Debates of June 4th, 2013

Ethics

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I just answered that question.

We have just seen why the leader of a party should have some idea of what an answer is before he asks the question.

While various Canadians have been appointed to the Senate, whatever their background, we expect them to follow the rules on expenses, and if those rules are not followed, we expect appropriate action to be taken to ensure accountability. That is what is happening here.

The majority in the Senate have indicated they want to have the Auditor General come and look at those expenses. Why is the Liberal Party in the Senate resisting having the Auditor General look at Senate expenses?

Foreign Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, 67 countries have signed the global arms trade treaty, including Australia, Brazil, Italy, France, Germany, Mexico and the United Kingdom. They all signed it as soon as it was possible, which was yesterday. At the same time, when questioned by the NDP, the Minister of Foreign Affairs went into a pitiful tirade instead of saying whether or not Canada will sign.

Why will Canada not immediately commit to signing this treaty?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, what I said yesterday was that we would consult Canadians, firearms owners, provinces and territories and industry before the government would act, and that is exactly what we intend to do.

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the reality is the only countries to oppose this treaty are Iran, Syria and North Korea. The United Kingdom signed the treaty yesterday. It understands it will protect legitimate arms trade while reducing “unfettered proliferation of weapons”.

With its closest allies signing now, why is the government dragging its feet? This is about saving lives and stopping the illegal transfer of weapons. Will the government sign this treaty, yes or no?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the NDP's foreign affairs critic was suggesting that if the arms trade treaty had been in place, we would not have a civil war going on in Syria. That is quite ridiculous.

We work constructively with the arms trade treaty negotiations. We are now taking the opportunity to consult with Canadians, with industry, with the provinces and the territories and with non-governmental organizations and we will listen before we act.

National Defence

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, we learned yesterday that the defence minister used the independent National Investigative Service to probe an alleged leak that turned out to be from a U.S. Navy press release. Now we learn the military's elite police force has also been used to investigate the release of embarrassing information on the country's top general.

Could the Minister of National Defence tell us if the NIS is being used as it should be, or is it being used by the minister as a tool to go after those who embarrass him or his department in the media?

[Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Conservative, Associate Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the military releases information to Canadians through access to information, proactive disclosure and public communications, while protecting classified and sensitive information. When unauthorized information is leaked, we expect the necessary assessments to take place to determine the source.

To be clear, it is the source of an unauthorized leak, not the media, that is investigated.

What is not clear is why the leader of the opposition hid his direct knowledge of corruption for so many years.

[Christine Moore, NDP, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is rather strange that embarrassing information is all of a sudden confidential.

At the direction of the Minister of National Defence's office, five investigations targeted a journalist who has been bothering the minister. Another investigation was carried out when a different journalist released embarrassing information about the former chief of defence staff.

Why is the minister using the military policy to go after those who have been trying to shed some light on embarrassing events in his department?

[Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Conservative, Associate Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, when information is leaked inappropriately or illegally at the Department of National Defence, it is expected that such incidents will be looked into by an appropriate authority.

The Canadian Forces Military Police is mandated to assess allegations of inappropriate or illegal release of information within the Department of National Defence. The Canadian Forces National Investigation Service has no mandate or jurisdiction to investigate any individual or group external to National Defence and conducts only assessments related to defence activities, not media.

Human Rights

[Devinder Shory, Conservative, Calgary Northeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, over the weekend the Quebec Soccer Federation decided to ban those wearing turbans and other religious headwear from playing soccer. This means that those children and youth will not be allowed to play soccer in Quebec even if they want to.

Can the Minister of State for Sport update this House on our position on this ban?

[Bal Gosal, Conservative, Minister of State (Sport)]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for a great question.

We believe that amateur sports like soccer should encourage the participation of children rather than exclude them. We see no valid reason why kids should be banned from playing soccer because of their religion.

I encourage the Quebec Soccer Federation to follow the lead of soccer leagues across Canada and around the world and not create barriers for children who want to play the sport they love.

Furthermore, the leader of the NDP and the leader of the Liberal Party should be ashamed of their silence on this matter.

41st General Election

[Craig Scott, NDP, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the members for Saint Boniface and Selkirk—Interlake have been caught failing to comply with election laws. They have not filed documents from the 2011 campaign over two years ago. They failed to account for the money their campaigns spent and they failed to co-operate with authorities. Elections Canada has therefore advised the Speaker that these MPs not continue to sit or vote as members of this House.

The Prime Minister once said, “Bend the rules, you will be punished”, so why do the Conservatives and the Prime Minister continue to act as if they are above the law?

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

Mr. Speaker, the preface of the member's question is completely false. These members acted in good faith. Due to legitimate differences of opinion, Election Canada's interpretation of the rules is now before the courts. That is the members' right to pursue, and we support their right to pursue it.

That said, the hon. member would do well, if he believes in a higher standard of ethics, to have his leader explain why he kept secret for 17 years his knowledge of an illegal bribe offer.

The Environment

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Mr. Speaker, for three years the Conservatives have known about inadequate equipment for oil spills and have done nothing.

