Debates of Oct. 1st, 2014

Health

[Eve Adams, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, as I have just indicated to the House, all of the medication from these three plants will be quarantined. We will work with Apotex to identify if any of these medications are medically necessary and produce additional testing on those medications to ensure that Canadians and their health are protected.

Vanessa's law is critical, and we would urge the Senate to pass it with all due haste. Vanessa's law would give Health Canada the powers to levy hefty fines against pharmaceutical companies that put the health of Canadians at risk.

National Defence

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Speaker, could the Prime Minister inform the House as to the projected total budget for the current 30-day deployment in Iraq?

Since I have just heard that this money is coming out of the current National Defence budget, could the Prime Minister tell us whether he plans to request supplementary funds from Parliament for this mission or future missions, given the substantial budget cuts to the defence ministry?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, on the last point, the hon. member is wrong. The budget for National Defence has gone up this year under this government.

With respect to this deployment, it is not over yet, but I know we are doing the right thing helping to protect the people of that area and taking a stand against this terrible terrorist organization.

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

Mr. Speaker, sometimes the government tells us that our special forces are advising and training the Kurdish Peshmerga forces, and sometimes it tells us that they are advising and training the Iraqi security services, including the army and the police forces.

Are we training and advising the Peshmerga forces or the Iraqi security services or both?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, what we have said is that we are providing support to the people of Iraq and Iraqi forces, particularly those near and around Erbil in the Kurdistan regional government area. The member opposite had the opportunity to join me to meet KRG officials and see first hand the types of challenges they face.

We want to be able to help the people who are trying to combat this terrible terrorist caliphate, so they can defeat it before it comes and wreaks havoc in Canada.

Foreign Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister told us in the House that 69 soldiers were going to Iraq. Later, his Minister of Foreign Affairs told us there might be as many as 69. Today we learn there are only 26 soldiers.

Did the Prime Minister pull that number out of a hat or was it later decided that there was no need to have 69 soldiers? If so, why did the Prime Minister not inform Parliament?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister authorized up to 69 members of the Canadian Forces to provide training and assistance to stop the terrorist activities in Iraq. We said, in fact, a few dozen, and we find a few dozen are there.

International Trade

[Ruth Ellen Brosseau, NDP, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we still have no idea what the government's strategy is for compensating the sectors affected by the trade agreement with Europe. Entire sectors of our economy are still waiting for an answer.

How will the provinces affected by the higher cost of drugs be compensated? How will cheese producers, and particularly artisanal cheese producers, be compensated? We still do not know.

When will we have clear answers for Canadians?

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, as we said many times before, we will work very closely with the provinces and territories to address the issues that the member raises. We are very pleased that this last week we were able to celebrate the conclusion of negotiations and the release of the final text of the treaty.

This trade agreement is expected to increase economic activity in Canada by $12 billion. That is the equivalent of 80,000 new Canadian jobs and $1,000 for each Canadian family in additional income every year. This is a very good deal for Canada.

[Ruth Ellen Brosseau, NDP, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last June, the House unanimously adopted an NDP motion.

The motion seeks to mitigate the negative impact of the trade deal with Europe on the dairy and cheese industries and reaffirm our support for the supply management system. We have not heard anything about this since the vote. This uncertainty is hurting investments, and it has to stop now.

When will the government announce the compensation it promised for dairy and cheese producers?

[Gerry Ritz, Conservative, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, like the Minister of International Trade and like agricultural groups across our great country, we are excited about the potential to serve some 500 million new consumers in the European Union. In fact, I will be attending the SIAL food show in Paris coming up toward the end of the break week, and I know there are a number of cheese industry players from Canada there who are excited about being able to export into the European Union.

The member is a bit premature on her ask if there is going to be any hurt. I have had discussions ongoing with the dairy industry across Canada as to how best to address these new opportunities.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we now hear that the Europeans may not include investor state provisions in their trade agreement with the United States. The question, then, is why are Conservatives so adamant that it be in the deal for Canada, especially when it means that the U.S. would get a better deal and Germany may never ratify CETA?

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, obviously the member has not been following events. At the meeting of the EU trade committee just a couple of days ago, the new incoming trade commissioner for the EU said that she did not intend to reopen negotiations on this agreement. In fact, she said this trade agreement was good for the EU and that it addresses the EU's concerns over transparency and the right of member states to regulate in the public interest.

