House of Commons Hansard #89 of the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was justice.

Topics

TransportOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

NDP

Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet NDP Hochelaga, QC

Mr. Speaker, a major defect in GM vehicles has been—

TransportOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

TransportOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Conservative

The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer

Order. The hon. member for Hochelaga.

TransportOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

NDP

Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet NDP Hochelaga, QC

Mr. Speaker, a major defect in GM vehicles has been linked to the deaths of 13 people, one of them in Quebec last June.

In the United States, heavy fines have been imposed and an inquiry has been launched to determine why these vehicles were not recalled when GM discovered the problem. In Canada, we are still waiting to see what the minister is going to do.

Why does she not bring in measures similar to those introduced in the United States in order to provide Canadians with answers and protect their safety?

TransportOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Halton Ontario

Conservative

Lisa Raitt ConservativeMinister of Transport

Mr. Speaker, the safety of Canadians is Transport Canada's top priority. Indeed, car companies are required by law to inform Transport Canada when they know of a defect and a recall that has to happen.

There is no evidence that GM Canada knew anytime prior to the actual recall of the problem associated with this device. However, should information come out from the investigations, which are ongoing, that this is not the case, we will ensure that GM Canada is held to full accountability.

TransportOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

NDP

Matthew Kellway NDP Beaches—East York, ON

Mr. Speaker, this is about the safety of Canadians, Canadian drivers. Telling them to wait is unacceptable.

U.S. automakers are required to report safety problems within five days of discovering them. GM knew of ignition problems more than 10 years ago, but the minister claims that she only found out this February.

It has been over a decade, 13 lives have been lost. Will the minister come to committee and testify about why there is still no investigation in Canada?

TransportOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Halton Ontario

Conservative

Lisa Raitt ConservativeMinister of Transport

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, on May 7, before we rose for recess, I was in committee of the whole for four hours, where I answered questions on this precise topic. The answer is exactly the same.

My officials were asked to ask GM Canada officials when they knew of the defect. They told them they knew of the defect just prior to the recall that they announced in Canada. If we find out that is not the case through the ongoing investigations, they will be held accountable under the Motor Vehicle Safety Act.

International DevelopmentOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Conservative

Joyce Bateman Conservative Winnipeg South Centre, MB

Mr. Speaker, people in my riding of Winnipeg South Centre are concerned with the health of those living in developing countries, especially mothers and their newborn babies. Our government has been clear that saving the lives of mothers and children is our leading development priority.

I understand we have played a leading role in paying what we pledge, meeting our development commitments and drawing attention in a meaningful way to this very serious issue.

Could the minister please update the House on the upcoming summit?

International DevelopmentOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Mégantic—L'Érable Québec

Conservative

Christian Paradis ConservativeMinister of International Development and Minister for La Francophonie

Mr. Speaker, indeed, as I said, later this week the Prime Minister will host a number of the world's most respected and influential humanitarians in order to draw the world's focus to this issue of the health of mothers, newborns and children.

His Highness the Aga Khan, Tanzania's President Kikwete, Melinda Gates and Ban Ki-moon are just some of the people taking part in this historic summit.

All Canadians and all parliamentarians can surely agree that all children and women deserve a healthy and productive life. The solution to this problem is within arm's reach, and Canada will be a driving force to this achievement.

Citizenship and ImmigrationOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Liberal

Carolyn Bennett Liberal St. Paul's, ON

Mr. Speaker, next month 400 delegates from 40 countries will come together at the University of Toronto WorldPride Human Rights Conference. Sadly, nine men and women working to support Uganda's LGBTQ community, who were to speak at the conference, have been denied visas by Canada.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs says that he is opposed to Uganda's blatant attack on same-sex human rights. Instead of vague rhetoric, will the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration personally commit today to intervene to allow these essential delegates into Canada?

Citizenship and ImmigrationOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Ajax—Pickering Ontario

Conservative

Chris Alexander ConservativeMinister of Citizenship and Immigration

Mr. Speaker, I will personally commit to use Canada's immigration system to make this conference a success, as we have used it to help settle gay refugees from Iran, as we have used it to speak out against the oppression of the LGBT community in many countries the world, things that party never did.

Every time we get up to talk about it, the Liberals shout us down and heckle, because they are not really interested in the fate of repressed LGBT community members around the world. They are interested in listening to themselves, and that is unacceptable.

Canadian Broadcasting CorporationOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

NDP

Pierre Nantel NDP Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher, QC

Mr. Speaker, 82 years ago today, Canada passed an act to create a Canadian broadcaster. What should be a happy anniversary has taken a sad turn in the wake of the Conservatives' cuts. The Minister of Canadian Heritage can try to wash her hands of the matter as much as she wants, but Radio-Canada has made cuts to its audience relations department because it has less money to provide services. This means that 40,000 complaints and comments from French speakers across the country will go unanswered.

Does the minister understand that the services the corporation provides depend on the budget it receives? Is it the government that decides on the budget, yes or no?

Canadian Broadcasting CorporationOral Questions

3 p.m.

Saint Boniface Manitoba

Conservative

Shelly Glover ConservativeMinister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages

Mr. Speaker, as I have said before, the government has nothing to do with the decisions made by CBC/Radio-Canada. We recognize that CBC/Radio-Canada plays an important role in remote communities, aboriginal communities and official language minority communities. We encourage the corporation to continue to fulfill its mandate under the Broadcasting Act by serving all Canadians in French and English.

InfrastructureOral Questions

3 p.m.

Conservative

Laurie Hawn Conservative Edmonton Centre, AB

Mr. Speaker, our Conservative government has introduced the longest and largest infrastructure plan in Canada's history.

