Debates of March 27th, 2013

Canada Post

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, crown corporations under the government are in a stranglehold. They are not at arm's-length from the government.

After serving the community for 100 years, Canada Post announced the closing of the Sandwich Towne post office, a disrespectful move, considering the community has offered to work with Canada Post to find a solution, but to the tin ear of the Ottawa Conservatives, the community's concerns simply go unnoticed.

Why is the government so callous about these service cuts? Why is it ignoring students, seniors and persons with disabilities being hurt by these reckless Conservative cuts?

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, he can say what he wants, but as a crown corporation, Canada Post operates at arm's-length from the federal government. As such, Canada Post has assured me that all permanent employees will continue to have jobs and will continue to work for the Canadian population, but as I said, they have to face very difficult times, because their market has decreased by 20% since 2007, and that is not an easy situation for them.

Elections Canada

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the Prime Minister has considered again the question of the power of Elections Canada with respect to the issue of Peter Penashue, the former member of the Conservative Party. I would like to ask the Prime Minister whether he would now reconsider the wisdom of calling a byelection, just at the time when Mr. Penashue's investigation under Elections Canada is still going on.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I too would like to add my thanks to that member as he poses yet another final question as leader of the Liberal Party.

On the question at hand, we have in Labrador a great leader in Peter Penashue, who has delivered jobs for his constituents through the Lower Churchill project. He has stood firm in his support of the abolition of the long-gun registry and has defended the polar bear hunt and the seal hunt. He is a great defender of rural rights and rural values, and we are confident that he will be returned to this place to continue his good work.

Justice

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, President Clinton, President Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron have all indicated that over the last few years, they have had a change of heart on the subject of gay marriage. In light of the fact that there are today thousands of Canadian couples who have celebrated their relationships, and those relationships have been recognized by the provinces, by the states and by civil authorities, could the Prime Minister tell us whether he, in fact, has had a similar change of heart to his colleagues around the western world?

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

Mr. Speaker, as members know, there is legislation before Parliament right now that deals with this issue.

I would hope that the members of the opposition would get on board with us and get that thing passed through Parliament. That is what we all should be doing in that area.

International Trade

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when the Minister of Finance went to South Korea to avoid talking about his budget, he claimed that Canada was close to signing a free trade agreement with that country. However, negotiations have been deteriorating for years and are far from over. With the Conservatives at the helm, Canada's trade surplus has turned into a $67 billion annual trade deficit.

When will the Conservatives admit that they have failed to put in place a trade policy that benefits Canadians?

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, it is pretty rich for NDP members to stand in this House and claim that they support trade.

They send their leader down to the United States, where he ignores all of the science on the Keystone XL project, undermines our efforts to grow our economy and badmouths Canadians and our economy. In fact, he asks Americans not to do business with Canada.

The NDP is not only anti-trade and not only anti-investment; now it is anti-science and anti-common sense. It has no credibility on trade.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, what is hurting the Canadian economy is Conservative incompetence on trade.

The Conservatives' ideological approach to trade is now becoming totally incoherent. The Conservatives say they want to break down barriers, but now announce in the budget that they are hiking tariffs on 72 countries, including Gabon and Botswana, which are hardly developed nations.

Canadians need a consistent trade policy, one that actually delivers good deals for Canada and creates value-added jobs in this country.

Why are Conservatives hurting our businesses and making Canadians pay $330 million more on thousands of everyday items?

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway]

Mr. Speaker, it is a surprise to hear that question coming from the NDP. In fact, this is the first question the official critic for trade from the NDP has asked me about trade in four months.

When they claim that they are in favour—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order. Order. The hon. Minister of International Trade still has the floor.

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, when the NDP talks about fair trade, it actually means no trade at all.

Let us think about this: the member for British Columbia Southern Interior recently said that trade agreements threaten the very existence of our nation.

What credibility—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. member for Prince Albert.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Mr. Speaker, for many years we have heard first nations say they want and deserve greater transparency and accountability for their chiefs and council.

Our government introduced the first nations financial transparency act so that first nations members can have access to basic financial information about their elected chiefs and council, access that all other Canadians expect and deserve. Shockingly, the NDP and Liberals opposed this bill.

Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development please update the House on the status of this bill?

[Greg Rickford, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, I would be happy to. I want to thank the member for Prince Albert for his question.

Despite opposition from the NDP and Liberals, I am pleased to report that we have delivered on our promise to aboriginal communities and their members from across Canada.

The first nations financial transparency act will receive royal assent today. Passage of this legislation into law represents a milestone for first nations community members and leaders who have been calling for this kind of change. We are proud of the work that has been done with first nations to ensure that this legislation will benefit them now and for generations to come.

Canadian Heritage

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have a straightforward question for the government. Today, we are hearing rumours that the board of directors plans on changing the name of CBC/Radio-Canada.

Given the reputation of CBC/Radio-Canada, can the government tell us today if the name “CBC/Radio-Canada” will be kept for the years to come?

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

Mr. Speaker, I really hope that is not his last question.

No, the name of CBC/Radio-Canada is not going to change. The name is actually established in the Broadcasting Act, section 35, and we have no plans to change it.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[François Lapointe, NDP, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in 2008, the member for Lévis—Bellechasse came to Montmagny on behalf of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. There will be time in a few more minutes to carry on that part of the conversation.

The hon. member for Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup.

[François Lapointe, NDP, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in 2008, the member for Lévis—Bellechasse came to Montmagny on behalf of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food to announce $3 million in financial assistance for a company called PureCell Technologies Inc.

The company has since changed its name to PurGenesis Technologies. The number of promised jobs has multiplied, yet the factory remains empty.

This program was supposed to help market products that were ready to be put on the shelves. Five years later, the product is not even in production. What is more, PurGenesis Technologies has received another business start-up loan.

Why did PurGenesis Technologies receive financial assistance for a product that was not ready? What mechanisms are in place to ensure that these jobs we have heard so much about will be created?

[Gerry Ritz, Conservative, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, this is a repayable loan. The member opposite did allude to that. The company is legally obligated to pay back every cent to Canadian taxpayers. It also falls under clear-cut audits that are currently under way to make sure that all of that money was spent properly. We look forward to those jobs filling that building in the near future.

Natural Resources

[Rob Merrifield, Conservative, Yellowhead, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the oil sands are an absolutely incredibly important resource that creates thousands of jobs and growth right across this country. While the NDP leader attacks the growth in this sector and actually calls it a disease, the Conservative government keeps fighting for jobs in the building trades, jobs in manufacturing and jobs in the local economy.

My question is to the Minister of Natural Resources. Can he update the House on the latest development in our government's efforts to create jobs and grow the economy in Canada's resource sector?