House of Commons Hansard #213 of the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was c-55.
Jason Kenney ConservativeMinister of Citizenship
Mr. Speaker, we have listened to Canadians. Canadian taxpayers have no obligation to provide gold-plated health insurance to illegal immigrants who have been deemed by our fair and generous legal system not to be refugees.
It is interesting to note that we brought in the initial part of this change on July 1 and we immediately saw a 90% reduction in the number of asylum claims being filed by nationals of the democracies of the European Union.
Robert Chisholm NDP Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS
Mr. Speaker, Atlantic Canadians are grieving over the loss of five fishermen when the Miss Ally went over last week. Our thoughts are with their families and their communities in this difficult time.
Questions are continuing to be raised about the coordination between the Coast Guard, DND and the RCMP. For example, why did the search end so soon? Why was the Miss Ally not searched the first time it was located on Tuesday?
Will the government provide Nova Scotians and all Canadians with the answers to those questions and do it soon?
Peter MacKay ConservativeMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, as was indicated earlier by the member for South Shore—St. Margaret's and by this member, our thoughts and prayers remain with the families of those who lost loved ones on the Miss Ally. The entire community of Woods Harbour, Nova Scotia, continues to grieve.
National Defence, the Canadian Coast Guard, the United States Coast Guard and private assets were all involved in the search and rescue mission. After the mission turned to a recovery operation under the RCMP, I immediately responded positively to a request from my colleague, the Minister of Public Safety, that Canadian Forces assets also support the recovery mission.
Fin Donnelly NDP New Westminster—Coquitlam, BC
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives should make saving lives on both coasts a priority. Unfortunately, last week the Conservatives quietly shut down B.C.'s Kitsilano Coast Guard station in Canada's busiest port. This station costs less than $1 million a year to operate. In fact, it costs less than the travel expenses of just three Conservative senators. This is a reckless decision that will put lives at risk.
Why are the Conservatives defending their senators instead of British Columbians?
Keith Ashfield ConservativeMinister of Fisheries and Oceans and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway
Mr. Speaker, of course the government's paramount concern is to allocate its resources in a way that is obviously based on advice from the Coast Guard and is best for public safety.
With respect to the timing, the Coast Guard said that it held exercises prior to the closure of the base last week and felt that the transition could proceed without any additional risk.
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
Mr. Speaker, tomorrow marks the one-year anniversary of a tragic train derailment in Burlington, Ontario. Our thoughts remain with the families of the victims of that accident.
Our government continues to take strong action to ensure that the travelling public is safe and that Canada has one of the safest transportation systems in the world. In fact, since 2007 train accidents have decreased by 23%.
Can the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities update the House on the actions taken following this accident?
Denis Lebel ConservativeMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, our thoughts and prayers remain with the families of those who lost their lives in the tragic accident that occurred one year ago tomorrow.
Our government takes the safety of the travelling public very seriously. We will continue to make decisions based on the interests of safety for all Canadians.
I am pleased to confirm today that VIA Rail is installing locomotive voice recorders in its entire fleet, and we await the Transportation Safety Board's final report with respect to the accident.
Scott Andrews Liberal Avalon, NL
Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs about his ministerial budget and his staff.
Media reports confirm that the minister gave Chris Crawford a huge promotion, effectively doubling his salary. This is the same Chris Crawford who ran the CIMS database on election day, the very data that was used to defraud voters.
Will the minister confirm that it was his decision to give Mr. Crawford this promotion, or was it someone else in government or the Conservative Party who instructed him to do so? Does he take full responsibility for his employees?
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, another day, another hysterical false allegation from the Liberal member across the way.
Normally the Liberals are attacking the member for Labrador because he spends too much time in Labrador serving his constituents. Now they are attacking him with false allegations without evidence.
The only party in Canada that has been found guilty of having made illegal robocalls is the Liberal Party of Canada, and more particularly, its member for Guelph.
If the member who just posed the question wants to know more about that, he should just walk over and ask his Liberal colleague.
Anne Minh-Thu Quach NDP Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC
Mr. Speaker, many people are asking to be consulted about energy development projects, including oil pipelines.
At some consultations conducted by the industry, not all documents appear to have been available in both official languages. Detailed information is essential because resource development and exploitation are complex and important issues.
Can the minister assure us that in future, the National Energy Board will make sure that documents pertaining to oil pipeline projects are available in both official languages?
David Anderson ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and for the Canadian Wheat Board
Mr. Speaker, we work with regulators, governments and proponents across this country—and opponents, actually—on these proposals.
However, the member opposite needs to know that almost 20% of Canadian economic activity comes from the resource sector. The NDP members just do not seem to get it. They continue to oppose all job-creating resource developments. They oppose all hydrocarbon development. They oppose all mining projects. They oppose clean energy projects. They oppose nuclear energy projects. They even speak against the forestry sector.
