Debates of May 30th, 2013

Government Appointments

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Mr. Speaker, while the Conservatives are making cuts to employment insurance and six in 10 unemployed workers are not receiving benefits, the Conservatives are handing out gifts to their friends. Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency are full of friends of the Minister of National Defence. Canadians are the ones paying the salaries of these friends and those same Canadians are having a hard time getting employment insurance benefits. They have the right to know the status of the investigation into these appointments.

Will the minister update us on the status of the investigation into the hiring of the Minister of National Defence's friends?

[Gerald Keddy, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation is an arm's-length crown corporation. Any questions concerning ECBC should be directed to Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation.

[Ryan Cleary, NDP, St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL]

Mr. Speaker, let us see. Aside from illegitimate hirings, subsequent dismissals and cover-up at ACOA, we now see scandal at Enterprise Cape Breton. The CEO, described as a close friend of the defence minister, has hired former ministerial staffers and failed Conservative candidates. Some have since returned to the defence minister's office. In case the minister forgot, these are taxpayer-funded regional government agencies, not Conservative job banks.

When will the minister take responsibility for the inappropriate interventions and hiring practices at ACOA?

[Gerald Keddy, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I completely reject the premise of that question. Here is what happened. What the hon. member is alleging is completely false, and he knows it. The Public Service Commission was very clear in its report. If the member had read the report, he would have seen that the report stated there was no interference from the minister or the political staff. The member should read the report.

International Trade

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Mr. Speaker, today the Prime Minister welcomes Sebastián Piñera, President of Chile, to Ottawa. Canada and Chile enjoy a close trade and investment relationship. In fact, our government is modernizing and broadening our free trade agreements to further benefit hard-working Canadians.

Today, Chile is Canada's third most important export destination in Latin America. Sadly, not only did the NDP members oppose Canada's trade agreement with Chile; they stood against Canada's exports by opposing other agreements in the area.

Could the parliamentary secretary please share with the House how our government, unlike the NDP, is standing up for Canada's exporters?

[Gerald Keddy, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP's anti-trade record is no secret to anyone in the House. In fact, the member for British Columbia Southern Interior has even argued that trade agreements “threaten the very existence of our nation”. So it is no surprise that the NDP has opposed every single free trade agreement Canada has signed with our partners in the Americas. Only our government recognizes that promoting free and open trade creates jobs and prosperity for hard-working Canadians. Canada's exporters can count on our government to seek out new opportunities in fast-growing markets around the world, including in the Americas.

International Co-operation

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

Mr. Speaker, it is now clear that the Minister of International Cooperation's office knew about partisan material being posted on CIDA's website in clear violation of Treasury Board rules. When I first asked the minister about this, he refused to take responsibility. He just blamed CIDA staff. Why did the minister blame bureaucrats when, in truth, his office was involved in violating Treasury Board rules?

[Lois Brown, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, the story is wrong. The letters were posted in error, and the moment the minister was made aware, he directed that they be removed.

It was our government that created the open data portal so that Canadians could track our development dollars.

Unlike the opposition leader, who chose deliberately to hide information from the authorities for 17 years, we will continue to be open and transparent.

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

Mr. Speaker, even the Privy Council Office and the Treasury Board were concerned about the involvement of the minister's office in the posting of partisan letters on the CIDA website.

Ministers are not to be using government resources for partisan purposes.

Why is the Minister of International Cooperation not taking his share of the blame? Why are there still no consequences when the rules are broken?

[Lois Brown, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, I repeat, the story is wrong. These letters were posted in error. The moment the minister was made aware, he had them removed.

I repeat, we are open and transparent with our development dollars. Canadians can follow them on the open data portal.

We wish the Leader of the Opposition would come clean with why it was that, for 17 years, he chose deliberately to hide information from the authorities.

Our government will continue to be transparent.

Labour

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

Mr. Speaker, the NDP refuses to accept envelopes, whereas the Conservatives write cheques to senators who break the Senate rules. That is the difference.

The Privacy Commissioner, Jennifer Stoddart, said that Bill C-377 is a significant invasion of privacy.

I do not know if I need to remind them, but the members opposite are supposed to be libertarians rather than control freaks. It seems that they have forgotten all their principles since coming to power, and that is why today they resemble Liberals.

Will the Conservatives move forward with Bill C-377 despite the commissioner's objections concerning violations of privacy?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP says that it refuses to accept envelopes, but did it not accept an envelope with $300,00 in illegal union money? We should know that.

However, the only way to learn about such transactions is to have union transparency. According to Léger Marketing, 97% of Quebeckers are in favour of this proposal.

Why is the NDP working with unelected Liberal senators to prevent union transparency? What do they have to hide?

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

Mr. Speaker, a union is made up of workers. When you attack a union, you attack workers.

What do they have against workers?

