Debates of Nov. 27th, 2013

The Environment

[Joe Preston, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

Mr. Speaker, a number of my constituents are hunters, and they are decent, law-abiding Canadians. Our government has stood up for their rights in abolishing the wasteful and ineffective long gun registry.

Last week we learned that bureaucrats are seeking bids for a contract to study the environmental impact of lead bullets on the forest floor. Surely there must be a better use of taxpayers' money than launching a study into the environmental impact of hunters' bullets.

Does the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister agree?

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

Mr. Speaker, hunting, angling, and trapping are central to the livelihood, recreation, and tradition of many Canadians. That is why I am proud that our government cancelled this tender as a waste of taxpayer dollars. Our Conservative government continues to stand up for law-abiding hunters and sports shooters.

Now, of course, we know that the Liberals and the NDP probably would have continued this study, on the grounds that the environmental impact of bullets on the forest floor would have been a good pretext for onerous environmental restrictions on the use of bullets, and they probably would bring back the long gun registry.

We will continue to stand up for hunters—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please.

The hon. member for Trois-Rivières.

Employment Insurance

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Commission nationale d'examen sur la réforme de l'assurance-emploi released its report today.

After consulting representatives from all socio-economic sectors, which the federal government never did, the Commission concluded that the reform is problematic on a number of fronts, particularly in relation to the exodus of specialized workers, the significant drop in incentives for the unemployed to find work, the regional economies that rely on seasonal work, and so on.

Will the government study and consider the recommendations put forward by the Quebec commission to address these issues?

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

Let us be clear, Mr. Speaker.

The NDP waged a campaign of fear regarding the modest changes that we made to the employment insurance program.

The NDP said that it was the end of benefits for seasonal workers. However, more than 99% of claimants have not been affected by the changes, and 80% of the claims rejected in Quebec this year were rejected because the claimants were outside Canada.

Not even NDP supporters would qualify for EI benefits if they were in Florida or Cuba.

The Environment

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in response to the devastating Typhoon Haiyan, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for a leaders' summit on climate, which is to take place in September of next year in New York.

Ban Ki-moon has made clear, as have many scientists, the likely connections between these increasingly devastating weather events and the climate crisis.

Now that the deadline is looming for a new treaty to replace Kyoto, a treaty the Prime Minister says he supports, will he join the leaders' climate summit on September 24, 2014, in New York, to seek solutions while there is still time?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, first I want to congratulate the Minister of International Development and others for their swift response to the effort in the Philippines. I think the Canadian response has been appreciated by our Filipino friends all across the country and of course by the Government of the Philippines as well.

On the matter of international climate change, obviously we continue to favour an international treaty that would have binding obligations upon all emitters. The Kyoto accord had binding obligations upon less than one-third of emissions, which is why it was not an effective instrument.

We will continue to work with the international community in the hope of developing an effective instrument.

Presence in Gallery

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

I would like to draw to the attention of hon. members the presence in the gallery of His Excellency Kgalema Motlanthe, Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

I would also like to draw to the attention of hon. members the presence in the gallery of the winners of the 2013 Governor General’s Literary Awards: Teresa Toten, Isabelle Arsenault, Matt James, Donald Winkler, Katherena Vermette, Fanny Britt, Nicolas Billon, Sandra Djwa, Yvon Rivard, Stéphanie Pelletier, and Eleanor Catton.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

International Trade

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to table, in both official languages, the document entitled “Global Markets Action Plan: The Blueprint for Creating Jobs and Opportunities for Canadians through Trade”.

In a fiercely competitive global economy, Canada cannot be complacent. We must be more aggressive and effective than the intense competition we face as we advance Canada's commercial interests in key global markets.

Under the global markets action plan, our government is concentrating its efforts on markets that hold the greatest promise for Canadian business. We fully understand that when our businesses succeed abroad, all Canadians benefit from the jobs and opportunities that are created at home.

Health

[Ben Lobb, Conservative, Huron—Bruce, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the first report of the Standing Committee on Health on the supplementary estimates (B) 2013-14.

Marine Mammal Regulations

[Greg Kerr, Conservative, West Nova, NS]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-555, An Act respecting the Marine Mammal Regulations (seal fishery observation licence).

Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce a private member's bill, an act respecting the Marine Mammal Regulations on seal fishery observation licences.

I want to thank the member for Yukon for seconding the bill. He has a real interest in this topic and definitely supports the seal hunt. The bill requires the Governor in Council to amend the Marine Mammal Regulations to increase the distance that a person must maintain from another person who is fishing for seals, except those with a legitimate observation licence.

