Debates of June 10th, 2014

Privacy

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am hoping that the minister can dial into the House and tell us if he has read Bill S-4. There are some serious questions about it, such as the fact that it would allow corporations to go to other corporations to take private information on Canadians, without consent, without notification, including their private Internet use.

My question is, did he think it was a good idea to give corporations this free hand to snoop, or did he just not understand the legislation and that this loophole has created open season for spying on Canadians?

[James Moore, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, there are certainly some times when—for example, to prevent elder abuse, to prevent the abuse of kids who are online, who often go onto websites where they are not aware of being abused online or their personal information is being stolen and credit card information can be stolen—there are circumstances, with the voluntary compliance of consumers, where this information can be shared with security organizations.

Of course warrants are required if there are investigations. We dealt with this issue at the Senate. We adopted an amendment at the Senate committee and it will come to the House of Commons where we will move forward. If the opposition has anything other than noise to offer, we will certainly consider amendments, if the members have something reasonable to say.

Natural Resources

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Speaker, British Columbia communities like Kitimat have clearly expressed their opposition to the northern gateway pipeline. First nations are very worried about environmental risks involved.

Yet the ideology-driven government ignores these legitimate concerns. Why will it not listen to millions of Canadians and put away the rubber stamp?

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, the joint review panel has submitted its report on the proposed project to the government.

Projects will only be approved if they are safe for Canadians and safe for the environment. We are carefully reviewing this report, and a decision will be forthcoming.

The Environment

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister seems to enjoy frank conversation with respect to climate change and the economy.

How is this for some inconvenient frankness?

The IMF says:

...the costs of inaction on climate change are irreversible, potentially catastrophic....

CP says:

Canada ranks worst on climate [change]...among industrialized [nations]....

The Globe and Mail says:

Canada's lagging on climate change is putting the economy at risk.

Frankly speaking, how does this “beggar thy neighbour” attitude on climate change actually help with creating Canadian jobs, growth, and prosperity?

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, we have a balanced approach. Our priority is to protect the environment while keeping the economy strong.

We have made significant investments to begin Canada's transition to a clean energy economy and advance our climate change objectives.

The actions we have taken on climate change will bring carbon emissions down to close to 130 megatons, compared to what they would have been under the Liberal Party.

I am proud to be part of a government that is getting real results for Canadians, unlike that party that had 13 long years and did absolutely nothing about it.

Aboriginal Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, in January, Justice Paul Perell called out the federal government for suppressing evidence about what had happened at St. Anne's Residential School.

He ordered the government to turn over that evidence so that survivors could get the compensation they were entitled to. However, once again, the government is stalling and refusing to turn over key transcripts.

When will the government just come clean, obey the judge's orders, and allow the victims of St. Anne's to get the justice they deserve?

[Bernard Valcourt, Conservative, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, the premise of the hon. member's question is totally false.

Our government continues, and will continue, to receive and disclose the documents through the process that was agreed to by all the parties to the Indian residential schools settlement agreement.

We will continue to take our obligations seriously, which we do every day.

[Romeo Saganash, NDP, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, here is the real premise of the question.

The federal government's apology should be the start of a reconciliation process with the aboriginal peoples. However, if the Conservatives continue to hide information about what happened in residential schools, victims will never be able to move past that trauma.

Even after a court ruling in favour of the victims, they are still fighting for justice.

When will the Conservatives stop their obstruction and make every single document public? When?

[Bernard Valcourt, Conservative, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, my answer will be the same as my first one.

If my colleague had respect for the courts, he would know that they are currently examining these allegations and that we must let them do so.

Our government will continue to receive and disclose these documents through the process that was agreed to by all the parties in the agreement.

The Environment

[Joan Crockatt, Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, countries around the world are addressing climate change while keeping their economies in mind.

Last week, U.S. President Barack Obama brought in new carbon regulations for power plants, and we welcome those. This week, Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott reiterated that countries should be addressing climate change but we should not clobber the economy.

In Canada, we believe that energy and the environment work together. Would the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment please tell the House what actions we are taking to reduce GHGs while keeping our economy strong?

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Calgary Centre for the question. I want to thank her for all her good work on this file.

