Debates of March 24th, 2014

Regional Development

[Gerald Keddy, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue and for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to supporting economic development in Cape Breton and throughout Atlantic Canada.

Legislation will be introduced this spring authorizing ACOA to assume responsibility for the direct delivery of economic development programs, services, and advocacy in Cape Breton. Subject to the passage of the legislation by Parliament, the economic and community development activities of Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation, including the associated budget, will transition to ACOA. The level of economic development funding that was delivered through ECBC will be maintained.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it has been two weeks since the government tabled its report and again chose the status quo. It did not listen to the voices of witnesses, families, and friends asking for answers and solutions to the disappearance and murder of indigenous women and girls.

How much longer will these families have to wait? Why is the government still refusing to listen to the call for a national inquiry that would bring closure and some measure of justice to the families?

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

Mr. Speaker, our government continues to press for police measures that give police more tools to investigate and solve crimes, and continues to put forward legislation that holds those responsible for violence against women and girls, including aboriginal women and girls, accountable. This is what we continue to do.

We continue to fund programs across the country, as the member knows, that work on reserve. We passed legislation that empowered aboriginal women with matrimonial property.

Sadly, the consistent approach of the NDP has been to talk. Our government has taken action. We ask for the member's support of that action.

International Trade

[Mike Wallace, Conservative, Burlington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as indicated in our Speech from the Throne, deepening Canada's trade and investment ties in the booming Asia-Pacific region is our priority. It is part of our Conservative government's ambitious pro-trade plan. The recently concluded agreement with South Korea is part of this plan, a plan to create jobs in every region of our country.

Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade update this House on what our government is pursuing next on this front?

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Burlington for his question and for his advocacy for trade, particularly in Asia. The recent South Korean deal will be a boon to employers across the country, including those at Laker Energy, in Burlington.

I am happy to announce today that Canada and Japan will be holding their fifth round of negotiations toward an economic partnership agreement.

One in five jobs in Canada is attributable to our exports. We are securing new markets to secure new jobs for the future.

Health

[Raymond Côté, NDP, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, revelations about nickel dust just keep piling up.

Not surprisingly, we learned recently that the toxic dust is not only falling on the people of Limoilou, but it is also wreaking havoc in Beauport Bay. One study also found that nickel dust is even more toxic than was previously thought.

Will the Minister of Transport stop claiming that the Port of Quebec is not her responsibility and impose stricter standards in order to protect people's health and the environment?

[Jeff Watson, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, as the member will know, the Port of Quebec is an arm's-length organization, and as such is responsible for its own operational decisions.

I know that the Port of Quebec has been working with certain tenants over the past number of months to implement measures like water cannons and dust capturing equipment, aimed at eliminating dust emissions from the port.

Justice

[Jean-François Fortin, Bloc, Haute-Gaspésie—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Supreme Court has just delivered a slap in the face to the Conservative government, the NDP and the Liberals, all members of an all-party nomination committee that recommended Justice Nadon, in complete violation of the legal criteria and without any respect for Quebec.

The Supreme Court decision could not have been any clearer: the appointment of the three judges from Quebec must guarantee that Quebec's legal traditions and distinct values will be respected, rather than serve the interests of the Prime Minister.

Now that its appointment has become a total failure, will the government commit to appointing Justice Nadon's replacement from a list of candidates provided by the Government of Quebec?

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

Mr. Speaker, we have done a great deal of consultation, not only with the Barreau du Québec and eminent people from that province, but also with members from all parties of the House of Commons.

We intend to proceed with the appointment of a new member of the Supreme Court. This is a necessary element of the Constitution and the basic functions. There are many qualified candidates.

[Maria Mourani, Independent, Ahuntsic, QC]

Mr. Speaker, prostitution is a system of exploitation and a form of violence against women and children.

Does the government intend to propose a new legislative framework for prostitution by making it officially illegal and criminalizing the purchase of sexual services rather than prostitutes? Above all, will it also endorse the establishment of support programs for those people across the country?

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

Mr. Speaker, of course, it is absolutely essential that we respond to the Supreme Court's ruling on prostitution.

The member had many good ideas for addressing the issue, for example with programs. We do not need a bill to provide a comprehensive response to the Supreme Court ruling. Programs are also needed to help the most vulnerable people who are affected by this issue.

Pensions

[Dean Del Mastro, Independent, Peterborough, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this past weekend, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne stated:

It's somewhere between offensive and inexplicable to ask that people who've worked hard all their lives to be rewarded with a retirement that takes them out of the middle class.

