Debates of May 6th, 2013

Employment Insurance

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

Mr. Speaker, the reality is that the old employment insurance system had obstacles that kept unemployed people from working full-time if they were receiving benefits. We made changes and have implemented this process because people are better off when they are working. We also added help for job searches and training.

People are better off if they are working. However, if there are no jobs, employment insurance will be there.

Tourism Industry

[Philip Toone, NDP, Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, taking aim at our regions through employment insurance reforms is not enough for the Conservatives. They have let the Percé wharf fall into disrepair, which in turn has forced Fisheries and Oceans Canada to close it. At the same time that the Conservatives are asking people to find work, they are shutting down the driving force behind the tourism industry in the region.

The minister may not know this, but 400,000 tourists travel to the wharf every year. That represents a lot of jobs.

Could the minister show just a speck of interest in my region and in the iconic Rocher Percé, and reopen the wharf?

[Randy Kamp, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and for the Asia-Pacific Gateway]

Mr. Speaker, a recent inspection by the department found the wharf to be unsafe. It is clearly marked as such. The safety of wharf users is of primary importance, as I am sure the member opposite would agree.

Engineers are on site today to conduct a fuller structural review, and with the information they provide, department officials will work with local authorities to determine the next steps.

Fisheries and Oceans

[Robert Chisholm, NDP, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Mr. Speaker, there are a lot of coastal communities that do not think the minister is doing a very good job, nor does this group think the minister is doing a very good job.

The Canadian Journalists for Free Expression have awarded him an F for press freedom. The report cites his department's “zeal in muzzling scientists and keeping critical research findings from Canadians”.

Canadians deserve better. Will the minister now do the right thing, lift the gag order and let taxpayers see some of the science they are paying for?

[Randy Kamp, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and for the Asia-Pacific Gateway]

Mr. Speaker, I can assure the member that communicating science is a priority for fisheries and oceans, and the department's record is solid on that.

In fact, here is what we do. DFO issues more than 300 publications each year documenting our research on Canada's fisheries. We respond to approximately 380 science-based media calls every year. DFO scientists publish feature stories on its website with 1,000 subscribers and an average of 73,000 hits annually.

Intergovernmental Relations

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, from gutting employment insurance and punishing seasonal industries to muzzling fisheries scientists and dismantling habitat protection, time and time again the Conservatives have shown that they are not interested in listening to the people of Atlantic Canada.

The City of Halifax has been fighting the federal government around taxes for Citadel Hill for 17 years, and it has been a year since the Supreme Court actually made a decision. The Conservatives still have not paid up.

When will the minister stop stalling and pay Halifax what it is owed?

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, we have asked for the opinion of the dispute advisory panel on this matter. We have asked the panel to provide its services as soon as possible.

The authorities at the Halifax Regional Municipality and at Public Works and Government Services Canada met in order to try to agree on a solution for Citadel Hill.

Foreign Affairs

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on the weekend the Minister of Foreign Affairs said that he was deeply concerned—those were his words—about the potential use of chemical weapons in Syria. He also told the public what he was not prepared to do and listed a number of things that he was not prepared to do.

Given the seriousness of the situation in that country today, exactly what is the government prepared to do?

[Deepak Obhrai, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, Canada is concerned with the involvement of radical jihadists in the Syrian opposition groups and with evidence that they and the Assad regime are receiving outside assistance. As the minister said on the weekend, we need to see that the opposition has the broad representative support of the Syrian people, including religious minorities, before Canada would consider recognizing them.

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, that was not the question. The question was about the problem of chemical weapons being used against the Syrian people.

At the same time, we must say that the government refused to spend the $1 million in its pockets to help the opposition become more stable. It decided to spend the money on something else.

Canada is not providing a direct response to the situation. It is not involved in discussions with its allies. It does not have a coherent position on the violence taking place, and it is not doing anything coherent to ensure that the conditions for refugees—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

[Deepak Obhrai, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, contrary to what the member is saying, let me say very clearly that our government is providing real leadership on this issue. We have given a credit of up to $2 million for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. Our government has given humanitarian assistance and continues to do that. Not only that, our government is also working on refugee settlement in this country.

Let me say this very clearly: our government is providing leadership on the issue of Syria. However, we are seriously concerned about the Assad regime killing its own people. To make it very simple, Assad must go.

Government Expenditures

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the President of the Treasury Board was up earlier today saying that spending on public security and anti-terrorism was in the documents tabled in the House from 2001 to 2010. We went and checked all the public accounts from 2001 to 2010, and the words “public security” and “anti-terrorism” do not appear anywhere.

Could the President of the Treasury Board explain why this is, or even better still, tell Canadians where our $3.1 billion is?

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

Mr. Speaker, the member knows, or should know, that each department, every year, must table in its public accounts each item of spending in the public accounts. That is legally obligated. That is what each department does.

