Debates of May 27th, 2014

International Development

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Minister of International Development and Minister for La Francophonie]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, we are very proud. A summit will be held in Toronto from May 28-30.

I can tell members that key stakeholders, like Rosemary McCarney, said, and I quote:

Canada came out of the gate when MDG 4 and 5 were the worst performing MDGs, and Canada said we're going do something about that, and get our G8 partners onto it, and kept going.

It was the same thing from David Morley, of UNICEF Canada, when he recently praised our efforts, saying:

The Government of Canada, a global leader in maternal, newborn and child health...

This is leadership. This is the impact and good results.

[Rosane Doré Lefebvre, NDP, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Canada required the organizations that were receiving funding under the Muskoka initiative to be accountable. However, as pointed out in the prestigious journal The Lancet, the Conservative government is not capable of being accountable itself when it comes to how much money is being spent and how it is being spent.

On the eve of a new summit on development assistance in Toronto, what measures are the Conservatives going to put in place to ensure that the mistakes that were made in implementing the Muskoka initiative do not happen again?

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Minister of International Development and Minister for La Francophonie]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians can be proud of the results of the Muskoka initiative. Canada committed to $1.1 billion in new spending above and beyond its original commitment, for a total of $2.85 billion over five years. The Prime Minister is known for keeping his commitments: 80% of the money has been paid out and we are going to meet our targets for 2015. We want to continue to do more.

We want to tell stakeholders all over the world to join us because we know that the number of children across the world who died before their fifth birthday dropped by 700,000 between 2010 and 2011. We estimate that 2 million children died as a result of preventable illnesses between 2010 and 2013. I have a lot of convincing statistics.

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the government must acknowledge that current estimates show that maternal and newborn child health outcomes for aboriginal women and infants are two to four times worse than the Canadian average.

It is sad that even though the Prime Minister co-chairs the UN committee on accountability for women's and children's health, Canada itself has very weak data for first nations, Inuit and Métis outcomes.

Why has the government that purports to have leadership in maternal, newborn and child health refused to deal with its own embarrassing record here in Canada?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the member knows that is completely inaccurate. In fact, we do a great deal to promote Canada perinatal nutrition programs, improving the health and well-being of pregnant women, new mothers and babies all across Canada, in particular on first nations. Every year this program provides 59,000 new moms across Canada in over 2,000 communities with important nutritional and health information.

We are also investing $2.5 billion every year in aboriginal health initiatives, including projects to improve the access to midwife services and prenatal care. We will continue to work hard on that issue.

Government Appointments

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

Mr. Speaker, the Public Integrity Commissioner ruled today that John Lynn made four blatantly partisan Conservative patronage hirings. After this damning report, the minister was forced to fire Mr. Lynn.

In light of the seriousness of this offence, will the minister now go further and ensure that the patronage appointees that Mr. Lynn hired are not rolled into the professional, independent, non-partisan public service?

[Rob Moore, Conservative, Minister of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency)]

Mr. Speaker, when we think of the source of that question, the party that member represents was the inspiration, in fact, for the Federal Accountability Act, when in 2006 the Public Service Commission reported that the Liberals gave ministerial aides free rides into the public service. We ended that. We brought in the Federal Accountability Act. We believe in accountability, and we have acted.

Citizenship and Immigration

[Andrew Cash, NDP, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in November, in response to the devastating Typhoon Haiyan, the government promised to fast track some visa applications, but here we are six months later and the department refuses to say what happened to those applications.

The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration needs to take this issue seriously and start answering some questions. How many visas were approved, how many were fast tracked, how many were rejected, and how many are still in process? These are basic questions. Why can the minister not stand and answer them?

[Chris Alexander, Conservative, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, we are very proud of Canada's leadership in response to Typhoon Haiyan. The generosity of Canadians was extraordinary, and we are very proud, as a government, to have matched those funds, over $160 million, earning the thanks of the president of the Philippines and the people of the Philippines. We were among the very few countries, probably the only country, to have opened its doors to urgent immigration cases. Well over 1,000 Filipinos benefited from approvals in those cases.

We will continue to work to make our visa relations with the Philippines one of the best in the world.

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

Mr. Speaker, we still do not have the answers to our questions. We know that the minister has made some nice announcements in the media, but has he really delivered the results he promised?

Typhoon Haiyan caused major damage and left thousands of families grieving. The government cannot announce a fast-track visa program and then abandon the people who were promised help. Canada's Filipino community is worried and the government is not being transparent on this file.

Today I am asking the minister to give us the facts. When will the applications under this special program all be processed?

[Chris Alexander, Conservative, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, I am very disappointed to see an honourable colleague deny the generosity of the Canadian people and of our immigration programs.

Canadians were extraordinarily generous, and our government matched their donations. This is unprecedented in our relations with the Philippines.

