Debates of May 16th, 2014

Citizenship and Immigration

[Randall Garrison, NDP, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Mr. Speaker, what the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration has been telling us in the House is that he is proud of the Conservative record on refugee health, even though admissions to hospital of refugee children have doubled since the Conservatives denied them health care coverage. They are telling us they do not care about these refugee children because to them they are simply visitors. Well, to us they are kids in need of care.

What is the minister's plan? Will he simply wait for the admission rate to double again? Will he continue to blame the provinces? Will he continue to treat these refugee kids as visitors?

[Chungsen Leung, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary for Multiculturalism]

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated before, if there are emergency needs for these kids, they will be looked after. However, in cases of failed refugee claimants, in cases of bogus refugees and fraudulent claims, they will not be entitled to our health care system.

Government Appointments

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

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about the Minister of Justice. His buddy and former staff writer Kevin MacAdam was given a plum patronage position at ACOA to the tune of $130,000 a year, but he never showed up for work for three full years. Did he get fired? No, they tried to promote him to director of general operations for ACOA.

Let me get this straight. Is their criterion for patronage promotion hiring people who never actually show up for work? If that is the case, then who is next, the leader of the Liberal Party?

[Gerald Keddy, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue and for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, it is pretty clear. The independent investigation by the Public Service Commission did not find any evidence of any wrongdoing or influence on the part of ministers or political staff. That is the answer to his question.

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

Mr. Speaker, does the man not read judges' reports? This is what the judge said. He said of this case that there “could not have been a softer landing for a former political staffer”. He found that senior ACOA officials bent the rules to protect the friend of the minister.

The translation is that while hard-working Canadians and senior citizens are being told the cupboard is bare, Conservatives are stuffing the trough with their Tory friends. Will they do the right thing, clean up this mess, and actually fire him?

[Gerald Keddy, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue and for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, this is a pretty straightforward case, and appropriate action will be taken. ACOA has taken action in response to the Public Service Commission's recommendations. Quite frankly, it is my understanding that the Public Service Commission will review the judicial decision and advise the agency of the next step.

In the meantime, maybe the hon. member would like to explain the NDP's Montreal office and if the NDP is going to come clean and pay Canadians the money they should pay them.

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

Mr. Speaker, there again I think the member was not listening yesterday, because the leader of the NDP explained it.

Under the Conservatives, ACOA boils down to two things: patronage and poor management. The Federal Court confirmed that ACOA broke the rules by hiring Kevin MacAdam, a defeated Conservative candidate and former employee of the Minister of Justice.

The Conservatives are still giving jobs to friends of the party. What is worse is that Mr. MacAdam has been drawing a salary for three years when he has not even shown up for work.

Do the Conservatives see nothing wrong with that?

[Gerald Keddy, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue and for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, what the hon. member forgot to say is that his leader played dodge ball yesterday on television and avoided the questions instead of answering them.

Quite frankly, we are answering the questions, and it is very clear that we have a group over there that wants to tell the Public Service Commission its job. At ACOA, we are willing to listen to the recommendations of the Public Service Commission, and we will.

Fisheries and Oceans

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

Mr. Speaker, who will be the judge?

Since they are unable to answer the question, we will ask them a different one.

The Minister of Fisheries and Oceans is stalling when it comes to dredging a channel in the Acadian peninsula, and Inkerman lobster fishers are paying the price. What is more, yesterday, fishers had to return to the wharf in only two feet of water and their boats were damaged.

Will the minister commit to immediately having the channel in Inkerman dredged so that lobster fishers can safely begin their fishing season, or is she waiting for more people to lose their lives, like what happened in Tabusintac?

[Randy Kamp, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, I can get more details from my colleague and reply in more detail a bit later, but dredging of course is something that we do on a regular basis. We do it whenever it is a priority need. Sometimes due to weather and other conditions we cannot do it right away. I think that was the case in this situation.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Mylène Freeman, NDP, Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, for several days, we have been asking the Conservatives about the reasons behind the disappearances and murders of aboriginal women. Unfortunately, they have no idea.

According the RCMP report, aboriginal women make up 4% of the overall Canadian female population yet account for 11% of homicide victims. The Conservative crime bill is not going to solve this tragic problem.

Will the Minister of Justice finally face the fact that a public inquiry is needed?

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice]

Mr. Speaker, I would respectfully suggest that the member read the report in detail. If she does, she will find that the report addressed the issue of violence against indigenous women and suggested that 62% of the homicides were the result of domestic violence.

She will also know that in economic action plan 2013, the government committed new funding for the family violence prevention program, which supports shelters for women, children, and families living on reserve. Regrettably, she and her party voted against that.

[Mylène Freeman, NDP, Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, everyone except the government agrees there is a crisis, but the minister and his colleagues would rather cite budgets and spout rhetoric than actually acknowledge that what they are doing is simply not working.

We are talking about 1,186 police-recorded cases of missing and murdered indigenous women across Canada. Will the government finally agree to a national public inquiry?

