Debates of March 24th, 2014

Foreign Affairs

[Ted Opitz, Conservative, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in the past two weeks the situation in Ukraine escalated rapidly. A referendum was held in Crimea, which is still under illegal military occupation. The Russian Duma passed a subversive law that illegally absorbed Crimea into the Russian Federation.

Acts of provocation and violence are being committed by pro-Russian groups in eastern Ukraine. Religious minorities are continuously targeted in eastern Ukraine, in particular in the Crimean region. Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity continue to be trampled by Russia.

Can the parliamentary secretary update the House on our government's actions concerning the troubling situation in Ukraine?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Etobicoke Centre for his commitment to the people of Ukraine.

Our government remains deeply troubled by the ongoing situation in Ukraine. In response to these developments, our government has taken leadership by imposing targeted travel bans and economic sanctions on those individuals who are responsible for undermining Ukraine's sovereignty.

As we have stated previously, Canada does not recognize the referendum that was conducted on March 16. Furthermore, during his visit, the Prime Minister announced Canada's contribution to an OSCE monitoring mission in Ukraine.

Canadians can count on this government to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Ukraine during this difficult time in Ukraine's history.

Health

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the 2004 health accord expires in one week, putting the government's shameful record on health care under the microscope. The Conservatives failed to act on commitments, making little to no progress on wait times, home care, aboriginal health, access to primary care or pharmacare. They even cut $36 billion from provincial transfers.

Why are the Conservatives refusing to work with the provinces to ensure that Canadians have a strong, stable, and accessible health care system?

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to a strong, publicly funded health care system, guided by the Canada Health Act. Our government is following through on our commitment to provide the highest recorded health transfer dollars in Canadian history to the provinces and territories. This record funding will reach $40 billion by the end of the decade and will provide stability and predictability in our system.

We are focused on working with the provinces and territories on innovative solutions to ensure that our health care system is sustainable and delivering the care that Canadians need.

The opposition needs to get serious on this issue, stop opposing our budgets, and deliver these record health transfer dollars.

[Dany Morin, NDP, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government needs to open its eyes, because the Conservatives' shameful refusal to follow through on health care agreements will have an impact on the quality of care provided to Canadians. Wait times are increasing, despite the Conservatives' tired, old promise to reduce them. Then there is the desperate shortage of family doctors in Canada. According to the Fraser Institute, there was a total of $1.1 billion in lost productivity last year because Canadians did not have quick access to the treatments they needed.

Why is the government not working with the provinces so that Canadians can get quality health care services?

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, our government will never balance our books on the backs of the provinces and the territories like the Liberals did. They cut $25 billion out of transfers.

Since we have formed government, health care transfers have increased by almost 50%. The opposition needs to stop opposing our budgets, which provide record health funding to the provinces and support nearly 1,300 health researchers across this great country.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

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

Mr. Speaker, delays in grain transportation are a major problem for farmers.

This crisis has been going on for months, but no legislation has been passed. The Minister of Transport's requirements are so minimal that even if the rail companies did meet them, they still would not manage to finish shipping this year's harvest before the next one is ready. What a failure.

Are the Conservatives planning on compensating the farmers who have lost revenue during this crisis?

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

Mr. Speaker, contrary to that diatribe, our government has taken concrete action.

We brought in an order in council which has doubled the capacity of the two railways in the first couple of weeks that it came into play. We continue to monitor the situation.

Let me quote a young farmer, Levi Wood, who is president of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association:

The Order in Council to immediately increase grain shipments will help lift artificially depressed grain prices, generate more cashflow for farmers ahead of spring seeding, and reduce the carryout of grain that will be left on farms at the end of this crop year.

That is his quote. He is happy. We are happy that he is enjoying that new-found freedom.

[Malcolm Allen, NDP, Welland, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the new-found freedom is that Davidson's price, in Saskatchewan, is $4.39, and the port of Vancouver's price is $11.69. I guess the question is, who made the money in between? It was not farmers.

The fines proposed by this minister are far too low. Worse still, the money goes to the new Minister of Finance. It is not the government that should be compensated for the grain backlog; it is farmers.

Why does the minister not agree with New Democrats that the fines should be bigger, and that the money being collected should not go to the government but to farmers, who have been suffering on the Prairies—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. Minister of Agriculture.

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

Mr. Speaker, the NDP should stop using the NFU for their research. They are always six months behind and out of touch with real farmers.

We continue to work with a number of different groups out there, including the railways, the shippers themselves, and, of course, farmers, who ultimately end up paying all the bills for anything that goes wrong in that supply chain.

We brought forward the order in council which has started to move some 4,400 cars of grain in the last two weeks. That is good. It is a good start, but there is still a lot of work to be done.

