Debates of Oct. 10th, 2014

The Environment

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

Mr. Speaker, I would invite the parliamentary secretary to read the judgment, where it clearly states that Fisheries and Oceans did not do its job.

The Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and the government are responsible for the current mess in Cacouna. The Conservatives failed to be transparent when they muzzled scientists. They gutted the environmental assessment process so badly that it has lost all credibility. What is more, they are not fulfilling their responsibilities when they let proponents drill right in the middle of a threatened species' habitat.

Will the minister finally admit that the oil port project in Cacouna is a huge mess and that it must be stopped?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would remind the member that the court case to which he referred regarded provincial laws and provincial officials. It had nothing to do with DFO, DFO officials or DFO processes.

We are confident that the DFO process is diligent, thorough and based on the best available science.

Public Safety

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, on a set-up question, the government used the chair of the public safety committee to ask the minister about an alarming American news story with respect to a threatened attack on a Canadian mall.

The security agency under the minister's authority had to know that this was old information, not accurate and misleading. Such inaccuracies can only undermine the confidence of Canadians in the minister.

For what purpose was the Minister of Public Safety using such misleading misinformation? Will he come clean with Canadians today?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rely on our national security intelligence and the great work of our law enforcement agency.

Let me quote the director of CSIS, Michel Coulombe, who said to Parliament, to the people of Canada, this very Wednesday, “The threat is real”, but not imminent.

I invite the member and all parliamentarians to support this government in moving forward to provide tools to our law enforcement agency, to our national security intelligence, so they can do their work, track the terrorists and keep our country safe.

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, the minister failed to answer my question.

However, let us turn to what was said at the public safety committee two days ago. CSIS confirmed there were 80 individuals who returned to Canada after being involved in terrorist activities abroad. The RCMP said that a number of individuals were under risk investigation. Yet the minister, speaking from written notes and referring to the 80, stated that they had, “violated Canadian law”.

How many have been charged? Are the remainder being tracked?

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

Mr. Speaker, why try to defend the indefensible? We are talking here about political leaders who condone terrorist acts. The public safety critic had the opportunity to ask this question in committee and he got his answers.

The policy that we have put in place to combat terrorism is working because the RCMP is conducting investigations. Charges are pending against over 100 individuals.

Why are these individuals under investigation? Because our government fulfilled its responsibilities by implementing laws to protect our country.

Foreign Affairs

[Paulina Ayala, NDP, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Judith Brassard, a Canadian citizen convicted of murder, is serving her sixth year in prison in Colombia. Last week, the television show Enquête pointed out numerous irregularities in her case.

Can the minister tell us what the government has done to ensure that Ms. Brassard is being treated fairly and equitably?

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

Mr. Speaker, while the law does not allow me to comment on specific cases, I will take that up with the member after question period is over and ensure that the minister has all of the information for her.

[Paulina Ayala, NDP, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in 2012, the Colombian ombudsman himself condemned the irregularities in Ms. Brassard's trial, but that does not seem to have motivated the office of the minster responsible for consular affairs to do anything at the time. We also need to think about Judith Brassard's two children, who want to have contact with their mother's family here, in Quebec.

What is the minister doing to ensure the well-being of these children and to uphold the right of their Canadian grandparents to see their grandchildren grow up close by?

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to assure the House that we are providing consular services in this situation. The Government of Canada cannot exempt Canadians from legal processes. The consular's role is to advocate for the well-being and fair treatment. We will continue to do so.

Intergovernmental Affairs

[David Sweet, Conservative, Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, our government announced support for four new research projects that will highlight the benefits of internal free trade to Canadian consumers.

As we complete trade agreements abroad, our government has taken concrete action to free Canadians from the internal barriers that limit their success, movement and choice.

Would the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry please update us on this announcement and the benefit it is to Canadian consumers?

[Mike Lake, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, eliminating internal trade barriers will create jobs, boost economic growth and lead to more choices for Canadian consumers. While we are encouraged by the progress to date, there is still work to be done to strengthen our national economy and global competitiveness.

As Canada signs on to more international agreements, we must ensure that Canadian companies have the same opportunities right here at home.

Yesterday's announcement will support essential work to show how free trade within Canada will directly benefit Canadians and our families.

