Debates of June 20th, 2014

Justice

[Robert Goguen, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice]

Mr. Speaker, we are obviously very proud of our record in naming women to the bench. There are 182 who have been named since we became government in 2006. This represents a 17% increase. Obviously, we want to encourage good candidates to apply to the JACS. As far as diversity goes, we will reinforce the notion that this has to be reflected in judicial appointments.

I notice that Justice Michael Tulloch, who was born in Jamaica, was appointed to the Ontario Court of Appeal. Justice Valerie Miller was the first black judge appointed to the Tax Court of Canada. Justice Leonard Mandamin was the first aboriginal Canadian appointed to the Federal Court.

We will continue to appoint diversity.

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, from the employment minister claiming that Irish workers are more culturally compatible with Canada to the immigration minister who slurs newcomers by saying that they cheapen our citizenship, the government's dismal attitude to diversity is clear. Now we have an Attorney General who wants to travel back to Leave It to Beaver. He does not care about the lack of diversity on the bench.

Will the government ignore these backward views and commit to creating a judiciary that reflects our country?

[Robert Goguen, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice]

Mr. Speaker, it always helps to listen to the answers that are given. There have been 182 women appointed to the bench since 2006, a 17% increase.

I have named the diversity of different members who have been named. There are more: Justice Diane Cameron, a Métis, was appointed to the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench and then elevated to the Manitoba Court of Appeal; Justice Guylaine Beaugé was born in Haiti and was the first black woman appointed to the Quebec Superior Court; Madam Justice Neena Sharma, the first Indo-Canadian who was appointed to the B.C. Supreme Court; Justice Jennifer Power, an aboriginal, was appointed to the B.C. Supreme Court; Justice Shannon Smallwood, an aboriginal, was appointed to the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories. We will continue to appoint diverse Canadians to the—

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

The hon. member for Chambly—Borduas.

Employment

[Matthew Dubé, NDP, Chambly—Borduas, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on Wednesday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon criticized the high youth unemployment rate, describing it as an epidemic and a major challenge for our times. He is right. Young people are increasingly likely to take unstable, low-paying jobs. Over the past 12 months, Canada lost 47,800 full-time jobs for young people. My generation is getting further and further away from the prosperous society our parents dreamed we would have.

Can the government finally explain to us why it has failed to address youth underemployment and unemployment?

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

Mr. Speaker, we have made unprecedented investments in job training for youth and in helping young people find work. However, it is not government programs that will create jobs for Canada's young people, it is a growing economy, a strong economy. The best thing to do is to keep lowering taxes and stick to our policies, which have given us one of the best economic track records in the world when it comes to job creation.

The worst thing we can do for young unemployed Canadians is to raise taxes, like the NDP wants to do.

[Anne Minh-Thu Quach, NDP, Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government and the minister can brag all they want, but the statistics do not lie. In Canada, the youth unemployment rate is twice the national average. I repeat: twice as high. Is that the sorry record the government and the minister are bragging about? There is no benefit to keeping young people in low-paying unstable jobs.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon talks about a major challenge for our times.

When will the Conservatives start addressing the youth unemployment rate instead of denying that there is a problem?

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

Mr. Speaker, we are doing no such thing.

Fortunately, the youth unemployment rate is lower in Canada than in most countries in the world. That being said, it is too high. We must address the youth unemployment problem. Indeed, this is a problem in all developed countries.

That is one of the reasons why I have reached out to employers and unions to train young people for better jobs, as is the case in Germany, where the unemployment rate is 7% and the training system is linked to jobs, like the Canada job grant, which will help young people find the training they need to get real jobs.

CBC/Radio-Canada

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are going to cut another $45 million from CBC/Radio-Canada.

That does not bode well for regional news coverage given that 657 full-time jobs were already cut in April. Recently, because of a lack of resources, RDI did not even go to Lac-Mégantic to cover an important announcement. If RDI is not even able to cover an event that is 250 kilometres from Montreal, they are not going to be going to Abitibi.

When will the minister promise to support regional news coverage by stopping her attacks on CBC/Radio-Canada?

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

Mr. Speaker, the CBC already receives significant taxpayer funds and it can operate within that existing budget. In fact, according to CBC, declining viewership in key demographics, the loss of the NHL contract and declining ad revenues are what is causing its challenges. It is up to the CBC to provide programming that Canadians actually want and deserve.

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

Mr. Speaker, Canadians care about their public broadcaster.

I have received more than 150 emails from people who want no more cuts to CBC/Radio-Canada. Last April, Conservative cuts forced CBC/Radio-Canada to eliminate 657 positions and cut $130 million. Now another $40 million is being cut. The broadcaster's very mandate is being challenged by this government.

Does the minister realize that by attacking CBC/Radio-Canada, an important engine of our cultural industry, she is attacking our identity?

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

Mr. Speaker, I do not know how much clearer we need to make this, but let me quote what the president of the CBC, Mr. Lacroix, said:

A weak advertising market across the industry, lower than expected schedule performance in the key 25-54-year-old demographic on CBC Television, lower than expected ad revenues...and the loss of the NHL contract...have combined to create an important revenue shortfall.

It is up to the CBC to provide programming that Canadians actually want and deserve, not for government to interfere.

