Debates of Nov. 6th, 2013

The Environment

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the only thing under the current Conservative government that we are leading at is failing on acting on climate change.

In this report, one of the authors said:

Canada doesn't seem to fully grasp the risk that climate change poses to it...in its approach to climate change.

That last answer is a perfect example of not grasping the situation. When will the minister start paying attention to science and actually take action on climate change?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, our government is taking action on climate change. We contributed $1.2 billion to developing countries so that they can reduce their carbon emissions and adapt to changes. We are also a founding member of a major financial contributor to an international coalition taking action to reduce pollutants like black carbon. We have also made addressing these pollutants a priority under the Arctic Council chairmanship.

Canadian Forces

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I spoke with Corporal Glen Kirkland, who was in Afghanistan and was seriously injured in a rocket attack that also killed or wounded fellow soldiers. His fight for the honourable treatment of our veterans is the latest chapter in his story of bravery.

Will the Prime Minister make two commitments for our honoured veterans? Will he ensure that no solider injured in combat is involuntarily discharged from the forces before qualifying for their pension? Will he reverse the closure of nine veterans service centres in communities like Sydney, Kelowna, and Brandon?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, again, the department works with those individuals to make sure that they are ready for the transition to civilian life. Nobody has made this more of a priority than this government.

I have to ask the hon. member this: After a decade of darkness, when the Liberals did nothing on this file, why is it only about a week before Remembrance Day that they discover this file? We make this a priority 52 weeks of the year. That is the difference.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I spoke with Corporal Glen Kirkland, who was seriously injured in Afghanistan. His fight to ensure that veterans are treated with dignity is just the latest chapter in his tale of courage.

Will the Prime Minister make the following commitments to our veterans? Will he ensure that no soldiers injured in combat will be dismissed from the forces before they are eligible for their pension, and will he reverse the decision to close nine veterans service centres in cities like Windsor, Thunder Bay and Brandon?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, we give our thanks to Corporal Kirkland, indeed to all those men and women who have served in the Canadian Armed Forces.

The message I have for them is that after a decade of darkness here, now they will experience a decade of delivery under this Conservative government.

Champlain Bridge

[Hoang Mai, NDP, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the people of Montreal and the south shore are increasingly concerned about the impact of a toll on the new Champlain Bridge. They still have questions. For example, how much will the toll cost? Once the toll is in place, how congested will the other bridges be?

Other than saying, “no toll, no bridge” could the minister once and for all answer our questions?

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to say it again: no toll, no bridge. We will continue to work to ensure that a bridge is built to meet the needs of the greater Montreal area, with the ability to pay Canadian taxpayers. We have done a great job. The business plan will be ready by the end of the year. Among other things, it will analyze 13 different architecture and engineering scenarios for the bridge construction. We are working hard and we will honour our commitments.

[Hoang Mai, NDP, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, even more disturbing than the minister's failure to provide answers is the fact that his government has circumvented its own rules for awarding contracts. A sum of $15 million was awarded to Arup Canada without a tendering process. Untendered contracts often mean cronyism and corruption. Not only did they not hold an international architecture competition, but furthermore, they loaded the dice. Why did the minister decide to ignore the competitive process?

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, the firm in question has been working on the bridge file for quite a while now, along with the company that was awarded the contract for the business plan. These people are hard at work.

Recently, a report from the highly reputable firm Buckland & Taylor raised additional and significant concerns about the bridge. We took this very seriously. Officials from Public Works and Government Services Canada have managed this file with Transport Canada.

While my colleague is concerned about the work involved in these things, we are concerned about his vote when the time comes to invest in this bridge.

Seniors

[Lawrence Toet, Conservative, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, elder abuse is a serious crime that should not be tolerated. Starting today, Canadians across the country will recognize National Senior Safety Week. This year, the focus will be on raising awareness and preventing financial fraud amongst older Canadians. Financial abuse, one of the many forms of senior abuse, deprives seniors of their dignity and peace at a time of life when they should feel safe and secure.

Can the Minister of State for Seniors please tell the House what our government is doing to help tackle financial abuse?

[Alice Wong, Conservative, Minister of State (Seniors)]

Mr. Speaker, any form of elder abuse will not be tolerated by our government. That is why we have passed legislation to ensure tough sentences for those who have taken advantage of seniors.

We have increased funding for new horizons which deals directly with financial abuse. We have also increased the availability of information and resources to help abused seniors and their families. We are working together with the provinces and territories, with organizations and individuals in order to continue our work in tackling elder abuse.

