Debates of March 8th, 2013

Agriculture

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in accordance with the order of reference on Friday, February 15, 2013, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 9th report of the Standing Committee on Agriculture in relation to the motion adopted on Tuesday, March 5, 2013, regarding the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's user fee proposal for importer licensing for non-federally registered sector products to Parliament.

Veterans Affairs

[Eve Adams, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 8th report of the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs, the supplementary estimates (C) for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2013, and the 9th report of the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs on the main estimates for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2014.

Corrections and Conditional Release Act

[Dave MacKenzie, Conservative, Oxford, ON]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-483, An Act to amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (escorted temporary absence).

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House today to introduce my private member's bill, seconded by the hon. member for Northumberland—Quinte West, also a former police officer.

My private member's bill is an enactment that would amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act in order to limit the authority of the institutional head to authorize the escorted temporary absence of an offender convicted of first or second degree murder.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Port State Measures Agreement Implementation Act

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, York—Simcoe, ON]

moved for leave to introduce Bill S-13, An Act to amend the Coastal Fisheries Protection Act.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time)

[Deepak Obhrai, Conservative, Calgary East, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I believe if you seek it you will find unanimous consent for the following: that the House reaffirm Canada's commitment to the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and unequivocally condemn North Korea's recent nuclear test in violation of its international obligations; that the House express its grave concern regarding the widespread violations of basic rights in North Korea, including torture and other cruel inhumane punishment, arbitrary detentions, absence of due process and the rule of law, collective punishments extending up to three generations and the existence of political prison camps; that the House express its grave concern regarding the government of North Korea's continued pursuit of its nuclear weapons program despite the humanitarian crisis in the country, including mass starvation and prolonged food deprivation, reject North Korean's increasing aggressive actions, including ballistic missile launches and attacks against South Korea, which represents a threat to regional and international peace and security; and urge the regime in Pyongyang to abandon its reckless weapons program and instead focus its resources on meeting its citizens' basic humanitarian needs, respecting its citizens' fundamental freedoms and abiding by the United Nations Security Council resolution.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Barry Devolin]

Does the hon. parliamentary secretary have unanimous consent to move the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

No.

Impaired Driving

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to present a petition signed by thousands of people from British Columbia. The petition highlights the death last year of 22-year-old Kassandra Kaulius who was killed by a drunk driver.

The people who have lost loved ones to impaired drivers, a group called Families For Justice, point out that the current impaired driving laws are too lenient. They are calling for new mandatory minimum sentencing for people who have been convicted of impaired driving causing death. The petitioners also want the Criminal Code of Canada changed to redefine the offence of impaired driving causing death to vehicular manslaughter.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would simply like to remind the House that, normally, the Speaker must ensure that a member is in his or her seat before he recognizes the member.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Barry Devolin]

The hon. member for Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine is correct. The hon. member for Prince George—Peace River was standing beside his seat, but you are correct that prior to that he was not seated in it.

The hon. member for Beauport—Limoilou.

Human Trafficking

[Raymond Côté, NDP, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table in the House a petition signed by a large number of constituents in Beauport—Limoilou. This petition is in support of Bill C-452, which is designed to combat human trafficking and sexual exploitation.

Legislative Language

[Bradley Trost, Conservative, Saskatoon—Humboldt, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I have been asked by residents of Burnaby—New Westminster to table a petition that their member of Parliament refused to table.

The petitioners are concerned about the inclusion of subjective terms like gender identity and gender expression in the laws, and they are concerned that these terms are poorly defined.

The petitioners call upon the House of Commons and Parliament to vote against Bill C-279 and to base all future policy decisions and legislative language on objective, measurable criteria.

Development and Peace

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table, in both official languages, a petition signed by 551 supporters and members of the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace.

They are concerned about cuts to international aid, a frozen budget and the government's marked withdrawal of help for Africa. They feel that it is an insult to Canadians' sense of generosity.

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada

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

Mr. Speaker, I am rising today to present two petitions on behalf of my constituents.

In the first, petitioners are expressing opposition to the amalgamation of Service Canada and HRSDC work sites, due to resulting environmental stress, expense and disruption to work-life balance for employees.

Poverty

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

Mr. Speaker, in the second petition, petitioners are expressing their support for Bill C-233, an act to eliminate poverty in Canada.

It continues to be a pleasure to represent the voices of the people of Newton—North Delta in this Parliament.

Sex Selection

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Mr. Speaker, on International Women's Day, I rise to present a petition from constituents in my riding who request that the House condemn discrimination against females occurring through sex-selective pregnancy termination.

Climate Change

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it certainly is an honour for me to present a petition from people from Onaping, Levack, Chelmsford, Dowling and Azilda.

The petitioners wish to bring to the attention of the Government of Canada that climate is our most pressing environmental issue, perhaps the defining issue of our generation. They feel it will profoundly affect our economy, health, lifestyle and social well-being.

I wish to add my name to this petition.

Youth Crime

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I am presenting a petition on behalf of residents of Winnipeg North who want to be able to send a message to the Prime Minister and the government.

The petitioners are calling on the Government of Canada to work with other governments on the issue of youth crime and to come up with ideas and activities to steer youth away from gangs.

Questions on the Order Paper

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the following questions will be answered today: Nos. 1115, 1120, 1124, 1125, 1126, 1128, 1136, 1138, 1146, 1148, 1151 and 1156.

Question No. 1115

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

With regard to Employment Insurance, since January 1, 2008: (a) has any department conducted (i) any job market study to determine the impact on the availability of skilled workers for seasonally-dependent industries as a result of the changes to the Employment Insurance Act, (ii) any feasibility study on the workload that will be required by each member of the new Tribunal; and (b) if so, what are the titles and file numbers of any such studies?

