Debates of May 2nd, 2014

Western Forest Products

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

Mr. Speaker, in my riding of Nanaimo—Cowichan, two people lost their lives and two others were seriously injured at the Western Forest Products sawmill.

On behalf of all members, I would like to extend my deepest sympathies to the friends, families and co-workers of Fred McEachern and Michael Lunn, and wish a fast recovery to Tony Sudar and Earl Kelly.

This is an important reminder that violence can occur anywhere, anytime, even in one's hometown. Workers should be able to trust that their workplace is safe. We must strive to prevent all types of violence by providing the community supports that save lives.

I want to acknowledge the difficult work of the first responders and the ongoing work done by the police investigators, counsellors and employees at Western Forest Products.

This tragic event will leave an undefinable scar on the hearts of the people in our communities for years to come. I am moved by the tremendous outpouring of support. As a close-knit community, we will come together to grieve, to heal and to celebrate the lives of those we lost.

National Day of Honour

[John Carmichael, Conservative, Don Valley West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, one week from today, Canadians from coast to coast to coast will stand shoulder to shoulder with their neighbours and friends to pay respect to our men and women who served, and those who gave their lives, in the Afghanistan War.

Just like Terry Fox Public School in Cobourg, Ontario, next week this standout school will host representatives from the Canadian Armed Forces to discuss the significance of the National Day of Honour with students in grades 5 to 8.

Municipalities from every region of the country will pause for a moment of silence alongside over 29,000 schools, teachers and schools boards across Canada.

May 9 will be a day in which we can set politics aside and pay tribute to our remarkable men and women who served our country.

I call on all members in this place to support this remarkable day and thank our Afghan War Veterans.

National Asthma Month

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, this year the Asthma Society of Canada will kick off National Asthma Month by hosting a national summit to focus attention on the direct connection between asthma and air pollution. In collaboration with physicians for the environment and the Canadian Lung Association, it has called for urgent action to address the substantial and increasing impacts of unnecessary sources of pollution on our health, including coal-fired power.

Based on a health estimate model developed by the Canadian Medical Association, it calculates that the Alberta coal plant emissions can cause up to 5,000 asthma symptom days through short-term exposure alone. Absent additional pollution controls by 2030, it predicts an estimated 105,000 asthma symptom days.

The federal minister will address the summit. By asserting her legal duty to impose pollutant standards that address health risks, she can fast-track the decommissioning of Canadian coal plants. Credible analyses show that alternative and affordable electricity sources are already available. All that is missing is the political will.

For the sake of our children, I ask her to heed this call for action.

The New Democratic Party of Canada

[Roxanne James, Conservative, Scarborough Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians know that the New Democrats have no plan when it comes to keeping streets and communities safe or building a correctional system that actually corrects criminal behaviour. They oppose common sense measures like preventing prisoners from making frivolous complaints. I wish they would make up their minds about prison spending.

The member for Surrey North called on the government to cut prison spending saying, “Astronomical spending on prisons isn't going to make communities safer”, but just yesterday at the public safety committee, the NDP public safety critic actually called on the government to start throwing more money at prisons.

On this side of the House we are clear. The government will not build any new prisons. In fact, we have actually closed two. We will also end the ridiculous and needless perks for offenders that Canadians find offensive.

When it comes to keeping dangerous, violent criminals where they belong, we will keep them behind bars. I hope the New Democrats will stop their flip-flopping and finally support our common sense approach to keeping Canadians safe.

Medal of Bravery

[John McKay, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last week, the Governor General recognized over 40 amazing Canadians by giving them the Medal of Bravery. Among the recipients was one of our own, Brennan Richardson, assistant to the Liberal MP for Vancouver Centre. When a man tried to rob a gas station while holding a lit Molotov cocktail, Brennan acted quickly, restrained the man and pushed him outside. Fortunately, the bottle did not ignite when it fell to the ground. That is pretty gutsy. Who says liberals do not have guts?

Also, he is being considered for a second bravery award for a separate incident. The guy is a regular Batman.

I have known Brennan for a number of years. He often needs a haircut, has no fashion sense, and has a peculiar sense of humour. Brennan is a fixture in Ottawa's theatre scene, shares obscure literary references with my staff member Shawn Boyle, and daily destroys productivity in my office. Other than that, he is a great guy.

