Debates of Oct. 21st, 2013

International Trade

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, New Democrats are proud to stand up for Canadian jobs, and do you know who praised the NDP's balanced approach to trade? It was the employment minister. Perhaps he could brief the Prime Minister.

As with any agreement, we can only judge its value by its details. Like us, Canadians want to see the agreement and judge it for themselves.

Now that we have heard the minister's hype, could he please inform the House when he will share the actual text of the agreement with Canadians?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, that is some kind of balance over there in the NDP. Its members oppose the trade deal with Europe, they oppose trade with the United States, and they even opposed the Auto Pact when it was signed. By the way, their line now is that somehow they are the only people in the country who have no idea of what is in the agreement.

The agreement is strongly supported by Canadians. It is a historic agreement that Canadians have long wanted. The NDP represents a century that is long past.

Financial Institutions

[Matthew Dubé, NDP, Chambly—Borduas, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we are the 21st century. I think it is pretty easy to get a text to members of Parliament to know what is actually in the agreement.

I want to talk about our businesses. Businesses have had to face increasing credit card fees, which are then passed on to the consumer. There was nothing about that in the Speech from the Throne, just an acknowledgement that Canadians are getting gouged.

When will the minister offer up a real solution instead of opting for voluntary measures that are clearly not working?

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, our government believes that Canadian consumers deserve to know the real costs when they pay either with debit cards or credit cards. Given all the aspects—the consumer groups, the industry, the retail groups—it was not easy, but we came up with an agreement, an accord.

It seems to me that voluntary is better than forced when Canadians can come together and come to an agreement, including the consumer groups, and it is working.

[Glenn Thibeault, NDP, Sudbury, ON]

Mr. Speaker, retailers and consumers alike were hoping for more in the throne speech about making life more affordable, but the speech had no such plan.

It is not just the NDP asking for action. The Retail Council of Canada is also saying the throne speech fell short. The so-called voluntary code is toothless. We are still seeing things like merchant credit card fees increase. These fees are hurting Canadian businesses.

When will the minister commit to mandatory regulations to help small businesses and reduce these high-cost fees?

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we are working, as we said in the Speech from the Throne, to require more disclosure to consumers on transactions, especially on exchange fees, which are a significant challenge.

I met with the Consumers' Association of Canada. We have had further discussions on the subject. We think that there are some improvements that can be made, but we have already required clear and simple information on credit card statements, we have banned unsolicited credit card cheques, we have ensured prepaid credit cards never expire, and more.

Unfortunately, the NDP voted against each and every one of these measures.

International Trade

[Tilly O'Neill-Gordon, Conservative, Miramichi, NB]

Mr. Speaker, our Prime Minister announced that Canada has reached a historic free trade agreement with the European Union. Under this agreement, Canada's world-class fish and seafood products will gain preferential access to more than 500 million hungry customers, yet the NDP has already come out and opposed the many new opportunities that this pact will provide for Canadians working in our fish and seafood industry.

Can the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans please tell this House why this agreement is so good for Atlantic Canadians?

[Gail Shea, Conservative, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, on day one of this agreement 96% of tariffs on fish and seafood products will be eliminated. This is certainly great news for fishers right across the country.

The European Union is the world's biggest importer of fish and seafood products. This means 500 million new customers and 28 new markets for our world-class fish and seafood.

I cannot understand why the NDP would oppose the Canada-Europe trade agreement. The MP for St. John's South—Mount Pearl said last week, “It will not fix our broken fishery—it will give it away...”.

Perhaps he should start speaking to the industry in his province.

Natural Resources

[Jonathan Genest-Jourdain, NDP, Manicouagan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, recent events in Elsipogtog, New Brunswick, clearly show the need for consultation of the people affected by natural resource extraction initiatives and the related problems.

Now that they have used their omnibus bill to dismantle our environmental protection measures, how do the Conservatives intend to fulfill their obligation to consult the peoples concerned and thus avoid other conflicts?

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my hon. colleague that the protests he is referring to concern shale gas, which is a provincial jurisdiction.

All Canadians enjoy the right to demonstrate peacefully. However, you can rest assured that in the presence of improvised explosive devices, burnt out cars and illegal firearms, we will protect Canadians and ensure that people are held responsible under the law.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, first nations have lost confidence that the government will uphold its duty to consult. They have lost confidence that the government will engage in respectful and peaceful dialogue.

The UN special rapporteur, James Anaya, called on Canada to take a less adversarial, position-based approach in its dealings with indigenous peoples. Will the government heed the words of the UN special rapporteur and respect its duty to consult?

[Bernard Valcourt, Conservative, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, indeed the United Nations special rapporteur did come to visit Canada. I had the privilege of meeting with him. When he left, he made another statement. He said:

It is clear to me that Canada is aware of and concerned about these issues, and that it is taking steps to address them. I have learned about numerous programs, policies and efforts that have been rolled out at the federal and provincial levels, and many of these have achieved notable successes.

That is why we will continue in the same direction.

Veterans

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

Mr. Speaker, on another subject, there is absolutely nothing new for veterans in the throne speech. What is more, the government is in court trying to block a class action suit brought by a group of veterans who oppose the new veterans charter because some of them do not have access to their pension or to adequate health care.