The actions outlined by President Obama do not go nearly as far in the electricity sector as the actions that Canada has already taken. Canada's rules are tougher and will affect new power plants sooner than regulations in the United States. We are pleased that the United States is following Canada's lead.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott agrees with our approach that we can take actions to limit emissions without destroying our economy, as the NDP would like to do. We commend the Australian government for encouraging other countries not to impose a multi-billion dollar carbon tax, which is what the Liberals and the NDP have—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. The hon. member for Etobicoke North.

Foreign Affairs

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, gunmen abducted 20 women from a remote village in northeastern Nigeria, as 272 schoolgirls kidnapped by the terrorist Boko Haram continue to be held captive.

Could the minister of international co-operation tell us what specific resources Canada has sent to Nigeria to help search for the missing schoolgirls, whether these resources are on the ground, and whether Canada attended the Paris summit to boost the search for these schoolgirls?

[Deepak Obhrai, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and for International Human Rights]

Mr. Speaker, Canada is very seriously concerned by these new reports that have come out that say Boko Haram has kidnapped 20 additional women. We are very concerned about the security situation in West Africa. Canada is doing its part, helping with its allies, providing all the logistical support it can. We will continue doing that.

Government Appointments

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when the Conservatives replaced the boards of referees with the Social Security Tribunal, we told them that they were making a mistake, and now we see that we were right.

The Conservatives' management of these tribunals is worrisome. The process does not allow for a fair and quick decision. What is worse, we have learned that, one year later, 11 member positions are still vacant. These seats are sitting empty while Canadians are facing extreme delays before their cases are heard.

How does the government plan on dealing with this fiasco?

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

Mr. Speaker, we continue to appoint members to the Social Security Tribunal. This new quasi-judicial organization is becoming increasingly effective with its decisions, and the chairperson keeps me updated.

We will continue to work with the tribunal to ensure that it is able to reduce backlogs on appeals.

Natural Resources

[Rob Merrifield, Conservative, Yellowhead, AB]

Mr. Speaker, our government has focused on responsible resource development that protects the environment. There are 84 pipelines crossing the 49th parallel today.

The average approval time for those pipelines is three and a half months. The Keystone XL pipeline is now in its sixth year of deliberations. It is a project that would strengthen North American energy security. It would create jobs on both sides of the border. It would lower risk and rail congestion.

Could the parliamentary secretary tell us more about why our government supports the approval of the Keystone XL pipeline?

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Yellowhead for that question. A total of five separate assessments by the U.S. State Department have concluded that this project would have no significant environmental impacts. Furthermore, alternatives to the Keystone XL project could increase emissions by 28% to 42%.

Our government stands with the hard-working Canadians who are positioned to benefit from this project. Why will the NDP not do the same?

Citizenship and Immigration

[Peggy Nash, NDP, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Jozsef Pusuma and his family have lived in sanctuary in a Toronto church for the last 30 months. As Roma, they left Hungary due to the segregation and persecution they were subject to.

Now, Mr. Pusuma's daughter cannot even play outside for fear of being deported. Why? It is because the Conservative government lists Hungary as a designated country of origin, effectively calling it safe.

When will the Conservatives admit that they made a mistake when they put Hungary on the designated country of origin list?

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

Mr. Speaker, I will not make any apologies for the very successful reform of our asylum system that took place under the leadership of my colleague, now the Minister of Employment and Social Development.

These decisions are made by an independent tribunal, by absolutely highly trained professionals who, under our laws, take decisions independently of elected politicians, independent of the partisan back and forth in this place. That is the way it should be.

There are several options for appeal. Once those have been exhausted, we expect those who have not had their cases upheld to depart Canada.

Employment

[Brent Rathgeber, Independent, Edmonton—St. Albert, AB]

Mr. Speaker, when will the Minister of Employment lift the blanket moratorium on temporary foreign workers in the fast food industry?

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

Mr. Speaker, it will be when we announce broader reforms to the temporary foreign worker program designed to prevent abuses, severely punish non-compliant employers, and prevent distortions in certain regions or industries in the Canadian labour market.

We will ensure that Canadians always come first, and if that means employers have to pay a little more and be more active in recruiting and training Canadians, that is a good thing.

Oral Questions

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I certainly took your point earlier today in trying to reduce the amount of heckling in this corner of the House. It is much appreciated. However, I think that in calling the member for St. Paul's, and I will admit I wish that heckling did not occur from her or others, I quite often hear very loudly the voice of the member for Essex and I think even—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Orders of the day.