Finance

[James Rajotte, Conservative, Edmonton—Leduc, AB]

Mr. Speaker, innovation and investment are the key drivers of the Canadian economy leading to jobs, growth and long-term prosperity. That is why our government launched the venture capital action fund.

Yesterday, the Minister of Finance was on hand to announce a significant private sector led investment in helping Canada's entrepreneurs and innovative startups.

Could the hard-working, dapper and affable Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance provide the details of this very important announcement?

[Andrew Saxton, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Edmonton—Leduc for the excellent work he does as chair of our finance committee.

Yesterday, Cisco Canada, joined by the Minister of Finance, announced the Cisco Canada innovation program, a strategy to invest $150 million to support and accelerate innovation in Canada. Cisco's investment will create jobs across Canada and help turn the entrepreneurs of today into the business leaders of tomorrow.

We commend Cisco for its initiative and encourage other private sector firms to take advantage of the tremendous talent and supportive business climate that business has to offer.

Natural Resources

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

Mr. Speaker, when the Conservatives learned that Northern Gateway would endanger woodland caribou and grizzly bear populations, they said it was justified under the circumstances.

At least this time we can say that the Conservatives are not beating around the bush. They could not care less about the fauna, the environment, aboriginal communities or British Columbia.

Why will they not listen to concerned Canadians and British Columbians and say no to Northern Gateway?

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

Mr. Speaker, our decision is based on the conclusions of an independent science-based review panel. We have imposed 209 stringent conditions to ensure this project meets the highest safety standards. The panel heard from nearly 1,500 participants in 21 communities, and reviewed over 175,000 pages of evidence. The proponent clearly has more work to do with communities along the road.

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

Mr. Speaker, the participants said no and the communities said no and the government should be saying no. The only people the Conservatives are trying to help are their friends at Enbridge. By approving the northern gateway, they made it clear they do not care what British Columbians want. Time and again, they have made it clear they do not care what scientists say. They have also made it abundantly clear that they do not care about the thousands of jobs that depend on a clean environment in British Columbia. How do the Conservatives justify approving this threat to the economy and to the environment of British Columbia?

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

Mr. Speaker, our decision is based on the conclusions of an independent science-based review panel. After carefully reviewing the report, the government is accepting the recommendation to impose 209 conditions on this project. Our government has always been clear that projects will only proceed if they are safe for Canadians and safe for the environment.

National Defence

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives' recently signed contract with Sikorsky relieves it of obligations to produce a military helicopter that meets a statement of requirements that all bidders were expected to meet. We have reason to believe that one of those reduced requirements may be the 30-minute run-dry capability of the gearbox, a defect that was responsible for the deaths of 17 offshore workers in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2009 with a civilian version of the same helicopter. Will the government confirm that Sikorsky is no longer required to meet this standard?

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

Mr. Speaker, after years of Liberal mismanagement of the maritime helicopter project, I am pleased that this contract has now been completed and that we can fulfill our government's commitment to begin to retire the Sea Kings in 2015, and deliver a new leading maritime helicopter to the Royal Canadian Air Force, while respecting taxpayer dollars.

Our government is working tirelessly to provide our men and women in uniform with the equipment they need to get the job done. These amendments are a testament to that fact. The CH-148 Cyclone will be a highly capable aircraft, making it a leading maritime helicopter.

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, I was not asking whether they like the helicopter. I was asking whether there was a 30-minute run-dry capability. We hear the same cagey words reflected in the equally obscure language of the Department of National Defence press release.

Will Sikorsky have to meet the essential safety standards set out in the statement of requirements, or not? Will there still be a 30-minute run-dry capability for the gearbox, or will there not?

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

Mr. Speaker, the requirements defined by the Royal Canadian Air Force will be met by Sikorsky. The third-party expert that we hired to engage in this contract has confirmed the viability of the project under a new governance structure and a phased delivery of the maritime helicopters. Hitachi Consulting will continue to oversee aspects of the implementation plan, ensuring that delivery times remain as promised for the RCAF. This is good news for Canada and good news for our men and women in uniform.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Yvonne Jones, Liberal, Labrador, NL]

Mr. Speaker, Parliament is rising for the summer with no progress by the Conservatives on northern issues. It is very distressing to know that many of the nutrition north vendors are selling food not only with outrageous markups but that is past the best-before date, kind of like the Conservative government I say. People in Nunavut and Labrador have been speaking out on this program for a number of weeks. I ask this. Why are the Conservatives taking no action to improve food quality and affordability for the people of northern regions?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is incredible that the hon. member would not know what the mission of nutrition north is. This government introduced this program in order to ensure that northerners had access to nourishing food that is missing there because of the location. The program is working. The price of these goods has gone down substantially and compared to the rest of the country, prices are actually going down. The program is working. We have the input of all the communities. We have a board that is working hard to keep the program going in the best interests of northerners.

Air Transportation

[Yvonne Jones, Liberal, Labrador, NL]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador has requested the federal Conservative government to upgrade and expand the Wabush Airport and build new airports for Nain in the north and for south Labrador. The Conservatives have failed to implement these necessary infrastructure projects. Why are the Conservatives refusing to fund critical infrastructure in northern communities, leaving people with sporadic and inadequate services? There is plenty of money for advertising for the Conservatives' platform. Why not spend some money on infrastructure for northern communities?