Debates of May 10th, 2013

South Shore Organizations

[Gerald Keddy, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margaret's, NS]

Mr. Speaker, as the member of Parliament for South Shore—St. Margaret's, I rise to recognize the new and inspiring partnership between organizer Al Sullivan's David Atkinson Memorial Bonspiel for Cancer and the Health Services Foundation of the South Shore.

Together, the memorial bonspiel and the foundation will raise funds dedicated exclusively to helping South Shore cancer patients. I am proud to stand in the House to recognize them today.

I would also like to acknowledge the South Shore's own Admiral Desmond Piers Naval Association. The association meets on a monthly basis as a place for people who have served at sea. It is 130 members strong and growing. Whether their legacy was with the navy, the merchant marines, the Canadian Coast Guard or the RCMP's marine division, members of the Admiral Desmond Piers Naval Association are all united by their love of the sea, their honourable service and, as any of them would put it, the salt water in their veins.

These Nova Scotians and the organizations they represent honour both their communities and all of Canada.

Governor General's Caring Canadian Award

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Ms. Carolyn Francis, who was recently presented with the Governor General's Caring Canadian Award. The award recognizes individuals who volunteer their time to help others and to build a smarter, more caring nation.

Carolyn, a resident of Kensington, P.E.I., is just so much the right person to be recognized. She is a dedicated educator and has a passion for teaching within the island community. She has carried that passion beyond Canada's borders. As an educator, she has been closely involved in teacher exchanges between Canada and Uganda that help girls stay in school, as well as a twinning program that links schools in Kenya with those in P.E.I., connecting her province with people in developing countries.

This volunteer work has made her truly one of the unsung heroes of our communities whose passion is so much a part of the Canadian character.

Congratulations go to Carolyn, and we thank her. The world needs more people like her.

MasterCard Memorial Cup

[Maurice Vellacott, Conservative, Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, SK]

Mr. Speaker, as the MP for Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, I take great pride in Saskatoon's hosting of the 2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup for major junior hockey next week. The host team, the Saskatoon Blades, has united our city's hockey-passionate community since 1966, when it joined the Western Hockey League. Next year, the Saskatoon Blades organization will celebrate its 50th year in the league.

I want to commend Blades owner Jack Brodsky, the host organizing committee and all the volunteers who are working so hard to make this year's MasterCard Memorial Cup an unforgettable event. I want to welcome all the many tourists who will be visiting our fair city of Saskatoon. The time has never been better to visit our city and to be a part of the 2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup celebration. We look forward to welcoming them.

I want to wish everyone, and especially all the hockey players, a safe, successful tournament, with best wishes for our host team, the Saskatoon Blades.

Francophone Association for Knowledge

[Laurin Liu, NDP, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this week, I had the pleasure of taking part in the 81st convention of the Association francophone pour le savoir.

Nearly 5,000 researchers exchanged ideas on the role of science in our society and the importance of French-language research, unified in the belief that science will help us build a better world.

Meanwhile, the Conservative government is attacking basic research, muzzling its scientists and dismantling Canada's only oceanography library serving the French-speaking scientific community.

Furthermore, it seems that the research priorities of the National Research Council of Canada will be dictated by industry from now on, based on immediate commercial interests. No more basic research or research for the public interest.

Canadians have had enough of this backward-thinking government.

Passport to Unity

[Bryan Hayes, Conservative, Sault Ste. Marie, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Passport to Unity festival, hosted by the Sault Community Career Centre and held in my riding of Sault Ste. Marie this past weekend.

For the past seven years, the Passport to Unity festival has had a direct impact in creating Sault Ste. Marie's cultural mosaic. This year, the festival touched nearly 5,000 people in just three days, setting the stage to learn and embrace the ever-growing multiculturalism that is present in our northern Ontario city. Through various entertainment acts, dance and food exhibitions, my constituents were able to celebrate their ethnicity and values, while being united with other Canadians of different race, religion and creed.

