Debates of May 8th, 2014

Employment Insurance

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Multiculturalism]

Mr. Speaker, there we see the NDP's philosophy of always spending more of taxpayers' money. If you spend more taxpayer money you have to increase taxes and increase the tax burden on workers, families and Canadians.

The government wants to deliver high-quality services to the public, but with low taxes, so that we can create jobs and opportunities for all Canadians.

Veterans Affairs

[Ray Boughen, Conservative, Palliser, SK]

Mr. Speaker, just a few months ago I was honoured to receive unanimous support for my private member's motion calling on our government to recognize our Afghanistan War veterans in a permanent way that would forever mark its place in history.

Will the Minister of Veterans Affairs please update this House on any new developments about how our government plans to remember and honour our veterans of the Afghanistan War?

[Julian Fantino, Conservative, Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, on the eve of the national day of honour, I am pleased to announce that the dates of the Afghanistan War will be forever inscribed on the National War Memorial. I am also pleased to confirm our government will construct a dedicated permanent memorial to honour the sacrifice of our men and women who served in Afghanistan.

On behalf of this Prime Minister and our government, I hope all members in this place will use tomorrow to pay their respects.

Lest we forget.

Foreign Affairs

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Patriarch Sviatoslav, head of the Ukrainian Catholic church, is visiting Ottawa today.

Vladimir Putin has said he will withdraw Russian troops from the Ukrainian border and that Russia will not interfere in the May 25 Ukrainian presidential elections.

Does the government believe the Kremlin's assurances? Will the government show it means business by adding Igor Sechin to the sanctions list? Can the minister tell us what Canada is doing to ensure this crucial vote takes place freely, fairly and that its results are recognized in the Ukraine and the world?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we would obviously want to verify any commitment made by the leaders of the Russian Federation. Their actions in Ukraine over the past six months have been deplorable.

Canada has stood up firmly against them. We want to do everything we can to support the Government of Ukraine and the people of Ukraine, in the lead-up toward the May 25 election. We will be sending 500 observers. I am very pleased that I will have an opportunity to meet with a leader from the Ukraine Orthodox church later today.

Infrastructure

[Dany Morin, NDP, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Infrastructure promised us a gas tax fund agreement by April 1. After five months of negotiations, Quebec still does not have an agreement. No agreement means no money for roads this summer. The people and mayors in my region are getting fed up. It is spring now and municipalities are running short of time to take advantage of the construction season.

Can the Minister of Infrastructure tell us once and for all whether the gas tax fund money will be delivered in the coming weeks?

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, I find it incredible that this member, with all the years he has spent in the House, does not know how the process works. Incredible.

In Quebec, it starts with the province approving the projects. We sent an agreement to the province of Quebec on November 5. It is up to the province to send it back to us so we can sign it.

Therefore, my answer is that the member needs to ask the Government of Quebec this question because we are ready to sign the agreement.

We are a few days or weeks away from signing a long-awaited agreement with the new government. Quebec determines which files take priority. Mayors in the member's region know that, even if he does not.

Natural Resources

[Blaine Calkins, Conservative, Wetaskiwin, AB]

Mr. Speaker, earlier this week, G7 energy ministers held a special security meeting in Rome to discuss action on energy security. The global demand for energy is projected to increase by one-third over the next 25 years. Canada is well-positioned to benefit from this opportunity.

Can the Minister of Natural Resources, as if he were explaining it to his own mother, elucidate this House on the role Canada could play on this important file?

[Greg Rickford, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, we send a strong message to Russia that we do not accept their violation of Ukraine sovereignty, and that energy should not be used as a means of coercion.

We agreed on immediate steps to assist Ukraine on energy security and the need for Europe to diversify its energy supply. G7 members recognize Canada as a responsible exporter of energy products. Canada will be a big part of the solution to global energy security and take our rightful place as an energy superpower.

Canadian Heritage

[Jonathan Tremblay, NDP, Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP has been waiting for an answer from the minister for three months. We want to know if she plans to sign the convention for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage.

Last time, I was told that the minister was looking at the matter and would follow up. The convention has been around for 11 years. How much time does the minister need to think it over? Does the minister plan to sign the convention or not?

[Rick Dykstra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I will take the member's question under advisement and get back to him with an answer in due course.

