Debates of April 30th, 2013

Labour

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, oddly, the Parliamentary Budget Officer said that budget 2013 would result in the loss of 14,000 jobs for Canadians, not temporary jobs for foreign workers.

Not only does omnibus bill 3.0 contain tax hikes, but it also gives excessive power to Treasury Board, allowing it to interfere in the negotiation of collective agreements. Treasury Board will also be able to impose hiring conditions on new employees of crown corporations, whether or not they are unionized.

Why are the Conservatives attacking free bargaining? Why are they meddling in the affairs of crown corporations?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, President of the Treasury Board and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, the budget and the Budget Implementation Act are quite clear in that part of our role is to improve the financial viability of crown corporations, including their compensation levels. We said that because we are on the side of the taxpayer. We want to make sure that crown corporations, like other government agencies, actually respect the taxpayer, and that includes within collective bargaining.

We know that we are on the side of the taxpayer, but which side are they on?

Privacy

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we are on the side of taxpayers. We are on the side of freedom of negotiation, and we are on the side of good public services.

Speaking of unacceptable, the Privacy Commissioner made very clear recommendations in order to protect the privacy of Canadians.

If the Conservatives were really serious about this issue, they would have implemented these recommendations a long time ago.

The Minister said that he was in the process of preparing for a meeting. Someone stop him. While he is wasting his time, Canadians' privacy is being breached every 48 hours.

When will he take this seriously? When will he protect people?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, President of the Treasury Board and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, unlike the other side, which is interested in an ideological argument, we actually care what the Privacy Commissioner actually says and what her recommendations are. We want to meet with her and in that space have a discussion on how we can improve privacy legislation, because we care about citizens and their right to privacy. That is evidenced by the veterans' privacy action plan, mandatory reporting of breaches to the Privacy Commissioner and new guidelines to help stop breaches.

Our record is quite clear and quite positive, but we know we can improve it as well.

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

Mr. Speaker, this government seems to think that losing the privacy data of one million Canadian seniors and students is an ideological debate. The New Democrats say it has to do with bad management.

Now, 99.9% of the breaches happened under the government's watch. We are talking about its mismanagement of personal data. It is not good enough that the minister says he is now going to meet with the Privacy Commissioner. He should have been meeting with the Privacy Commissioner when the breaches happened.

Getting caught is not an action plan. Where is his commitment to the million-plus Canadians who had their data lost, stolen or hacked? What happened to the plan?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, President of the Treasury Board and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, indeed I have met with the Privacy Commissioner in the past, and I am looking forward to our upcoming meeting as well. We always get valuable insights when we have such gatherings. There is no question about it.

There is no question, as well, that privacy breaches are concerning to this side of the House, and we are acting forthrightly in having these consultations and then getting a view to a plan of action that will help prevent it, just as we had a plan of action for veterans and we had a plan of action to make sure that these breaches were mandatorily reported to the Privacy Commissioner. We know which side we are on, and we are acting accordingly.

Ethics

[Brad Butt, Conservative, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when reports first broke of inappropriate spending on travel and hospitality at the Old Port of Montreal, our government asked the Auditor General to investigate. When the matter was later studied at the ethics committee, the Liberal member for Bourassa, like the leader of the NDP often does, began making up wild conspiracy theories. He said, “My impression is that Ms. Benoit is the victim of a smear campaign...”.

Can the Minister of Public Works please provide this House with an update and the facts on this matter?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, it is true that while the Liberals defended unacceptable spending at this independent crown corporation, we did call in the Auditor General to do a special investigation. Today the Auditor General agreed with us that there were problems with hospitality and travel expenses at the Old Port of Montreal and reaffirmed that we did the right thing by placing the Old Port of Montreal under new management with Canada Lands.

While the Liberals defend waste and unacceptable spending, our government is ensuring that tax dollars will be protected.

Health

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

Mr. Speaker, we learned yesterday that Marchese Hospital Solutions, one of the companies accused of supplying diluted chemotherapy drugs, approached Health Canada in 2011 to inquire about the federal regulatory framework and to ensure it was following the rules. However, Health Canada told the company that that was outside its jurisdiction.

Health Canada knew what was going on.

Why did the minister not do what had to be done from the start to prevent this crisis?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, a provincial committee is examining the jurisdictional question surrounding the drug service provider. Marchese has never applied for federal regulatory approval. We have proposed an interim solution to ensure that all drug service providers fall within federal or provincial regulations, and we plan to work closely with the provincial and territorial governments to address this.

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we just hear more and more excuses. The fact is that drug safety is a federal responsibility. This negligence puts Canadians' health in jeopardy. Let us be clear. One of the companies that supplied diluted cancer drugs did approach Health Canada. Their response: We're not responsible.

This means there is no oversight. Who knows how many other companies are operating like this in Canada? Does the minister even know? When will the Conservatives finally bring in comprehensive drug safety measures for Canadians?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the federal government proposed an interim solution while the provincial government is examining the jurisdictional question surrounding the drug service providers. Marchese has never applied for federal regulatory approval.

We have put forward an interim solution while the committee is examining the jurisdictional issues. We plan on working closely with the provincial and territorial governments to ensure that this matter is addressed.

The Environment

[Dennis Bevington, NDP, Western Arctic, NT]

Mr. Speaker, not only are they denying responsibility, but they deny science.

We do know what kind of science Conservatives believe in: pseudo-science. When the member for Yukon was asked by a constituent for polar bear information, he gave them a report penned by a trio of climate change deniers. He even called evidence from Environment Canada scientists government propaganda.

