Debates of Oct. 22nd, 2013

Aboriginal Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, today the Conservatives will present their most recent version of the first nations education bill in a climate of utter distrust and widespread concern with respect to this government.

We should remember that the UN rapporteur asked the government not to rush forward with this bill. It is not too late to change course and fix an education system that is handicapped by chronic underfunding.

Will the minister choose confrontation or collaboration?

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

Mr. Speaker, collaboration.

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

Mr. Speaker, the minister's words do not match his actions. Any first nations education act must be backed up with adequate funding. Former Auditor General Sheila Fraser said it would take up to 28 years to eliminate the education gap with first nations students. Under the Conservatives, this gap has widened even more.

Canada is setting these children up for failure. Will the minister provide equal funding for on-reserve schools?

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

Mr. Speaker, what the government will not do is throw more money at a known system of education that proves to be failing too many first nations students across the country. The fact of the matter is that a lot of experts, chiefs, and organizations throughout the country, including the Auditor General, have called for a legislative framework. We committed, as a government, to work with aboriginal peoples, and that is what we are continuing to do and will continue to do.

Science and Technology

[Chris Charlton, NDP, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Mr. Speaker, a shocking new report has revealed the real impact of the Conservatives' muzzling of science. Ninety per cent of government scientists feel they cannot speak freely about their work to the media. Even worse, many think they would face retaliation if they blew the whistle and revealed information about harm to public health, public safety, or the environment.

Why are the Conservatives making it a higher priority to protect their reputation than to protect the public?

[Greg Rickford, Conservative, Minister of State (Science and Technology]

Mr. Speaker, our government has made record investments in science, and it is paying off. In fact, Canada is ranked number one in the G7 for our support for scientific research and development in our colleges, universities, and other institutes. We are creating jobs, strengthening the economy, and improving the quality of life for all Canadians.

Ministers are the primary spokespersons for government departments. However, scientists have been and are readily available to continue to share their research with Canadians.

[Laurin Liu, NDP, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the only record the Conservatives have broken is in keeping scientists off the record.

The information commissioner is already investigating the muzzling of scientists by the Conservatives.

Now we have learned that almost half of federal scientists have seen situations where their departments have withheld information that could be vital to health and safety.

How will the government guarantee the scientists' freedom?

[Greg Rickford, Conservative, Minister of State (Science and Technology]

Mr. Speaker, the only people who are trying to muzzle scientists are the opposition. They do not want to hear the science on Keystone XL pipeline. Instead of listening to the science behind Keystone XL pipeline, the NDP leader attacked Canadian jobs and Canada's national interest on the world stage.

The NDP members should listen to their NDP colleagues in Saskatchewan, who accept the science and support the Keystone XL pipeline for the jobs and contributions it will make to their economy and our country.

International Trade

[LaVar Payne, Conservative, Medicine Hat, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Canada-Europe free trade agreement is a historic deal for our beef and pork producers. For ranchers, it means nearly duty-free access for up to 80,000 tonnes of pork, 65,000 tonnes of beef, and 3,000 tonnes of bison. The Canadian Pork Council said that access will allow the industry, battered by a drop in U.S. sales, to invest in new plant capacity.

Would the Minister of Agriculture please explain this deal and why it is so important for the red-meat industry?

[Gerry Ritz, Conservative, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, as the member for Medicine Hat readily points out, this deal will be worth over a billion and a half new dollars to Canadian agriculture. Do you know who disagrees? It is the NDP and its agricultural focus group, the National Farmers Union. Yesterday, the NFU said increasing economic activity for farmers is a red herring. The Leader of the Opposition said, “a lot of farmers would be put in danger of losing their whole business”.

That is ridiculous. The NDP and its union bosses are dead wrong again. They need to listen to farmers and support this valuable deal.

The Budget

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

Mr. Speaker, I do not think this is rocket science: we want to see the text of the agreement before we decide whether to support it or not. As a responsible opposition, we will not sign a blank cheque for the government.

Once again, the omnibus budget bill has a few surprises in store for us. It contains changes to the regulations for Supreme Court justices in order to correct the errors the Conservatives made in the appointment of Justice Nadon.

Can the Minister of Finance explain how the rules for the appointment of Supreme Court justices fall under budget measures?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, our government has long defended the right of members of the Barreau du Québec to serve on Canada's highest court.

