Debates of May 30th, 2014

Privacy

[Mathieu Ravignat, NDP, Pontiac, QC]

Mr. Speaker, nobody buys that line except the Liberals.

Ian Kerr, an expert in privacy, asked, “Why choose someone without any real privacy background [...]? The privacy advocate asked why so many qualified candidates were simply ignored.

All that is clear is that Conservatives grew tired of the previous commissioner's balanced approach. They want a commissioner who agrees with their warrantless wiretapping and supports mass data collection of law-abiding Canadians. Will they withdraw this nominee and bring forward a candidate who is qualified to defend Canadians' privacy rights?

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

Mr. Speaker, according to the opposition, real government work experience in the area of privacy protection would make someone less qualified to be the privacy commissioner.

It is truly hypocritical for the New Democrats to claim to be the champions of public servants. When a public servant who has served this country puts his name forward and his integrity is attacked, that is shameful and hypocritical in the extreme.

[Mathieu Ravignat, NDP, Pontiac, QC]

Mr. Speaker, other than the leader of the Liberal Party, very few people are happy about the appointment of a Conservative as privacy commissioner. The Prime Minister's candidate has been very poorly received by the community.

According to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, Ann Cavoukian, Daniel Therrien's professional background is exactly the opposite of what we should be looking for in a privacy commissioner.

Why do the Conservatives want a commissioner who is more interested in spying on Canadians than in protecting their privacy?

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

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Therrien is a well-qualified candidate who brings significant experience in law and privacy issues to the position. The appointment was made following a rigorous process that identified Mr. Therrien as the best candidate. Again, the members say they are champions of public servants, yet they question the integrity of these public servants who have experience and who place themselves so that they can serve Canadians.

Why do the NDP members think that their position is not hypocritical? Why do they continue to attack public servants?

Employment

[Sean Casey, Liberal, Charlottetown, PE]

Mr. Speaker, the government would have us believe that it is banning abusive employers from using the temporary foreign worker program. However, last year, at least 250 temporary foreign workers complained that they were mistreated. In spite of these complaints, the government's black list shows that it has not banned any company for mistreating its temporary workers.

Why is the government not monitoring the program?

[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 employers with temporary foreign workers when no Canadian is available for the job. If employers violate the rules and regulations of this program, they are held to account. We actually have legislation in place to establish financial penalties for those employers who violate the rules and regulations. Every time we bring in measures like establishing a blacklist to publicly name and shame employers who violate this, that party votes against it.

[Sean Casey, Liberal, Charlottetown, PE]

Mr. Speaker, Conservatives named and shamed no one. In my province of Prince Edward Island 11% of the workforce is ready, able, and willing to work and cannot find a job. At the same time, the Conservatives have quadrupled the number of temporary foreign workers in my province. What the program has done under the Conservatives' watch has distorted the labour market and driven down Canadian wages. Why is it that the government oversight of this program is next to non-existent?

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

Mr. Speaker, it was the Liberal Party that brought in the low-wage stream for the temporary foreign worker program. When the Liberals were in power, temporary foreign workers were coming from outside the country as exotic dancers and strippers. I do not think that is the type of program Canadians want. That is why we have made strong changes to hold employers accountable for this program.

[Sean Casey, Liberal, Charlottetown, PE]

Mr. Speaker, we know the Conservatives do not care about Atlantic Canada, so let us try out west. The president of the Alberta Federation of Labour says the temporary foreign worker program has gone off the rails and is driving down wages. The Alberta jobs minister says, “What you really need is to bring compliance measures into that program and enforcement measures and punish those who abuse the program.”

Why has the federal government let abuses of this program become so pervasive?

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

Mr. Speaker, we have brought in on two separate occasions changes to tighten up this program to make sure that employers follow the regulations and make sure they obey the commitment they made when they submitted their LMO. We have made strong changes to hold employers accountable and established a public blacklist. We also have legislation in place to make sure that employers can be held accountable financially. When we bring these changes forward, that party votes against. As late as this week, there were Liberal members of Parliament crossing the floor and asking the minister to bring more temporary foreign workers into their ridings. They cannot have it both ways.

Veterans

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

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Veterans Affairs spent $4 million on advertising instead of keeping veterans' service offices open. When the wife of a veteran suffering from PTSD went to talk to the minister, he took off running. What service.

Since he has no respect for veterans, can he at least invest money in the right places—programs—instead of wasting it on useless propaganda?

[Parm Gill, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the services and programs available to Canadian veterans are wide-ranging and among the best in the world. Veterans have access to a network of 4,800 mental health professionals nationwide, top-of-the-line medical treatment, and generous financial benefits.

