Debates of Oct. 18th, 2013

Summer Events in Mississauga South

[Stella Ambler, Conservative, Mississauga South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to thank the people of the beautiful riding of Mississauga South for a memorable and productive summer of 2013.

I take this opportunity to let the House know a bit about the exciting and busy summer I was lucky enough to enjoy. Mississauga South is the home of so many unique festivals and events that I could not possibly list them all, but I want to at least mention a few.

I was able to attend many charitable events, such as the Lakeshore Community Corridor's annual Paddle for the People on the Credit River, as well as the Terry Fox Run on a beautiful Sunday morning at the lighthouse. Buskerfest and the Waterfront Festival were attended by thousands of local area residents, and the Southside Shuffle attracted the usual huge number of jazz and blues music aficionados from all over North America.

Mr. Speaker, you might not know that Port Credit has its own farmers' market. My favourite booth was Daddy O Donuts, because the quintessentially Canadian maple bacon doughnut is truly a wonder for the taste buds. Members may consider this an open invitation to visit Mississauga South to try one.

Co-operatives

[Hélène LeBlanc, NDP, LaSalle—Émard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this week we are celebrating National Co-op Week and International Credit Union Day.

I would like to begin by recognizing a new national association, Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada, which, beginning in January 2014, will represent co-operative and mutual enterprises across Canada.

Co-operatives play a strategic role in our society and in our economy. They are major drivers of economic growth and job creation; they teach and promote democratic values; and they are businesses that work for the benefit of their communities and meet community needs.

I would like to take this opportunity to remind the Conservative government of the urgent need for concrete measures to strengthen the co-operative sector and make the federal government an active partner in their development.

We in the NDP will continue listening to the concerns of co-operatives and working closely with them to find solutions to promote their growth and increase funding to them.

Lac-Mégantic Tragedy

[Jeff Watson, Conservative, Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the health and safety of Canadians is a priority for our government. On July 6, 2013, 47 people lost their lives in the tragic Lac-Mégantic incident. While we are still waiting for the investigations to be completed to fully understand what happened, our government took immediate action. In fact, shortly after the incident, the Minister of Transport issued five emergency directives to rail companies. These included that trains carrying dangerous goods have two operators at all times and that no trains transporting dangerous goods be left unattended.

Yesterday the Minister of Transport announced a new directive that will ensure that all crude oil being transported will be properly tested and classified, and that the results will be sent to Transport Canada. This will provide Transport Canada with an additional means to monitor industry compliance and to focus its efforts for the greatest safety benefit for all Canadians.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and victims affected by this tragic incident.

Persons Day

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, today, on Persons Day, women celebrate 84 years since the British Privy Council overturned a Supreme Court of Canada ruling they called “a relic of days more barbarous than ours”. Many Canadian women were finally considered to be persons under the British North America Act.

Why not all women? Disgracefully, aboriginal women have struggled much longer for equal rights. Until 1960, they had to abandon their aboriginal status for the right to vote. Still, we celebrate those five feisty Alberta women who pursued their rights: Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Irene Parlby, Henrietta Muir Edwards, and Louise McKinney.

Of course, the struggle continues for equal pay for work of equal value, access to affordable child care, and equal seats at corporate and cabinet tables. Women continue to speak out for justice for missing and murdered aboriginal sisters and for equal access to education and services. Those with LEAF, Coalition des femmes de l'Alberta, Elizabeth Fry and Idle No More deserve our thanks.

I call on all MPs to commit to ending violence against women, discrimination, and poverty, and to seek true gender equality with the “famous five” as our guide.

Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement

[Royal Galipeau, Conservative, Ottawa—Orléans, ON]

This Conservative government has the most ambitious pro-trade plan in Canadian history, and we are delivering results.

Earlier today, Canada's Prime Minister announced that Canada and the European Union have reached a historic agreement on free trade.

This agreement will open the doors to the world's largest economy for Canadian exporters and create jobs and opportunities here.

Canadian consumers will also benefit from this agreement. Once the final deal is in place, tariffs will be removed on 99% of all products coming into Canada from the European Union.

