Debates of April 28th, 2014

Employment

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Multiculturalism]

Mr. Speaker, from time to time we receive complaints at Service Canada about allegations of abuse. Whenever we hear those, we demand an immediate investigation. We have given those investigators additional powers to seize documents and to visit work sites. We now have a much more effective blacklist that we are beginning to use to put a freeze on the use of that program by employers who we suspect have engaged in abuse.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the power to seize documents, now there is an idea we will be talking about with one of his colleagues in a few minutes.

Let us stay on this topic. The minister has been responsible for the temporary foreign worker program for the past six years. On January 6, the Prime Minister was with a group of specialized media in Vancouver and he had this to say:

—companies importing workers for the sole purpose of paying less than the prevailing wage, companies importing workers for the purpose of permanently moving the jobs offshore to other countries, companies bringing in foreign workforces with the intention of never having them permanent, and moving the whole workforce back to another country at the end of the job.

How come the Prime Minister has had this figured out for some time, but in the six years the minister has been taking care of the program he has never figured it out?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Multiculturalism]

Mr. Speaker, what we call the temporary foreign worker program is a bunch of different programs that issue work permits to foreign nationals, including people like visiting university professors and youth coming in on reciprocal exchange programs. The plurality of positions are high skilled. Four of the top five source countries are the U.S., the UK, France and Australia.

However, if there are aspects of the program which are distorting the labour market or are subject to unacceptable levels of abuse, we will deal with those as we demonstrated very firmly last week.

Democratic Reform

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Abuse is okay, Mr. Speaker, but it is unacceptable levels of abuse that are not okay. I get it.

We would like to know why that minister thinks that compelling the production of documents is a good idea, and yet the minister responsible for the unfair elections act refuses to give the commissioner of Elections Canada the power to compel the production of documents or the power to compel testimony by witnesses on a court order. This is not something that would be aleatory or discretionary. That exists under the Competition Act.

Why will the minister not give that power to ensure that Canada's elections are honest?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Commissioner of Elections Canada already has the power to compel documents on court order.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

It is not true, Mr. Speaker, that Elections Canada's commissioner has the power to compel the production of documents and compel the testimony of witnesses to a commissioner. The minister knows that is false. Let me ask him another question.

The minister is now saying that he is showing openness because he will allow Elections Canada to advertise and direct it at elementary school students and high school students. It is always good to inform people about their civic obligations, but unfortunately elementary school students and high school students do not vote because they are not of age.

Why will the minister not allow advertising by Elections Canada to encourage people to vote?

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

Mr. Speaker, the member is quite wrong on the issue of production of documents. The commissioner merely has to submit an information to obtain affidavit to a court and a judge can grant him access to any documentation that he seeks from any one from whom he seeks it. That power exists. It is well documented. It has been done on many occasions.

I do not know why the member does not know that. He should have known it after all of the time he spent making false allegations with regard to the robocall investigation. Now would be a good time for him to stand and apologize for those allegations.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Commissioner of Elections Canada does not have the power to compel witnesses to testify to an investigator. That is the case.

After hearing all of the evidence, the Federal Court has ruled that in the robocalls case the thousands of illegal robocalls were indeed made using the Conservative Party database. That has been proven. That was a decision of the courts.

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

Mr. Speaker, I did not hear a question. Perhaps he was not watching the news last week when the commissioner, after conducting an extremely thorough investigation, could find no such evidence. In fact, there was not a single person in all of Canada who he found was deprived of his or her vote by an illegal robocall.

All of the false allegations that the member across the way has been making for so many years now have been proven completely bogus, and he should do the honourable thing, rise now and apologize.

Employment

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the government seemed surprised last week by reported abuses of the temporary foreign workers program in the restaurant sector. Suddenly there is a moratorium. However, we know there are problems as well in banking, mining and other industries too.

Over a year ago, on the motion by the member for Cape Breton—Canso, Liberals warned about this. To save the program, we asked for a full review to get rid of the abuses. The government voted no, and the trouble got worse.

The department cannot investigate itself. Is it not time for the Auditor General to get on this file?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Multiculturalism]

Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General is free to investigate whatever he deems appropriate, without direction from the government.

In terms of the program, if and when there are abuses, we act clearly and quickly. If we see any distortion of the labour market, we will address that. The program has been under review. We made many very substantial changes last year, which resulted in about a 30% reduction in the number of applications for Labour Market Opinions.

We are about to come out with another phase of further reforms to ensure that Canadians always and everywhere get the first crack at available jobs, and that this program is only used as a limited and last resort by employers.

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the temporary foreign workers program is supposed to fill job market gaps when there are no other alternatives. It is not meant to be long-term employment substitution.

If it slides in that direction, Canadians lose their jobs, young people especially are blocked from first employment, wages are driven down, and foreign workers themselves are left vulnerable to exploitation.

