Debates of Feb. 12th, 2013

Electoral Boundaries

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

I informed members before about issues that touch on party responsibilities not being government business.

I see the Prime Minister rising to answer, but I do hope that members will tie in a link to government responsibility with their questions.

The Right Hon. Prime Minister.

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, of course, in terms of the preamble, Canadians do not want to return to constitutional debate and an opening up of the Constitution, just like, by the way, somebody should tell the NDP that they actually do not want to argue about the terms of a Quebec referendum either.

What Canadians want to do is to focus on the economy. In terms of electoral boundaries, our position is clear. Obviously we are trying to influence the positions of the commission, as is the right of every member of the House.

Employment

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's independent electoral boundary commission is the affair of government. It is the affair of every Canadian. It is fundamental to our democracy.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please.

The hon. Leader of the Opposition has the floor.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, while they are putting all of their effort into defending corruption and fraud, 1.3 million Canadians are out of work, and 250,000 of them have been for more than six months.

The next federal budget will be tabled shortly. Will the Prime Minister commit to making youth job creation a cornerstone of this budget?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, job creation is our government's priority. That is why Canada has one of the best job creation records in the western world.

However, I am getting even more confused about what the NDP's position is. He just said that the electoral boundaries matter is the concern of every Canadian. Of course it is. That is precisely why members of Parliament on this side and the public in Saskatchewan have been making their views known on this issue.

Employment Insurance

[Peggy Nash, NDP, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, specific measures are needed for young people. The unemployment rate for this group of workers is far too high. The long-term unemployment rate is also too high. It rose from 13% to 19%. Mark Carney has even acknowledged that this is a problem.

The long-term unemployment figures show that it is now taking longer and longer to find work. In this context, why are the Conservatives making it even more difficult to access employment insurance?

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, our record on job creation is the best in the western industrialized world, the best in the G7. Over 900,000 net new jobs have been created since the end of the recession in July 2009. Most of the new jobs are in the private sector. Most are full time.

As I say, this is the best job creation record among the western industrialized democracies.

[Peggy Nash, NDP, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we have still not regained all the jobs lost in the recession, so playing games with the statistics does not change the facts.

Last week's numbers showed a new decline in the number of people working. Some 250,000 were out of work for 27 weeks or more in 2012, twice as many as in 2008.

The Conservatives' solution is to cut unemployment assistance and drive more people onto the provincial welfare rolls. Exactly how is a mean-spirited attack on the unemployed helping our economy?

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite and her party say they are concerned about youth unemployment. I ask them then why they voted against the hiring credit for small business in the economic action plan 2012; why they voted against the youth employment strategy in the economic action plan 2012; why they voted against improving economic opportunities for aboriginal youth in the economic action plan 2012, and many more of the provisions that were in that budget for long-term growth, jobs and prosperity in Canada?

Health

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I want to talk to the Prime Minister about the exclusion of people from economic growth and prosperity.

The Prime Minister will know that the Mental Health Commission of Canada made a very powerful recommendation to the government that in order to effect a strategy to get people back to work, to get people out of isolation, to get people into the right kind of housing and the right kind of skills training, there needed to be additional resources from the federal government as well as from the provinces.

To date there has been no response from the government to that very powerful and clear recommendation from the Mental Health Commission of Canada.

I would like to ask the Prime Minister, why the silence?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, of course it was this government that set up the Mental Health Commission of Canada precisely to look at these kinds of issues and to explore solutions across a range of policy areas, not just health care but other areas as well.

We welcome the recommendations of the Mental Health Commission of Canada and look forward to taking more steps forward on these issues of very serious concern to Canadians.

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the problem is that the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance both said the same thing: they are not prepared to make the investments needed to resolve the situation, not only for hundreds, but for the thousands and perhaps even millions of Canadians who are economically marginalized from achieving prosperity because no government is willing to make the investments needed, nor is the private sector.

The question remains: will this government ever show some real leadership? Yes, it created the commission, but how does it plan to implement the commission's recommendations?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, it was this government that set up the Mental Health Commission of Canada in order to increase public awareness regarding these important issues. I am pleased to see the public is responding appropriately.

