House of Commons Hansard #161 of the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was parks.

Topics

InfrastructureOral Questions

11:35 a.m.

Kitchener—Waterloo Ontario

Conservative

Peter Braid ConservativeParliamentary Secretary for Infrastructure and Communities

Mr. Speaker, the new Building Canada plan has been open for business since March. Under that plan, the provinces are empowered to identify their infrastructure project priorities and in fact are responsible for doing so.

We are pleased that we received the list from Ontario this week. We have been waiting for that list. Ontario has an infrastructure envelope over the next decade of almost $11 billion. We look forward to working closely with them and to collaborating with Ontario to renew infrastructure.

International TradeOral Questions

11:35 a.m.

NDP

Ryan Cleary NDP St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL

Mr. Speaker, the federal Conservatives needed Newfoundland and Labrador to give up local processing requirements to get a trade deal with Europe. After two days, an agreement was struck. The Province has the documents to prove it.

The deal was not for compensation for losses, but a research and marketing fund to create a fishery for the future. That was publicly announced 14 long months ago. Now, lo and behold, the Conservative government says Newfoundland and Labrador has it all wrong.

The obvious question is, why did the government not say anything back then, before now?

International TradeOral Questions

11:35 a.m.

Fundy Royal New Brunswick

Conservative

Rob Moore ConservativeMinister of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency)

Mr. Speaker, we welcome Premier Davis and his delegation to Ottawa today. We look forward to a productive meeting later this afternoon.

It is ironic that this question is from the same member who opposed our free trade agreement with the EU before having read one word of it. It simply reaffirms that the NDP does not like trade and does not understand trade. It ignores the fact that the EU is the world's largest consumer market, with 500 million consumers and a fish and seafood market worth $25 billion a year.

The member needs to get on board with an agreement that will provide immense benefits to his province.

International TradeOral Questions

11:35 a.m.

NDP

Ryan Cleary NDP St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL

Mr. Speaker, “read one word”? The deal is not out yet.

The Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador has come to Ottawa today to call on the Prime Minister to honour the commitment he made to my province. It is well known that this Prime Minister is no friend to Newfoundland and Labrador, but he made a commitment to our province, and this Conservative government has an obligation to honour that commitment. If he thinks that New Democrats in this House will just stand by and let him break that promise, let him break yet another promise, the Prime Minister had better think twice.

International TradeOral Questions

11:35 a.m.

Fundy Royal New Brunswick

Conservative

Rob Moore ConservativeMinister of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency)

Mr. Speaker, fish and seafood is one of Newfoundland and Labrador's largest industries. Nine thousand Newfoundlanders and Labradorians depend on the industry for their livelihood. Canada's free trade agreement with the EU will eliminate tariffs as high as 25%, providing fishers with even greater opportunities to sell their products into the largest fish and seafood market in the world.

When will the member start standing up for the fishers in his province?

Citizenship and ImmigrationOral Questions

11:35 a.m.

Liberal

Marc Garneau Liberal Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC

Mr. Speaker, the government has clearly failed to live up to its promise to bring in 1,300 government-assisted and privately sponsored Syrian refugees by the end of this year. Today there is a report suggesting that the religion of refugees may be a factor in their selection and that Canada will only accept religious minorities, which would exclude, for example, Sunni Muslims.

This is the government that created the position of ambassador for freedom of religion. Is the Government of Canada now denying refugee status based on religion?

Citizenship and ImmigrationOral Questions

11:35 a.m.

Richmond Hill Ontario

Conservative

Costas Menegakis ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have heard the heart-wrenching stories of minorities being persecuted in Iraq and Syria. They are being persecuted because they are ethnic and religious minorities. To suggest that we are only going to focus on one group of people is categorically false.

That said, we have seen countless examples in recent years of people being persecuted for their religious beliefs. We will prioritize persecuted ethnic and religious minorities, those at demonstrated risk, and we will make no apologies for that.

Correctional Service of CanadaOral Questions

11:35 a.m.

Liberal

Wayne Easter Liberal Malpeque, PE

Mr. Speaker, the government's response yesterday, with respect to the Ontario coroner's inquest into the death of Ashley Smith, was nothing short of shameful. How many reports, how many inquiries will it take to get the government out of the dark ages?

