House of Commons Hansard #111 of the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was illegal.
Rosane Doré Lefebvre NDP Alfred-Pellan, QC
Mr. Speaker, in the past two years alone, the Government Operations Centre has spied on a discussion at Concordia University on colonialism in Quebec, a march in Montreal for the 1,200 missing and murdered aboriginal women and, worse, a protest by lobster fishermen in New Brunswick. Come on.
Why does the minister insist on wasting time and money monitoring Canadians' actions, instead of looking after public safety in our communities?
Roxanne James ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Mr. Speaker, again, we respect the right of all Canadians to protest peacefully. With respect to the order paper question, the government's response was clear. The Government Operations Centre does not conduct surveillance.
Hoang Mai NDP Brossard—La Prairie, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Budget Officer's report on the Champlain Bridge is very clear: the toll that the Conservatives are trying to impose, with the complicit silence of the Liberals, will cause major traffic problems in the greater Montreal area. Workers and low-income families will be the hardest hit.
Will the Conservatives stop trying to convince us that the economy is their priority when they are preparing to take money directly out of the pockets of south shore families with the new transportation tax for workers?
Denis Lebel ConservativeMinister of Infrastructure
Mr. Speaker, the tendering process is under way.
Right now, three consortiums are working on proposals that they will submit to us this spring. The process for building a new bridge over the St. Lawrence is on track. As we announced at the outset, there have been no surprises in the process to date. We intend to have the bridge built on time and even three years earlier than we originally announced.
Hoang Mai NDP Brossard—La Prairie, QC
Mr. Speaker, as the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal indicated, the issue of funding for the bridge must go beyond the simplistic application of the user-pay principle.
I repeat: the Minister of Infrastructure's simplistic approach is not viable. We are talking about massive traffic jams, billions of dollars in lost productivity, and low-income families who will be stuck with the bill.
Will the minister go back to the drawing board and change his plans to impose a tax on workers that will cripple Montreal's entire economy?
Denis Lebel ConservativeMinister of Infrastructure
Mr. Speaker, the construction of the new bridge will create 30,000 new jobs. That is big for Montreal's economy. Not building a new bridge would have been the worst thing that could have happened to Montreal. We are going to build a bridge that will improve traffic flow and make people proud.
Ève Péclet NDP La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC
Mr. Speaker, the minister is not very good at skating. In fact, all the Conservative players are dragging their skates. They even lost a veteran, who would rather play on the American team. The only plan the head coach came up with to get his team going again was to pay for television ads during the playoffs.
Unfortunately, the government is refusing to tell us how much of the taxpayers' money has been spent on these ads.
As they opt for secrecy over and over again and waste public funds, do the Conservatives realize that Canadians will want to replace the entire team in 2015?
Tony Clement ConservativePresident of the Treasury Board
Mr. Speaker, the government is responsible for informing Canadians about the programs and services available to them. Advertising is of course an essential means of informing Canadians about important issues, such as stimulus measures, tax credits and public health issues.
Dan Harris NDP Scarborough Southwest, ON
Mr. Speaker, that is why they were talking about advertising programs that did not exist.
Today we learn that Conservatives spent $2.7 million on political staff for their own satellite offices. I would like to congratulate the member and the whole team for doing what they said they would never do. How can he justify cutting support for seasonal workers, cutting mail delivery for senior citizens, cutting support for Canada's veterans, while spending millions of dollars on partisan advertising and operatives in satellite offices?
Bernard Trottier ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services
Mr. Speaker, unlike the previous government, we believe that all Canadians should have reasonable access to government ministers' offices. That is why in 2010 we expanded and launched offices in the Northwest Territories and in three offices in the north. That is because, unlike the opposition, we believe that all Canadians in all regions should have access to government services right across this great country. I should add that since 2009, PMO and ministers' office salaries have dropped more than $10 million a year.
Emmanuel Dubourg Liberal Bourassa, QC
Mr. Speaker, the CBC revealed the existence of a new study commissioned by Transport Canada on the impact of the Champlain Bridge toll.
This study, kept secret by the Conservative government, shows that traffic volume would increase tremendously on the other south shore bridges.
How long has the government been hiding this study paid for by Canadians? Can the government release all the studies on the replacement of the Champlain Bridge?
Denis Lebel ConservativeMinister of Infrastructure
Mr. Speaker, as we have always said, the studies carried out on the construction of the new bridge over the St. Lawrence will be made public once we have awarded the contract and the bidding process has ended.
Similarly, in the case of Highway 15 and Highway 30, when my colleague was in the Quebec government, some developments, reports and plans were released subsequently.
We have absolutely nothing to hide, but we will not do anything that will cause an increase in construction costs.
Judy Sgro Liberal York West, ON
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, Stelco moved into bankruptcy protection, threatening more than thousands of families in the Hamilton area.
Despite the Conservatives' wasted billion dollar economic ad campaign, the ongoing loss of good manufacturing jobs means a trickle-down hit for working families and the economies surrounding them. The government has dumped hundreds of millions of dollars onto boardroom tables throughout Canada and has justified the giveaway by promising it has protected jobs.