If the hon. member wants to play word games, he can do so, but the facts are there for parliamentarians. If his caucus members from the years from 2001 to 2009 did not ask the right questions, then that is their problem, not the problem on this side of the House.

Pensions

[Guy Caron, NDP, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this is pathetic.

CIBC sounded the alarm about pension plans being underfunded. An estimated 6 million Canadians will see their standard of living drop by 20%, and if nothing is done, today's youth will have a standard of living that is far below that of their grandparents.

The only way to offer real financial security to workers and their families is by improving public pension plans.

Canadians are asking for it. Provinces are demanding it. Pension specialists are calling for it.

Why are the Conservatives standing in the way of improving public pension plans?

[Ted Menzies, Conservative, Minister of State (Finance)]

Mr. Speaker, I might remind the hon. member that the NDP actually voted against a new pension plan that is now being accepted across the country, province by province. The NDP could not even see its way clear to support that.

Over 60% of Canadians in the workforce today do not have a registered pension plan that they can contribute to. The NDP thought, “That is not what we want to do. We do not want to help people save for their own pension and retirement”.

We think that is very important. It is one more option that Canadians can use. The NDP apparently does not think it is fair to Canadians.

Canada-U.S. Relations

[Ed Komarnicki, Conservative, Souris—Moose Mountain, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the United States is, and always will be, Canada's largest and most important trading partner. Nearly $2 billion in trade is carried on between our two countries each and every day.

Recently, proposals have surfaced in the United States recommending new fees on cross-border trade. These proposals, if enacted, would hurt job creation both in Canada and in the United States.

Can the Minister of International Trade please share with this House how our government is standing up for Canadians and promoting free and open trade across the Canada–United States border?

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member forSouris—Moose Mountain for his hard work in promoting trade between Canada and the United States.

I can assure this House that our government will vigorously oppose any efforts to impose new border taxes. In these challenging economic times, there is no better American or Canadian job creator than trade between our two countries. New border fees send exactly the opposite message.

Canadians can be assured that our government will work tirelessly to promote their interests and the interests of Canada's exporters and job creators.

Telecommunications

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Industry falsely claimed that a Statistics Canada report shows Canadians are no longer paying some of the highest cell phone fees in the world. He later admitted this report was commissioned by his own department and done by a company whose client list includes Bell and Telus. It is obvious the minister has no idea how upset Canadians are about sky-high cell phone bills. Why does he not get out of his bubble and actually talk to Canadians, or is he afraid he might lose his delusions?

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

Mr. Speaker, I invite my colleague indeed to get into reality. Since we adopted our policies with the AWS spectrum back in 2008, prices have gone down an average of 11%, and this communication report, which indeed was commissioned by Industry Canada and the CRTC, now shows the prices are lower by an average of 18%. Results speak—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please.

The hon. member for Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing.

Transport Canada

[Carol Hughes, NDP, Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON]

Mr. Speaker, tourist season on Manitoulin Island should be building steam after what should have been the first weekend of service for the Chi-Cheemaun ferry. However, the current government chose to fight Ontario rather than protect jobs and the economy. Now employees are waiting to be called in, while challenges mount for small businesses like the Buckhorn Motel, which had two customers and forty-one cancellations. On Friday, Ontario officials said they will argue later and pay for the work now.

Will the Conservatives ensure that there are no bureaucratic delays and do everything to expedite the process to fix these critical ports?

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the preamble is wrong. Transport Canada has for months encouraged the province to explore modifications of its ferry to facilitate docking. Redesigning the wharf would go beyond Transport Canada's responsibility for inspection and maintenance. Transport Canada has received a proposal from the province, and both governments are collaborating to ensure that work can begin as quickly as possible. We were working on this issue for months before she spoke about that problem.

Natural Resources

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

Mr. Speaker, the Ring of Fire is a mineral discovery located in the centre of northern Ontario. Through the development of these vast deposits, the Ring of Fire presents potential benefits to all groups: first nations, municipalities, the mining industry and in fact all northern Ontarians. The government has taken a pragmatic approach to this process by appointing a federal political lead to maximize the potential of the Ring of Fire for Canadians.

Would the President of the Treasury Board and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario please tell this House how he has thus far engaged stakeholders in the development of the Ring of Fire?

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Sault Ste. Marie for a most important question for northern Ontario.

I was speaking this morning to the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum in Toronto to emphasize our approach of proactively engaging first nations groups as well as industry groups and other stakeholders with a view to coming to solutions and ensuring that the 15 departments and agencies of the federal government are working together to facilitate the development of this most important project, which means jobs and opportunity not only throughout northern Ontario but throughout Canada.

This will be a game changer for our economy, and it is a positive development for first nations communities. However, it has to be handled correctly, and we will do our part.