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice]

Mr. Speaker, it appears the member has not yet read the report. I understand that. It has just been released. I think she will take some time over the weekend to read it. What she will find is that 90% of the murders have been solved. It is the same resolution rate as in the non-aboriginal population, and 62% of those murders were domestic violence.

From our perspective, now is not the time for further study; it is a time for action, and we have done many things. For example, in our recent budget there is renewed funding for the aboriginal justice strategy. We are reducing victimization and crime overall in aboriginal communities through our strategies. We are also funding community projects specifically geared toward reducing violence against aboriginal women.

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, on this matter, today's RCMP report is shocking. The numbers were shocking enough when the Native Women's Association of Canada identified 600 cases in 2009 of missing and murdered indigenous women. Today's RCMP report doubles that number to 1,181 missing and murdered aboriginal women. The government continues to go on with excuses as if it is doing something.

This is an ongoing national crisis. The action the minister talks about is nothing but a diversion. When will the government call a public inquiry?

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice]

Mr. Speaker, it is clear from the RCMP report that the number is high. It is shocking. It is a tragedy. Something needs to be done about it and it needs to be done right now. That is why we are taking action to reduce violence against women on reserves.

The RCMP report is very clear that 62% of these homicides were the result of domestic violence. That is why our government is taking action now to try to reduce domestic violence on reserves. That member should support our government in taking that action.

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, what we are saying is to add to the limited action the government is taking now by calling a public inquiry.

The government should look at the numbers of people who are calling. The voices are from the United Nations, the premiers, indigenous leaders, all opposition parties, civil society groups like the Council of Churches, and the victims' families. The government and the Prime Minister are on the wrong side of history. They should add to what they are doing by calling a public inquiry into this very serious issue.

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice]

Mr. Speaker, the member fails to point out that people he cited did not read the RCMP report. They are doing that now, and they will find out that 90% of the homicides have been solved. It is the same resolution rate as in the non-aboriginal population.

One of the most significant causes of violence against aboriginal women is domestic violence. Our government is taking action now. The RCMP report is clear. There is not really a need for more study, but there is a need for action. Our government is taking action and the hon. member should support it.

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Speaker, a national public inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women and girls is key to creating an effective plan and putting an end to this epidemic of violence.

The families and communities that have been devastated by this ongoing tragedy deserve answers and deserve to know how things are going to change.

Will the government immediately launch a national public inquiry?

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice]

Mr. Speaker, as that member will learn when she reads the RCMP report, it has actually come to some conclusions about the reasons for violence against indigenous women, and that is domestic violence.

Ninety per cent of the cases have been solved. We know what the problem was. We are taking action now to address that problem, and these members should support us in doing that.

Foreign Affairs

[Christine Moore, NDP, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, according to government sources, Canada's sanctions against Russia are being influenced by trade interests.

While our allies are putting more pressure on Russia, Canada has yet to impose sanctions on important targets such as Igor Sechin and Sergey Chemezov, two industrial tycoons who are close friends of Putin's. These two businessmen signed major trade deals with Canada, despite their ties to the Russian president.

Will the Conservatives commit to cutting all ties with Sechin and Chemezov and strengthen economic sanctions?

[Deepak Obhrai, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and for International Human Rights]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has one of the strongest sanction regimes in the world. This has been coordinated with our allies to target key individuals and entities to isolate Russia politically and economically.

Our sanctions are designed to punish the Putin regime and bring economic pressure on Russia for its illegal occupation of Ukraine.

Canada will further take action if Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity continue to be tested.

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, that answer is not good enough. I warned the minister last week about the problems with Canada's sanctions.

Conservatives said, “We will not shape our foreign policy to commercial interests”, but now they are saying, “We will also look out for Canada's broader interests.” They cannot have it both ways.

The government's rhetoric is very tough, so why will Conservatives not implement strong and coordinated sanctions against Russia? Why will it not put Putin's buddies on the list?

[Deepak Obhrai, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and for International Human Rights]

Let me repeat what I just said, Mr. Speaker. Canada has one of the strongest sanction regimes in the world, which has been coordinated with our allies to target key individuals and entities to isolate Russia politically and economically.

Let me tell the hon. member, our sanctions are designed to punish the Putin regime and bring economic pressure on Russia for its illegal occupation of Ukraine. If need be, we will take further action to send a strong message to Russia in protection of Ukraine.

Public Works and Government Services

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Why will the Conservatives not put Putin's buddies on the list, Mr. Speaker? They still have not answered that question.

Moving on to another subject, one year after the tragic collapse of the garment factory in Bangladesh, the Canadian government still does not have a policy to ensure clothes bought by the Government of Canada are not made by children or in factories with poor health and safety standards.

Manitoba and Ontario already have responsible procurement strategies. Oversight and transparency is required. Will the Conservatives introduce a responsible manufacturing policy when it comes to government procurement?