Debates of March 31st, 2014

Health

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I can reassure the member that increasing funding and transfers to the provinces by 50% for health care does not in any way violate the Canada Health Act. In fact, it provides the provinces and territories with the predictable and sustainable funding for the next decade to make sure that they can make the tough decisions, within their own jurisdiction, for health delivery.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Carol Hughes, NDP, Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the seventh and final event held by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, mandated to honour all those affected by the Indian residential schools system, just drew to a close in Edmonton. At the same time we learned that the Conservatives are going to eliminate the Indian residential schools resolution health support program—formerly the mental health support program—for former residential school students. This will do nothing for reconciliation.

How can the Conservatives abandon the survivors who continue to suffer from the trauma they experienced because of the Canadian government's actions?

[Bernard Valcourt, Conservative, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, as I recently stated, the government continues to honour its obligations under the agreement. Health Canada will continue to offer and provide services to first nations across Canada.

[Carol Hughes, NDP, Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is odd that the Minister of Health could not respond.

The Prime Minister promised honest reconciliation as far as the historic 2008 residential school apology, but real reconciliation means providing adequate health support for survivors who come forward and tell their stories, not leaving them out in the cold. How insensitive can the government be?

It took great strength and courage for survivors to come forward and participate in truth and reconciliation. Will the government do the right thing, reverse its decision, and maintain funding to the resolution health support program in order to meet the needs of survivors?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I can reassure the member that the federal government is very committed to the work that we do with first nations. In fact, beyond the $40 billion that we are transferring to the provinces for health care, in addition we provide another $2.4 billion annually on top of this, toward programs and services aimed specifically at improving aboriginal health, including primary care nursing in 76 remote communities and, of course, investing $48 million to improve the quality of health services in aboriginal communities.

Infrastructure

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

Mr. Speaker, our Conservative government has made unprecedented investments toward infrastructure to support our provincial, territorial, and municipal partners with their priorities.

Could the minister update the House on the important achievement made last Friday on our infrastructure funding?

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for his work on this issue. We promised that the new building Canada plan would be in place by the end of March. It is. The new fund became effective last Friday.

The provinces, territories and municipalities can submit projects. This marks the end of a long consultation process that began in 2011. Round tables and consultations were held across the country. Our provincial, territorial and municipal partners will be able to take advantage of federal support totalling $53 billion over the next decade for infrastructure priorities. This is unprecedented in our nation's history.

Public Safety

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, it has been four days now since I asked a question of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness about his neglecting to ensure that Canadians' laws are maintained by CBSA. I refer to a directive by a director general who stated: “...export examinations...including outbound smuggling of narcotics...should not be undertaken”.

Imagine, a directive stating not to look for narcotics.

Can the minister now come clean and explain how this directive was put out there and if he is going to maintain--

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question.

It allows me to highlight the excellent work being done by the Canada Border Services Agency. Indeed, over the past year, border services officers have seized nearly $300 million worth of drugs. That represents a 4% increase over the previous year. This demonstrates the remarkable job that the agency has done, and above all, it proves that our government's investment of 26% is getting results. Now if only the Liberals would get on board.

Regional Development

[Ryan Cleary, NDP, St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL]

Mr. Speaker, Conservatives are once again ducking accountability at ACOA.

The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency will no longer prepare reports on regional disparity, hiding any negative impact of eliminating the Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation.

Conservatives also used their monster budget bill to scrap ACOA's board. The board had guaranteed regional representation and could have been fixed, because it is broken, to provide proper oversight.

The real problem at ACOA is obvious: rampant Conservative patronage.

Why is the government mismanaging ACOA and reducing oversight even further?

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

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has been going on and on about this. There are no facts to the information he has been supplying.

The reality is that our government is committed to supporting economic development in Cape Breton and throughout Atlantic Canada. Subject to the passage of the legislation by Parliament, the economic and community development activities of the Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation, including the associated budget, will transition over to ACOA. The level of economic development funding that was delivered through ECBC will be maintained.

Natural Resources

[Bob Zimmer, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the International Energy Agency predicts that the world energy demand will increase by 33% in the next 20 years. With up to 37 trillion cubic metres of natural gas resources, Canada and my province of British Columbia are well placed to benefit from this opportunity.

Can the Minister of Natural Resources update this House on what action our government is taking to allow for the export of liquefied natural gas?

[Greg Rickford, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Prince George—Peace River for that question.

Last week we approved four long-term LNG export licences in British Columbia. The growing demand for natural gas makes Asia an ideal place for diversifying our energy markets. Estimates suggest that the natural gas sector could create 54,000 jobs per year between 2012 and 2035 in British Columbia.

Our government is focused on responsible resource development, protecting the environment, and creating jobs that are good for British Columbia, its communities, and its first nation communities, and that is good for Canada.