Citizenship and Immigration

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, tens of thousands of Canadians all across our country are waiting to get their citizenship. They are waiting in excess of three years quite often because the Conservative government has created a crisis of paperwork in which it often takes over three years to process a simple citizenship.

When will the Conservative government take the issue of processing times to the degree in which it will reduce it to under 12 months? When will that happen?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for that lob question.

It gives us a chance to talk about the progress we have made this year in only the first seven months, creating 150,000 new citizens. That is a great success which was never seen under the Liberals.

Processing times are coming down, and they will be under one year by early 2016. The number of years the hon. member mentioned is completely false. He has a tendency to mislead the House on that front.

The Liberals voted against the—

[The Acting Speaker, Bruce Stanton]

The hon. member for Pontiac.

[Mathieu Ravignat, NDP, Pontiac, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when the government closed citizenship and immigration offices, we knew full well that there would be major delays, but we never would have thought that more than two years later there would still be many cases left unprocessed. There are many such cases in my riding. Some immigrants are even having to resubmit their applications for permanent residence because their original application has expired. Come on. That makes no sense.

What is the government doing, right now, to speed up the process?

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

Mr. Speaker, we are grateful that the Liberals and NDP keep giving us the opportunity to talk about the progress we are making with our citizenship and immigration programs.

Processing times for permanent residents and new citizens have dropped dramatically thanks to the work done by this government and the investments made by this Prime Minister.

We are still cleaning up the huge backlog that was created by the Liberals, and we will continue working at it.

Employment

[Ryan Leef, Conservative, Yukon, YT]

Mr. Speaker, later today the Right Hon. Prime Minister and the minister responsible for employment will be making an important announcement in Winnipeg on the Canada job grant.

Already this year, the Minister of Employment and Social Development has signed the Canada job grant agreements with all the provinces and territories. This is an excellent record.

Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment and Social Development update the House on the status of the Canada job grant?

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Minister of Employment and Social Development announced that the Canada job grant applications were now available in Alberta, and the same thing was occurring in the Northwest Territories. We are getting the job done. This is a terrific program.

Over the next 10 years, we will need over 300,000 new construction workers in Canada, 150,000 new workers in the petroleum sector and 145,000 in the mining sector.

The Canada job grants can deliver guaranteed jobs at the end of this training. It is a good program. Those members should be on board.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, my question for the Prime Minister relates to the joint review panel on the proposed Site C development in British Columbia. The panel review is very clear that there will be significant effects, that cannot be mitigated, affecting the hunting, fishing, and trapping rights of Treaty 8, Saulteau, and Blueberry River First Nations. Their decision came down even before the Tsilhquot'in Supreme Court decision.

Will the government commit to saying “no” to Site C in deference to the established rights of first nations in the area?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, I am carefully reviewing and considering the panel's findings, and at this point in time, it would be inappropriate to comment any further.

Employment Insurance

[Bruce Hyer, Green, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have raised EI premiums for years, at a huge cost to small-business owners and workers. Now there is a job-killing tax.

The PBO says this wrong-headed approach would cost 9,000 jobs. Many workers in Thunder Bay—Superior North have been cheated out of their EI benefits, and now even more will lose their jobs. Will the Minister of Finance reverse his foolhardy approach on EI?

[Andrew Saxton, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, let us hear from the people who actually create the jobs. CFIB says the small business job credit will create 25,000 person years of employment and called it, and I quote, “fantastic news for Canada's entrepreneurs and their employees”, and as such “can only be a positive for the Canadian economy”.

We are lowering EI payroll taxes by 15% and saving small businesses over $550 million. In contrast, the Liberals and the NDP are supporting a 45-day work year that would drastically increase premiums by a whopping 35%.

I have great news. More than 74,000 jobs were created in the month of September.

Foreign Affairs

[Manon Perreault, Independent, Montcalm, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this week, my constituency office was inundated with calls following the government's decision in favour of military involvement in the armed conflict raging in Iraq and Syria.

The people of Montcalm are furious that our government is breaking with the traditional Canadian approach to international conflict.

Can the government explain to the people of Montcalm how bombings will bring about peace without creating new Islamic State sympathizers?

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

Mr. Speaker, a member who represents a riding by the name of Montcalm should have a better understanding of Canada's military traditions.

The NDP is the party breaking with Canadian tradition. Canada has done its part in several international efforts against terrorism, just as it did during the world wars. We will do our part this time too.