When will the government stop misinforming the public, stop attacking science and start making fact-based decisions?

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, no government in Canadian history has done more than our government to promote the values and traditions of the Arctic and Arctic communities. The same goes for the member for Yukon. Whether it is his defence of the humane seal hunt or whether it is his efforts to protect the Inuit's sustainable management of the polar bear, the people of the Yukon can depend on the member for Yukon.

Together with other range states, Canada has been taking great strides in recent years in coordinating action on polar bear conservation.

[Anne Minh-Thu Quach, NDP, Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for Yukon should simply apologize and set the record straight.

The scientists that the member for Yukon cited are an economist, an astronomer and a marketing expert. They are not exactly what I would call experts on polar bears. Not only is he basing his misleading arguments on information from climate change deniers, but he also insulted Environment Canada scientists when he was asked to justify his claims.

Why is the member spewing this misleading, American-style propaganda rather than basing his arguments on the opinions of Environment Canada scientists?

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about what the NDP denies. They deny the sustainable seal hunt. They deny the management of the polar bear and the legitimacy of the Inuit annual quota hunt. They deny development in the north. They deny resource development in the north. They wander abroad to lobby against Canadian jobs, Canadian interests and responsible resource development.

Polar bears in Canada are well managed under a robust and responsive management system, and it is home to two-thirds, I am proud to say, of the world's population.

Search and Rescue

[Judy Foote, Liberal, Random—Burin—St. George's, NL]

Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General's report spells out the significant challenges facing Canada's search and rescue. It is painfully clear why the Conservative government refused to call a public inquiry into the tragic death of 14-year-old Burton Winters, despite repeated requests. Given the Auditor General's report, it is also painfully clear why the Minister of National Defence should not use search and rescue as a limousine service from a fishing camp.

Will the government finally deliver the significant improvements, as demanded by the Auditor General, in order to protect Canadians?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General, of course, did point out the need for improvement but also noted the adequacy of search and rescue.

We have to do more. We have to obviously continue to invest in certain areas, but there are areas in which our SAR techs continue to perform brilliantly. We have seen search and rescue coordinators and crews strive to respond as quickly as possible in every incident, in the largest search and rescue territory in the world. With massive coastlines and weather systems, these folks do incredible work in Canada.

[Gerry Byrne, Liberal, Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte, NL]

Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General dropped a bombshell this morning concerning the government's proprietary search and rescue mission management software. In 2009, Canada's vital search and rescue software was corrupted and faces repeated risk of failure after being critically damaged. The system can no longer support daily operations, according to the Auditor General, and is “near the breaking point”.

Free smart phone apps are now the tool that plan search and rescue missions. This was never revealed to the public until this morning. Has mission software failure in 2009 contributed to subsequent deaths in the offshore, and did it impact the response to the Burton Winters tragedy?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, indeed, the tragedy of Burton Winters is something we all remember. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, but let us not lose sight of the efforts that are being made, that are being undertaken. We agree with the Auditor General that the search and rescue mission management system is in need of replacement expeditiously, and work is currently under way to do so. In fact, we are working jointly with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard to manage information related to search and rescue. In the meantime, we are working as well with DFO to provide better technical support to the existing system to effectively support search and rescue nationally.

Employment

[Isabelle Morin, NDP, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in her recent report, the Parliamentary Budget Officer estimated that the federal budget would result in the loss of 14,000 jobs and would lower our GDP.

Combined with record debt levels, the Conservatives' new restrictions on access to social services paint a bleak picture for the future of Canadian youth.

The measures the minister keeps going on about are a dismal failure. Youth are increasingly feeling the pinch of the economic crisis, and with this budget, there is no end in sight.

When will the minister come up with a youth employment plan instead of advertising and propaganda?

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, let us be clear about what the Parliamentary Budget Officer actually said. The Parliamentary Budget Officer found that the measures in the budget, that is economic action plan 2013, will, and I quote, “have a net positive impact on the level of real GDP and employment in 2013”. That is, in fact, what the report says. I do not know what information the member opposite is referring to.

[Rathika Sitsabaiesan, NDP, Scarborough—Rouge River, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the crisis of youth unemployment is knocking on the front door, but that minister is ignoring the problem. No one is home. The fact is, youth unemployment in Toronto and Hamilton is double the national average. In Oshawa, it is 19%. In London, it is 20%. In Windsor, it stands at 25%. In Peterborough, youth unemployment is now at a staggering 29%.

When will the Conservatives come forward with a real plan to get Canada's youth working again?

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

Mr. Speaker, we have been doing just that, particularly in budget 2013, where there are measures to provide thousands more internships to help young people who have graduated but are having problems finding work. There is the Canada job grant to help young people who are in the market already train for new jobs and get the skills they need for the jobs that are in demand.

There are a number of other measures. The NDP should take a break from the past, when it voted against every initiative to help young people, and support this budget that would do exactly what they are asking be done.

International Co-operation

[Patrick Brown, Conservative, Barrie, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canada continues to be a world leader in global health, especially in the fight against polio. Last week, at the global vaccine summit, the Minister of International Cooperation announced Canada's continued commitment to polio eradication.

Bill Gates said, “Canada's increased support over the next six years will help ensure we can end polio and build the infrastructure needed to help all children live healthy and productive lives”.

Could the Minister of International Cooperation please update the House on Canada's latest efforts to eradicate polio?