Retired Supreme Court Justice Arbour slammed the practice of solitary confinement as a barbaric cultural practice. The inquiry recommended that indefinite solitary confinement be abolished.

How could the government reject that key recommendation?

Correctional Service of CanadaOral Questions

11:40 a.m.

Scarborough Centre Ontario

Conservative

Roxanne James ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

Mr. Speaker, as I stated earlier in question period, this case is indeed a tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the Smith family.

The question that has been asked is what the government has done. We have implemented more than half of the recommendations from that coroner's report. In fact, we are going through many of the other recommendations and looking at up to three-quarters of them at this very moment.

However, what our government did earlier this year was launch a mental health action plan for federal offenders, which includes action on timely assessment, effective management, sound intervention, ongoing training, and robust governance and oversight.

Correctional Service of CanadaOral Questions

11:40 a.m.

Liberal

Wayne Easter Liberal Malpeque, PE

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that the government rejected the key recommendation. Beyond Justice Arbour's point that solitary confinement was a barbaric cultural practice, the Correctional Investigator said that using solitary confinement to manage mental illness was unsafe and should be prohibited. His finding showed 14 of the 30 suicides reviewed occurred in segregation cells.

When will the minister realize the correctional action he allows is killing people under his care and custody?

Correctional Service of CanadaOral Questions

11:40 a.m.

Scarborough Centre Ontario

Conservative

Roxanne James ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

Mr. Speaker, the member knows well that administrative segregation is a common practice in many western countries, not just in Canada.

Having said that, I again want to speak for a moment about the mental health action plan for federal offenders, which is a five-pillar strategy. As part of that strategy, and we saw this earlier this week, is a two-bed memorandum of understanding between Correctional Service of Canada and a local facility. Two in-patient beds are be available for people with the most serious mental needs in women's penitentiaries. That is in addition to the 32 that are already across Canada, including Saskatchewan and Quebec.

National DefenceOral Questions

11:40 a.m.

NDP

Élaine Michaud NDP Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC

Mr. Speaker, it has been five week since Canadian fighter jets started bombing Iraq. It is difficult to believe, especially considering the government's silence.

There has been no update on the costs or the possibility of extending the mission past the original six-month timeframe. We do not even know if the mission is achieving the objectives set by the government. In fact, we do not even know what those objectives are.

Why are the Conservatives refusing to be accountable to Canadians regarding their military mission in Iraq?

National DefenceOral Questions

11:40 a.m.

Ottawa West—Nepean Ontario

Conservative

John Baird ConservativeMinister of Foreign Affairs

Mr. Speaker, it is this government that brought forward a resolution to Parliament and had a full debate in this place. We called the foreign affairs committee back early. I, the Minister of National Defence, the ambassador for Religious Freedom and officials were all there. We have been regularly accountable for the mission in the House. The Canadian Armed Forces have had many public briefings to ensure that Canadians are informed of this exercise.

National DefenceOral Questions

11:40 a.m.

NDP

Paul Dewar NDP Ottawa Centre, ON

Mr. Speaker, Canada has been involved in a war in Iraq since September. Four months later, we still do not know some basic facts. We do not know whether the mission will be extended. We have not been told how much this war is costing, or even beyond counting bombs and targets, what impact the air strikes are actually having on the ground.

Why, after four months of war, are Canadians still left in the dark by the government?

National DefenceOral Questions

11:40 a.m.

Ottawa West—Nepean Ontario

Conservative

John Baird ConservativeMinister of Foreign Affairs

Mr. Speaker, I have been here every day this week during question period to be accountable and the member for Ottawa Centre has not asked a question, I do not think, in four months.

We said from the outset that we would report to Parliament in the normal way about all the associated costs. With respect to extension, no decision has been made. We will go through this day by day and, obviously, make our contribution.

Evil people are doing barbaric things, and the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces are trying to stop them.

Citizenship and ImmigrationOral Questions

11:40 a.m.

NDP

Paul Dewar NDP Ottawa Centre, ON

Mr. Speaker, the crisis in Syria has created millions of vulnerable refugees who are in absolutely dire need, yet reports today reveal that the Conservatives are refusing to make new commitments because they are only looking to accept religious minorities. We heard that just a second ago. Whatever people's religion, ethnicity, or creed, it is a Canadian value to help everyone in need. Can the minister confirm if he is applying religious discrimination to refugees?

