Debates of May 13th, 2014

Employment

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

Mr. Speaker, we have no intention of meddling in the Auditor General's work. Naturally, we co-operate with the Auditor General when he wants to examine specific files.

Five years ago, the auditor general at the time studied this program and we have since implemented almost all of her recommendations. We will continue to tighten the program rules to ensure that Canadians come first in the labour market, even if that goes against the advice of the NDP, which wants to make it easier for their constituents to access the program.

[Sadia Groguhé, NDP, Saint-Lambert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the other problem that we have been raising for weeks is the absence of reliable labour market data. The Auditor General and the Parliamentary Budget Officer in particular have shown that the government does not have the right tools to assess labour needs. To paraphrase Pat Burns, trying to fight unemployment with bad data is like going bear hunting with a butter knife.

When will the Conservatives get serious about tackling unemployment, starting with getting reliable labour market data?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is the NDP that wants exemptions for all international musicians to come and take jobs from Canadian musicians without any screening.

It is the NDP that wants to open the floodgates with no verification for the computer gaming industry in Montreal, because, I guess, they talk to them.

It was the NDP critic who lobbied me for a crane operator to come into her riding as a temporary foreign worker.

It was the MP for Halifax who asked us to streamline the LMO screening process.

It was the MP for Western Arctic who said that our wage levels were too high in the temporary foreign worker program.

We will not listen to the NDP on this.

Ethics

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, there are 400,000 temporary foreign workers in this country, and there are 1.4 million unemployed Canadians. That is shameful, and it is their fault.

Let us play a game: who am I? I am one of the Prime Minister's friends who has been in hot water more than once. Wright? No. Duffy? No. Brazeau? No. I am a former advisor to the Prime Minister whom the RCMP has charged yet again with illegal lobbying. I was hired in 2006 even though I was a convicted criminal. Who am I? Bruce Carson, of course.

Did any minister, former minister or employee of the Conservative government have anything to do with this person while he was engaged in illegal lobbying, yes or no?

[Paul Calandra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, these allegations are with respect to a private citizen who did not get a contract with the government. As soon as we found out about these allegations, we referred the matter to the RCMP, the Ethics Commissioner, and the Commissioner of Lobbying. We will not tolerate rule breaking. If this individual is found guilty, he should suffer the severest consequences available under the laws that we brought in.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, speaking of being soft on crime, the Prime Minister hired convicted criminal, Bruce Carson to be his chief adviser, who now stands charged, not just of influence peddling but illegal lobbying in the case of trying to rip off poor first nations that need clean drinking water.

The Prime Minister only called in the cops after the media started asking questions. What was the Prime Minister thinking when he allowed a convicted criminal to slip through all the security checks so that he could be his chief adviser? What was he thinking?

[Paul Calandra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, as I just said, these are allegations that concern a private individual who did not receive any government contracts. As soon as we found out, we referred this to the Commissioner of the RCMP, the Commissioner of Lobbying, and the Ethics Commissioner. We brought in a number of very tough rules that the opposition consistently votes against. If this individual is found guilty, he should suffer the severest consequences available under the rules that we brought in.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, every time I hear that Elmer Fudd routine, I know the Conservatives are on the ropes.

To be fair, it was not just Conservatives who were hanging out with Bruce Carson. Dan Gagnier, the senior adviser to the Liberal leader and co-chair of the Liberal Party, was also very chummy with this convicted criminal.

We know that APTN blew the whistle on this affair, but will the Prime Minister tell us, when was he first informed about Mr. Carson, his former chief adviser's illegal activities within his department, with his staff, and his office? Will the Prime Minister tell us that?

[Paul Calandra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, it was this government that brought in the Accountability Act as one of the first measures that we passed. We know that the opposition is consistently voting against those measures that would further accountability in government.

This particular person, if he is found guilty, should suffer the severest consequences available to him under the laws that this government has brought in. It is worth noting, of course, that as soon as we found out, we informed the Commissioner of the RCMP, the Commissioner of Lobbying, and the Ethics Commissioner.

Aboriginal Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, over the last 30 years, at least 40 indigenous women have gone missing or been murdered each and every year.

Indigenous women are three times more likely to be murdered by a stranger than other women in Canada. Victims, families, and communities need answers, justice, and hope. More and more Canadians are echoing their calls.

Why are the Conservatives deaf to the many voices demanding a national inquiry into the missing and murdered indigenous women?

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

Mr. Speaker, that is factually incorrect. We are not only listening, we are taking concrete, substantive action.

In addition to the 30 justice bills, we have taken steps to ensure we are specifically targeting funding for programs, targeting funding for significant steps to address the issues of violence on reserve; making efforts to support women on reserve, including giving them matrimonial property; renewing the aboriginal justice strategy.

The time for talking about this has passed. We have many reports, many studies that have directed us, and that is exactly what we are doing, taking action.

