Debates of Dec. 10th, 2013

Laval Volunteer Centre

[Rosane Doré Lefebvre, NDP, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the year is coming to a close. As they do every year during the holiday season, residents of Laval are working together to help the less fortunate. Along with community organizations and health care centres in Laval, the Centre de bénévolat et moisson Laval is collecting donations in order to make the 29th Christmas basket campaign a true success. The people of Laval are generous. Last year, over a million kilograms of food were distributed to Laval residents in need. This was made possible in part by the work of hundreds of volunteers. I would like to thank them.

Congratulations to the Centre de bénévolat et moisson Laval for its hard work and its dedication to this cause in these difficult times. We all want a society where nobody is left behind, which unfortunately is not the case right now. However, we will not lose hope and we will continue to fight together every day to eliminate inequities.

Taxation

[Earl Dreeshen, Conservative, Red Deer, AB]

Mr. Speaker, for most Canadians, the holidays are a time of celebration and festivities. For some Canadian families, however, it can be a time of exceptional hardship. Thankfully, charities like the United Way are there to provide some relief. Our government recognizes the important work that charities do for our communities, and we want to ensure we do all we can to encourage charitable giving.

In 2012, tax relief from charitable donations was over $2.98 billion. We want to see that number grow. That is why in economic action plan 2013, our government proudly introduced the first-time donor super credit. This provides an additional 25% to first-time donors, in addition to existing federal and provincial credits. Our government will always be there to support the work of charities.

Government of Canada

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

Mr. Speaker, 'Twas the week before Christmas and the Prime Minister's cast;
Were haunted by the scandals of ghosts from his past.
The PM denied when the first ghosts came calling;
That was Duffy, Brazeau and Pamela Wallin.
They attacked allegations with yuletide vendettas;
By stretching the truth and talking poinsettias.
The next ghost wrote a cheque that caused quite a fuss;
In no time at all, he was under the bus.
They tried what they could to keep it from worsening;
But then Deloitte got a call from Senator Gerstein.
The emails police found that the boss wasn't sharin';
That was thanks to the ghost of Benjamin Perrin.
Rob Ford's an old ghost that no one's enjoying.
He's really not scary, more so just annoying.
But it's ghosts of the future, who could possibly threaten;
Think Tkachuk, Stewart Olsen and Marjory LeBreton.
Like Dickens' great tale of the bitter old miser;
We'd expect those in power to conduct themselves wiser.
The truth will come out, we hope and we pray
Cause Canadians know even Scrooge found his way.

Human Trafficking

[Joy Smith, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, I was thrilled to join the Minister of Public Safety in Montreal to announce our government's next step in the fight to combat human trafficking, our modern-day slavery.

As committed by our government in the 2012 national action plan to combat human trafficking, the Minister of Public Safety announced the launch of a special RCMP enforcement team to combat human trafficking, which will be based in Montreal.

Members of the special RCMP team will work closely with law enforcement partners in the province of Quebec and all across Canada to tackle and dismantle vicious human trafficking rings and bring freedom to their many victims. In fact, only hours after yesterday's announcement, the team arrested four massage parlour operators as part of project combative, which has been targeting a ring of traffickers responsible for luring young Romanian women to Canada.

I want to thank the Minister of Public Safety for his particular dedication to ending modern-day slavery. I invite all members to join me in commending the work of the RCMP's new integrated enforcement team.

Ethics

[Mathieu Ravignat, NDP, Pontiac, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this morning we witnessed a travesty of democracy: another Conservative attempt to cover up for a scandal-plagued Prime Minister. Our ethics committee is considering an NDP motion to study Ben Perrin's infamous disappearing emails. Conservatives once argued for open government, but now they prefer to debate in the shadows, away from the public view.

This morning, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister led the effort to make sure that the Conservatives can continue to keep Canadians in the dark.

The Conservatives' contempt for democracy and transparency continues to grow. They misled the House and Canadians. They made Parliament into a circus with their stories about pizza. They applauded the Prime Minister when he washed his hands of a crime committed in his own office by his own staff.

As time goes by, Canadians are realizing more and more that they deserve better than a government that is constantly wheeling and dealing. They deserve an alternative to the old party that is jaded by power and has lost its principles in an effort to hold on to that power. The alternative is the NDP.

Christmas

[Nina Grewal, Conservative, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Christmas is approaching soon. In an effort to be inclusive and to avoid causing offence, some Canadians are trying to dampen its spirit. Political correctness and commercialization dilute the true meaning and the spirit of Christmas. Christians must not be denied the right to openly celebrate it. Christmas cannot be Christmas without Christ in it.

How can we justify wishing someone a happy Diwali, Vaisakhi, Eid or Chinese New Year while avoiding the words “merry Christmas”. As a Sikh, I am not offended when Christians celebrate Christmas in a traditional way, and I rather enjoy celebrating with them and participating in the spirit of giving.

Canada stands as a symbol of tolerance and religious freedom. We must continue to respect and uphold religious rights. Freedom of religion means that all Canadians have the equal opportunity to openly practise their faith, including Christians.

I ask that members please join me in wishing everyone a merry, merry Christmas.

Ethics

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, this morning, before forcing the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics to go in camera, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister opposed the NDP motion calling for an investigation into the Benjamin Perrin emails that were deleted by the Privy Council Office.

