Debates of March 5th, 2013

National Defence

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, at the sentencing of Mr. Delisle, the federal prosecutors and the defence witnesses emphasized the unprecedented nature of the leak that had taken place and the damage that had occurred to Canada's reputation, in particular with our allies with respect to the information.

Every other security breach of this kind has been met by an independent inquiry reporting to the government and reporting to Parliament. Can the government please tell us why it has yet to establish such a committee of inquiry in to this particular instance?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, obviously the government takes national security matters such as this very seriously. They are not unique to Canada. We have seen the Bradley Manning situation, in the United States.

Obviously, when things like this happen all procedures are reviewed to ensure they cannot happen again.

Employment Insurance

[Anne-Marie Day, NDP, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives see crime everywhere, even when there is none. They are now sending inspectors to spy on unemployed workers at home because they suspect them all of being criminals. The Conservatives automatically see law-abiding Canadians as criminals because they are looking for work. These people are guilty of having lost their job and of living in a region whose economy is driven by a seasonal industry.

When will the Conservatives stop treating law-abiding Canadians like common criminals?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development]

Mr. Speaker, despite the fact that Service Canada stopped half a billion dollars in ineligible payments last year, the employment insurance program still lost hundreds of millions of dollars as a result of fraud and ineligible payments.

For decades, authorities have been using measures to identify and stop bogus claims so that Canadians who contribute to the program are able to get benefits when they need them.

[Anne-Marie Day, NDP, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, protecting the integrity of the system should not come at the expense of the privacy rights of law-abiding Canadians.

The Conservatives decided to re-centralize the management of the training programs offered as part of the employment insurance program. Given how disastrous the Conservatives' current management practices have been, provinces and workers have reason to be concerned. These changes took years to negotiate, and the provinces had to make a lot of adjustments.

Why do the Conservatives want to take the management of this program away from the provinces?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development]

Mr. Speaker, Service Canada is responsible for protecting the integrity of the employment insurance system. Last year, this organization stopped hundreds of millions of dollars in ineligible payments.

I can assure you that employment insurance will be there for people when they lose their jobs, as always.

[Philip Toone, NDP, Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, no one can trust the Conservatives. They want to centralize training programs at the same time they are scrapping employment insurance.

The Conservatives say that the regions are the government's priority and that they will continue to introduce promising economic measures. However, while the Conservatives are drinking their Kool-Aid, people are mobilizing. Yesterday a new alliance appeared, repeating the same message as the coalition from eastern Quebec. These workers are saying no to the destruction of the employment insurance system.

Why are the Conservatives abandoning the regions? Why do they not listen to the real world?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development]

Mr. Speaker, our goals are job creation, economic growth and long-term prosperity.

In order to achieve them, we must have the labour force available to fill these new positions. We are helping people find work in their own regions, using their skills, and connecting them with the positions. For those who cannot find work in their region and in their field, employment insurance will still be there to help them.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have an unbelievable amount of nerve.

They are sending inspectors to spy on unemployed people in their own homes. These are not the criminals or cheaters: that would be the Conservatives' friends like Wallin, Duffy, Brazeau, Porter and Carson. Those people have enough money to buy their way out of trouble.

The Conservatives should leave the workers alone and do some housecleaning in the Senate and the Privy Council Office. When will they be spying on those people who lie about their residence? Let them get to work.

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development]

Mr. Speaker, Service Canada has a mandate to protect the integrity of the employment insurance system so that Canadians who pay their premiums can receive benefits when they need them.

For decades, the authorities have been using certain methods to investigate and block payment of unwarranted benefits, in order to protect the system and so that Canadians who have paid their premiums can receive benefits when they need them.

The Budget

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives rode into Ottawa on the great white horse of accountability, but ever since then, they have undermined the accountability process at every opportunity.

Two former senior civil servants with the Department of Finance have strongly condemned this government. The Conservatives have deliberately kept parliamentarians in the dark and systematically used the Access to Information Act to undermine transparency. They have done everything in their power to hide information.