The program has ballooned since 2006 by some 300%. Why will the government not ask the Auditor General to get the whole truth so it can be fixed?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Multiculturalism]

Mr. Speaker, there is an ongoing review. The Auditor General determines his own work plan.

The member's statistics are inaccurate. He may want to recall that in fact it was the Liberal government, of which he was a member, that created the general low skilled stream about which he is now complaining.

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

No red herrings, Mr. Speaker.

While the temporary foreign workers program has grown exponentially, the number of landed immigrants coming to Canada to become citizens has stayed pretty flat. That would seem to suggest exploitation: limited numbers on a pathway to citizenship, but big and growing numbers brought in for their labour with no hope of actually becoming Canadians.

In fixing this troubled program, will the government put a sharp focus on stopping exploitation, increasing pathways to citizenship and, above all, recruiting, training and employing Canadians?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Multiculturalism]

Mr. Speaker, that question demonstrates how little the Liberal Party follows any of these issues.

This government has increased, several-fold, the opportunities for permanent residency for people who come here on work permits. We created the Canadian experience class that invites high-skilled temporary foreign workers and foreign students to become permanent residents.

We increased by eightfold the provincial nominee programs, as a result of which some 50,000 temporary foreign workers transition into permanent residency every year.

None of those programs existed under the Liberal government. It is this government that has created those pathways to permanent residency. That is increasing investments in training and linking it to the labour market.

National Defence

[Élaine Michaud, NDP, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, L'actualité journalists Alec Castonguay and Noémi Mercier have exposed the disturbing phenomenon of sexual assault within the Canadian military.

This is a reality that affects many women and men in the armed forces, but these assaults are hidden as a result of a culture of secrecy and intimidation of victims.

Sexual assault cannot and must not be tolerated, regardless of the workplace. Now that the Department of National Defence has committed to conducting an internal review of its workplace programs and policies, could the minister tell us what the timeframe is and whether the report will be made public?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I agree with the hon. member. These types of allegations are truly disturbing and cannot be accepted. Make no mistake, anybody who serves in Canada's armed forces should never fall victim to this kind of disgusting or unacceptable behaviour. I have asked the Chief of the Defence Staff to get to the bottom of these serious allegations. Sexual misconduct has no place in the armed forces, or indeed in Canadian society.

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that the minister is taking the matter seriously, but what we really need here is action. The investigative report from L'actualité outlined how, on average, five members of the Canadian military community are sexually assaulted every day and that previous warnings were ignored within the military.

Now that the minister has asked for an internal review, will he agree to appear before the defence committee, with the Chief of the Defence Staff, and tell us what action his government will take to deal with these very troubling revelations?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, one thing that has been consistent with this government is we have always put victims first, in or out of the military, in Canadian society. This is why we take any allegations like this very seriously. Again, I have told the Chief of the Defence Staff to get to the bottom of this immediately. This is intolerable and will not be tolerated.

Public Works and Government Services

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, we are talking here about re-victimizing victims. In these circumstances, the women and men of our Canadian Armed Forces deserve a better response than an internal review.

Mismanagement of military procurement has also been a hallmark of the government. Now it is refusing to release the so-called public report on the F-35 until it has made up its mind what plane it is going to purchase.

After years of bungling, mismanagement, and even hiding the massive cost of the F-35, Canadians do not trust the government. Now it is hiding again. Will the minister immediately table this taxpayer-funded public report?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, an independent panel ensured that the evaluation of the options was indeed rigorous and impartial and that the results, to be made public, will be comprehensive and understandable. Non-classified and non-commercially sensitive information contained in the evaluation of the options will be released.

[Élaine Michaud, NDP, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, considering this is being called a public report and it was paid for using public funds, people expect to be able to access a copy in the public domain.

After completely botching the selection process for the new fighter jets, the Conservatives are making even more mistakes trying to fix their previous mistakes. The report on the options for replacing the defence aircraft will be of no use if the definition of operational requirements remains biased towards the F-35.

Why are the Conservatives refusing to release that report without cabinet approval?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, as I just said, those portions of the panel report that do not contain commercially sensitive material will be released to the public. This is a report that was prepared by an impartial panel to review the options and assess the risks, and those portions that can be made public will indeed be made public.

Democratic Reform

[Alexandrine Latendresse, NDP, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP has shown that, through diligence and perseverance, it is possible to make this government change its mind on certain fundamental aspects of the electoral deform.

We commend the government for its openness, but more is required. Canadians deserve a fair and equitable elections act. Rather than taking revenge on Elections Canada, the Conservatives need to strengthen that institution.

Why are they refusing to give Elections Canada the power to compel witnesses to testify and to require the parties to provide documentation justifying their election expenses?

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

Mr. Speaker, in response to the hon. member's questions, I will first speak about the power to compel witnesses to testify. The police who investigate the most serious and complex crimes in this country do not have that power. If the police can conduct successful investigations without that power, Elections Canada should be able to do the same.

With regard to the production of documents, the parties already have to document their expenses and submit their documentation to an external auditor after each election.