Debates of June 5th, 2014

Democratic Reform

[Paul Calandra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, of course, nothing could be further from the truth.

What Elections Canada found was that, after listening to two years' worth of false allegations from the NDP, this government and this party actually ran a clean and ethical campaign. We actually won the last campaign because we had better policies, we provided good government, and we cut taxes for all Canadians, who have more money in their pocket.

At the same time, what we see is that the NDP has used money illegally to fund partisan political offices across this country. As opposed to living up to it and repaying taxpayers, it continues to try to run and hide to avoid accountability—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please.

The hon. member for Burnaby—New Westminster.

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

Now, the information is coming out, Mr. Speaker.

The Conservatives' deeply flawed Bill C-23 failed to effectively target deceptive phone calls. Now we can see why.

At the trial of a former Conservative staffer, one of the witnesses has just stated:

This scheme was clearly wide-spread, national and well organized. It required access, and ultimately complicity from someone higher up in the campaign....

Given these troubling allegations, would the government agree to finally introduce a bill that would actually go after these kinds of national voter suppression crimes, yes or no?

[Paul Calandra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, again, Elections Canada found no evidence of this.

The only scheme that we have before us right now is the scheme perpetrated by, I think, about 23 members of the NDP caucus to defraud Canadian taxpayers of millions of dollars in using parliamentary resources, taxpayer resources, to fund partisan political offices across this country.

It is up to the NDP, now, to apologize to Canadians, return all of these millions of dollars that it took from Canadians, and think about honesty and accountability for once.

Health

[Terence Young, Conservative, Oakville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this morning I was pleased to take part in the beginning of the health committee study of Bill C-17, Vanessa's law.

I was pleased that we could get the study under way and would like to thank the NDP members for finally conceding to allow the bill to be referred for study after their initial attempts to slow its progress through this House.

To ensure that the official opposition remains mindful of the importance of this legislation, I would ask the Minister of Health to please inform the House, once again, about the important measures that it contains to protect the health and safety of Canadians.

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Oakville for that important question and for the incredible work he has done on this file for many years.

As I explained at the Standing Committee on Health earlier this morning, I am very proud of our government's historic legislation, Vanessa's law. This is the first major update to Canada's drug safety laws in decades, and it will help identify potentially dangerous drugs, ensure the quick recall of unsafe drugs, and require mandatory reporting of adverse drug reactions.

I am very pleased that the committee's work is now under way and I look forward to reviewing any amendments that it may recommend. Our government will continue to work hard to ensure that we have the strongest possible safety systems in place so that we can keep Canadians safe.

Canada Post

[Yvonne Jones, Liberal, Labrador, NL]

Mr. Speaker, this year Canada Post has shamefully reduced services to 114 postal offices in Newfoundland and Labrador and hundreds more right across Canada, yet we know that Canada Post earned a profit of $94 million in 2012 and we also know that over the last decade, it has paid back to the federal government more than $41 billion.

To the Conservative government today, have you mandated Canada Post to reduce those services, and if not, will you finally stand up, step in, and support rural—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

I would remind the hon. member to address her questions through the Chair and not directly at her colleagues.

The hon. Minister of Transport.

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, Canada Post is an arm's-length crown corporation. As such, it has developed a five-point plan in order to deal with the reality it is facing, which is that fewer people are sending mail through its system. It has less revenue to deal with in order to pay for increasing expenses. Therefore, it has developed a way forward. We support it in its path.

Housing

[Hélène LeBlanc, NDP, LaSalle—Émard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, co-operative housing is more than housing; it is a community. Roughly 52,000 people across Canada might end up homeless because of this government's choices. However, having a roof over one's head is a right.

When will this government renew funding for co-operative housing?

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Minister of State (Social Development)]

Mr. Speaker, as I stated yesterday, we actually are providing funding to the provinces. The provinces in turn are giving that funding to, for example, co-operative housing projects, or in some cases rent subsidies and in other cases seniors housing. Right across this country, provinces are making decisions on where to invest this money.