Of course, we do not expect the third party to understand these benefits. The Liberal leader has no plan for our economy. His head is in the clouds and his policies are up in smoke.

This government supports free trade. The official opposition supports no trade.

Meanwhile, the third party supports the drug trade.

Raymond Loo

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, I take this opportunity to honour the life of Raymond Loo, one of Prince Edward Island's pioneering individuals in organic farming.

Raymond and his wife Karen operated Springwillow Farms, a certified organic mixed farming operation producing everything from beef and potatoes to black currants and dandelions.

Mr. Loo was a promoter of the organic movement when it was not popular to be so. He carried his convictions boldly and proudly.

Working in a number of farm organizations, he represented P.E.I. on the Canadian Organic Regulatory Committee, aiding the development of a Canadian organic standard.

A man of ideas, it was his drive and persistence—his stubborn streak, he would say—that put P.E.I. organic products in the Japanese market.

Awarded the Nuffield Scholarship in 2011, he studied the marketing of agriculture products from islands.

As his wife Karen said, “Raymond believed you are only limited by how far you can dream.”

We offer our best wishes to his family and thank them for sharing Raymond with us.

International Trade

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the free trade agreement with Europe will clearly benefit Quebec by providing privileged access to a market with 500 million consumers and eliminating trade barriers to key Quebec exports.

This is an historic agreement that shows our government's commitment to focusing on job creation and sustainable prosperity. A study conducted with the European Union before the start of the negotiations found that a free trade agreement would boost Canada's revenues by $12 billion a year, which would be equivalent to the creation of 80,000 new jobs.

The Conservatives support free trade. Meanwhile, the NDP does not support free trade and the Liberals support the drug trade.

Freedom of Information

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, freedom of information is the oxygen democracy breathes. It is a fundamental cornerstone of our democracy that citizens have an absolute right to know what their government is doing with their money. However, yesterday Canada's Information Commissioner served notice in no uncertain terms that the freedom of information system in this country has collapsed under the Conservative administration.

She stated:

...there are unmistakable signs of significant deterioration in the federal access system.

She also said that Conservative cuts have had a direct and adverse impact on the service that institutions provide to requesters.

It was the culture of secrecy that allowed corruption to flourish under the Liberal regime, but the Conservatives are even worse. They are obsessed with hoarding information and use the black shroud of secrecy to systematically deny the right of the Canadian public to know what their government is doing.

Sunlight is a powerful disinfectant. After 2015, the NDP is committed to shining the light of day on the inner workings of a truly open government and putting an end to the paranoid secrecy that—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. Oral questions. The hon. member for Hamilton Centre.

Aboriginal Affairs

[David Christopherson, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are watching the situation in Elsipogtog First Nation in New Brunswick with great concern. This situation underlines the importance of peaceful and respectful dialogue between governments and indigenous peoples and of honouring the duty to consult and accommodate before impacting people's rights.

What is the government doing to fulfill its duty and assist in helping to calm this situation?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Minister of State (Democratic Reform)]

Mr. Speaker, we have done plenty. We have invested in clean water projects. We have opened hundreds of brand new schools. We have worked with aboriginal communities to allow for responsible resource development that will create jobs for the talented and ambitious young aboriginal Canadians who will be the future of Canada. We will continue to work for the improvement of the quality of life for our aboriginal peoples, who are our partner in the future and in this country of ours, Canada.

Ethics

[David Christopherson, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, court documents have shown that a number of the Prime Minister's aides were well aware of ongoing talks with Mike Duffy. On February 11, Mike Duffy spoke with the Prime Minister's chief of staff in the Prime Minister's Office. Two days later, the Prime Minster spoke with Mike Duffy about his expenses after a caucus meeting.

Does the Prime Minister still contend that neither Mr. Duffy nor Mr. Wright mentioned their meeting or anything at all that they had been discussing?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Minister of State (Democratic Reform)]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister answered all of these questions to the best of his knowledge before the summer.

