Debates of Nov. 20th, 2013

Immigration

[Ed Holder, Conservative, London West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as the member of Parliament for London West, I was terribly saddened to hear of the tragic events surrounding the Walji family. It was a shock to our whole community.

Some media reports and even opposition politicians have implied that the immigration system has somehow failed the Walji family.

Would the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration please advise the House on what measures were taken to help the Walji family?

[Chris Alexander, Conservative, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Government of Canada, and I hope on behalf of all members of this place, I would like to extend condolences to the Walji family's friends and loved ones.

Although this matter is still under investigation, let me assure the House that this family was offered several opportunities to become permanent residents. They were offered a pathway to permanent residence and that path was not taken.

On this side of the House, we are engaged in mourning the tragic loss of this family and we will not engage, like some in the opposition, in politicizing cases of this sort, as the member for London—Fanshawe has done, for example.

We encourage everyone to join us in mourning this tragic loss of life.

The Environment

[Dennis Bevington, NDP, Western Arctic, NT]

Mr. Speaker, on October 31, a tailings pond dike at the former Obed Mountain coal mine near Hinton, Alberta, failed, releasing one billion litres of toxic coal slurry into the Athabasca River. The resulting toxic plume is travelling north and is expected to cross into the Northwest Territories within two weeks.

As protection of transboundary and northern waterways is a federal jurisdiction, what is Environment Canada doing to protect northern Canadians from this toxic spill?

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, Environment Canada is supporting the province and providing assistance as required. Environment Canada's enforcement officers are looking into the situation, and our government will continue to take action against those who break our environmental laws.

Securities

[Louis Plamondon, Bloc, Bas-Richelieu—Nicolet—Bécancour, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the chief executives of leading Quebec companies—such as COGECO, Québecor, Couche-Tard, Metro and Jean Coutu—are again condemning the federal government, which wants to establish a national securities commission.

These entrepreneurs say that this move will result in the loss of influence and expertise, distance capital from Quebec companies, kill jobs and weaken Montreal's economy. The worst thing is that the federal government is attacking a system that works very well.

Why is the federal government so bent on stripping Montreal of its financial expertise and hindering the development of Quebec companies?

[Andrew Saxton, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, Canada is the only developed country in the world without a single securities regulator. That is why we have been working with the provinces and the territories to establish a single securities regulator for some time.

We are pleased to have recently announced the establishment of a co-operative regulator with Ontario and British Columbia. This regulator will promote jobs and growth by better protecting investors, enhancing Canada's financial services sector, supporting efficient capital markets, and managing systemic risk. I strongly encourage all provinces and territories to join in this participation as well.

Afghan Veterans Monument

[Parm Gill, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, regarding the comments I made during the debate last night in the House, I would like to correct the record.

Canadian veterans can be confident that their military service record and any active Veterans Affairs files are available to veterans.

Protecting Canadians from Online Crime Act

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

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-13, an act to amend the Criminal Code, the Canada Evidence Act, the Competition Act, and the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Act.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Interparliamentary Delegations

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the reports of the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association respecting its participation at the visit of the defence and security committee, Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association, Washington, D.C., and Dayton, Ohio, U.S.A., February 1 to 5, 2012; the meeting of the standing committee, Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association, in Ljubljana, Slovenia, March 31, 2012; the joint visit of the 79th Rose-Roth seminar and the Mediterranean and Middle East special group, Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association, Marseille, France, May 11 to 13, 2012; the joint meeting of the defence and security committee, economics and security committee, and the joint political committee and the economics and security committee, Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association, Brussels, Belgium, and Paris, France, February 24 to 28, 2013; the subcommittee on east-west economic co-operation and convergence, Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association, Marakesh, Morocco, April 3 to 5, 2013; the meeting of the standing committee and the secretaries of delegation, Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association, Copenhagen, Denmark, March 22 to 24, 2013; and finally, the 2013 spring session, Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association, Luxembourg, May 17 to 20, 2013.

[Gord Brown, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the following reports of the Canadian delegation of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group respecting its participation in a number of events: first, the 2013 annual meeting of the Western Governors’ Association that was held in Park City, Utah, United States of America, from June 28 to 30, 2013; the 68th annual meeting of the Council of States Governments, Midwestern Legislative Conference, held in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States of America, from July 14 to 17, 2013; the 2013 annual meeting of the National Governors Association that was held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from August 1 to 4, 2013; and last, the annual legislative summit of the National Conference of State Legislatures that was held in Atlanta, Georgia, from August 12 to 15, 2013.

Transport, Infrastructure and Communities

[Larry Miller, Conservative, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the first report of the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities in relation to supplementary estimates B, 2013-14.

Impaired Driving

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Wild Rose, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition from Kim Thomas of Cochrane, Alberta, in my riding, whose 17-year-old son Brandon was tragically killed by a drunk driver.

The petitioner, in honour of her son's memory, has taken it upon herself to collect over 1,000 signatures of individuals looking for tougher impaired driving laws in this country and calling upon the government to seek tougher laws and the implementation of new mandatory minimum sentencing for those persons convicted of impaired driving causing death. The petitioners are also asking for the Criminal Code of Canada to be changed to redefine the offence of impaired driving causing death to vehicular manslaughter.