Information provided by the Commissioner of Lobbying proves that Bill C-377 is actually a government bill disguised as a private member's bill.

The member for South Surrey—White Rock—Cloverdale met with none other than the Prime Minister's former chief of staff, the incomparable Nigel Wright, on this matter. That is not all, however. According to the Commissioner of Lobbying, representatives of Merit Canada also attended those meetings.

Why was the Prime Minister's former chief of staff interested in a private member's bill?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport]

The hon. member talks about attacking workers, Mr. Speaker. According to Leger Marketing, the vast majority of workers, including unionized workers, strongly support union financial transparency.

Why is the NDP working against the will of 97% of Quebecers and the grand majority of Canadians, along with unelected senators, in order to block a bill that has been passed by this House and that workers and taxpayers are demanding?

Unions receive $400 million in tax advantage at taxpayers' expense. We believe there should be accountability and transparency.

Government Appointments

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

Mr. Speaker, the Minister for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency covers for the Minister of National Defence, who covers for his former political staffer, Kevin MacAdam, who was a former provincial cabinet colleague of the Minister for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. That is pretty cozy.

MacAdam continues to receive $130,000 a year in salary, even though he has never spent a day in P.E.I. since he was hired and has not learned a word of French since he moved to Ottawa at taxpayers' expense. What exactly is he being paid for? Je ne sais pas.

Will the minister drop the talking points and answer the following question: What is Kevin MacAdam being paid $130,000 for?

[Gerald Keddy, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, here is another question on the same subject. It is absolute nonsense.

The reality is that if the hon. member had read the report, he would have seen that the report stated there was no interference from the ministers or their political staff. The member should read the report and then he should listen to the report.

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

Mr. Speaker, I guess we will have to get a talking book on that. However, I guess we will not be finding out any time soon why Kevin MacAdam earns $130,000 a year.

Would the parliamentary secretary humour the House by referring to the report before it was whitewashed by the Minister of National Defence?

The Public Service Commission says a hiring scandal at ACOA was brought about by outside influences.

The president of ACOA was reprimanded for hiring Kevin MacAdam out of the defence minister's office.

Allan Murphy and Nancy Baker were hired by the president of ECBC out of the defence minister's office, and now it is before the Ethics Commissioner.

What do all of these have in common? Is it not the Minister of National Defence?

[Gerald Keddy, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, when the hon. member engages in a fishing expedition, he should try better bait.

The premise of his question is wrong; he does not understand the issue; and he is trying to twist it into a pretzel because he has himself moved into that position now—and pretzels are hard to make sense of because we cannot figure out the difference between the head and the tail.

Justice

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government jumps on every opportunity it has to shut down debate. If it is not closure motions, it is letting bills die in the Senate.

Over a year ago, a private member's bill, Bill C-290, that would sustain and grow the largest sector of the entertainment industry in Canada was passed by the House of Commons and sent to the Senate.

As of now, the Senate has not passed the bill.

Why is this bill, which passed the House of Commons with no opposition from any member, languishing in the Senate?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, yes, it is before the Senate. I know it will be considered in due course.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is not right for the Senate to cherry-pick bills for consideration. This was passed unanimously in the House of Commons.

This bill would help create new jobs, allow law enforcement to crack down on organized crime and offshore betting, and give the provinces new opportunities to generate new revenues.

Conservative indifference is putting this all at risk.

Why are the Conservatives not doing more to ensure passage of a bill that has already passed?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, we work to expedite and assist in the passage of all bills. Certainly, government bills are, of course, our first priority. However, even NDP private members' bills will be analyzed and decided upon in due course.

Natural Resources

[John Williamson, Conservative, New Brunswick Southwest, NB]

Mr. Speaker, our government supports the transmission of oil from west to east, as it would create high-paying jobs and spur growth, while reducing Canada's reliance on foreign oil.

We know the NDP is intent on halting economic development. The opposition leader has come out against reversing the flow of the line 9B pipeline, which is currently being reviewed by the National Energy Board.

Would the parliamentary secretary update the House on the status of this review?

[David Anderson, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, our government has long supported moving oil from western Canada to eastern Canada if the economics exist. At committee we have heard support for this project from the west, Quebec and eastern Canada.

I am encouraged that a coalition of industry groups and labour unions has been created in support of this project.

Unfortunately, the NDP has once again changed its position and now it opposes it. When will the NDP stop its ideological hatred of resource development and resource communities and start standing up for Canadian jobs?

Privacy

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

Mr. Speaker, this week the Privacy Commissioner released a damning report finding the government breached both the spirit and the letter of the Privacy Act by spying on first nations child advocate Cindy Blackstock. Just days before the report was released, aboriginal affairs told the media that the Privacy Commissioner would not be conducting an investigation.

My question is simple. Who in the minister's office or the PMO instructed the department to make this false statement, and will there be any disciplinary action?