Search and Rescue

[Yvonne Jones, Liberal, Labrador, NL]

Mr. Speaker, on Monday, a fishing vessel en route from St. Anthony to Triton, Newfoundland became engulfed in flames. Three fishermen had to evacuate the ship after making a mayday call. That call was received by St. Anthony Coast Guard radio and St. John's Coast Guard radio, both of which government had slated to close. It was the element of local knowledge and coordination that allowed for a successful rescue operation.

I ask the government today to admit that slashing search and rescue services is putting lives of people at risk. Will more people have to die before the government reverses those decisions?

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

Mr. Speaker, first, I want to thank private citizen Terry Ryan and the other private citizens who responded to the call. I also want to thank the Canadian Coast Guard and Canadian Forces personnel for being involved in this rescue which saved three people, thankfully.

The fact that a private vessel responded after mayday calls were issued by both the burning vessel and the Canadian Coast Guard and they were first on site is an example of how the mayday system works well. The closest vessel headed out to the disaster. The mayday was issued at 6:20 a.m. and in nine minutes a Hercules from Greenwood, a Coast Guard ship out of Lewisporte and a helicopter out of Gander were tasked with responding.

Western Economic Diversification

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the RCMP is now investigating Regina's International Performance Assessment Centre for alleged fraud and breach of trust. The federal government gave $4 million to IPAC toward research on carbon capture and storage.

Conservatives have been aware of these problems for some time. Have they been contacted by the RCMP? What actions are they taking to recover any misspent taxpayer moneys?

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Minister of State (Western Economic Diversification)]

Mr. Speaker, it is my first time answering my colleague in her role as critic to the western economy, one of several in her caucus. However, this matter is before the RCMP and we will not comment further.

Natural Resources

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the oil sands creates hundreds of thousands of job in communities right across Canada. We notice the Conservatives clap for that because our government knows that Canadians benefit from resource development. We have been clear that the Keystone XL project will create fantastic jobs for Canadians and tremendous growth in our economy.

Could the parliamentary secretary please update the House on the work the minister is doing to support Canadian jobs and add to the quality of life for Canadians?

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Natural Resources is in Washington today, advocating for Canadian jobs in our resource sector.

The difference between our approach and that of the NDP could not be more stark. While our government is focused on creating jobs and economic growth for Canada, the NDP attacks Canadian jobs. While we support Canadian workers, the NDP continues its anti-trade, anti-development and anti-resource agenda.

Science and Technology

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

Mr. Speaker, the indirect costs of research are severely penalizing Canada's universities.

By reimbursing only 21.5% of those costs, the Conservatives are putting our universities at risk of not balancing their books. Quebec universities alone are underfunded by $113 million annually.

Will the Minister of Industry improve the program and cover 40% of the indirect costs of research, as was planned in 2003?

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

Mr. Speaker, our government remains committed to supporting science, technology and innovation.

That is why we are working with post-secondary institutions to re-evaluate the indirect costs program. We want to ensure that taxpayers' money is managed wisely.

Champlain Bridge

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

Mr. Speaker, along with the Government of Quebec, the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal and the south shore business community, 61% of the people in the Montreal area also oppose the toll the federal government plans to levy on the future Champlain Bridge. The Prime Minister's political lieutenant for Quebec now stands alone.

Instead of imposing its views and bending the rules in the awarding of contracts—the same rules meant to prevent what we are seeing every day with the Charbonneau commission—when will the government really sit down with the stakeholders and stop operating in a vacuum?

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, since October 5, 2011, the day we launched the process for the construction of the new bridge over the St. Lawrence, over two years ago, there have been more than 55 meetings involving officials from Transport Canada, Transports Québec, the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal and the Agence métropolitaine de transport.

The day we announced the construction of the new bridge, we said that there would be a toll on it as part of a public-private partnership and that there would be public transit on the bridge. There are no surprises here.

Presence in Gallery

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

On the occasion of Veterans' Week, I would like to draw to the attention of hon. members the presence in the gallery of some of our war veterans: Mr. Bill Black, a Korean War veteran; Mr. Wayne MacCulloch, a peacekeeping veteran; Mr. Jody Mitic, an Afghanistan war veteran; and Mr. John "Jack" Caldwell McLean, a Bomber Command veteran.

[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 Senator Sean D. Barrett a distinguished senator from the Republic of Ireland.