Debates of Feb. 7th, 2014

Employment

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, this week dozens of iron workers in northern Alberta were laid off, only to see their jobs filled temporarily by foreign workers being paid less than half what they were making.

The Conservatives know full well that some companies are continuing to abuse the temporary foreign worker program.

What is the minister doing to investigate and to help these iron workers get their jobs back?

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Minister of State (Social Development)]

Mr. Speaker, the allegations in question are very troubling. We have instructed officials to review this case on an urgent basis.

Our government wants to make sure Canadians get first crack at any job that is available. That is why we have made important changes to the temporary foreign worker program, and that is why we continue to review it.

Make no mistake. Any employer who tries to abuse the temporary foreign worker program will be held to account.

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, here is what some of those changes have caused.

The abuse of the temporary foreign worker program has become a fiasco under the government. It created the Alberta occupation specific pilot project, which allows companies to hire foreign workers without accurate labour market opinions. These giant loopholes allow companies to abuse the program.

When will the minister stand up, apologize to these workers for failing to protect their jobs, and fix the temporary foreign worker program?

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Minister of State (Social Development)]

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that we are the government that is making changes to the temporary foreign worker program to make sure it is more accountable.

It does not help when NDP members continually ask us to bring temporary foreign workers into their ridings. The NDP deputy leader and MP for Vancouver East has been asking us to do that. The NDP MP for Halifax, the MP for Ottawa Centre, and the MP for Thunder Bay—Rainy River have been asking us to do that. I have a whole list. That is not helping.

We want Canadians to get first crack at every job that is available in this country.

National Defence

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives like to keep a very close eye on those who criticize them, to the point where the RCMP and CSIS spied on law-abiding citizens simply because they oppose the Enbridge northern gateway pipeline and the Conservatives' irresponsible policies. What is worse, the Conservatives shared that information with the oil companies.

Can the minister explain why he is using such radical tactics to control Canadians?

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, the safety of Canadians is a priority for our government. As part of this commitment to safety, the National Energy Board may conduct a security assessment prior to a regulatory hearing.

The NEB will often work with the RCMP to protect the safety of everyone involved. No member of the department gave any instruction to any federal agency on this matter.

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, protecting the safety of Canadians also means protecting their democratic rights. We are talking about sending RCMP and CSIS agents into church basement meetings, where people are doing such dangerous things as painting protests signs.

The freedom for people to peacefully raise concerns is a core Canadian democratic value, and this kind of government surveillance is more about silencing and intimidating pipeline critics than it is about protecting national security.

Canadians deserve answers. Did the minister approve these operations, yes or no?

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

Mr. Speaker, the RCMP takes steps to protect Canada's assets and resources, and safety will continue to be a number one priority of this government, but as the member well knows, we will not comment on operational matters.

Agriculture and Agri-food

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

Mr. Speaker, it has been quoted in a Saskatchewan newspaper that the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food “might very well go down as the worst ever to hold the job”. Canadian farmers are well aware of the reasons. First was the mishandling of food safety, then it was the slashing of agriculture programs, and as we found out all this week, there is a disaster in grain handling.

His biggest failure is today, with the signing of the U.S. farm bill, which includes country of origin labelling, which will continue to cost our livestock producers hundreds of millions of dollars.

Will the minister finally stand up and do something for the farmers?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am actually surprised that this member is attacking our minister on this file. Our minister has taken the lead in defending our livestock farmers on the COOL file. We have personally been down to the United States. We have interacted with some politicians down there, defending our farmers time and again.

I would ask this member and his colleagues to get on board with this government putting farmers first.

[Frank Valeriote, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the member's answer shows his dissociation with reality and how it has devastated farmers.

Today is not the first day the Conservative government has heard about the United States' plan to solidify country of origin labelling into law the President will now sign. Today is not the first day the Conservative government has been asked to act. Yet the government is still fiddling while farmers in our agricultural sector lose billions.

The Conservatives have gotten really good at threatening to act. When are they going to act and finally protect Canadian farmers?

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

Mr. Speaker, just to show how out of touch the member is with farmers, I will read a quote from the Canadian Cattlemen's Association:

The CCA fully supports the Government of Canada's efforts to pursue WTO approval to impose retaliatory tariffs.

As I just explained, our minister has been front and centre in defending our livestock farmers, our beef farms, and our pork farmers against the COOL legislation. We will continue to act in their best interests, and I would ask the opposition to support us in this very important work.

Public Service of Canada

[Mathieu Ravignat, NDP, Pontiac, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the President of the Treasury Board has waged a lengthy misinformation campaign against public servants about their sick leave. The problem, as the Parliamentary Budget Officer confirms, is that what he says is not true. Public sector employees take as much sick leave as private sector employees.

Will the minister apologize, correct his false statements, and admit that he misled the House?

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, we thank the Parliamentary Budget Officer for his report. His report confirms that public servants take, on average, 18 days of paid and unpaid sick leave per year. This rate of absenteeism is unacceptable. This is why we are committed to introducing short- and long-term disability plans, which will help public servants get healthy and back to work. This gives public servants the safety net they need while also protecting the taxpayer who pays the bills.

This is a win-win for taxpayers and public servants. Shame on the NDP and their big union boss friends for misleading Canadians.