Social Development

[Nycole Turmel, NDP, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Mr. Speaker, an unprecedented coalition is forming in the Gatineau area to oppose the Conservative cuts to the fight against homelessness. Many organizations that help these vulnerable persons are seeing their funding cut by thousands of dollars. Politicians from all levels of government and from all parties have come together in support of this cause. Will the Conservatives reverse their cuts to the fight against homelessness?

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

Mr. Speaker, I welcome that member to this file, and I want to assure her that there have been absolutely no cuts to the funding on our homelessness partnering strategy. In fact, we have renewed that funding.

I would be happy to sit down with the member and explain to her how the agreements have been reached and how the funding is allocated. Again, I can assure her, her constituents, and folks across the country that the funding has not been cut. In fact, it has been renewed by our government

Health

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

Mr. Speaker, the 2004 health accord expires today. Under the new framework, Quebec will lose almost $10 billion in 10 years. Quebeckers who have been anxiously waiting for health care will have to do without that $10 billion. Like the Liberals before them, the Conservatives are forcing sick people to pay the price of their return to a balanced budget. Even worse, with the money saved at the expense of patients, the Conservatives promised to allow income splitting, a measure that helps only the richest members of our society. Is that how the federal government operates? Does it put less money toward health care so that it can give even more to the wealthy?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, that is completely false. In fact, since 2006, our government has increased transfers for health to 50%.

We have also now committed to the provinces and territories what is the highest reported health transfer dollars in Canadian history, which will reach a record $40 billion by the end of the decade to provide predictability and sustainability.

I am surprised the member would ask this question, because one of the things that is new with our agreement with the provinces is that there are no strings attached and we are not interfering in provincial jurisdiction. We are providing the funding, but we are allowing provinces to make those decisions themselves for health care.

Foreign Affairs

[Maria Mourani, Independent, Ahuntsic, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the primarily Armenian-inhabited village of Kessab in Syria was recently attacked by armed men, including possible jihadists from the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front, who allegedly passed through the Turkish border.

This is similar to what happened in the Christian village of Maaloula. Another minority group has become a victim of this dirty war.

Will the Minister of Foreign Affairs confirm this information and call on Turkey to take the action necessary to prevent the incursion of armed gangs that are terrorizing civilians?

[Deepak Obhrai, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and for International Human Rights]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for raising this question. It is very important that Canada work with its allies to ensure there is stability in the Middle East and in that region.

We will continue to work with the government of Turkey and with other allies in that area to ensure that safety is of prime concern, considering what is happening in the region, and I would be more than happy to give her more information later on in the day.

The Environment

[Bruce Hyer, Green, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, back in 2012, the Conservatives tried to kill the experimental lakes area. Later, after a huge public outcry, the minister promised to find a way to transfer the ELA.

Last September, Ontario and the International Institute for Sustainable Development signed an interim agreement with the government to keep the ELA open.

That agreement expires today. Time has run out. Are the Conservatives again delaying a deal on this important science at the ELA?

[Gail Shea, Conservative, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, we are working hard to transition the experimental lakes area to a new operator, and I am pleased to say we have signed an agreement with the Province of Ontario, returning the ELA in safe and clean condition.

We are working toward signing a final agreement with the International Institute for Sustainable Development and the Province of Ontario today. We are prepared to sign this final agreement, pending an agreement between IISD and the Province of Ontario.

Last month, we also published regulations that will help make that happen. I call on the other parties to sign the agreement to guarantee the ongoing operation of the experimental lakes.

Presence in Gallery

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

I draw the attention of hon. members to the presence in the gallery of the Hon. Christy Clark, Premier of British Columbia, and the delegation of cabinet ministers and first nations leaders.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

Oral Questions

[Greg Rickford, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, I have a matter to bring to the attention of this place, in my point of order.

On Tuesday, March 18, I rose in the House to answer a question by the member for Hamilton Mountain. This question related to an article written by Glen McGregor of the Ottawa Citizen and posted online on Monday, March 17. My response to the member is recorded at page 3,841 of the House of Commons Debates.

The moment I became aware of the allegations contained in Mr. McGregor's article regarding a specific fund he cited, I contacted the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, which confirmed that the fund he cited complied with the law and any suggestion that these assets were somehow inappropriate was completely untrue. It is also important to note that I did not hold a fraction of the investment that Mr. McGregor implied.

However, in view of my answer on Tuesday, I want to bring to the attention of the House that, out of an abundance of caution, I directed my financial institution to perform an up-to-the-minute review of my investments with the Office of the Ethics Commissioner following my appointment as Minister of Natural Resources. After a normal review of my financial holdings by the Ethics Commissioner following the cabinet shuffle, a minor discrepancy was discovered. An account asset in the amount of $2,152.19 was found to be non-compliant. I emphasize that this small account asset was completely unrelated to the matter I just raised. As soon as I was made aware of this fact, I immediately contacted my financial institution with directions to dispose of this account asset, and did so. I have since been advised by the Office of the Ethics Commissioner that I am in full compliance with all the rules pertaining to my investments as a public office holder for the purposes of the Conflict of Interest Act.