Debates of Sept. 30th, 2014

Regional Economic Development

[Robert Sopuck, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette, MB]

Mr. Speaker, recently the RCMP announced that it had decided to discontinue its use of the iconic muskrat hat. This unilateral move by the RCMP has outraged the fur industry, rural and remote communities, and thousands of trappers.

The fur trade is vital to the economy of many remote rural communities, communities that often have few other economic options.

Radical animal rights activists have as their goal the complete elimination of the fur trade. Will the Minister of the Environment tell the House what the government intends to do about this egregious anti-fur decision by the RCMP?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague, the member for Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette, for the question.

I would like to assure Canadians that the Minister of Public Safety has taken actions to ensure that the historic fur winter hats worn by the RCMP will not be discontinued, despite the efforts of radical animal rights activists. The RCMP decision, which is causing much glee among anti-fur activists, is being fully overturned.

Our government will always stand up for Canada's hunters and trappers.

Employment

[Sadia Groguhé, NDP, Saint-Lambert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Employment and Social Development has a problem with numbers, and not just the ones he gets off Kijiji. He is unable to get the facts straight when looking at a list of companies that employ temporary foreign workers. For example, according to the government, Sharico Holdings has 750 temporary foreign workers, when, in reality—surprise, surprise—it has only one.

How can the minister convince us that he has fixed the temporary foreign worker program when he used bad data to make his decisions?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Multiculturalism]

Mr. Speaker, the data in question were provided by the employers. Our fundamental reforms have led to a significant reduction in applications for temporary foreign workers. In fact, employers' labour market opinion applications have dropped by 75%. We are ensuring that Canadians come first in the labour market and that this program is used as a last resort. That is what we have done.

[Jinny Sims, NDP, Newton—North Delta, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we need an independent review. Clearly the government cannot get the job done.

The minister keeps blaming the companies for providing false information, but it was his department that was supposed to be doing the verifying. Now he says that all information will be checked for accuracy, but only one in four employers will be inspected for compliance, and not all inspections will include a site visit.

How does the minister call it due diligence, when inspections are limited to shuffling paperwork?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Multiculturalism]

Mr. Speaker, as part of our reforms designed to ensure that Canadians come first, to combat abuse of the program, and to ensure that it is does not distort Canada's labour market, we are quadrupling the number of investigators. We have expanded their powers. They can do searches at workplaces using this program. We are about to adopt regulations to make more stringent the administrative monetary penalties.

We are taking real action to ensure that Canadians come first in our labour market.

National Defence

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, Master Warrant Officer Dodsworth was denied compensation under the home equity assistance program. His family lost $72,000. Neil Dodsworth spent 33 years serving our country, including in Somalia, Afghanistan, and Haiti.

The home equity assistance program is meant to protect Canadian Forces members from financial losses when required to relocate. CAF members should not have to hire lawyers to fight for compensation. Why are our soldiers denied this funding, and why has the government not fixed this problem?

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, since this matter is before the court, it would be inappropriate to comment on this case.

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, this is not the first time this has happened. The government knows about this problem and has not fixed it. It is a pattern under the government.

Canadian Forces members serve our country proudly and should not have to come home to fight bureaucracy, whether it is Canadian Forces members fighting for home equity assistance, disability benefits, or accessing mental health services or veterans and their families fighting for benefits.

Canadian soldiers are not getting what they deserve. When will the government treat Canadian Armed Forces members and veterans with the respect they deserve?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, they get respect and admiration every day from this government. No government has done a better job of sticking up for all these issues, reaching out to assist these individuals and investing in them than this government. I am very proud of our record in that area.

Citizenship and Immigration

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, spouses are arguably the most important people in the lives of Canadians. In 2006-07, the government allowed more spouses to enter the country than its immigration plans had anticipated. Now we have a couple stuck in a Syrian war zone and mothers about to give birth who are being kept out of Canada simply because the government has already hit its arbitrary quota for spouses.

Will the minister do the right thing and allow Canadians to be reunited with their spouses?

[Chris Alexander, Conservative, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, as the member opposite well knows, our economic immigration programs allow comprehensive sponsorship of spouses and dependent children. We brought in record numbers of economic immigrants to Canada with the highest skill levels, the highest education levels, the highest language skill levels in Canadian history. That is in stark contrast to the Liberal era of darkness in immigration dominated by backlogs and years of processing for families and economic immigrants. We have reformed these programs and that is helping spouses and families.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration has made a mess of our system. He needs to realize we are talking about real people, real families.

There are two cases of two pregnant moms living abroad who want to be with their husbands in Canada. Will the minister do the honourable thing and remove the freeze on issuing visas so pregnant moms are at the very least allowed to come to be with their families in Canada? I ask the minister to show some compassion as the Minister of Immigration.