I am proud to represent a riding that embraces cultural participation. Special appreciation goes out to all participants, volunteers and our community for making Sault Ste. Marie's signature multiculturalism festival possible.

Pro-Am Face Off for Alzheimer's

[James Rajotte, Conservative, Edmonton—Leduc, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a wonderful fundraising hockey tournament that recently took place in my riding, the Pro-Am Face Off for Alzheimer's.

Approximately 747,000 Canadians are currently living with dementia. This event raised critical research dollars for the Alzheimer's Society of Alberta and Northwest Territories. From April 26 to 28, local amateur hockey players teamed up with some of the NHL's all-time greats, like my weekend teammate, Theo Fleury, as we took to the ice in the battle against Alzheimer's and other types of dementia. There were many highlights in the weekend, including a luncheon with the one and only Mr. Hockey, Gordie Howe, where we heard some very heartfelt stories of people touched by this disease.

Through fundraising efforts, we raised over $2 million for the Alzheimer's Society. Currently, Alzheimer's disease has no known cause or cure. Until a cure is found, the society is there to help and provide support to those impacted by this terrible disease.

I would like to recognize and thank the local organizing committee and the volunteers in Edmonton and Leduc for putting together such a wonderful event.

By-election in Labrador

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I was recently in the magnificent big land of Labrador. Meeting Harry Borlase reminds me of what it has been like to work with the young, new members of Parliament in the official opposition caucus. Like them, he is bright, energetic, eloquent and passionate about our country.

Harry Borlase understands that politics are about the people of Labrador. He is no climate change denier. His education covers polar law and climate adaptation policy. His work on northern resource development and sustainable environment technology will serve our future well. He is a fresh wind blowing across the old school of politics, with its backrooms and no accountability. Steelworkers at the Wabush mines support him because he is fighting for working people. Labrador will enjoy a new generation of honest, accountable, grassroots representation.

I look forward to working with Harry Borlase here in the House of Commons.

Oil and Gas Industry

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Nepean—Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, half a million people work in Canada's energy sector. Most are blue-collar folk, the backbone of our middle class. They have quietly reduced greenhouse gases by 26% per barrel since 1990.

Al Gore recently insulted these people, when he accused them of using our atmosphere as an "open sewer". Look who is talking. Gore recently stuffed his pockets with $70 million of oil money when he sold his low-rated television network to dictators in petro-state Qatar. Human Rights Watch says that low-paid migrant workers have their passports confiscated there so that they cannot escape Qatar's overcrowded, unsanitary conditions, which lack potable water.

These abuses paid Al Gore his millions. Far from environmental profit, he is a foreign oil profiteer. That is the inconvenient truth of Al Gore.

Papineau Region

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

Mr. Speaker, with summer fast approaching, I want to invite all my colleagues and all Canadians to come and see, taste and hear all the wonderful things life has to offer in the Papineau region in the Outaouais. It is an outstanding part of my riding.

In fact, I just want to name some of the local winners of the 2013 Grands Prix du tourisme de l'Outaouais: Outaouais Rock, in Montebello; Fromagerie les Folies bergères, in Saint-Sixte; Jardins d'Emmarocalles, in Ripon; and Auberge Petite-Nation, in Saint-André-Avellin. Those last three are finalists in the national grand finale of the Canadian Tourism Awards.

On May 18 and 19, the Route 148 festival and its huge garage sale kick off the summer season in Papineau. This event celebrates the highway that links neighbouring municipalities together. During the first weekend of June, the Jours J-BMR outdoor festival will attract hundreds of cyclists to the region.

Papineau's volunteers, local businesses and local officials all deserve a big round of applause for their hard work in making “la Petite-Nation” a region not to be missed.

Ukraine

[Bernard Trottier, Conservative, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to lend support to the Ukrainian-Canadian community in my riding, which has expressed its shock and outrage to me regarding the recent statement issued by the Liberal Party celebrating the Soviet Victory Day in Ukraine.

