Debates of Sept. 24th, 2014

The Environment

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

Mr. Speaker, that is the problem. Fisheries and Oceans Canada did not provide a scientific opinion. There were opinions for seismic surveys, but not for drilling.

The judge was clear: none of the officials involved in reviewing the file had any expertise on marine mammals. She also noted that Quebec never obtained scientific opinions from Fisheries and Oceans Canada's science branch.

Does the minister realize that by keeping those scientists quiet and allowing drilling at Cacouna to begin prematurely, she is responsible for this whole mess and she failed to meet her environmental obligations?

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

Mr. Speaker, again let me repeat: the judge was not ruling on a federal authorization; the judge was ruling on a Quebec provincial authorization, and I cannot speak for the Province of Quebec.

However, I do know that our DFO scientists conducted reviews, reviewed TransCanada's work, and approved it based on the very strictest conditions.

This is a legal matter. I have nothing more to add. As I said before, all of the scientific information is on the Internet.

National Defence

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the navy trusted the Conservative government's claims that it would replace its aging ships. What a mistake. Now Canada's only naval supply ships are being retired, but replacements the government finally commissioned are way behind schedule and will not be available for years. That means our navy will simply not be functional. Now the government is panicking and it may have to buy old, used American ships instead.

Let us give the parliamentary secretary another chance to level with Canadians. How much will the Conservatives' woeful incompetence cost when they have to cancel their made-in-Canada supply ships that they already commissioned?

[James Bezan, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, that is really rich coming from the Liberal Party, a party that cancelled our replacements to the Sea Kings, the party that went and bought used submarines.

The member for Markham—Unionville back in 2008 said, when referring to the defence file, “I think the defence budget has gone up at an alarming rate”, so we will take no lessons from the Liberals while we are trying to help the Royal Canadian Navy. We are investing in modernizing the frigates and we have a $36.6 billion program in the national shipbuilding procurement.

Public Safety

[Adam Vaughan, Liberal, Trinity—Spadina, ON]

Mr. Speaker, not only is climate change having a disastrous impact on the environment; it is wreaking havoc on municipalities and their budgets. Just like with climate change, the federal government's response to natural disasters is also missing in action when it comes to this issue.

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities is pleading with the government to review and rewrite its disaster protocols. Cities should not have to wait months for financial help.

On the environment, the government is at best negligent; on disaster relief, it is just plain incompetent.

When will Canadians and municipalities be able to depend on the government to show up when it is needed?

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, our Canadian government has a remarkable record when it comes to supporting Canadian communities struggling to cope with natural disasters. What is insulting is that the Liberal member voted against a $200 million budget to prepare Canada and communities for natural disasters. If anyone is missing in action, Mr. Speaker, it is the gentleman on the other side of the House.

National Defence

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has just stated in New York that the United States has requested additional resources from Canada in Iraq. The Prime Minister says that he needs to have some debate in cabinet before he can make any decision on this file.

Will there also be a debate and vote in the House of Commons?

[James Bezan, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, we have been supportive of U.S. efforts in forming the coalition to tackle ISIL, and that is why we have committed Canadian Forces in a non-combat role. We are coming up to the end of 30 days from September 5 and we will have these discussions as we review our progress and look at renewing our commitment.

Canada Post

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, you are quite right; this is called question period and not answer period, unfortunately.

Along with the NDP, there are now 87 municipalities that have passed resolutions opposing the end of home mail delivery in Canada. Now we have heard that Canada Post will need to rent commercial space in large cities for its mailboxes. Knowing the Conservatives, it will probably cost more to rent thousands of square feet of space than it would to just deliver the mail to people. Enough with the wasteful spending.

Will the Conservatives ask Canada Post to go back to the drawing board and defend and protect this service, which people really want?

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, in 2013, Canada Post delivered one billion fewer letters than it did in 2006. Two-thirds of Canadians do not receive mail at their door.

In answer to the member's question, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities overwhelmingly defeated a motion asking the government to turn over the changes at Canada Post. Maybe he should check his facts.

Public Safety

[Nina Grewal, Conservative, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the community of Surrey is rightly outraged. On Monday, a convicted high-risk sex offender who was released into the community last year was charged with the second degree murder of 17-year-old Serena Vermeersch.

Cases such as these make it clear that we must continue to make the protection of our communities a top priority, especially when it comes to protecting our children.

Our government committed to supporting victims and punishing criminals. Could the Minister of Justice update the House on our progress?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, this is a horrific case. Our thoughts are with the Vermeersch family.

After years of soft on crime policies from the Liberal government, Canadians can now count on our government to re-establish Canada as a country where those who break the law are punished with penalties that match the crime.

