Debates of Oct. 21st, 2014

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

[Pierre Dionne Labelle, NDP, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the ministers responsible for the Francophonie in Quebec and Ontario are speaking out against the Conservative cuts to the CBC. Like us, they are unhappy about how these cuts are reducing French news coverage and threatening the survival of the French fact in Canada.

Nevertheless, the legislation is clear: the public broadcaster's mandate includes helping to promote the vitality of the French language and culture in Canada.

Will the Minister of Canadian Heritage finally recognize that these cuts are preventing the CBC from fulfilling its mandate and helping francophone minority communities?

[Shelly Glover, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, I understand the important role that the CBC plays not only in official language minority communities, but also in remote areas.

Our government and all Canadians expect the CBC to fulfill its mandate to provide quality programming to those communities. However, the Ontario and Quebec ministers should be aware that the CRTC already has the authority to ensure that the CBC carries out its mandate under the law. It is up to the CBC to offer this programming and satisfy its mandate.

[Pierre Nantel, NDP, Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government has the power to ensure that the CBC has the funding it needs to do that.

The cuts to the CBC are obviously jeopardizing francophone minority communities. Nevertheless, Parliament has given the public broadcaster a clear mandate, and that is to meet the specific needs of both official language communities, including those of both linguistic minorities.

The Minister of Canadian Heritage cannot use the budget to get around the law and the mandate given to the public broadcaster by Parliament.

When will the minister finally recognize that the cuts to the CBC are preventing the public broadcaster from fulfilling its responsibilities to minority language communities? She should know; she lives in Saint-Boniface.

[Shelly Glover, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, I will repeat what I just said. In fact, CBC has a mandate that it must satisfy. All Canadians, and this government, expect the CBC to satisfy that mandate. In fact, the Official Languages Act and the Broadcasting Act impose that obligation on the CBC.

Listen to what our president of the CBC had to say about satisfying his mandate. He said the following: “Our commitment to the regions is also reflected in our new CRTC conditions of licence”, and, “Our conditions of licence require us to hold consultations with francophone minority communities”.

They will, according to the president, follow that obligation, and we intend to support that.

Citizenship and Immigration

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in the past, all governments have matched the contributions of charity to assist with natural disasters. Given the unprecedented refugee crisis in Syria and Iraq, will the government adopt a similar approach and match the funds raised by organizations that are struggling to bring refugees to Canada?

The government can make taxpayer dollars go a lot further if it matches the private sector. Why will the government not do this to help thousands of desperate refugees?

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Minister of International Development and Minister for La Francophonie]

Mr. Speaker, we have played a leadership role, and I would like to remind my colleagues that we are now the fifth-largest contributor of humanitarian aid in Iraq. Just last Friday, we pledged $8 million to UNICEF to help children in need. That money will help children in areas of conflict continue to go to school and hope for a better life. With Canada now the fifth-largest contributor in the world, all Canadians can be proud of this meaningful action.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, media speculation is growing in the west about the final disposal of the Canadian Wheat Board. The deadline is not until 2017, but it does appear to be happening more quickly.

Can the minister say how many potential buyers have signed confidentiality agreements to gain access to CWB's detailed data, how many of those buyers are Canadian, how many are foreigners, and how many are farmers? Since all of the assets of the CWB come from farmers' money, not government money, how will the proceeds of any sale be returned to farmers?

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

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite answered his own question when he talked about confidentiality agreements. I am not going to talk about that either.

I will say that at the end of the day, the CWB is alive and well, because this government undertook to keep it alive and well. We put forward some $300 million to make sure that farmers were not bridled or saddled with the costs the CWB was carrying. There were no assets. All of the assets were so heavily leveraged that they had to be paid out by Canadian taxpayer money to give it a fair shot at becoming a viable entity as it moves forward. It will continue to do that.

It is doing extremely well out there in western Canada. It is starting to move across into eastern Canada, with the purchase of Mission Terminal. We look forward to the future success of the CWB.

Canada Post

[Isabelle Morin, NDP, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the government is abandoning people with reduced mobility by eliminating home mail delivery. It is forcing them to go to court to assert their rights.

Will the minister finally recognize that she has obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and reverse Canada Post's bad decision to end home delivery of our mail?

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

Mr. Speaker, as the member knows, in 2013 Canada Post delivered 1.2 billion fewer letters than it did in just 2006. She may also know that under that business model, two-thirds of Canadian households already do not receive door-to-door delivery, and under its five-point plan, that will be true for all Canadians. It has a financial responsibility in legislation to not be a burden to taxpayers. Canada Post is taking action and is doing so by communicating with Canadians about what their needs may be during this transition.

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

Mr. Speaker, when the government signed the UN charter on the rights of the disabled, it promised to improve things. By ending home mail delivery and telling the disabled that they should be satisfied with weekly delivery, the Conservatives are breaking that promise. It is not right.

Canadians living with disabilities have now joined with others to challenge this decision in the courts. Will the minister agree to delay the end of home delivery until the court rules?

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

Mr. Speaker, as the member should have heard in the last answer, two-thirds of Canadians currently do not receive home delivery. Canada Post, in order to deal with its financial crisis and the plummeting business case in terms of plummeting rates of individual mail, is taking action under a five-point plan to ensure that daily mail will be preserved in a way that is equitable for all Canadians.

Fisheries and Oceans

[Tilly O'Neill-Gordon, Conservative, Miramichi, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the lobster fishery is crucial to Atlantic Canada's economy, specifically in rural and coastal areas. In order to grow this industry, it is essential that measures be taken to ensure its sustainability and to provide access to new markets. Can the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans tell this House what she is doing to foster growth in the lobster fishery and to provide access to new markets?

