House of Commons Hansard #54 of the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was qalipu.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeMinister of State (Democratic Reform)
Mr. Speaker, one of the reforms in the fair elections act will create a registry of automated calls or mass dialling of voters.
This will enable authorities to monitor calls and will provide evidence to investigators, should allegations be made. This will all be put on a list. Those making the calls will have to keep a record of the words that were used for one year. This will also allow our investigators to know what happened.
Rosane Doré Lefebvre NDP Alfred-Pellan, QC
Mr. Speaker, changing the Elections Act is to change the very benchmarks of democracy. This has to be done in the most non-partisan and transparent manner, so that Canadians can continue to have faith in our electoral system.
Unfortunately, the Conservatives think that the benchmarks of this democracy have to be established behind closed doors, without consulting Canadians and the Chief Electoral Officer.
Why does the minister refuse to get out of his Ottawa bubble before changing the benchmarks of our democracy?
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeMinister of State (Democratic Reform)
Mr. Speaker, it is too bad that the NDP has taken such a partisan approach to this bill. They announced their opposition to the fair elections act before they even read a single word of it.
If they had read it, they would know that the bill gives more power to investigators, imposes harsher sentences on those who break the law, and eliminates the illegal funding methods that the NDP and the Liberals used in the past. It is a good bill.
Mathieu Ravignat NDP Pontiac, QC
Mr. Speaker, as expected, the report on budget expenses is in line with the government's draconian cuts to services for Canadians.
Still, I was surprised to see that the budget for some items was actually increased. For example, Communications Security Establishment Canada, the electronic spy agency, is now getting almost twice as much money.
Why are the Conservatives wasting $400,000 on electronic spying after cutting essential services to Canadians?
Julian Fantino ConservativeMinister of Veterans Affairs
Mr. Speaker, that is anything but waste. In actual fact our government has committed to protecting Canadians from the threat of terrorism and cyberattacks.
The safety of Canadians is a primary concern of our government. It may not be theirs.
In so doing, agencies are following the rules and acting within the law. The party opposite should support those efforts and get onside with other Canadians.
Mathieu Ravignat NDP Pontiac, QC
Mr. Speaker, what? Are they spying on veterans now?
The Conservatives got rid of the long form census and made all kinds of cuts to Statistics Canada, and now they are at it again.
This time, they are cutting $15.6 million. They say that they are trying to find other sources of data to replace the census.
Why are they being so hard on Statistics Canada? Why do the Conservatives want to prevent Canadians from knowing what is going on in their own country?
Greg Rickford ConservativeMinister of State (Science and Technology
Mr. Speaker, we are always looking for ways to improve the quality of our data and protect privacy while reducing the regulatory burden and costs to taxpayers.
That includes using administrative data already collected by the government. Like all departments, Statistics Canada has to be as efficient as possible so that the government can balance the budget in 2015.
Niki Ashton NDP Churchill, MB
Mr. Speaker, year after year, the Conservatives continue slashing services that are essential to Canadians.
Tax havens represent a major challenge for Canada. Ignoring the problem will only make it harder to pay for our social programs. Despite all that, the Conservatives are cutting $175 million from the Canada Revenue Agency's budget to fight tax evasion.
Why are the Conservatives throwing in the towel when it comes to fighting tax havens?
Gerald Keddy ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue and for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Mr. Speaker, we must ensure that taxpayer money is spent where it will do the most good, and we are working to ensure that the government's programs are efficient and effective and achieving the expected results for Canadians.
Niki Ashton NDP Churchill, MB
Mr. Speaker, when we asked for the Senate Ethics Officer to appear before a committee on estimates, Conservatives blocked any attempt to hear from her. Now Conservatives are boosting her budget by $300,000.
With all the scandals surrounding this unaccountable, unelected, and very expensive Senate, I am sure the Senate Ethics Officer must be very busy. However, will the Conservatives agree to ensure that she testifies at committee to justify this increase in her budget?
Peter Van Loan ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, everyone understands that agents of Parliament who are independent do their own financing and their own budget references. In fact, we are quite pleased that many of them have actually reduced their spending in line with what our government wants to see, and that is the balancing of our budget in 2015. We are working hard to do it, and we appreciate the efforts of others to do the same.
We also recognize that we need to see savings made in the Senate as well, and we look forward to finding ways in which to do that.
Malcolm Allen NDP Welland, ON
Mr. Speaker, yesterday's estimates hit the Canadian Food Inspection Agency extremely hard. They show a cut of $68 million in the agency's upcoming budget.
The most recent budget from the Minister of Finance said the Conservatives would add more inspectors. However, given that they would cut $68 million out of this budget, can the Conservatives tell us how they intend to ensure they get more when they would actually take $68 million away?
Eve Adams ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health
Mr. Speaker, Canada has one of the safest and healthiest food systems in the world. Economic action plan 2014 would commit a new $400 million in spending to hire additional food inspectors. That is in addition to the $500 million we have already additionally invested.
Malcolm Allen NDP Welland, ON
Mr. Speaker, the numbers they have come up with is that they would take 900 inspectors out, add 200 inspectors in, and somehow that would become more. The arithmetic is a bit skewed.
