Debates of Sept. 26th, 2014

Canadian Wheat Board

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Wheat Board has never been as closed, secretive and non-transparent as it is today. There is no data in the annual report, no financial statements and no examination by the Auditor General. This agency, concocted and directed by the government, is playing with hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money and, worse still, hundreds of millions of dollars in assets originally taken from western Canadian farmers.

What about public disclosure and public accountability? Will the government guarantee that farmers' money and assets will not be sold off in secret?

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture]

Mr. Speaker, much to the joy of our western Canadian grain farmers, our government delivered on its promise to free them of an obligatory marketing board. We were elected on a platform to deliver marketing freedom to farmers and we followed through on that commitment.

However, as the Canadian Wheat Board now competes in the open market, it has a right to protect commercially sensitive information. Unlike the member opposite, the economy is our top priority. Farmers and our government recognize the numerous benefits that are now available on the open market.

The Environment

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, while the Prime Minister skips out on the UN Climate Summit in New York, major financial institutions met in Montreal to make commitments about the carbon footprint of their investment portfolios. The Montreal carbon pledge is proof that it is possible to protect the economy and the environment.

Why are the Conservatives refusing to take action when even the big banks are doing their part?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, our government's record is very clear. We have taken decisive actions on the environment, while protecting the economy. Everyone internationally has to do their fair share, and Canada is doing its part, as we emit only 2% of the global greenhouse gas emissions.

Building on our record, I also announced this week a number of actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and pollution from vehicles. I also announced our intent to regulate HFCs, one of the fastest growing greenhouse gas emissions in the world.

We are accomplishing this without a job killing carbon tax, which would raise the price of everything.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, this is a little different, because we are talking about divestment now. About 1,300 major investment groups met in Montreal to draft the Montreal climate pledge. They agreed to disclose their companies' carbon footprint and increasingly shift investment away from fossil fuels.

Business worldwide can see the writing on the wall. Even World Bank president, Jim Yong Kim, is urging investors to divest from fossil fuels. However, the Conservative government is ignoring these major investors and therefore risking our economy.

Has the minister even considered the impact of divestment on Canada's economy?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, we have been very clear. Our government is committed to reaching an agreement at the global climate deal in Paris next year that is fair to Canada and that includes all emitters and all economies. We want a fair agreement that includes those sectors.

We will also continue to make progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, while keeping the economy strong. We have taken action on some of Canada's largest sources of emissions, such as the transportation sector and the coal-fired electricity sector.

Thanks to these actions, carbon emissions will go down close to 130 megatonnes from what they would have been under the Liberals. and we have done this without introducing the job killing carbon tax that the NDP wants.

Citizenship and Immigration

[Randall Garrison, NDP, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Red Cross has sounded the alarm on the deplorable conditions of thousands of refugee and immigration detainees in Canada. Instead of making a commitment to fully implement the Red Cross recommendations, the government yesterday preferred to dodge the question.

Let me ask this again. Will the Minister of Public Safety fully implement the Red Cross recommendations? Will he ensure that immigration detainees are treated with decency, that families are no longer separated and, in particular, that children receive the care they need? Will the minister stand today in the House and make that commitment?

[Costas Menegakis, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, Canada welcomes one out of every ten refugees resettled around the world, more than almost any other country in the world. We are a world leader with respect to refugee protection. The member should know that our government is committed to strengthening Canada's role as a global leader in refugee protection by enhancing our resettlement program.

Our government is committed to helping refugees settle. I would urge the hon. member that when we bring legislation forward in the House that would make it easier and better for refugees to access all of those services, he and his party not vote against them as they have done on every occasion.

[Paulina Ayala, NDP, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, instead of hiding behind the same old lines we heard yesterday, the minister should tell us how he plans on ensuring that the Red Cross's recommendations are implemented. How does he plan on ensuring that the 4,000 immigrants, many of whom are children, will not be detained in Canadian prisons alongside dangerous criminals? Surely we are not scared of children.

[Costas Menegakis, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, our government has been clear about our reforms on the once broken asylum system and who qualifies for what.

Genuine refugees continue to receive comprehensive health care coverage that is on par with what Canadians receive. Canadians have been clear that they do not want illegal immigrants, failed asylum claimants and asylum claimants from safe, democratic countries receiving better health care benefits than Canadian taxpayers, including what seniors receive.

That member should vote for these important reforms when she comes into the House and not go on record, as she has with her party, and vote against important help for those who need it.

[Rick Norlock, Conservative, Northumberland—Quinte West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this week the court has condemned people for honour-based crimes in Canada. A family was intimidating and harassing a young woman simply because she was seeing a young man. On this side of the House, we believe those are barbaric practices that they have no place in Canada. Sadly, the Liberal leader refuses to condemn these barbaric practices because he does not want to offend some people.

Could the minister update the House on what action we are taking to combat so-called honour-based crimes?

[Costas Menegakis, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, individuals from all over the world come to Canada so they can live in a free society and embrace Canadian values and traditions. However, Canada's openness and generosity does not extend to barbaric cultural practices that allow for any type of violence against women, including spousal abuse, violence in the name of so-called honour, female genital mutilation, early enforced marriage or other gender-based violence.

