Debates of April 19th, 2013

The Economy

[Shelly Glover, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, let us take another look at the Conservative government's accomplishments.

Canada currently has the best tax environment of all G7 countries. It has the lowest tax rates for new business investment among G7 countries. We have the best job creation record in the G7, at more than 900,000 jobs. We have the best banking system in the world, the best environment for business growth and job creation as well as the best credit rating in the world.

It is too bad that they want to raise taxes and destroy all—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. member for Scarborough—Guildwood.

Canada Revenue Agency

[John McKay, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives' robocall company is stiffing the Canadian taxpayer by claiming bankruptcy. It appears that the Conservatives have as much contempt for Canadian taxpayers as they do for voters. At the same proceeding, the Conservative government will be both a creditor and a debtor.

Will the Minister of National Revenue assure this House that both she and the Conservative Party will attend the same proceedings in order to get Canadian taxpayers' money back?

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is a very experienced politician, and he knows that the minister has no involvement in administrative individual tax cases.

Independent, non-partisan public servants with the Canada Revenue Agency are responsible for the administration and enforcement of Canada's tax legislation.

Canada Post

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I doubt that senior managers at Canada Post would agree to wait over a year and a half to be paid what is owed to them. And yet that is exactly what they are forcing thousands of employees and former employees to do, the vast majority of whom are women.

In November 2011, the Supreme Court handed down a unanimous decision requiring Canada Post to respect the principle of pay equity and compensate a group of employees.

Eighteen months later, those employees, many of whom are now retired, are still waiting.

Why is the government allowing Canada Post to drag its feet and not correct this gross injustice as soon as possible?

[Steven Fletcher, Conservative, Minister of State (Transport)]

Mr. Speaker, Canada Post will respect the Supreme Court's decision on pay equity and implement the ruling as soon as possible.

As members know, the Crown is at arm's length from the government and is responsible for its own operations, including human resources. The issue the member is referring to is before the courts, and therefore I cannot comment further.

International Co-operation

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

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of International Cooperation was not concerned at all when we asked him about funding proposals gathering dust on his desk.

Now we hear that he has failed to get a big chunk of development assistance money out the door. Can the minister tell us how much of CIDA's budget will lapse this year? Is it the plan to cut CIDA's budget through the back door, or is it that the minister cannot handle his workload?

[Lois Brown, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, all of the projects are going to be judged on the merit of the project.

What I want to say here is that Canadians can be very proud of the achievements their hard-earned tax dollars are making on projects abroad. Our investments are providing food, medical assistance, health care and emergency humanitarian assistance for those who need it most. We will continue to ensure that Canadians' dollars are spent in the ways that achieve the greatest results.

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

Mr. Speaker, that is quite a non-answer.

The truth is that the Conservatives have made a mess of CIDA.

The minister is completely incompetent and does not know his file: funding has been cut; development assistance is now granted based on the interests of large corporations instead of the interests of the poor; and staff morale is at an all-time low. Now we are hearing that up to a third of CIDA's budget could disappear at the end of this fiscal year.

Can the minister tell us how much of the funds allocated to CIDA were not spent this year because of his incompetence?

[Lois Brown, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, our government, as I said, is committed to ensuring that our development dollars are focused, effective and accountable.

Over the last number of years we have ensured that more moms and more babies have the nutrition they need. We have more children in school, and a high percentage of those are girls who are receiving an education.

We will continue to achieve real results with Canadian taxpayers' dollars.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar, SK]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Liberal member for St. Paul's yelled disrespectful comments. She said that instead of having the same matrimonial right to property as all other Canadians, aboriginal women should have to live in shelters.

As a woman, I am offended. Women and children on reserves have been victimized for many years without the protections they need.

Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance please tell the House what our government is doing to help protect them?

[Shelly Glover, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to first of all thank the member for Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar for her dedication to aboriginal women everywhere.

Our government has introduced legislation to protect thousands of first nations women and children. This bill will allow judges to enforce emergency protection orders for the safety of the woman and the child. Unfortunately, the member for St. Paul's' comments are consistent with the position of the Liberal Party, which voted against these protections.

Opposition leaders should be ashamed, and they should apologize for instructing their caucuses to vote against these protections.

Public Safety

[Frank Valeriote, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Mr. Speaker, prevention is the first and most critical element of any counterterrorism strategy, so it is deeply concerning that the government has left a major risk unaddressed. It could be fertilizer from one of our agri-retailers used in a future attack.

While the sector struggles to secure their stores, and has asked for assistance for years, the government is turning a deaf ear to such an important security issue. Why does the government still refuse to invest funds for background checks, security training and perimeter and network protection for our agri-retailers selling fertilizer?

