Debates of June 3rd, 2013

Ira Lewis

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Ira Lewis, who recently passed away.

Ira, from York, P.E.I., served his community and fellow Canadians in many capacities, but first and foremost he was a family man, proud of his heritage and so satisfied to see the family farm continue.

His son described his principles as his God-given love, respect and responsibility. Through a number of organizations, including the PEI Federation of Agriculture and the P.E.I. Fluid Milk Association, Ira worked to benefit the total farm community. He was known for being at the cutting edge of agriculture technology.

With his brother Claude, they were recognized internationally as a breeder of purebred Holsteins and won awards in Charlottetown, the Atlantic Winter Fair and The Royal, carrying such honours as premier exhibitor.

In 1984, Ira was inducted into the Atlantic Agricultural Hall of Fame.

On behalf of the House, I recognize and thank Ira Lewis for his dedication and contribution to his community and the agriculture sector as a whole.

The Economy

[Devinder Shory, Conservative, Calgary Northeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, our Conservative government is focused on what matters to Canadians, that being jobs, growth and long-term prosperity.

Through Canada's economic action plan, we are taking measures that would help businesses in my riding of Calgary Northeast. These include expanding the hiring tax credit for small business that would help businesses such as Best Buy Furniture owned by Karampal Sidhu, RED 106.7 FM owned by Kulwinder Sanghera and State Farm Insurance Agency owned by Romi Sidhu.

The Canada job grant would provide federal funding to train Canadians at businesses like Fast Track Auto Service owned by Deepak Cheema and Herman Bath, AAA Windows owned by Rana Sandhu and Klair Custom Homes owned by Avtar Klair.

I urge the opposition to support economic action plan 2013 and stop opposing our government's efforts to help Canadian businesses get the skilled workers they desperately need and provide Canadians the good paying jobs they deserve.

Turkey

[Jamie Nicholls, NDP, Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on Friday, as demolition crews prepared to destroy one of the last green spaces at the heart of Istanbul's Taksim Square, Gezi Park, a nation awoke in peaceful protest to demonstrate for better living conditions for all Turks.

In light of the developments since Friday, we call on all sides to exercise restraint and ensure respect for a peaceful protest. Non-violent expression and assembly, including peaceful protests, are essential democratic freedoms. The free exchange of information and opinion among citizens, both directly and through the media, is an integral element of democratic expression.

We are deeply concerned by the escalation of the situation and the emergence of violence. We urge all sides to ensure that their actions respect the highest democratic principles and the republic's commitment to human rights.

[Member spoke in Turkish and provided the following translation:]

Hey Turks, don't forget the Ataturk's words: “We are Turkish, we were born a democratic people”.

Diabetes

[Mike Wallace, Conservative, Burlington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in a few weeks, I will speak to my private member's motion, regarding the relationship between obesity and the long-term health of Canadians. As a Canadian with type 2 diabetes, I am an example of what can happen to a family member, a friend or even you, Mr. Speaker, if personal health is taken for granted.

Poor eating habits, weight gain and a lack of exercise has led to my condition. I was lucky to be diagnosed early in the progression of this disease. It has allowed me to control my diabetes through diet and exercise.

Recently, I had the honour to run the Blue Nose Marathon in Halifax on behalf of Team Diabetes. While I am not recommending that everyone run a marathon, the message is clear: We all have a responsibility to eat properly and exercise.

We need to continue to support and promote organizations like the Canadian Diabetes Association and Participaction, which are all involved with the well-being of all Canadians of all ages. While it is vital to our health care system, more important, we owe it to our families, our friends and to ourselves.

Al Pettit

[David Tilson, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, June is ALS month in Canada. In November, it was my distinct privilege to posthumously present the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal to retired fire captain Al Pettit, who lived in my riding of Dufferin—Caledon .

Al succumbed to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis after a long fight with this deadly disease, a disease that also claimed my own father. It affects approximately 3,000 Canadians.

Al never quit fighting, whether serving as an ambassador for an ALS online forum or participating in ALS fundraising in Orangeville and Brampton. In death, Al donated his spinal cord and a portion of his brain to assist researchers. The Diamond Jubilee Medal for Al was accepted by his wife, Lee.

Al was recently recognized by the ALS Society of Canada with its lifetime achievement award for his tireless efforts on behalf of those who suffer with ALS.

I encourage all members to wear a cornflower today to show their support for the fight against ALS. Together, we will find a cure.

Chris Snowball, Dustin Dagenais, Jacques Dupuy, Don Filliter

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express the grief and shock of the people of northern Ontario over the loss of four young men in Thursday's medevac crash outside of Moosonee.