Animal Welfare

[Olivia Chow, NDP, Trinity—Spadina, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to present a petition on behalf of thousands of Canadians who are concerned about cruelty to animals. They note that animals are capable of feeling pain and that those who abuse animals should face conviction and significant penalties.

The petitioners call upon the government to stop being soft on crime against animals, to amend the Criminal Code to recognize animals as beings that can feel pain, and to close the loopholes that allow abusers to escape penalties.

Motor Vehicle Safety

[Olivia Chow, NDP, Trinity—Spadina, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have another petition. It calls upon the government to mandate side guards on all trucks in order to save pedestrians' and cyclists' lives, as well as to save fuel. The petitioners note that another cyclist died under the back wheels of a truck without side guards. This accident occurred in my riding of Trinity—Spadina.

Pensions

[Olivia Chow, NDP, Trinity—Spadina, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have a third petition. It calls on the government to keep the eligibility for old age security at 65 years, not 67 years, and to enhance the pension system through the guaranteed income supplement program so that all seniors can be lifted out of poverty.

Canada Post

[Olivia Chow, NDP, Trinity—Spadina, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the last petition I would like to present on behalf of my constituents calls on the federal government to instruct Canada Post to halt its plan to downsize and downgrade public post offices and to consult with the public and others to improve the Canadian Postal Service Charter by developing a better process for making changes.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

I see several members rising to present petitions, so perhaps we can keep our summaries as brief as possible. I will just remind members that it is our tradition not to actually read the petition, but to summarize it.

Genetically Modified Organisms

[Frank Valeriote, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to table two petitions from constituents in my riding of Guelph who are concerned about the negative impact of genetically modified organisms on all aspects of the Canadian agricultural sector. Their concerns range from possible irreversible genetic contamination to the rights of individual farmers to be able to save their own seed and the long-term health implications of GMOs.

The petitioners request an immediate moratorium on the licensing and release of new GMOs. They also request an independent review of existing GMOs that have already been released on the market.

Sambro Island Lighthouse

[Gerald Keddy, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margaret's, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition signed by over 2,000 citizens from across Nova Scotia asking that the federal government continue funding the Sambro Island lighthouse.

This lighthouse is the oldest in the Americas. It was built in the late 1700s. It continues to stand as a gateway to Halifax Harbour and to Sambro. This is a historic lighthouse. It is of national historic importance, and the Government of Canada needs to continue to fund it.

The Environment

[Andrew Cash, NDP, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the government is expecting the people of Toronto to say “yes” to the line 9 pipeline, notwithstanding difficulties with the company in terms of its environmental record, notwithstanding the difficulty that people have had in intervening in the process, and not withstanding the fact that the government has stripped environmental protection for new pipeline development.

The people who signed this petition cannot say “yes” to that.

The Budget

[Massimo Pacetti, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to present several petitions signed by hundreds of Quebeckers.

The petitioners want the Minister of Finance in particular to do whatever is necessary to reverse the government's decision to eliminate the 15% federal tax credit granted to investors who pay into labour-sponsored funds, as announced in the budget on March 21, 2013.

Toronto Island Airport

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

Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to present two petitions today signed by citizens in and around my riding of Beaches—East York in Toronto. Both petitions have to do with the Toronto Island airport.

The first petition calls on the government of Canada to block any changes to the tripartite agreement that would allow jet airplanes or extensions of the Toronto Island airport runways, to stop subsidizing Porter Airlines, and to compel the Toronto Port Authority to pay millions of dollars in back taxes owed to the people of Toronto.

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

Mr. Speaker, the second petition calls upon the Government of Canada to amend the good neighbour policy to extend an eight-mile radius, to set out an altitude of not less than 2,500 feet, and to make this new policy mandatory, with emergency exceptions only.

Taxation

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

Mr. Speaker, I wish to present a petition on behalf of Canadians who are worried about the government's decision to eliminate the 15% federal tax credit granted to investors who pay into labour-sponsored funds. They are calling on the Minister of Finance to reverse that decision, and they are quite right to do so.

Search and Rescue

[Fin Donnelly, NDP, New Westminster—Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present two petitions from thousands of Canadians right across the country who state that they are opposed to the Government of Canada's decision to close the Canadian Coast Guard marine communications and traffic services centres in St. John's, Newfoundland; St. Anthony, Newfoundland; Saint John, New Brunswick; Rivière-au-Renard, Quebec; Montreal, Quebec; Thunder Bay, Ontario; Vancouver, B.C.; Tofino, B.C.; Comox, B.C.; and Inuvik, Northwest Territories.

As well, the petitioners oppose the closure of the Coast Guard marine rescue centres in Quebec City, St. John's, and Kitsilano.

The petitioners urge the government to acknowledge that the cuts to staff and the closure of the centres threaten the lives of fishers and other mariners and put the marine environment at risk. They call for the reversal of these decisions.