Debates of Feb. 4th, 2014

The Environment

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it only became public because of access to information. Five years of hiding this report from the public is not world class. Canadians deserve better than that.

The report found that inspections were inadequate and that TransCanada was ineffective in managing the aging pipeline. That would have been important information for Canadians to have as we debate TransCanada's other project, Keystone XL.

When will the minister ensure that the National Energy Board make public all accident reports on time, fully, and honestly, so that Canadians can judge for themselves?

[Joe Oliver, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, it is the obligation of the National Energy Board to do just that. There was an error on its part. We were not aware of it. The National Energy Board is an excellent organization that does independent scientific investigations. Frankly, the willingness of the other side to attack this independent group is not the right thing to do because, quite frankly, it does not believe in science. It makes its decisions before the regulator actually reports.

The Economy

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this month the IMF released a report on Canada's economic outlook. The story the IMF tells is of a lost decade. To quote from the report, “Canada’s exports have barely recovered from the Great Recession...”. The IMF warns that low productivity growth has, and I quote the IMF report, “eroded Canada’s external—”

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. The hon. member for Toronto Centre still has the floor. I would appreciate a little bit of order.

The hon. member for Toronto Centre.

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I see the government is not interested in the view of IMF economists, but I think Canadians are. Let me continue to quote from that report. The IMF warns—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. There are quite a lot of interruptions. The hon. member has run out of time, and I do not think she got to the question. I will give her the floor back to put her question very quickly so that the minister can answer.

The hon. member for Toronto Centre.

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, why does the Minister of Finance continue to ignore this harsh reality, as documented by the IMF, at the cost of Canadian jobs and economic growth?

[Kevin Sorenson, Conservative, Minister of State (Finance)]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question from the new member of Parliament. We know her policy. We know the platform she ran on: amen to higher taxes.

Thanks to the economic action plan, Canada has the strongest economic performance during both the recession and the recovery. Over 1 million new jobs have been created, of which nearly 90% are full-time and 80% are in the private sector. The IMF and OECD both project that Canada will have among the strongest growth in the G7 in the years ahead.

Amen to those facts.

Agriculture and Agri-food

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

Mr. Speaker, when I met with grain farmers last fall, they were optimistic about their bumper crop and good prices, but not anymore. Most of their grain is still in their bins because the handling and transportation system has failed. Shipments are months behind, and some 50 boats are waiting on the west coast. Demurrage charges are $16,000 per day, per boat. This constipated system is driving farmers' prices down by 35% to 40%.

Why has the Prime Minister let this happen?

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture]

Mr. Speaker, while the opposition was on holiday in January, for the past couple of months our government has continued to deal with this challenge. The minister has held round tables with stakeholders throughout the entire supply chain across the Prairies. We recently invested $1.5 million and are working with industry partners to find long-term logistical solutions. In the meantime, all players in the supply chain are expected to step up their game.

Health

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Minister of Health had no answer about Conservative staffers who now work for the tobacco industry. In addition to staffers like Sparrow and Beardsley, we have Aaron Wudrick, former Conservative campaign manager, and Duncan Rayner, former director of operations, lobbying for Imperial Tobacco. Meanwhile, Perrin Beatty, a former Conservative health minister, lobbied against increased warnings on cigarette packages.

How many times has the Minister of Health met with these people?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I do not have a lot to say about tobacco lobbyists because I do not really care for them. I mentioned to the member yesterday, in fact, that if she does have a policy question or a policy suggestion on any way in which we can further our world-standing record, our anti-tobacco and anti-smoking record, I am open to that.

However, our government is incredibly proud of the fact that smoking is now at an all-time low, and we will continue to close any regulatory gaps we see and make sure we shut down what is a very impactful lifestyle on the health care system.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, she does not need to “care for them”; she just needs to obey them, it seems.

However, the minister did not answer the question.

Levant, Sparrow, Beardsley, Rogers, Wudrick, Rayner, Beatty: all those people worked for our colleagues across the way and are now lobbyists for the tobacco industry. Sparrow is the former deputy director of communications for the Minister of Health. She would have us believe that the Conservatives just happened to fall into line with the lobbyists.

