Debates of April 26th, 2013

Employment Insurance

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

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is mistaken.

What we are trying to do is recognize that there is a labour shortage in certain sectors and help people who have lost their jobs learn skills for available jobs.

That is why our budget 2013 invests in training these people so that they can learn the skills for available jobs.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

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

Mr. Speaker, the latest example of Orwellian control by the paranoid government is the directive that no RCMP officer may meet with a member of Parliament without written permission from the minister. God forbid that MPs should actually be given the truth. Only in paranoid Conservative Canada should the police be forbidden from speaking with the people's representatives.

Will the minister choke down his paranoia and reverse this—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety.

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, the commissioner of the RCMP can meet with whomever he chooses to, when he chooses to. It is completely appropriate that he approve, or at least speak about, what future meetings his staff might have. I think all of us may even do the same thing with our staff.

If parliamentarians need to, or want to, meet with RCMP or other officials, the appropriate place for them to do that is in parliamentary committees. If that member has a concern about any RCMP member, the member can speak with me or the Minister of Public Safety.

Employment Insurance

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the Atlantic premiers have joined forces to call for a moratorium on the changes to employment insurance, because they know that those changes will have a negative impact on middle-class families in the Atlantic provinces. Conservative Premier Alward of New Brunswick is urging the Prime Minister to cancel the changes, because he knows they will be devastating.

Why is this Conservative government not listening to Premier Alward? Why is it going after families in Atlantic Canada?

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

Mr. Speaker, we are doing exactly the opposite. The changes to employment insurance have been made to help people find new jobs. Their families will be better off if they are working. In addition, we will help them find jobs and receive training to develop the skills they need for jobs in high demand.

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Speaker, Atlantic Canadian premiers are uniting on the need for a moratorium on employment insurance changes, which are devastating middle-class families in Atlantic Canada.

New Brunswick Conservative Premier Alward is urging the Prime Minister to put a stop to these changes because he knows they will be devastating.

Why is the Conservative government not listening to Premier Alward? Why is it attacking Atlantic Canadian families?

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

Mr. Speaker, what we are doing is just the opposite. Through budget 2013 and our changes to the EI system, we are actually working to help Canadians in all parts of our country identify and pursue the jobs in their area. If they do not have the skills for jobs in high demand, then there are things like the Canada job grant that will work with industry and the provinces to ensure that Canadians have the skills for the jobs that employers need to have filled.

Employment

[Dan Harris, NDP, Scarborough Southwest, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today's youth unemployment rate sits at 14.2%, which is double the national average. The average number of weeks that youth were unemployed has also doubled since 2006, from 7 to 14 weeks.

While the Conservatives have been congratulating themselves, Canada's young people have fallen further and further behind. Young Canadians are paying the price for Conservative mismanagement.

Will theMinister of Finance explain why he is ignoring the unemployment crisis facing young Canadians?

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

Mr. Speaker, in fact, Canada does have one of the lowest youth unemployment rates in the developed world. That being said, we want to do more. That is why this year's budget includes investments in things like the Canada job grant, which will help all Canadians, including young Canadians, get the skills they need for jobs that industry actually is looking to have filled. There are also funds in there for thousands of internships that will help young people who have graduated and have not been able to find a job get the experience they need for a long-term career.

The NDP should support our efforts to help young people get to work.

[Dan Harris, NDP, Scarborough Southwest, ON]

Mr. Speaker, unlike the Conservatives, we would never leave young people out of the recovery as the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development have.

Even though the minister is taking the matter lightly, young Canadians are facing a serious crisis. In September 2006, 1,900 young people were unemployed for over a year. Today, that number has gone up exponentially: 13,000 young people are now in the same situation.

Why does the minister continue to deny that there is a problem when all the evidence shows that young Canadians are going through a difficult economic crisis?

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

Mr. Speaker, some 400,000 apprenticeship grants have been issued since we formed the government. These grants are for skilled workers, who are in great demand across Canada. Unfortunately, the NDP has not supported any of our efforts to connect those young people with jobs that are in high demand. The NDP should support the budget if it really wants to help students.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Manon Perreault, NDP, Montcalm, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is quite clear that the Conservatives do not care about the future of young aboriginal Canadians, either.

There is nothing in budget 2013 to address the chronic underfunding of schools in aboriginal communities. Furthermore, the Conservatives are preventing post-secondary institutions from using the funds received under the Indian studies support program to provide quality education services.

Why is the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs coming down so hard on this program rather than providing aboriginal young people with the tools they need?

