Debates of March 6th, 2014

Democratic Reform

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL]

Mr. Speaker, if the commissioner had those powers that he says he needs, then why would he be asking for more time and time again?

The Chief Electoral Officer today said in testimony that this would have been an essential tool. As he put it, the right not to co-operate has become well-known when it comes to testimony and more and more people are not co-operating. He knows the bill does not have the sharp teeth that he is looking for.

Electoral commissioners in other provinces have the power to compel testimony. Why does this commissioner no longer have it?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Minister of State (Democratic Reform)]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member perhaps accidentally stated a falsehood. He said that the commissioner will “no longer have it”. He does not have it now. In fact, police officers do not have that power. The power to compel does not exist for police forces across the country. The commissioner has the same powers that police officers have.

The NDP and the Liberals are looking for an excuse as to why their false allegations have not been validated. This is a pretty weak one.

Aboriginal Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday at the rally for Loretta Saunders and throughout the special committee hearings, we heard from friends, families, and communities of missing and murdered indigenous women. They are asking us for answers and for justice, but also asking for solutions to end the disappearances and murders of indigenous women.

How much longer will they have to wait? Will the government finally listen to the call for a national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women?

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

Mr. Speaker, the death of Loretta Saunders is an undeniable tragedy for her family and for all.

Let us be clear. Our government has passed over 30 justice and public safety initiatives aimed specifically at responding to violence. The individuals involved in this terrible tragedy have been arrested. They are in custody. That is a justice system that works.

We are holding offenders more accountable. We are putting more money into initiatives to help defray this type of behaviour in society. We are putting more money into aboriginal justice initiatives on reserve, and the members opposite continually oppose us.

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill, MB]

Mr. Speaker, over 800 indigenous women have been murdered or have disappeared since 1990. For victims' families and their communities, the status quo is not acceptable.

As Loretta Saunders’ cousin said, “We must not let this happen again without our government putting some serious effort…into a public inquiry”.

It is time to honestly acknowledge the problem and deal with the root causes of violence against indigenous women. It is time to work in partnership and end this tragedy.

Will the government listen to Canadians and call a national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women?

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

Mr. Speaker, the member cares deeply about this issue, as do all members. I say to her honestly that this is well past the time for more studies and inquiries. There have been almost 40 in this country in the last number of years.

We are taking action. We are putting tougher sanctions in place. We are giving police more tools to investigate crimes like the death of Loretta Saunders. As the member has asked for, we are putting more programs in place to support women and girls on reserve. We are taking substantive action to help address this issue, not study it, not talk about it. We are taking action that gets results.

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill, MB]

Mr. Speaker, 800 aboriginal women have gone missing or been murdered. The Conservatives' strategy is clearly not working, because aboriginal women are still going missing and being killed.

Kelly Nicole Goforth, Heather Ballantyne, Cassandra Joan Desjarlais, Miranda McKinney, Jodi Roberts, Tricia Boisvert and Rocelyn Gabriel have all disappeared over the past six months.

How many more women will have to be killed or disappear before the government takes action and launches a national public inquiry?

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

Mr. Speaker, each and every one of these cases that the member cited, I can assure her, the police are investigating. The police are doing their job, and we are helping them by putting in place a national centre for missing persons, creating a national website for missing persons, improving law-enforcement databases, developing community safety plans with aboriginal communities, supporting the development of public awareness materials, and ending house arrest for serious crimes like sexual assault. We brought in mandatory minimum penalties for serious crimes, ended the faint hope clause, toughened penalties for production of pornography and date rape drugs, and ended two-for-one sentences for sexual offence court. We are—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. member for Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou.

[Romeo Saganash, NDP, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives keep telling us that they are doing something, but it is clear that what they are doing is not working.

Over 800 women have been murdered or gone missing since 1990, but the government is refusing to shed light on the situation. We waited too long to shed light on what happened in Indian residential schools.

Can the government avoid making the same mistake and launch a public inquiry into the murders and disappearances of aboriginal women?

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

Mr. Speaker, again I say to my hon. friend, with the greatest respect, the biggest mistake that we could make on this issue would be to spend more time studying it. Those studies have told us we need stronger criminal justice initiatives. We need more substantive tools for police to investigate violent crime, to hold offenders accountable. We need more programs directly on-reserve to help with aboriginal justice issues. We need to do more to protect women and girls in this country. That is exactly what this government is doing and I sincerely urge the hon. member to support those initiatives rather than to simply talk about the issue.

