Debates of Oct. 23rd, 2014

Small Business

[Glenn Thibeault, NDP, Sudbury, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as the Minister of Finance knows, Canada's small businesses struggle to pay excessively high merchant fees to credit card companies. I understand that, in an effort to reduce these fees, the government intends to announce additions to its voluntary code of conduct for credit card companies.

Could the minister explain to this House why the government has chosen to institute a voluntary rather than a mandatory code?

[Joe Oliver, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we are working with credit card companies on a volunteer basis to address issues related to the interchange fee; but in respect to the code of conduct we believe that can work. There is an enforcement mechanism that is voluntary, but everyone is partaking in it, and we believe consumers are well protected by it.

Canada Post

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the decision to eliminate home delivery will make Canada the only country in the G7 without door-to-door mail service, and it will make things especially hard for people of limited mobility.

To make matters worse, Canada Post has cancelled a contract with a Canadian company and chosen to buy the new super mailboxes from the United States.

Could the minister explain why Canadian companies were not even involved or invited to bid on this contract?

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, as the House knows, Canada Post is an arm's-length organization with a very specific mandate to ensure that it is self-sustainable. That being said, it has a five-point plan to ensure that it is self-sustainable going into the future, and that includes converting the last one-third of households, which currently receive mail door to door, to community mailboxes. It is proceeding with this plan, and with its plan too it will ensure it returns to self-sustainability, as is required under its act.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to clarify that 60% of Canadians currently receive their mail at home and that the decision to eliminate home mail delivery will affect five million homes. Naturally, seniors and people with reduced mobility will be among the hardest hit, but this decision will also affect businesses in my riding, including businesses in Saint-Jean-Port-Joli, and employees who do not have access to the contract to manufacture new community mailboxes.

Can the minister explain why American companies are building the new community mailboxes?

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, as I have indicated in the House before, Canada Post is an arm's-length corporation. It has its own board of directors; it has its own management. They are there to make decisions in the best interests of Canada Post. We do not intervene in the day-to-day operations or decisions of Canada Post. However, it has to remain self-sustainable and that is exactly why it is implementing its five-point plan right now.

Public Safety

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday's events were tragic and troubling, but hard questions must be asked, and answers expected. Two weeks ago before committee, the minister revealed there are 80 individuals known to have returned to Canada from being involved in terrorist activities abroad. Why have they not been charged under section 83.181 of the Criminal Code, brought in under the Combating Terrorism Act?

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his question. As a solicitor general, I am sure that, like me, he has full confidence in our Canadian law enforcement and national security agency to enforce the law. Our job here is to provide them with the tools. I hope I can count on his support and the support of his party to table legislation here that will keep us safe here in Canada.

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, I remind the minister that there is existing law there now. However, he has mentioned several times today about new laws being brought in. If that is the case, will the minister or the government assure us that they will be open to including an all-parliamentary oversight committee, similar to the system that is set up by our allies abroad, in any new anti-terror legislation to do two things: one, to ensure that all possible security measures are taken; and two, to ensure that there is balance between security and rights?

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

Mr. Speaker, my colleague seems to want to have his cake and eat it too.

As my colleagues know, we have a four-pillar approach to fighting terrorism. It is important to reach out to communities and invest in prevention. That is what our agencies are doing. However, when individuals break the law and the Criminal Code, they will be charged. What we need to do is give our law enforcement agencies the tools they need to turn charges into sentences.

Social Development

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, Ontario Ombudsman André Marin released a report that found children are at risk in unlicensed daycares. He says:

The stakes in the child care system are high. Mistakes put the lives and welfare of young children at risk.

Unfortunately, across Canada, only 20% of children have access to regulated child care.

Could the government inform the House how many of the promised 125,000 child care spaces were created?

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

Mr. Speaker, the universal choice child care benefit has assisted literally millions of Canadian families to make choices that are most relevant to them and their family circumstances, where they live, in providing for child care. This government believes that moms and dads are the real experts in child care. Whether they work in shifts, or they live in rural areas, or they have relatives helping to take care of kids, all of them deserve support, not just those who depend on nine-to-five institutional care.

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

Mr. Speaker, research shows that investing in child care is beneficial not only for children and their parents but to society and the economy as a whole. However, according to the OECD and the UN, Canada ranks last in spending for early childhood education among comparable countries. Will the minister inform the House what steps the government is taking to invest in early childhood education and child care, so parents have more choice?

