Debates of April 8th, 2014

Infrastructure

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, that letter was from the Canada-Nova Scotia Infrastructure Secretariat.

Under the Conservatives' new building Canada fund, smaller communities must apply through the provinces for infrastructure funding, but the Conservatives will not release details on how it would work. In the meantime, no applications will be received and no money will flow.

With construction season coming, will the Conservatives stop playing games and start working with the provinces, so that infrastructure projects can move forward, and will they finally reverse their decision to cut infrastructure funding by 87%?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know where the hon. member has been. For many years, it has been the practice of our government to work on infrastructure priorities in collaboration with the provinces. That is how things are prioritized through the various infrastructure programs.

All I would ask is that the federal Liberal Party reverse its position and stop opposing federal infrastructure activities 100% of the time.

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we all congratulate the new Premier of Quebec, Mr. Couillard, who has promised to restore infrastructure funding in his province. Autoroute Henri-IV, for example, will qualify for the new building Canada program. Unfortunately, the federal government just cut the program by 87% this year, with no increase over 2013 funding levels until 2019.

Why is the government jeopardizing our country's infrastructure?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again, with the support of the vast majority of the provinces and municipalities, we have announced the largest infrastructure program in the history of Canada. I am disappointed that the federal Liberal Party votes against these activities 100% of the time. That is the party that cut transfers to the provinces.

Obviously, we are a government of open federalism, and I look forward to working with Mr. Couillard on issues that matter to this government.

Democratic Reform

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, Conservative ministers have repeatedly referred to non-partisan witnesses appearing at committee on this bill as both “self-styled” and “self-proclaimed” experts. One of those witnesses, Paul Thomas, was proclaimed as an election expert by yourself, Mr. Speaker. You appointed Paul Thomas to the riding boundary redistribution commission precisely because he is an expert.

Why is the Prime Minister now trying to undermine the credibility of the Speaker?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for being able to identify a particular witness. We believe it is important that when voters go to vote that they be able to be identified. As I have said before, it is very important in democratic elections that those elections are decided by secret votes, but not by secret voters.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, last night, the largest seniors organizations in Canada testified that this bill would make it more difficult for seniors to vote. Does that concern the Prime Minister?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, let me make it clear to seniors, who, of course, are very strong supporters of the Conservative Party, that the various ways that they can demonstrate their identity and vote are through a health card, an old age security card, a hospital/medical/clinic card, hospital bracelets worn in the case of long-term care facilities, statements of government benefits, a public transportation card or a library card, along with all other pieces of identification that are available to a broad range of Canadian voters.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday evening, Canada's leading student association stated that this bill will make it more difficult in the future for students to vote. Does that concern the Prime Minister?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we want students to take part in elections. This is why a number of pieces of identification are acceptable. For students, these include student cards and public transit cards. There are 37 other possible pieces of identification that students and many others can use.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, last week, Canada's aboriginal leaders testified that this bill will make it more difficult for aboriginal peoples to vote. Does that concern the Prime Minister?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I would also note for that particular group that all status Indians in Canada have an Indian status card, which is also a valid piece of identification, along with some 38 other pieces of identification. I look forward to all of these people bringing their identification to the polls in the next election, and once again relegating the NDP to the opposition benches.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, last week, Canada's leading association representing the blind stated that this bill will make it more difficult for visually impaired people to vote. Does that concern the Prime Minister?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, it is important to point out that, for the blind, the Canadian National Institute for the Blind card is an acceptable piece of identification, as well as 38 other pieces of identification. Clearly, I am looking forward to this vote and to the best result for the NDP: to be in opposition.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, Preston Manning is also speaking out against this bill. He says that instead of putting a gag order on the Chief Electoral Officer, we should strengthen his powers to engage young people and promote voter turnout.

Does the Prime Minister dismiss Preston Manning, just like he has dismissed every single other Canadian who has come out against this bill?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I would note with great interest that one of the important principles of the bill is that Elections Canada has the responsibility to ensure that all Canadians are aware of when, where, and how to vote, and there are multiple ways that people can in fact do that.

Once again, I look forward to seeing Canadians come out to vote and to give an appropriate verdict to the NDP.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, is the Prime Minister able to name a single witness who is not a present or past agent of the Conservative Party and who supports this bill?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, our position is clear.

Voting is very important in a democracy. It is essential that voters establish their identity in order to ensure the integrity of elections. Our position is well known and is supported by Canadians.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, Elections Canada's top investigator has warned that if the bill is passed, it is more than one investigation that would be scuppered.

Why not give elections fraud investigators the power to compel witnesses to testify, just like the courts and the Competition Bureau, for example, already have? Is it because the investigators are investigating the Conservative Party?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the suggestion that there is anything that would prevent existing investigations from going forward is completely false. On the contrary, additional independence and powers would be given to investigators under this law, and all those powers are very consistent with what investigators have in normal such serious prosecutions.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Actually, Mr. Speaker, two investigations in particular will be affected by this bill: the investigation involving David Del Mastro and the investigation into the thousands of fraudulent phone calls, which the court has concluded were made from the Conservative Party of Canada's own database.

Why is the Prime Minister trying to prevent those investigations from proceeding? Why does he want Canadians never to find out about the electoral fraud perpetrated by the Conservative Party?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again, that statement is completely false.

When we are speaking about fraud, we do know that the NDP has used parliamentary resources across the country for activities that are clearly partisan in nature, clearly not intended, by any reasonable definition, to be the use of parliamentary resources. We not only expect the NDP to stop doing that, taxpayers expect the NDP to return those monies to them.

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to return to the issue of seniors and the inability for many of them to vote in the next election.

On the elections act, Pat Kerwin, who was one of the witnesses, said, “A senior in his or her late eighties is not likely to have a driver's licence...or a passport...”. A health care card may have the photo, but no address whatsoever. Utilities bill will likely be in the name of their children or the assisted-living residence.

He also said this very important quote, “the removal of the right to vouch is a solution looking for a problem which has not been found”.

Thousands of seniors will be unable to vote in the next election. Why is the minister letting this happen?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would direct members attention to the 39 different acceptable forms of ID that people can use in order to identify themselves and their residence when they vote. They include, for example, a hospital/medical clinic card, a hospital bracelet worn by residents of a long-term care facility, a Veterans Affairs Canada health card. They can also use the correspondence accompanying their old age security cheque. That is in addition to the possibility of a driver's licence, a health card, and numerous other forms of ID that together comprise the list of 39 that I have in my hand.

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Speaker, voter turnout among students and young people is the lowest of all age groups. Last night, student associations testified in Parliament about how Elections Canada had been helping them run educational programs to reverse that trend. Yet, the government's rigged elections act would not only stop Elections Canada from encouraging young voters, it would make it harder for them to vote.

Now, it seems to me to be a good thing to have young people participating in Canada's democracy. Why would the Conservatives want to block them? Is it because they tend to not vote Conservative?