Debates of May 13th, 2014

Transport

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hard-working member for Miramichi for her great work on this important file to deliver the goods again.

Our government supports an efficient use of taxpayers' dollars in delivering a rail service that meets the needs of today's Canadian citizens. We are very pleased to announce that VIA and CN have made a tentative agreement on the remediation and repair of the middle portion of the rail in the Newcastle subdivision in northern New Brunswick. This represents a $10-million investment to begin the repair of the tracks.

Of course, we are doing this in an efficient manner, and this shows our government's commitment to the local economies of New Brunswick—

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order. The hon. member for Guelph.

Veterans Affairs

[Frank Valeriote, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Mr. Speaker, during last year's NHL playoffs, the government spent over $1 million on ads for a job grant that did not exist. Do members remember that?

Feeding on Canada's heightened sense of veterans' issues, now it is running ads on an underfunded and failing veterans' career services program during this year's playoffs. Why would it spend millions of dollars more on ads while not properly funding the very programs veterans have been pleading for?

[Julian Fantino, Conservative, Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, that assertion is absolutely incorrect. I have heard time and again that Veterans Affairs needs to improve its communication with Canadian veterans, and indeed Canadians. Canadian veterans need to know that they have financial support available to them in addition to the rehabilitation and mental health support they need. Is that member really saying that we should not be telling veterans and informing them and their families how they can access benefits?

Foreign Affairs

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last month the Sri Lankan government launched a smear campaign against international civil society groups, including ones right here in Canada. These groups helped lead the successful push for an international, independent investigation into the atrocities committed during the Sri Lankan civil war.

What action is the government taking to protect peaceful Canadian citizens from the Sri Lankan ban? Will the Minister consider targeted sanctions against those responsible for abuses and repression, as was recommended by the foreign affairs committee in 2009?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, no government anywhere in the world, no leader of any government in the world, has stood up more strongly and more loudly than the Prime Minister of Canada when it comes to the challenges facing the people of Sri Lanka.

I want to tell the member opposite that we are certainly very pleased to continue our strong leadership on Sri Lanka. We are pleased to work with him and his ideas and suggestions on how we can build on the strong record we have taken to stand up against war crimes, to call for accountability, and to stand up against a growing authoritarian trend across Sri Lanka.

Mining Industry

[Jay Aspin, Conservative, Nipissing—Timiskaming, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this week is National Mining Week. The mining sector is very important to the residents of my riding of Nipissing—Timiskaming and the Canadian economy as a whole, supporting 400,000 jobs and contributing $60 billion to our GDP. Mining workers in communities across Canada can count on our government to stand up for their jobs.

Can the Minister of Natural Resources update this House on the action our government has taken to support the mining sector?

[Greg Rickford, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his tireless efforts in showcasing North Bay as a world-class mining service and supply centre.

We are proud of Canadian mining activities here at home and abroad. We have a strong record of support for the mining sector, supporting workers, extending the mineral exploration tax credit, and renewing the geo-mapping for energy and minerals program, to name a few.

We will continue to attract investment, support innovation, and maintain Canada's position as a world leader in mining through responsible resource development.

International Trade

[Anne Minh-Thu Quach, NDP, Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC]

Mr. Speaker, even though the manufacturing sector is struggling to recover from the 2008 crisis, the Conservatives are failing to support our businesses that want to take advantage of new international markets.

According to the Governor of the Bank of Canada, the Conservatives' mismanagement represents a $40-billion shortfall for Canadian exporters.

According to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, our country should be learning from the United States, the United Kingdom and New Zealand, all countries that have revamped their trade policies.

When will the government come to its senses and finally put a real policy in place to support our exporters?

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for the question.

Actually, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce report showed that the progress our government is making is in the right direction: opening new markets for Canadian exporters and expanding the trade commissioner service.

NDP members should finally show their true colours and show Canadians that they oppose trade agreements. We have heard from over 80 witnesses at the trade committee, most of whom are really excited about these new markets and the jobs that come from them. It is only the NDP witnesses who are there to hold back trade and keep jobs suppressed.