We will not tolerate barbaric cultural practices in any form and we will take action to ensure that those convicted of these heinous crimes face the full force of Canadian law.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill, MB]

Mr. Speaker, on March 26, in the foyer of the House of Commons, the Minister of Agriculture said that Conservatives had passed an order-in-council “requiring a minimum of one million tonnes of grain to be moved each week, backstopped by penalties of up to $100,000 a day”. This is a direct quote from the minister.

Now the rail companies are not delivering the minimums and suddenly his tough fines have disappeared. Suddenly they are $100,000 per week.

Why did the minister back down instead of standing up for grain producers?

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member should know that the act says that it is per violation for $100,000.

CN and CP have been told what levels of grain they must ship in order to ensure we are moving grain in the country. They have not hit their targets in the last number of weeks. As a result, we have appointed an enforcement officer who is investigating. We will hold the companies accountable for their lack of grain movement.

This government is here to protect Canadian farmers.

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill, MB]

Let us be clear, Mr. Speaker. The Minister of Agriculture specifically said fines of “$100,000 per day”. Then he went all across the country talking tough. Now, when it comes to actually getting tough with the rail companies, the minister has failed.

Grain producers deserve a government that will stand up for them and demand rail companies treat them fairly.

Why did the minister break his word and back down? Why is he not standing up for western Canadian producers?

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that it is this agriculture minister who has continuously stood up for farmers in the west, and indeed in all parts of this country, specifically on this file, having recognized the problem early and ensuring that we bring in emergency legislation to deal with the matter as quickly as possible. That is exactly what we have done. Members on the other side of the House can make all the complaints they want; the current agriculture minister got the job done. The grain is moving, and it will continue to move in this country.

Regional Economic Development

[John Rafferty, NDP, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Ring of Fire development is on life support, and the Conservatives are nowhere to be found. It was almost two years ago that the Treasury Board minister, who became the self-appointed point man on the Ring of Fire, stated to a Thunder Bay audience, “we cannot afford to allow this development to stall and become mired in [paralysis]”.

Well, the question is simple: Why is the minister letting the Ring of Fire fail?

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, we welcome Ontario's interest in the Ring of Fire. Until recently, it had not been identified as a clear priority by the Ontario government.

We have been clear. If the province identifies the Ring of Fire as a priority, economic action plan 2013 allocates significant infrastructure funding for this kind of legacy resource development. We will continue to demonstrate our commitment to responsible resource development that creates jobs and economic growth for northern Ontarians.

[John Rafferty, NDP, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Ring of Fire project is just one example of Conservatives failing Canadians in northern Ontario. Since the Conservatives have come to power, Canada has lost over 134,000 jobs in the forestry sector, 30,000 in northern Ontario alone. There is the Ring of Fire uncertainty, mill closures, wildly fluctuating gas and propane prices. I have a another simple question: When did the Conservatives stop caring about northern Ontario?

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, our government is focused on community economic development, business growth, competitiveness, and innovation that creates jobs and long-term prosperity. We will continue to ensure that communities and businesses in northern Ontario have the tools they need to have a strong diversified economy. We are working with all levels of government, including first nations and other stakeholders, to ensure that we maximize the economic opportunities and long-term sustainability of northern Ontario.

Employment

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the government has had it wrong, on both sides of the temporary foreign worker program. Business owners in western Canada are facing incredible staffing challenges because of the government's incompetence. In essence what the government has done is to push back the entire House in order to tighten the clothesline. Western Canadian businesses are being penalized for a crime they did not commit.

When will the government swallow its pride, admit it is lost on the program, and ask a House committee to fix this broken program?

[Scott Armstrong, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment and Social Development]

Mr. Speaker, it was in fact the Liberals who introduced the low-wage temporary foreign worker program. We are the ones who actually fixed it, by putting in tough sanctions to ensure that employers who engage in this system have to obey the rules and put Canadians in front before they hire a temporary foreign worker. We made significant changes in June of this year that make sure employers will always put Canadians first.

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the member was half right. We did introduce this program, but it was the minister's predecessor who took the shackles off of it. She nearly separated her shoulder patting herself on the back because it was going to be no problem getting temporary foreign workers.

Conservatives are trying to clean up their own mess, but they did not even include the youth reciprocal program. There is no labour assessment needed for the youth reciprocal program. How do we know that Canadian students are not being pushed aside because of this program and the lack of controls over this specific part of it?

[Scott Armstrong, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment and Social Development]

Mr. Speaker, it is strange that the Liberal Party would attack youth who are trying to come to Canada to enjoy this tremendous country and all we can offer to people who come here to get job experience, in exchange for our youth going to other countries and getting that same experience. We want to encourage our young people to travel internationally. That is what we are doing, and we are getting the job done.

The Environment

[François Lapointe, NDP, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I suggest that the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans go on Google. She will not find any scientific advice there, but she will find the Superior Court's decision. She will learn that, on multiple occasions, her department refused to cooperate with the Government of Quebec, which was asking for scientific advice from experts on marine mammals at Fisheries and Oceans Canada's science branch. She will see why the Superior Court had to suspend drilling in Cacouna, and she will see that this mess is the result of her poor management.

Why did she muzzle her scientists, and will she finally let her department's marine mammal experts talk?