canada is a global leader.

Canada's abundant natural resources have helped bolster our economy and create jobs across Canada.

Could the Minister of Finance announce the latest news on how resource development is helping all of Canada?

[Ted Menzies, Conservative, Minister of State (Finance)]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Essex for that question.

Today the economist at Scotiabank announced that auto sales climbed last year by a 6% margin, largely due to the strength of the resource-rich provinces, such as Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.

More auto sales mean more jobs for Canadians all across this country and more jobs in Ontario. Our government looks at this evidence. This is more evidence that a strong resource sector makes a strong country. We will not—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. The hon. member for Welland.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[Malcolm Allen, NDP, Welland, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the food packaging regulations snuck into last fall's omnibus budget bill caught an entire industry off guard. Newly released government documents confirm that no studies were completed before announcing these changes. We also know there were no public consultations and no industry input. Thousands of good quality jobs are at risk yet the minister has not done a single market impact study.

Why is the minister determined to destroy southern Ontario's food packaging industry and ship thousands of jobs to the United States?

[Gerry Ritz, Conservative, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, none of that is true. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency continues to do assessments on this, but its first priority must remain food safety. Container size of course has nothing to do with food safety.

We as a government continue to discuss these issues with the food industry. I had great meetings last week with my colleagues from southwestern Ontario and Leamington, as we continue to work on this dialogue and work with the industry to ensure they have continued success in the food packaging industry here in Canada.

[Ruth Ellen Brosseau, NDP, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister can say what he likes, but the reality is that the new packaging policy will result in American products flooding our markets, which in turn will lead to the closure of many food processing plants.

Political stakeholders are calling for the Conservatives to reverse this decision, which is bad for Canadian farmers and the entire food industry.

It is surprising that the lobbyists' favourite is refusing to listen to experts, entrepreneurs and local communities.

Will the minister reverse his decision to protect our jobs?

[Gerry Ritz, Conservative, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, the biggest thing the member opposite misses is that the greatest threat to the viability of the farm sector and the food processing sector is a $21 billion carbon tax. That would hit them right between the eyes, right in the wallet, and of course not serve them at all.

We continue to have a very constructive dialogue with everyone in the food processing sector in this great country, as we do with farmers in this great country. We all want to continue the success that they are enjoying and we will work with them in that regard.

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada

[Chris Charlton, NDP, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Mr. Speaker, lost jobs, lost private sector information. I did not think it was possible for the government's record to get even worse.

Over half a million Canadians had their names, social insurance numbers, dates of birth, contact information and loan balances all lost, but it took pressure and several class action lawsuits for the Conservatives to react at all. Now, piece by piece, they are making announcements that frankly are not good enough.

When will the Conservatives properly help these victims and when will they take privacy protection seriously?

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

Mr. Speaker, the loss of this information by the department was totally unacceptable. Let us be very clear about that. That is why we took steps to inform the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and to bring in the RCMP. Fortunately, so far there does not appear to be any evidence that the information has been used fraudulently.

However, I have instructed a complete overhaul of security systems and processes in the department and we have engaged Equifax on a long-term contract to help protect the credit of the individuals affected.

[Charmaine Borg, NDP, Terrebonne—Blainville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government lost the personal information of a hundred thousand Canadians. As a result of the Conservatives' incompetence, taxpayers will have to pay for credit monitoring for all those affected.

But it does not stop there. Three class action suits have been launched in relation to this loss of personal information. The Conservatives' mistakes are costing taxpayers a lot of money.

Can the Conservatives confirm that the practices of all the departments have been reviewed so that this unacceptable situation does not happen again?

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

Mr. Speaker, the loss of this information by the department was totally unacceptable. Let us be clear about that.

That is why I have asked the department to review all the computer security systems to make sure that Canadians' privacy is protected. That is why we have engaged Equifax on a long-term contract to help protect the credit of the individuals involved.