Citizenship and ImmigrationOral Questions

11:40 a.m.

Richmond Hill Ontario

Conservative

Costas Menegakis ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration

Mr. Speaker, the member has been sitting in the House and heard me respond to that question just before. To suggest that we are only going to focus on one group of people is categorically false.

That member and his party should reflect on their actions in the House. They vote against every measure we have put in place that would actually assist these very vulnerable people around the world. It is shameful that they are behaving like this in the House.

Citizenship and ImmigrationOral Questions

11:45 a.m.

NDP

Sadia Groguhé NDP Saint-Lambert, QC

Mr. Speaker, in Canada, we consider everyone to be equal, no matter what their religion. We do not turn our backs on people in need simply because they do not share the same religion.

The Conservatives want to choose refugees based on their religion, but no matter what they think, all Syrians need our help. Their approach is shameful and outrageous.

Will the minister commit to accepting more Syrians refugees without imposing religious conditions?

Citizenship and ImmigrationOral Questions

11:45 a.m.

Richmond Hill Ontario

Conservative

Costas Menegakis ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration

Mr. Speaker, I believe I have been very clear so far today, and I will say it again. To suggest that we are focusing on only one group of people is categorically false. That said, we have seen countless examples in recent years of people being persecuted exactly for and because of their religious beliefs. We will prioritize persecuted ethnic and religious minorities, those who demonstrate they are at risk, and we will not apologize for that.

What is shameful is that the NDP continues to vote against every measure we bring to this House.

TaxationOral Questions

11:45 a.m.

Conservative

Bob Zimmer Conservative Prince George—Peace River, BC

Mr. Speaker, our government knows that Canadian families know best how to spend their own money. This is a fundamental difference between our party and the Liberals. That is why our government has taken real action to reduce taxes on Canadian families, including the family tax cut.

Can the hard-working Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment please update the House on which tax cuts the Liberals would take away if elected?

TaxationOral Questions

11:45 a.m.

Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley Nova Scotia

Conservative

Scott Armstrong ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment and Social Development

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the stellar hon. member for Prince George—Peace River for his hard work on lowering taxes for Canadian families across this country.

We are delivering on our promise to balance the budget, and now we are in the position to make targeted tax cuts for Canadian families so they can balance theirs. The majority of these benefits will go to low- and middle-income class Canadian families. For example, a single parent making $50,000 a year with two children would get about $1,000 in benefits from these tax cuts.

The Liberal plan is to take these tax cuts out of the pockets of Canadian families and use them to hire bureaucrats—

TaxationOral Questions

11:45 a.m.

Conservative

The Acting Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton

Order, please. The hon. member for Newton—North Delta.

Canadian Broadcasting CorporationOral Questions

11:45 a.m.

NDP

Jinny Sims NDP Newton—North Delta, BC

Mr. Speaker, due to Conservative cuts, yet again the CBC board had to make difficult choices. Communities across Canada will see their local supper hour newscasts reduced by almost half. Smaller communities will be the hardest hit, including anglophones in Quebec.

How can the minister allow her reckless policies and cuts to jeopardize local news? Does she not believe that all Canadians deserve quality and local public broadcasting?

Canadian Broadcasting CorporationOral Questions

11:45 a.m.

St. Catharines Ontario

Conservative

Rick Dykstra ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage

Mr. Speaker, as Hubert Lacroix said, there are “challenges of a rapidly changing media environment to which no conventional broadcaster is immune”. Changes at the CBC are the result of declining viewership in certain demographics and lower than expected advertising revenues.

The CBC is responsible for its own operations. We on this side believe that. I wish the opposition would agree.

Canadian Broadcasting CorporationOral Questions

11:45 a.m.

NDP

Guy Caron NDP Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC

Mr. Speaker, the six o'clock local news is an institution. That is the only time that the people of eastern Quebec hear anything about themselves and their community.

The cuts to CBC/Radio-Canada had so far managed to spare regional news programming. We have to be realistic: when the government slashes $115 million, we cannot expect our public broadcaster to do everything everywhere.

When will the minister finally realize the impact her misguided policies are having on the people of eastern Quebec, who love their public broadcaster?