Debates of Dec. 12th, 2014

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

[Rick Dykstra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I know there is one group on the other side of the House that certainly does like to speak about itself.

The changes at the CBC are the result of declining viewership in certain demographics and lower than expected advertising revenues. We understand the important role that the CBC plays in remote communities across the country. It is the CBC's responsibility to deliver those services, and we let it do it.

[Pierre-Luc Dusseault, NDP, Sherbrooke, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary secretary just does not get it. CBC/Radio-Canada has had to make cuts because the Conservatives have cut its funding. What is happening in Sherbrooke is not the same as what is happening in Montreal. If a one-hour local newscast is cut by 30 minutes, the math is simple, our region's voice is being cut in half. CBC/Radio-Canada is there to keep us informed, and it belongs to all of us.

Will the minister ever understand that the people of the Eastern Townships, like all Canadians, care deeply about their local news?

[Rick Dykstra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, we certainly understand, from a remote and smaller community perspective, that services need to be delivered. That is why the CBC receives over $1 billion a year from the federal government and from its revenue in order to deliver services.

The best part of all of this is that the CBC is responsible for the services that it delivers, and we leave it in its hands to do so.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Mr. Speaker, whether in Moncton or Fredericton, the regional news is sacred. It is sacred because it tells us about what is happening in our own language. Urban centres have the right to that; the regions should have the same right.

There is a reason why the federal court confirmed in September that the CBC/Radio-Canada is subject to the Official Languages Act. It is a means of promoting our official languages. Gutting it will harm the development of Canada's linguistic duality.

When will the minister finally understand that Radio-Canada belongs to all Canadians and that it is their responsibility?

[Rick Dykstra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I will confirm that the government does understand the CBC belongs to all Canadians. It is a public broadcasting institution.

Our government expects the CBC to fulfill its duty to provide quality programming to official language minority communities under the Official Languages Act and the Broadcasting Act. The CRTC has expressed authority to ensure that the CBC is fulfilling its mandate under the Broadcasting Act, as well.

Housing

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

Mr. Speaker, it is not just the CBC losing jobs at Christmas time. CMHC today announced that more than 200 people are being laid off in this city today.

Close to a quarter of a million in the country are homeless, and what does the government do in the middle of a housing crisis? It lays off the very people responsible for providing housing.

In the minister's own province of Manitoba, close to 10,000 people will lose their housing in the next 5 years. Most of them are seniors.

Listing agreements the government has already signed is not acceptable. The status quo is not acceptable. When will the government stop cutting and start building housing again?

[Scott Armstrong, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment and Social Development]

Mr. Speaker, first, we pass on our condolences and thoughts to people who lose their jobs around the holiday time.

CMHC is a crown corporation and it makes its own administrative decisions.

As far as housing goes, we are engaging housing first, which is an evidence-based program to provide housing from coast to coast to Canadians. This is a program that has shown great results. The opposition should get on board and support a program like housing first, because it is delivering for Canadians.

Air Transportation

[Christine Moore, NDP, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as oil prices fall, Canadians are wondering why airfares are riding high. In 2011, Canadian airline companies used higher oil prices to justify increasing airfares. Today, the cost is not going down. That is odd.

Will the government ensure that there is price transparency in Canada's airline sector, especially so that people living in remote areas such as Abitibi-Témiscamingue will stop being taken advantage of by airlines?

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

Mr. Speaker, the member will know that under the flight rights Canada initiative, we have introduced a code of conduct for Canada's airlines. We have taken a number of measures to make pricing transparent. These are decisions by individual airlines, which are private companies.

However, I will tell members what would raise the price of an airline ticket drastically. It would be a $21 billion NDP carbon tax.

Government Appointments

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

Mr. Speaker, the government spoke about wanting to hand out pink slips. I have a couple of suggestions for it.

Last week, I asked the Prime Minister about Mark McQueen, the chair of the Toronto Port Authority, a man who has made illegal campaign contributions to his party. Under the guidelines for Governor-in-Council appointees, it is expressly forbidden to make campaign donations. Let me be clear. The Prime Minister's hand-picked cronies cannot and must not make political party contributions.

Now it seems that not only did the chair of the port authority make donations, but another member of the port authority has made donations too.

My question is very simple. This is a kickback scheme. Will the Conservative Party return these prohibited donations, and will the Prime Minister fire these two people who do not, will not and have not followed the rules?

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

Mr. Speaker, the long-standing feud between Mr. McQueen and that member continues, only now it is in the House. The ethical and political activity guidelines for public office holders do not state that political activity is against the guidelines. He should read them.

Employment Insurance

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

Mr. Speaker, not only have the Conservatives managed to backlog the Social Security Tribunal, but they have also created a totally unrealistic requirement.

Unemployed workers now have to have a lawyer representing them at the tribunal. When people are unemployed and do not have any income, how are they supposed to pay for a lawyer?

Will the government act quickly to fix this mean-spirited stupidity and let Canadians choose how they want to be represented, as in the old system?