With the next federal budget on the horizon, will the minister promise to reveal all of the relevant information, including detailed budgets for departments and agencies, and stop trying to hide information?

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the report that the hon. member references is a partisan report by Liberals.

Since 2006, we have consulted more than any other government with respect to budgetary matters, including online consultations, which we were the first government to start back in 2006.

We also do quarterly financial reports. We created the Federal Accountability Act of Parliament. Both provide more financial information than ever before.

We will continue to consult broadly and report to Parliament through the budgetary process.

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

Mr. Speaker, the former civil servants who said that the Conservatives have been chipping away at the credibility of the budget process year after year were non-partisan. That is an insult to Parliament and a disgraceful way to act.

There is less economic and fiscal information in the Conservatives' current budget than there was 25 years ago.

It is not surprising that Kevin Page had to take the government to court to get information.

What happened to the Conservatives' big ideas about transparency?

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, as I said, this is a partisan report by Liberals. One of them is a very well-known Liberal. The other one is less well-known. In February 2008, when I asked the Liberal Party to tell me who they would like to send to the budget lock-up, his name appeared on the list. Therefore, I do not worry about the impartiality of it because it is not impartial.

The fact is that we have consulted more, disclosed more and provided more information than any other government with respect to budgetary matters.

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

Mr. Speaker, that's not good enough. Talking about transparency alone is not good enough. The Conservatives have simply failed to be the transparent and accountable government that they promised Canadians seven years ago.

This week we heard from former senior officials from the Minister of Finance's own department who said that the Conservatives have also failed to uphold the integrity and credibility of the budget process. Is this who Canadians are supposed to trust their tax dollars with?

When will the Conservatives stop hiding behind empty promises and start actually listening to Canadians?

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I am sorry to disappoint the member opposite. I will try to do better.

The report is by partisan Liberals who used to work, I guess before my time, at the Department of Finance.

The non-partisan C.D. Howe Institute did provide a detailed report showing that our government has been the most transparent government in Canada.

Government Spending

[Sadia Groguhé, NDP, Saint-Lambert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the poisoned, hyper-partisan atmosphere created by the Conservatives is starting to be seen in organizations that work with the public and need federal funding.

A test administered by a literacy group in Saskatchewan associates the conjugation of the verbs “to vote” and “to elect” with the Conservative Party.

That is what happens when organizations are threatened with losing their funding if they do not toe the PMO's ideological line.

Do the Conservatives realize that the political climate they have created is downright poisoned?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development]

Mr. Speaker, the government does not design or approve the content of the learning materials used by this organization.

Our government is committed to ensuring that Canadians have the essential skills needed to succeed in the job market.

[Jinny Sims, NDP, Newton—North Delta, BC]

Mr. Speaker, maybe the Conservatives should give senators a literacy test, since they are the ones who cannot seem to read the rules.

We are not suggesting that the minister wrote the test herself. The point is, she does not have to. Grant recipients are so scared of being cut-off that they feel the need to kiss the ring just to keep their funding, even so far as to rewriting history to align with the Conservative fiction.

When will the Conservatives take responsibility for the environment of fear they have created in our communities?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development]

Mr. Speaker, the government does not design or approve the content of the learning materials that are used by this organization.

It is quite clear our government is committed to ensuring that Canadians have the essential skills they need to succeed in the workplace.

I would invite the NDP to join us in support of our efforts to help create jobs, to help create economic growth and to create long-term prosperity.

National Defence

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we have seen nothing but incompetence from the government on the F-35 file for two and a half years now. It would be funny if it were not so tragic.

At stake is billions of dollars of taxpayers' money. At stake are considerable industrial spinoffs for the aerospace industry. Now, the word is that replacing the CF-18s will be delayed.

Who is in charge here?

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, the National Fighter Procurement Secretariat—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order.

The hon. parliamentary secretary.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the National Fighter Procurement Secretariat is currently assessing all of the options for replacing the CF-18 fleet.