[Chris Alexander, Conservative, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal campaign of absolute misinformation continues. There is no freeze on family reunification. This is a government that has worked through the Liberal backlog on parents and grandparents in an ambitious manner over three years.

The Liberals forgot about it for 13 years. For three years we have been bringing in record numbers of spouses, children, parents and grandparents. We have been cleaning up a mess that the Liberals created over more than a decade. They should apologize to the Canadian people for the mess they left us and not misinform them.

Transport

[Hoang Mai, NDP, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the coroner who investigated the tragic death of cyclist Mathilde Blais was clear. If the truck that hit her had been equipped with side guards, the young cyclist would not have fallen under the truck's wheels.

My Bill C-603 would make side guards mandatory on heavy trucks. We can save lives.

What will the government do to protect pedestrians and cyclists?

[Jeff Watson, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the health and safety of Canadians is an absolute priority for us. Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who has been affected by this type of tragic accident involving bicyclists and pedestrians. We are always looking for ways to improve the safety of pedestrians and cyclists who find themselves in proximity to vehicles.

[Matthew Kellway, NDP, Beaches—East York, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we have a simple way. The coroner's report on the tragic death of cyclist Mathilde Blais is clear. If the truck had side guards, she would still be with us.

The NDP has been calling for mandatory side guards for more than eight years. We could have had fewer deaths, less heartbreak, fewer ghost bikes. We need to take action.

The NDP has reintroduced Olivia Chow's bill to make truck side guards mandatory. Will the Conservatives support our initiative and ensure the safety of cyclists?

[Jeff Watson, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, as I said a few moments ago in French, the health and safety of Canadians is our top priority. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of those who have been involved in these types of tragic bicycle and pedestrian incidents.

We are always looking at ways to improve pedestrian and cycling safety in the presence of motor vehicles. The member will also know that any province or territory is free to require side guards on trucks operating within their boundaries.

Small Business

[John Carmichael, Conservative, Don Valley West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, our Conservative government understands the vital role that small business plays in the economy. That is why we are helping them to succeed.

While the Liberals and NDP want to increase the cost of doing business, we are leaving more money in the hands of entrepreneurs to invest and hire Canadians.

Could the Minister of State for Finance please describe how our government is encouraging entrepreneurship and supporting small business?

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

Mr. Speaker, as a recent report by RBC notes, the number of small and mid-size firms in Canada reached a record high in 2012.

We are supporting job creators, not handcuffing them with increasing payroll taxes. That is precisely why our new small business job credit lowers EI payroll taxes by 15% and saves small business over $550 million.

Small businesses and the eight million Canadians they employ can continue to count on this government.

Status of Women

[Yvonne Jones, Liberal, Labrador, NL]

Mr. Speaker, it is disappointing to hear of the government once again playing political games, this time repeatedly cutting funding to the Native Women's Association of Canada.

This is no surprise given the lack of respect the government has shown toward first nations individuals in our country.

Could the minister tell us if these cuts are the result of the women's association's push for inquiry into missing and murdered women and girls in our country, or is there some other rationale that the government can give us for these cuts?

[Kellie Leitch, Conservative, Minister of Labour and Minister of Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, that statement is categorically false.

In fact, this morning I met with Michèle Audette in my office, where we talked about exactly what the Native Women's Association would like to do and how it would like to contribute to our action plan to ensure that those victims of crime, those aboriginal women and their families need to be supported.

We had a very constructive conversation and I am look forward to working with her in the future.

The Environment

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

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans is consistent in her inconsistencies. On one hand, she is saying that she respects experts and the environment. On the other, she has been muzzling scientists in the science branch for over five months now and has undone 15 years of work by cancelling the marine protected areas project that, coincidentally, would have included the area off the coast of Cacouna.

Her inconsistency has now reached new heights. The Canada-Quebec working group for the protection of marine areas announced by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans never actually met. Instead of working full time to make it easier for oil companies to carry out their projects, will the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans finally take the protection of the St. Lawrence River seriously?

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

Mr. Speaker, we do take it seriously, and that is why we have only authorized a minor geotechnical survey to take place in the Cacouna area.

The work was authorized based on scientific information and under the very strictest conditions that would mitigate any potential harm to the marine life there. The actual construction of the marine terminal has not been submitted or reviewed, and it has certainly not been authorized.

Forestry Industry

[Dick Harris, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the forestry sector is vitally important to the Canadian economy and particularly to my riding of Cariboo—Prince George.

Our Conservative government is focused on creating jobs and economic growth. That is why we have made unprecedented investments to renew and sustain Canada's forestry sector.

Could the Minister of Natural Resources update the House on what action we are taking to promote this important economic sector?