However, even the Auditor General's budget would be cut, by $6.5 million. Not only do we have numbers that are supposed to be more when they are really less, but the Conservatives would take money away from the Auditor General, who is supposed to see that they do what they said they would do in their budgets.
Can the President of the Treasury Board tell us if he has sat down with the Auditor General, and what kind of impact is going to happen when budgets are audited in the future and we are going to see fewer of them audited?
Tony Clement ConservativePresident of the Treasury Board
Mr. Speaker, I want to remind the hon. member that these are the estimates. What follows the estimates are supplementary estimates (A), supplementary estimates (B), and supplementary estimates (C). Then we have the public accounts, which do track for every member of Parliament how much we are spending. Why does the hon. member not wait for the public accounts?
Scott Andrews Liberal Avalon, NL
Mr. Speaker, the death of Loretta Saunders has devastated her home community in Labrador, and the entire country. Tragically, while Loretta, herself an Inuit woman, was completing her research and thesis on missing and murdered indigenous women, her life came to a tragic end.
Yesterday the Minister of Status of Women was hiding behind her failing government programs. Will the minister make a commitment to continue the work of Loretta and call an inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women and girls in Canada?
Susan Truppe ConservativeParliamentary Secretary for Status of Women
Mr. Speaker, my thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Loretta Saunders. This is a heinous crime, and the individuals responsible for this act should be punished to the full extent of the law.
It is our government that brought in tough on crime measures, and it is that party that votes against it.
Carolyn Bennett Liberal St. Paul's, ON
Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Status of Women callously suggested that current government programs are sufficient to deal with the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls, and then resorted to a partisan attack. These are stories of human tragedy, loss of life, and the crushed dreams that families had for those who perished and remain missing. This is an issue that goes beyond politics.
Will the minister apologize for her appalling insensitivity and agree that we must all work together to put an end to this ongoing epidemic of violence?
Susan Truppe ConservativeParliamentary Secretary for Status of Women
Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to preventing all forms of violence against women and girls, and that is why we have taken concrete action.
Our investments in local community-based projects have nearly doubled. We launched a call for proposals that supports local projects to help and prevent cyber and sexual violence against women and girls. We passed the Safe Streets and Communities Act to improve the safety of all Canadians, particularly the most vulnerable members of society. We increased support for victims of crime, and we launched the national action plan to combat human trafficking.
Carolyn Bennett Liberal St. Paul's, ON
Mr. Speaker, clearly, a national public inquiry is the only way to get to the root causes of the tragedy of missing and murdered aboriginal women and girls.
This reflects the recommendations of the international community, the demands of aboriginal leaders and the unanimous will of the premiers of the provinces and territories.
Will the government commit today to launching a national public inquiry?
Susan Truppe ConservativeParliamentary Secretary for Status of Women
Mr. Speaker, ending violence against aboriginal women is a priority of this government. We have taken concrete action. We have invested $11 million since 2007 through Status of Women Canada toward local projects that work to eliminate violence against aboriginal women, and $24 million over two years for the family violence prevention program, which provides funding to shelters and violence prevention programming on reserve. We passed the Family Homes on Reserves and Matrimonial Interests or Rights Act, which extends basic rights and protections to aboriginal women on reserve, and those members did not support it.
Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet NDP Hochelaga, QC
Mr. Speaker, because of pressure from the mayor of Quebec City and the hard work of the excellent member for Louis-Hébert, the government is finally listening to reason in terms of the ice oval.
After saying time and again that there was no federal money available for the ice oval, the Minister of Infrastructure has finally come to his senses and found $32.5 million, which he took from the envelope for the 2007 infrastructure program.
How much of the 2007 program funding has not yet been spent?
Peter Braid ConservativeParliamentary Secretary for Infrastructure and Communities
Yes, indeed, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday, the Minister of Infrastructure was pleased to announce a financial contribution toward the ice oval project in Quebec City.
It is important to point out that this contribution comes from uncommitted funds under Quebec's allocation of the existing 2007 building Canada fund, under which amateur sport infrastructure is eligible. The Province of Quebec recently identified this particular project as a priority in its budget.
Any province that has uncommitted funds under the existing 2007 building Canada fund has the option to consider similar approaches.
Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet NDP Hochelaga, QC
Mr. Speaker, that is excellent news for Quebec City and for skaters, but it does not solve the problem for all other municipalities.
“That is an insult to municipalities”, said the mayor of Lévis in speaking about the eligibility criteria for the building Canada fund. According to Éric Forest, president of UMQ, “it is a flip-flop by the government...which has taken municipalities completely by surprise”.
Can the government explain why it is refusing to fund sports and cultural infrastructure?
Peter Braid ConservativeParliamentary Secretary for Infrastructure and Communities
Mr. Speaker, in actual fact the mayor of Quebec City is extremely pleased about our government's support for this important ice oval project in Quebec City.
Moving forward under the $22-billion gas tax fund, a fund which we have doubled, which we have extended, which we have made permanent and indexed, recreational sports infrastructure under the new plan is an eligible category.