Debates of June 13th, 2014

Employment

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's job market has not just stalled, it is going in reverse. Last year we lost 27,000 net full-time jobs, but we can turn this around.

David Dodge, the former governor of the Bank of Canada, says that we should take advantage of low interest rates and our pension fund strength to invest in and fix infrastructure. He says that the better infrastructure would make Canada more competitive and productive.

Will the Conservatives listen to David Dodge? Will the Conservatives reverse their cuts to infrastructure spending? Will they create good, full-time jobs for Canadians?

[Peter Braid, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary for Infrastructure and Communities]

Mr. Speaker, this Conservative government is more concerned than any other government about the importance of economic growth across this land. That is why we are making record investments in infrastructure.

The new building Canada plan is open for business, with over $53 billion of funding over the next decade, stable and predictable funding. Through this funding, we will work with our partners, the municipalities and the provinces, to renew our infrastructure and create jobs.

We are getting the job done.

Foreign Affairs

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the violence in Iraq is growing. Aid groups are warning of a looming crisis that will spin out of control.

This week half a million people fled Mosul after a heavily armed terrorist group took over the city. Iraq is already struggling to provide aid to 200,000 Syrian refugees, and funding is running low right now.

What is the government doing to help with the crisis? Specifically, what concrete steps is it taking to help with the refugee crisis?

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

Mr. Speaker, Canada is very concerned about the rise in terrorism in Iraq. We stand in solidarity with the Iraqi government and the people as terrorists occupy parts of the country. Canada condemns all acts of terrorism. We extend our deepest condolences to the families and friends of those affected by this horrific violence.

We call for restraint on the use of force in populated areas. We call on all parties to refrain from targeting civilians and to protect medical facilities.

Citizenship and Immigration

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we need a lot more than just words on this file.

The refugee situation next door in Syria is spinning out of control. It is one of the worst humanitarian crises in the last two decades. Almost three million Syrians have fled their homes, half of whom are children. Canadians want to know what their government is doing to help these families.

Will the government tell Canadians how many government sponsored refugees are here in Canada?

[Costas Menegakis, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, Canada is the fourth largest donor of humanitarian aid to Syria in the world.

Canada continues to have one of the most generous immigration and refugee systems in the world. We welcome one out of every ten resettled refugees globally, more than any other industrialized country in the world.

Since the start of the Syrian conflict, Canada has provided protection to more than 1,100 Syrians. Members opposite should reflect on that record and be proud of what our government is doing.

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration was unable to give a clear answer, just like the day before, when he hung up on an interviewer.

The minister is unable to say how many Syrian refugees are in Canada right now, and when he does give answers, they are contradicted by the Syrian Canadian Council.

Can the minister tell us how many government-sponsored refugees are physically in Canada right now?

[Costas Menegakis, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, on May 28, the minister met with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, and highlighted how Canada was working to assist the world's most vulnerable populations.

Since the start of the Syrian conflict, Canada has provided protection to more than 1,100 Syrians. Moreover, we are committed to resettling 1,300 Syrians by the end of 2014, and we are on track to do that.

Privacy

[Ève Péclet, NDP, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the Conservatives have rejected almost all the opposition's amendments to Bill C-13 on cyberbullying.

This morning, the Supreme Court rebuffed the Conservatives again. The court unanimously ruled that a warrant is required in order to obtain a client's IP address from Internet providers. This casts serious doubt on the constitutionality of their Bill C-13.

Why did the Conservatives not agree to the NDP's request to await the Supreme Court ruling before moving forward with the clause-by-clause study of their bill?

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice]

Mr. Speaker, we always respect the work of the court and appreciate its work. We have just received the decision and we will take the time to review it properly.

However, we will continue to crack down on cyberbullies and online criminals who work against the best interests and safety of children and vulnerable people in Canada.

[Ève Péclet, NDP, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this morning, the Supreme Court reminded the Conservatives that they cannot make up rules when it suits them.

The right to privacy and the protection of personal information are very important concerns for Canadians. The way in which the government rejects these concerns is unacceptable.

In light of this morning's ruling, will the government finally accept the NDP's request to split Bill C-13 in two, so that the provisions that constitute serious violations of privacy are taken out of the bill? This must be done so that victims of cyberbullying can quickly obtain justice.

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice]

Mr. Speaker, Bill C-13 has been extensively studied, as the member will know, both in committee and in the House of Commons. We have had 12 hours of debate in the House of Commons and 22 hours of study and extensive evidence from all witnesses and all experts on all sides of the issue.

We respect the work of the court, but we will continue to crack down on cyberbullies and online criminals to protect children and all Canadians.