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, we do have strong regulations in place. Our hearts go out to all those affected by this tragedy, but our government is committed to protecting the safety of Canadians and our agricultural industry. In fact, in 2008, we consulted with the fertilizer industry, and we brought in new regulations under the Explosives Act to protect Canadians. These regulations reflect our commitment to ensuring public safety and security.

Aerospace Industry

[Djaouida Sellah, NDP, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, while a Canadian is commanding the International Space Station for the first time ever, the Conservatives are doing everything they can to avoid building on this success. For months it has been impossible to get exact figures on the Conservatives' cuts to the agency.

The Minister of Industry promised us that the agency's future was bright. Now we are learning that 97 positions will be eliminated between 2011 and 2015.

Will the minister protect these jobs in order to maintain the level of excellence we are all so proud of?

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Minister of Industry and Minister of State (Agriculture)]

Mr. Speaker, the reason we have so much to be proud of when it comes to Canada's achievements in space and the commander of the International Space Station is that the government allocated additional funding. An additional $300 million was allocated to the Canadian Space Agency through the economic action plan. The hon. member who just asked the question belongs to a party that voted against that increased funding. She is in no position to give lessons to the government, which just launched a review.

We have David Emerson's report, which outlines the Canadian Space Agency's future direction. Indeed, the future is promising.

Sealing Industry

[Scott Armstrong, Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley, NS]

Mr. Speaker, our government has long supported Canadian sealers and their families. While anti-sealing lobbyists in urban centres stage protests using false information and outdated pictures, our government continues to promote the truth about the Canadian seal hunt.

The seal hunt is a humane, sustainable and well-regulated activity that provides an important source of food and income for thousands of sealers and their families. Could the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans please update the House on our government's continued support regarding the seal hunt and its humane practices?

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

Mr. Speaker, like my friend from Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley, I am proud to be part of a government that is standing shoulder to shoulder with Canadian sealers. Unlike the Liberals, who through the activities of Ontario Senator Mac Harb have consistently tried to destroy the livelihoods of Canadian sealers, our Conservative government will continue to fight for Canadian sealers and their families.

I am pleased to report that sealers working in the North Atlantic Ocean are on target to increase this year's harvest by some 40%. We remain committed to supporting jobs and growth generated by Canada's humane seal hunt.

Taxation

[Manon Perreault, NDP, Montcalm, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives' budget is full of hidden taxes. They want to increase taxes on thousands of consumer goods and are neglecting the Canadians who are hit the hardest by existing taxes, such as taxes on assistive technology for people with vision loss.

Under the current legislation, these items are fully taxed unless approved by a doctor or institution. This is unfair discrimination against people with vision loss.

Why do the Conservatives think they know best when it comes to people with vision loss?

[Shelly Glover, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I would suggest that my colleague read budget 2013. It provides funding for libraries so that they can purchase digital materials for people with vision loss.

Again, we are providing funding in economic action plan 2013 so that we can provide some digital hubs for our libraries for those who suffer from vision impairment and for those who are blind.

Champlain Bridge

[André Bellavance, Bloc, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, since the new Champlain Bridge was announced, the Minister of Transport has never appeared open to building a structure that meets the real needs of Quebec's metropolis and the south shore.

We really feel that the minister only wants to do the bare minimum and that he is reluctant to include public transit. However, this morning, the Government of Quebec announced its intention to build a light rail transit system in order to properly serve the thousands of people who take the Champlain Bridge every day.

Will the minister understand that he cannot build a bridge in a vacuum? Will he acknowledge Quebec's request and contribute his fair share of the funding for the LRT project?

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

Mr. Speaker, each province has an envelope for infrastructure.

The provincial governments and the municipalities must set their priorities with that federal envelope in mind.

If the Government of Quebec chooses to give priority to light rail transit on the new bridge spanning the St. Lawrence River, we will obviously co-operate with the government to make that investment possible.

The Environment

[Bruce Hyer, Independent, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when in university 43 years ago, I helped organize the very first Earth Day, but we will have little to celebrate today in Canada. The government has dismantled our environmental laws, muzzled our scientists, ripped up Kyoto and refused to take action on dangerous climate change.

For Earth Day on Monday, how about the government ending its $1.3 billion in corporate welfare handouts for big oil and big gas companies?

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, in our government's commitment to combat climate change, we have put forward very stringent regulations in each of the major emitting sectors in our country's economy. For example, light vehicle passenger regulations will actually see Canadians save money through increased fuel efficiency, and for the first time, our government is seeing a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, while our economy continues to grow. This, indeed, is something to celebrate.

Oral Questions

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have enormous respect for you as Speaker and for the members of the House, and I would like to unreservedly apologize for any additions I made in my comments today. As members, we all have to maintain a certain standard in the House. I think we can all agree that this was a particularly unsavoury question period, with numerous misrepresentations and personal attacks, but it does not make it right, and I would like to apologize to my colleagues.