Furthermore, we have processed and approved the applications of more than 1,000 Filipinos who wanted to come to Canada. Canada responded generously to this catastrophe.

Veterans Affairs

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there has been a great deal of interest in the use of psychiatric service dogs to assist veterans who are suffering from mental health conditions, particularly post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. I have heard from veterans across the country what a significant contribution these animals make to their well-being.

Would the Minister of Veterans Affairs please inform the House on what action our government is taking to assess the significance of the benefits that these psychiatric service animals are having in the treatment of our veterans suffering from PTSD?

[Julian Fantino, Conservative, Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I have also heard from Captain Medric Cousineau and many other veterans, which is why today I was pleased to announce that our government would support a two and a half year pilot project that would provide service dogs for up to 50 veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. The $500,000 will cover the cost of expenses and new research for the initiative.

As well, I thank Medric and Thai and so many other veterans for bringing this forward. I am glad that our government continues to deliver for our veterans and their families.

[Frank Valeriote, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the government is spending $100,000 on each wasteful, self-promoting ad aired during the playoffs. Only 6% of the population even notice.

Thirty-five fewer ads would fund the nine VAC offices the government closed last fall. A mere 17 fewer ads would allow Veterans Affairs to invest in a military skills translator like the U.S. uses to help find good jobs for its vets. Veterans do not need propaganda during the intermissions; they need services.

Will the minister finally stop using our tax dollars promoting his government instead of helping our veterans?

[Julian Fantino, Conservative, Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the only useless comment is that which I just heard.

Canadian veterans need to know they have financial support available in addition to their rehabilitation and mental health support they need when they need it. I will let that member explain to veterans why we should not be informing them of important support programs available to them and their families.

If these reports and the criticism that we hear day in and day out are accurate, I would like to ask that member to stand with us and help us when we promote veterans and budget issues for their needs and their families.

Justice

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

Mr. Speaker, my question is about government support for diversity.

Today, MPs on this side of the House welcome Jer's Vision and a group of LGBTQ youth to Rainbow Day on the Hill. This day represents an opportunity to start breaking down the barriers that prevent LGBTQ youth from participating in politics. At the same time, it provides an opportunity for us to celebrate diversity on the Hill.

Let us show that we all value inclusiveness in the House, and that we can unite despite our partisan differences.

Will the government now join us in a round of applause in appreciation of all those who participated in Rainbow Day on the Hill this year?

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

I do not know if that is the answer. Anyway, no one seems to be rising to answer it.

The hon. member for Kitchener—Conestoga.

International Development

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, beginning tomorrow in Toronto, Canada will host the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Summit, an international summit that will build on Canada's leadership and shape the future of global action on maternal and child health issues. To date, the Canadian-led Muskoka initiative has saved countless lives and improved the health of millions of mothers, newborns and children in the developing world.

Could the Minister of Health please update the House on our government's latest efforts to improve maternal and child health around the world?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, thanks to the Prime Minister, improving the health of mothers and newborns is Canada's top development priority. We have seen great progress so far. In fact, we have seen two million lives saved since 2010, but we must continue to make progress for mothers around the world.

That is why last week, while attending the World Health Assembly, I was pleased to announce funding of $36 million to support research in nine African countries, which aims to improve primary health care for mothers and young children. By working together, eliminating preventable deaths among women, children and newborns is truly within arm's reach.

Foreign Affairs

[Anne-Marie Day, NDP, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, a resident of Charlesbourg, Gregory Ashodian, mysteriously disappeared in Jamaica in December 2013. Despite an intense search in Jamaica, his family has not been able to locate him, and the local police investigation is stalled. The Ashodian family is looking for answers and, above all, for help with its search.

Can the Minister of Foreign Affairs tell us if he is aware of this situation and in contact with his Jamaican counterpart? Can he tell us what assistance Canada is providing to the Ashodian family in Jamaica?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, one of the most important priorities we have is to support Canadians abroad. I would be very pleased to work with the member opposite on this case and on any other case that might be important to her or to her constituents.

Justice

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I asked the Minister of Justice a question about the National Assembly's dying with dignity bill. Instead of agreeing to respect that societal choice, which has received widespread support throughout Quebec and is the result of a process that was lauded by stakeholders for its thoroughness, the minister is imposing the House's will on the Quebec nation and is implying that the Criminal Code will prevent Quebec from moving forward.

How can the Minister of Justice continue to oppose Quebeckers' desire to grant the right to die with dignity?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, the House voted on this issue four years ago. Our government has no intention of reopening debate on the topic. It is that simple.

Oral Questions

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I asked a question and at the end of my question, an NDP member shouted, “Bad question.”

I am surprised that after three years here, he does not know that every question asked in the House is a good question. It is the answers that are bad.