Debates of Oct. 24th, 2014

Health

[Frank Valeriote, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Mr. Speaker, could the minister give us any additional information on the steps the government is taking to work with provinces and territories to ensure they are prepared to deal with a potential case of Ebola?

Could the minister also update the House on the most recent actions the government has taken to ensure that front-line health care providers are prepared to deal with a potential case of Ebola?

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

Mr. Speaker, health matters should always transcend politics and partisanship.

The minister and the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada are in regular contact with their provincial and territorial partners.

It is PHAC, the Public Health Agency of Canada, that provides guidance to the provinces, but the provinces are responsible for training.

We have learned a lot from SARS and H1N1, and in the event of an Ebola case in Canada, the Public Health Agency is ready to provide support with five rapid response teams, lab expertise to quickly confirm diagnosis, and emergency supplies of masks, gowns, and gloves.

Multiculturalism

[Adam Vaughan, Liberal, Trinity—Spadina, ON]

Mr. Speaker, several candidates running in Monday's municipal election in Toronto have had their signs and campaign offices vandalized. They are being targeted because they are Muslim.

Today, a young candidate, Munira Abukar, was assaulted and pelted with garbage. Her brother is a member of the Canadian Armed Forces.

These attacks are unacceptable. They too are an attack on democracy. What steps is the government taking to assure Canadians that not only are individuals, mosques, and places of worship safe, but will Conservatives join us in condemning these attacks on Muslims?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I wholeheartedly agree with the member opposite. Canada is a country where pluralism is one of the cornerstones of our values. We welcome people in all parts of life, from all religious backgrounds. That is what makes Canada such a great country. I think I speak for all members of this House when I say that we find such acts despicable and not part of the Canadian way of doing things.

Canada Post

[Laurin Liu, NDP, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this week in Montreal's north shore, residents of Lorraine, Rosemère and Bois-des-Filion lost their home mail delivery service.

I met with hundreds of people to discuss this, and I can assure you that Canadians, particularly seniors and people with reduced mobility, are not happy about it.

Will the minister finally decide to intervene and restore home mail delivery service?

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

Mr. Speaker, as the member well knows, Canada Post has seen a continuing plummeting of volumes of individual-addressed mail. In fact, there were 1.2 billion fewer pieces of mail in 2013 than in 2006.

The member would also know that two-thirds of Canadians currently do not receive their mail door to door. Those in the remaining one-third, as part of Canada Post's five-point action plan, will be seeing a change, but they will continue with their daily mail.

[François Lapointe, NDP, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, a company in Saint-Jean-Port-Joli in my riding could have built the new community mailboxes. It has been building mailboxes for Canada Post for over 25 years.

However, that is not what management at Canada Post decided to do. Canadian manufacturers have not even been allowed participate in the bidding processes that have taken place in recent months. They cannot even bid. In 2015, our mailboxes will be manufactured in the United States.

Can the minister explain why she is forcibly imposing working conditions on crown corporations and yet doing nothing to create jobs for Canadians?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure whether the member understands the structure of crown corporations. They are not government departments. They operate at arm's length from the government in their operational decisions. They have a board of directors who make those types of decisions. They have clearly made a decision in this matter. If the member has a problem with that, then he should take that up with Canada Post.

Foreign Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, this past spring, Canada sent over 300 observers to monitor and observe Ukraine's presidential elections. This upcoming Sunday, the people of Ukraine will take one more step toward reaffirming their desire for a free and democratic Ukraine.

On October 26, Ukrainians go to the polls to select their representatives for Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada. Can the Minister of Foreign Affairs please update the House on Canada's support for Ukraine's parliamentary election?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we strongly support the people of Ukraine as they go to the polls. Canada has a long and rich tradition of working to support the Ukrainian people in their quest for full democratic rights, a democracy, and to live in freedom without interference from their neighbours.

I am very pleased to say that Canada has sent 300 election observers for these parliamentary elections. We look forward to hearing back from them about the state and quality of the elections.

This is just another example of how Canada and this government is standing behind the people of Ukraine.

International Trade

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

Mr. Speaker, with the CETA deal officially signed and the legal scrub of the text having started, there are still some questions that remain unanswered. One such question surrounds the articles around patent protections for pharmaceutical products.

Can the government tell us what commitments it has made to compensate the provinces and territories as a result of the pharma provisions of CETA?

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for that question because CETA represents the most modern trade agreement in our nation's history. What is amazing about it is that it was coordinated with stakeholders, employers, and the provinces.

We have worked directly with the provinces along the negotiation of this to make sure that, if any intellectual property changes impact their pharma regime, we can work with them to make sure, over time, that the provinces are kept whole, in addition to the increased transfers we are already giving to the provinces for health care each year.