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

Mr. Speaker, that is precisely what our strategy is about, focused on choice for parents as opposed to the one-size-fits-all institutional approach of the NDP. I should also mention that, since our government has taken office, there are 225,000 fewer Canadian children living in poverty, below the low-income cutoff line. Also, the member speaks about resources in the province of Ontario, a province to which we have increased the Canada social transfer by $4.6 billion, or over 60%. Since 2006, we are giving Ontario and the other provinces historic levels of resources to address child care. We expect them to use those resources wisely.

National Defence

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of National Defence please update the House on the status of Operation Impact, Canada's contribution to the fight against the terrorist forces of ISIL in the Middle East?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I want to make it very clear that Operation Impact is on schedule and going ahead as planned. Today, 6 CF-18 fighter jets and 1 Polaris refuelling aircraft departed from CFB Bagotville, and a further 120 Canadian Armed Forces members departed from CFB Trenton, and they will be based in Kuwait.

Public Safety

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Beauséjour, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness recently made reference to the 90 individuals who pose a potential threat to Canada's security.

Taking that into consideration, have preventative detention measures—as permitted under the Anti-terrorism Act and renewed by the House in Bill S-7—been taken in recent weeks?

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

Mr. Speaker, thanks to our government, we have equipped law enforcement agencies with important tools so that they can track terrorists and eventually lay charges and put them behind bars.

Now, we need to continue equipping them with the necessary tools to clarify the law, and that is what we will do.

Rail Transportation

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

Mr. Speaker, VIA Rail is trying to put an end to its passenger rail service in eastern Quebec and New Brunswick. They have temporarily added extra departures for the holidays, but they did not publicize it.

Toying with passenger rail schedules will not help them win back the client base they have lost over the past two years.

Will the minister intervene so that VIA Rail will stop trying to cut rail service in Quebec and the Maritimes?

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, VIA Rail is an independent crown corporation that makes its own decisions with respect to operational matters. That being said, I can tell the House that it, too, has a mandate as well. Its mandate is to make sure that it meets the needs of today's travellers and that it does so without being too much of a drain on taxpayer dollars, because it is funded by the taxpayer.

With those two pieces of information, VIA Rail sets its schedule, sets its operations, and indeed determines on what frequency there is going to be travel in that certain part of the country.

Foreign Affairs

[David Wilks, Conservative, Kootenay—Columbia, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are very concerned about the humanitarian situation as it develops in Iraq. All Canadians are deeply troubled by the barbaric actions of ISIL, and especially the humanitarian tragedy its actions are creating.

ISIL is a source of concern for all Canadians. Can the minister update the House on the tragic situation in Iraq and the assistance Canada provides?

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

Mr. Speaker, Canada is the fifth-largest donor in terms of humanitarian aid in Iraq. Just last week, Canada launched with UNICEF the “no lost generation” initiative in Iraq. This initiative will assist up to 200,000 children in Iraq and help them access education opportunities.

This is concrete action that reaches out to people who need it and who are most vulnerable: youth.

Canada is the fifth-largest contributor in Iraq, and that is something Canadians can be proud of.

Parliament of Canada

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Mr. Speaker, after what we have all experienced in the past 24 hours, I believe we have made Canadians proud today.

I think we should thank everyone here for both the questions and the answers. Today, we asked about public safety, child care, small businesses, first nations, and cuts to Canada Post. Would the government House leader not agree that this was an excellent example of the House of Commons at its best?

Did we not just show the world that Canadian democracy stands tall and that it proudly continues?

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud of how our House has conducted itself today, but I am very proud of that every day. We live in the best country in the world. We have the best democracy in the world. We can all be proud of that, and I hope that will continue for many, many years to come.

The Environment

[Louis Plamondon, Bloc, Bas-Richelieu—Nicolet—Bécancour, QC]

Mr. Speaker, a march is planned for next Sunday in Sorel-Tracy to protest the presence of supertankers on the St. Lawrence between Quebec City and Montreal. The St. Lawrence is becoming an oil shipping superhighway, and the federal government refuses to improve standards for dealing with a massive spill.

This is despite the fact that the Lake Saint-Pierre part of the river is a world biosphere reserve. The Council of Canadians has even lodged a complaint against Canada with UNESCO.

Why is the minister ignoring the repeated demands of the municipalities located along the St. Lawrence, which are worried about the lack of an adequate response plan?