This holiday was created by the Soviet dictator Leonid Brezhnev, but it was certainly not celebrated by Ukrainians, as the end of World War II set off the Soviet reign of terror and domination.

The Soviets tried to crush Ukrainian culture, historical memory and aspirations of self-determination and subjected Ukrainians to starvation, mass arrest, execution and deportation to the Gulag. This was certainly no victory.

I ask that my parliamentary colleagues join me in demanding that the leader of the Liberal Party apologize for his party's deeply insensitive statement, which is still online. I call on the Liberal critic for multiculturalism to apologize for his profoundly ignorant comments in the House yesterday, referring to Ukraine as “the Ukraine” as if it were a Russian province.

Constable Alain Daguerre

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

Mr. Speaker, family and friends will bid a final farewell to Constable Alain Daguerre at his funeral tomorrow.

All of us who work on Parliament Hill—MPs, cooks, technicians, drivers, pages and constables—are like one big family. We are all here to help one another serve the people of Canada. We therefore recognize Alain's 12 years of service as a member of the House of Commons security services, and express our appreciation for his dedication and his friendliness.

The Liberal caucus took up a collection for Alain's family. We wanted to give his wife Vicky and their two children, Nadia and Sébastien, a tangible sign of our affection and gratitude, and of the profound sadness we feel because a man of his character has left us far too soon.

May your soul rest in peace, Constable Daguerre.

Veterans

[Rick Norlock, Conservative, Northumberland—Quinte West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, according to the NDP:

A war of the bourgeois who always wanted more money. A purely capitalist war... The only ones...who rejected [this war] were the Communist activists.

I don't understand why this government puts so much emphasis on our military past, on everything related to military history.

Incredibly, these are comments made by senior members of the NDP caucus. The Leader of the Opposition stands firm: no retraction for Canadian veterans, no apology for such reckless comments. The Leader of the Opposition has shown that he is incapable of reigning in his party's extremist positions.

How many more days must our brave veterans wait for the Leader of the Opposition to make this right?

Government Expenditures

[Alain Giguère, NDP, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

Mr. Speaker, how on earth did the government manage to lose $3.1 billion?

If I lose $100, I search my accounts, check my credit cards. I do something. I would think that the Conservatives would do something about $3.1 billion. There must be one or two invoices lying around. I would do something, but not them.

Since the Conservatives are not giving us an answer, all we can do is assume. Perhaps the $3.1 billion was spent on combatting terrorism or on border services. Perhaps it was sent to the coffers of the then-ruling party Union Montréal—no one knows. Or worse yet, perhaps it ended up on Accurso's yacht.

I say “yacht”, but does that mean it is a yacht? No one knows. The worst is that the government's only solution to prevent this from happening again is to stop following up on spending after 2010. It is not silly if you think about it. It is rather brilliant, since if you do not track how money is spent, it is technically impossible to lose it.

Canadians deserve better—

[The Deputy Speaker, NDP, Joe Comartin]

Order.

The hon. member for London North Centre.

The Economy

[Susan Truppe, Conservative, London North Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian economy gained 12,500 new jobs this month. Our government has created over 900,000 net new jobs. Our strong and steady leadership has ensured that Canada has remained one of the strongest economies in the world, acting as an example for other countries.

By contrast, the NDP is determined to kill jobs through its $20 billion carbon tax. With its $20 billion carbon tax, month after month, year after year, job numbers would be in the red. The contrast is simple. Under our government job numbers have grown by 900,000. Under the NDP, with its reckless $20 billion carbon tax, job numbers would plummet.

Canadian workers and businesses alike know that they simply cannot afford the reckless tax-and-spend agenda of the NDP.