To date, our government has presented over 30 justice bills. We made it a priority to protect our most vulnerable, our children, by cracking down on child sex predators. We have introduced more consecutive and mandatory minimum sentences for serious violent crime. We ended house arrest for child sex offences. We got rid of the faint hope clause, raised the age of consent, and gave more protection for victims.

Serious violent crime deserves serious time. That is what our government is delivering.

International Trade

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, finally but long overdue, the government signed an agreement with South Korea, such that we have implementation legislation before the House.

However, the government's tardiness in getting to this point has cost the beef and hog industry countless millions of dollars, allowing the United States to displace us in that important market. If it is not implemented by January 1, the government stands to give our competitors a further 2.5% tariff advantage.

Will the minister act with urgency and assure the industry that this will be implemented by the January 1 deadline?

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, our government was very pleased to host President Park of Korea this year, when we actually signed the final trade agreement. We have asked every party in the House to move this agreement forward legislatively in a timely way. This agreement is very important to Canada. It would increase our exports by 32%. We expect it to add close to $2 billion of economic activity to our economy. In more than 13 long, dark years under the Liberals, they got nothing done on the trade file. On this side, we get it. We are standing up for Canadians.

Conflict Minerals

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, tonight the House will vote on a bill that can help cut off—

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

What a joke.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. We have moved on to the next question.

The hon. member for Ottawa Centre has the floor.

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, tonight the House will vote on a bill that can help cut off resources to violent extremists in the Great Lakes region of Africa. These extremists have killed millions, used rape as a weapon of war, and enslaved children. Their atrocities are financed by the sale of conflict minerals that end up right here in Canada. Civil society and industry, including the Mining Association of Canada, want to see this bill move forward. I have a simple question. Will the Conservatives support this important legislation?

[Deepak Obhrai, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and for International Human Rights]

Mr. Speaker, our government has long been committed to combatting conflict minerals and is always looking for ways to improve our efforts. Unfortunately, Bill C-486 is fundamentally flawed, and instead of making tangible progress on the issue, it stigmatizes the region in Africa and creates burdens and red tape that would only serve to harm the people of the Great Lakes. Canada will continue to work with the Great Lakes region and the Canadian industry to increase transparency and accountability in resource development.

Health

[Wladyslaw Lizon, Conservative, Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, people in my riding are closely watching international efforts to address the faraway public health threat posed by Ebola and more familiar public health issues closer to home, such as the yearly flu season.

I myself have been very proud to see Canada at the forefront of the world's united response to the Ebola outbreak and the fact that our public health agency has had a significant hand in developing a number of experimental vaccines and treatments. Could the Minister of Health please update the House on the latest developments in Canada's public health agency?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for his work on the health committee. He is, in fact, right that Canada is at the forefront of the fight on the Ebola crisis, and leading that effort is Dr. Gregory Taylor. It makes me very happy to inform the House and the country that Dr. Gregory Taylor has just accepted the appointment to become Canada's chief public health officer. I congratulate him. He has the confidence of the international public health community and, of course, the provinces and territories. I know he will work very hard to earn the confidence of all Canadians.

Canada Post

[Djaouida Sellah, NDP, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, elected officials in the greater Longueuil community are angry about the Conservatives' intransigence and arrogance regarding Canada Post. The people of Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, especially seniors and people with disabilities, are very concerned about the arrival of community mailboxes.

How can the government support the elimination of home mail delivery and continue to ignore the unanimous voice of elected officials in the greater Longueuil area?

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said in the House before, Canada Post is facing a reality where people are simply not utilizing the mail anymore. They are using other means to send their transmissions. As a result, there were one billion fewer pieces of mail delivered in 2012. It has taken a five-point plan, put together to ensure that going forward it will be self-sufficient, as it is supposed to be under its legislation.

We support Canada Post and what it is doing.

The Environment

[Claude Patry, Bloc, Jonquière—Alma, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Quebec Superior Court issued an injunction to halt work on the Cacouna oil terminal until October 15. Quebec called on Fisheries and Oceans Canada to provide clarification on the scientific analysis that raised concerns about the project, but those requests were ignored.

What is more, the company refuses to commit in writing to protecting the belugas' natural habitat. The federal government is so confused that it seems to be more concerned about supporting TransCanada than protecting our environment. Will the government wait and comply with the studies and findings of the Bureau d'audiences publiques sur l'environnement, the BAPE, before proceeding with the project?

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

Mr. Speaker, I cannot speak to Quebec's authorization, but that was the subject of yesterday's ruling. It was a review undertaken by the Quebec provincial government under Quebec provincial laws.

DFO conducted its own review of TransCanada's work, and we did approve it, based on science advice and under the strictest conditions.