Debates of May 10th, 2013

Government Advertising

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

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, the number of tourists in Canada has increased. Since we are talking about the 2013 economic action plan, I would like to quote the Canadian Federation of Independent Business:

Overall, this is a good budget for small business…. [The minister] has done a solid job by remaining on course to eliminate the deficit while announcing some important measures for Canada's entrepreneurs.

That means that, overall, people see the potential for tourism. Spending is targeted. Since the number of tourists continues to increase, the government must be efficient in all areas.

[Scott Andrews, Liberal, Avalon, NL]

Mr. Speaker, we have all seen those awesome Newfoundland and Labrador tourism ads promoting our great province around the world and across Canada. They are paid for by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and it is money well spent.

Pathetically, the Conservative government spends $95,000 on 30-second economic action plan ads during the playoffs.

Why would the Conservative government rather spend money on advertising for self-promotion than for promoting Canada? Why do the Conservatives not stop this domestic propaganda campaign and start promoting Canada and Canadian tourism?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I just stated in French, Canadians gave us a strong mandate to stay focused on what matters, which is creating jobs and economic growth. That is the first thing. To do that we need to keep an eye on Canada's bottom line. We are taking action to find savings across governments, including the CTC.

The Canadian Tourism Commission will continue to promote Canada as a welcoming four-season destination in the world's most promising tourism markets.

By finding savings across government, we can continue to help create jobs and growth and keep taxes low for Canadians. This is how we create economic growth.

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, how can the minister stand there and reads those words—“the Canadian Tourism Commission will continue to promote Canada”—when he knows full well that is wrong? The headlines in the paper state:

Tourism Commission Axes U.S. Advertising

The Canadian Tourism Commission confirms it has eliminated all general advertising in the U.S....

International tourism is the fastest growing market in the world, and Canada has dropped from 7th place as the most visited country to 18th.

Why is the government spending money on its own propaganda rather than creating jobs for the tourism business?

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

Mr. Speaker, that is total nonsense. It is a typical Liberal way to badly manage the economy.

When we talk about tourism, we have to look at where the potential is. That is what the CTC is doing. It has refocused its resources to places such as India and China, where tourism has a high potential. What we have seen in the last quarter is a growth in tourists coming to Canada.

We are proud of Canada. We will promote Canada correctly. We will not do it as badly as the Liberals suggest.

Ethics

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Senator Mike Duffy was tipped off about his inappropriate expenses by the senator overseeing the investigation; then when he was caught, there were no consequences for breaking the rules. Those are more reasons that the Senate cannot be trusted to investigate itself.

Does the government agree that it was inappropriate for the head of the investigation to tip off Senator Duffy, and if so, what will it do about this leak?

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, if the hon. member looked at the facts a bit, she would see that Mr. Duffy paid back inappropriate funds well before any discussion that she is referring to took place. In fact, he showed the kind of leadership that we would like to see from Liberal Senator Mac Harb, who instead is taking up arms against the Senate by saying that he should not have to pay back inappropriate funds.

We are bringing in tough rules. Conservative senators have proposed tough rules on expenses. Can members guess who is blocking that? It is the Liberal senators. That is typical of the opposition members. Not only are they blocking tougher rules for accountability, they are blocking accountability through electing senators and they are blocking term limits for senators.

We can see who wants to defend the status quo. It is the opposition.

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, where are those old-time Reformers?

When Canadians break the law, they get charged, so why are Conservatives giving their senators a free ride?

Last spring, the Auditor General reported that senators still operate under the honour system. Now, there is an oxymoron. Senators can bill Canadian taxpayers for expenses without ever submitting a receipt.

Does the government not agree that it was wrong to allow senators to duck accountability and to operate for so long on the honour system? Does it not have better respect for taxpayers' money?

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, it is our respect for taxpayers' money that led to an independent outside audit of the Senate and it is the respect of Conservative senators for taxpayers' money that led to their initiative to change those very lax rules by introducing tougher rules.

However, can members guess what happened yesterday when they tried to introduce those tougher rules? Can members guess who stood in the way of them? It was the leader of the third party's Liberal senators. They are the ones who are blocking changes to the Senate. They are the ones who are blocking the kind of financial accountability that all Canadians want to see.

It is no surprise that the Liberal Party continues to defend its entitlements.

[Élaine Michaud, NDP, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is simply absurd that a senator can get away with such a thing. The Senate's so-called honour system is not working.

It certainly never prevented Mike Duffy from playing his shell game over and over without any consequences. A system that allows such shenanigans to go on until someone is finally caught—that has to go.

Do the Conservatives think it is acceptable that Senator Duffy did not have to file his income tax return in the region he was supposed to be representing?

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday, Conservative senators have introduced 11 substantial changes to the rules so that senators will be accountable to the taxpayers, as they should be, but what is happening now is that the Liberal Party is blocking the creation of tougher rules in the Senate. Liberal senators have blocked the reforms we have proposed regarding Senate accountability.

We are asking the Liberals to accept these important changes to accountability.

[Élaine Michaud, NDP, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, once again we see that the government is prepared to move heaven and earth to protect its dishonest senators.

We in the NDP do not think it right that Senator Duffy received privileged information, while he was under investigation, from the senator who was conducting the investigation.