Who in the Conservative government instructed the parliamentary secretary to do such a thing?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I understand the committee in question was meeting in camera, so I was not aware of what was going on.

I can say this. The Privy Council Office has taken responsibility for the technical, even inadvertent, problem with respect to the emails in question. The moment the mistake was brought to our attention, we immediately informed the relevant authorities.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I can tell the minister that Conservatives went in camera because they were scared of an NDP motion to investigate the deleted emails, but before the Conservatives shut out the public, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs said that no investigation was necessary.

Does the Prime Minister share this view? Does he believe, like his parliamentary secretary, that no investigation is needed into how the government handled these missing emails?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, it is a fact that the Privy Council Office has taken responsibility for this issue.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, we started this scandal with a Conservative cover-up, and today the cover-up continues. Conservatives evaded questions, they misled the public and they kept crucial information secret. If Conservatives really do not think that an investigation is necessary into what happened to Ben Perrin's emails, then why do they not just give Canadians a little bit of accountability, maybe an early Christmas gift? Why do they not actually release all the relevant emails to the public today?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, what did happen is that the Privy Council made the office of the Prime Minister aware of this mistake and immediately the relevant authorities were advised and we said we would make all these emails available to them immediately.

[Nycole Turmel, NDP, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we want to know why Benjamin Perrin's emails were deleted.

Mr. Perrin was the Prime Minister's legal advisor. Anything that relates to the Prime Minister's Office and the attempt to cover up the Senate scandal is the administrative responsibility of the government, since it has to do with the management of the government's affairs.

Do Benjamin Perrin's emails contradict the claim that there was no legal agreement?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I think the Prime Minister has been very clear in responding to those questions about the fact that he was not aware of the actions of Mr. Wright in this regard. We have said that all these emails, which have been recovered, will be made available to the authorities so they can look at all these issues.

[Nycole Turmel, NDP, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to go back to what happened this morning at the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics.

Could government ministers tell us what instructions were given to the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister about that meeting?

Did my colleague opposite receive an order to oppose the motion? If no one gave him that order, why did he oppose the motion?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the Privy Council Office has publicly written and taken responsibility for the inadvertent and technical issue with respect to these emails. The minute that letter from the Privy Council Office with its apology was received, we informed the relevant authorities and they can have access immediately to all the emails whenever they like.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, six out of ten first nations youth do not complete high school. With population growth over four times that of the rest of the country, this impacts all Canadians. The crisis is evident with a funding gap of thousands less per student, but proposed federal legislation offers no clear funding and a total lack of consultation. First nations leadership calls it unacceptable.

When will the government be bringing forward a real proposal to deal with aboriginal education?

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

Mr. Speaker, our first nation children must have access to a comprehensive education regime that is currently available to other Canadian students, and this cannot be achieved without legislation.

This government remains committed to working with first nation leaders, parents and educators to fix the current loan system that has been failing students for too long. As I indicated yesterday, our government will invest new funds in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12 education on reserve, once our new legislative framework is in place.

Champlain Bridge

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have been dragging their feet for years about the Champlain Bridge. They have made no commitment to the province, have not held a public consultation and signed a contract without a bidding process. They do not even have a plan. All we know is that Montrealers will have to pay dearly to use this bridge.

When will this government give Montrealers a full, clear and coherent plan to replace the Champlain Bridge?

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, after 13 long years of inaction by the Liberal government, our government stepped up to make the necessary repairs to the Champlain Bridge. We promised that the bridge would be done in 2018 with a public-private partnership, and that it would be a toll bridge and involve public transportation. I call that a very clear plan.

Ethics

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Conservatives stonewalling on the PMO scandal defined this session of Parliament: nonsensical answers in question period; lost, then found, email evidence from the PMO's lawyer; blocking testimony and investigations in both the House and the Senate.

Looking back on this fall, will anyone on the other side stand up and express their regret to Canadians for the approach this government has taken over the past month?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I believe the Liberal Party certainly knows how to see the glass half full.

Obviously one person has taken responsibility and two people are being investigated by the authorities, as they properly should. We await the outcome.

National Defence

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

Mr. Speaker, last night the CBC released documents concerning the activities of Communications Security Establishment Canada. CSEC cannot spy on Canadians, but the documents allege that the agency invites the United States National Security Agency to operate inside Canadian facilities in this country and inside CSEC facilities in approximately 20 countries around the world.

Can the government confirm that this is the case? What plans does the government have to beef up parliamentary oversight of this agency?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I cannot comment on specific intelligence activities or capabilities, but I do have good news for the hon. member.

There is a commissioner who looks into CSEC. Every year for 16 years, the commissioner has confirmed that its activities have been lawful here. The commissioner has done that for the last 16 years, and he is an independent individual, so I am sure that will assure the hon. member.

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

Mr. Speaker, the question is not whether Communications Security Establishment Canada is supposed to obey the law, but whether CSEC actually did obey the law. The documents uncovered by Snowden indicate that the Americans operated in Canadian facilities here and abroad. It therefore seems that the Conservative government was complicit in spying on some of our trade partners.

Can the government confirm whether that is indeed true? If so, who approved this operation?