I would also remind the member that President Barroso of the EU also said this was an excellent deal for the EU. They have no intention of reopening these negotiations.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, that does not say anything about whether Germany will ratify the deal.

What Canadians want is an explanation of why taxpayers' dollars were blown to treat European bureaucrats like royalty. We know that the last-minute decision to fly the EU delegation back to Europe cost over $300,000, but what about the security costs incurred by the RCMP when they were told to deliver them to a cocktail party in Toronto? How much in total did this poorly planned photo op cost Canadian taxpayers?

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, this is the most comprehensive trade agreement Canada has ever signed. Now that the legal text is completed and has been released to the public, we want Canadian businesses to take advantage of this agreement now. This is an important agreement that opens up brand new opportunities for Canadian exporters and investors, and we were very pleased to have Presidents Barroso and Van Rompuy join hundreds of stakeholders from every sector of our economy to promote the benefits of this agreement.

Canadian Heritage

[Ryan Leef, Conservative, Yukon, YT]

Mr. Speaker, last month, the Prime Minister announced one of the greatest discoveries in Canadian history: the discovery of one of the ships belonging to the ill-fated Franklin expedition. This was truly a historic moment for Canada. Franklin's ships are an important part of Canadian history, given that his expeditions, which took place nearly 200 years ago, laid the foundations for Canada's Arctic sovereignty.

Could the Prime Minister please update the House on this remarkable find?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for his question and also recognize his keen interest as a northerner in this particular issue, which is of interest to Canadians across the country and people around the world.

I am delighted to confirm that we have identified which ship from the Franklin expedition has been found. It is in fact the HMS Erebus.

I would like to say it again: we have identified which ship from the Franklin Expedition was found last month. It is in fact the HMS Erebus.

The Environment

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, last week, the Minister of Natural Resources quietly tabled a report on the impact climate change is having on our forests.

The report shows that climate change is completely disrupting boreal forest ecosystems and that the forestry economy has already been adversely affected by climate change.

What is the government doing to protect our boreal forests and mitigate the effects of climate change for forestry workers?

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, our government has invested significantly more into clean energy than the previous Liberal government, and the results are showing. We are proud of the fact that Canada relies on non-emitting sources for more than three-quarters of our electricity mix. In fact, the International Energy Agency rated Canada second in energy efficiency improvements between 1990 and 2010.

Our government will continue to invest in Canadian companies that are developing innovative and sustainable technology, and the opposition should be ashamed for not supporting these initiatives.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, there must be something wrong with the translation there, because the question was on the forestry sector and a report that the minister himself tabled, which showed that the government is not only failing on climate change but that it is also failing the forestry sector.

The minister's report says that climate change threatens the industry, which is responsible for over 500,000 Canadian jobs, yet Canada's single biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions, the oil and gas sector, is still unregulated by the federal government despite years of consultation and promises. Why is the government putting its oil industry friends ahead of over half a million forestry workers?

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for her question on such an important economic driver of rural communities all across Canada.

Our government understands how important forestry is for job creation and economic growth. I am proud that economic action plan 2014 builds on our government's success on this file by focusing on innovation and on protecting it from threats such as forest pests. We are focusing on diversifying our markets.

Privacy

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

Mr. Speaker, first CSIS spies on law-abiding Canadians, then it shares that intelligence with the oil industry. When CSIS actions were challenged, SIRC appointed its former pipeline company board member to investigate whether CSIS crossed the legal line in spying on anti-pipeline groups.

Now lawyers from CSIS are attempting to limit the scope of the investigation by SIRC. Could the minister tell us why CSIS is doing this? Does he endorse the idea of scaling back an already compromised investigation?

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, it is important for our agency to protect all Canadians, and I have full trust that it will do its job in a diligent way, while respecting Canadian laws.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, or CSIS, has no reason to spy on environmental groups. Just because a group is fighting to protect the environment does not mean that it is a threat to national security. The government promised to investigate CSIS's wrongdoing, but we have learned that the organization's lawyer is trying to limit the scope of the investigation. He apparently wants to rewrite the complaint filed by the victims.

Why is the government trying to hide the reasons why it is spying on its own citizens?

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, agencies in our country keep Canadians safe while respecting Canadian laws. They have my full confidence.

These groups, which even include former members of the NDP, will continue to do their job and protect Canadians.