House of Commons Hansard #95 of the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was countries.

Topics

PrivacyOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Parry Sound—Muskoka Ontario

Conservative

Tony Clement ConservativePresident of the Treasury Board

Mr. Speaker, the NDP is sensing a political opportunity in this case.

That is what the New Democrats do. They attack individuals who have had 30 years experience serving the public sector. They should be ashamed of themselves.

HealthOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

NDP

Dany Morin NDP Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are always paying the price for this government's illogical decisions. Today, once again, the Wait Time Alliance released its annual report, which states that little progress has been made in recent years with respect to improving wait times. The provinces are in difficulty, and the government is cutting health care funding by $36 billion, money that could be used to reduce wait times.

Why is the government refusing to follow the Canadian Medical Association's recommendations and work with the provinces in order to improve health care in Canada? Canadians cannot wait any longer. The time to act is now.

HealthOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Edmonton—Spruce Grove Alberta

Conservative

Rona Ambrose ConservativeMinister of Health

Mr. Speaker, everything we do on health care is in collaboration and co-operation with the provinces and territories, including the $40 billion annually at the end of this decade that we are transferring to the provinces for delivery of health care.

I am a lot more optimistic than the member opposite. We have seen, through our investment in wait times guarantee of over $1 billion, that the provinces are making very good progress in certain areas. They are meeting nearly 80% of time targets in areas like cataract surgery, hip replacement, hip fracture repair and also in radiation therapy.

The provinces are working hard at this and they are getting some very good results.

HealthOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

NDP

Libby Davies NDP Vancouver East, BC

Mr. Speaker, the minister's assurance rings very hollow when we consider that the Conservatives eliminated the funding specifically targeted at reducing wait times. It has gone.

The Wait Time Alliance report card reveals that Canadians are waiting far longer for emergency care than people in other comparable countries, and 4.4 billion Canadians have no family doctor. Instead of working with the provinces to address these challenges, the government has abandoned them.

Why will the minister not come to the table with the provinces and work with them to improve health care for Canadians?

HealthOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Edmonton—Spruce Grove Alberta

Conservative

Rona Ambrose ConservativeMinister of Health

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to work every day with the provinces and territories on the delivery of health care. It is their responsibility and they work very hard at it.

I would just point out for the member that the Canadian Institute of Health Information saw 2012 as the highest level of physicians per capita in Canada in the history of Canada, so there is a lot of progress being made there.

As well, if we look at comparing ourselves to other countries, last year the OECD noted that Canada had the lowest medium wait times for cataract surgery and the second lowest medium wait times for hips and knee replacements compared to countries like Finland, Australia, New Zealand and the U.K. So we are making progress.

HealthOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

NDP

Libby Davies NDP Vancouver East, BC

Mr. Speaker, it is not only a jurisdictional question for the provinces and the territories; it is a federal issue as well. Commitments were made by the federal government.

Outcomes speak louder than words, and wait times, according to this report card, are not improving. In fact, Canadians are now paying a very high emotional, physical and even financial cost for the long wait times. According to the report today, the cost to the economy of lengthy waits for just five procedures is $15 billion a year.

Why will the government not honour the commitments that were made and become an active partner in reducing wait times for Canadians?

HealthOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Edmonton—Spruce Grove Alberta

Conservative

Rona Ambrose ConservativeMinister of Health

Mr. Speaker, we are an active partner in reducing wait times. The member knows we provided $1 billion for the provinces and territories to establish the wait times guarantees in their own priorities areas. Importantly, they were able to choose those areas that were priorities for them in their own health systems.

We have seen concrete results with, as I said, priority procedures in provinces meeting nearly 80% of time targets, including radiation therapy and other procedures.

We are working with the provinces and territories in many other ways to help them reduce wait times, whether it be things like electronic health records. We are also working with them on a national strategy for health human resources to help reduce wait—

HealthOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Conservative

The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer

Order, please. The hon. member for Toronto Centre.

International TradeOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Liberal

Chrystia Freeland Liberal Toronto Centre, ON

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of International Trade has the time to take potshots at opposition backbenchers, which is flattering, but he and the Prime Minister do not seem to have the time to close a CETA deal, an agreement the Liberal Party supports. Canadians were led to believe CETA was signed, sealed, and delivered last October, but nearly eight months later the treaty is in limbo with even Europeans questioning its success.

As the Prime Minister heads to Brussels, can he and his party tell us when he will finally get the much ballyhooed CETA deal done?

International TradeOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

South Shore—St. Margaret's Nova Scotia

Conservative

Gerald Keddy ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue and for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is talking about the Prime Minister's record, but she is obviously trying to ignore her own. I would like to welcome her to the trade file and to the international trade portfolio. I offer her my congratulations. This is her first question on a trade file. It certainly is not a priority of the third party. I also note that she missed 20 meetings of the international trade committee and missed 69 witnesses.

Come on. Now you want to ask questions on a trade file? You should learn it first.

International TradeOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Conservative

The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer

Order, please. The parliamentary secretary should know to address his comments to the Chair. Of course, I do not ask questions during question period. It is up to other members.

The hon. member for Kingston and the Islands.

The EnvironmentOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Liberal

Ted Hsu Liberal Kingston and the Islands, ON

Mr. Speaker, during his first major speech, the U.S. ambassador singled out Canada for its lack of action on climate change. While the U.S. government is showing real leadership by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the Government of Ontario has closed coal-fired power plants, Canada's overall emissions are on the rise.

When will this Conservative government take seriously the fact that this is an urgent issue?

The EnvironmentOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Nunavut Nunavut

Conservative

Leona Aglukkaq ConservativeMinister of the Environment

Mr. Speaker, again, we took action on this file two years ago. In the first 21 years Canada's coal regulations are expected to result in a cumulative reduction in emissions equivalent to removing 2.6 million personal vehicles from the roads each year. We are also the first major coal user to ban the construction of traditional coal-fired electricity generation units.

I am very proud of our investments and I am proud to be part of a government that is getting real results for Canadians.

The EnvironmentOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Liberal

Ted Hsu Liberal Kingston and the Islands, ON

Mr. Speaker, instead of talking about the equivalent of taking cars off the road, why not actually take some cars off the road by investing in sustainable transportation infrastructure? Right about now thousands of GTA commuters are dreading the voyage home. Not only are they tired of congestion, but the C.D. Howe Institute says gridlock costs the Toronto economy up to $11 billion a year.

However, the Conservative government has decided to delay billions of dollars of infrastructure investments even though investing in sustainable transportation would protect the environment and secure jobs. Why?

The EnvironmentOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Roberval—Lac-Saint-Jean Québec

Conservative

Denis Lebel ConservativeMinister of Infrastructure

Because you are wrong.

The EnvironmentOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

The EnvironmentOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Conservative

The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer

Order, please. This is now the third time I have had to remind members to direct their comments to the Chair, so perhaps we will move on to the next question and allow ministers time to reflect on that.

The hon. member for St. John's South—Mount Pearl.

Government AppointmentsOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

NDP

Ryan Cleary NDP St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL

Mr. Speaker, speaking of wrong, the integrity commissioner ruled that John Lynn, a friend of the justice minister, hired four Conservative staffers at Enterprise Cape Breton without any competitive process. “One can only conclude that it was motivated by patronage”.

The question remains, who exactly directed John Lynn to stack the regional development association with patronage appointments? Who? The dots all connect to the Minister of Justice. Will the minister appear before committee to explain his role in this latest in a string of Conservative scandals?

Government AppointmentsOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Fundy Royal New Brunswick

Conservative

Rob Moore ConservativeMinister of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency)

Mr. Speaker, we have already taken action on this file. I already confirmed last week that Mr. Lynn's appointment as CEO of Enterprise Cape Breton was terminated as of May 27, 2014.

What I think Canadians are wondering though, in light of today's revelations, is when is the NDP going to pay back the taxpayers' dollars it has been wrongfully using throughout our country?

Government AppointmentsOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

NDP

Yvon Godin NDP Acadie—Bathurst, NB

Wow, Mr. Speaker. The question is when will the Liberals and the Conservatives return to workers the $57 billion in employment insurance money that they stole from workers.

The sole purpose of Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation is to hand out goodies to Conservative cronies. Those jobs should have been given to people in New Brunswick who really needed them.

The Minister of Justice is hiding behind the member for Fundy Royal. Nevertheless, it is his responsibility

Will the minister have the courage to explain himself in committee or will he hide like the Liberals—

Government AppointmentsOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Conservative

Government AppointmentsOral Questions

June 3rd, 2014 / 2:40 p.m.

Fundy Royal New Brunswick

Conservative

Rob Moore ConservativeMinister of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency)

Mr. Speaker, saying it louder does not change the answer. The fact remains that we accept the findings of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner. My Lynn's appointment as CEO of Enterprise Cape Breton was terminated.

The question remains as well, when are the New Democrats going to do the right thing and repay the taxpayers' dollars they have been misappropriating for political gain throughout the country?

International TradeOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

NDP

Guy Caron NDP Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC

Mr. Speaker, with all due respect to my talented friend, what I am seeing is that the member for Beauséjour and his Conservative friends are scheming behind closed doors to prevent the opposition from doing its job.

Eight months ago, the Prime Minister was strutting about pretending that he had signed a trade agreement with the European Union. Eight months later, diplomats and insiders are saying that we are still a long way from an agreement. The Minister of International Trade would have us believe that it is just a translation problem. However, everyone knows that is not true.

What still needs to be negotiated?

International TradeOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

South Shore—St. Margaret's Nova Scotia

Conservative

Gerald Keddy ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue and for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency

Mr. Speaker, I am a little surprised by the hon. member's question.

International TradeOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!