The bill is important because it concerns the safety of everyone involved in the seal hunt, including licensed observers.

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

Financial Administration

[Anne-Marie Day, NDP, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to present a petition concerning my Bill C-473, which would increase the number of women and improve their representation in decision-making positions, where ministers appoint boards of directors. The bill will be discussed on Friday in the House.

Health of Animals and Meat Inspection

[Alex Atamanenko, NDP, British Columbia Southern Interior, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have two sets of petitions with hundreds of names from Hamilton and Brampton, Ontario, and Courtney and Comox, British Columbia. The petitioners are in support of my bill, Bill C-322, saying that horses are commonly administered drugs that are strictly prohibited from being used at any time in all other food processing animals destined for the human food supply and that they are being sold for human consumption in domestic and international markets.

They call on Parliament to adopt legislation based on Bill C-322 to amend the Health of Animals Act and the Meat Inspection Act, thus prohibiting the importation or exportation of horses for slaughter for human consumption, as well as horse meat products for human consumption.

Animal Welfare

[Alex Atamanenko, NDP, British Columbia Southern Interior, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition comes from hundreds of folks from Simcoe, London, Port Dover, Cayuga, Delhi, Hamilton, and other communities in Ontario. It deals with animal cruelty legislation. They say Canadians are tired of hearing about animals being abused while their abusers walk free. They see a link between cruelty to animals and cruelty to humans. They call upon the government to ensure the federal—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order. I would just remind members that the practice is to provide a brief summary and when members are presenting more than one petition at a time, I think they should really focus on the brevity part of that.

The hon. member for Guelph.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[Frank Valeriote, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present three petitions signed by constituents in my riding of Guelph on the inherent rights of farmers to save, reuse, select, exchange, and sell seeds.

The petitioners are concerned with restrictions such as commercial contracts, identity preservation systems, and legislation that can criminalize traditional practices and harm farmers. They call on Parliament to enshrine in legislation the inalienable rights of farmers and other Canadians to save, reuse, select, exchange and sell seeds.

Mining Industry

[André Bellavance, Bloc, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as they do every year, a delegation from Development and Peace came to see me, and every MP, in order to raise awareness of issues affecting communities in the global south.

This delegation gave me a petition urging the federal government to create a legislated, extractive sector ombudsman mechanism in Canada to analyze complaints, make public its findings, recommend remedial actions and, finally, recommend sanctions by the government for mines that do not comply with standards.

Consumer Protection

[Kennedy Stewart, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition today signed by dozens of citizens in my riding of Burnaby—Douglas.

The petition concerns new pay-to-pay fees that many telephone, Internet, television and banking companies have introduced. The petition notes that these charges effectively force Canadian consumers to pay an additional fee just so they can pay their bills.

The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to prohibit pay-to-pay fees and ensure that consumers are not charged for receiving bills in the mail. Many articulate and well-meaning constituents have come to my office to discuss this issue and I urge the government to take this petition seriously.

41st General Election

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present two petitions today.

The first petition is from residents of Ottawa, Surrey and Burnaby, British Columbia and it relates to the 2011 federal election campaign allegations of attempts to mislead voters leading them to miss their opportunity, in fact, their right to vote.

The petitioners call for a full inquiry into this so-called “robocall” scandal.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition relates to our national broadcaster, the CBC. The petitioners are from Quebec, Windsor, Ontario and from my own riding, particularly from Saturna Island.

The petitioners call for steady and predictable funding. With the recent changes to Hockey Night in Canada, these concerns for CBC funding become even more acute.

Pensions and Benefits

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the federal government made a commitment to retirees of the federal public service, retired members of the Canadian Forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and retired federal judges for retirement pensions and benefits, including health insurance at predetermined levels of shared cost, as compensation for their years of service to Canada.

The concern of the petitioners is that the Treasury Board is reportedly considering making non-negotiable changes that would double the cost of health insurance for federal retirees.

The petitioners, through this petition, want to make the Prime Minister aware that they are not necessarily happy with what is happening.

International Trade

[Bruce Hyer, Independent, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am presenting a petition today on behalf of many Canadians who want our government to decline to ratify FIPA, the Canada-China foreign investment protection and promotion agreement.

The petitioners feel strongly that FIPA is not in Canada's interest and that the power of Canadian law should remain in Canadian hands. They feel this agreement would give Chinese state-owned enterprises the ability to claim damages regarding any Canadian laws they believe reduced their profits.