The reality is that we are the only party with a credible plan to reform the Senate. We have already started 12 new rules to reform the way senators claim expenses. We have invited the Auditor General to come in and inspect all of the expenses of senators over the last two years. We are arguing before the Supreme Court that Canadians should have the ability to provide their democratic input on who represents them in the upper chamber and that there should be term limits so that our senators serve for a limited period of time and not until they are 75.

International Trade

[David Christopherson, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP welcomes progress on a trade agreement with Europe. We support greater trade with Europe, but any deal must be a good deal for Canadians. Today's announcement contains a lot of hype, but not the actual text of the agreement. Canadians are still left waiting to read the fine print.

Why will this government not just release the text of this deal and let Canadians judge it for themselves?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Minister of State (Democratic Reform)]

Mr. Speaker, less than 24 hours since the deal was actually announced, the NDP has already succeeded in being on both sides of the issue. It is really a rhetorical game of acrobatics. The NDP should really be proud of that kind of manoeuvre.

On this side of the House, our position has always been clear: 80,000 net new jobs, half a billion new customers for Canadian job creators, $1,000 in additional income for the average family of four in this country. This is a good deal, it is the right thing to do, and we are proud of the Prime Minister for delivering it.

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

Mr. Speaker, the question was about the release of the text of the deal.

Obviously, different sectors of our economy will be affected in different ways by a free trade agreement with the European Union. It is therefore important to have access to the text of the agreement in order to know just how the agreement will affect all of our industrial and commercial sectors.

I will repeat the question: when will the government release the text of the free trade agreement?

[Erin O'Toole, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade, CPC]

Mr. Speaker, this is an exciting opportunity for Canada, with 500 million new consumers and a 20% increase in trade with the European Union, yet earlier this week the NDP, before even seeing a potential agreement, opposed it.

Today the Prime Minister signed the agreement in Brussels. A sector-by-sector overview is being released, and Canadian stakeholders from coast to coast are excited. This is a win for Canada.

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

Mr. Speaker, I challenge the government to demonstrate that we already decided to support or oppose the text of the agreement.

We are talking here about an agreement that could have a major impact on many sectors of our economy, and I would like to ask the Conservatives to take the question more seriously and answer it in a less partisan way.

If they refuse to release the agreement immediately, can the Conservatives at least tell us what type of compensation is planned for drug pricing and for the cheese sector?

[Erin O'Toole, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade, CPC]

Mr. Speaker, we have been dealing with this in the most open and comprehensive way, without partisanship. All of the provinces have been consulted. All stakeholders have been consulted—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, order. The hon. parliamentary secretary has the floor, and we will allow him to finish his answer.

The hon. parliamentary secretary.

[Erin O'Toole]

Mr. Speaker, I would remind the hon. member that the provinces have been a part of this process, including the province of Quebec. Earlier this week, the Leader of the Opposition opposed an agreement without even seeing it. It seems like only the NDP and the Québec solidaire are against this deal that will be great for Canada.

Ethics

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have been calling for honest answers about the Mike Duffy affair for six months now.

All we get from the government are nonsensical responses and attacks. I have a very simple question.

According to security records from the Prime Minister's Office, Mike Duffy had a meeting in room 204 Langevin Block on February 11, 2013. Who did he meet with?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Minister of State (Democratic Reform)]

Mr. Speaker, I am surprised to hear the Liberal Party, of all parties, ask about the Senate. In fact, the Liberal leader's position is that the Senate should stay just the way it is, because it provides, in his view, an advantage to Quebec over all other provinces.

We on this side of the House believe that the Senate should serve all Canadians. That is why we brought in 12 tough new rules to ensure that spending by senators is honest and responsible. We have asked the Auditor General to conduct a thorough investigation of all senators' expenses going back two years. We have asked the courts for a legal instruction manual on how the Senate can be reformed or potentially abolished.

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Speaker, that is just more attacks and bluster. One has to wonder just what the Conservatives are covering up.

Here is another specific question. According to those same Prime Minister's Office security logs, the next day, February 12, 2013, Senators David Tkachuk and Irving Gerstein attended separate meetings, also in room 204 Langevin Block. Who precisely did they meet with?