Foreign Affairs

[Wladyslaw Lizon, Conservative, Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canada and our G7 partners and other allies have spoken with one voice in condemning President Putin's military intervention in Ukraine. We are resolute in our view that Ukraine's territorial integrity must be respected.

Could the Minister of Foreign Affairs please provide the House with an update on the latest developments in Ukraine?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, today we learned the troubling news that in just 10 days, the Crimean parliament wants to hold a referendum on leaving Ukraine and joining the Russian federation. Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a clear act of aggression. It is a clear violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and a clear violation of its territorial integrity.

Canada will not recognize any so-called “referendum” in a region that is under military occupation. It is wrong and we will not stand for it.

The Environment

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, after calling for emission regulations for the oil and gas sector earlier this week, Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall recommended yesterday that his Conservative friends impose a carbon tax.

Clearly, Brad Wall understands that the federal government is not doing enough when it comes to the environment.

What do the Conservatives have to say to this radical environmentalist who wants a carbon tax?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, our government is taking strong actions against climate change, and I am proud of a government that is getting things done. We have a sector-by-sector regulatory approach that allows us to protect both our environment and our economy. This is way different than when the leader of the official opposition was environment minister for Quebec, when Greenpeace actually named June 13, “Thomas Mulcair Smog Day”.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order. The Minister of the Environment has been in this House long enough to know that even when quoting something, we are not allowed to do indirectly what we are not allowed to do directly.

The hon. member for Halifax.

Natural Resources

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Well, Mr. Speaker, it is not just Brad Wall who is calling out the federal government. Jim Prentice now has the very difficult task of selling the problematic Northern Gateway pipeline to B.C. first nations, after Conservatives utterly failed to meaningfully consult before they approved the project.

Will the government now act, or have Jim Prentice and Brad Wall just become the newest members of the environmental radical club?

[Joe Oliver, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, our government will thoroughly review the joint panel report and consult with first nations who are potentially impacted by the Northern Gateway proposal. We will complete the consultations and then we will make a decision.

Our government will only allow projects to go ahead if they are safe for Canadians and safe for the environment.

Public Safety

[Randall Garrison, NDP, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness has confirmed that funding is being cut for all 18 of Canada's Circles of Support and Accountability.

These volunteer-based programs hold high-risk sex offenders accountable for their behaviour in the community when they are out of the parole system. Their success rate is extremely high. Circles of Support and Accountability work. They protect our kids and make our communities safer, and yet the Conservatives are cutting them.

Will the minister please explain this short-sighted decision that puts kids at risk?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to inform the House that the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness is asking Correctional Service Canada to reconsider that particular decision.

Right across this country, Canadian families know that they can count on this Conservative government to make sure that our children are kept safe from sexual predators.

[Rosane Doré Lefebvre, NDP, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I sincerely hope that the minister does not think that his responsibility to protect our communities ends when offenders are released.

The circles of support and accountability program has a proven track record. It helps reduce recidivism among sex offenders and makes our communities safer.

This program is so effective that other governments have decided to use it as a model in developing their own programs.

Why did the minister decide to eliminate the program and why not simply reverse that decision immediately?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure if that member was listening to my last answer, but the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness is asking Correctional Service Canada to reconsider that decision.

However, this does give me an opportunity to talk about our record on keeping children safe. In fact, we just introduced another bill to keep children safe, and that is going to include measures to end the two-for-one sentencing for child sex offenders. No more two-for-one specials when it comes to our children. We are also establishing the high-risk child sex offender database. We believe parents have the right to know where sexual predators are.

Rail Transportation

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and the Conservative government have failed to meet the needs of our prairie farmers.

The Canada Transportation Act must be amended. We need the changes, but the Minister of Transport does not even have the courage to answer questions to meet those needs.

We are challenging the Minister of Transport to stand in her place and make a commitment to make the changes that are necessary to protect our farmers out west.

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the crop this year has been quite large: 76 million tonnes, which is 33% more than we have experienced before in this country. This is great for farmers, but right now farmers have a serious issue: they need to get their product to market. That is why what members will see from this government and from this side of the House is not empty rhetoric, it is not temper tantrums; it is action.