Debates of Jan. 31st, 2013

Employment Insurance

[Philip Toone, NDP, Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on Wednesday, a group informed the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development that a delegation of representatives wants to meet with her on February 27 in order to discuss the impact that the employment insurance reform is having on eastern Quebec.

Did the minister read that letter and will she meet with the representatives or not?

[Kellie Leitch, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and to the Minister of Labour]

Mr. Speaker, I will reiterate that this government is focused on job creation and economic growth. We have created 920,000 net new jobs under our economic action plan.

The changes that are being made to employment insurance are to clarify, not change, the responsibilities Canadians have with respect to EI. Employment insurance will continue to be there for them, when they require it, if they are temporarily unemployed.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Mr. Speaker, we are not surprised that the minister does not want to meet with people. She does not even think she implemented a reform.

The Conservatives are being unfair to seasonal workers in Atlantic Canada and Quebec. Even the deputy premier of New Brunswick, who is a Conservative, said that the termination of the pilot project is going to be bad for the province.

Benefits are running out, the spring gap is coming and our economy is going to suffer.

Will the minister change her mind before it is too late or will she force our workers to seek social assistance? Is this government not ashamed of stealing money from workers?

[Kellie Leitch, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and to the Minister of Labour]

Mr. Speaker, the government is creating common sense changes to employment insurance to make sure we are better connecting Canadians with available jobs. In my local riding of Simcoe—Grey, with its many seasonal workers, that is exactly what these changes are going to do. They are clarifying for my constituents exactly what they need to do to make sure they have access to employment insurance if they require it.

Whether it is the new enhanced jobs alert program or whether it is the enhancement to the youth employment strategy of $50 million in last year's budget, these are the things we are doing to create new jobs. In fact, we have created 920,000 net new jobs over the course of the economic action plan.

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, a few minutes ago the hon. member for York West asked the parliamentary secretary a very simple question: When did the human resources department last have the missing data?

The parliamentary secretary did not answer the question, so I am going to give her another chance. Perhaps somebody has briefed her at this point.

Did she not answer the question because the government does not know when it last had that information? Is this the kind of incompetence we can expect from the Conservative government when it is protecting private data on the lives of Canadians?

[Kellie Leitch, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and to the Minister of Labour]

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned before, the government takes the privacy of Canadians extremely seriously—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. The hon. parliamentary secretary has the floor.

[Kellie Leitch, Conservative, Simcoe—Grey, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned, the government takes the privacy of Canadians extremely seriously. The loss of this information by the department is completely unacceptable. To safeguard against future incidents the minister has taken action. This is an ongoing investigation.

Taxation

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, there has not been serious review or reform of Canada's tax system since the Carter commission reforms back in 1972. Our tax code is so dated, so bloated and so complicated that even the CAs and the CGAs are seeking tax simplification.

Under the Conservatives, in fact, the tax code has grown by almost 20%. Will the government commit to not continuing this trend of further complicating Canada's tax code in the upcoming budget? When will the government consider presenting real review, real reform, and a fairer and simpler tax system for Canadians?

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

Mr. Speaker, actually making taxes fair is a surprising comment coming from a Liberal. The only thing I have ever heard previously from the Liberals is, “Let's raise taxes on Canadians”. We hear that every day from them. We hear it from the NDP opposition members who have actually put a quantifying number on it of $21 billion. That is how high they want to raise taxes.

We have focused on reducing taxes, making it simpler for Canadians, but most of all reducing their tax burden. In fact, a family of four is paying $3,000 less now than they were before.

Citizenship and Immigration

[Sadia Groguhé, NDP, Saint-Lambert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have yet to learn their lesson. The sudden closure of Canada's consulate in Buffalo was a complete fiasco. And now we hear that the Conservatives are closing Canada's consulates in Detroit and Seattle, even though there are thousands of files that have been sitting there for two or even three years, waiting to be processed. They are making exactly the same mistake all over again.

While those forgotten in Buffalo are still waiting for help, how does the minister plan on managing all of these new files? What is his plan?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Minister of Citizenship]

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately the question shows that the official opposition has absolutely no grasp of immigration-related issues. The offices in Detroit and Seattle dealt primarily and almost exclusively with temporary visas, not permanent visas.

Permanent residency applications that were received in the Buffalo office and then moved to the Ottawa office are being processed more quickly than they were before. We have reduced the backlog of permanent residency applications by nearly half.

Unfortunately, the opposition opposed all of the positive changes that we made.

[Jinny Sims, NDP, Newton—North Delta, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it has been nine long months and 85% of the files are still waiting to be processed. We have been calling on the Conservatives to take action on the forgotten applications from Buffalo. Instead, the minister is making matters worse, closing the Detroit and Seattle immigration offices without a plan.