[Gail Shea, Conservative, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, when we formed government, the lobster fishery was facing a number of challenges. We took action. We worked with the industry, and we invested $50 million in the Atlantic lobster sustainability program. The results are undeniable. Since 2007, total lobster landings have increased by 93%. Our lobster exports were at a high of $1.1 billion last year.

Our government, led by my seatmate, has worked to secure trade agreements that will expand markets for Canadian lobster and will create more demand for our delicious Canadian lobster.

Foreign Affairs

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko urgently called for the OSCE mission that is monitoring the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine to be enlarged. Speaking on Friday, Italian foreign minister Federica Mogherini said that Italy, France, and Germany are willing to send drones and military personnel to operate them, but Canada was not on her list.

Why is Canada, with its special relationship with Ukraine, not participating in this essential expansion of the OSCE monitoring mission?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I do not think we have drones.

Public Safety

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

Mr. Speaker, after the deadly collapse of the Algo Centre Mall, the Elliot Lake commission of inquiry concluded that urban search and rescue is critical for saving lives.

Yesterday the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety said she would convey my question about Conservative cuts to urban search and rescue to the minister. She has had a day now. What is the minister's response? Will he implement the Elliot Lake commission of inquiry's recommendation to restore funding for heavy urban search and rescue to help save lives?

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

Mr. Speaker, the majority of emergencies in Canada are local in nature and are managed by local or provincial governments. The original objective of the joint emergency preparedness program was met. It was to enhance local emergency preparedness.

We will continue to invest in programs such as the $200 million to prepare communities to tackle natural disasters.

Science and Technology

[John Carmichael, Conservative, Don Valley West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this week is National Science and Technology Week, which gives us the opportunity to recognize the efforts of our highly talented Canadian scientists.

Will the Minister of State for Science and Technology please tell the House what our government is doing to support Canadian scientists whose groundbreaking research impacts the lives of Canadians?

[Ed Holder, Conservative, Minister of State (Science and Technology)]

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to developing, attracting, and retaining the world's most talented researchers in Canada. That just makes sense.

Last week I met with Canada research chair Dr. Goldie Nejat, who works in advanced robotics at the University of Toronto. She provides forward-looking solutions in health care and emergency response situations.

Our government is committed to providing record investments in research to push the boundaries of knowledge, create jobs, and improve the quality of life for all Canadians. I hope all members of the House will join me as we honour Canadian scientists during National Science and Technology Week.

Employment Insurance

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, many families in the regions are expecting to go through some lean months because fewer jobs are now available in seasonal industries.

Meanwhile, the Conservatives are taking steps to generate an employment insurance fund surplus, but families affected by unemployment will not see a penny more.

The NDP believes that protecting the employment insurance fund is essential to ensuring that contributions are not used for other purposes.

My question is very simple. Why is the government abandoning the regions and workers in seasonal industries even though the employment insurance fund is building up a surplus?

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

Mr. Speaker, we are doing no such thing.

On the contrary, employment insurance is available to unemployed workers who have lost their jobs for no reason. Whether they are seasonal workers or not, if they have worked for the minimum number of weeks, they can receive employment insurance benefits.

Public Works and Government Services

[André Bellavance, Independent, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Quebec National Assembly recently adopted a unanimous motion calling on the federal government to award a shipbuilding contract to the Davie shipyard in Lévis. It was the only shipyard that was denied any part in the $33 billion in contracts.

We have learned that the government has apparently decided to modify its shipbuilding strategy.

Can the Minister of Public Works and Government Services confirm the change to her government's shipbuilding strategy, and can she confirm that the Davie shipyard, which submitted a proposal to convert ships according to navy needs, will receive its fair share of the deal this time?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, our ship procurement strategy is ongoing. The Auditor General said that the process was completely affordable and properly handled.

We will continue with our strategy to ensure that the Canadian Forces receive the equipment they need.

Malala Yousafzai

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, on a happy note, tomorrow we will welcome Malala Yousafzai to Canada.

As our government set out just over one year ago in the Speech from the Throne, we intend to bestow honorary citizenship on this remarkable young woman. Therefore, on behalf of all Canadians, I am proud to rise in the House today to seek consent to propose the following motion, which is jointly seconded by the leader of the official opposition of the New Democratic Party and by the leader of the third party, the Liberal Party.

That, whereas over 57 million children around the world are denied access to primary education;

Whereas girls are still disproportionately denied access to basic education around the world;

Whereas Canada supports global efforts to ensure that all girls and boys have access to basic education;

Whereas Malala Yousafzai fearlessly documented her challenges simply to attend school under the barbaric rule of the Taliban, a listed terrorist organisation under Canadian law;

Whereas she suffered a horrific attack perpetrated by the Taliban who, to this day, wish for her to be silenced;

Whereas Canadians and the civilised world were united in standing against this attack and are intent on honouring the bravery of Malala Yousafzai;

Whereas she has been recognised on numerous of occasions as a champion for fundamental human rights and access to education, including most recently being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition for her advocacy for universal education;

Whereas she continues to fight for the empowerment of girls and women;

Whereas she serves as a role model and an inspiration to all Canadians and the world in her fight for universal education,

Therefore ______________ the House of Commons resolve to bestow the title of “honourary Canadian citizen” on Malala Yousafzai; and

That a message be sent to the Senate requesting that House to unite with this House in the said resolution by filling in the blank with the words “the Senate and”.