We can see that when senators investigate other senators, accountability gets lost in the fog, rather like that $3.1 billion.

Will the Conservatives do the honourable thing and ask the RCMP to investigate?

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. member is, again, not following the facts closely. The fact is that Senator Duffy did the right thing and actually repaid inappropriate sums months ago, well before any report from the auditors.

The difference is, of course, with Liberal Senator Mac Harb, who is taking an entirely different position and saying that no, he should not have to pay back inappropriate sums, and it his colleagues, the Liberal senators, who are blocking efforts by the Conservative senators to bring in tough new rules to ensure financial accountability and the protection of taxpayers' interests.

Our Conservative government, including our senators, will continue to advance efforts to bring in tough rules to protect taxpayers' interests. It is time the Liberal Party stopped blocking that measure.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Ryan Leef, Conservative, Yukon, YT]

Mr. Speaker, in a remote aboriginal community, when it is the middle of the night and it is 30° below zero and a woman has been violently assaulted, it is absolutely necessary for her to receive the same protection as all other Canadians.

That is exactly why our government introduced Bill S-2, which would allow the enforcement of emergency protection orders.

Shamefully, however, the Liberal leader whipped his caucus to vote against that bill.

Would the parliamentary secretary please update the House on our position versus their position?

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

Mr. Speaker, unlike the Liberal leader, we are not afraid to say that violence against women is exactly what it is: barbaric. Unlike the Liberal leader, we believe that aboriginal women deserve the same matrimonial rights and protections as all other Canadians. Unlike the Liberal leader, we support the bill.

We are not in way over our heads. Our female members, our aboriginal members and all members of our Conservative government are united. We are proud to stand up for the protection of aboriginal women.

[Jonathan Genest-Jourdain, NDP, Manicouagan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's aboriginal population is young, dynamic and growing, but it has been abandoned by the Conservatives.

Thirty per cent of the aboriginal population is younger than 14, but the high school graduation rate is under 40%.

Yesterday, when we asked the minister about this, he was unable to answer.

He was not able to explain why his department systematically underfunds first nations education.

Let us try again today. Can the minister explain why 48 aboriginal communities are still waiting for their schools to be built?

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

Mr. Speaker, first we can clearly state that the issues surrounding first nations education are not a new phenomenon. They have been going on for many years. That, specifically, is why this Conservative government has begun consultations to draft a first nations education act.

He is crowing about the rights of Canada's aboriginal youth to education, but in this House, every time we have tried to invest money in aboriginal education, he has voted against it, just like his party.

[Mylène Freeman, NDP, Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives do not just have a terrible track record when it comes to education. They have also been dragging their feet when it comes to preventing violence against aboriginal women.

We now know that the minister has no intention of launching an action plan on violence or a national inquiry into the hundreds of missing and murdered women.

Instead, he gave us half-baked answers such as this one, and I quote: “some [shelters] are operating at full capacity; others at less than full capacity.”

Honestly, is the minister familiar with the statistics related to his own portfolio or not?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is absolutely astounding to see an NDP member rise in the House and complain about violence against women and then turn around and vote against Bill S-2, which seeks to give women living on reserves rights equal to those of other Canadian women.

The NDP should change its position. If they are truly in favour of protecting aboriginal women living on reserves, then they should simply vote for Bill S-2.

[Romeo Saganash, NDP, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my goodness, it was a long evening.

The question was about violence against women and the action plan required to solve this problem.

The minister told us yesterday that there are only 41 emergency shelters for 329 aboriginal communities. In actual fact, there are over 600 communities.

Does the minister need to do his homework before speaking and implementing the necessary action plan?

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

Mr. Speaker, will the NDP stop playing petty politics at the expense of aboriginal women and children throughout the country?

NDP members like to rise and spout wonderful theories, but when it comes time to vote on a bill that will really improve the situation of aboriginal women living on reserves, they vote against that bill.

If the hon. member is truly concerned about aboriginal women, then I urge him to convince the leader of his party to reverse course and vote in favour of Bill S-2.

[Romeo Saganash, NDP, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my leader is a great one, and he is going in the right direction.

Last night at the committee of the whole, we did not see a minister who seemed to know much or care much about aboriginal people.

From 2006, the government promised reconciliation with aboriginal peoples. Last January, in the face of nation-wide protests, the Prime Minister promised to provide direct oversight to put the relationship between our peoples back on track. Yesterday it was obvious that he had placed this responsibility with someone who is not taking it very seriously.

Is this the new relationship that was promised?

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

Mr. Speaker, the big difference between those who like to talk and those who like to act is that on this side of the House we have chosen to act.

As a matter of fact, for anyone who cares to look at what we have undertaken on the project of reconciliation of aboriginal interests with Canada and the interests of Canadians with aboriginal people in this country, it is no better shown and exemplified than by the apology that the Prime Minister made on behalf of all Canadians and all the steps we are taking to work co-operatively.

[The Deputy Speaker]

The hon. member for St. Paul's.

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this week, Stats Canada revealed the shocking data that 48% of children in foster care are aboriginal. The response from this Prime Minister is a child advocacy photo op.

Can the minister tell us why the government is spending millions of tax dollars on lawyers to drag first nations child advocates through the court system instead of spending it on protecting aboriginal children?