Debates of May 2nd, 2014

Justice

[Brent Rathgeber, Independent, Edmonton—St. Albert, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Right Hon. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court joins a list of dedicated public servants who are denigrated and then attacked by the government when they disagree with it.

The Chief Justice merely attempted to alert the government of potential issues regarding eligibility requirements before joining the high court.

Had the government heeded this warning, which occurred months before the matter was before the court and therefore not inappropriate, it would have saved the government the embarrassment of its botched appointment and a quarter of a million dollars in legal and translation costs.

When will the government publicly apologize to the Chief Justice and abandon its petulant policy of attacking any individual or institution that does not agree with it or does not kowtow to it?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Department of Justice sought outside advice from former Supreme Court justices on the eligibility requirements of a Federal Court judge to the Supreme Court of Canada.

The legal advice was reviewed and supported by another former Supreme Court justice as well as by leading constitutional scholar Peter Hogg, and this was made public.

None of these legal experts saw any merit to the position eventually taken by the Supreme Court of Canada, and their views were similar to the dissenting decision of Mr. Justice Moldaver.

Foreign Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the following treaties:

“Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of the Republic of Cameroon for the Promotion and Protection of Investments”, done at Toronto on 3 March 2014; “Protocol amending the Convention between the Government of Canada and the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital”, signed at Ottawa on 23 May 2002, done at Brussels on 1 April, 2014; ”Convention on Social Security between Canada and the Republic of Peru”, done at Ottawa on 10 April 2014; and “Administrative Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of the Republic of Peru for the Implementation of the Convention on Social Security between Canada and the Republic of Peru”, done at Ottawa on 10 April, 2014.

An explanatory memorandum is included with each treaty.

Also, pursuant to section 7 of the Special Economic Measures Act, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, copies of the “Regulations Amending the Special Economic Measures (Ukraine) Regulations”; made on April 12, 2014 under the Special Economic Measures Act.

Government Response to Petitions

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to two petitions.

Business of the House

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 81(4)(a), I wish to designate Wednesday, May 7, 2014 as the day appointed for the consideration in committee of the whole of the votes related to Transport in the main estimates for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2015. I will be announcing the date of the committee of the whole consideration of the votes related to Finance at a later time.

Blood and Organ Donation

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

Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions to present today. The first is a petition calling on the Government of Canada to return the right of any healthy Canadian to give the gift of blood, bone marrow, and organs to those in need. No matter the race, religion, or sexual preference of a person, that right to give blood or donate organs is universal to any healthy man or woman.

Genetically Modified Food

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

Mr. Speaker, the second petition calls on the House to amend the Food and Drugs Act, with mandatory labelling for genetically modified foods.

Genetically Modified Alfalfa

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

Mr. Speaker, the third petition calls on Parliament to impose a moratorium on the release of genetically modified alfalfa to allow the proper review of the impact on farmers in Canada.

Health Care Funding

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of a large number of Nova Scotians who believe that health care is a fundamental right for all Canadians, these citizens believe the government's cuts to health care in my province to be crippling. They are concerned about the fact that changes to health transfer payments mean that funding will be on a per capita basis. That means that Nova Scotia will receive $23 million less than the province would have gotten under the previous health accord. Obviously, the folks who signed this petition do not think that is fair, and they are calling on the Prime Minister to work with Premier Stephen McNeil to develop an alternate funding formula that does not punish Nova Scotia this way.

Canada Post

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to table two petitions from Albertans from Edson, Spruce Grove, Sherwood Park, Leduc, Barrhead, Gunn, Morinville, Athabasca, and Edmonton who wish the government to reverse the elimination of postal jobs and the end to house delivery and to stop the drastic increase in postal rates.

Agriculture

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is from Albertans calling on the government not to amend the Seeds Act or the Plant Breeders' Rights Act to further restrict farmers' rights and instead to enshrine the farmers' right to save, reuse, select, exchange, or sell seeds.

Democratic Reform

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, my final petition is from Albertans who are calling on the government to reject Bill C-23 and bring forward a bill that includes genuinely empowering Elections Canada to address fraud and to investigate robocalls.

Canada Post

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

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition regarding the reduction of postal services in our smallest communities. I have 193 communities in my riding. Several of those communities are facing reduced hours. This petition is from one of those communities. The community is Bunyan's Cove. They are losing service, and they want a full service maintained by Canada Post, the national provider.

Conflict Minerals

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition today on behalf of Canadians right across the country, everywhere from Ottawa to Gatineau, Montreal, Calgary, Saskatoon and Toronto.