I agree, but I have to admit it is a bit of a head scratcher. I thought she was talking about the 40% increase in Ontario electricity prices, but no, she was talking about the need to impose new payroll taxes. Will the finance minister please confirm for the House that he will continue to oppose Ontario's proposed new—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. That sounded like a question for the Ontario legislature, maybe.

That concludes question period for today.

The Chair has notices of points of order and questions of privilege, some arising from question period and another more formal. I will go first to the hon. member for Wascana.

Foreign Affairs

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a question of privilege. Under our rules, we are obliged to raise these items at the earliest possible moment, which I am now taking the opportunity to do.

Earlier today, we learned that Russia had imposed certain sanctions against 13 Canadians, including several members of Parliament, and indeed, the Speaker of the House of Commons—you, sir.

The sanctions are, and are intended to be, deeply insulting. They are intended to punish, intimidate, and interfere with the functioning of the House of Commons and the ability of members of Parliament to do their jobs.

The Speaker embodies the rights and privileges of all MPs, and indeed, the very dignity of the whole House. The Russian action constitutes, in my view, a very grave matter of privilege, which I intend to raise tomorrow, and I wanted to give the House full notice of this matter today, because I suspect a number of members of Parliament would want to express their views on this Russian action taken against the Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada.

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

Mr. Speaker, I will be making a request for unanimous consent at the end of my intervention.

In response to a question from my colleague from Parkdale—High Park during question period regarding abusive ATM fees, the Minister of Employment and Social Development yelled out from his place, “That's just a tax on the stupid”.

Not only is this language unparliamentary, it is also incredibly offensive to those Canadians facing these abusive fees.

Therefore, I would ask for the unanimous consent of the House for the following motion: That, in the opinion of this House, unaffordable ATM fees are not a tax on the stupid.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Does the hon. member have the unanimous consent of the House to propose this motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

No.

Oral Questions

[Peter Julian, NDP, House Leader of the Official Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise on my first day as opposition House leader. I look forward to working with the government House leader and the House leader of the other party.

I will say I am a bit dismayed. We had two very relevant questions that were being raised by the member for Hamilton Mountain and the member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie. In both cases they were speaking to public funds that are part of the estimates tabled and discussed in the House of Commons.

In both cases, Mr. Speaker, you did not really wait for the question, which was extremely relevant, before you cut both of them off. I would like to ask on this first day that you allow our members in the official opposition to ask the question before you cut them off, Mr. Speaker, because we are always relevant and we are always trying to press for a very effective use of public funds.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

I welcome the hon. opposition House leader to his new role and look forward to working with him. I have always enjoyed the working relationship I have had with all House officers, whips, and House leaders.

I will just take this opportunity to refer him to the statement I made on January 28 dealing with this precise issue. In that statement I raised the concern about questions that had no obvious link to government business, and informed members that they would run the risk of having their questions cut off unless that link was established early on in the question.

At the time I stood up to stop the members, I had not heard that link. If they feel they have a link to government business, I look forward with eagerness to their attempt to establish that, but as I heard it, there was no such link to the direct administrative responsibility of government. As relevant as it might be to public interest or to members, there has to be that established link to the administrative role of government.

Notice of Motion

[Joe Oliver, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 83(1) I have the honour to table a notice of ways and means motion to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on February 11, 2014, and other measures.

Pursuant to Standing Order 83(2), I ask that an order of the day be designated to debate the motion.

Government Response to Petitions

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to 157 petitions.

Foreign Affairs

[David Anderson, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the treaties entitled Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of the United Mexican States on Air Transport, done at Mexico City on February 18, 2014; Audiovisual Co-production Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of the Republic of India, done at New Delhi on February 24, 2014; and Exchange of Notes between the Government of Canada and the Government of the French Republic Concluding Amendments to the Procès-Verbal Applying the March 27, 1972, Agreement between Canada and France on their Mutual Fishing Relations, done at Paris on March 5, 2014.

An explanatory memorandum is included with each treaty.

International Trade

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure today to rise in the House to announce formally that Canada and South Korea have concluded negotiations for a free trade agreement. This is a landmark agreement. In fact, it is Canada's first free trade agreement in the Asia-Pacific region.

South Korea is a key partner. It is our seventh largest trading relationship. More than 26,000 of our veterans helped secure that democracy.

Today I am tabling, in both official languages, the final agreement summary of the Canada-Korea free trade agreement.

Scrutiny of Regulations

[Chris Charlton, NDP, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the second report of the Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations in relation to the review of statutory instruments.

Procedure and House Affairs

[Joe Preston, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Orders 104 and 114, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the ninth report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, regarding membership of the committees of the House.

If the House gives its consent, I intend to move concurrence in the ninth report later today.