Debates of Oct. 10th, 2014

International Development

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

Mr. Speaker, indeed the replenishment conference did take place last June, but there are ongoing calls for replenishment, and we are considering that.

I have met with Alice Albright on several occasions. I know that she has had conversation with our Minister of International Development.

As I said, education is of particular interest to our government. We particularly wish to see the success of young girls as we move forward in our development issues, and we will be considering our contribution.

Copyright

[Massimo Pacetti, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Industry has already said that copyright matters to Canadian businesses that drive our economy. It seems that will not apply if the businesses are news organizations and the Conservative Party wants to steal their content for its ads. It is a tactic that we only see in banana republics.

Will the government drop this mean-spirited, unfair plan?

[Rick Dykstra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, first and foremost, we are not going to comment on rumours and speculation within the Liberal Party.

However, we will certainly make our position clear. It is that there is public interest in ensuring that politicians are accountable for their actions and accountable for what they say in public settings, and major television networks should not have the ability to censor what can and what cannot be broadcast to Canadians.

[Massimo Pacetti, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Industry once said copyright matters to Canadian businesses that drive our economy.

It seems that will not apply if the businesses are news organizations and the Conservative Party wants to steal their content for its ads. It is a tactic that we only see in banana republics.

Will the government back off and drop this ill-conceived plan?

[Rick Dykstra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, David Lametti, who is a property and IP law professor at McGill and an aspiring Liberal candidate, said of this issue, “...protecting political discourse or speech ought to be a priority in a democracy, even if we don't like or agree with the speaker or the content.”

He went on to say, “And relying on copyright rights to do the work of restricting this kind of speech distorts the purpose of copyright and the balanced view that our Supreme Court has consistently articulated over the years.”

We agree with him, and so should the opposition.

[Massimo Pacetti, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government is trying to concoct a ridiculous excuse involving free speech. It is seems the government means “free” in the sense that it will not cost the Conservative Party one red cent for all the footage it steals. It is hardly free when the exemption would apply only to political parties and no one else.

Would the government please announce that it is dropping this hare-brained scheme?

[Rick Dykstra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I know the opposition member well and I understand why he is so adamant about this issue. I certainly would not want his leader's quotes to be used over and over again against him as well.

However, at the end of the day, we believe that this has always been protected under the fair dealing provisions of the law, and if greater certainty is necessary, we are prepared to provide it.

National Defence

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, former Canadian ambassador David Mulroney said it best. We have learned hard lessons from Afghanistan, one of which is that clear objectives are critical to avoid quagmires. The government's combat mission in Iraq does not have those.

Last weekend, Mr. Mulroney was asked how to measure something like degrading ISIL, and he said, “You can't.”

We need a clear, measurable definition of success, which the government has so far been unable to provide.

What are the objective standards of success for this combat mission?

[Chris Alexander, Conservative, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is absolutely right. We, and this Prime Minister, have learned a lesson from Afghanistan that is very important: it requires military effort to prevent a terrorist safe haven from emerging across the length and breadth of an entire country.

That is why we are supporting this military mission. It is six months in length. It is a very limited number of aircraft. It is to degrade the capacity of Islamic State to deliver terrorism against the people of Iraq and around the world.

Those objectives are very precise.

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I did not know delivering terrorism was one of the objectives. This is exactly why we are worried about this mission creeping.

Instead of saying, “Here are clear time limitations on our combat participation” or “Here are the military developments that will signal to us our mission has ended”, we get nothing but evasiveness and rhetoric from the government.

How can the Conservatives press ahead with a combat mission in Iraq—and possibly, by the way, in Syria—with no clear plan and objectives?

[Chris Alexander, Conservative, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, this time the hon. member is completely wrong. This is a counterterrorism mission with a military component. In Canada's case, it will involve air strikes against ISIL targets so that they are no longer able to attack innocent Iraqi civilians or attack us here in Canada or other allies and partners.

What is different on the NDP side, what is scandalous with this opposition, is that it is unwilling to do anything of a military nature against a deadly terrorist threat.