We will be tabling legislation in the immediate future, and we hope the members opposite will stand to support that and move that through unanimously.

Veterans Affairs

[Frank Valeriote, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Mr. Speaker, some have called the work done by Veterans Affairs a duty, a responsibility, a commitment, a social contract, or a sacred obligation. If it is possible to agree with the Minister of Veterans Affairs on anything he has said, it is those words spoken by him last Thursday.

However, government lawyers deny the existence of a social contract in response to the suit brought by Equitas Society, arguing no further compensation is due to those veterans seeking fairness after their years of service. Will the minister now do the principled thing and instruct his lawyers to withdraw their defence?

[Parm Gill, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, on November 15, the Minister of Veterans Affairs appeared at the standing committee on Veterans Affairs, where he stated his support for the social contract on the record.

However, I want to take a second to point out that the Liberals have finally accepted that the member for Scarborough—Agincourt was a disgraceful veterans affairs critic and have decided to remove him. I can only hope that the new critic will better stand up for veterans and treat them with respect.

Health

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday at a summit in St. Paul's with all levels of government, we heard clearly from our citizens that they are appalled at the complete lack of federal leadership on health and health care.

On March 31, the 2004 health accord ends and the Health Council of Canada will cease to exist.

Why has the Prime Minister refused to sit down with the provinces, territories, and aboriginal leaders to negotiate the multi-jurisdictional partnerships needed to improve the health of Canadians and ensure the sustainability of our most cherished social program?

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, we are not going to take any lessons from the Liberal Party that cut $25 billion out of transfers to the provinces and territories when they needed it most.

This is our government, and it is committed to the quality health care system that we have. We are putting forward record funding of $40 billion by the end of the decade, and it will provide stability and predictability to the system.

Canadians know that when it comes to health care, this is the party that is committed to the health care system in Canada.

Citizenship and Immigration

[Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe, NDP, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, nine months have passed since the government promised to resettle 1,300 refugees fleeing the Syrian conflict, but Canada has actually welcomed very few of those refugees.

In 2013, Canada brought in just 10 government-sponsored refugees, and nothing was done to accelerate the process. Could that be because of the lack of resources related to budget cuts?

When will the government keep its promise and act on the request from the High Commissioner for Refugees to bring more Syrian refugees into Canada?

[Chris Alexander, Conservative, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, Canada and our government are very proud of Canada's record and of what we have done over the past three years to help the Syrian people, who are suffering so much. We are among the most generous donor countries, having contributed $630 million for development, security and humanitarian needs. We also welcomed over 1,100 Syrian refugees last year through our very generous system, which is unmatched in terms of generosity and asylum. We have nothing—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. member for Davenport.

[Andrew Cash, NDP, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, notwithstanding what the minister said, Syrian refugees are facing a humanitarian crisis and the government has failed to live up to its promises.

The Conservatives are also failing immigrant families here in Canada. Their latest attack will mean that spouses would have to meet stringent new language requirements just to reunite with their loved ones. Family reunification wait times have skyrocketed under the Conservative government. This measure would only make matters worse.

Will the minister reassure Canadian immigrant families that he is not considering this measure?

[Chris Alexander, Conservative, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, just because an issue was raised at a round table as part of the very extensive consultations that our government organizes across this country does not mean it is going to become government policy. We continuously review all of our policies.

Family reunification has skyrocketed under this government because we have been taking action to clean up the Liberal mess for parents and grandparents, by—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. member for Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River.

Health

[Rob Clarke, Conservative, Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK]

Mr. Speaker, today is World Tuberculosis Day, an important day in developing public awareness that TB remains an epidemic in much of the world. It causes the death of nearly 1.5 million people each year, mostly in developing countries. My constituents are concerned about this epidemic and would appreciate an update on Canada's actions.

Could the minister please tell the House what our government is doing to eradicate TB?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question.

Canada has taken a leadership role in the fight to eliminate tuberculosis worldwide. We have made massive investments and are working with many partners.

With Canada's assistance, The Global Fund is saving more than 100,000 lives every month. We are continuing our support, with the recent announcement of $650 million over the next three years. This is an increase of 20%. Our support is helping to improve access to diagnosis and treatment, especially for people living in poverty. We have helped The Global Fund save an estimated 8.7 million lives to date, from AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.

Canada is changing things and we will continue to do so.

Regional Development

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

Mr. Speaker, when Conservatives announce significant departmental changes followed by the statement “it will be business as usual”, we know the business they are referring to is to mislead, misinform, and misrepresent the facts, as usual.

Last week, the people in Cape Breton-Mulgrave were informed that the government had scrapped ECBC. Will the minister confirm to the House that the region will retain a designated budget, as well as matching current funding levels?