When will the New Democrats come up with any economic development in this country that they will actually support?
Mark Strahl Conservative Chilliwack—Fraser Canyon, BC
Mr. Speaker, in a report commissioned by our government, Mr. Emerson confirmed that the Canadian space industry is well positioned to take advantage of emerging opportunities, succeed commercially and contribute to the public good.
Canadians are immensely proud of our space sector and its well known achievements that have contributed to its reputation as a world leader in space technology. Canada has earned this reputation by setting the bar high and aiming for the stars.
Can the Minister of National Defence update the House on the latest developments in the space sector?
Peter MacKay ConservativeMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, I thank my B.C. colleague for the very timely and relevant question.
This morning not one but two satellites were successfully launched as part of an international effort. The Near-Earth Object Surveillance Satellite, NEOSSat, as well as Sapphire, are Canada's first dedicated operational military satellites. These are achievements that every Canadian can be proud of, proof that Canadian ingenuity and leadership in advanced space technology are indeed out of this world.
Canada's highly competitive aerospace and space industries are major contributors to our economy, and these milestones are two more examples of what our world-class Canadian companies can accomplish.
Sadia Groguhé NDP Saint-Lambert, QC
Mr. Speaker, the minister’s decision to deny refugee claimants access to health care is having a growing number of repercussions. Legal action was taken today to challenge these dangerous budget cuts. Lives are at stake, and the minister is defending a policy that would deprive people of vital care that is anything but a luxury. Doctors are in the best position to determine who needs care and what kind of care is appropriate.
When is the minister going to admit that he made a mistake and cancel the health care budget cuts?
Jason Kenney ConservativeMinister of Citizenship
Mr. Speaker, yet again, the New Democratic Party is clearly in favour of forcing Canadian taxpayers to pay the health care expenses of bogus asylum seekers, people who are not refugees, but who have had their claim denied or disallowed by our fair and effective legal system. The New Democrats want to force taxpayers to provide additional services to these illegal immigrants, even though these services are not available to Canadian citizens and taxpayers. It is truly bizarre.
Jean-François Fortin Bloc Haute-Gaspésie—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC
Mr. Speaker, on February 1, the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development declared in the House that the department’s employees did not have individual quotas. This is pure deception. Not only that, but the quotas are nearly 20% higher in Quebec. As Quebec has already taken the biggest hit from the reform, because it has 40% of seasonal workers, it will be doubly penalized by the reform and the quotas.
Is the minister going to answer my question? Unless, of course, she has already answered her quota of questions for the day. Why is Quebec being targeted more than the other provinces?
Diane Finley ConservativeMinister of Human Resources and Skills Development
Mr. Speaker, the employment insurance program lost millions of dollars last year because of fraud and ineligible payments, even though Service Canada was able to stop the payment of half a billion dollars in ineligible or fraudulent benefits.
When the opposition prevents us from combating fraud, the only losers are the Canadians who follow the rules.
The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer
I would like to draw the attention of hon. members to the presence in the gallery of the Hon. Jonathan Denis, Minister of Justice and Solicitor General for the Province of Alberta.
The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer
It is my duty pursuant to section 21 of the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act to lay upon the table a certified copy of the reports of the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commissions for the provinces of Quebec and Ontario.
These reports are deemed to have been permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.
A message from His Excellency the Governor General transmitting estimates for the financial year ending March 31, 2014, was presented by the President of the Treasury Board and read by the Speaker to the House.
A message from His Excellency the Governor General transmitting supplementary estimates (C) for the financial year ending March 31, 2013, was presented by the President of the Treasury Board and read by the Speaker to the House.
Bob Dechert ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Speaker, under the provisions of Standing Order 32(2), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the following treaties entitled, one, Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of the United Arab Emirates for Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy, done at Ottawa on September 18, 2012; two, Protocol Amending the Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of the People's Republic of China on Air Transport, done at Zhuhai on November 13, 2012; and three, Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of the United States of America for the Sharing of Visa and Immigration Information, done at Ottawa on December 13, 2012.
An explanatory memorandum is included with each treaty.
Government Response to PetitionsRoutine Proceedings
February 25th, 2013 / 3:10 p.m.
Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre Saskatchewan
Conservative
Tom Lukiwski ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to 22 petitions.
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 18th report of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, in relation to Bill S-9, an act to amend the Criminal Code.
The committee has studied the bill and has decided to report the bill back to the House without amendment.
Joe Preston Conservative Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 41st report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, regarding membership of committees of this House.
If the House gives its consent, I intend to move concurrence in the 41st report later today.