Debates of April 3rd, 2014

Democratic Reform

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

Mr. Speaker, if the member wants to refer to his colleague's question from yesterday, she was referring to an American professor who apparently had made some kind of comparison between Canadian ID laws and American ones. If the member understood those laws, he would know that in Canada we do not require photo ID. In the United States, south of the border, states across the American system require photo ID. In Canada, we do not, and under the fair elections action, we would not.

[Craig Scott, NDP, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that the list of those opposing the bill is growing and growing: chief electoral officers, electoral commissioners, experts of every political stripe, and now, Sheila Fraser. Yes, the same person the Conservatives once praised for exposing the Liberal sponsorship scandal is calling out this bill as an “attack on our democracy”.

Would the minister listen to her, Sheila Fraser, or will he act like the Liberals did and start attacking Ms. Fraser for telling the truth?

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

Mr. Speaker, we have already said that we were aware of Elections Canada's position on these issues. We just happen to disagree. We believe that it is fair to have Canadians arrive with a piece of ID in order to demonstrate who they are and where they live. That is what the fair elections act requires.

We also think it is fair that if someone wants to make a mass automated call or hire a telemarketing firm, they should have to register those calls. We think that there should be an end to the dead donor's loophole that has allowed the NDP to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars from donations that were left in wills, vastly in excess of the donation limit.

These are common-sense, reasonable reforms, and Canadians support them.

National Defence

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Speaker, this is a government that sent a letter to a grieving military family demanding the refund of a pension payment. It mailed another family a one-cent cheque. Now the families who lost a member in Afghanistan have received a letter telling them, “pay your own way to the May 9 commemoration in Ottawa”.

Last time, the defence minister promised to take action to make sure this kind of slap in the face never happens again. He failed to deliver on that.

Rather than blame his staff, as he did in public today, when will he stand in this House and apologize?

[James Bezan, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, as the member knows, when we were at committee earlier today, the minister was very clear that the letter was supposed to go out to inform family members of fallen soldiers that there was going to be a commemoration day and to save the date, May 9, to attend. As he said, it was a premature and incorrect letter and contained false information, and this government's position is that expenses will be covered and people will be notified as soon as the event plans have been finalized.

Our government continues to be proud to commemorate the huge sacrifices made in Afghanistan by our brave men and women in uniform.

Citizenship and Immigration

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has a proud legacy when it comes to welcoming refugees, such as the 36,000 Hungarian refugees who came to Canada in Diefenbaker's time.

This minister is lagging far behind in his commitment to welcome 1,300 Syrian refugees. Sweden has already taken in 17,000 refugees and Germany has taken in 10,000. Meanwhile, the minister has admitted that fewer than 10 refugees—not 10,000—have arrived in Canada.

What would Diefenbaker say about this minister's pathetic performance?

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

Mr. Speaker, we do have a very proud legacy when it comes to protecting refugees. It dates back to the time of Diefenbaker, but was interrupted during the Liberal years, when abuse of the system began to run rampant. We are in the process of cleaning up that mess. We are in the process of getting the refugee system back on track. We have already exceeded our objectives when it comes to Syrian refugees; 1,700 applications are already being processed.

Two hundred refugees have been referred to the government and welcomed by the high commission. Yes, we are going to do more—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. member for Markham—Unionville.

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Progressive Conservative John Diefenbaker would be absolutely ashamed of the disgusting performance on refugees by a successor government. Absolutely ashamed.

Last week, the minister caved to Liberal pressure on his Orwellian plan to subject spouses to language testing before they come to Canada, but the government was also considering education and income tests for spouses.

Will the minister do another U-turn and confirm that he will not impose tests for languages or income or education on spouses who come to this country?

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

Mr. Speaker, will the member opposite agree that--

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. The hon. minister has the floor. Members will come to order.

The hon. Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.

[Chris Alexander, Conservative, Ajax—Pickering, ON]

Mr. Speaker, will the member opposite agree that women in Canada deserve protection from violence, and just as they deserve protection from violence in Canada, they deserve protection from violence in our immigration programs? That is what our discussion is about, and we will do everything in our power to make sure that those protections are strengthened.

Diefenbaker would be proud of our legacy today. He would not have been proud of the Liberal legacy of promoting abuse, of taking asylum seekers from the European Union, from the United—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order. The hon. member for Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques.

The Economy

[Guy Caron, NDP, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's 86 richest families and individuals are richer than the country's poorest 11 million people combined. The government should be concerned about the growing gap between rich and poor. Unfortunately, Conservative policies are doing nothing to fix a problem that is really hurting Canada's social fabric. Conservative inaction on youth unemployment and backward policies such as income splitting will not fix anything.

