Debates of March 19th, 2013

The Environment

[David Anderson, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, if he were paying attention, he would know that yesterday we introduced the framework for our world-class oil spill response plan. He knows that.

What is more important is that those folks oppose everything to do with energy development. They oppose all hydrocarbon development. They oppose all mining projects. They oppose nuclear energy. They are standing against Canadian jobs consistently. We ask them to quit doing that.

If those members are going to do it, they should quit doing it in our country and quit doing it internationally, stand with us and protect the Canadian environment and the Canadian economy.

Official Languages

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Mr. Speaker, after appointing a unilingual anglophone Auditor General and announcing the closure of the only bilingual marine rescue centre, in Quebec, the Conservatives continue to ignore the Official Languages Act.

Budget cuts have a significant impact on the ability of francophone public servants to work in the language of their choice. They are forced to write their reports only in English, and these reports are not even translated anymore.

With the Conservatives, French is taking a back seat. Why will they not respect the Official Languages Act?

[James Moore, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, that is not the case. As the hon. member well knows, we take our obligations under the Official Languages Act very seriously. Incidentally, that is why we set up our five-year plan regarding the Roadmap for Canada's Linguistic Duality. That is also why we held unprecedented consultations for the next Roadmap that we are going to present very shortly.

I hope the hon. member for Acadie—Bathurst will like what we are doing to protect English and French in every region of the country.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Mr. Speaker, working in French in the public service is a right. It is at the heart of part V of the Official Languages Act. Just because the Conservatives want to cut services to the public does not mean they can circumvent the law.

How can Canadians hope to receive equivalent services in French and in English when the Conservatives do not even have the documents that francophones are forced to write in English translated into French?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, President of the Treasury Board and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians will continue to receive government services in both official languages, in the language of their choice, as they always have.

I can also indicate for the hon. member that when a survey of public servants was issued earlier last year, 92% of them were able to express themselves in the language of their choice to constituents, to people of Canada.

I believe we are doing our job for Canadians of both official languages.

The Economy

[Dave Van Kesteren, Conservative, Chatham-Kent—Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, since 2006, our Conservative government and our Minister of Finance have brought forward seven straight budgets to promote jobs and economic growth in Canada. Since then, Canada has created over 1.5 million net new jobs, the best record in the G7. However, the global economy, especially in Europe and the United States, remains fragile. That is why we are moving forward with our long-term low-tax plan jobs for growth.

As we prepare for our next economic action plan, would the Minister of Finance formally advise the House when the government will present budget 2013?

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, our Conservative government is focused on what matters to Canadians. That is jobs and economic growth. That is why economic action plan 2013 is a plan to support jobs, economic growth and long-term prosperity, while keeping taxes low and returning to balanced budgets.

I am pleased to request the designation of an order of the day to present the economic action plan, budget 2013, on Thursday, March 21, at 4:00 in the afternoon.

Public Safety

[Françoise Boivin, NDP, Gatineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, ah yes, everyone in Canada is trembling.

Following the Prime Minister's rebuff, we can expect to see changes within their Canadian Firearms Advisory Committee. However, the Conservatives were happy to just shuffle the deck and keep the same leaders with ties to the Canadian Shooting Sports Association, an association that, in passing, is now lobbying to abolish all offices of provincial chief firearms officers.

Will the Minister of Public Safety explicitly reject the exaggerated demands of that group?

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, we expect that chief firearms officers and their officials will enforce the law appropriately. We, unlike the New Democrats, are taking real action to crack down on crime, while ensuring law-abiding hunters, farmers and sports shooters are never treated like criminals.

The New Democrats have promised to bring back the long gun registry if they are given the chance. We will not give them that opportunity.

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, let us take a look at what this looks like on the international stage. Right now, President Obama is arguing for a strong, effective small-arms treaty to get guns out of conflict zones. On the other side, we have the Conservative appointee, Steve Torino, co-chair of the minister's firearms advisory committee, being hailed by the NRA as one of its “beacons of hope”.

Whose side is the government on, Mr. Obama's or the gun lobby's?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we support an arms trade treaty that meets the tough standards that Canada already has for arms exports, and we are working diligently with other countries to ensure such an agreement is in place.

What we do not what to do is target duck hunters and sportsmen. That failed policy, supported by the Liberals and the NDP, was ineffective and wasted billions of dollars. We will not allow the NDP to take the long gun registry international.

[Randall Garrison, NDP, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it seems the simpler the question the bigger the diversion.

Yesterday, when the Minister of Public Safety was asked if he would put an end to the outrageous and reckless filming of immigration raids for reality TV, the minister grabbed some blue paper and plowed his way through the talking points three times.