International Development

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

Mr. Speaker, the president of the World Bank is chastizing the international community for failing miserably in its response to the Ebola pandemic. The World Bank estimates that the crisis may cost $32 billion by the end of next year. Our contributions have not reflected the scope of the emergency, yet our government is attempting to pat itself on the back saying, “Job well done”.

Where is the sense of urgency? Will the government increase Canada's contributions to the World Health Organization?

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

Mr. Speaker, since day one of the Ebola outbreak in western Africa, Canada has shown international leadership. We have been one of the top 10 contributors. In fact, Canada has contributed $35 million to leading international humanitarian organizations like the World Health Organization, Médecins Sans Frontières and the Red Cross. We have dispatched two mobile lab units. We are contributing 800 to 1,000 doses of some of the most promising vaccines. Canada is a leader.

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

Mr. Speaker, last month, the government announced that it would contribute $2.5 million for personal protective gear to help deal with the Ebola crisis.

This equipment is necessary to prevent the spread of Ebola and protect the teams on site. However, there have been delays in sending this equipment, and the epidemic is spreading.

Why is the government not responding in a timely manner to the urgent requests from the World Health Organization?

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

Mr. Speaker, Canada is contributing $2.5 million worth of protective gear. In fact, the first shipments have already gone out and we are working with the World Health Organization to prioritize the remaining shipments.

[Djaouida Sellah, NDP, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the World Health Organization has urgently asked Canada to send 300,000 face shields to protect those working on the ground to contain the Ebola virus.

So far, only 128,000 of those face shields have been sent to West Africa because the Conservative government is unable to find an aircraft to transport the equipment.

How can the Conservatives justify not being able to find an airplane to transport this equipment and save lives?

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

Mr. Speaker, obviously the response in western Africa is evolving, so I am pleased to update the House. In fact, the gear that was specifically mentioned has all now shipped, in part using the Hercules. As for the remaining equipment that needs to go out, again, we are working with the World Health Organization to prioritize. However, those protective gear items have already now been shipped.

Industry

[Laurin Liu, NDP, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, actions speak louder than words.

Ten years ago, the government negotiated with drug companies to extend the monopoly period on new drugs. In exchange, the companies were supposed to invest 10% of their revenue in research and development in Canada. The reality is that only 4.5% of that revenue was invested in 2013.

Why does the minister not implement measures to make sure these companies keep their promises?

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

Mr. Speaker, this is a vital industry to Canada. Certainly in my home area of Mississauga—Brampton, and across Peel, this is a very vital industry. Canada is showing global leadership on this file.

Copyright

[Alexandrine Latendresse, NDP, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government is trying to change the law so that Conservatives can use media content without asking broadcasters' permission.

When asked whether any experts at all supported their initiative, the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages said that Michael Geist agreed with them. Once again, they are trying to mislead us by quoting an academic out of context.

Is the minister aware that Michael Geist himself criticized the government on this file?

[Rick Dykstra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, it is absolutely untrue that Mr. Geist was quoted out of context. In fact, I have the quote right here. It states:

...copyright law should not be used to stifle legitimate speech....

...attempts to use copyright to claim absolute rights over the use of a portion of a video clip is surely counter to basic principles of fair dealing (in Canada) or fair use.

That is a quote and it is pretty clear.

[Alexandrine Latendresse, NDP, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the problem is that Michael Geist also condemned the minister's stunt and said that the Conservative government is creating a misguided exception in its own interest.

As it turns out, even the only person the minister could find does not agree at all. In general, when people misquote, it is because they have something to hide.

Why does the government want to change the law to serve the Conservative Party's partisan interests, like it recently did with the unfair elections act?

[Rick Dykstra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I do not think it is this party that is trying to hide anything. We are actually trying to make it usable by parties when expressions are made by individuals that should be allowed to be seen by the public.

If members did not like my first quote, I have another one from David Lametti, property and IT law professor at McGill University, the aspiring Liberal candidate, who said:

...relying on copyright rights to do the work of restricting this kind of speech distorts the purpose of copyright and the balanced view that our Supreme Court has consistently articulated over the years.

I do not know if members want “yes” for an answer.

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

Mr. Speaker, you are twisting the words of experts like Michael Geist—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!