Debates of Dec. 4th, 2014

Veterans Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, too little too late. The Conservatives pedal their weak and petty excuses in this place, but the truth is they are going to court to fight disabled veterans injured in Afghanistan.

While lying in a hospital bed, Major Mark Campbell, who lost both his legs above the knee in a Taliban ambush, found out that the government had stripped him of his military pension. He is one of seven veterans who has gone to court to gain access to compensation that was promised.

Why is the government going to court to break those promises and the hearts of our veterans?

[Julian Fantino, Conservative, Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, it is very difficult to get through to people who are not listening. My response—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. The hon. Minister of Veterans Affairs still has the floor.

The hon. minister of Veterans Affairs.

[Julian Fantino, Conservative, Vaughan, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my concern, and it should be the concern of the NDP, is that in our country we have great respect for due process. In that regard, this matter is before the courts. It is really shameful that people would drag a sidebar issue into a due diligence court process that we should, in our country, respect.

Status of Women

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill, MB]

Mr. Speaker, this week we commemorate 25 years since the massacre of 14 women at École Polytechnique. As we think of these women, their families and the countless others who have been victims of violence across our country, we also need to take action.

Today, half of women in Canada experience violence at least once in their lifetime. While violent crime goes down in our country, sexual violence rates remain stagnant. The reality is stark.

Canadian women deserve action from their federal government. Will the government work with us and support my motion for a national action plan to end violence against women today?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her very poignant question. Certainly this week our hearts and thoughts and minds are with the families of those affected on that terrible day 25 years ago.

Our government has made it a major priority to partner actively with many across the country to address the effects of violence against women and girls. Among the many initiatives, we participated in the 16 days of activism against gender violence, released an action plan to address family violence and violent crimes against aboriginal women and girls, introduced the zero tolerance for barbaric cultural practices, and other legislative initiatives aimed specifically to hold violent offenders accountable.

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill, MB]

Mr. Speaker, initiatives are not enough, and they certainly did not save the life of Zahra Abdille, who was murdered along with her two children a few days ago in Toronto.

It is a heart-wrenching case of the way the system has failed Canadian women: no access to housing, no access to legal aid, nowhere to go. That is what happened to Mrs. Abdille.

Will the government commit to action, a national action plan to end violence against women, for women like Zahra and other women across our country?

[Kellie Leitch, Conservative, Minister of Labour and Minister of Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear. On this side of the House, we actually have taken action, whether it be the Safe Streets and Communities Act; whether it be our new bill, looking at zero tolerance for barbaric practices; or whether it be what we have done to ensure that victims are supported with a victims' bill of rights.

We on this side of the House, actually listen to women. We have listened to them across the country and we have acted, unlike the opposition that continues to have a lot of rhetoric, but do nothing to actually support those victims of crime.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Mylène Freeman, NDP, Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the situation of aboriginal women is alarming. In the past 30 years, more than 1,200 aboriginal women have disappeared or been murdered. Every year, 36 women and girls never return home.

Aboriginal communities, the international community and the United Nations are all calling for a national inquiry. When will the government finally join this movement?

[Kellie Leitch, Conservative, Minister of Labour and Minister of Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, our government has been acting with respect to this. In fact, on September 15, we moved forward with an action plan.

I guess what I find the most unfortunate is that the opposition wants to focus on being bogged down with a bunch of individuals who are lawyers to ensure we can just talk about this issue. Let us be very serious; this is about the families. This is about ensuring that those who are victims of crime, those poor aboriginal women and their families, see justice brought to them, that the criminals are held accountable and the victims are supported, unlike what the opposition wants to do.

[Mylène Freeman, NDP, Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, quite frankly, everyone knows that the policies in place do nothing to improve the situation. Doing the same thing over and over again in the hope of achieving different results is futile.

Aboriginal women and girls are seven times more likely to be murdered than non-aboriginal women and girls.

Why is the government refusing to launch a national inquiry to shed light on this tragedy and to prevent violence against women?

[Kellie Leitch, Conservative, Minister of Labour and Minister of Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said in the House many times, having gone out and met with families and spoken to them, what they want is action.

