House of Commons Hansard #109 of the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was liability.
Sadia Groguhé NDP Saint-Lambert, QC
Mr. Speaker, under the Conservatives, Canada's reputation on the world stage is already suffering.
Canada has always been a welcoming country for immigrants and refugees, but the Conservatives are about to dramatically marginalize refugees by cutting their access to social assistance. They obviously have no morals.
When will the minister realize that Bill C-585 is a direct attack on human dignity?
Chris Alexander ConservativeMinister of Citizenship and Immigration
Mr. Speaker, what the opposition does not want to say, especially not here or outside the House, is that Canada is still a country that welcomes the world's refugees and is the envy of all our partners.
Canada continues to welcome one in 10 refugees sent to third countries by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. We are proud that over 18,000 Iraqis have been welcomed in Canada since 2009. That is what I call action and generosity. We will not take any lessons about that from the NDP.
Arnold Chan Liberal Scarborough—Agincourt, ON
Mr. Speaker, congestion in Toronto is quickly reaching crisis levels. Experts now estimate that congestion in the GTA is reaching over $11 billion annually. Ontario's premier has said that the federal government's investment is less than one-quarter of what it needs to be, yet the government has shamefully reduced the amount that is being spent on infrastructure, including Toronto's transit system.
When will the government heed Ontario's premier and start meaningful investments so Scarborough can have its subway?
Joe Oliver ConservativeMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, our government has increased transfers to the Province of Ontario by 76%, up to $19.2 billion. We have increased social programs. We have increased health transfers. We have increased equalization, and we have the longest and largest infrastructure program in Canadian history, totalling $70 billion over the next 10 years.
We are very much focused on the issue of traffic congestion in the GTA, and we will do our part with the provinces and municipalities.
Adam Vaughan Liberal Trinity—Spadina, ON
Mr. Speaker, today I rise to ask the Prime Minister a question about the 1,200 missing indigenous women who have either been murdered or who have disappeared.
In Winnipeg, volunteers do not have the Prime Minister's support. Instead, they turned to social media to raise funds to search lakes and rivers to find their missing loved ones.
On social media, indigenous women now ask, “Am I next?” When will the Prime Minister admit that this is a sociological phenomenon? When will he put as much effort into finding these missing people as he did into finding the missing Franklin expedition?
Kellie Leitch ConservativeMinister of Labour and Minister of Status of Women
Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned earlier, these are terrible crimes against innocent people and our thoughts and prayers are with those families, as well as with the victims.
However, I want to be very clear. How dare the opposition raise this when it opposed budgets for shelters, when it opposed the $25 million that we have invested—
Aboriginal AffairsOral Questions
Kellie Leitch Conservative Simcoe—Grey, ON
Mr. Speaker, the opposition opposed our budget action of a $25-million investment toward making sure that violence against aboriginal women is combatted. It opposed matrimonial property rights.
We are here and focused on making sure that the rights of victims are dealt with.
Guy Caron NDP Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC
Mr. Speaker, on September 11, TransCanada began offshore drilling near Cacouna in order to build an oil port in the middle of a fragile ecosystem. However, the National Energy Board has not yet reviewed the entire project, nor has the BAPE, which is supposed to begin hearings later this fall. In fact, only the NDP consulted Canadians this summer. To add insult to injury, the government refuses to publish the studies conducted by scientists at Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
Why does the government refuse to put all the scientific information on the table? What is it hiding?
Gail Shea ConservativeMinister of Fisheries and Oceans
Mr. Speaker, we have been clear that projects will only move forward if they are safe for Canadians and safe for the environment.
TransCanada has not submitted the construction of a marine terminal in Cacouna for review to the National Energy Board. That is why it has not reviewed it.
At this stage, the only work being conducted in the area is exploratory in nature, and it has been carefully reviewed by DFO experts and authorized contingent on very strict conditions.
François Lapointe NDP Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC
Mr. Speaker, if the government has nothing to hide, why did it insist that tomorrow's emergency committee meeting be held in camera? Why? Transparency? What transparency?
Under this government, the environmental assessment process has become a joke. The regulatory bodies no longer have any teeth. The public and scientists alike are being muzzled. Now, without any scientific advice, work has resumed in an area where beluga whales are at risk. In short, Canadians are wondering if the deck has been stacked in favour of the oil companies.
How can the government allow work off the coast of Cacouna to begin without any advice from scientists to guarantee the protection of endangered species?
Gail Shea ConservativeMinister of Fisheries and Oceans
Mr. Speaker, as I have said, the only work being conducted in this area is exploratory in nature. Furthermore, all of the scientific information relating to the review of this work is posted online.
I find it hard to comprehend why the NDP is running around requesting an emergency committee meeting to request information that it could find with a simple Google search.
John Barlow Conservative Macleod, AB
Mr. Speaker, Canadians live and work in an increasingly digital world. Groups like the Alberta southwest economic development association understand that increasing Internet accessibility is essential for creating jobs and economic opportunities, and for connecting Canadians to online services.
