Debates of Oct. 2nd, 2014

Citizenship and Immigration

[Andrew Cash, NDP, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are back at it, fighting a Federal Court ruling that struck down what the court called “cruel and unusual cuts” to refugee health care. The court said that these cuts jeopardized the lives of children in a manner “that shocks the conscience and outrages our standards of decency.” This is a recurrent theme for the government.

This is about saving the lives of kids. This is about providing prenatal care for women. This is about our shared values.

Will the government do the right thing and drop this court challenge?

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

Mr. Speaker, the moment this flawed decision was announced, we announced our intention to appeal. That is exactly what we have done. We have filed our notice to appeal. We will be aggressively defending the needs of genuine refugees, as well as the interests of Canadian taxpayers.

What we will not do in the Federal Court is argue, like the NDP, why it should not have to pay back taxpayers for money it stole.

[Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet, NDP, Hochelaga, QC]

Mr. Speaker, although the Federal Court clearly ruled that restricting access to health care for certain refugees constitutes cruel and unusual punishment, the government has decided to appeal. There is no credible legal basis for the appeal. The only thing the Conservatives are interested in is saving money at the expense of refugees. Instead of waging this legal battle, why does the minister not assume his responsibilities with respect to refugees and their children who need health care?

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

Mr. Speaker, when the court's decision was announced this summer, we announced our intention to appeal. That is exactly what we have done. We will continue to protect the interests of and maintain protections for genuine refugees, as well as defending the interests of Canadian taxpayers. What we will not be doing in Federal Court, unlike the NDP, is defending our right to steal money from Canadian taxpayers.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Andrew Scheer]

I will address that after question period.

National Defence

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, on Saturday, Canada's initial 30-day non-combat mission in Iraq in the struggle against the evil of ISIL will end.

Tomorrow the Prime Minister will announce that he is sending Canadians into combat. The lives of CF-18 fighter pilots will be on the line. They, their families, and all Canadians need to understand the government's calculation.

To start with, what were the Prime Minister's objectives in that first 30-day non-combat mission? Were those objectives accomplished, and how?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the government has been very clear about our objective, which is to provide strategic advice to the Iraqi forces that are fighting ISIL.

However, we take no lessons from the Liberal Party. It consulted no one on Iraq or Afghanistan. We have committed to do exactly that, if we move forward.

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, these are life and death issues. Canadians are going to war. It is not good enough for the government to say “Just get on board.” Consensus requires clear, honest, complete, and factual—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. If members need to carry on conversations, I would ask them to do so outside the chamber, but not while their colleagues are putting and answering questions.

The hon. member for Wascana.

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, consensus requires clear, honest, complete, and factual answers. It would appear that the prime ministers of the United Kingdom and Australia worked really hard at building trust and common ground in their countries, but that has not happened, at least not yet, in Canada.

In making its case, why does the government think it is better to drive wedges of division and keep Canadians in the dark?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, these consultations and consensus that the member is talking about were never undertaken by the Liberals when they were in office, not at all. We have changed that. Whether it be Libya or Afghanistan, we have brought motions before Parliament, and the Prime Minister has indicated that any future combat mission will be brought before Parliament for a vote.

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chrétien had enormous support.

Canadians need to know whether the government has thought through the combat mission that it is launching.

In rooting out the evil of ISIL, how have the Conservatives calculated that the highest and best use of Canadian resources is a small fleet of CF-18s? What about those other alternatives: strategic airlift, training, signals intelligence, reconnaissance, medical support as well as the massive humanitarian relief that is required?

The cost of the air strikes will crowd out all those other things in which Canadians excel. Therefore, what is the rationale for the choice that is being made to the exclusion of everything else?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the member said that there was huge support under a Liberal government. I do not know how we would know that since the Liberals never brought the matter before Parliament.

The member wants to know what the objective is. The objective is to go against ISIL and stop the murderous activities that it has been involved with in that part of the world. That is what we are doing on the ground now giving advice to the Iraqis, and those are the considerations we will take forward.