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, York West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we know the government's bungling has exposed thousands of student loan recipients to identity theft. We know the minister is offering bogus protection to these victims of her own incompetence, but we still do not know the key details of the security breach. The minister said the hard drive was noticed missing November 5 but it is likely that it went missing earlier.

Why does the government not just come clean and tell the House how long this personal information has been in the hands of possible criminals?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I have said, the loss of this information by the department is totally unacceptable. That is why we have engaged the RCMP to conduct a criminal review to see what happened. We have also advised the Privacy Commissioner of the situation.

We have taken real steps to protect the credit of the individuals involved. I have instructed the department to completely overhaul both the systems and the processes regarding the security of Canadians' private information, and it has already begun to do so, because we want to respect that completely. That is a priority for us.

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

Mr. Speaker, people are coming forward with concerns around identity theft. Ms. Greene from P.E.I., who became a victim of identity theft in May 2012, outlines a compelling case where she traces the information breach back to the student loans program. There are other cases.

Could the minister state unequivocally that the theft of Ms. Green's identity cannot be attributed to the most recent bout of incompetence? Could the minister tell us when the last time the hard drive was in the government's possession, or does the minister have no idea when the information was lost?

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

Mr. Speaker, the loss of this information is totally unacceptable and we take it very seriously. That is exactly why we—

[Some hon. members]

Oh! Oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. The hon. Minister of Human Resources has the floor.

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Haldimand—Norfolk, ON]

Mr. Speaker, that is exactly why we have brought in the RCMP to make sure that we have all of the details, all of the facts, and so that the appropriate steps can be taken depending on what results emerge.

We want to assure Canadians that we are taking every step possible to protect their privacy, to protect their information in the future, because that is what they deserve.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

[Sylvain Chicoine, NDP, Châteauguay—Saint-Constant, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are using the courts to lower disability benefits for retired RCMP members, which is a blatant double standard.

An agreement with Canadian Forces veterans was recently reached as a result of a class action lawsuit.

When will the Conservatives finally step up to the plate and treat all veterans fairly and stop making cuts to benefits for retired RCMP members?

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

Mr. Speaker, for any employees under our direct control, we have compassion for them and their disability issues. At the same time, we are custodians of taxpayer money. The issue that the hon. member has raised is before the courts.

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS]

Mr. Speaker, it is typical to hear that minister talk about taxpayers' money.

A court case costs $68 million in legal fees, $82 million in accrued interest, for a total of $150 million, which was wasted fighting disabled veterans in this country. Shame on the government. Shame on the minister. Did the government learn its lesson? No. Now it is attacking disabled RCMP veterans.

The government could solve this problem right now, save taxpayers some money and show RCMP veterans and their families the respect they deserve. The government could settle this out of court and give RCMP members the dignity and the income support they so richly deserve.

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

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the hon. member's legal advice.

On this side of the House we have a record that is second to none when it comes to ensuring that employees have the disability benefits they should have. We take a backseat to no one. At the same time we are custodians of taxpayer money and this issue is before the courts.

The hon. member has the freedom to say whatever he wants to say, but we have the burden of government and we have the burden of protecting taxpayer money. We will continue to do so.

Foreign Affairs

[David Sweet, Conservative, Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it has been 22 months since the beginning of the crisis in Syria and Canadians, along with the international community, continue to be horrified by the violence inflicted on Syrian people. It is clear that Assad must go. Over the last year our government has contributed significantly to assist people in and outside of Syria and we continue to call for safe and unhindered humanitarian access.

Would the Minister of Foreign Affairs please update the House on our government's most recent announcement to help the people of Syria?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, obviously all Canadians, this government and all members of the House remain gravely concerned about the situation in Syria and the ever growing potential of the violence spilling into the neighbouring countries. That is why today the Government of Canada has announced that significant additional humanitarian assistance to provide food, water, housing and safety for people inside Syria and in the neighbouring countries will be provided to assist them in their time of need.

Our government has and will continue to support the efforts of the international community to bring about an end to this violence. We stand by the people of Syria in their time of need.