Debates of Oct. 23rd, 2014

Health

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

Mr. Speaker, this is an issue that transcends politics and partisanship.

Canada is at the forefront in responding to the Ebola outbreak. We are contributing $65 million to leading international humanitarian organizations, like the World Health Organization, the United Nations, and Médecins Sans Frontières. We are also contributing 1,000 doses of leading-edge vaccine. We are contributing millions of pieces of personal protective equipment: 1.2 million gowns, 1.5 million gloves, and two million face shields. Canada is showing international leadership on the Ebola file.

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, while the death toll from Ebola is rising daily, the International Red Cross has said that the virus can be stopped within four months if the world is prepared to take all the necessary steps. This is a global crisis, and it requires a global response.

Can the minister update the House on what additional contribution the Canadian government is prepared to make to the international response?

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

Mr. Speaker, since April, Canada has been at the forefront of the international effort to battle this terrible disease. We have been working with the World Health Organization, Doctors Without Borders, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

As of yesterday afternoon, all the organizations receiving Canadian aid money received their contribution agreements. The funds will be released as soon as the organizations sign these agreements and indicate so to the government

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are also very concerned about the chikungunya virus, which is affecting hundreds of thousands of people in the Caribbean. The outbreak has led Jamaica to declare a state of emergency. At least 200 Canadians have already contracted the virus, and many more risk being infected in their travels this winter.

Can the minister inform the House of what steps the Public Health Agency is taking to protect Canadians from this virus?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Public Health Agency of Canada is actively monitoring the situation and is taking all necessary precautions.

[Dany Morin, NDP, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, borders cannot contain diseases and viruses. Canadians need the right information to protect themselves from the infectious virus chikungunya. People travelling in the south and the Caribbean are at greater risk. So far, 200 Canadians have been infected.

Can the minister tell Canadians what measures the government is taking to protect those Canadians who are most at risk?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I just indicated, the Public Health Agency of Canada is actively monitoring the situation.

Public Safety

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, to the Prime Minister, this week, CSIS's deputy operations director told Parliament that due to limited resources, the agency was unable to provide blanket coverage of the 90 individuals in Canada viewed as potential threats.

Can the Prime Minister update the House on additional resources being immediately allocated to track these suspects?

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

Mr. Speaker, our government did not wait for the terrorist attacks to adjust budgetary resources.

Since 2006, we have increased the budget for our Canadian security intelligence agencies by one-third of their capacity and we are doing the same for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. We are increasing the budgets, we are providing tools and we are ensuring that we can track down terrorists. We will continue to do so with tenacity and great vigour.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, just this week, the CSIS deputy director of operations told parliamentarians that they were having difficulty keeping the 90 individuals fully under surveillance with the limited resources they currently have.

Can the Prime Minister give us an update on the additional resources being provided to find those suspects?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I said, the resources of Canadian security intelligence agencies have increased by 33%. We hope to have the support of the opposition when we ask for their powers to be clarified so that they not only have the budgetary resources, but also the legal authority they need to protect Canadians.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about existing tools then. In 2013, this House renewed preventative detention as a tool for law enforcement in these cases. In recent weeks, have any preventative detentions taken place?

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

Mr. Speaker, let me be crystal clear. This government is increasing the budgetary resources both for law enforcement agencies and national security agencies. We are moving forward with more tools so that they can protect Canadians, keep us safe, keep this very place safe, and keep every Canadian safe. We will move forward and seek support from the opposition, which unfortunately, we have not always had in the past.

International Development

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, together, Canadians are celebrating the courage of Malala Yousafzai, as well as her hope for a world in which all girls have access to education.

Unfortunately, yesterday's ceremony to grant her Canadian citizenship was cancelled as a result of yesterday's tragic incidents.

Can the government tell us when this event will be rescheduled, so that Canadians can pay tribute to her courage? In addition, will Canada provide funding for the Global Partnership for Education, which does so much for girls' education?

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

Mr. Speaker, Canada is fully committed to improving access to basic education for children in need.

The replenishment pledging conference recently held by the Global Partnership for Education certainly started a discussion in which Canada is fully participating.

We will continue to determine, with our national and international partners, how we can make a real difference in education.

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, all Canadians applaud Malala Yousafzai's courage and her vision for a world where girls have equal access to education. We cannot let her stand alone.

It has been four months since the Global Partnership for Education pledging conference the minister just referred to took place. The question is this: Will Canada renew its funding for this important initiative to stand with Malala and so many girls like her?

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

Mr. Speaker, indeed, Canada is deeply committed to increasing access to quality basic education for all children in need and youth.

The Global Partnership for Education's last pledging conference launched a very interesting discussion and crucial conversation in which Canada is a very active partner. We will continue to work with Canadian and international organizations to determine how to achieve the best results for the people in need.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the final arguments in the first nations child welfare case continued today at the Human Rights Tribunal. First nations children receive 22% less funding from child welfare services than what other children in Canada receive. What steps are being taken by the government to ensure that we are not discriminating against children living on reserve and that we are funding child welfare services to the same standards as all other services in this country?

[Bernard Valcourt, Conservative, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, among the measures taken has been an increase of 40% since 2006. We now invest close to $630 million in child and family services on reserve, but more important than that, what this government has done is introduce a prevention-based approach to delivering child and family services on reserve. This is an initiative that is taking place as we speak and that will continue in the future.

[Romeo Saganash, NDP, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we are talking about children like the four-year-old girl with a heart condition who needed a raised hospital bed so that fluid did not accumulate in her lungs.

If she had lived anywhere other than on a reserve, she would have had that bed in a few days, but she is aboriginal. As a result, she waited nearly seven months.

How does the minister plan to ensure that children living on reserves receive the health care that they are entitled to and they need?

[Bernard Valcourt, Conservative, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member stated, children living on reserves are entitled to the same health care as Canadians who do not live on reserves.

I do not have the details of the specific case he mentioned. However, we have applied a principle that was adopted in the House. Jordan's principle guarantees that there is no dispute between the federal and provincial governments when it comes to the care to be given to a child in need.

We know that health care comes under provincial jurisdiction. However, we have this principle that enables us to avoid situations like the one he mentioned.

Veterans Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, as a member of Parliament from Hamilton, I want to express my thanks to all of my colleagues for their kind words and condolences to Nathan Cirillo's family and loved ones, to everyone who placed flowers at the James Street Armoury in Hamilton, and to those who continue to sign the book of condolences in the Hamilton city hall.

Yesterday the most sacred place to pay honour to those who have fallen in the service of Canada was attacked. Would the Minister of Veterans Affairs please give us his reflections on the events of yesterday?

[Julian Fantino, Conservative, Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a very short distance from this very place. Corporal Nathan Cirillo stood with the strength and determination of his regiment on guard for our most sacred place of remembrance. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier will now and forevermore be guarded under the watchful eyes of Corporal Nathan Cirillo who remains at his post.

On behalf of a grateful Parliament and indeed a grateful nation, we say our thanks to Corporal Cirillo, lest we forget.

Small Business

[Annick Papillon, NDP, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it has now been one year since the Competition Tribunal found that credit card fees Canadian businesses have to pay are excessive and that more coercive regulation is needed.

Could the minister tell us when he intends to announce a code of conduct for the credit card companies and explain to us how this will help reduce costs to Canadian small and medium-sized businesses?

[Joe Oliver, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we have heard the concerns of small businesses and introduced a code of conduct. The code has been well received by consumers and industry groups, particularly small businesses. We are constantly monitoring compliance, and we are working with small businesses and consumers to ensure that they are both being heard.