Debates of Dec. 4th, 2014

Northern Development

[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.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

I know the hon. Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development will remember not to address his comments directly to his colleagues but to the Chair.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, you know, shaving $100 off the cost of a basket of groceries that costs $1,000 or $1,200 is not a lot.

In the Minister of the Environment's riding, dozens of people are reduced to rummaging through garbage to find food because the Conservatives are incapable of setting up a program to cut prices. Those who speak out against the situation are threatened with legal action by their own MP.

Will the minister also apologize for the government's failures and her bullying?

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

Mr. Speaker, whether in English or in French, it is the same charade.

They refuse to admit the facts, which have been well established. Since introducing the nutrition north Canada program, the amount of nutritious food transported to the North has increased by almost 25%. The cost of a food basket for a family of four has decreased by $110 a month on average. I know that $110 a month is not a lot for a socialist in a suit and tie, but it is something for the people of Nunavut.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[Ève Péclet, NDP, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, there is one thing they definitely cannot deny. Since the Conservatives have been in power, patronage appointments have skyrocketed.

Yesterday the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food appointed Sylvie Cloutier to Farm Credit Canada. I would be hard pressed to find anyone more “blue” than her. This former assistant to minister Robert de Cotret was a campaign organizer in Saint-Jean and for Jean Lambert, who twice ran as a Conservative candidate. Under the Mulroney government, with Chuck Guité, she was the one who preselected Conservative-friendly communications agencies.

Instead of taking care of their friends, perhaps the minister could take care of our farmers.

[Gerry Ritz, Conservative, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, of course, all of these candidates go through a rigorous hiring process. They are hired on merit by the board of FCC. They fit in. They bring skills to that board that serve farmers. I went through a list, for one of her colleagues yesterday, of how much better farmers are doing under this Conservative government. Of course, New Democrats voted against every one of those initiatives.

The member from Winnipeg would be the grinch at Christmastime and take away marketing freedom. We will not allow that to happen.

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I cannot believe the minister. His ideological crusade is wreaking havoc across the Prairies. The grain bins are still bursting at the seams. The quality control system has collapsed, and yet what is the minister's priority? It seems to be finding a cushy—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

I can hardly hear myself think.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order. Members of the government will have the opportunity to respond to the question when the member for Winnipeg Centre is finished asking it. I will ask members to come to order so he can finish. He has about 16 seconds left to conclude his question.

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Them's the rules, Mr. Speaker.

His priority seems to be finding a cushy patronage job for none other than Sylvie Cloutier, a well-known Conservative organizer, whose previous claim to fame was helping the notorious Chuck Guité, of all people, finding the right ads to suit Conservative needs.

Would the minister start spending a little more time cleaning up the mess he has created on the Prairies and a little less time trying to find cushy patronage jobs for well-connected Conservatives?

[Gerry Ritz, Conservative, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite cannot hear himself think. We can certainly see them sink.

Having said that, there were several hundred farmers here in town last week for the GrowCanada convention. I had the great opportunity to speak to them. They are all celebrating the success in western Canada.

When it comes to complaints, we are shipping, on average, 17% more tonnage, year after year, since the single desk has gone, and our complaints have gone down 40%. That is a success.

Public Safety

[Joan Crockatt, Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the events of last October starkly showed us that ISIL is a real and present threat to Canada. They also spurred us to resolve to tackle this treat. I am very proud of our government for rising to this challenge.

Yesterday, the RCMP in Montreal announced that it has charged a man for robbery at the direction of or for the benefit of a terrorist group. Allegedly, he was going to travel abroad to conduct terrorist activities.

Would the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness please inform this House about this dangerous situation?

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday an individual in Montreal was charged with offences brought in under the Combating Terrorism Act. While I cannot comment on the matter that is currently before the courts, I would like to thank law enforcement for its efforts to keep Canadians safe.

This arrest clearly demonstrates that our approach is effective. I would encourage all members of this House to support our efforts to give national security agencies the tools they need.

Health

[Carol Hughes, NDP, Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON]

Mr. Speaker, for over 10 years, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research were a strong voice and an important source of funding for aboriginal health research.