Whether it be Bernadette Smith, who lost her sister and who has been unable to find her sister since 2007, or numerous other families, they want action now. They do not want an inquiry and a lot of people talking. They want action, and our government has moved forward on that on September 15 of this year.

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the evidence is very thin on that action.

What we do need are serious policy initiatives and programs to support women fleeing violence at home and in their communities, to create a culture where women will feel unafraid to report sexual violence, to stop the tragedy of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls, and to eliminate the inequalities that make women more vulnerable to gender violence.

I will ask the minister again. Will she commit today to addressing gender inequality in Canada, and support the motion by member for Churchill for a national action plan to end violence against women?

[Kellie Leitch, Conservative, Minister of Labour and Minister of Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, let me start by talking about the things this government has done and that the opposition has not supported.

There is the victims bill of rights, a DNA-based missing persons index and new laws to protect victims from being harassed by those who have committed the crimes against them. We have eliminated pardons for serious crimes. We have provided better protection for, particularly, young women who have been victims of sexual predators.

I ask the opposition members this. We are acting. Why are they not supporting us? Why are they voting against all of these initiatives?

International Trade

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Speaker, once again the Conservatives' failure to champion strong environmental policies is threatening to block Canada's access to markets. Reports out of Brussels indicate there are renewed efforts to brand Canada's oil sands as dirty oil.

When will the government clean up its environmental record and help get our products into Europe and other international markets?

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I want to assure the House that Canada is a secure, responsible and reliable source of energy that can make a growing contribution to global energy security.

We know that fuel quality directive is counter to Canada's interests. We believe it is not based on science. We continue to encourage the European Union to follow a science to ensure that Canada's trade interests are not unfairly impaired.

Northern Development

[Yvonne Jones, Liberal, Labrador, NL]

Mr. Speaker, the minister took 48 hours to apologize for her despicable actions and arrogance toward northerners and Inuit people who are going hungry due to the high cost of food. However, after 24 months, she has yet to acknowledge and take action to fix the problem of the high cost of food in northern regions and a defunct nutrition north program.

Will the minister apologize to the people of the north for her neglect and fix this problem?

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

Mr. Speaker, notwithstanding the way those members try to picture the Minister of the Environment and member for Nunavut, without hesitation, the north has never been as well represented by a member of Parliament than by the Minister of the Environment.

Those members remain blind to the real issue. The real issue is that the objective of the nutrition north program is to increase access to nutritious food, and we have accomplished that. The shipment has gone up by 25% in two years and the cost of a food basket has gone down for an average family of four by $110 a month.

[Yvonne Jones, Liberal, Labrador, NL]

Mr. Speaker, maybe the minister and the government ought to start talking to people in the north a little more.

I am an aboriginal woman from the north and I am a woman of Inuit descent. Why is it that I can see the struggles of the people in the north, while the minister and the government opposite only work to stifle the voices of Inuit leaders in our communities?

Will you not demand more of the Conservative government that you are a part of to fix these problems?

[The Speaker, Andrew Scheer]

I will remind the hon. member to address her comments through the Chair, not directly at other members. Even when you say “through the Speaker” and then use the second person, it still amounts to the same thing. I will ask her to avoid doing that.

The hon. Minister of Aboriginal Affairs.

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

I sometimes have a hard time understanding, Mr. Speaker.

I want to say unequivocally that unlike the previous Liberal government, this government has made long-term prosperity in the north a priority, whether it is economic development, or social development or the research station. No government in the history of Canada has done more for the north. We need more members like the—

[The Speaker, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. member for Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou.

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

Mr. Speaker, now that the Minister of the Environment has recognized that it was a bad idea to read the newspaper during question period, maybe we can get her to answer our lingering questions over the food crisis going on in her riding and throughout the north.

Will the minister now recognize that the nutrition north program is a failure and will she act now to ensure that none of her constituents have to resort to landfills to find food, especially over the holidays?

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

Mr. Speaker, the record is clear. The Auditor General has reported and has made recommendations so that we can improve the effectiveness of a program, which has already brought significant results. The shipment of nutritious food has gone up by 25%. Those members cannot deny that. The average food basket for an average family of four has gone down by $110 a month, whereas it has gone up everywhere else in the country. They cannot see it. Stop playing politics on the backs of northerners.