My question is for the Prime Minister. Exactly what is the job creation plan?
Mike Lake ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry
Mr. Speaker, the job creation plan is going to be to continue the same job creation plan that we have had since 2009, where we have created one million net new jobs in our country. Nearly 90% of them are full-time and over 80% are in the private sector.
We hope that, maybe, starting today, the Liberals will support some of that.
Stéphane Dion Liberal Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC
Mr. Speaker, will the Conservatives stop attacking francophone communities?
Funds allocated to language learning have not increased since 2005, despite inflation; $120 million has been diverted from the roadmap to English language learning in anglophone provinces, which is of no help to francophones; and delays in program delivery are adding up. To top it off, the Minister of Immigration has eliminated a program that encouraged francophone immigration outside of Quebec.
What is he thinking?
Chris Alexander ConservativeMinister of Citizenship and Immigration
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is way off base.
We have made important reforms to the temporary foreign worker program to ensure that Canadians have priority access to all available jobs.
The exemption the hon. member spoke of applied only to certain temporary foreign workers. We are aiming for several thousands of francophone immigrants, and we are making great strides.
Paul Dewar NDP Ottawa Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, it is with great surprise that we learned today that the Conservatives have quietly lifted sanctions on two Russian banks. In addition, they continue to shield three Russian tycoons who have close ties to President Putin and who also have business interests in Canada. This is the opposite of targeted sanctions.
Therefore, the obvious question is this. Why are they leaving these people and these banks off of the sanctions list?
John Baird ConservativeMinister of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Speaker, following receipt of new information and further investigation and analysis, these entities are being removed from the list. They were deemed to be sufficiently divorced from Russian events against Ukraine.
Let us look at Canada, the United States and the E.U. In the United States, President Obama has 107 sanctions. The E.U. has 106 sanctions. How many does Canada have? It has the largest number in the world, with 189.
That is real leadership. That is why the President of Ukraine is so thrilled with this government.
Hélène Laverdière NDP Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC
Mr. Speaker, it is not a question of numbers. It is a question of selectivity and comprehensibility.
Two Russian banks were very quietly removed from the Canadian sanctions list on Tuesday. We know that Russian economic tycoons who are close to Putin, are on the American lists and are financially involved in Canadian companies, are not affected by these sanctions, which are strangely selective, to be quite honest.
The Prime Minister promised that financial interests would not influence foreign affairs.
Why did he break that promise?
John Baird ConservativeMinister of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Speaker, in fact, earlier this week we added one institution, more commercial entities and more individuals. That is why Canada is not a world leader, it is the world leader in terms of sanctioning the Putin government and Moscow.
We will continue to stand up for the territorial integrity of Ukraine. We will continue to stand up for its sovereignty. We will continue to stand up for freedom. That is why just yesterday in this place the President of Ukraine said that Canada was Ukraine's strongest friend and best ally.
Élaine Michaud NDP Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC
Mr. Speaker, Canadians do not believe the Minister of National Defence's vague promises anymore. They need a minister who stands up and takes responsibility for the Conservatives' failure when it comes to the mental health of our soldiers.
With the number of soldiers who have committed suicide now higher than the number of soldiers killed in combat in Afghanistan, how does the Minister of National Defence explain that 10% of positions for mental health staff in his department remain vacant?
Rob Nicholson ConservativeMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, what the hon. member does not mention is that we have a record number of mental health professionals, over 400. In addition, we have made an unprecedented investment in the area of mental health. We work with these individuals. We are committed to them. We will continue to do our very best despite never getting support from the NDP on this issue.
Jack Harris NDP St. John's East, NL
Mr. Speaker, what does it really mean to be a priority for the Conservative government?
Nine months ago after the minister stood and solemnly vowed to fix the problem, DND still has not met the benchmark of 454 mental health staff, with 40 empty positions across the country and wait times that are increasing. We are now aware that the government knew full well that suicides in the Canadian Forces eclipsed direct combat deaths in the past decade.
Where is the urgency? What is it going to take for the minister to get this essential staff hired?
Rob Nicholson ConservativeMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, we respect the urgency. From day one this government started to make this and all issues related to our military men and women a priority. I have indicated already that we have put unprecedented investments into this area. We have over 400 full-time mental health professionals.
When is that party going to get on board and start supporting some of these measures? This is what we need for our men and women in uniform, and we are committed to that.
Randy Hoback Conservative Prince Albert, SK
Mr. Speaker, on May 29, the Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act received royal assent. The regulatory measures that followed are the latest milestones in a series of actions our government has taken to get grain moving and improve the performance of the entire rail supply chain.
Contrary to CN Rail's claims, there is still grain to move on the prairies. Farmers have told me that their grain is still not being moved and that CN is refusing to move it. CN continues to claim there is no backlog. This is a grain backlog denial of the highest sort.
Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture tell the House what the government is doing to ensure rail companies like CN follow the rules?