[Jonathan Genest-Jourdain, NDP, Manicouagan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, day after day, the Conservatives keep telling us that they are taking steps to protect aboriginal women, yet still these women continue to disappear and be murdered. Whatever it is they claim to be doing is not working.

The Minister of Justice keeps telling us that the time for studying the situation is done. I would like him to tell me what, based on previous studies, is the main cause of these murders and disappearances, and what specific measures the government has come up with to prevent more women from going missing and being killed.

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

Mr. Speaker, first, I would invite the hon. member to read some of those reports, those many reports that point to the specific causes, and they are, first and foremost, criminality and violence directed at women.

That is why we are working closely with law enforcement across the country, giving them more tools. That is why we have put in place a national centre for missing persons. That is why we have worked with law enforcement to improve their databases, worked to improve the ability that we have to investigate and find the perpetrators. In addition, there are programs aimed specifically at aiding aboriginal women who fall victim.

Continually to improve the life and quality of life of aboriginal women is what this government is doing.

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

Mr. Speaker, that must be why they are cutting back funding for first nations services and police forces.

If their policies were so effective, the grim list of aboriginal victims would not be growing longer by the day. They have no idea what is causing this tragedy.

To understand what happened and to prevent it from happening again, we need an independent public inquiry.

Can the minister provide even a single explanation for why these disappearances are happening?

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

Mr. Speaker, we know what the causes are. The causes in fact are well known and have been outlined in numerous reports. In fact, the Oppal report out of British Columbia quite recently went into significant detail to direct us to ensure that we are working closely with law enforcement, that we are working directly with communities on reserve, with advocates, listening to those who ensure that we are getting the information that we need to respond directly to aboriginal women and girls.

I would encourage the member opposite, and I say to him emphatically, work with us to come forward with solutions. This will not happen overnight, clearly. This will require significant—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. member for Toronto Centre.

Employment

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, StatsCan has released jobs data for April and the news is dire. Among young people aged 15 to 24, employment fell by 27,000. Among women between 25 and 54 years old, employment fell by 29,000. Overall, 31,000 full-time jobs were lost in April.

This is a dreadful employment picture, particularly for young Canadians and women. When will the government fix this jobs crisis and stop laughing about it?

[Joe Oliver, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, individual monthly numbers can be volatile, so we sympathize with those Canadians who lost their jobs in April, but as we have said repeatedly, Canada is not immune to the fragility of the international economy.

However, our job growth record has been very strong since the depths of the global recession. We are among the best in the G7 and have created over one million net new jobs, nearly 85% in the private sector and nearly 90% full time.

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

Mr. Speaker, soon after taking office, the government started loosening every rule in the book on temporary foreign workers, from looser advertising requirements to accelerated labour market opinions. They even let employers pay less for foreign workers.

The minister is now working to tighten what his predecessor loosened, trying to put the toothpaste back in the tube.

Is this not a tacit admission that Monte Solberg and the now Minister of Public Works and Government Services had it all wrong? If not, why is he undoing all their work?

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

Mr. Speaker, in point of fact, this program exists as a last resort when employers are unable to find qualified Canadians available for specific jobs. We are concerned about reported incidents of abuse, and we want to ensure that this program does not lead unintentionally to distortions in the Canadian labour market, which is why we tightened it last year and why we will be announcing further reforms in a few weeks' time to further tighten the program, ensuring that it does not result in the displacement of Canadians, but that our economy can continue to grow in all cylinders.

Committees of the House

[Emmanuel Dubourg, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the chair of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.

He passed a motion asking the House administration to send him any documents related to mass mailings by the NDP.

Mailings were delivered in my riding of Bourassa. My constituents deserve answers, because House resources were used.

Has the committee received those documents? If not, when will it receive them and will it make them public?

[Joe Preston, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, it is a special occurrence to be asked a question in question period.

In preparation for the visit this Thursday from the Leader of the Opposition at committee on the issue of using House resources for political benefit, we have been trying to gather a number of documents together, and even this morning at committee we discussed the documents that still were not delivered, including the ones on the mailings. I will endeavour with my hard-working committee clerk to ensure that we receive them today or by Thursday.

Privacy

[Murray Rankin, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Mr. Speaker, a most troubling clause is buried in the omnibus budget implementation bill. This clause allows the Canada Revenue Agency to forward, secretly and without a warrant, Canadians' tax information to the police.

If the government believes that Canadians' personal information needs to be sent to the police, it must follow the proper procedure and wait for a mandate to be issued.

Why is the minister trying to eliminate this important measure that protects Canadians' privacy?

[Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Conservative, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, there are rare occasions, when CRA officials, in the course of their regular duties, become aware of information that any reasonable person would believe is evidence of serious criminal activity.

Let us be clear. Officials cannot share information on the mere suspicion of criminal activity or based on a request initiated by law enforcement authorities.

The amendments proposed in Bill C-31 will enable CRA officials to provide information to an officer—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order. The hon. member for Victoria has the floor.