Debates of May 2nd, 2013

Canadian Heritage

[Terence Young, Conservative, Oakville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadarm, a marvellous technological innovation created and developed by Canadians is, simply put, a national icon. It was one of the most important inventions of our space industry, one that entrenched Canada' international reputation for its expertise and innovation in advanced robotics.

The robotic arm made its space debut on November 13, 1981, and remained a critical element in the space shuttle program for almost 30 years.

Will the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages please tell this House how our government is recognizing this amazing Canadian invention?

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

Mr. Speaker, after travelling 624 million kilometres and logging a total of 944 work days in space, the Canadarm has—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. The hon. Minister of Canadian Heritage has the floor.

[James Moore, Conservative, Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, BC]

Members opposite can obsess about their caucus mates and we will obsess about Canadian history, Mr. Speaker.

The Canadarm is coming back home. It is now at the science and technology museum.

As we go forward from here to Canada's 150th birthday in 2017, we will honour all of Canada's history.

Today we had the unveiling of the Canadarm at the museum, and we look forward to thousands of Canadians coming through that museum, seeing the Canadarm and seeing its remarkable contribution to Canada's space industry.

Labour

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government has lost track of $3.1 billion, but instead of putting its own house in order, it is micromanaging crown corporations and interfering in their affairs.

When post offices are closing, crown corporations are—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

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

Yes, Mr. Speaker, remember, arm's length.

However, when CBC is bargaining with its employees, Conservatives want to take over.

Will Conservatives scrap their plan to give themselves new powers to interfere in crown corporations, like VIA Rail, Canada Post or CBC?

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

Mr. Speaker, both parts of that question are completely untrue. I have already cited the Auditor General for the first part of the question.

On the second part of the question, of course, we have as a government the ultimate financial responsibility for crown corporations on behalf of the taxpayers, and we must ensure that their costs are sustainable. This is not a revolutionary idea. Indeed, the NDP leader was part of a provincial government that required political approval for negotiating mandates for crown corporations, including Hydro-Québec, Loto-Québec and Télé-Québec.

This is not revolutionary. The NDP leader was part of a government that did it all the time.

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

Mr. Speaker, they are trying to piss off the unions with Bill C-377 and irritate the people at VIA Rail, CBC and Canada Post. They are sticking their noses into the business of all those organizations, but meanwhile they do not even know what they did with $3 billion. We are not talking about $1 billion or $2 billion but $29 billion in taxes that they are unable to collect. They need to get their own house in order before they start meddling in the affairs of others. When these organizations have problems, the Conservatives say that those problems are not their responsibility and that the organizations are independent, yet, when it comes time to interfere for ideological reasons, these organizations can kiss their independence good-bye. The most ridiculous thing about this situation is that the Conservatives are saying that the bill will help to improve management.

How can a minister who lost $3 billion claim that the CBC—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. President of the Treasury Board and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario.

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

Mr. Speaker, I will say it again. The government has the ultimate financial responsibility for crown corporations, and we must ensure that their finances are sustainable. This is not a revolutionary idea. The NDP leader was part of a provincial government that required crown corporations, including Hydro Québec, Loto-Québec and Télé-Québec, to obtain political approval for negotiating mandates. This is nothing new.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives' lack of co-operation on the truth and reconciliation process is simply disgraceful, especially after the Auditor General just criticized their mismanagement.

We now learn that the government has refused to admit it purposely destroyed residential school documents. This left many residential school survivors with less compensation, because they could not prove how many years they had spent in school.

Why is the government not living up to the spirit and intent of the 2008 apology and coming clean?

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

Mr. Speaker, if the hon. member is trying to impute or suggest that this government has destroyed documents, I dare her to put her seat in place and we will take it from there.

The fact of the matter is that we continue to honour and respect the terms of the residential schools settlement agreement that was reached with all parties.

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

Mr. Speaker, the promise of reconciliation and the official apology made in 2008 increasingly seem to be just empty rhetoric. The Conservatives refuse to admit that the residential school records were deliberately destroyed in the 1960s and 1970s. That is unacceptable.

Why are the Conservatives making the residential school survivors relive their pain because, without records, they were not able to prove how many years they spent in those schools? Will the Conservatives admit that documents were destroyed and will they compensate the victims?