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

Mr. Speaker, today's Supreme Court ruling is another setback to the government's reckless and unbalanced tough on crime agenda. Legal experts and the New Democrats told the government all along that allowing authorities to spy on Canadians without a warrant was not constitutional. Now the Supreme Court has released a ruling that shows the government's warrantless access legislation is just not going to cut it.

Rather than picking another fight with the Supreme Court, will the government do the right thing, go back to the drawing board and respect the constitutional rights of Canadians to privacy?

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians want us to protect children. They want us to protect all people who use the Internet and could be abused by cyberbullies who hide behind the anonymity of the Internet.

We will review the decision of the Supreme Court and determine the best course of action. In the meantime, we will continue to protect Canadians against online criminals.

Aboriginal Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to believe it is there to protect children, but the government seems to have two kinds of victims.

Let us talk about the government's treatment of the survivors of St. Anne's Residential School. It presented hearings with a false evidence narrative. It suppressed thousands of pages of police evidence relating to the abuse of these children. It was in an Ontario court this week, again, for obstructing a ruling where the judge said that it had denied these survivors access to justice.

Why does the government use its enormous legal power to go after people whose only crime is that they were first nation children and subjected to horrific criminal abuse in a government institution?

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

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that our government will continue to receive and disclose the documents through the process that was agreed to by all parties.

The hon. member refers to a matter that is presently before the court. Out of respect for our court system, I will not make further comment.

Social Development

[Mike Sullivan, NDP, York South—Weston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Conservatives are turning their backs on disabled Canadians across the country and gutting services that people rely on. Thousands of Canadians who have been denied disability benefits are still waiting for a hearing. As of last April, there were 1,000 fewer referees who were hearing appeals. The tribunal now has a backlog of 10,000 cases, and only managed to hear 348 appeals last year.

It is a great example of the Conservatives breaking something that did not need fixing. Why did the Conservatives create a tribunal that was designed to fail?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure. We fixed a problem because we wanted to make sure that there was consistency among decisions from coast to coast to coast. Now, with the new Social Security Tribunal, we do have a case of backlogs that were left from the previous legacy tribunals. These are being cleared. As of April 1, 2014, these cases are now being heard. We are going to clear up the backlog.

[Isabelle Morin, NDP, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, actually, the problem has not been fixed.

The Conservatives have no problem sticking their hands in our pockets, but things get complicated when it is time to pay people the benefits they are due.

Consider how hard it is to collect the guaranteed income supplement or the disability tax credit. The poorest are always the first to suffer at the hands of the Conservative government.

What will the government do to fix the problem at the Social Security Tribunal and to ensure that those who contributed to the pension plan receive the disability benefits they are entitled to?

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

Mr. Speaker, the SST and the government are committed to providing fair, credible, and impartial appeal processes in a timely manner to those people who apply. The SST is an independent administrative tribunal. It operates at arm's length from the department.

The department and the SST are now putting these legacy cases at the top of the priority list. We are going to clear up that backlog.

Natural Resources

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the government claims that the northern gateway will only be approved if it is “safe for Canadians and safe for the environment”. When the joint review panel examined the northern gateway project, it clearly said “the project would cause adverse environmental effects, after mitigation, on a number of valued ecosystems...”.

My question is very simple. Does the minister agree with the finding of the JRP, and, if so, will he commit to rejecting the northern gateway?

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

Mr. Speaker, our government relies on independent regulatory review boards to make recommendations based on science. We are proud of the work that they do in ensuring that projects are safe for Canadians and safe for the environment. As we have said, we are reviewing their report, and we will make a decision in the days ahead.

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the review also said clearly that if there was an oil spill off of the B.C. coast, “there would be significant adverse effects on lands, waters, or resources used by residents, communities, and Aboriginal groups”.

It went on to say that local populations and species could be permanently affected by a spill. I ask the minister again, does he agree with the finding of the JRP? If so, will he commit to rejecting the northern gateway?

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

Mr. Speaker, as we have said, the joint review panel has submitted its report on the proposed project to the government. We are carefully reviewing this report, and a decision will be forthcoming.

Citizenship and Immigration

[Frank Valeriote, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration continues to stand by his degrading comments about the loyalty of immigrants who arrived in Canada after 1977. By smearing generations of newcomers and talking about cheapened Canadian citizenship, he is creating different classes of Canadians. Many of the people that he is deliberately insulting are doctors, architects, shop owners, and legislators, among so many hard-working and contributing members of Canadian society.

Will he stand and apologize for his despicable comments, or do he and the Conservatives stand by his slur?