The petitioners call upon the government to adopt Bill C-486, a private member's bill put forward on conflict minerals. They want Canada to take a stance and end the revenue streams for the militias that right now are responsible for heinous human rights violations, including rape and using rape as a weapon of war.

Divorce Act

[Maurice Vellacott, Conservative, Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions to present to the House today.

The first petition is from a number of individuals who ask Parliament to amend the Divorce Act in keeping with my private member's bill, the concept of shared equal parenting as a presumption in child custody decisions except, of course, in cases of proven neglect or abuse.

Agriculture

[Maurice Vellacott, Conservative, Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is from a number of individuals who support a farmer's right to save, reuse, select, exchange and sell seeds, whereas that is now being changed by commercial contracts, identity preservation and so on.

The petitioners want us to go back to and allow for that inherent right of farmers derived from thousands of years of custom and tradition to do so.

Impaired Driving

[Maurice Vellacott, Conservative, Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, SK]

Mr. Speaker, in the third petition the petitioners ask for a change to the Criminal Code in respect to impaired driving causing death being changed to the offence of vehicular manslaughter and a number of other specific suggestions to change the Criminal Code in this matter.

Navigable Waters Protection

[Pierre Jacob, NDP, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am presenting a petition signed by about 50 of my constituents calling on the government to repeal the amendments to the Navigable Waters Protection Act.

As a result of these amendments, 98% of lakes and rivers are no longer protected. Brome—Missisquoi is a riding where outdoor tourism is flourishing, and our residents are proud of their 50 lakes and rivers, which are among the most beautiful in Canada.

These petitioners want our lakes and rivers to be protected from reckless development and are joining those Canadians who have already signed this petition.

Blood and Organ Donation

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present to the House today.

The first petition calls upon the Government of Canada to review thoroughly and change policy on blood and organ donation in Canada.

The petitioners understand that people should be pretested and if there is any disease, they cannot donate. However, they request that the government return the rights of healthy Canadians to give blood, bone marrow and organs for those in need no matter what the race, religion or sexual preference of that person.

Agriculture

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is in regard to the right of farmers to save, reuse, select, exchange and sell seed.

The petitioners want the Parliament of Canada to refrain from making changes to the Seeds Act and Plant Breeders' Rights Act through Bill C-18 and re-enshrine the right of Canadian farmers to reuse, select and exchange seeds in order to protect Canadian consumers.

Canada Post

[Mike Sullivan, NDP, York South—Weston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions on the same issue signed by constituents in my riding.

The petitioners call upon the federal government to reverse the decision by Canada Post to end home postal delivery and raise its rates and to reject the plan for reduced services.

Questions on the Order Paper

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, the following questions will be answered today: Nos. 326 and 335.

Question No. 326

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

With regard to advertising by the government during the broadcast of the Academy Awards on March 2, 2014: (a) what was the total cost for advertising; and (b) what was the cost for each advertisement shown?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada purchased airtime during the Canadian broadcast of the 86th Academy Awards on CTV, one 30-second spot for Finance Canada’s economic action plan campaign and one 30-second spot for Canada Revenue Agency’s tax relief measures campaign. The network aired one additional 30 second tax relief ad free of charge.

The Government of Canada does not disclose information about the specific amounts paid for individual ad placements or the amounts paid to specific media outlets. This information is considered third party business sensitive and is protected under paragraph 20(1)(b) of the Access to Information Act.

Question No. 335

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

With regard to Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation’s (ECBC) responsibility for the former Cape Breton Development Corporation’s Early Retirement Incentive Program (ERIP) and Compassionate Disability Benefit (CDB): (a) what year did ECBC become responsible for the ERIP and CDB; (b) what is the total number and outcome of decisions by year rendered by (i) the Nova Scotia Workers’ Compensation Board (NSWCB), (ii) Nova Scotia Workers’ Compensation Appeals Tribunal (WCAT), (iii) the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia related to the ERIP and CDB; (c) how many cases did ECBC utilize in-house legal services and third-party legal services in (i) the NSWCB, (ii) the WCAT, (iii) the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia cases related to the ERIP and CDB by year; (d) what was the total cost to ECBC for in-house legal services and third-party legal services in (i) the NSWCB, (ii) the WCAT, (iii) the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia cases related to the ERIP and CDB by year; and (e) what specific fund and or budget does ECBC in-house legal services and third-party legal services get billed to relating to (i) NSWCB, (ii) WCAT, (iii) the Nova Scotia Supreme Court cases related to the ERIP and CDB?