The crew was responding to a medical call in Attawapiskat, but they never made it. Just after midnight, the Sikorsky helicopter went down in the dense bush of the James Bay coast.

The people of Moosonee, Moose Factory and all our communities are in mourning. Our brave medevac crews are a lifeline for the northern communities and they often fly in difficult conditions, ensuring health care and emergency services. In this tragedy, we lost paramedic Chris Snowball, a father of three, Dustin Dagenais of Moose Factory, who left a wife and seven month old daughter, pilot Jacques Dupuy and captain Don Filliter.

On behalf of the New Democratic Party and all parliamentarians, I want to pay tribute to these men and offer our condolences to their families, loved ones and colleagues. We will remember them.

Canadian Armed Forces Day

[Corneliu Chisu, Conservative, Pickering—Scarborough East, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to raise on Canadian Armed Forces Day in the House of Commons and pay tribute to the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces for the incredible work they do on behalf of our country.

Each and every day, our Canadian Armed Forces members put duty first and carry out their responsibilities with professionalism and bravery. They protect our sovereignty, assist Canadians in distress and are involved in 16 overseas missions, helping to bring peace, security and stability around the world.

We are proud that in many countries, they are the face of Canada. I know all members in the House will join me in saluting the members of the Canadian Armed Forces, past and present, for their service and sacrifice: Bravo Zulu.

The Senate

[Fin Donnelly, NDP, New Westminster—Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, British Columbians are fed up with the unelected, unaccountable Senate.

This archaic institution costs Canadians over $92 million a year. Appointed senators, especially those who abuse their privileges, do not represent Canadians' interests or values.

The Conservatives promised to reform the Senate, but 7 years and 59 Senate appointments later, it is safe to say they have broken their promise. Now the Prime Minister and his office are embroiled in the Senate expense scandal and are refusing to answer even straightforward questions.

The Liberal Party believes the Senate is fine as is. The Liberal leader even suggests Quebec should be glad B.C. is under-represented in the Senate.

For too long, the Senate has been treated as a posh retirement home for partisan hacks, bagmen and failed candidates. Canada's New Democrats believe it is time the government abolished the unelected, unaccountable Senate once and for all.

Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada

[John Carmichael, Conservative, Don Valley West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, our government is bringing forth meaningful reform to the Senate.

Just last week, 11 tough new changes, introduced by our Conservative senators, were adopted in order to govern travel and expenses.

It is however unfortunate that while our government is focused on delivering meaningful reform to the Senate, the leader of the Liberal Party has come out as the champion of the status quo, saying “We have 24 Senators in Quebec and there are only 6 for Alberta and British Columbia. That benefits us. To want to abolish it, that’s just demagoguery”.

These shameful divisive comments simply prove that the leader of the Liberal Party is determined to pit one region of Canada against the other.

When will the leader of the Liberal Party stop defending the status quo and join our government in delivering meaningful reform to the Senate? It is clear that the leader of the Liberal Party is in over his head.

Latin Women Entrepreneurs Expo

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

Mr. Speaker, on May 25, I had the great pleasure of visiting the first Latin Women Entrepreneurs Expo, an event organized by Mujeres Emprendedoras de Ottawa-Gatineau, MELOG.

This expo drew together multi-talented women entrepreneurs who immigrated to Canada from Latin America. Just as this expo did, future ones will undoubtedly inspire other Latin women entrepreneurs to join, network, support each other and showcase the level of initiative, determination and success the Latin women of the national capital region have and will continue to achieve.

I would especially like to congratulate the three organizers and members of the board: Celia Soonets, a psychologist, Mercedes Valdivia, an educator, and Alejandra Ruiz, a graduate of the Guadalajara medical school in Mexico. I would also like to acknowledge the work of Carmen Chaman, who facilitated this event.

Congratulations to all participants on this great success and best wishes for future years.

Tax Evasion

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Mr. Speaker, our party and our government are demanding real accountability, including tough new expense rules for senators and real rules to crack down on tax evasion.

On the other hand, the Liberal leader defends a multi-million dollar tax evader in his Senate caucus and the NDP leader has shown little leadership in cracking down on tax evaders in his own caucus.

It is exactly this type of poor judgment that Canadians rejected in the last election. These tax evaders only remain in the Liberal and NDP caucuses because of the poor judgment of the leaders of the NDP and the Liberals.

It is clear that the Liberal leader is “Just-in” over his head.

If the NDP want to call for higher taxes, like a carbon tax on everything, it should start by making an example of the tax evaders in their own caucus.

Canadians will not stand for tax evasion and neither should the leaders of the NDP and the Liberal Party.