However, none of us see him as a hero; just a regular guy doing heroic things.

Brennan is a big fan of St. Francis of Assisi. St. Francis and those of us who are not quite so saintly congratulate Brennan for a job well done.

Mental Health Week

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

Mr. Speaker, next week is Mental Health Week. On May 6, Senator Roméo Dallaire and I will host the Sam Sharpe breakfast, exploring veteran mental health and wellness issues.

We will hear from Tim Laidler, a young Afghanistan veteran who struggled with his mental injuries before attending the veterans transition program, returning to school, and now he helps other veterans as director of that program.

We will hear from Chris Linford, author of Warrior Rising, an inspired story of his family's journey on his road back from PTSD.

Sam Sharpe himself was a member of Parliament in this place for Ontario North. He served on the battle fields of World War I before returning to Canada where he took his life struggling with his mental injuries.

By remembering Sharpe and hearing these inspired stories of our veterans for today, we have shown we are coming a long way on the road from stigma. We still have a way to go, but the stories of our veterans will show that there is help out there for them.

New Democratic Party of Canada

[Laurin Liu, NDP, Rivière-des-Mille-Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today is the anniversary of a very special day.

Three years ago, an unprecedented number of Canadians and Quebeckers turned their backs on the old parties and on Liberal and Conservative corruption. They chose the NDP.

Jack Layton's optimism convinced this country that another Canada was possible. Hundreds of NDP candidates across the country, young and not so young, from all walks of life, shared with Canadians this positive vision of our country that is light years away from Liberal arrogance and Conservative scandals.

The NDP made its way into the hearts of Quebeckers and Canadians. We are still carrying the torch of a different, more united, greener and more prosperous Canada.

In 2015, the NDP will run on the same optimistic vision of a better future. I want to wish everyone a happy third anniversary of the orange wave.

First Nations Education

[Bradley Trost, Conservative, Saskatoon—Humboldt, SK]

Mr. Speaker, our government has made reforming first nations education a priority. This is a goal that we share with first nations parents, teachers, students, and communities across the country.

I am pleased that the Assembly of First Nations has confirmed that Bill C-33 is a constructive and necessary step forward. This morning, Regional Chief Roger Augustine, said, “this is a huge improvement on what we as First Nations parents have had to force our children to suffer under the Indian Act..”. That is why we have been engaged in consultation on the education file for years.

This act would provide stable funding and the structures to help first nations students reach their potential and participate fully in our economy. As a government, we must provide leadership, and with our partners we are making progress to remove the long-standing barriers to success. I challenge the entire opposition to support this transformative bill.

Justice

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court warned the Conservative government in July that Justice Nadon's appointment would be problematic.

As we know, the Prime Minister decided to do what he wanted and appointed Justice Nadon anyway.

Does the Prime Minister realize that without his stubbornness, we would not have wasted so much time and money? Furthermore, we would have avoided a battle with Quebec and last night's crisis caused by the prime minister's office attacking the Chief Justice in a very inappropriate manner.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Justice asked for an outside legal opinion from a former Supreme Court justice on whether Federal Court justices can be appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada. The legal opinion was reviewed and received the support of another former Supreme Court justice, who was also supported by an eminent professor, an expert in constitutional law, and that opinion was made public. All experts agreed that there was no basis for the Supreme Court's opinion and that, basically, Justice Moldaver's dissenting opinion should prevail.

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Chief Justice deserves better than these attacks.

The Chief Justice states that she did not try to contact the Prime Minister while the matter was before the courts, but in an unprecedented, and frankly petulant, statement released late last night, the Prime Minister's Office implies that the Chief Justice did just that.

This statement from the PMO was clearly inappropriate. Will the Prime Minister explain why he has launched this attack on the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, and will he stop his inappropriate petulant attacks?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is a known fact that the Chief Justice did try to contact the Prime Minister during the selection process.

On the advice of the Minister of Justice, the Prime Minister was advised not to take a call of this nature since it would be inappropriate during the selection process.

The Minister of Justice and the Prime Minister both agreed that the call was inappropriate. Neither the Prime Minister nor the Minister of Justice would ever take a call on something that would be before the courts or that even might tentatively be before the courts.

Employment

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Kevin Page, Marc Mayrand, and even Sheila Fraser, have all seen how ugly the government can get. It is time to change the government. Here is another reason why.