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

Mr. Speaker, notwithstanding what the member would have the House and Canadians believe for purely partisan reasons, the fact remains that our government continues to be committed to achieving a fair and lasting settlement regarding the legacy of residential schools.

Last week, in Montreal, I personally met with some of the commissioners. I wanted to make sure that we will continue to work with them to implement the terms of the settlement agreed upon by all parties. That is what we will continue to do.

Elections Canada

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Speaker, fair elections are the cornerstone of Canada's democracy, and Elections Canada is our watchdog.

The Conservatives were found guilty of fraud in election 2006. They were accused of fraud in 2008. They are under investigation for fraud in 2011. These election problems are increasing. A new report notes that Elections Canada actually needs more money to deal with this, but the government is slashing its budget instead.

Just what do the Conservatives have to hide?

[Tim Uppal, Conservative, Minister of State (Democratic Reform)]

Mr. Speaker, we have serious concerns over what the Supreme Court called the Liberals' “...attempt to disenfranchise entitled voters and so undermine public confidence in the electoral process”. This was regarding the last election.

That member knows very well that Elections Canada has access to unlimited financial resources for elections and investigations. That said, an independent audit highlighted widespread errors in Elections Canada's operations during the last election. We will bring forward amendments to the law in the not-too-distant future.

The Environment

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have a very simple math question for the Minister of the Environment. He keeps falsely claiming that the government is halfway to its 2020 targets on greenhouse gases. Let us do the math.

The 2005 level was 731 megatonnes. His target is 607 megatonnes. Halfway to that is 669 megatonnes. Therefore, the minister is saying that we are at or below 669 megatonnes. Can he provide proof of this?

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, with respect to my hon. colleague, this is not rocket science. The math that is important here involves the numbers 13 and 30.

For 13 years, the previous Liberal government paid lip service to climate change, while emissions increased by 30%. I would invite my colleague to visit the Environment Canada website to take a look at our updated emissions inventory, which confirmed that we are now about halfway to achieving our 2020 reduction target.

Foreign Affairs

[Ève Péclet, NDP, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Canada is paying the price for the Conservatives' repeated foreign policy errors.

Qatar is taking advantage of the Conservatives' lack of credibility on the international stage by trying to claim the International Civil Aviation Organization, which is based in Montreal.

If the Conservatives cause this UN organization's headquarters to move, the city will lose a thousand jobs and $119 million in spinoffs. The city's prestige, reputation and influence are also at risk.

Why should Montreal have to pay for their diplomatic incompetence?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the way Qatar has gone about this demonstrates why it is not a suitable host for this United Nations organization.

I am very pleased. We have reached out to the province and we have reached out to the city. Later today, I will travel to Montreal to launch team Montreal, a group committed to keeping this world-class headquarters in one of the greatest cities in the world. This government is putting aside politics and will work with anyone to ensure we deliver, and ensure that this is maintained in Montreal. It is great for this country, it is great for Quebec, it is great for Montreal, and the member should get on board.

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, all of this could have been avoided if this minister actually listened to and worked with others. This is a question of either working with other nations on the tough challenges facing the world or taking the minister's approach down the path of isolationism. For example, the minister's recent charm offensive of the Arab world united the region against Canada.

Can he really be trusted to protect our national interests on the global stage?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I had a great visit to the Middle East, especially to five Arab countries. We were warmly welcomed wherever we went. We were able to finally solve a visa issue with the United Arab Emirates. We were there to look at our new embassy in Qatar and to open our new embassy in Jordan.

Of the first five Arab countries that I visited, not one of them mentioned Canada's position on Israel. In fact, the only person who was negative was a CBC reporter.

International Trade

[Colin Mayes, Conservative, Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

Mr. Speaker, our government has an ambitious pro-trade plan that is delivering jobs, growth and long-term prosperity for Canadians.

Sadly, rather than promote the interests of Canadian exporters, the NDP is advocating for special treatment for manufacturers in countries like China. In fact, the leader of the NDP has said that if given the opportunity, he would repeal agreements that promote trade and increase Canadian exports.

Can the Minister of International Trade please share with this House how, unlike the NDP, our government is standing up for hard-working Canadians?