Health

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

Mr. Speaker, as I pointed out yesterday, borders cannot contain viruses.

At least 200 Canadians have been infected with the chikungunya virus, which has affected hundreds of thousands of people in the Caribbean. Many others could catch this virus unless they can protect themselves. The parliamentary secretary remained vague yesterday.

What meaningful measures will this government take to protect Canadians against this virus here and abroad?

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

Mr. Speaker, this is a tropical mosquito-borne illness. Health officials advise that there is no evidence of person-to-person transmission in Canada.

The Public Health Agency has posted travel advice for Caribbean and Pacific tropics, asking Canadians to exercise precaution in order to avoid mosquito bites.

National Defence

[David Yurdiga, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

Mr. Speaker, would the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade please provide this House with any new developments with respect to Operation Impact, Canada's contribution to the fight against ISIL?

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Fort McMurray—Athabasca for the question and for his support of the Canadian Forces since he has joined this House.

As the Minister of National Defence said to the House yesterday, Operation Impact is on time and on target.

In addition to the CF-18s that left CFB Bagotville yesterday, later today, two CP-140 Aurora aircraft will be departing from CFB Greenwood. These Aurora aircraft are some of the most modern civilian aircraft in the world due to our government's update of the Aurora aircraft.

Our CAF and our training personnel are now joining our allies to combat the threat that is ISIL.

Forestry Industry

[Claude Patry, Bloc, Jonquière—Alma, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the FSC certification standards are apparently going to be revised by 2016, which could have a considerable impact on my region.

Quebec has some of the best forestry practices in the world. The Government of Quebec has been talking to industry clients, particularly in Europe and the United States, to show how exemplary the industry's practices are.

Does the federal government plan on joining the Government of Quebec in supporting Quebec's forestry industry?

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for asking a question on an important economic driver of rural communities all across Canada.

I am proud that economic action plan 2014 builds upon our government's success on this file by focusing on innovation and protecting it from the threat of forest pests. Our focus on diversifying markets for forest products has increased softwood lumber exports to China tenfold. These are successes that we should be applauding.

Public Safety

[Maria Mourani, Independent, Ahuntsic, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Safety claimed in the House that the RCMP had hundreds—yes, hundreds—of programs to prevent violent radicalization.

In fact, there are programs to prevent people from joining street gangs, but not to prevent violent radicalization.

Can the government commit to creating and providing a budget for programs to prevent violent radicalization, which will make it possible to take appropriate action when young people are flagged?

[Roxanne James, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, as members in this House know, the RCMP does work collaboratively with different organizations and groups right across Canada, working with our youth and so on.

I want to for a moment take the time to also thank the RCMP, local law enforcement, and of course our Parliament Hill security, for the outstanding job they did this past Wednesday. As many members in this House were actually in lockdown, I can assure Canadians that we were safe at that particular time, and the efforts of our security agencies are the reason.

Health

[Maria Mourani, Independent, Ahuntsic, QC]

Mr. Speaker, more and more Canadians are concerned about radio frequency emissions. The fact that Canada, like the United States, has the lowest safety standards of the industrialized countries is worrisome.

Why does the government not follow Switzerland's example and adopt stricter radio frequency standards just to be on the safe side?

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to answer my colleague's question.

Indeed, radio frequency emissions can be hazardous to Canadians. However, I would like to point out that Canadian regulations are very modern and address Canadians' concerns.

Foreign Affairs

[Deepak Obhrai, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and for International Human Rights]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, under the provisions of Standing Order 32(2), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the treaties entitled Amendments to Annex 1 of the International Convention Against Doping in Sport, notified on October 3, 2014; Amendments to Annex II of the International Convention Against Doping in Sport, notified on September 29, 2014; and Agreement Between the Government of Canada and the Government of the Republic of Korea on Air Transport, done at Ottawa on September 22, 2014. An explanatory memorandum is included with each treaty.

Interparliamentary Delegations

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present, in both official languages, two reports of the Canadian Section of ParlAmericas: the Report of the Canadian Parliamentary Delegation respecting its participation at the 34th meeting of the board of directors in Mexico City, Mexico, on June 23, 2014; and the Report of the Canadian Parliamentary Delegation respecting its participation at the Annual Gathering of the Group of Women Parliamentarians in Mexico City, Mexico, from June 24 to 25, 2014.

Genetically Modified Alfalfa

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

Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions to present. Two of the petitions are with regard to a moratorium on GM alfalfa.

The petitioners outline concerns with regard to the fact that genetically modified alfalfa is currently being planted and tested in Canada.

The petitioners are calling on Parliament to impose a moratorium on the release of genetically modified alfalfa in order to allow a proper review of the impact on farmers in Canada.