They refused to add more warning labels on cigarette packages and they changed the advertising message to fighting smuggling instead of smoking. When is the government going to invest in anti-smoking strategies instead of listening to its cronies in the tobacco industry?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, that is a ridiculous accusation. In fact, all the member has to do is talk to the Canadian Cancer Society about the record of this government when it comes to anti-smoking and taking on tobacco.

Smoking is now at an all-time low in Canada, dropping from 22% to 16%. Since 2012, as the member knows, we have required updated and larger health warning labels on tobacco products across the country. Also, we continue to invest in anti-smoking campaigns like the break it off campaign that we just launched recently with the Canadian Cancer Society. We will continue to make significant investments to get people off smoking.

Foreign Affairs

[John Weston, Conservative, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Friday marks the beginning of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Sochi, Russia. Many Canadians will be travelling to Russia to watch our Olympic team bring home the most gold medals ever. Could the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Consular inform Canadians who are travelling to Russia how to stay safe?

[Lynne Yelich, Conservative, Minister of State (Foreign Affairs and Consular)]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians deciding to travel to Sochi are reminded that they are responsible for their own safety. Canadians should take sensible precautions and maintain a high level of vigilance. While we are working with like-minded partners to ensure the safest environment for Canadians, Russia is solely responsible for the safety of all attendees.

We urge Canadians heading to the Sochi games to first visit our travel.gc.ca website to get the latest travel advice and to register in order to receive any of the updates.

Finally, I would like to say to all athletes, “Go for the gold”.

Consumer Protection

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

Mr. Speaker, according to the NEB, last year from January to March eastern Canada propane storage dropped by 340 million litres, but only 330 million litres were in storage this January. With states throughout the U.S. competing for tight propane supplies, this is an international issue and a federal responsibility. If winter stays cold and the propane inventory runs dangerously low, what will the minister do beyond “...asking the National Energy Board and Competition Bureau to review propane market issues...”? How will he protect rural Canadians who heat with propane?

[Joe Oliver, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, in fact, it is within provincial jurisdiction to regulate distribution and pricing of propane. It may be that the Liberal Party wants to infringe on provincial jurisdiction, but that is not our view.

We understand this is an important issue for families who rely on affordable propane to heat their homes, and therefore, because our government cares for fairness for homeowners, we are asking the National Energy Board and the Competition Bureau to review propane market issues, including high prices and scarcity.

Agriculture and Agri-food

[Malcolm Allen, NDP, Welland, ON]

Mr. Speaker, western grain farmers have a bumper crop but no money, because they cannot move their crop to market. Yet the minister seems to think studying the rail backlog is a good use of everyone's time and that the solution for farmers is to take on more debt.

The minister's plan does not work, and Canadian grain producers know it. They want their product moving, not in five years when the study is completed; they want it moving now. When will the minister put real pressure on the rail industry and get Canadian grain farmers' grain to market?

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture]

Mr. Speaker, one thing this record harvest clearly does show is that the end of the old single desk two years ago has reinvigorated Canada's grain industry. Our farmers seeded 2 million more acres of wheat and produced over 20 million more tonnes of grain this year from last year.

The minister has been busy holding round tables with stakeholders throughout the entire supply chain, and we recently invested $1.5 million and are working with industry partners to find long-term logistical solutions.

Natural Resources

[Chris Warkentin, Conservative, Peace River, AB]

Mr. Speaker, last Friday, the State Department issued its final supplemental environmental impact statement for the Keystone XL pipeline. It clearly states that the project will have no major impact on greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, the report goes even further to state that the total annual GHG emissions will be higher if the project is denied.

I wonder if the Minister of Natural Resources would tell this House what exactly the report said.

[Joe Oliver, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, the member for Peace River is absolutely correct. The State Department's final report concluded that if Keystone were not built, the result would be 28% to 42% higher GHG emissions. So, opposing the project would not only block job creation, it would exacerbate the problem of climate change.

It is far past the time for the NDP to get on the side of workers and the environment, apologize to Canadians, and support Keystone XL.

Foreign Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, Mohamed Fahmy, a Canadian citizen, is one of three journalists who has been imprisoned in Egypt since December 29. They have all been charged with spreading “false” information about the situation in Egypt. If convicted, this Canadian could spend life in prison.

Amnesty International considers these three prisoners as prisoners of conscience, imprisoned for the peaceful expression of their right to free speech.

Would the minister please inform the House what is being done to get this Canadian returned home?