However, the Conservatives have cut that organization's funding, eliminated successful programs and gotten rid of the advisory committee, as though they were not already doing enough to show how little they care about the aboriginal community.

Will the Conservatives give the institutes the importance they deserve?

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

Mr. Speaker, the changes made by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research's board of governance were made independently. These changes will allow for additional support for researchers as they leverage new dollars.

I can assure this House that Canada, through Health Canada and through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, remains the single largest contributor to health research, spending over $1 billion each year. Since we have formed government, we have invested almost a quarter billion dollars in aboriginal health research.

[Carol Hughes, NDP, Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have made all their changes to the Institute of Aboriginal Peoples' Health and its partners without consulting the affected community.

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research went under a model review, and key recommendations came only from an external group consultation, bypassing anyone who actually had experience with the institute. As a result, there is minimal interaction now between the aboriginal health research community and CIHR.

Why is the minister allowing the CIHR to undermine aboriginal health research, when it is so important?

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

Mr. Speaker, to the contrary. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research operates independently. It is its board of governance that came up with and developed these changes. It is the one that recommended them.

As I have assured members, we have invested over $247 million in aboriginal health research since we took office, and that is in addition to the $2 billion we invest each and every year in direct aboriginal health care.

CBC/Radio-Canada

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

Mr. Speaker, the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada, or the FCFA, is calling for the creation of an independent commission on the future of CBC/Radio-Canada and a moratorium on cuts.

For many francophone communities outside Quebec, the drastic cuts to our public broadcaster mean that they will no longer have access to programming about their own reality.

Will the government listen to the FCFA and create an independent commission to assess the impact of the cuts to CBC/Radio-Canada on minority communities?

[Shelly Glover, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, we expect the CBC to fulfill its mandate to provide quality programming to those communities under the Official Languages Act and the Broadcasting Act, using the $1.1 billion it receives from taxpayers every year.

Let us not forget that the CRTC has the power to ensure that CBC/Radio-Canada fulfills its mandate under the law.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is shameful to hear the minister say such things.

In 1998, the Liberals made $258 million in cuts to CBC/Radio-Canada. Last year, the Conservatives made $115 million in cuts. They want to get rid of our public broadcaster. That is unacceptable. We will fight and CBC/Radio-Canada will go on.

Will the Conservative government minister save CBC/Radio-Canada or will she just make unacceptable excuses?

[Shelly Glover, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, what is shameful is to see an MP lose control like that in front of Canadians across the country.

With regard to the CBC, once again, the CRTC is responsible for ensuring that the public broadcaster fulfills its mandate. We are going to let the CRTC do its job.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

Mr. Speaker, we recently learned that the avian flu has been detected on several poultry farms in our biggest producing region, the Fraser Valley.

Canada's poultry industry is so important to farmers and consumers. Thousands of jobs on the farm and in processing depend on it.

What is the scope of the outbreak? What is this government doing to contain it and prevent this disaster from happening again? How much of the farmers' losses will the government compensate?

[Gerry Ritz, Conservative, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, as is well known, a couple of days ago, avian flu was detected on four farms, which are under quarantine now, in the Fraser Valley. That, of course, has an eight-kilometre range that is taken into account.

So far, the testing is ongoing. We are working with industry right now. They will begin putting birds down in those affected barns very soon.

When it comes to compensation, of course, that was all redone some two years ago, so farmers know exactly what they will be compensated, per bird, and we will certainly honour that.

This is totally unlike what happened in 2004, when the Liberals at that time let this just run like a prairie fire up through that Fraser Valley. Not this time.

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

When the government eliminated the single-desk selling system for western grain, they acceded to the U.S. government's number one demand in its trade with Canada, but Canada got nothing in return: no guaranteed market access, no end to country of origin labelling, no approval for Keystone XL. We got nothing.

Now the vandalized remnants of the CWB are simply being gifted, absolutely free, to a U.S. multinational. Again, Canadian taxpayers and farmers get nothing in return.

Why does the government always lose in dealing with the United States?