Our Coast Guard does not have the capacity to clean up even a single supertanker spill, yet Conservatives want British Columbians to accept a massive increase in tanker traffic. “Just trust us” clearly is not good enough.

Why has the minister failed to act when we have such a shoddy oil response capacity, and why is he forcing British Columbians to pay the huge price when things go wrong?

[Keith Ashfield, Conservative, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway]

Mr. Speaker, industry is the first responder to its own oil spills under the polluter pay principle. The Coast Guard, of course, is the lead agency for ensuring appropriate response to ship-source spills in Canadian waters.

On March 18, 2013, the government announced the world-class tanker safety initiative, which included an investment in the incident command system for the Coast Guard. This responds directly to the recommendations from the 2010 CESD audit.

Public Safety

[Randall Garrison, NDP, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Mr. Speaker, from oil spills to firearms, the current Conservative government has put public safety at risk again and again through its inaction.

The Minister of Public Safety was warned by the RCMP in 2012 that his failure to update classification of firearms “...poses a risk to public safety.” His failure to act is allowing military and paramilitary firearms to be treated as though they were ordinary hunting rifles.

Did the minister see this warning, and if he did, does he think it is okay to ignore RCMP advice to modernize a list that has not been updated since 1988?

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, the facts are clear. Our measures to keep Canadians safe are working. Firearms-related homicides are at their lowest point in 50 years. Homicides committed with handguns are down by 30% since 2008.

Thanks to the strong measures this government has brought in with mandatory prison sentences for that type of firearm, this success is continuing. Unfortunately, that member and his party failed to support the measures that are turning around the issue of gun crime.

[Rosane Doré Lefebvre, NDP, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, what I hear is that the minister thinks that this failure to update the classification is acceptable and that he is not bothered by the fact that paramilitary groups could take advantage of this situation.

The consequences of the minister's inaction are very real. A firearm that the RCMP recommended banning in 2010 was used in the fatal shooting that took place the night of the most recent Quebec provincial election.

How many more tragedies must there be for the minister to take action?

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, that is the precise question that I would ask that member.

In fact, firearms-related homicides are at their lowest point in 50 years, and homicides committed with handguns are down by 30% since 2008.

We have asked the NDP to co-operate and work with us to impose mandatory prison sentences for those who possess firearms illegally. The NDP has refused.

Search and Rescue

[Yvonne Jones, Liberal, Labrador, NL]

Mr. Speaker, my apologies, and my thanks for your tolerance today.

On May 8, there was an emergency at Park Lake, near Happy Valley-Goose Bay. However, none of the three Griffin helicopters based at 5 Wing Goose Bay were available. All were out of service for maintenance.

This was days after the Minister of National Defence made a campaign stop in town to reassure people that adequate search and rescue was in place.

Why does the government continue to ignore the people of Newfoundland and Labrador who are crying out for help with search and rescue?

[Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Conservative, Associate Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the new hon. member's question gives me the opportunity to state that our government remains committed to fulfilling our commitment to establish a clear sovereignty protection mission for CFB Goose Bay.

Since 2006, we have committed investments to the base totalling nearly $407 million.

Our government will continue to support Canada's men and women in uniform, along with supporting long-term growth and prosperity through prudent planning and investments in CFB Goose Bay. We take our search and rescue responsibilities seriously across the nation, including in Goose Bay.

[Yvonne Jones, Liberal, Labrador, NL]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government, and it knows this, has really gutted front-line search and rescue services.

The Minister of National Defence made a fly-through announcement in response to the Auditor General's report and did little to address any of the deficiencies.

In May, a local 5 Wing Goose Bay official said that search and rescue for Labradorians is not their first or their second priority.

Why does the Conservative government not fix search and rescue in Newfoundland and Labrador before more lives are lost?

[Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Conservative, Associate Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, we are extremely proud of our search and rescue teams that work with federal, provincial and municipal partners to respond as quickly as possible. They risk their own lives so that others may live.

Each search and rescue operation is complex, and the victims' survival depends on many factors. Our government constantly assesses our search and rescue capabilities. Our search and rescue area of responsibility covers 18 million square kilometres of land and sea, an area greater than the size of continental Europe.

We are committed to every region of Canada.

Pensions

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the CPP and QPP are the backbone of our pension system.

Every working Canadian pays into the plan, and we all benefit. Experts agree that increasing CPP benefits can help all Canadians retire with dignity and security.

After years of delay, the Minister of Finance promised he would call together provincial ministers in June to take action on improving CPP.

When will the Minister of Finance meet with the provinces, and where is his plan for increasing CPP?

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

Mr. Speaker, it raises the question of why the NDP will not actually come and show some support for those Canadians who do not have a retirement income available to them. The workplace contains an incredible number of Canadians who actually do not have a workplace pension at this time.

We have come to the opposition and asked for its support. We have the support of many of the provinces. The three western provinces have actually tabled legislation to move forward on the pooled registered pension plan, and all of the provinces have initiated the response that they will tabling legislation in the very near future. Quebec has done that.

We would suggest that the opposition should actually get on board and help Canadians with their retirement.