Debates of Oct. 10th, 2014

Copyright

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

Mr. Speaker, he is twisting the words. The fact is, if this proposed change is an innocent one, why not make sure that they are fully honest and open about it?

I asked yesterday and I will ask again. Will the minister for democratic reform ensure the full and fair debate on this, or will we yet again see an omnibus budget bill as a way to cloak a reform that has nothing to do with the budget?

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

Mr. Speaker, I feel bad this morning for the abuse that you are taking from the members of the opposition on these questions. It is just unacceptable.

We certainly know who is twisting in the wind this morning, but we are certainly not going to comment on rumours and speculation. Our position has always been clear. There is a public interest in ensuring that politicians are accountable for their actions, accountable for what they say in public settings. Why would the opposition not want to be held accountable?

Rail Transportation

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on Wednesday, when the member for Wascana asked whether the latest train derailment in Saskatchewan involved DOT-111 cars—the same kind of cars that exploded in Lac-Mégantic and are not shock resistant enough—the Minister of Transport refused to answer.

Yesterday we learned that many of those tanker cars were indeed DOT-111. Can the minister assure us that none of those cars was one of the 5,000 most dangerous DOT-111 cars that she promised, on April 23, to pull out of service within one month?

[Jeff Watson, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, as the minister has said, and we share that, we are relieved to learn there were no injuries involved in this particular incident. Transport Canada, of course, will co-operate fully with the Transportation Safety Board, which is responsible for investigating the causes of this accident. What is clear is that our government has taken very strong action in response to the Transportation Safety Board's recommendations on DOT-111s to remove the least crash-resistant and also to have an aggressive, more aggressive than the United States, three-year phase-out on the DOT-111s. We are taking action to ensure the safety of Canadians, workers and our communities.

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, again there was no precise answer. To repeat, last April, the minister said the most dangerous DOT-111 cars would be gone within one month. Were they or were they not involved in the train wreck this week in Saskatchewan? The railway is saying these particular DOT-111s were not their cars, indeed they were supplied by the shipper of the highly flammable distillate. I am sure that is a great comfort to the people of Clair, Saskatchewan, and Lac-Mégantic. How is the government requiring shippers, not just railways but shippers too, to get these dangerous cars out of service?

[Jeff Watson, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, this from a member whose government was lax when it came to railway safety. We instead have been taking very strong actions. We are talking about prohibiting the least crash-resistant DOT-111s and a three-year phase-out or retrofit with respect to the remaining to bring them up to standard. We are also in discussions with American partners in terms of a new, tougher standard for these cars.

What did the Transportation Safety Board say about that? Ms. Tadros said, “I am encouraged by the Minister of Transport's strong response to the Board's recommendations”.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on the UN International Day of the Girl and inspired by the fearless advocacy of Nobel laureate Malala, we must reflect on the action needed here in Canada regarding indigenous girls. Twenty-three per cent of female murder victims in Canada are indigenous even though they are only 4% of the population.

Will the Prime Minister finally accept that this ongoing tragedy reflects complex sociological issues, such as racism, sexism, poverty, foster care, education, and call an inquiry to keep indigenous girls in Canada safe?

[Susan Truppe, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary for Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, our action plan brings together many measures to combat violence against aboriginal women and girls, and we on this side of the House are proud of it.

I am also proud that on October 11, Canada and the world is celebrating the International Day of the Girl. On this day, our government recognizes girls as powerful agents of change and leaders of today and tomorrow. This government, with the help of Plan Canada, has worked tirelessly to make the International Day of the Girl a reality and Canada led the international community of the United Nations in building support for establishing this day, which is now celebrated both domestically and internationally.

We on this side of the House are proud of the International Day of the Girl.

Infrastructure

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

Mr. Speaker, a survey conducted by the Quebec urban transit association reveals that most Quebeckers believe that the federal government should contribute more to public transit.

On the provincial side, the Quebec transport minister has said that despite the need for austerity, the province's contribution to public transit will not be lowered.

Will the Conservatives heed this call and increase investments in public transit?

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, never before has a government in Canada invested more in public transit. We are investing in partnership with the provinces and municipalities, while respecting their respective jurisdictions. Meanwhile, the NDP wants to centralize everything in Ottawa.

Another interesting thing that came out of this poll, is that the users prefer to pay a toll. The NDP members have never understood how that works.

[Hoang Mai, NDP, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in the envelope that transportation companies receive, the users contribute the most to cover costs by paying 36% of the bill. The Government of Quebec contributes 21%, while the federal government, which claims to do so much, contributes only 1%.

The NDP has long been saying that the federal government can and must do more when it comes to public transit.

Will the government commit to increasing its contribution to public transit?

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, with the transfer of the excise tax on gasoline alone, the federal government has transferred $600 million to the Province of Quebec to be divvied up among the public transit organizations. The figure the hon. member gave is therefore incorrect.

What is more, CUTA, a public transit organization, acknowledged that no government has ever done as much for the country as ours.

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

Mr. Speaker, transit infrastructure is urgently needed in the Lower Mainland to protect and develop the region's economy. TransLink is pushed to its limits and has resorted to telling commuters frustrated with service delays to lower their expectations and simply go for a coffee.