[Scott Armstrong, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment and Social Development]

Mr. Speaker, the Social Security Tribunal is delivering for Canadians. We are ensuring that Canadians from coast to coast to coast, many of whom have severe disabilities, are getting the money they need. We are working to ensure this happens in a timely fashion. We are going to ensure that the Social Security Tribunal continues to provide excellent service for Canadians, particularly at Christmastime.

International Trade

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

Mr. Speaker, as 2014 draws to a close, Canadians will be able to enjoy their holidays all the more, knowing that their government is focused on their priorities: economic opportunities and creating jobs. Our government's global markets action plan is a pro-job, pro-export plan that is delivering results.

Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade please inform the House why this was such a historic year for job-creating trade and investment in Canada?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank that hard-working member for his work on export markets for Canada.

The year 2014 saw us continue to eliminate tariffs and grant preferred access to Canadian businesses. In this year alone, exporters and Canadian investors became more competitive in Europe, in Africa, in China, in South Korea, in Honduras, and in Chile. It was a record year for trade.

In this next year, in 2015, we will continue to support Canadian exporters and the one in five jobs that they bring to our economy. We will continue to help them to compete and win around the world.

Infrastructure

[Ted Hsu, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Mr. Speaker, let us picture ourselves stuck in traffic again, wasting time. In Ontario, we remember how the Prime Minister will not meet with our Premier to talk about infrastructure.

Let us picture ourselves needing a better job and remembering that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create jobs in the Ring of Fire. In Ontario, we need all levels of government to get together on major infrastructure to create jobs, make us more competitive, and improve life for our families. It does not have to be a whole fishing trip, but why will the Prime Minister not meet with the Premier of Ontario?

[Peter Braid, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary for Infrastructure and Communities]

Mr. Speaker, picture this: our government has made record investments in public transit by investing over $8 billion since 2006. This includes, of course, the Ottawa LRT under the advocacy and the leadership of our Minister of Foreign Affairs. Public transit is an eligible category under every component of our new Building Canada plan. Public transit is an important investment for infrastructure. It helps to create jobs, make our cities more livable, and enhance the quality of life.

Public Safety

[Wayne Marston, NDP, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the release of the U.S. torture report is a critical moment for all countries to reaffirm the absolute categorical rejection of torture, yet under the Conservatives, Canadian security agencies have gone from rejecting information obtained by torture and having policies in place to identify tainted information to an order that allows such information to be used and shared, even at the risk that it will lead to torture in other countries.

Why does the minister continue to condone torture by proxy through this directive?

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

Mr. Speaker, that is absolutely false. Our government does not condone the use of torture and certainly does not engage in it.

The primary responsibility of Canadian security agencies is to protect Canadian life and property. If we do get a tip from any source that Canadians' lives are in danger, we will act to save those lives, and we will continue to ensure that intelligence is reviewed and assessed by Canadian intelligence experts before it is acted upon.

Government Policies

[Dave MacKenzie, Conservative, Oxford, ON]

Mr. Speaker, around the world, we see economies struggling and political gridlock paralyzing decision-making. Last night, we saw a gridlock in the U.S. Congress bring the American government to the verge of a shutdown that was averted only at the last minute.

On this last sitting day of 2014, can the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons tell us how our Parliament's productive, hard-working, and orderly approach contrasts with the economic uncertainty, political gridlock, and paralysis we see outside of Canada?

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

Mr. Speaker, job creation, lower taxes, and free trade were key elements of our government's economy-focused agenda this year. We built on our record of creating over 1.2 million net new jobs.

We doubled the children's fitness tax credit to $1,000. We expanded the universal child care benefit to $160, up from $100 a month.

We delivered free trade with South Korea and Honduras, and a massive new trade deal with Europe.

We moved to tackle crime, protect victims, support veterans, strengthen the value of Canadian citizenship, cut red tape, and fight terrorism.

Canadians can see clearly that running this country is a serious job, one that requires strong leadership.

Canada Post

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

Mr. Speaker, a year ago, the Conservative government agreed to let Canada Post get rid of home mail delivery, citing cost-effectiveness. However, Canada Post posted a net profit of nearly $40 million for the first three quarters of 2014.

Yesterday, TVA reported that the money was being used to buy presents for journalists, who received tea, coffee, stamps, socks and even little trucks before Christmas.

Journalists blew the whistle on what was a ridiculous attempt to soften them up. Does the minister support Canada Post's move, or will she call the corporation on the carpet and make sure that it puts the services that people are entitled to first?

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

Mr. Speaker, I will remind the member that Canada Post is of course an independent, arm's-length agency. The decisions it makes, including that one, are its own.

Transportation

[Maria Mourani, Independent, Ahuntsic, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in the field of passenger transportation, an international company, Uber, has set up a system that promotes the underground economy and ignores the rules for collecting GST and provincial tax in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. This is unfair to taxi drivers and owners who pay their fair share to the government.

Will the Minister of National Revenue take action and have Revenue Canada develop a Canada-wide action plan to rein in Uber and regulate all the individuals who transport passengers to ensure that they pay their fair share to the government?

[Gerald Keddy, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue and for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, at CRA we take tax evasion very seriously. We expect all Canadians to pay their taxes here in Canada. We expect all companies and all individuals to pay their taxes, and we will take all measures to make sure that happens.