We have taken steps today, with respect to the clarification, to bring forward, and I want to be clear, not legislative amendments. These are, in fact, simply declaratory provisions that will serve as a clarification for the Supreme Court Act. I should also indicate to the House that we have also now taken steps to ensure that the Supreme Court itself will clarify the situation so that Mr. Justice Nadon can join them and they can have a full complement of Supreme Court justices.

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

Mr. Speaker, why is that in a budget implementation bill? If the Conservatives were not ashamed of their agenda, if they were not trying to once again pull the wool over Canadians' eyes and circumvent the law, they would not be hiding behind an omnibus bill.

This legislation greatly reduces the powers of occupational health and safety officers and makes it more difficult for employees to refuse to work in unsafe conditions.

How is the weakening of occupational health and safety laws a budget measure?

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

Mr. Speaker, our government remains focused on the economy and on keeping Canadians' workplaces safe, fair, and productive. These amendments would ensure that employees and employers remain on the forefront of resolving occupational health and safety issues. Building and sustaining safe workplaces contributes to Canada's overall prosperity.

[Peggy Nash, NDP, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Conservatives have introduced another 300-page omnibus budget bill, and of course, they threw in everything but the kitchen sink. Supreme Court appointments are now a budget matter to Conservatives, as are attacks on workers' health and safety. Health and safety officers are to be stripped of their powers and rules weakened around workers' health and safety rights.

Why is the Minister of Finance using a budget bill to attack workers?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I just said, and maybe the member opposite did not hear, health and safety officers will receive the additional support they need, in fact enhancing the quality and consistency of their decisions and improving overall safety for Canadians in the workplace. We are about ensuring that Canadians can be safe and productive. That is why we are investing in this area.

Why does the member opposite not think Canadian workers should be safe?

Finance

[Peggy Nash, NDP, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance is also getting himself into trouble with the international business press. Bloomberg reported that “he's fully exposed his lack of understanding of what the Federal Reserve's bond buying program actually entails”.

Reuters says that he confused “printing money” and “quantitative easing”. Business in Canada says that the finance minister's position is “at odds with what Canada's monetary policymakers have said”.

Can he now clarify his statements?

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, it has been called different names. The most recent one was monetary accommodation. Before that, it was called quantitative easing. It is still printing money, and it still means that the next generation will pay for it, and I am not in favour of that.

Intergovernmental Relations

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs has a knack for breaking cabinet solidarity for the wrong reasons. After giving his support to Quebec's so-called “charter of values”, more aptly named the “charter of shame”, he is now claiming, against all logic, that a single vote is enough to break Canada apart following a referendum.

My question for the minister is this: if 50% plus 1 is a clear majority, what constitutes an unclear majority?

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, as mentioned, this matter is before the courts. I spent the summer touring the regions of Quebec. No one wants a referendum, and the federal government certainly cannot be reproached for defending federal legislation.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister. The Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs says one thing to the francophone community or media, while his cabinet colleagues say the opposite to the anglophone media. This is very dangerous behaviour when dealing with issues as important as national unity and human rights.

If this is not his idea, will the Prime Minister condemn this doublespeak? The people of Brandon—Souris and Provencher are not impressed with the current Prime Minister.

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the fact of the matter is we believe, on this side, that debates on the process for dividing the country are best left to the courts.

Everybody on this side, including the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, is an unconditional supporter of the unity of this country. I believe that Quebeckers, as much anyone else, do not want another referendum. They do not want to be arguing about this. They want to be taking this country, united together, forward into the future.

Employment

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

Mr. Speaker, the lastest TD Bank report is contradicting the nice stories the Conservatives are telling. The shortage of workers—this so-called problem that the Conservatives solved by making terrible EI reforms and giving carte blanche to those who wanted to hire temporary foreign workers—is just a myth. In the end, the crisis announced by the Conservatives amounts to nothing.

On what evidence did the Conservatives base the announcement of such a crisis?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Multiculturalism]

Mr. Speaker, the question once again shows how out of touch the NDP is when it comes to our economy. Some NDP members approached me to speed up the hiring process for temporary foreign workers in their ridings because they were concerned about a labour shortage.

It is very important that we connect Canadians with the jobs that are available in our economy so that they can continue to improve our economic situation.

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

Mr. Speaker, once again, the Conservatives are ignoring the facts. Let me quote the TD Bank economists: “Evidence of economy-wide shortages is hard to find”.

To justify gutting important programs, like employment insurance, and to enable widespread abuse of the temporary foreign worker program, Conservatives point to a looming skills shortage. However, the experts and the science do not back them up.

Would the minister now admit that the government was wrong?