Debates of Nov. 7th, 2013

Official Languages

[Shelly Glover, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the commissioner for his annual report. To set the record straight on what my colleague just said, I would like to quote from the commissioner's report:

The federal government supports official language communities through various initiatives.... These initiatives have enabled a number of English-speaking and French-speaking communities to gain momentum over the years, giving them reason to be optimistic about the future.

I am very proud of our government because we have made unprecedented investments in our national languages. We will continue to do just that.

[Carol Hughes, NDP, Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the reality is that funding for official languages is going down under the Conservatives. It is a bit rich that the minister forgot to mention that.

These service cuts have a dramatic impact on our minority communities, and bilingualism rates are dropping across the country. Our official languages are a critical part of who we are as a country. The minister must do better, so will she implement the commissioner's recommendations, yes or no?

[Shelly Glover, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the commissioner was very clear about this government's moving forward on official languages. I would like to say that he noted several positive developments, including that there are now half a million more bilingual Canadians than there were 10 years ago, the majority of Canada's provincial premiers are bilingual, and French has actually become, as he states, the language of ambition. We believe it is ambitious.

I want to thank and congratulate all members of Parliament and senators who are presently taking official language training. Congratulations.

Citizenship and Immigration

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, over the past five years, on this Conservative government's watch, wait times for family reunification have skyrocketed, jumping from 13 months to 34 months. In some cases, wait times have increased by 400%.

People are having to wait two or three years to be reunited with their spouse. How many marriages can withstand such a test? When will the government do something to address this human tragedy?

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

Mr. Speaker, what the member said is completely false.

We are reducing the backlog created by the Liberals. We have been doing this work very efficiently for the past seven years for the families, spouses and children of the skilled workers who come here. We are providing impeccable service, which continues to improve.

If we had carried on with how the Liberals were doing things, wait times would be 10 years for skilled workers and their families. Now the wait time is only one year.

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my facts are right from his website. Liberals cannot be blamed for a tripling of waiting times in the last five years under the watch of Conservatives.

I say to members that they would not like it if their families were forced to remain overseas for two to three years, were not allowed to visit Canada, and did not have a clue when or whether they would be reunited with them.

I say to the minister, speak the truth and act to deal with this cruel reality facing so many new Canadians.

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

Mr. Speaker, it would be great if the member opposite had a mastery of the facts on the same scale as his anger and confusion. This is the party, the Liberal Party of Canada, that cut family reunification by 40% in its first five years in power.

When we came into office, we increased family reunification by 4,000 per year, compared with the Liberals' last five years. This year, we are bringing 27,000 parents and grandparents to this country. We brought 25,000 last year. That is the largest number in Canadian history. We will bring 20,000 more next year.

No government in history has ever done that, and the Liberals had better get to know—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please.

The hon. member for Brossard—La Prairie.

Champlain Bridge

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

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Infrastructure continues to turn a deaf ear. He is too busy repeating “no toll, no bridge” to listen to the people in the Montreal metropolitan area, the business community, surveyed residents and elected officials.

The Champlain Bridge is in really bad shape and must be replaced quickly. However, all the minster wants to do is take money out of the pockets of the people in the Montreal metropolitan area.

Will the minister stop this blackmail?

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, of course we are working on building a new bridge, as we announced on October 5, 2011.

However, before building a new bridge, we must first ensure that the existing bridge can still remain open to traffic in the coming years.

This member and his party voted against an investment of $380 million to maintain the existing bridge so that it is usable until the new bridge is built. I do not need any lectures from this member.

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

Mr. Speaker, the minister likes to change the subject.

The new Champlain Bridge will change the face of Montreal. It will cost billions of dollars and the minister is acting as though he is installing new floating flooring in his bungalow.

We could have a bridge with modern and magnificent architecture. He does not care. We could avoid killing the Montreal economy with a poorly planned toll. He does not care. We could ensure that we hold a tendering process to save taxpayers money. He does not care.

Will he start taking this issue seriously?

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, on August 8, 2011, this member and another one of his colleagues said that it remained to be seen whether there would be a toll, that they were still open to the idea and that it had to be discussed.

Today, he is saying that he is against a toll. He changes his mind as often as he changes his shirt. We are building a bridge for the future. We have worked really hard. The recently published Buckland & Taylor report has led us to proceed with more caution. We need to accelerate the construction of the new bridge and ensure that the existing bridge can remain open to traffic in the meantime. We are going to do the work. This bridge is an economic issue, not a political one.