Today, will the minister come clean on how much this offensive and dangerous PR stunt is costing Canadian taxpayers and will he immediately put an end to this practice?

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, at least I am consistent in my colour; it is blue. I see he is not reading from an orange paper.

The show he is talking about is about the situations faced daily by our front-line border officers. I am very proud of those officers and the privacy of individuals is protected at all times. The majority of episodes deal with front-line CBSA officers stopping criminals from entering Canada. We expect the CBSA to enforce Canada's laws and ensure the safety and security of law-abiding Canadians.

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

Mr. Speaker, Canadians deserve real answers and not meaningless accusations.

While the Conservatives are making cuts to border services and we are only days away from the tabling of the federal budget, where we expect even more cuts to occur, people have the right to know how much of their tax dollars were used to film arrests for a reality television show. Obviously, image means everything for the Conservatives, and content means nothing.

I am offering the minister another opportunity to answer the question. How much did this dangerous publicity stunt cost Canadians?

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, rather than standing up for law-abiding immigrants who work hard and play by the rules, the NDP chooses to make things easier for those who defy our laws and take advantage of Canadians' generosity. In fact, the NDP even voted against the faster removal of foreign criminals act.

Official Languages

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to come back to the figure tossed around by the President of the Treasury Board regarding the number of public servants who can work in their own language. Will he admit that for francophones in federal departments, that number is much lower and has dropped dangerously low under the Conservatives?

According to the president of the Canadian Association of Professional Employees, official languages are becoming a priority ranked as low as 5th, 6th, 7th or even 10th place. Francophone public servants are being told, “We cannot afford translation, so write in English.” Is the minister even aware that this problem exists?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, President of the Treasury Board and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, I can say that, for the past decade, public servants have felt they can work in the language of their choice. In 2002, 2005, 2008 and 2011, the rate was always between 90% and 92%.

The Environment

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Cardigan, PE]

Mr. Speaker, the government has already started destroying buildings at the Experimental Lakes Area, one of the world's greatest research facilities. March 31 was the date given to find a new operator for the ELA, but the government has decided to destroy the ELA even while it claims to be trying to find a new operator.

Will the government commit to immediately stopping the destruction of the ELA and continue funding its research until a new operator can be found?

[Keith Ashfield, Conservative, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway]

Mr. Speaker, we have made the decision that the experimental lakes will be ending as a federal facility. Our government is continuing important freshwater research in other facilities across Canada, such as the Freshwater Institute, in Winnipeg and the Bayfield Institute, in Burlington.

We are also making important investments to clean out freshwater lakes like Lake Winnipeg and Lake Simcoe.

[Kennedy Stewart, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative war on science knows no bounds. The Conservatives are recklessly cutting the world-renowned Experimental Lakes Area. Government support is set to expire in just a few weeks and now it looks unlikely another organization will step in, in time to save it.

With logging companies revving up their chainsaws, the ELA could be transformed from a unique space for scientific experiments to a clear cut.

Why will Conservatives not do the right thing and agree to extend ELA funding?

[Keith Ashfield, Conservative, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway]

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated earlier, we made the decision that the facility will no longer be a federal facility. The department has a number of science facilities that are focused on our freshwater program. The Freshwater Institution, in Winnipeg, as I mentioned earlier, the Sea Lamprey Control Centre, in Sault Ste. Marie and the Bayfield Institute, in Burlington focus heavily on freshwater science.

[Laurin Liu, NDP, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, since the Conservatives have decided to attack science and take away funding, they should at least maintain the facilities in good condition, in order to facilitate the transition for the new operator. Logic would dictate that they should not dismantle the facilities until the new operator is installed. However, that would only happen if they really cared about science.

Why is the Conservative government destroying the science facilities in the Experimental Lakes Area?

[Keith Ashfield, Conservative, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway]

Mr. Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is that our department continues to do an incredible amount of science work. There are also freshwater components to the science program that are conducted at most of our other nine major research institutes that the department operates across the country.

[Wai Young, Conservative, Vancouver South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, as a trading nation, Canada depends upon marine shipping for economic growth, jobs and long-term prosperity. Thousands of ships come to Canadian ports each year, importing goods from around the world and exporting Canadian goods to markets beyond our borders. Canadians want to know that we have one of the strongest tanker safety regimes in the world.

Would the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities update the House on the latest initiatives our government has taken?

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Natural Resources and I announced a comprehensive world-class tanker safety system in Canada. While our current tanker safety system is robust, it is essential that we strengthen it to meet future needs. Through our responsible resource development plan, we are ensuring that there is a system that will create jobs and economic growth while increasing environmental protection. We will also ensure that Canadians and aboriginal groups are fully engaged throughout the development of this system.