House of Commons Hansard #217 of the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was victims.

Topics

Canada Mortgage and Housing CorporationOral Questions

11:25 a.m.

Simcoe—Grey Ontario

Conservative

Kellie Leitch ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and to the Minister of Labour

Mr. Speaker, let us be clear. The member opposite has his facts absolutely wrong. The difference between the main estimates reflects a shift between contribution funding and grant funding. The total budget for the homelessness partnership strategy is exactly the same and will continue to be funded to 2014.

Our programs fund and make sure that those individuals who need a roof over their head have it, unlike the NDP that puts forward, again and again, schemes to make sure Canadian taxpayers cannot afford a home, whether that be its $21 billion carbon tax or other items it puts forward.

We want to make sure Canadians have a roof over their heads—

Canada Mortgage and Housing CorporationOral Questions

11:25 a.m.

NDP

The Deputy Speaker NDP Joe Comartin

The hon. member for Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques.

Parliamentary Budget OfficerOral Questions

11:25 a.m.

NDP

Guy Caron NDP Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC

Mr. Speaker, the entire world is in economic turmoil. The eurozone is going through some tough times, the United States is on the brink of a sequester that could rock the North American market, and Canada's economic growth stagnated in the last quarter of 2012.

So what are the Conservatives focusing on? Going after the Parliamentary Budget Officer, who makes sure that Canadians know the truth about government finances. That is completely unacceptable.

When will they stop these attacks on the work and legitimacy of the Parliamentary Budget Officer?

Parliamentary Budget OfficerOral Questions

11:25 a.m.

Saint Boniface Manitoba

Conservative

Shelly Glover ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance

Mr. Speaker, as we have said many times, our priority is economic growth, job creation and our country's long-term prosperity.

I am very proud to say that Canada posted an economic growth rate of 0.6%, the highest rate among all of the G7 countries. We are proud of that fact.

If the NDP had its way, it would waste $56 million. We will not do that. We will continue with our plan.

Government AccountabilityOral Questions

11:30 a.m.

NDP

Kennedy Stewart NDP Burnaby—Douglas, BC

Mr. Speaker, those attacks from members on the other side are pretty rich considering they get their ethical advice from Tom Flanagan.

We know the Conservatives' next attack on Kevin Page is coming from the Senate. The deputy leader of the government in the Senate claims that Page is “overstepping his mandate”, all because the PBO has the audacity to ask government departments for information on their spending plans. They are not just defending their Senate entitlements now, they are using the Senate to shut down an independent fiscal watchdog.

Will the Conservatives stop dismantling fiscal accountability and end their attack on the PBO?

Government AccountabilityOral Questions

11:30 a.m.

North Vancouver B.C.

Conservative

Andrew Saxton ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board and for Western Economic Diversification

Mr. Speaker, we have many ways of reporting to Parliament, including the estimates, quarterly reports and the public accounts.

We want a Parliamentary Budget Officer who is non-partisan and a credible source of opinion on fiscal matters. The Parliamentary Librarian has retained a search firm, and we look forward to a new Parliamentary Budget Officer in due course.

EthicsOral Questions

11:30 a.m.

NDP

Françoise Boivin NDP Gatineau, QC

Mr. Speaker, after coming up with laughable excuses to defend senators who lied about where they lived or campaigned for the party using public funds, the government is now trying to sweep the whole issue under the rug.

Questionable decisions are being made behind closed doors and then we are led to believe that everything is fine, that a review was carried out and that no one is guilty.

As long as the documents proving that abuse did or did not take place remain under wraps, Canadians will remain in the dark about the scope of the Senate swindle.

How much money was Senator Wallin asked to reimburse and why?

EthicsOral Questions

11:30 a.m.

York—Simcoe Ontario

Conservative

Peter Van Loan ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, we undertook to see to it that all spending was reasonable, that the regulations governing spending were adequate and that the Senate accounted for its actions to taxpayers. Yesterday it reported its findings.

We take these matters very seriously and that is why the Senate called on outside help to ensure that the integrity of the system was respected.

EthicsOral Questions

11:30 a.m.

NDP

Alexandrine Latendresse NDP Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have been in power for seven years now and have done nothing about Senate reform. Canadians can be certain that we will do something about it in 2015. This is not how things work.

Pamela Wallin has an Ontario health insurance card. She lives in Toronto. Yet, she signed a form stating that she lives in Saskatchewan and that makes everything okay. What nonsense.