When will the Conservatives take social and economic inequality issues seriously and give the middle class a bit of a break?

[Kevin Sorenson, Conservative, Minister of State (Finance)]

Again, Mr. Speaker, all the measures this government has brought forward, cutting taxes 160 times—the average Canadian family of four is saving over $3,400 per year in taxes—every time the opposition members have voted against. They are voting against every job-creation measure. They are voting against youth employment measures we brought forward, investing $330 million per year through the youth employment strategy. They vote against supporting paid internships for recent post-secondary graduates. They vote against helping young entrepreneurs. They vote against—

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

Mr. Speaker, New Democrats vote against any budget that makes income inequality worse in this country, and Conservatives have done it time and time again.

Eighty-six of the richest Canadian families are worth more than the poorest 11 million families in this country, and Conservative policies are only making a bad situation worse. The average middle-class family has not seen a raise in 35 years, but instead of addressing this difficult reality, the Conservatives are doubling down on their $5-billion income-splitting scheme that will not help 86% of Canadians.

Why give $5 billion more to families who simply do not need it?

[Kevin Sorenson, Conservative, Minister of State (Finance)]

Mr. Speaker, the budget we brought forward is a budget that is going to help create jobs. It is a budget that is saying that we are going to help with the skills development of all Canadians, young and old. This budget also says that we are going to come to balance in 2015.

What statistics has Stats Canada come forward with? Because of the policies this government has brought forward, the median net worth of Canadian families has increased by 44% since 2005, and New Democrats keep voting against these measures. Shame.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill, MB]

Mr. Speaker, western grain producers are losing $140 million a week as the grain transport crisis drags on. Testimony at committee revealed a critical lack of coordination in the supply chain and a vacuum in federal leadership. The government still has not committed to compensating western producers for their mounting losses, and the bill must be amended to actually get more grain moving than the order in council already did.

Will the minister work with us to make the changes that so many western Canadians really need?

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

Mr. Speaker, I welcome any help from opposition members. Generally they just vote against anything we bring forward when it comes to helping Canadian farmers, especially western Canadian farmers. Marketing freedom has been an overwhelming success. We are starting to give more oversight powers to Quorum, out of Edmonton, so that they have the information we need to watch corridor by corridor with the specificity we need to make sure that all commodities get to the marketplace that they desire.

[Malcolm Allen, NDP, Welland, ON]

Mr. Speaker, marketing freedom enables farmers to see the biggest basis spread they have ever seen in their entire lives. Over $140 million a week is going out of the pockets of farmers into the grain companies' coffers and the elevator system, and the minister says that the farmers are winners. Let me tell you, Mr. Speaker, farmers are not winners. Farmers are losers in this game, and it is time the government stood up for them.

Will the minister amend the bill, and will he work with us? I have heard the story before from the minister. He says, “Just bring us your good ideas”. The last time we brought Conservatives our good ideas, they voted against every single one of them. Let me tell you, Mr. Speaker, we have good ideas. I hope the minister and his committee will actually listen to them.

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

Mr. Speaker, as the member opposite knows, the panels ended last night, with representation from across the spectrum out there, predominantly from western Canada, where they are facing the backlog.

We continue to work forward. I know that the clerk is putting together the report that will come back. Amendments are due tomorrow morning, I understand, at 10:30 a.m., and we will see what comes forward.

I have a quote from Norm Hall, the president of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan, who is a good friend of the member for Wascana. Listen to this:

Agriculture, in relative terms, is doing well. Even with the rail backlog, we’ve had a number of decent years with decent prices behind us. So we’re not hurting like we were in the ’80s and ’90s.

That was under their stewardship.

Justice

[Earl Dreeshen, Conservative, Red Deer, AB]

Mr. Speaker, my constituents are increasingly concerned about what they see as an imbalance in our justice system. For too long, the rights of offenders were given precedence over the rights of victims. Today the Prime Minister announced Canada's first ever victims' bill of rights.

To the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice, please inform the House how these historic measures will provide victims with a stronger voice in Canada's justice system.

[Robert Goguen, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for Red Deer for his question, and of course for his great work on his private member's bill amending the Criminal Code in relation to the impersonation of peace officers. Good job.

Ever since we were first elected, our government has put victims first. Today the Prime Minister announced new measures, which will transform our justice system. We will enshrine clear statutory rights at the federal level for victims of crime. This includes the right to information, protection, participation, and restitution. This builds on our government's solid track record of putting victims first and stands in stark contrast to the Liberals, who systematically ignored the rights of victims for 13 long years.

Law-abiding Canadians know that they can count on this government to stand up—