Debates of Nov. 7th, 2013

Ethics

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, it is obviously a great honour for anyone to be elected to this chamber, to be appointed to the other chamber. Regardless of their backgrounds, all of these people have given many years of public service.

The fact of the matter is we expect people to respect the rules. We expect people to not make expense claims that are false or that are contrary to the rules or that entirely disregard whether rules even exist. Those senators who have done that, two out of the three senators the NDP leader has named, have been sanctioned. That was appropriate, and I hope it sends a good message.

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Speaker, U.S. President Nixon was forced to resign not because of the Watergate break-in but because of the denials and cover-up that followed. The Prime Minister is in exactly the same boat. The unethical behaviour of the senators and the chief of staff, who he appointed, is shameful, but the real issue is his role in the alleged bribery, corruption, and cover-up.

With the RCMP now knocking on the door of the Prime Minister's Office, will the Prime Minister finally stop evading our questions and tell Canadians the truth?

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

Mr. Speaker, let me say this. That member and that question are a complete disgrace and deserve no answer.

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government would have us believe that the suspension of Senator Duffy, Senator Wallin and Senator Brazeau puts an end to the scandal hanging over the Prime Minister's head. What is worse, the government is trying to cover up the whole thing and refuses to come clean with Canadians. The Conservatives' vote last night was another step in trying to hide the involvement of the Prime Minister and his office. If the Prime Minister has nothing to hide, why does he refuse to testify under oath before a committee?

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

Mr. Speaker, our senate colleagues took very decisive action with respect to these three senators. They protected the taxpayers, unlike the Liberals in the Senate and unlike the Liberals in the House. The Liberals in the House, of course, make victims of these senators and disgraced former Liberal Senator Mac Harb. In the Senate, they refuse to stand up for taxpayers. We are doing just the opposite.

At the same time, the minister for democratic reform, who has been compared to Winston Churchill recently by some in the press gallery, has put forward a series of reforms to the Supreme Court that we hope will provide a road map for future changes to the Senate.

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is again for the Prime Minister.

If the government is not engaged in a cover-up, then why is it refusing to release documents that were requested through the ATIP process that we now know exist, thanks to RCMP court filings.

Why did Chris Woodcock try to deceive Canadians by writing a phony story about Mike Duffy taking out a Royal Bank loan to pay the $90,000? Why is the government still employing former PMO staffers, like Chris Woodcock, who participated in an attempted cover-up?

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

Mr. Speaker, what is clear is this. On February 13, when Senator Duffy approached the Prime Minister to try to justify his inappropriate expenses, the Prime Minister told him he had to repay them. That is the standard we expected. That is the standard he expected. Senator Duffy then went on TV and said that he had repaid using the Royal Bank. We subsequently learned that that was not true.

At the same time, we moved forward, the Senate moved forward, with a motion to suspend these three senators. All Canadians believe that was the right step. The only people who do not believe that was the right step, of course, are the Liberals, who are always fighting for their entitlements.

Whether it is in the House or in the Senate, we will fight for taxpayers.

Canadian Forces

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask about the government's disgraceful treatment of wounded soldiers. Soldiers are being forced out just before they become eligible for their pensions. Sadly, the minister dodges these questions and pretends these soldiers agreed to leave.

Corporal David Hawkins did not agree. He did not want to be discharged a year shy of qualifying for his pension. He wanted to continue to serve.

These soldiers are not asking for special treatment; they are asking for fair treatment. Why will the minister not stand up, do the right thing, and support these soldiers?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, no government has done more to support these soldiers than this government. I am very proud of that.

As I said before, we have been working with the Chief of the Defence Staff and the chief of military personnel to ensure that members of the Canadian Armed Forces are not released until they are prepared. I again remind the hon. member that every possible accommodation is made to ensure that soldiers are kept in the forces and provided with the best possible support before being considered for release. That is the way it should be.

[Élaine Michaud, NDP, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this is shameful. Their old tired lines will do nothing to help our soldiers.

The minister's cavalier attitude is a slap in the face of all those who put their lives on the line to defend our country. Men and women have paid the price for their dedication and sacrificed their health in the process. However, the Conservatives, with this minister leading the way, have turned their backs on them.

Would the minister show a little compassion and make sure that soldiers wounded in action are entitled to their full pension before returning to civilian life?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the Chief of the Defence Staff and the chief of military personnel work very closely with all issues related to soldiers and those being released. They are very accommodating to them in terms of making sure that they have all the resources they need. Nobody is released until they are ready for that.

What is shameful is that every time we come forward with any initiative to help support our men and women in uniform and veterans in this country, the NDP always votes against it.

Veterans Affairs

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to veterans, Conservatives are speaking out of both sides of their mouths. Veterans deserve better.