Meanwhile, the Senate is toeing the line when it comes to the Prime Minister's orders, to the point where non-elected representatives have now started to attack the Parliamentary Budget Officer. On whose orders? Could it be on the direct orders of the PMO?

EthicsOral Questions

11:30 a.m.

North Vancouver B.C.

Conservative

Andrew Saxton ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board and for Western Economic Diversification

Mr. Speaker, as I have mentioned, we want to see a Parliamentary Budget Officer who is non-partisan and a credible source of opinion on fiscal matters.

The Parliamentary Librarian has retained a recruiting firm, and we look forward to their suggestions in due course.

EthicsOral Questions

11:30 a.m.

NDP

Dan Harris NDP Scarborough Southwest, ON

Mr. Speaker, seven years of delaying Senate reform, over a year since the bill was even debated and the Prime Minister's promise of change broken 58 times and counting.

A week ago, Mike Duffy returned housing money to taxpayers, a clear admission of guilt. The Senate now claims that Mike Duffy and all others have cleared residency requirements. The proof? A signed piece of paper that does not even confirm residency.

Canadians are not buying it. When will the government bring in an independent authority to pierce the black hole of accountability that is the Senate?

EthicsOral Questions

11:30 a.m.

York—Simcoe Ontario

Conservative

Peter Van Loan ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, we have been quite clear we are committed to seeing that all expenses incurred in the Senate are appropriate, that the rules to cover those expenses are appropriate and, of course, that the Senate report back to taxpayers. It did so yesterday and reported its progress.

We do take these issues tremendously seriously. That is why the Senate has retained outside support to ensure the integrity of the system is respected.

I find it interesting that the hon. member encapsulated the NDP's position at the start: seven years of delaying Senate reform.

We have a proposal on the table. Let us elect senators. Let us show Canadians a little respect. Let them have a say in who represents them in the Senate. The NDP should stop blocking it, as it has done for so long.

EthicsOral Questions

11:30 a.m.

NDP

Jack Harris NDP St. John's East, NL

Mr. Speaker, let us be clear. Marjorie LeBreton, the Conservative House leader in the Senate, claims that Mr. Duffy is eligible to be a senator because he signed a declaration of qualification, a declaration that makes no reference to being a resident of Prince Edward Island.

According to articles 23 and 31 of the Constitution, he must be a resident or he does not qualify and his seat becomes vacant. It is as simple as that.

Do Conservatives really believe that senators can simply sign a declaration when that does not even affirm their residency to meet a constitutional obligation, regardless of the facts?

EthicsOral Questions

11:35 a.m.

York—Simcoe Ontario

Conservative

Peter Van Loan ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, we would actually like to go a lot better than that. We would like Canadians, in their provinces, to decide who should represent them in the Senate.

We have put legislation forward to advance that, yet that legislation is called by members of the NDP an affront to democracy. Asking Canadians who they want representing them in the Senate, one of the two Houses of Parliament, is called by the NDP an affront to democracy.

We can see why they have the top-down approach to selecting their candidates and MPs from Quebec, where the leader of the NDP personally vetted and chose them all.

EthicsOral Questions

11:35 a.m.

NDP

Craig Scott NDP Toronto—Danforth, ON

Mr. Speaker, it is clear that the government is circling the wagons to defend the Senate's cozy entitlements.

The government is deliberately telescoping the Constitution's archaic property qualifications onto residence requirements.

On February 9, retired Senator Lowell Murray stated that if any senator files an income return in a province that he or she is not representing in the Senate, “Then they are finished”. His is a respected voice. Why is this Conservative government so deceitfully distorting its responsibility to uphold the Constitution?

EthicsOral Questions

11:35 a.m.

York—Simcoe Ontario

Conservative

Peter Van Loan ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, that is one of the NDP's constitutional expert critics. I am not surprised that they have one in the NDP. He is the one who put forward one of the NDP bills to reopen the constitutional discussions and go back to the debates of the past.

This week in the House, the leader of the NDP said that on this issue we should open up constitutional negotiations with the provinces.

Is it any wonder, when we are facing some of the challenges we are right now, why the NDP members are heading down the path to those old debates of yesterday? They are trying to balance that way of keeping all their separatists in their caucus happy.

The EnvironmentOral Questions

11:35 a.m.

Liberal

Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON

Mr. Speaker, the American President sent a strong signal to Canada to clean up its environmental act, after a year of gutting environmental protection and being hammered for its abysmal performance.