Natural Resources

[Bruce Hyer, Green, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, while Canada waffles on climate disruption, Red China is eating our lunch on green technologies and jobs.

Canada has sleepwalked into their trap. By refusing any binding greenhouse gas targets, Red China has successfully hamstrung our Conservatives while Red China's national bank is pouring capital into solar and wind energy.

When will our government wake up and smell the morning, not coffee, but green tea?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I will tell the House what this government wants with respect to a climate change agreement. We want all the large economies, all the major emitters to be part of a solution with respect to global climate change. That is why this government, joined by the Obama administration and joined by the European Union, is working to try to get all the large emitters to accept binding targets so that we can finally break the back of growing greenhouse gas emissions and do the right thing for the environment.

Presence in Gallery

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

I would like to draw to the attention of hon. members the presence in the gallery of His Beatitude Patriarch Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Patriarch of the Ukrainian Catholic church.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

I would also like to draw attention to the presence in the gallery of the recipients of the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards.

For Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award: Anik Bissonnette, Brent Carver, Tom Jackson, Louise Lecavalier, and Janine Sutto.

And members of the band Blue Rodeo: Michael Boguski, Colin Cripps, Bazil Donovan, Robert Egan, Gregory Keelor, and Glenn Milchem.

The Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for Voluntarism in the Performing Arts, Jean Giguère.

The National Arts Centre Award recipient, Albert Schultz.

Lastly, for the Mentorship Program: Jean-Philippe Fortier-Lazure.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

I invite all hon. members to meet the recipients at a reception in room 216N immediately.

It being Thursday, we will go to the traditional Thursday question. The hon. opposition House leader.

Business of the House

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

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, last week and this week, we saw a host of unprecedented attacks by this government. It makes us wonder what is in store for next week.

The government and the Prime Minister attacked the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Before that there were attacks on Kevin Page, the Chief Electoral Officer and even Sheila Fraser. The Chief Justice has now joined the group of eminent Canadians who have been criticized by this government.

Now, as we saw earlier, the government is even attacking our democracy. It is limiting MPs' speaking time after 10 minutes of debate on the electoral “deform”, Bill C-23. After 10 minutes of debate, the Conservatives informed us that they would be reducing MPs' speaking time. Thus they have cut the speaking time of 290 MPs representing 290 ridings across the country.

After the attacks this week against the Chief Justice and the attacks we have seen in the past against Kevin Page and Marc Mayrand, and even Sheila Fraser, a Canadian hero; after the attacks on democracy that we saw this morning, with the government imposing, after 10 minutes of debate on Bill C-23, the unfair elections act, time allocation of closure and forcing that through this morning; after these deplorable attacks, the question is very simple. Will the Conservatives stop their attacks on eminent Canadians who happen to disagree with them and what will the government do in the next week to restore badly shattered public confidence in the government?

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question. I think it is appropriate that perhaps it shall be nominated for a fiction award, perhaps for the Governor General's award under the category of fantasy. It bore little relation to anything I have heard or seen anywhere around here in the past week.

However, I am prepared to provide some factual responses on what we will be doing in the week ahead.

This afternoon we will continue the third reading debate on Bill C-5, the Offshore Health and Safety Act. If we wrap that up before 6:30, we will resume this morning’s third reading debate on Bill C-3, the Safeguarding Canada's Seas and Skies Act.

Tomorrow, the House will not sit in order to accommodate the events of the National Day of honour. Hon. members will recognize those Canadians who served in Afghanistan and, particularly, those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Those ceremonies on Parliament Hill will be the cornerstone of the nation's commemorations. There will be significant events all across Canada, in which all Canadians are welcome to participate.

Next week, on Monday, we will conclude the report stage of Bill C-23, the Fair Elections Act. Tuesday will see third reading and final passage of the bill. Wednesday and Thursday shall be the sixth and seventh allotted days. On both occasions, we will debate New Democratic motions.

Friday, May 16 will see Bill C-27, the veterans hiring act, debated at second reading.

Finally, Wednesday, May 14 shall be the day appointed, pursuant to Standing Order 81(4)(a), for the consideration of the main estimates related to Finance for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015.