[Jean-François Fortin, Bloc, Haute-Gaspésie—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Speaker, dairy and cheese producers in Quebec need to hear the real story on the agreement with the European Union.

The federal government needs to stop leaving them in the dark with respect to the compensation they will receive to make up for the losses incurred as a result of the 17,000 additional tonnes of European cheese that will be imported.

Quebec's agriculture minister is officially requesting that the government provide a clear picture of the situation and he wants the opinion of Quebec producers to be taken into consideration.

When will the Minister of Agriculture give dairy and cheese producers in Quebec some information and when will he give them their compensation?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure anyone is entitled to compensation. We have not actually finalized the deal through this House of Commons, so I am not sure what the member is talking about.

Those consultations continue with dairy farmers and cheese producers across Canada. We look forward to the positive results of that trade agreement.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am rising on a point of order. The members of the NDP like to act self-righteously, but during a question last week, the member for Acadie—Bathurst, who is the official languages critic, deliberately tried to mislead the House, which is obviously very unfortunate. The member implied that we had cut funding for the Multicultural Association of the Greater Moncton Area—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. The hon. minister seems to be getting up to allege that a member has deliberately misled the House, which is normally raised as a question of privilege, not a point of order.

I have not received any such notice, which is normally a requirement, unless it happened in this immediate question period. I think he indicated that it was from a question period some time ago. Does the hon. minister wish to clarify?

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

Mr. Speaker, your guidance to us has been to correct the record as soon as the opportunity arises. This is the first opportunity.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

If the minister has reason to believe that a member has deliberately misled the House, of course he can raise it as a question of privilege with the due notice. Otherwise, it sounds like it might be a continuation of debate and a different interpretation of the facts, so I will wait. If there is notice of a question of privilege, of course the Chair will deal with it accordingly.

At the great risk of continuing what seems to be the continuation of debate, the hon. member for Acadie—Bathurst is rising on the same point.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Mr. Speaker, if the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration wants to start a debate, I am ready for it.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

I will call orders of the day.

The House resumed consideration of the motion that Bill C-23, An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act and other Acts and to make consequential amendments to certain Acts, be read the third time and passed, and of the amendment.

Fair Elections Act

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

There are nine minutes left for questions and comments for the hon. member for Nipissing—Timiskaming.

The hon. member for Winnipeg North.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, one question that needs to be answered is why the government has chosen not to amend the legislation or election laws to enable the Commissioner of Canada Elections to compel witnesses. By not doing that, it is important to recognize that the Government of Canada is actually weakening our election laws.

That is one reason we were not able to get to the bottom of the matter at hand in terms of the many violations of election laws. The Chief Electoral Officer has indicated that he needs the ability to compel, and so does the commissioner.

Why is the government not recognizing the value of allowing Elections Canada to compel a witness?

[Jay Aspin, Conservative, Nipissing—Timiskaming, ON]

Mr. Speaker, quite frankly, as I indicated in my speech, we listened hard to constituents across Canada. We listened to experts. We had a great deal of discussion at committee.

We have never done what the hon. member suggested before. That is an area of policing jurisdiction.

We have come up with a bill that is not perfect, but it certainly goes a long way to improving elections in Canada.

[Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe, NDP, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to talk about the answer my colleague just gave, because I do not agree with what he said. The opposition is not alone in calling on the Conservatives to give the commissioner sharper teeth and more powers to investigate election fraud. Experts are saying the same thing. For example, in his 2012-13 annual report, the Commissioner of Canada Elections pointed out that it was necessary to be able to compel witnesses to testify.

Does my colleague think that the Commissioner of Canada Elections is not aware of which tools could help him investigate? I want to point out that there was a serious case of election fraud in 2011 and that the causes and guilty parties have yet to be uncovered. That is proof that those responsible do not have enough powers to be able to investigate properly. A look at Bill C-23 shows us that the Conservatives are not prepared to make those tools available. Why?

[Jay Aspin, Conservative, Nipissing—Timiskaming, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated, we consulted far and wide in a thorough consultation on this bill. This was deemed an area of policing jurisdiction, and therefore we did not deem it was necessary in the changes of the bill. We stand firm and fast behind our amendments.