Its mismanagement on temporary foreign workers has led to Canadians losing their jobs. Here is more breaking news. We have learned that the number of temporary foreign workers in the manufacturing sector has doubled, from 8,600 in 2006 when the government took power, to almost 17,000 in 2012.

Why has there been such a staggering increase? Why is the government showing such clear incompetence?

[Scott Armstrong, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment and Social Development]

Mr. Speaker, the purpose of the temporary foreign worker program is to provide temporary help when acute labour shortages exist.

Our government sent a strong message to employers that they must always give Canadians first crack at any available job.

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

Mr. Speaker, the temporary foreign worker program has been a problem for a long time. The excessive use of these workers is skewing the labour market. It is driving wages down and creating unemployment.

The Conservatives would have us believe that the problem is only in the restaurant industry, but there are also problems in the service industry, the banking sector and even the manufacturing industry.

Why are the Conservatives refusing to clean up this program by asking the Auditor General to investigate in order to ensure that no worker is put at a disadvantage?

[Scott Armstrong, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment and Social Development]

Mr. Speaker, there are constant audits going on in this program.

We have integrity officers now, a change that was made by our government, who can go into a work site unannounced and make sure that every employer that is engaged in this program is following the rules and protecting jobs for Canadians.

We are taking strong action to make sure that Canadians are protected first, and also strong action to make sure that employers do not abuse temporary foreign workers when they need to have them.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives would have us believe that they have everything under control but, frankly, that is ridiculous. In reality, they are ignoring this problem.

The Department of Employment and Social Development's own figures show that the number of temporary foreign workers in the manufacturing industry has doubled since 2006. During that same period, we have experienced an economic crisis and seen a hike in our unemployment rate, particularly in the manufacturing industry.

How can the minister claim that minor adjustments to the program will be enough when the government allows more temporary foreign workers to come to the country during an economic downturn?

[Scott Armstrong, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment and Social Development]

Mr. Speaker, we have taken increased and strong measures to make sure that the integrity of this program is protected. I also think it is rich that a member of that party criticizes the explosion in the numbers of any program in this country, when members constantly come over to ask the minister to increase the amount of temporary foreign workers in their ridings.

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

Mr. Speaker, the government deliberately expanded the number of temporary foreign workers. It invested $150 million more in the program in 2007 and reduced wait times for opinions from five months to five days.

In 2008, the minister said, “We've expanded the temporary foreign workers program very significantly and very deliberately”.

Why, despite the abuse, is the government in a hurry to expand this program?

[Scott Armstrong, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment and Social Development]

Mr. Speaker, as I said, we have increased the integrity in this program. We have passed several measures to tighten it, to make sure that employers always give Canadians first crack at any job. For example, we now have the authority to conduct on-site inspections. We have the ability to ban non-compliant employers from the program for two years, immediately adding their names to a blacklist, shaming them publicly. Any employer who does not support the measures that they put in the criteria when they apply for the program could be held legally responsible. Also, they can be subject to fines.

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

Mr. Speaker, this outbreak of historical revisionism is doing extreme damage to a valuable program.

Not so many years ago, the minister said, “we've very deliberately expanded the temporary foreign workers program...”, and she said they have increased the size of the program in a way that is significant and very deliberate.

Those are the words of the minister. She wanted to explode the numbers in this program, and now the parliamentary secretary is standing there sanctimoniously, as if the government is doing everything in its power to limit the growth of this program.

Having created this crisis, when will they fix this—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment and Social Development.

[Scott Armstrong, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment and Social Development]

As I said, Mr. Speaker, the purpose of the temporary foreign worker program is to provide temporary help when acute labour shortages exist. We have taken strong steps to make sure that employers from coast to coast to coast comply with the principles behind this program. We are making sure that employers have the responsibility to meet their commitment to always give Canadians first crack at any job.

It is shameful that the member from that party, whose members constantly come over and ask the Minister of Employment and Social Development to increase the amount of temporary foreign workers in their ridings, is standing here and saying things—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. member for Markham—Unionville.

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

Mr. Speaker, if the program was not so messed up, maybe opposition members would not need to go over and ask for help.

This is extraordinary sanctimony. I have just quoted the former minister, saying she—