Official Languages

[Élaine Michaud, NDP, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am rising today on a point of order to draw your attention to an incident in the House this week that I find particularly troubling. I am not sure what you can do about the situation, but since it happened in the House, you will at least have the opportunity to clarify what the precedents are in this regard and what you expect of members of the House.

On Tuesday afternoon of this week, the member for Edmonton East put a document in English only on the desk of each member. After speaking with my colleagues, I understood that it was a newsletter on the work the member for Edmonton East does in Turks and Caicos.

My remarks today are not about the content of the newsletter but the fact that the document was in only one official language instead of both. As we all know, the House takes respect for bilingualism in Canada and our two official languages very seriously. Documents cannot be tabled or distributed in the House if they are not in both official languages. If the simultaneous interpretation is not working in the House or in committee, business is interrupted until the problem can be resolved. Although the document in question is not an official parliamentary document, I do not think that we can turn a blind eye when members fail to respect the importance of Canada's two official languages. That is totally unacceptable and, frankly, I consider it to be a serious lack of respect for francophone parliamentarians in the House.

All members of the House know that they need permission from their whip to distribute documents like that. I checked with my party whip and she confirmed that no approval was given to distribute the document in question. I also checked with the table clerks, who told me that the member for Edmonton East was putting the document on all of the desks himself. It is clear that the member for Edmonton East knew he was bypassing well-established protocols and showing a complete lack of respect for the bilingual nature of the House and Canada's official languages.

Mr. Speaker, I want to add that I know you may not have any specific recourse in this case. However, I find this situation very troubling. I did not want to let it go unmentioned, and I hope that you will clarify what you expect of members when it comes to respecting Canada's two official languages.

I would love to ask for the consent of the House to table the document in question, but since it is only in English and I respect the rules of the House and Canada's two official languages, I will not do so. I will, however, give you a copy of the document so that you can decide for yourself.

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

Mr. Speaker, as you know, we have had questions about government documents, processes, briefings and so on being in both official languages. Our government values the importance of providing documents and services in both official languages, both national languages for all members of the House.

What we are hearing about in this case is a particular document that a member had prepared for his constituents in the language he normally uses to communicate with his constituents. It is quite normal for many members to communicate in French if they have a predominantly francophone constituency or in English with a predominantly anglophone one.

However, the appropriate remedy for this situation, and we heard that the necessary, usual channels for approving the distribution of documents were not necessarily followed here, is that we ask the whips to take this matter up with each other, with the member in question, and perhaps remind all members of their caucuses of the appropriate rules and practices that we have in place governing the distribution of documents. This is best dealt with by the whips in that fashion.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

I appreciate the hon. member for Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier raising the issue. As she and the government House leader mentioned, the principle of communicating in both official languages is well-established in this chamber. As the government House leader alluded to, there are certain protocols that are adhered to in terms of what the pages will distribute on people's desks. This does not mean that members are not free to distribute things on their own if the goal is to notify members of events or keep them aware of what a member may be doing.

The advantage to the member of providing that in both official languages is that more members will be able to understand and appreciate either the notice of event or the work that he or she is doing. Therefore, the member in question may have failed to do that and may have missed an opportunity to communicate with francophone members of the important work he may have been doing on a particular file.

I do not know that it is something for the Chair to intervene on. If a member does not want to look at the material, he or she is free to not do so. However, I think it is important that members work within the established protocols for distributing materials on people's desks, especially since there can be a lot of them and it can accumulate quite quickly. It would be advantageous to all members in the House to remember that.

Some members speak only one of the official languages. It makes more sense for members to distribute copies in both official languages of their notice of event or whatever they want to communicate. This is an important principle. Members who use only one of the official languages are missing an opportunity to communicate with their colleagues.

I do not want to rule on this, but I think it is an important principle for members.

[John Duncan, Conservative, Minister of State and Chief Government Whip]

Mr. Speaker, I have a recommendation for the whips, including myself, and that would be to remind our caucus of the accepted practice in the House when it comes to putting things on the desks. We know the rules, and we know the rules were not followed in this case. We will remind our caucuses.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

I appreciate the helpful reminder from the whip and I will trust that the normal channels of the whips and the many tools they have available to them will help encourage members of all parties to communicate with their colleagues in a way that respects the principles of the House.