House of Commons Hansard #30 of the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was obesity.
Stephen Harper ConservativePrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, once again, as the bureaucracy itself has said, the Prime Minister's Office asked specifically for that information from the bureaucracy and was told that it was not available. The bureaucracy says that error was inadvertent.
Obviously, we would have preferred to turn all information over to the RCMP at the same time.
Officials having discovered that they made the error, I congratulate them for admitting it and for sending that information immediately to the RCMP.
Thomas Mulcair NDPLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, how can Canadians be sure that the documents handed over to the RCMP were not altered? How can this evidence still be valid when the Conservative government hid it for months?
Stephen Harper ConservativePrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, no information was hidden in this case. The RCMP has said so itself.
Thomas Mulcair NDPLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, did the Prime Minister know that as part of the Duffy deal, his office promised that the Prime Minister would make a statement saying that Mike Duffy met all the requirements to sit as a senator from P.E.I., yes or no?
Stephen Harper ConservativePrime Minister
Once again, Mr. Speaker, I have made known my position on this for some time. Obviously members of Parliament and senators have more than one residence. That is a situation we understand.
What we felt was inappropriate, in the circumstance, was that a senator was living at a long-time residence when, in fact, claiming a travel expense that was obviously not appropriate, which is why I indicated to Mr. Duffy that I thought he should repay those monies.
Judy Foote Liberal Random—Burin—St. George's, NL
Mr. Speaker, the Conservative leadership in the Senate is resisting efforts to hear testimony from Michael Runia and Senator Irving Gerstein. It claims the Senate cannot investigate the integrity of an audit it commissioned because the RCMP is investigating the matter, yet in this House, the government always claims that it is only Nigel Wright and Mike Duffy who are being investigated.
Why does the Prime Minister claim there is no RCMP investigation of Gerstein and Runia when his leader in the Senate says there is?
Paul Calandra ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs
Mr. Speaker, as I have said on a number of occasions, the three auditors from Deloitte appeared before a Senate committee.
They confirmed that the audit was done with the utmost confidentiality, and that the Senate could have confidence in the report that they had put forward. In fact, in the very same documents that the member refers to, the RCMP outlined the fact that it is Senator Duffy and Nigel Wright who are being investigated.
Judy Foote Liberal Random—Burin—St. George's, NL
Mr. Speaker, here we go again. They cannot have it both ways.
Either the RCMP are actively investigating Gerstein and Runia or they are not. If they are not, then Gerstein and Runia should be called to testify under oath immediately. Parliament needs to investigate this serious breach of the integrity of this audit.
Will the Prime Minister support hearing sworn testimony from Senator Gerstein, Michael Runia, and his own current and former PMO staff, yes or no?
Paul Calandra ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs
Mr. Speaker, again, the three auditors were brought before a Senate committee to confirm that the audit had been done with the utmost confidentiality and that the senators could have confidence in the report that was issued by Deloitte.
It was the basis of that report that led us and the senators to the conclusion that these three senators needed to be suspended without pay from the Senate. We know that the Liberals fought against that. They of course defended these three senators as victims and were defending the status quo. That is unfortunate. We stood up for Canadian taxpayers, as we always do.
Scott Andrews Liberal Avalon, NL
Mr. Speaker, the case of the Ben Perrin emails is a complete farce.
The RCMP had been asking for these emails repeatedly since September, and only when it was ready to raid the PMO did they magically appear. No one believes the excuses of this Prime Minister and his office. His office is trying to hide, deny, and deflect.
Why is the PMO obstructing an RCMP investigation? When will they publicly release Perrin's emails, which they now confess they have had for ages?
Paul Calandra ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs
Mr. Speaker, the RCMP did identify, on page 21 of the report, the fact that the Prime Minister actually ordered his office to assist in every way possible.
Hundreds of emails—thousands, in fact—were turned over. Of course, the Privy Council Office, in a letter released to the RCMP, outlined the reasons these emails were not found initially and did take full responsibility.
I will use the words of the member for Wascana himself, who said that beyond apologies to the PMO and the RCMP, the Privy Council Office owes its biggest apology to all Canadians.
I will accept what the member for Wascana said on that.
Jack Harris NDP St. John's East, NL
Mr. Speaker, despite what the government claims, members of the Canadian Armed Forces are not getting the support they need.
We have witnessed the heartbreaking tragedy of four apparent suicides in the past 10 days. Men and women who have served Canada, who stood up for us, deserve to have us stand up for them. Veterans and members of our armed forces need better mental health supports and serious policy changes, and they need them now.
Is the minister now, finally, willing to listen and take action today?
Rob Nicholson ConservativeMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister indicated, our thoughts and prayers go out to the families, colleagues, and friends of these individuals.
Suicide is a tragedy, and we have a role to play in reaching out to those who are hurting and encouraging them to get help. I know that the Canadian Armed Forces has a confidential 24/7 toll-free telephone advisory and referral service. I would urge all of those who are going through a crisis to reach out.
There is help. We all have a responsibility to make sure that they know that.
Élaine Michaud NDP Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC
Mr. Speaker, the government asks Canadians to fight for their country, but when they return they have to fight for adequate health care.
The closure of Veterans Affairs offices, the lack of mental health resources and the decrease in support for military families clearly show that the Conservatives have missed the mark.