We are ready to work with the provinces, municipalities and territories in order to deliver on their priorities.

In light of today's announcement, could the Minister of Infrastructure, Communities and Intergovernmental Affairs update the House on the crucial contribution our government is making to public transit in the home of the 2014 Memorial Cup Champions, Edmonton?

InfrastructureOral Questions

3 p.m.

Roberval—Lac-Saint-Jean Québec

Conservative

Denis Lebel ConservativeMinister of Infrastructure

Mr. Speaker, the new building Canada fund is open for business. I am pleased our Conservative government has announced today that we are supporting a fantastic new transit project in Edmonton, the Valley Line LRT expansion.

I would like to thank the mayor of Edmonton, Don Iveson, for his strong partnership and collaboration.

Our government has been a strong partner of communities across Canada and we will continue to do so.

International Co-OperationOral Questions

3 p.m.

NDP

Wayne Marston NDP Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON

Mr. Speaker, the worst floods in a century have inundated large sections of the Balkans, leading to at least 40 deaths and more than 80,000 people evacuated. Many thousands of people have lost their homes and much of what they worked for all their lives. Early estimates put the cost of recovery at three billion euros.

Although Canada has the capacity to help those suffering, to date the Canadians government has offered a meagre $60,000. This is clearly insufficient.

Will the government commit to providing substantially more support to the victims of this flood?

International Co-OperationOral Questions

3 p.m.

Mégantic—L'Érable Québec

Conservative

Christian Paradis ConservativeMinister of International Development and Minister for La Francophonie

Mr. Speaker, we obviously extend our sympathies to all those affected by the terrible torrential rains, flooding and landslides in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Croatia.

On May 19, the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies launched an emergency disaster assistance fund to respond to the massive flooding and mudslides.

Through an ongoing DFATD-funded project with the Canadian Red Cross, which allows Canada to immediately respond to disasters around the world, the Canadian Red Cross automatically allocated a maximum contribution to these relief operations on behalf of the Government of Canada.

We will continue to monitor the situation very closely.

JusticeOral Questions

3 p.m.

Bloc

Louis Plamondon Bloc Bas-Richelieu—Nicolet—Bécancour, QC

Mr. Speaker, all of the parties in the National Assembly agreed to reintroduce the dying with dignity bill in order to speed its adoption. Unfortunately, all of the federalist parties in the House of Commons seem to want the federal government to use the Criminal Code to oppose the choice that society has made, that Quebeckers have reached consensus on.

During its convention last weekend, Bloc Québécois delegates gave the party a very clear mandate to fight for Quebec's right to make its own choices for society and specifically to give people at the end of their lives the right to die with dignity.

Will the government promise not to challenge Quebec's law?

JusticeOral Questions

3 p.m.

Central Nova Nova Scotia

Conservative

Peter MacKay ConservativeMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Mr. Speaker, a large majority of parliamentarians voted in favour of not amending the law. As I said, we will review the legislation. The government has no plans to debate this matter during this session.

Fisheries and OceansOral Questions

3 p.m.

Green

Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister put in place the Cohen Commission to look into missing sockeye salmon in the Fraser River. Three years and $26 million later Mr. Justice Cohen gave 75 recommendations, which so far have been ignored and some policy decisions are going in the opposite direction.

My question is for the Prime Minister this. Was the $26 million well spent? If so, will he implement the recommendations? If not, why not? Was it only short-term public relations in announcing the commission, or are we serious about Fraser River sockeye salmon?

Fisheries and OceansOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Egmont P.E.I.

Conservative

Gail Shea ConservativeMinister of Fisheries and Oceans

Mr. Speaker, we are committed to long-term support of the salmon fishery in British Columbia, which is why we established the commission in the first place.

We have introduced several measures that are consistent with recommendations from the commission, which include the moratorium on aquaculture developed in the Discovery Islands.

We are investing $25 million in the recreational fisheries conservation partnership fund. All of the revenues from the salmon conservation stamp will now be provided directly to the Pacific Salmon Foundation for use in its projects. We are providing $54 million to enhance the regulatory certainty for the aquaculture sector to provide greater support to science directed at aquaculture.

EmploymentOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Independent

Brent Rathgeber Independent Edmonton—St. Albert, AB

Mr. Speaker, the government's moratorium on the use of the temporary foreign worker program in the food services sector punishes all for the abuses of a few. The moratorium threatens not only businesses dependent on temporary foreign workers, but also Canadian jobs should those restaurants be forced to close.

Now the minister's overreaction to some admittedly serious abuses inside the program includes musing about mandating wages for temporary foreign workers in the restaurant industry be higher than wages for similarly employed Canadian workers.

Does the minister not understand that this policy proposal would be discriminatory toward Canadian workers, and should a temporary foreign worker ever become a Canadian citizen, his or her reward will be a reduction in wages?

EmploymentOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Calgary Southeast Alberta

Conservative

Jason Kenney ConservativeMinister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Multiculturalism

Mr. Speaker, I have heard some bizarre things in this debate, but that takes the cake. It could not be further from the truth.

As it is, temporary foreign workers have to be paid the prevailing median wage, which is more than the starting wage. In other countries there are higher wage floors for all employees, both domestic and those coming from abroad.

The one thing we want to ensure is that we do not allow abuse, that we punish those who do abuse the program, and we do not allow distortions of the labour market. If there are shortages in particular areas of the labour market, employers should be paying more to get Canadians to do the work.

Presence in GalleryOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Conservative

The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer

I would like to draw to the attention of hon. members the presence in the gallery of the Hon. Dr. Rufus Washington Ewing, Premier of Turks and Caicos Islands.

Presence in GalleryOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Some hon. members

Hear, hear!