How can the minister suggest that these families of men, women and children will be treated any better than those from Buffalo who are still waiting and still forgotten?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Minister of Citizenship]

Mr. Speaker, frankly, the more the New Democrats ask about these issues the more it reflects that they have no understanding of our immigration system. The offices at Seattle and Detroit dealt almost entirely with visitor visas, not permanent residency visas. They are mixing apples and oranges.

Here is the real problem. We had a total immigration backlog of permanent residency applications that capped out at a million. It is now close to 600,000 thanks to the actions this government has taken. That means we have dramatically reduced processing times.

However, if the two opposition parties had their way, if they had defeated the power of ministerial instructions in the Immigration Act, the backlog today would be 1.6 million with 15-year wait times.

Royal Succession Legislation

[James Lunney, Conservative, Nanaimo—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Crown has played an integral role in shaping Canada's unique history. It is central to our institutions of government and is at the very heart of our democratic institutions.

The Crown is particularly relevant as we mark the final days of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee. Like all institutions, the Canadian Crown has evolved over time and today our government is introducing legislation to formally assent to the next step in this evolution.

Can the Minister of Canadian Heritage please tell the House more about his legislation?

[James Moore, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, today we have tabled legislation that will ensure that gender equality will indeed be in place for all successors to the throne. This modernization makes good sense. The Prime Minister told Canadians that we would put this reform forward and we are.

Given what we know the legislation to be about in the near future, on behalf of the government and I think indeed all members of Parliament I want to say that we wish the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge all the best in the coming months and indeed many years.

Veterans Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, a funeral can cost as much as $13,000, yet Veterans Affairs provides only $3,600 through the Last Post Fund to bury low-income soldiers if they meet the outdated eligibility requirements.

In the last six years, over 66% of applications to the fund were rejected, which meant over 20,000 veterans did not even qualify. Department officials and stakeholder organizations have asked the government for changes for years.

Our veterans deserve to be buried with dignity. Will the government do the right thing and increase the amount available for the funerals of our veterans?

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, since 2006 more than 10,000 veterans and their families have benefited from the funeral and burial program.

Unlike the Liberals who cut this very program, we have brought benefits and programs to veterans at an unprecedented level over the last seven years under the leadership of our Prime Minister. We are always interested in looking at ways we can improve our programs.

Canada Revenue Agency

[Murray Rankin, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Mr. Speaker, without warning the Conservatives have cut the direct mailing of tax packages to Canadians, which has a disproportionate effect on seniors. The Conservative plan to get more people to file their taxes online has security experts raising alarm bells that the new system is opening up greater chances for fraud.

As the Privacy Commissioner now conducts her investigation, would the minister commit to sending tax packages to Canadians until the matter is resolved?

[Gail Shea, Conservative, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, the way that Canadians file their taxes is changing and we are changing to meet those needs. Taxpayers can still file on paper. Tax forms are available on request or at their local post office or at a Service Canada centre.

Last year more than 1.3 million packages were mailed out and never used. That is 80 million pieces of paper that ended up in the garbage. We do not think that is the best, most efficient use of our resources.

Public Safety

[Parm Gill, Conservative, Brampton—Springdale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, our government has consistently put victims first. While there is nothing more difficult than losing a loved one, more measures of closure can be found when Canada's missing are located and are able to be laid to rest.

Could the Minister of Public Safety please update the House on the steps that have been taken to ensure that law enforcement has effective tools to help locate missing individuals and identify remains?

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to announce that the RCMP has launched a new national website for missing persons and unidentified remains at www.canadasmissing.ca. This website gives the public a chance to make a difference and help bring closure to the families of the victims of a sampling of missing persons cases from across Canada.

We will continue to build on our government's strong record of standing up for victims.

Employment

[Isabelle Morin, NDP, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, young people across this country are looking for work, but coming up against closed doors. The Conservative plan is not working. The youth unemployment rate is twice as high as the national average. If youth employment for my generation were a priority for this government, we would not have an unemployment rate as high as it was in 2009, at the height of the recession. Conservative inaction is costing the youth of my generation $11 billion.

What exactly do the Conservatives plan to do to tackle the abnormally high rate of youth unemployment?

[Kellie Leitch, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and to the Minister of Labour]

Mr. Speaker, why does the NDP not make this a priority and support what this government is doing with the youth employment strategy to make sure that young Canadians have opportunities for employment?

This government has been focused on creating jobs, in fact, 920,000 net new jobs; 50,000 of which were through the youth employment strategy. I encourage the NDP, when it is given another chance, to support our youth employment strategy because that is what helps create Canadian jobs.