[Bernard Valcourt, Conservative, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, clearly the member is misinformed about the programs available to support aboriginal students across the country, and not just at the post-secondary level.

For example, we have also launched a major initiative to bring in federal legislation specifically to enable all first nations students to get results and school governance that will allow them to get the jobs they are looking for.

[Dennis Bevington, NDP, Western Arctic, NT]

Mr. Speaker, we are not talking about a lack of information here but about a lack of will. The Conservatives are putting the Indian studies support program in jeopardy. They are telling institutions that they cannot use federal dollars to pay for day-to-day activities like rent or salaries, and this is with only three-days' notice. It is simply unacceptable.

These programs have been one of the biggest success stories in providing indigenous students with the skills training they need to participate in our economy. Why is the government changing this program, when everyone agrees that indigenous education is a priority?

[Bernard Valcourt, Conservative, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said, the change I suspect the member is referring to is the better targeting of financial resources to ensure that aboriginal youth in Canada are better connected with available jobs and that these youth can get the life skills and education they need to access those jobs. If NDP members oppose these measures, let them stand on it.

[Dave MacKenzie, Conservative, Oxford, ON]

Mr. Speaker, our government has always believed in sending a clear message: violence against women, wherever it occurs, cannot be tolerated. But women on reserves are being abused and victimized without the protections they need. Aboriginal women have also been kicked out of their homes with nowhere to go.

Can the Parliamentary Secretary for Status of Women please tell the House what our government is doing to protect thousands of aboriginal women on reserves?

[Susan Truppe, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary for Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hard-working member for Oxford for his very good question.

We have introduced matrimonial property rights legislation that will finally allow judges to enforce emergency protection orders that save lives and protect women from violence. Aboriginal women, and even the United Nations, have been calling for this for many years, but shockingly, the Liberal leader has instructed his caucus to vote against this protection. If he truly wanted to listen to the United Nations, he would support this bill. I am proud to say that our Conservative government continues to stand up for the rights of aboriginal women.

Foreign Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, the NDP is extremely concerned about allegations that chemical weapons are being used in Syria.

If this is true, these actions would constitute a complete violation of international humanitarian law. The international community would be obligated to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Will the government abandon its usual rhetoric against the United Nations and join the rest of the world in calling for the United Nations to conduct an investigation into these allegations?

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, as that member will know, our government is providing real leadership on this issue through a credit of up to $2 million to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to conduct just such a study as the one she is referring to.

We are very concerned about these reports and remain in close contact with our allies. The use of chemical weapons on the people of Syria would be heinous and contrary to international law.

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

Mr. Speaker, that is reassuring. The Conservatives too often tend to ignore the role of the United Nations as an important force for peace and international security.

Yesterday, the United Nations Security Council unanimously approved a resolution with regard to a peacekeeping mission for Mali. The purpose of this mission is to support the political process in a friendly nation struggling with radicals, terrorism and ethnic divisions.

Will Canada participate in this peacekeeping mission or will it once again say no to the United Nations?

[Chris Alexander, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, Canada was proud to support France's efforts to strengthen stability in the region so that Mali does not once again become a safe haven for terrorist organizations.

Our officials and the Canadian armed forces will continue to work with their French colleagues in this regard and we will respond to any requests we receive. However, Canada has no plans for a military presence in Mali.

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canada is now the number one country rejecting the opportunity for supporting Mali. We are number 57 when it comes to supporting peacekeeping missions in the world. We really have to see the government being more serious when it comes to Mali and becoming more serious about peacekeeping.

Now that the UN has created a peacekeeping mission, focused primarily on overseeing the political process, we see the government dithering on its support for the United Nations. This is after the government said it would support political stability. How can the Conservatives explain these contradictions?

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, as that member knows, our government has been dealing with our allies with respect to Mali. Canada supported the French troops with the provision of a C-17, which is still happening in Mali. We are monitoring the situation closely.

With respect to the UN, we are supporting the UN mission to investigate the question of the use of chemical weapons in Syria.

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is irresponsible that the government is actually not engaging with the UN more. It seems to have an ideological objection to working with the UN.

The alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria amounts to a major violation of international and humanitarian laws. The government failed to join the rest of the world to unequivocally condemn the use of cluster munitions in Syria. It failed to deliver aid to Turkey, which is dealing with a refugee crisis, and it refuses to meet with the Syrian-Canadian community.

Why can the government not engage with the UN and our partners when it comes to the crisis in Syria?