House of Commons Hansard #164 of the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was csis.
Mathieu Ravignat NDP Pontiac, QC
VIA Rail spent more than $100,000 on Montreal Canadiens hockey tickets.
While seniors are stuck in snow banks, Canada Post executives are enjoying themselves at the Bell Centre. More than $200,000 was spent on their hockey tickets. That is indecent.
Not much has changed in Ottawa since Chuck Guité and the Liberals handed out tickets left and right.
How do the Conservatives justify these practices, which are reminiscent of the sponsorship scandal?
Lisa Raitt ConservativeMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, it is absolutely unacceptable that VIA Rail used taxpayer dollars in order to ensure that it had seats at various sporting events. This practice has stopped.
Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON
Mr. Speaker, Conservatives are telling senior citizens that they can walk through the snow for their mail because they need the exercise, and anyway Canada Post just cannot afford to deliver it. However, Canada Post can afford to give out hundreds of pro hockey tickets to their insiders and pals.
Now the Liberals made their name filling the box seats with cronies, but surely to God we have a higher ethical bar than the one used by the Liberals.
Middle-class Canadians would love to go pro hockey games, but they would pay their own way, so I would like to ask the minister why it is that the Conservatives are allowing Canada Post to give out such expensive perks to insiders and pals?
Lisa Raitt ConservativeMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, Canada Post is no longer utilizing any tickets for any sporting events, and it will not be doing that in the future.
Mark Eyking Liberal Sydney—Victoria, NS
Mr. Speaker, it has been one year since the closure of nine Veteran Affairs offices across this country, including the one in Sydney that provided essential services to over 4,000 Cape Breton veterans.
This Saturday a rally protesting the closure of these offices is going to be held at the Ashby Legion.
The Conservatives have continuously mistreated our veterans. The new minister states that this is going to change. Will he join me at the rally in Cape Breton on Saturday to announce the reopening of these offices?
Veterans AffairsOral Questions
Erin O'Toole Minister of Veterans Affairs, CPC
Mr. Speaker, as the member knows, we are trying to make sure that we are meeting the needs of veterans now and into the future.
As he knows, in Halifax this year we will be opening a brand new operational stress injury clinic to meet the new needs of rising mental health. That will be one of 25 by the end of this year serving that need. We will continue to do that.
Rodger Cuzner Liberal Cape Breton—Canso, NS
Mr. Speaker, the government should learn to listen to veterans and not lecture them, veterans like Ron Clarke, who not only continues to wrestle with the demons of PTSD but also continues to fight for young veterans, the new crop of veterans who have to drive six hours up the road to Halifax to be served or to sit in a short-walled cubicle and bare their souls to a Service Canada staffer.
Legion service counsellors know they cannot do the job of full-time counsellors, and the minister knows that the number of counsellors has been cut by 25%.
I ask the minister, will he come to Cape Breton and meet with these veterans to learn the issues?
Veterans AffairsOral Questions
Erin O'Toole Minister of Veterans Affairs, CPC
Mr. Speaker, over the last year and a half, I have enjoyed talking to Mr. Clarke on this issue and appreciate his service. In fact, our government listened to his advice and made sure that a trained and experienced case manager was available in the Service Canada office down the street. That is a way we can evolve from meeting the needs those offices have provided for, while also opening new offices to reach mental health needs.
Niki Ashton NDP Churchill, MB
Mr. Speaker, the government has made yet another sneaky, back-door move. This time it has done it by tripling the threshold for communities and provinces to be able to access disaster assistance.
We all know that Manitoba has experienced serious flooding over the years. This change will leave Manitobans on the hook for millions of dollars for disaster assistance.
Does the government not care about downloading its responsibilities onto the provinces, or does it just not care about Manitobans?
Steven Blaney ConservativeMinister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Mr. Speaker, this program has been frozen since 1970 and we are catching up with half of the indexation.
What is most important for the communities of Manitoba, where I have been with the member for Saint Boniface, is that we are there to support the communities up to 90%.
When there are big disasters, the federal government stands by those communities. We will stand by those communities, and I invite that member to support the DFA program, which is there to support all communities throughout the country.
Hoang Mai NDP Brossard—La Prairie, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Transportation Safety Board says it is concerned by the Conservatives' lack of action.
They are dragging their feet and refusing to implement several of the TSB recommendations. Transport Canada still does not have an effective monitoring program to ensure that railway companies comply with the law.
Eighteen months after the Lac-Mégantic tragedy, why are the Conservatives finding it so difficult to monitor the railway industry and keep the public safe?
Lisa Raitt ConservativeMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, indeed the chair of the Transportation Safety Board said today that the Minister of Transport and the department have taken strong action to improve rail safety in the wake of the Lac-Mégantic tragedy, and we will continuously build upon that.
We appreciate very much what the TSB has recommended, but they did point out one important fact in the report, that this tragic accident was caused by a single individual who did not follow the rules. We have to remember that, but at the same time the department must ensure that they continue to work on safety.
Chris Warkentin Conservative Peace River, AB
Mr. Speaker, today we woke up to the horrendous news that Israel has once again been the target of terrorist attacks.