Employment

[Sadia Groguhé, NDP, Saint-Lambert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, seafood companies in Prince Edward Island are pointing at inconsistencies in the minister's statistics on temporary foreign workers. According to those statistics, in January, there were 180 foreign workers in the seafood sector.

However, there is a slight disconnect: in January, plants are closed.

If the minister's data are systematically being questioned on the ground, how can the minister still claim that his reform is credible?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Multiculturalism]

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, the hon. member is mistaken again. Temporary foreign workers are allowed to work during all seasons of the year.

The information released by my department is accurate: according to the numbers, there are more EI recipients than temporary foreign workers in the fish processing industry.

This means that the industry has no labour shortage. That is one of the reasons why we reformed the program.

[Sadia Groguhé, NDP, Saint-Lambert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister's bungling is irritating both the provinces and employers. Jobs in seafood processing companies are vulnerable because of the minister's statistical errors. The truth is that the minister and his reform of the temporary foreign worker program have absolutely no credibility. More than ever, this boondoggle needs to be reviewed independently.

Will he launch an independent inquiry?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Multiculturalism]

Mr. Speaker, the inconsistency of the NDP on this issue is incredible.

In the spring, they voted in favour of a full moratorium on the temporary foreign worker program for low-skilled jobs. Now they are saying that we must let temporary foreign workers into the fish processing industry, where there are more EI recipients. That makes no sense. Is the NDP in favour of reducing or expanding the program?

[Jinny Sims, NDP, Newton—North Delta, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it appears the minister's ability to collect bad data is boundless.

First it was labour market statistics off Kijiji. Then it was a list of employers that did not correspond to reality. Now the P.E.I. seafood processors are complaining about the minister's numbers. The minister claims 180 foreign workers were processing seafood in January, a month when seafood processing plants are not even open.

This confirms we need an independent review. When will the minister finally call one?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Multiculturalism]

Mr. Speaker, regrettably, the member does not apparently have a clue what she is talking about. As the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans confirms, who is an MP from the Island, its operation is year round. There are temporary foreign workers authorized to work there year round.

Let us be clear. The NDP wanted us to completely shut down all aspects of the low-skilled temporary foreign worker program. Instead, we made it a last and limited resort to ensure that Canadians would come first. In that industry, we find there are more people receiving EI who have done fish processing work in that place than there are temporary foreign workers, which is counter-indicative of a labour shortage. The NDP should not be standing up to have foreign workers replace Canadians.

[Jinny Sims, NDP, Newton—North Delta, BC]

Mr. Speaker, if I remember rightly, it was the minister who called a moratorium when McDonald's was exposed. That is what happened.

The seafood processors are not alone in complaining about the minister's bad data, and we are talking about bad data. Siemens is asking the government to officially retract the list of employers it released because it miscalculated the number of foreign workers employed by Siemens by over 2,000.

How can Canadians trust the Conservatives when all of their decisions are based on such bad numbers? Simply promising to count better in the future is not enough. Will the minister finally call an independent review?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Multiculturalism]

Mr. Speaker, the data set to which she refers is based on numbers supplied by employers.

It was the NDP that brought forward a motion to this place in the spring for a complete ban on all low-skilled temporary foreign workers, including those in the fish processing industry, supported by the Liberals.

Now we have clear evidence, brought forward by officials in my ministry, that there are in some industries more people receiving employment insurance benefits in proximity to jobs that are being filled by temporary foreign workers. Only the NDP could think it makes any sense to give people a benefit not to work and to bring people in from half way across the world to do—

[The Speaker, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. member for Saskatoon—Humboldt.

Natural Resources

[Bradley Trost, Conservative, Saskatoon—Humboldt, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the government's responsible resource development plan is creating jobs and growing the economy, while ensuring Canada has strong environmental protection.

Today is a very exciting day in my home province of Saskatchewan, as Canada demonstrates to the world how we are leading on carbon capture and storage technologies.

Could the parliamentary secretary share with the House how the government's support has made the Boundary Dam project possible?