Prime Minister of Canada

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

Mr. Speaker, when the Conservatives replaced the sponsorship scandal Liberals, they promised to do better.

Well, it must be said that they are doing better. It may hard to believe, but the Conservatives are indeed outdoing the Liberals in terms of scandals and bad management.

Who would have thought that a Conservative government would preside over the sad spectacle of senators defrauding taxpayers?

When questions are asked, the Prime Minister adopts an innocent look and claims not to understand the question. Yet it is simple. These questions address fraudulent spending by Conservative senators appointed by this Prime Minister, senators he defended tooth and nail until he no longer could. He still refuses to apologize. He still refuses to admit he made a mistake. He refuses to acknowledge that he is the leader of his caucus and the head of the government.

If he does not want to assume this responsibility, I know someone who does, and that is the NDP leader. He has all the experience required to take on the job.

Canadians deserve better than the scandals of either party. They deserve a different choice, and they will get it in 2015.

The New Democratic Party

[Joyce Bateman, Conservative, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, our government is working hard to reduce the tax burden on Canadian families. We have introduced over 150 tax cuts. Canadians are proud of that record, and they know that everyone has to pay their fair share to keep the ball rolling.

Unfortunately, the NDP does not seem to be getting the message. The member for Jeanne-Le Ber owes tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid taxes. Worse still, the NDP has been aware of the problem for a long time but covered it up.

If the NDP leader wants to burden Canadians with all kinds of new taxes, he should lead by example and send a clear message to his caucus: MPs must pay their taxes. That is the truth.

Ethics

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, on what specific date did the Prime Minister first speak with Mike Duffy about his expenses?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has always been very clear. Members of Parliaments and senators should only make expense claims they are entitled to make, and if anyone expensed things that should not have been, they should immediately refund the money.

That is exactly the fact. That is exactly what he has done.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians want an answer from their Prime Minister.

However, if he will not answer, I will ask the minister a question he knows the answer to.

Marjory LeBreton is a member of the Conservative cabinet. Did Senator Marjory LeBreton recuse herself from cabinet anytime the Senate expense scandal was discussed?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, it was very clear. The Prime Minister only learned on Wednesday, May 15, that a cheque had been made by Mr. Wright. Mr. Wright has taken sole responsibility. He offered his resignation, and it was immediately accepted.

What we would like is to see the leader of the NDP come clean. Why did he take 17 long years before telling the police that he had been offered a bribe by the former mayor of Laval? He should stand in his place and give Canadians a real answer.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Senate concluded that Senator Duffy had billed taxpayers for campaign work for and on behalf of the Conservative Party during the most recent federal election campaign.

Did other Conservative senators do the same thing?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, any campaigning done on behalf of the Conservative Party has been paid for out of Conservative Party funds. That is something that was the case in the 2006, 2008 and 2011 elections.

The leader of the NDP still has not come clean with Canadians. Why did it take him 17 long years before he went public with the bribe he was offered in 1994?

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, that was not actually a very difficult question, but they do not seem to have understood. Let us try again.

Can the government tell us whether the RCMP has contacted the Prime Minister's Office since last week?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, it is well known that this issue is being considered by a number of independent bodies that were set up to independently look into these types of situations. The government has said very clearly that we will co-operate with these types of bodies.

In the spirit of co-operation, maybe of the leader of the NDP should co-operate with the Charbonneau commission and offer the information he has of bribes he was offered some 17 years ago.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the Conservatives refuse to answer simple questions.

During question period on Friday, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities revealed that Senator Duffy and the Prime Minister spoke about his expenses in February.

Would the government tell us how long they spoke and who else was involved?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, when the issue of senator Duffy's expenses came up and it was problematic, the Prime Minister said, which one would expect a strong leader to say, that any expenses that were improperly billed should be immediately refunded, because that is what honest people do.

What honest people should also do is not wait 17 long years when they were offered a bribe and should have told the police the truth right away when it initially happened.

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Mary Dawson is carrying out a private inquiry into the matter of Nigel Wright, and the Senate Ethics Officer is carrying out a private inquiry into the matter of Mike Duffy.

Why not have one public inquiry to deal with the fact that Nigel Wright gave something to Mike Duffy? Would that not be simpler?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, it was this House that brought in legislation giving the tools to independent watchdogs for them to be able to consider these matters. What we are simply doing is following Canadian law, as passed by this House, as passed by this Parliament, to look into these matters. This issue has been referred to at least two independent authorities. The government will completely co-operate with these authorities.

I wish the Liberal Party would co-operate with investigations into secret trust funds and offshore tax havens, too.