Of course, some targets still need to be reached in relation to these problems. We are not looking to simply spend money to solve these problems; we want to achieve real results. The government will continue to examine solutions in that regard.

Status of Women

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, speaking again of marginalization, I would like to ask the Prime Minister if he would imagine for a moment that 600 women in his constituency went missing, and having gone missing, I would ask the Prime Minister would he not think there would be an extraordinary public reaction to such a fact?

We know that along the highway unfortunately now called the Highway of Tears, there are hundreds of women who have gone missing. We know that there are hundreds of women who have gone missing across the country.

The Prime Minister has refused a royal commission. Why not a parliamentary inquiry?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, there is no party, no government in history that has taken more seriously the problem of violence against women than this government.

In terms of the specific issue that the member raises, this is a very strong concern for this government. That is why we have invested additional resources in police enforcement, in investigation and prevention, and we continue to look to ways that we can act.

The murder and abduction of women in this country is completely unacceptable. We will continue to move forward with a vigorous criminal justice agenda to address these problems. I encourage the Liberal Party to support it.

Public Safety

[Charmaine Borg, NDP, Terrebonne—Blainville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, those who joined forces with the NDP to protect the right to privacy declared victory yesterday when Bill C-30 was declared dead.

It was rather pathetic to see the Minister of Justice join the ranks of the worst criminals who opposed the defunct bill.

In a rare moment, a Conservative minister admitted he was wrong and listened to the criticisms from politicians and those who use the Internet.

Will the Minister of Public Safety admit his mistakes and apologize to those he insulted?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that anything to do with the justice system is always upsetting to members of the Liberal Party and the NDP. I cannot tell the difference between them. When it comes to fighting crime in our country, we are the only ones on the right side of this one.

That being said, we have introduced legislation that responds to the Supreme Court of Canada's decision. I urge all hon. members to make amends, get converted and start supporting our efforts to fight crime in our country.

[Charmaine Borg, NDP, Terrebonne—Blainville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, that answer suggests the Conservatives still have not learned their lesson. This is a victory for Canadians and all those who spoke out against this flawed bill. The Minister of Public Safety introduced a seriously flawed bill, launched attacks on the opposition for pointing out the bill's failings and refused to take responsibility for his vile comments.

Will the Minister of Public Safety stand now and apologize for the despicable way he treated the critics of the bill and acknowledge that his bill went too far?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, the problem the NDP has, we are responding directly to the provisions of the Supreme Court of Canada in R v. Tse decision. We have until April 13. We want to move ahead, but again this is just one part of this government's agenda to stand up for victims in our country, stand up for law-abiding Canadians and do what is right in the criminal justice system.

National Defence

[Christine Moore, NDP, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Jenkins report, released yesterday, notes the lack of transparency and the absence of guaranteed industrial benefits in certain military procurement contracts.

That was one of the NDP's main criticisms in the F-35 fiasco. To maximize the economic spinoffs, there needs to be an industrial benefits policy in place and a transparent and competitive process. The Conservatives have done the opposite.

Why did they not have a plan to maximize the industrial economic spinoffs from the F-35s?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, the member should know that as part of its seven point plan Industry Canada is tabling a public report of the industrial benefits to the Canadian aerospace sector and manufacturing sector. It will be doing that on an annual basis. Therefore, the member can look forward to yet another public document from Industry Canada ensuring that Canadians know what the benefits are to Canadian industry from the F-35 program.

[Matthew Kellway, NDP, Beaches—East York, ON]

Mr. Speaker, almost two years ago, defence officials told the then associate minister for military procurement that the Canada first defence strategy was “unaffordable”. They advised a reset. Yet this morning, the government released a report promising an industrial strategy based entirely on that very same unaffordable strategy.

We have one minister off and running with a defence strategy that the other one says he is rewriting. No wonder Canadians do not trust Conservatives on military procurement. Is it just one minister who is out of the loop, or both?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, we believe that government is much more powerful as a customer than as a subsidizer and we know the military procurement can play a major role in creating jobs and driving innovation. We asked Mr. Jenkins and his panel to report back to us and inform us on further opportunities to develop a military procurement strategy. I welcomed his report today and we look forward to seeing how we can implement some of his recommendations.