When will the government come to the table with long-term solutions to address chronic underfunding and when will it finally agree with New Democrats that Canada needs a national transit strategy?

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, the solution for the NDP is to centralize everything in Ottawa. That is its solution.

I have a list. The Evergreen Line in Vancouver was $350 million. The Surrey maintenance facility was $2.5 million. The Kamloops transit maintenance facility was $4 million. Kelowna transit maintenance was $2 million. SkyTrain security was $30 million. That is a long list, which has never been done before.

Housing

[Mike Sullivan, NDP, York South—Weston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the minister tried to brag about investments in housing. The trouble is only a fraction of the money is federal for Ontario, it is over five years, and the Toronto Community Housing Corporation is specifically excluded.

This week's Vital Signs report found that 90% of residents in Toronto's apartment blocks are inadequately housed. The waiting list for assisted housing has climbed to 77,000 families. Toronto Community Housing has specifically asked the feds for help.

Why is the government refusing to address the housing crisis in Toronto?

[Scott Armstrong, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment and Social Development]

Mr. Speaker, this government is making record investments in low-income housing across the country. We have initiated a new policy called housing first. Just imagine, now people who are homeless can get a home and when they then apply for jobs and have to fill in their addresses, they can fill in actual addresses. Imagine how much stronger that is going to make those applications.

We are supporting people who get jobs. That is the best social program. We are supporting housing in this country. We are getting the job done.

Foreign Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, I have been proud to see that Canada remains among the strongest international supporters of Ukraine's efforts to restore stability, and implement democratic and economic reform.

Canada continues to call on Russia to follow through on its commitments to de-escalate the crisis and cease its aggressive tactics in Ukraine. Ukraine sovereign territory must be respected and the Ukrainian people must be free to determine their own future.

Could the parliamentary secretary please update the House of Commons on Canada's latest moves to isolate Putin's autocratic regime?

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

Mr. Speaker, as members may know, my family suffered under Soviet tyranny for decades.

While Canada is a global leader on tobacco control, in fact, a founding member of the World Health Organization's framework convention on tobacco control, I am pleased to inform the House that Canada will boycott the next meeting in Moscow.

We stand with the people of Ukraine and we will offer no legitimacy to the Putin regime's actions in Ukraine when it comes to these farcical international conferences on which it tries to pull out some legitimacy. Putin's Soviet-style oppression techniques—

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

The hon. member for Terrebonne—Blainville.

The Environment

[Charmaine Borg, NDP, Terrebonne—Blainville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, a government report indicates that the former Saint-Maurice shooting range was contaminated as a result of National Defence activities. The land consists primarily of 169 hectares of wetlands, which is rare on Montreal's north shore. The people of Terrebonne and surrounding areas are concerned that there is no plan to quickly decontaminate this site.

Can the government guarantee that the land will be decontaminated within a reasonable time and that the wetlands will be protected when the land is transferred in future?

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

Mr. Speaker, the health and safety of our men and women in uniform is the first priority of this Department of National Defence and of this Minister of National Defence. We have made record investments in infrastructure in order to protect the environment and clean up land in several Canadian regions. We will continue to work on that.

[François Lapointe, NDP, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow hundreds of people will protest in Cacouna against the oil port project. The Liberals agree that the Conservatives have completely discredited the project's environmental assessment, but they refuse to oppose it and give the Conservatives time to carry out an environmental assessment. That is the epitome of inconsistency for the Liberals and their leader.

For their part, the Conservatives go so far as to show contempt for the Superior Court's injunction on drilling. Social acceptance of the oil port by the people of eastern Quebec is now impossible.

Does the Quebec lieutenant for the Conservatives understand this and can he help clean up this mess?

[Randy Kamp, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his interest in this issue. I can assure him that projects will only go forward if they are safe for Canadians and safe for the environment.

However, the fact is that TransCanada has not yet submitted an application for the construction of a marine terminal. If it does, it will be carefully reviewed by the National Energy Board.

At this stage, the only work being done is exploratory in nature. That work was carefully reviewed and authorized by departmental experts contingent on very strict conditions.

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

Mr. Speaker, the work that should have been done was at Fisheries and Oceans, and it was not done. It was supposed to come out with a scientific advisement, and it did not.

Obviously, there is no consensus on the oil port. The promoter has not been able to demonstrate the social acceptability of his project because it will only be used to export unprocessed Canadian oil. It will cause the loss of well-paid jobs and, above all, it will constitute an unacceptable environmental threat to the St. Lawrence ecosystem.

Why does the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans insist on defending a project that is not consistent with the principle of sustainable development?

[Randy Kamp, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, as far as I know, the member is a lawyer not a fish biologist. However, I can assure him that DFO allowed this exploratory work to go ahead because it was clear that it would not result in harm to marine life.

DFO has scientists who are specifically devoted to marine mammals, including the St. Lawrence belugas. They were involved in this file. One of DFO's key priorities is the protection of marine life, and that has been the priority in this case as well.