I did meet with some of the opposition members recently to talk about Housing First. They were not all there at the meeting with me. I am wondering if some of them were working on that office scheme that they arranged in order to take taxpayers' dollars.

Finance

[Joyce Bateman, Conservative, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, my constituents know the importance of living within their means, and they expect the government to do the same. That is why our Conservative government is working hard to balance the budget by controlling government spending and by ensuring that each and every tax dollar is spent efficiently and effectively, and only when necessary. Unlike the Liberal leader, we know that budgets just do not balance themselves.

Would the Minister of State for Finance please explain why it is crucial that all levels of government follow our lead and take responsible action to balance their budgets?

[Kevin Sorenson, Conservative, Minister of State (Finance)]

Mr. Speaker, sound finances are the best contribution that any government can make to promote strong economic growth. Balanced budgets keep taxes low, ensure and inspire investor confidence, and ensure that essential services remain strong for all Canadians.

Yesterday I was very pleased to see that the Quebec government has committed to eliminating its deficit. We encourage all provinces and territories to follow our government's leadership and take the necessary steps to keep or to put their finances on a sustainable—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

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

Fisheries and Oceans

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

Mr. Speaker, hundreds of fishermen have been without income since mid-April because of severe ice conditions, and the government keeps putting them off. The minister told me yesterday that she was misquoted in the media and she is not willing to compensate fishermen and their families. Instead, she is prepared to extend the crab season so fishermen can catch their quotas.

That does nothing to address the lack of income right now. Food has to be put on the table. Bills must be paid.

Cutting to the chase, will the minister agree to clear up the confusion? Will there be ice compensation, yes or no?

[Gail Shea, Conservative, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, the confusion is on that side of the House. I regret that ice and weather conditions have affected fishers in some areas of Atlantic Canada, but if conditions remain as predicted, the one remaining closed area will open at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow. However, weather and ice conditions are unpredictable, so I do urge fishers to exercise caution.

I must say it is surprising to hear this new-found concern for fishers coming from this member, who once referred to fish processing plants as stamp factories and said that dependency on the federal government “has slowly rotted outport life to the core”.

Intergovernmental Relations

[Jean-François Fortin, Bloc, Haute-Gaspésie—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is all well and good to have a new government—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order. Next question. The hon. member for Haute-Gaspésie—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia.

[Jean-François Fortin, Bloc, Haute-Gaspésie—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is all well and good to have a new government in Quebec that just tabled a new budget, but the fact remains that Ottawa's unilateral decisions have major repercussions for Quebec's finances. In the section of the budget on transfers, Quebec's new government demonstrates in black and white that, effective this year, the federal government will deprive Quebeckers of more than $1.5 billion. That is just the start. We are in the midst of a full-blown fiscal imbalance.

Does the Minister of Finance, who just a few weeks ago said he was concerned about the state of Quebec's finances, understand that the federal government's unilateral decisions are jeopardizing Quebec's finances?

[Kevin Sorenson, Conservative, Minister of State (Finance)]

Mr. Speaker, federal support to Quebec is at an all-time high. Quebec will receive over $19.6 billion in federal transfers this year, an increase of nearly 64% from under the old Liberal government. These transfers include nearly $9.3 billion in equalization payments, an increase of $4.4 billion, or 94%, since 2006, and over $7.4 billion through the Canada health transfer, an increase of $2.3 billion from the Liberal days.

Clearly, nothing has been cut. We are protecting social transfers. We are protecting the—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. That concludes question period for today.

Presence in Gallery

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

To commemorate the 70th anniversary of D-Day, I would like to draw to the attention of hon. members the presence in the gallery of Mr. Germain Nault, a veteran who was in Normandy on June 6, 1944.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

It being Thursday, I will assume that the hon. member for Burnaby—New Westminster would like to ask the Thursday question.