The government is spending millions of dollars on propaganda and extremely expensive legal battles. Why is the government determined to treat our veterans unfairly?

[Julian Fantino, Conservative, Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the only unfair thing about that is the very premise.

Through eight consecutive budgets, our government has invested almost $5 billion in new in funding to enhance veterans' benefits programs and services. Close to 90% of the department's $3.5 billion budget is going toward direct services and support for veterans and their families. Canadians can be very proud of our response to their issues.

That is eight consecutive budgets that those parties voted against. I am not surprised that the member would forget about that minor detail.

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

Mr. Speaker, here is one minor detail. During the summer, lawyers on behalf of the Crown indicated that the Crown has no special or moral obligation to assist veterans.

My question to the minister is very clear. Does the government have a moral, social, fiduciary, and legal responsibility to care for those it asks to be put in harm's way?

[Julian Fantino, Conservative, Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the facts tell the tale. Our government has made substantial investments to support Canadian veterans, including almost $5 billion in net new dollars since taking office. This funding was put forward to improve financial benefits and provide world-class rehabilitation and tuition costs to help veterans transition to civilian life.

While our government is making improvements to veterans' benefits, those parties voted against this new funding for mental health and other support systems for veterans.

Ethics

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

Mr. Speaker, today we heard that Mike Duffy was told to take the $90,000, keep his mouth shut, and to go along with the cover-up; otherwise, Conservative senators would kick him out of the Senate.

On June 5 the Prime Minister said, “...it was Mr. Wright who made the decision to take his personal funds and give those to Mr. Duffy.... [It was] not communicated to me or to members of my office.”

Now that we know that his senior staff and his Senate leadership crafted this elaborate scheme over a period of weeks, when will the Prime Minister end this cover-up and tell Canadians the truth?

[Paul Calandra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, one of the reasons I became involved with politics was the debates between John Turner and Prime Minister Mulroney surrounding the free trade agreement in the 1980s. Although, Mr. Turner was proven to be wrong and free trade was an enormous benefit to Canada, as the European free trade agreement will be, at least he had an opinion that he fought for.

Now, we have a member of the Liberal Party, a member from Nova Scotia, a region that would benefit from the Canada-EU free trade agreement, a former Conservative who used to be a supporter of free trade, standing to talk about a vestige of the 19th century. Shame on him.

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Beauséjour, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister falsely claimed that Nigel Wright was the only one aware of the $90,000 payment to Mike Duffy. Today we learned more details about how the entire PMO orchestrated a plan for Mike Duffy and we learned that the Prime Minister ordered Mike Duffy not to co-operate with the Deloitte audit.

The RCMP and Mike Duffy's lawyer have shown us that the Prime Minister has not been honest about this scandal. When will he come clean and stop hiding his own role in this scandal?

[Paul Calandra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, again, the Prime Minister has answered all questions with respect to this subject. He has answered with all of the information that he has had available to him. At the same time Mr. Wright is taking sole responsibility for his actions, as he should.

We put on the table a number of reforms to the Senate, including accountability measures, term limits, election of new senators. The Liberals are fighting day in and day out to maintain the status quo in the Senate because part of their economic policy is maintaining the unelected, unaccountable Senate. We will still fight for free trade and opening up new markets for our businesses. Let them talk about the past.

Labour

[Andrew Cash, NDP, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, taxi drivers, office cleaners, clerks, support workers, artists and many other hard-working Canadians have no access to a workplace pension or benefits, and more and more young people are working for free as unpaid interns.

This afternoon, I will submitting a bill calling for a national urban workers' strategy that would reflect the reality of precarious work today. Work has changed. Will Conservatives support this initiative to fix EI and strengthen pensions? Or will they remain stuck in a century that has long passed?

[Kellie Leitch, Conservative, Minister of Labour and Minister of Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, the government is dedicated to keeping workplaces safe, fair and productive. Any employee who believes their basic entitlements have not been respected may bring that matter before the labour program. An investigator will be assigned immediately and action will be taken if any violation is found.

[Matthew Kellway, NDP, Beaches—East York, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Conservatives simply do not understand the realities of today's urban economies and labour markets. Positions that only a few years ago would have been salaried permanent jobs are now being filled by contract workers, part-time workers, freelancers and unpaid interns.

Why do Conservatives think it is acceptable to do nothing while half the working population of Canada's largest cities are unable to find stable full-time work? Why are they failing urban economies and ignoring the struggles of urban workers?

[Kellie Leitch, Conservative, Minister of Labour and Minister of Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, as I just mentioned, our government is dedicated to keeping Canadians' workplaces safe, fair and productive.

I find it a little rich that the member opposite is commenting on creating jobs. I encourage them to support the new Canada-Europe trade agreement where we are creating and looking at 80,000 net new jobs. This is something that we are focused on. We are focused on ensuring Canadians have opportunities and jobs are being created. I encourage the opposition members to get on board. This is great for Canadians.

Justice

[Patrick Brown, Conservative, Barrie, ON]

Mr. Speaker, since we were first elected, our government has passed over 30 measures to keep our streets and communities safe. Yet the Leader of the Opposition said last week that he opposed our entire criminal justice agenda. He actually said things were better before we took office.

Would the Minister of Justice please explain what the justice system would look like if the Leader of the Opposition had his way and reversed our criminal justice reforms?