To continue growing our Canadian economy, we need to ensure that Canadians, wherever they live, have access to high-speed Internet. Can the minister please explain what the government is doing to ensure that Canadians in rural and remote communities have access to high-speed Internet?
IndustryOral Questions
Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam B.C.
Conservative
James Moore ConservativeMinister of Industry
Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate my colleague from Macleod on getting elected. I also want to congratulate him on his very first intervention on his first day in this place, raising an issue of great concern to his constituents, and that is moving forward with digital connectivity.
We as a government have invested record amounts of money on infrastructure across this country. Part of that infrastructure is digital infrastructure to make sure that we take full advantage of the academic, economic, and social opportunities that are the fact of the digital age moving forward.
In this year's budget we have put forward a $305-million investment to connect 280,000 households to make sure that Canada, the second-largest country in the world, has Internet connectivity in all of its communities. We are uniting Canada as we move forward to our 150th.
Carolyn Bennett Liberal St. Paul's, ON
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is on the wrong side of history. He stubbornly refuses to listen to premiers, indigenous leadership, the international community, and most importantly, the families of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. His response, that we should not view this as sociological phenomenon is actually a refusal to accept his responsibility to prevent the deaths and stop this tragedy.
Will the Prime Minister apologize for his heartless and irresponsible remarks and call a national public inquiry now?
Kellie Leitch ConservativeMinister of Labour and Minister of Status of Women
Mr. Speaker, I want to be very clear here. I have heard from victims' families directly. They want action, and that is precisely what we are delivering.
Today I was pleased to stand in the House and table our action plan to address family violence and violent crimes against aboriginal women and girls. This government is acting.
On this side of the House we are standing up for the rights of victims against these despicable crimes. I wonder why the opposition votes against every initiative we take to make sure these people are—
Aboriginal AffairsOral Questions
Hélène Laverdière NDP Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC
Mr. Speaker, much like Rights and Democracy and the Pearson Centre, now the North-South Institute is shutting down because of Conservative cuts. The North-South Institute is an important institution. It was voted the best think tank in the world in its category in 2011 and the best think tank in Canada in the development sector in 2012. The institute had varied its sources of revenue for its projects and had been working for months with government officials to have its funding renewed.
However, the minister said no. Why?
Lois Brown ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development
Mr. Speaker, the North-South Institute is a think tank that is independent of the government.
Our government announced over three years ago that we would be moving to project-based funding and we would be winding down core funding. The North-South Institute committed three years ago to finding alternative fundraising, and the government provided two extensions to its contract to assist it in making that transition.
The International Development Research Corporation has held several calls for proposals for research projects. The North-South Institute has been selected for several research projects via these calls.
Ryan Leef Conservative Yukon, YT
Mr. Speaker, our Prime Minister's vision has reinvigorated the interest of Canadians in both their national history and the Arctic. The finding of one of the long-lost ships from the ill-fated Franklin expedition is a remarkable achievement and one that all Canadians can be rightly proud of. Parks Canada has conducted six major searches since 2008, covering hundreds of square kilometres in the Arctic.
Could the Minister of the Environment please explain to the House what the crucial elements were that helped us find one of the ships from the Franklin expedition?
Leona Aglukkaq ConservativeMinister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, the discovery of Sir John Franklin's long-lost ship defines our national identity. It connects us from the past to the present from coast to coast to coast.
The two ships were the only undiscovered national historic sites in Canada, and finding one of the ships is an excellent example of the teamwork between our government, the Government of Nunavut, and the private sector partners who shared resources and expertise.
The oral history of Inuit ultimately pointed us in the right direction and makes our case for Arctic sovereignty stronger than ever.
Mylène Freeman NDP Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC
Mr. Speaker, tomorrow Aéroports de Montréal will make its final decision regarding the future of Mirabel Airport. The proposal to demolish the terminal, despite the community's objections, is a worst-case scenario. The Liberal fiasco regarding Mirabel Airport is going to become a Conservative fiasco if the minister does not put a stop to the demolition. Instead, another use should be found for the building.
Will the minister listen to the people in our region or will she do what the Liberals did and completely ignore reality?
Lisa Raitt ConservativeMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, Mirabel Airport is the property of Transport Canada but it is under a lease to Aéroports de Montréal. It is the one that is in charge of operating and taking the decisions around it. The decision that it has taken to bring down the terminal at Mirabel Airport is one that it is allowed to do under its lease agreements and it does respect the terms of the lease with Transport Canada.
Jean-François Fortin Independent Haute-Gaspésie—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Maurice Lamontagne Institute library, Fisheries and Oceans Canada's only French-language library, is still in limbo because of the federal government. The books are all in boxes rather than on the shelves. Information is not being shared as effectively as it could be.
Six months ago, the Commissioner of Official Languages gave the minister a short nine-page report for analysis, asking that the library remain open. The minister wanted to read the report, but at the rate she is going, it must take her 20 years to read a novel.
The minister wanted to conduct an in-depth analysis. Will she make an actual decision and allow the Maurice Lamontagne Institute library to remain open? It is important for the region.