Public Service of Canada

[Mark Adler, Conservative, York Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the President of the Treasury Board. Public sector salaries and benefits are the single largest operating expenditure of the government and vastly outstrip what Canadians can expect to receive in the private sector. We have also found that there is an extremely high rate of absenteeism in the public service.

Could the President of the Treasury Board please update the House on what he is doing to fix this issue and ensure that taxpayers are respected?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for a very important question. Did you know, Mr. Speaker, that currently, the absenteeism rate in the federal public service is 2.5 times private sector norms? This means that employees are home sick longer and are not getting the care they need. We want to have a system in place of more accountability and more responsibility, ensuring that those who are genuinely sick get the care they need and get back to work healthier.

This is good for the public service and it is good for the taxpayer to have that greater accountability. That is what I will be pursuing next year, when we get down to bargaining.

Veterans Affairs

[Jim Karygiannis, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in order to apply for benefits from Veterans Affairs, veterans need their complete medical files. Veterans Affairs has destroyed 27,381 boxes of medical records. I know of at least three veterans whose files were destroyed.

I have two questions for the Minister of Veterans Affairs. Has each veteran been advised that their file was destroyed? Can the minister guarantee that no veteran has been affected due to the destruction of their file? Yes or no? Or, will he go and support Robert Ford?

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

Mr. Speaker, these files pertained to veterans from many years ago. Indeed, no active, living veteran's file was involved in this process. What is more, each and every Canadian Armed Forces member's and veteran's military files remain in the archive.

To that member, I am very disappointed that he would choose to misinform and try to spread fear during the week designed to remember those who gave their lives in sacrifice for Canada.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Francine Raynault, NDP, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, children at the Simon P. Ottawa elementary school have been relocated to windowless storage units. A recent Health Canada report indicates that the moisture levels in the school's walls are between 96% and 100%, which leads to high levels of mould. The report makes mention of sick building syndrome and the presence of rodents.

I urge the minister to release emergency funds to fix the situation and to come visit the site on November 22. What is his response?

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

Mr. Speaker, my answer is simple. The department is well aware of the situation at the school in question, and action is being taken to fix the problem.

Natural Resources

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, liquefied natural gas is an important resource to our country, especially in my province of British Columbia. Canada is fifth in the world for production and fourth in exports of natural gas. This resource plays an important role as we transition from traditional coal plants and provides Canada with the opportunity to increase exports to new markets.

Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources comment on new developments in the area of natural gas?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Prince George—Peace River for that question. I look forward to working with him on committee.

Yesterday, the National Energy Board, in conjunction with the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta, released a report estimating larger than expected reserves in the Montney basin, enough to supply Canada's needs for 145 years. This is fantastic news for our energy sector.

Our government understands the importance of accessing new markets for our energy products, especially natural gas. We will remain focused on jobs and economic growth for all Canadians.

International Development

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the next Global Fund replenishment conference will take place in early December. The United States, the United Kingdom and Australia have already announced that they will be increasing their funding. They understand that we are at a turning point and that we can finally control AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in developing countries. However, the Conservatives have remained silent.

Will Canada also increase its Global Fund commitment, and when will the government make the announcement?

[Lois Brown, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development]

Mr. Speaker, Canada was a founding partner and continues to be a contributing partner to the Global Fund. We recognize the importance played by this organization in the fight against these three terrible diseases and we know that a replenishment conference is coming up in late 2013 for a replacement. As in the past, Canada will continue to determine its support in the lead up to the conference.

Justice

[Maria Mourani, Independent, Ahuntsic, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conseil du statut de la femme du Québec recently released a report on forced marriages, which affect underage girls. They are forced by certain family members to marry someone they do not know, often overseas. Once married, these young girls are often raped and forced to remain overseas.

Does the Minister of Justice plan on criminalizing forced marriage, as Canada has done for other unacceptable practices such as female circumcision?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, Canada is playing a leading role around the world in pushing for an end to early and forced marriage. This is an abhorrent practice and Canada is taking the lead at the United Nations by tabling a stand-alone resolution this fall. The issue with respect to what we can do in Canada to prevent young girls from being taken out of this country and forced to marry is a serious one. I know colleagues will be considering it and I am prepared to work with the member opposite on this important issue.

Oral Questions

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Beauséjour, NB]

Mr. Speaker, during question period, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, in response a question from my colleague from Vancouver Quadra, began his answer with a personal attack, using language which in the past you have ruled unparliamentary.

I would ask if the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister might wish to withdraw those first words of his answer. If he does not, Mr. Speaker, maybe you could review the record and come back to the House with some clarification as to what an appropriate answer would be.