It is important that we communicate with Canadian veterans to ensure they are aware of the services and programs available to them.

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

Mr. Speaker, Jenifer Migneault, the wife of a veteran with PTSD, has criticized the lack of support for families of veterans.

That is why she went to meet the Minister of Veterans Affairs, but she is not alone in feeling abandoned and forgotten by a government that continues to use veterans for partisan purposes only to then cut veterans' services.

Will the minister give up his public relations TV campaign and invest in programs for our veterans and their caregivers?

[Parm Gill, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, each year, Veterans Affairs invests $3.5 billion, of which 90% goes directly to veterans' services. Less than 1% of the total budget is spent on advertising. For every dollar spent on advertising, Veterans Affairs spends more than $800 on programs and benefits for veterans themselves.

[Robert Chisholm, NDP, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the minister expects people to believe that he did not know that Ms. Migneault was the spouse of a veteran, even though she said flat out, “I'm just a vet's spouse”, while standing a few feet away. Instead of showing her basic courtesy, he and his staff bolted. It is pathetic. Veterans and their families are tired of being treated with this level of disdain.

Would the minister apologize to Ms. Migneault and veterans and families across this country?

[Parm Gill, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, that member knows full well that the minister appeared at a committee meeting yesterday . We had bells ringing for votes in the House. As a matter of fact, the minister stayed extra time to appear before the committee, and there were only a few minutes left before we had to vote in the House.

That being said, the minister regularly travels throughout this country to meet with Canada's veterans and their families, as all members of this side of House, I can assure the member, regularly meet and listen to—

[The Deputy Speaker, NDP, Joe Comartin]

Order, please.

The hon. member for Dartmouth—Cole Harbour.

[Robert Chisholm, NDP, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Mr. Speaker, Jenny Migneault was speaking for many across the country when she said, “You're forgetting us once more. We're nothing to you.”

People in Dartmouth—Cole Harbour are feeling this kind of callous behaviour on behalf of the minister. Instead of blowing $4 million on ads claiming to respect veterans, why does the minister not actually respect veterans, invest in supporting them, and at least, heaven forbid, talk to them?

When is the minister going to start taking veterans' issues seriously and apologize?

[Parm Gill, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, veterans, stakeholders, members of Parliament, senators, and experts have all called upon Veterans Affairs to improve its communication with Canadian veterans. If veterans are unaware of the programs and services available to them, they simply will not use them. With this new campaign, Veterans Affairs Canada will spend approximately one-tenth of one per cent on advertising.

Public Works and Government Services

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

Mr. Speaker, the minister told the CANSEC defence industry conference that the Conservatives would be reviewing their final fighter jet options in the next few weeks. This is yet another clue that the Conservatives will wait until after the House of Commons rises for the summer before they announce whether or not they will buy the F-35s.

This project has been a disaster for long enough.

Will the Conservatives let this House know their plans before running away in June?

[Bernard Trottier, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, the CF-18 replacement project is going according to the seven-point plan. The results of this evaluation will be released in due course.

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

In due course, Mr. Speaker. The entire process for buying the F-35s has been done in secret, behind closed doors. Given how poorly it has gone, one would think that the Conservatives would now welcome a bit of openness.

This is a simple question. Will the decision, when it is announced, simply be what the Conservatives have wanted all along: a sole-sourced purchase of the F-35s from Lockheed Martin?

[Bernard Trottier, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, when we established the seven-point plan two years ago to replace the CF-18, we embarked on the most independent and transparent review in the history of Canada when it comes to military procurement.

The independent panel ensured the evaluation of options was conducted with the RCAF's engagement and was both rigorous and impartial.

Over the next several weeks we will be carefully reviewing a number of options. We will also be looking at classified and non-classified information to make sure that the information that is revealed to Canadians is sensitive to the bidders. We will remain committed to respecting taxpayers' dollars.

[Tarik Brahmi, NDP, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Eurofighter and Dassault should not have to convince the government to hold an open and transparent bidding process. That should be automatic.

If the Conservatives truly care about properly managing taxpayer money, why do they refuse to hold a competition that would get us the best fighter jet at the best price? Will the government commit to a bidding process, or will it keep signing blank cheques to Lockheed Martin?

[Bernard Trottier, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, when we drafted our seven-point plan to replace our CF-18s, we conducted the most independent and transparent review in Canada's history.

A panel of independent experts ensured that the evaluation of options by the Royal Canadian Air Force was both rigorous and impartial.

In the coming weeks, the ministers will be carefully examining various reports in order to make a decision on replacing Canada's CF-18 fighter jet fleet.

Our government is determined to respect taxpayers and ensure that the Canadian Armed Forces get a good jet at a good price.