Can the Minister of National Defence promise to increase the number of mental health professionals and set up clinics to diagnose post-traumatic stress syndrome?
Rob Nicholson ConservativeMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, we all have a role to play in making sure that the services are there for our men and women in uniform and indeed for our veterans.
The member indicated that she would like to see more money spent on health care, more investment, and there certainly has been under this government. We have almost doubled the number of health care professionals.
We all do what we have to do to make sure that these individuals are approached and in making sure that they know help is there. I urge them to contact the armed forces to have the services that are in place made available to them.
Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON
Mr. Speaker, Canadians who serve our country expect their government to be there for them in their time of need. Instead, the Conservatives are closing Veterans Affairs offices and failing our service men and women. Almost two dozen of our brave heroes took their own lives in 2011, and there were four more apparent suicides this past week.
Instead of hollow words, will the minister acknowledge that more must be done and tell us what action he will take to ensure our armed forces have the support they need?
Rob Nicholson ConservativeMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, it was under this government that we created a joint personnel support unit to allow our ill and injured members to work with medical personnel, social workers, occupational therapists and others to help them transition back into civilian life. However, again, one of the things the member could do is start supporting the efforts we have made over the years to increase help to our veterans. That would be a first step, and I certainly would welcome that.
Peter Stoffer NDP Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS
Mr. Speaker, Dr. Martin Luther King spoke of the “urgency of now”; and the urgency of now is right now.
One of the biggest problems men and women of the military have is that, when they come forward and admit they have a problem, if they get diagnosed, the clocks ticks toward their exit out of the military. In other words, they get booted out of the military.
One of the problems is the program called universality of service. Will the minister now, today, rethink the universality of service program to allow the men and women, who do come forward, to stay in the military until they receive all the psychological rehabilitation and educational opportunities they need to then transfer over to another career?
Rob Nicholson ConservativeMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, that is exactly what they do. The Chief of the Defence Staff and the Chief of Military Personnel have assured me that members of the Canadian Armed Forces are not released until they are prepared for that transition. I remind the member opposite 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. This is the least we can do for them.
Joan Crockatt Conservative Calgary Centre, AB
Mr. Speaker, supporting and protecting Canadian families is always a priority for our government, and that is why we have taken measures to protect Canadians online, by introducing Canada's anti-spam legislation.
My constituents of Calgary Centre, and indeed all Canadians, deserve to know that they are being protected from things like spyware, Trojan horses, viruses and unwanted spam.
Can the Minister of Industry please tell this House what our government is doing so Canadians can feel as safe in the electronic marketplace as they do at the mall?
James Moore ConservativeMinister of Industry
Mr. Speaker, our government passed legislation to protect Canadians from unwanted email and spam. This is actually quite a serious problem for Canadians. It hurts productivity. It hurts people's wireless rates when they get unsolicited email that causes their prices to go up every month. We passed legislation to protect consumers, and today we put forward the regulations to ensure that this legislation comes into force.
We said in our throne speech that we would stand up for consumers. We acted when we passed our anti-spam legislation. Today, we are putting in place regulations to ensure Canadians are protected from those emails and those messages that they do not wish to receive that cause their monthly bills to go up and threaten their cyber security.
Peter Julian NDP Burnaby—New Westminster, BC
Mr. Speaker, yesterday's tanker safety report identified major gaps in safety planning, leaving Canadians profoundly concerned.The panel found response time standards will not be enough to contain spills. Even in ideal conditions, at most, 15% of oil spilled into our water and along our coast can be recovered.
Yet Conservatives are ignoring the liabilities faced by taxpayers and stubbornly pushing for more tanker traffic, which increases the risk to our coastlines and to our communities.
Will the minister put aside the spin, start being responsible and at the very least enact these recommendations?
Jeff Watson ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to protecting the safety of Canadians and the environment. Our government's goal in creating the expert panel was to review Canada's current tanker safety system with an eye to improvement. We welcome the panel's findings, which will serve as an important part of achieving a world-class tanker safety system.
However, do not take my word for it. Here is what B.C.'s environment minister said: “I have a high degree of confidence that they are serious about achieving the goals that we have in front of us, and serious about the safety of our coast and the transportation of tankers up and down our coastline”.
Christine Moore NDP Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
Mr. Speaker, there is not one Canadian who really trusts the Conservatives to protect our coastal areas in the event of an oil spill. Even though a group of experts demanded better resources for the Canadian Coast Guard and Environment Canada, guess what happened? The Conservatives decided to cut the budgets of both these bodies.
What flawed logic has the minister used to justify cutting budgets for protection and prevention while promoting increased tanker traffic?
Jeff Watson ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, if the member would like to join us in taking action on these, perhaps the opposition should stop filibustering Bill C-3 and the stiffer penalties that are involved in that.
We have taken important actions, like increasing the number of inspections of all foreign tankers; increasing funding for the national aerial surveillance program to ensure that we keep a watchful eye on tankers that are moving through Canadian waters; researching non-conventional petroleum products; ensuring that systems of navigational aids are there, in place and well maintained; and building on that with the panel's report.
This is the next step in looking at how we make improvements to that to make it truly world class. Opposition members should join us in that.