The Conservatives have recently had a flurry of announcements to greenwash their appalling record. Now Canadians are footing the bill for the oil sands monitoring program when industry is supposed to be helping with the cost.

When will Canadians see results and funding, and when will taxpayers be let off the hook?

The EnvironmentOral Questions

11:35 a.m.

Thornhill Ontario

Conservative

Peter Kent ConservativeMinister of the Environment

Mr. Speaker, I would remind my colleague that while the Liberals, for 13 long years, merely paid lip service to the environment, this government is acting.

Canada and the United States do in fact have a shared objective to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to address other environmental challenges. Our government is at the same time balancing the need to protect the environment and to protect jobs and our still fragile economy.

I will say again that Canada is halfway to achieving our 2020 greenhouse gas reduction target.

Rail TransportationOral Questions

11:35 a.m.

Liberal

Frank Valeriote Liberal Guelph, ON

Mr. Speaker, cuts to rail service are sending Canada backward at a time when most western countries are embracing the increased use of public transit.

Cuts to routes in southwestern Ontario, in Guelph, Kitchener, Sarnia, London and more, affect not only those trying to reduce their ecological footprint or reduce obscene commute times, but those who have mobility issues.

Yesterday the government said:

VIA makes decisions based on the number of people, the proximity of other transportation and so on.

However, it left out one key thing. VIA makes decisions based on funding from this House. Why are the Conservatives cutting so deeply?

Rail TransportationOral Questions

11:35 a.m.

Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia Manitoba

Conservative

Steven Fletcher ConservativeMinister of State (Transport)

Mr. Speaker, I reject the premise of that member's question, especially coming from a Liberal.

It is very ironic that a Liberal would complain about mobility issues when it was the Liberal Party that bought, on behalf of VIA, a whole bunch of rail cars that were not wheelchair accessible.

This government has invested over $1 billion to not only make the cars accessible but to improve VIA service throughout Canada. In fact, frequency between major cities has increased.

VIA is an arm's-length corporation and it does make decisions for its day-to-day operations. However, the fact is that some trains run empty, and that is not ecologically friendly.

Fisheries and OceansOral Questions

11:40 a.m.

Liberal

Rodger Cuzner Liberal Cape Breton—Canso, NS

Mr. Speaker, we know that DFO is responsible for the funding, care and maintenance of core harbours, but anybody who lives in a coastal community also recognizes that non-core harbours still contribute to the economies of those communities.

Until recently, officials confirmed that there was $5 million to fund health and safety issues for these non-core commercial harbours. Can the parliamentary secretary confirm how much is in the fund currently and whether or not an initiative like the Gabarus seawall would qualify for funding in this particular program?

Fisheries and OceansOral Questions

11:40 a.m.

Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge—Mission B.C.

Conservative

Randy Kamp ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and for the Asia-Pacific Gateway

Mr. Speaker, I can assure the member that our government recognizes the importance of safe and functional harbours to support the commercial fishing industry.

I cannot give him the actual figure in that fund. I will be happy to get it to him later. It is my understanding that the Gabarus seawall does not qualify for that funding.

Canada PostOral Questions

11:40 a.m.

NDP

Isabelle Morin NDP Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives' strong-arm tactics at Canada Post are becoming a total fiasco. First they closed a number of post offices across the country and deprived Canadians of postal services, as we saw in Lachine and Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. Now their modernization and reorganization efforts are floundering, with delivery delays, undelivered mail and workers forced to do unending overtime. People are angry.

How does this government plan to fix the situation at Canada Post?

Canada PostOral Questions

11:40 a.m.

Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia Manitoba

Conservative

Steven Fletcher ConservativeMinister of State (Transport)

Mr. Speaker, the member knows that Canada Post is an arm's-length crown corporation.

The member also knows that there is the postal service charter which guarantees mail delivery to Canadians, urban and rural. The member should also know that Canada Post has the ability to deal with the day-to-day operations. The government does not get involved in that.

There is modernization going on at Canada Post. For example, the Montreal Victoria post office was closed, but there are 44 post offices within a five-kilometre radius of that location.

Canada PostOral Questions

11:40 a.m.

NDP

Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe NDP Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC

Mr. Speaker, if the Conservatives were able to acknowledge their mistakes, fewer business owners would have to wait days for documents from their clients or payment for their services. This is becoming a serious issue in Montreal. Routes are too long for many mail carriers, and they finish their deliveries late at night. The Conservatives said that their changes would improve service, but we see now that the changes are hurting both customers and employees.

When will the Conservatives acknowledge their errors and fix the situation?