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, what taxpayers want is for this minister to actually work with the public service to deliver the services Canadians rely on.

Does the minister really expect us to believe he does not know the difference between paid and unpaid sick leave? The Parliamentary Budget Officer is clear on this. The minister is twisting the facts and trashing hard-working public employees.

Why will he not admit what is now obvious to everyone, and that is that his accusations against public workers were unfair, and most importantly, were untrue? He really should apologize.

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, as I said, we thank the Parliamentary Budget Officer for his report. On page 3 of his report, it confirms that public servants take, on average, 18 days of paid and unpaid sick leave per year. This rate of absenteeism is unacceptable. That is why we are committed to introducing short- and long-term disability plans, which will help public servants get healthy and back to work. This gives the public servants the safety net they need while also protecting the taxpayer who pays the bill. It is a win-win for taxpayers and for public servants.

Shame on the member. Shame on the NDP and its big union boss friends for misleading Canadians on this issue.

Agriculture and Agri-food

[Earl Dreeshen, Conservative, Red Deer, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canadian grain farmers had a record harvest this past year. This bumper crop is testing our supply chain, as producers are depending on the railways to efficiently move the crops to market.

This week, grain farmers faced the threat of a CN Rail strike. I understand that there is now a tentative agreement with the Teamsters. What concerns me is that while Conservative members were standing in the House defending farmers, an NDP member attacked the government for doing so.

Could the Parliamentary Secretary please tell the House how our government is continuing to put hard-working Canadian farmers first?

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his excellent question. The threat of a CN strike would be disastrous for the grain sector. That is why our government will, if necessary, introduce back-to-work legislation.

However, while our priority is to protect farmers and the economy, the NDP member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie had the audacity to attack the government for doing just that. The member's suggestion that the government should do nothing if a strike occurred is completely offside with farmers. The railways are facing challenges moving grain to port. Canadian farmers are paying the price, and that is unacceptable.

Our government has always put farmers first, and I ask the NDP to put farmers first.

Public Safety

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, tragically, Lucia Vega Jimenez, a Mexican women being held in detention under the authority of CBSA, hanged herself on December 20. She died in hospital eight days later. This is a sad, unnecessary loss of life, at age 42, while being held by Canadian authorities.

My question is not about why she was being deported but about just how is it possible that a woman, naturally despondent over her situation, could commit suicide while under CBSA authority. Why was monitoring and supervision contracted out at this detention centre, and why this failure under the minister's watch?

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

Mr. Speaker, privacy legislation prevents me from discussing the details of this case, in fact any case. However, I do agree it is important to determine the circumstances surrounding any loss of life. CBSA is assisting. I want to assure members of the House and the Canadian public that CBSA is assisting the RCMP and the British Columbia coroners' office by providing all of the information it has on this case.

Employment

[Ruth Ellen Brosseau, NDP, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on Monday, I asked the Minister of Employment and Social Development to explain why it is taking so long to process the skills link program applications from organizations in my riding.

The minister said that he could not be up on every file. However, I am not talking about a specific file. This is a general problem across Quebec.

Do these delays have anything to do with the fact that the minister wants Ottawa to be in charge of employability measures again?

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Minister of State (Social Development)]

Mr. Speaker, we are very proud of the skills training programs we have, and there are so many communities across the country that have applied for them. We are working with communities, employers, and non-profit organizations to deliver programs like this and services to Canadians. EDSC does receive many proposals, and unfortunately, not all can be selected. There are several organizations that do important work, some that are receiving government funding and some that are not.

International Development

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

Mr. Speaker, I understand that the Minister for International Development recently returned from a productive visit to Africa, where among other accomplishments, he was able to see first-hand some of the important work being done by Canada. The flagship priority of our government, as outlined in the Speech from the Throne, is maternal, child, and newborn health, along with achieving real results for those living in poverty abroad by engaging private sector expertise.

Notwithstanding that the NDP oppose Canadian businesses at every opportunity and refuse to support any of our initiatives, would the minister offer an update on his most recent engagement in Africa?

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Minister of International Development and Minister for La Francophonie]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for the excellent question.

I returned to Canada with great hope for a bright and self-sufficient future for Tanzanians. During my visit, I was able to underline Canada's full support in encouraging sustainable economic development to create prosperity in Africa, which will reduce poverty. On maternal, newborn, and child health, Canada is working to save thousands of mothers during pregnancy and childbirth as well as to prevent millions of children from dying before their fifth birthdays.

The theme of International Development Week this year is “We are making a difference”, and Canada certainly is.

Agriculture and Agri-food

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

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of State for Agriculture has made a fool of himself by using the Canadian charter to explain his government's lax approach in dealing with the porcine epidemic diarrhea issue.

In his view, respect for individual freedom would preclude the cleaning of trucks that cross the border. Pork producers have had enough obstacles to overcome over the past few years. There is no need for the minister to laugh at them too.

If there is one serious member in this government, could he or she confirm that biosecurity measures, such as truck cleaning, will be mandatory, as demanded by MAPAQ, the Fédération des producteurs de porcs du Québec, swine veterinarians in Quebec and, finally, the Government of Quebec?

Could anyone give an answer without invoking the Canadian charter to prevent the cleaning of trucks?