Debates of May 13th, 2014

Afghanistan Veterans

[Bryan Hayes, Conservative, Sault Ste. Marie, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on Canada's National Day of Honour this past Friday, Canadians across our nation paused to look back on our contributions and achievements in Afghanistan with tremendous pride and appreciation, knowing that those who served made a positive difference in the lives of the Afghan people.

It was a privilege to represent Sault Ste. Marie at the National Day of Honour ceremony on Parliament Hill. This was a historic event that will be embedded in my memory forever.

This was an occasion for all Canadians to remember the valour and dedication of our troops and pay tribute to the fallen, including Sault Ste. Marie's very own Master Corporal Scott Francis Vernelli and Sergeant John Wayne Faught, both of whom made the ultimate sacrifice in service to Canada.

We will remember their courage and bravery forever.

Lest we forget.

Iran

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we are in the midst of the third annual Iran Accountability Week, which occurs as nuclear negotiations with Iran risk overshadowing, if not sanitizing, the regime's massive domestic repression.

It also coincides with the sixth anniversary of the imprisonment of Iran's Baha'i leadership, an execution binge that has seen 650 executions since Rouhani took office last August, and the continuing unjust imprisonment of more than 900 prisoners of conscience.

Today parliamentarians heard from FDD experts Mark Dubowitz and Ali Alfoneh on the importance of sanctioning human rights violators and terrorists and from former Iranian political prisoners Marina Nemat and Suzanne Tamas of the Baha'i on the importance of standing in solidarity with political prisoners.

The centrepiece of this week is the Global Iranian Political Prisoner Advocacy Project, which pairs parliamentarians with an adopted political prisoner on whose behalf they advocate. I am advocating on behalf of the seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders.

Two of the prisoners whose cases we took up last year, Nasrin Sotoudeh and Hamid Ghassemi-Shall, have since been released.

Inspired by their courage and by the courage of those who remain in prison, we will continue to sound the alarm until the Iranian people—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. member for Westlock—St. Paul.

National Police Week

[Brian Storseth, Conservative, Westlock—St. Paul, AB]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of our Conservative government and Canadians across the country, I would like to commend law enforcement officers for their commitment to ensuring the safety and security of our communities.

This week marks National Police Week, when we take a moment to think about the valuable services these men and women provide and to thank them for their dedication and professionalism.

Law enforcement officers work hard in our communities, on our highways and waterways, at our airports, at our ports of entry, and in foreign countries.

During National Police Week, let us also think of the families of law enforcement officers. It is the people who are closest to them who really know the sacrifices they make to help keep us safe.

This past weekend there was an incident in my home town of St. Paul, where RCMP officers were injured while putting themselves in harm's way to keep their fellow Canadians safe. On behalf of our government, I wish a quick recovery to all of the injured officers.

I would also like to thank all law enforcement officers across our country for keeping us safe each and every day.

Democratic Reform

[Chris Charlton, NDP, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last night the Conservatives disappointed Canadians and voted down improvements to the unfair elections act. The Conservatives opposed giving the Commissioner of Canada Elections the power to compel testimony. They opposed requiring political parties to provide receipts and documentation for their activities. We are now getting a better picture of why.

Conservative lawyer Arthur Hamilton, who was already caught dragging his feet and not co-operating fully with authorities, has now been fingered for deliberately misleading investigators. He provided them with false information about Conservative calling scripts and then did everything possible to prevent witnesses linked to the Conservatives from providing information to investigators.

The unfair elections act would make it even harder to investigate and catch Conservative voter suppression, but then that is what this bill is all about, stacking the next federal election in favour of the Conservatives.

New Democrats are not going to let that happen. We have been showing up for work, standing up for Canadians, and getting ready to replace the Conservatives in the next election.

Afghanistan Veterans

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Durham, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last Friday was the National Day of Honour, and Canadians gathered to mark the conclusion of the Canadian Armed Forces' 12-year mission in Afghanistan.

Our duty as Canadians to honour and remember that mission has really only begun. In my riding of Durham, last Friday we commemorated the National Day of Honour. We will continue to remember the mission, standing alongside the families of Trooper Darryl Caswell and Colonel Geoff Parker, who gave their lives on our mission in Afghanistan.

I am proud that our government has announced that we will build a permanent monument here in Ottawa for the Afghanistan mission. Whether it is the small town cenotaphs or a grand monument here in the nation's capital, these symbols will allow us to remember the service and sacrifice for generations to come, lest we forget.

Foreign Affairs

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, can the Prime Minister please update Canadians on what assistance Canada is providing to help locate the 300 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram?

Can the Prime Minister tell Canadians what assistance we are providing on the ground in Nigeria to find the girls kidnapped by Boko Haram?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the government condemns these acts in the strongest possible terms.

The kidnapping of these schoolgirls by Boko Haram is obviously repugnant to everything that we believe in as Canadians and that most people in the world believe in. Our hearts are with these girls and their families. There are Canadian personnel now present in Nigeria. They are there to provide liaison and to assist Nigerian authorities in their search.

Justice

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the Prime Minister for that answer.

Did the Prime Minister advise Marc Nadon to resign from the Federal Court before naming him to the Supreme Court?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said before, we received expert legal opinion on the eligibility of Federal Court judges for appointment to the Supreme Court of Canada, as, by the way, had been a long-standing practice, not just in cases of previous processes, including processes with Quebec judges, but in cases where Federal Court judges have actually been named to the Supreme Court of Canada.