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

Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a)(i), as with any policy change, analysis is prepared as part of the cabinet decision-making process. These records are considered cabinet confidences. This is in addition to consultations conducted by the minister and parliamentary secretary. The overall effectiveness of employment insurance income benefits and active employment measures are assessed in the Canada Employment Insurance Commission’s employment insurance monitoring and assessment report, which is tabled annually in Parliament. As with any other EI measures, HRSDC will evaluate the connecting Canadians with available jobs initiative, introduced as part of Canada’s economic action plan 2012, and results will be reported in the monitoring and assessment report.

With regard to (a)(ii), it is projected that the social security tribunal, general division, employment insurance section, will be required to hear approximately 22,000 appeals each year and that the appeals division will be required to hear approximately 1,800 employment insurance-related appeals.

An approved HRSDC approach for human resources determination was used to arrive at the number of members required. This methodology takes into consideration the projected annual volume, as noted above; current caseloads and outputs by part-time member panels; working days in a year for a full-time member; and a productivity factor that allows for non-productive time for professional development, leave and other activities.

With regard to (b), as per the responses to (a)(i) and (a)(ii), this is not applicable.

Question No. 1120

[Manon Perreault, NDP, Montcalm, QC]

With regard to funding from Human Resources and Skills Development Canada for disability organizations: (a) which programs have had criteria changes for applications over the past few years; (b) how many applications were received; and (c) how many accepted?

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

Mr. Speaker, the disability component of the social development partnerships program, SDPP-D, supports projects intended to improve the participation and integration of people with disabilities in all aspects of Canadian society. More specifically, the program supports not-for-profit organizations across Canada in tackling barriers faced by people with disabilities with respect to social inclusion.

When the terms and conditions of the program were updated in 2010, a change was made to the category of eligible organizations to include registered charities and social enterprises as not-for-profit organizations.

The SDPP-D is currently being transformed by moving towards a more competitive model with leveraging requirements. The current recipients of directed grants and community inclusion initiative funding, which is $8 million of the total $11 million in SDPP-D funding, will see the funding move to a competitive funding model over the next three years. The government will continue to invest in Canadians with disabilities to support their full participation in Canadian society. These changes are being made to ensure that every taxpayer dollar has the greatest positive effect for Canadians with disabilities. The amount of funding available through SDPP-D remains the same at $11 million annually, but the funds currently awarded on a non-competitive basis will be awarded mainly on a competitive basis. To assist current recipients of directed grants and community inclusion funding, the government has launched a competitive and merit-based call for proposals targeting these organizations to help them implement transitional measures to enable them to adapt to a competitive funding environment. The call for proposals, CFP, will provide funding over two years.

With regard to (b) and the SDPP-D program, since 2011 there have been two open calls for proposals. In the first call in 2011, 47 applications were received; in the second call in 2012, 391 applications were received. The department does not have detailed information on the number of applications that were received prior to 2010. In targeted calls for proposals for transition measures, the applicants have until March 21, 2013, to submit their proposals; 3,810 applications were received.

With regard to (c), exclusive of the 14 community inclusion initiative recipients and the 18 national disability organizations that received directed annual funding since 2006–2007 prior to the change announced in 2011, 125 projects received funding between 2006–2007 and 2011–2012.

With regard to the 2012 call for proposals, the assessment of the applications for the 2012 competitive CFP is in process; therefore, the number accepted for approval is not available at this time. With regard to the targeted call for proposals for transition measures, the applicants have until March 21, 2013, to submit their proposals; 2,395 applications were accepted.

Question No. 1124

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Cardigan, PE]

With regard to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans' Policy for Preserving the Independence of the Inshore Fleet in Canada's Atlantic Fisheries (PIIFCAF): (a) does the government agree with this policy's statement that the strength of the independence of the inshore fleet is achieved through the termination of controlling agreements; (b) does the government have plans to amend or terminante the PIIFCAF and when will the amendments or termination take place; (c) is the government committed to the independence of the inshore fleet; and (d) does the government plan to maintain the controlling agreements beyond their March 2014 deadline?

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

Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a), the policy on the preservation of the independence of the inshore fleet in Canada’s Atlantic fisheries, or PIIFCAF, was introduced by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, DFO, on April 12, 2007, after extensive consultations with stakeholders. This policy aims to strengthen the owner-operator and fleet separation policies by addressing issues concerning controlling agreements and ensuring that those who are licence holders are the ones making important decisions regarding their fishing licence and any quotas attached to it. The implementation of the PIIFCAF is a step taken by DFO to ensure that inshore fishermen remain accountable to any decision with regard to the licence.

With regard to (b), the policy on the preservation of the independence of the inshore fleet in Canada’s Atlantic fisheries, PIIFCAF, was put in place to eliminate controlling agreements by April 12, 2014. This deadline was established to allow sufficient time for those in controlling agreements to make alternative arrangements for accessing capital and to terminate or replace their existing controlling agreements. In order to facilitate this, DFO has developed tools that focus on helping fishers to improve access to capital, i.e., notice and acknowledgement system, DFO’s response to the Saulnier decision. These tools provide fish harvesters with options that support their independence. The PIIFCAF policy and deadlines are still in place.

With regard to (c), the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada has announced on September 21, 2012, that the fleet separation and owner-operator policies will remain intact in the Atlantic Canada inshore fisheries.

With regard to (d), as per the PIIFCAF policy, where an inshore licence holder declared that on April 12, 2007, he or she was a party to a controlling agreement, the licence holder has until April 12, 2014, to either terminate the controlling agreement or amend the agreement to bring it into compliance with the PIIFCAF Policy in order to be eligible to continue to hold the licence beyond this date.