The brutal terrorist organization, Hezbollah, fired a missile at Israel's military near Lebanon, causing death and injuries. This is just another example of the threats that Israel faces, from Gaza to southern Lebanon and Syria, all of where there are proxies funded, trained, and supported by Iran.
Can the Minister of Foreign Affairs please tell the House what the Government of Canada's position is on these latest attacks?
John Baird ConservativeMinister of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Speaker, Canada condemns the terrorist attack by Hezbollah on northern Israel. We stand with all of the Israeli people after this terrorist attack.
Far too often the Jewish people and the Jewish state are on the front lines in the battle against terrorism. That is why this government unequivocally stands against terrorism and stands in support of the only liberal democracy in the region, the state of Israel.
Joyce Murray Liberal Vancouver Quadra, BC
Mr. Speaker, Canadians deserve to know the truth, that the Prime Minister has shamefully refused to explain how and when the role of Canadian troops went from not accompanying, as he promised last October, to a de facto combat role now.
Canadians, through Parliament, did not agree to put our Canadian soldiers into front-line combat, so why is Canada the only coalition country with ground troops under fire?
Rob Nicholson ConservativeMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, we have been very clear throughout this. The Liberals, in voting against all of these measures, probably missed all of this, but we are taking on an advise and assist role on the ground with the Iraqis, and we are conducting air strikes with our allies out of Kuwait.
We will never take the position of the Liberal Party that we will not get involved in something unless they are guaranteed a success. I can tell the hon. member that if we took the Liberals' position, the terrorists would always succeed. We will never do that.
Annick Papillon NDP Québec, QC
Mr. Speaker, as part of the celebration of the 150th anniversary of Confederation, Quebec City would like to host about 40 tall ships in 2017. Quebec City submitted its proposal to the government in May 2013 but has not heard a thing since then. The organizers need an answer within the next few days, otherwise the event may not go ahead.
Will Quebec City have to cancel another major international event because of the Conservatives' inaction? Could the minister pick up the phone and do something about this?
Shelly Glover ConservativeMinister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages
Mr. Speaker, Canada's history is one of risk, sacrifice and determination. Canadians have triumphed over all manner of adversity to build a strong, proud and free country.
As we approach our 150th anniversary in 2017, our Conservative government will join Canadians in celebrating this important historic moment, and Quebec City will be part of that.
David Sweet Conservative Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON
Mr. Speaker, my constituents, and indeed all Canadians, are concerned about the short sentences received by some individuals convicted of heinous crimes. When terrorists and murderers are handed a life sentence, they should not be back walking among law-abiding Canadians a few short years later.
Canadians know that change is needed and are shocked to hear the Liberal member for Malpeque advocating for the early release of dangerous criminals and sticking with the status quo.
Could the Minister of Public Safety please tell the House what our Conservative government's position is on this issue?
Steven Blaney ConservativeMinister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Mr. Speaker, it is shocking, but we should not be surprised to see both the Liberals and the NDP opposing legislation they have not seen, they have not read, and that has not been tabled.
However, I can tell members one thing. We stand with the people of Ancaster and the Canadian people who do not want serious, violent, and repeat criminals taking others' lives once they go back into society after not having served their sentences properly. We will make sure that those who get a sentence for life stay in prison for life.
Carol Hughes NDP Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON
Mr. Speaker, federal funding for the Algoma Central Railway will expire on April 1. Without that funding, hundreds of jobs will be lost from Sault Ste. Marie to Hearst and between $38 to $48 million in annual economic benefits for the region will vanish.
Time is of the essence. Why has the minister failed to meet with stakeholders and failed to respond to a proposal that will preserve passenger service in northern Ontario, reduce operating costs, and transition away from a subsidy in five short years?
Why is she not doing anything to protect northern Ontario's fragile economy?
Lisa Raitt ConservativeMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, we acted decisively on this file last year. I recognize that I have not met with stakeholders, but as the hon. member may have noted, I was not actually in the House for the last four months.
I do take her point. I will meet with the stakeholders and we will get an update on the situation.
Bruce Hyer Green Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON
Mr. Speaker, eastern Canada imports 80% of its oil from places like Arabia and Venezuela, the world's most expensive and risky oil, while we export twice as much as we import, as well as the jobs that go with it, as raw crude to the U.S.A. at a 20% to 30% discount.
Why do we buy high and sell low, and why are we the only member of the G20 with no national energy strategy?
Greg Rickford ConservativeMinister of Natural Resources and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario
Obviously, Mr. Speaker, there are solutions for that. They come in the form of pipelines.
A viable option and solution would be for Canada to find ways to diversify its markets around the world. We know there are demands in Europe and Asia. It sounds like I can count on the support of the member for Thunder Bay—Superior North for those kinds of projects moving forward.
Peter Julian NDP Burnaby—New Westminster, BC
Mr. Speaker, in a moment I will be asking for unanimous consent to table an important document.
The Minister of Industry in question period referenced Dan Kelly, who is president and CEO of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. Here is the real quote from Dan Kelly on the NDP plan. “Cutting the small business tax rate by nearly twenty percent will provide a big boost to—