The recommendation of legal advice was they could be directly named, and that is what I had done.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the question was whether he suggested to Marc Nadon that he resign from Federal Court. We notice we did not get an answer.

Which of the Prime Minister's employees, then, asked Justice Nadon to resign from the Federal Court? Did the Prime Minister know, yes or no?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I do not comment on rumours. I can only say that we received legal opinions that Mr. Nadon was eligible for appointment to the Federal Court, and I appointed Mr. Nadon directly to the Federal Court.

Rail Transportation

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, he actually appointed him to the Supreme Court. The question was whether the Prime Minister was the one who asked Mr. Nadon to resign from the Federal Court.

Yesterday, criminal charges were filed in the Lac-Mégantic train crash. The court will have to rule on the charges laid against the company and certain individuals. The fact remains that the safety of Canada's entire rail network is in question.

Will the Prime Minister take action and impose severe financial penalties on companies that violate the rail safety rules?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the government has already made a number of amendments to the railway safety rules in the past and since the accident. We will continue to examine this situation in co-operation with our friends in the United States.

I would like to congratulate the police on their progress in this case. Criminal charges have now been laid against the company and certain individuals. Since this matter will be before the courts, I have nothing more to say.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is right: we have made, together, amendments. One of them was about two years ago, when Parliament gave the government the power to enact financial penalties against unsafe railways. The problem is it has been 10 months since Lac-Mégantic and it still has not done a thing. What is the Prime Minister waiting for?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again, we need to look at the big picture and the facts here. The fact of the matter is, as many of us suspected, that the rules in this case have not been respected. As members know, we congratulate the police, who have now laid some criminal charges on the company and on a number of individuals.

That matter will be before the courts, so we are not going to comment on it, but obviously this government will continue to move forward on any measure necessary to improve railway safety.

Employment

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have just returned from yet another great visit to Fort McMurray, where residents are frustrated at being taken for granted by the current government.

On top of that, we have learned from the C.D. Howe Institute that the Conservative decision to loosen the temporary foreign worker program has actually increased unemployment in Alberta.

Will the government adopt our plan and fix this program?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know what the Liberal plan would be. Until very recently, the Liberal Party was inundating us with demands to increase the number of temporary foreign workers to their ridings. That is the opposite of where this government has been going. We have tightened up rules over the past several years. Applications under the low-wage stream for temporary foreign workers have fallen by some 30% as a result of the reforms we have put in place thus far.

We will continue to act, because it is our policy to make sure, as an absolute principle, that if Canadians are available and ready to work, that Canadians get jobs.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in 2006, the Conservatives trumpeted that they had made it easier for employers to hire temporary foreign workers instead of Canadians. Their plan actually allowed businesses in Alberta and B.C. to stop looking for Canadian workers after only one week instead of the month of advertising previously required.

Our plan requires all possible efforts to hire Canadians first. Will the government adopt it?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, of course, it is actually quite the contrary. Until just a couple of weeks ago, the Liberal Party was continuing to demand that we bring in more temporary foreign workers. Obviously, that has not been our position for the last three years.

We have been concerned. We have brought in a tightening to the program and we will continue to do so recognizing the fact that while there is some need for temporary foreign workers, it must never become a business model, and eligible Canadian workers should never be counted out for work.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Quebec had just barely taken office when its new minister of inclusiveness left Ottawa frustrated.

As a result of the Conservative government's mismanagement of its temporary foreign worker program, employers and job seekers in Quebec are frustrated.

Will the Prime Minister finally fix his broken program by implementing our plan?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Party is contradicting itself on this issue, since the party leader is asking for more temporary foreign workers.

The rate of unemployment in Quebec is very high. That is why we are continuing to reform the program to ensure that these unemployed Canadian workers are the first in line for jobs.

[Jinny Sims, NDP, Newton—North Delta, BC]

Mr. Speaker, after claiming otherwise, the Minister of Employment and Social Development now admits that he knew all about the low wages, terrible working conditions, and abuse of the foreign workers program for years and yet failed to fix it. When he did act, it was based on faulty data.

No one is buying the minister's weak attempt to change the channel from his mismanagement. Why is he failing to protect jobs for Canadians and why is he refusing a full and independent program audit?

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

Mr. Speaker, we are in the final phases of a comprehensive review of the program designed to ensure that Canadians always come first in our labour market. Indeed, there are independent audits conducted by the new integrity branch of Service Canada to audit employers and to ensure that those who are non-compliant face the increased sanctions.

However, it is the NDP that wants various exemptions. Those members have written letters asking for streamlining and simplifying the LMO screening process. They want exemptions for the computer gaming industry. They want exemptions for international musicians.

Would the NDP, if it wants to have a constructive role in this debate, actually come to a coherent position?

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Employment rejected the Quebec government's request and said that a moratorium was necessary as time was needed to clean up the temporary foreign workers program, especially since unemployment among youth and immigrants is so high.

Either the minister was ill, or he had an epiphany, because he is now citing as his own all the reasons that we have been giving for weeks.

Now that he recognizes that the temporary foreign worker program needs some housecleaning, will he ask the Auditor General to get involved?