Ethics

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the Senate is in the news again today, for all the wrong reasons. An audit has found that a number of senators have to pay back thousands of dollars. The audit also found that some senators were spending most of their lives in Ottawa while not paying taxes in their home provinces and filing false expense claims. If average Canadians did this, they would have to face real consequences under the law for fraud.

Will the government urge their senators to refer this matter to the police?

[James Moore, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, when this issue first arose, of course we did what we thought was the responsible thing, which was to bring in an outside independent audit of the Senate. That happened. Senator Duffy has repaid the money. We asked that Senator Mac Harb repay the money. Senator Brazeau should repay the money as well.

Right now, today, the only thing that is standing between serious comprehensive reform about the way that the Senate operates with taxpayers' money is the Liberal Party of Canada.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, only an RCMP investigation will reveal the full scope of the fraud that has taken place.

In the Auditor General's report released a year ago, he confirmed that the Senate operates on an honour system. Senators do not have to produce any receipts or provide any proof. It was only yesterday that an end was put to this honour system, after years of abuse and fraud.

Do the Conservatives really think it is okay to spend taxpayers' money based on an honour system?

[James Moore, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, as we have underscored, senators will have to pay back any amount of money that is found to be in their pockets in an inappropriate manner, today and in the future. We are asking Senator Harb and Senator Brazeau to repay that money.

We have proposed some changes for the future. Conservative senators have proposed 11 substantial amendments to reform how the Senate conducts its business. However, the Liberal Party is standing in the way of those much-needed reforms.

Government Expenditures

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Let us get this straight, Mr. Speaker. Senators are still using the honour system for expenses while Conservatives are spying on their own backbenchers.

Moving on to another Conservative failure of accountability, the Prime Minister claimed that the Auditor General raised no red flags on the missing billions, but when asked if there were risks with the way this money was spent, the Auditor General said, “I guess I would have to say that there would be a risk because there is not enough information to answer the question completely”.

Why does this not match the government's definition of a red flag?

[James Moore, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, we do not claim that is what the Auditor General said; that is what the Auditor General said. The Auditor General said, “We didn't see anything in what we were looking at that put any red flags in front of us”. He also said “We didn’t find anything that gave us cause for concern that the money...was used in any way that it should not have been”. That is what the Auditor General said; it is not a claim of what the Auditor General said.

[Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe, NDP, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, how many billions of dollars will they have to lose track of before it becomes a problem?

When the Liberals lost $1 billion, it was a scandal, but when the Conservatives lose $3 billion, it is not a problem. Is that how it works? If the money was not lost, can someone here explain how it was spent? My understanding is that when something is lost, that means nobody knows where it is.

The Auditor General reported that the information required to trace this $3.1 billion is not in the public accounts.

They should stop making excuses and tell us clearly where the money went.

[Andrew Saxton, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board and for Western Economic Diversification]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite simply has it wrong. The Auditor General clearly stated, “We didn’t find anything that gave us cause for concern that the money...was used in any way that it should not have been”. Let me repeat, “We didn’t find anything that gave us cause for concern that the money...was used in any way that it should not have been”. Those are the facts.

[Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe, NDP, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, he does not need to repeat it. We have heard enough from him already and it is not at all convincing.

The Conservatives claim that they are going to follow the Auditor General’s recommendations and that we need not worry about it. However, oversight problems were identified by the Auditor General in 2004, and nothing has changed.

Worse still, the Conservatives have simply stopped tracking expenditures. A broken promise is precisely what led to the disappearance of the $3.1 billion.

If the Conservatives really want to implement the Auditor General’s recommendations, then they should release all program expenditure records.

The NDP moved a motion to do just that. Will they adopt it?

[Andrew Saxton, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board and for Western Economic Diversification]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite still has it wrong. Departments have always been, and are still, responsible to report to Parliament through the normal processes. The Auditor General reaffirmed this to the committee when he said, “We didn't identify anything that would cause us to say that we felt that anything was going on outside of those processes”. Those are the facts.