Windsor is a community that responded to the call. It provided our nation's capital the Korean war memorial. Our men and women stepped up during the Great Wars, Korea, Afghanistan, and countless peacekeeping missions. Instead of honouring these contributions, Conservatives are closing our veterans office and others, forcing veterans to travel for hours to get help. Why will the government not protect those who have protected Canada?

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

Mr. Speaker, our government has made substantial investments to support Canada's veterans, including almost $5 billion in new additional dollars since taking office. This funding has been put toward improved financial benefits, world class rehabilitation, and tuition costs to help veterans transition to civilian life.

While our government is making improvements to veterans' benefits, the Liberals and the NDP have voted against new funding for mental health treatment, financial support, and home care services.

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

What utter nonsense, Mr. Speaker. I can assure the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs that when the NDP forms government, we will re-open every single one of those offices. Veterans deserve better than that.

The reality is there is a big rally happening in Sydney, Cape Breton this Saturday with all our citizens. All the Atlantic communities want to keep that office open. These veterans and their families deserve to have that one-on-one counselling that they have received for many years, and it is shameful to cut those offices.

We ask the government one last time. To the Prime Minister: Will you stop these cuts and keep these offices open?

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

I remind the hon. member to address the question through the Chair and not directly at the Prime Minister.

The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs.

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

Mr. Speaker, there are now 600 additional points of service across this country available to Canadian veterans. A critically injured veteran no longer has to drive to a district office. Our government now sends a registered nurse or a caseworker to meet with them in the comfort of their own homes.

I would like to point out the fact that it is the opposition parties and members that have voted against every single initiative we have introduced to help our veterans.

Economic Development

[Ron Cannan, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Mr. Speaker, our government recognizes that supporting innovation in the private sector is key to our continued economic success. While the Liberals and NDP spread fear and uncertainty, we have been encouraging the growth of our entrepreneurs and business leaders with the launch of the western innovation initiative, otherwise known as WINN.

Could the hard-working, intelligent Minister of State (Western Economic Diversification) please outline how our government is creating new economic opportunities in the west?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to introduce policy in an area that you have a background in.

Knowing how important it is to have access to capital for small and medium-size entrepreneurs when they are scaling up their products and trying to get them to market to bridge that innovation gap is something our government gets, which is why we have launched the WINN initiative. The first program intake date is November 8. This is a good thing for western Canadian businesses, and we do not need a pastel coloured poster to tell about it.

Employment Insurance

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

Mr. Speaker, a broad coalition of over 75 organizations from seven different provinces, representing groups to help the unemployed, professional organizations, students, municipalities, community groups and so on, have recently spoken out to vigorously reject the Conservatives' EI reform.

After stigmatizing EI recipients, penalizing thousands of workers and weakening the economy of the regions, how far will the government go before admitting it should cancel its reform?

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Minister of State (Social Development)]

Mr. Speaker, the opposition is purposely misleading Canadians about the facts. In fact, their fearmongering is trying to score cheap political points.

The fact is, our modest and reasonable changes have not changed the rules around applying for and qualifying for EI. In fact, EI remains strong for those Canadians who have paid into it and when, through no fault of their own, they need to count on it. That is our government's record.

In addition, we have created more than one million net new jobs. We have the lowest unemployment rate since 2008. We are on track to keep our country strong and prosperous--

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. member for Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine.

[Philip Toone, NDP, Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, if the parliamentary secretary had taken the time to do a proper study on the impact of this EI reform, she would know that everything she said is completely false.

A recent survey showed that four out of five people in the Gaspé and the Magdalen Islands personally know someone who had to leave their area because there are no jobs and, contrary to what the Conservatives keep saying, it is just not true that people continue to have access to employment insurance if they lose their jobs for reasons beyond their control.

Does the minister realize that this EI reform will empty out my region? When will he discard this reform?

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Minister of State (Social Development)]

Mr. Speaker, the fact is, EI recipients have always been required to look for work while they are receiving benefits.

What is disappointing is when the opposition continuously asks us to enable temporary foreign workers to come into areas where people are unemployed, where Canadians need work.

I want to talk about some of the great changes we have made to EI, including a job alert system, where 33 million alerts were sent out this year. We have a work-sharing program we have introduced. We also have introduced benefits for parents of critically ill children. Those are great changes we have made. We are empowering Canadians.

Official Languages

[Jamie Nicholls, NDP, Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Commissioner of Official Languages was very clear in his report. The Conservatives' record since 2006 has been catastrophic. People cannot get service in the language of their choice in airports. The government got rid of the census long form, closed the only bilingual rescue centre, appointed unilingual officers, and the list goes on.

What will the new minister do to get Canada moving forward instead of backward on official languages?