House of Commons Hansard #176 of the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was via.
Rosane Doré Lefebvre NDP Alfred-Pellan, QC
Mr. Speaker, let us be serious. The tip line gets over 40,000 calls per year. These are cases of children being sexually exploited. We cannot ignore those tips. Investigators have to follow up and get those children out of those terrible situations as quickly as possible.
What is the minister's plan to keep all of our children safe?
Roxanne James ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Mr. Speaker, I would like to give an example of the good work that the National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre does. In 2014, in a coordinated project, five children were removed from harm and 150 individuals were arrested. This investigation involved the seizure of over two million images. Imagine the impact this has on the people who work in this area. These videos were seized from several hundred different computers.
It is remarkable that these types of questions come from the New Democrats when they actually voted against creating tough new sentences for child exploitation and also against tougher penalties for the child predators act. Shameful.
Françoise Boivin NDP Gatineau, QC
Mr. Speaker, we always support those bills when they are stand-alone bills, not when they are in omnibus bills.
The government is about to dramatically increase the powers wielded by CSIS and the RCMP, but both organizations are in financially tenuous positions.
The government can pass all the new laws it wants, but they are not worth the paper they are printed on without the staff and resources to enforce them.
Can the minister explain why $1.7 billion of the RCMP's budget went unspent over the past eight years?
Roxanne James ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Mr. Speaker, as I have said, we have increased funding for our security agencies since we took office in 2006. Unfortunately, when it comes to protecting our citizens, the opposition parties have voted against every increase in resources.
As I stated earlier as well, the previous Liberal government lapsed over $3 billion from these agencies.
This is a normal practice, and I wish the opposition would stop playing political games with such an important issue.
Françoise Boivin NDP Gatineau, QC
Political games, Mr. Speaker, is another expression that those members have no idea what the definition means.
One would think that the government would at least listen to its own friends. As former Ottawa police chief and—
The Acting Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton
Order, please. The hon. member for Gatineau has the floor. I am sure hon. members will want to hear the question. We need to recognize that when hon. members have the floor, they need the courtesy of being heard.
The hon. member for Gatineau.
Françoise Boivin NDP Gatineau, QC
Mr. Speaker, one would think that the government would at least listen to its friends, and it does not have many.
As former Ottawa police chief and Conservative, Vernon White said:
What I am hearing from police agencies, (is that) the amount of resources having to be pushed into (counter-terrorism) work right now means there’s other work not getting done, in particular organized crime investigations. I’m not sure we can afford to do that.
I am not sure either. Could the minister explain to us why the Conservatives made cuts to public safety?
Roxanne James ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Mr. Speaker, I am not sure what part of the answer the opposition has not heard clearly. That is absolutely false.
In fact, our government has increased spending for our security agencies by one-third. It is a common practice that when we create budgets for departments and they do not spend it, it is either rolled over or returned back to the government.
I find it completely unacceptable that party members across the way, who have voted essentially against every measure to get tough on crime, to fight terrorism and protect our children, have the audacity to stand in the House and bring up these types of issues.
Anne Minh-Thu Quach NDP Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC
Mr. Speaker, increasing funding that does not get used is not really efficient.
Even though the Conservatives have been heavily criticized for their partisan ads paid for with public money, they are now injecting another $11 million into pure propaganda. With just a few months to go before the election, no one is falling for this. This is crass self-promotion on the taxpayers' dime.
Instead of racking up $65 million in pure propaganda, why do the Conservatives not invest in our social programs and other priorities for Canadians?
James Bezan ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, recruitment, training and retention are key priorities for the Canadian Armed Forces. The new recruitment advertising campaign is part of our commitment to support our troops in the Canadian Armed Forces. The Canadian Armed Forces recruited approximately 4,500 regular force personnel last year alone.
We are proud of our men and women in uniform. Public opinion research shows that 90% of Canadians have a positive impression of members of the Canadian Armed Forces, up from 78% in 1999.
Following a decade of darkness under the Liberals, we have increased the defence budget by over 27%, and we will not make any apologies for doing that.
Jean Crowder NDP Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC
Mr. Speaker, it is clear to everyone that one of the government's main priorities is advertising before the next election. This $11 million more on additional advertising is more than double what it would cost to keep the Veterans Affairs offices open. It is the average old age security benefit for almost 1,800 seniors.
How can Conservatives justify spending millions more in publicly-funded partisan advertising just before an election, while cutting help to seniors and veterans?
James Bezan ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the member that it is important we advertise for retaining and recruitment for the Canadian Armed Forces, and that is what this advertising is all about. It is to maintain and increase the capabilities of the proud men and women who serve us day in and day out, who stand on the wall and protect our nation as well as carry out dangerous missions around the world.
On the member's comment about Veterans Affairs offices, I would remind her that we now have over 600 new points of service for our veterans across the country. We can indeed do both, recruit and provide services, right across our great country.
Guy Caron NDP Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC
Mr. Speaker, we hear that more than 400 of Canada's wealthiest people and businesses had secret bank accounts at HSBC in Geneva.
Honest Canadians who pay their taxes are exasperated at the government's inaction on this. Yesterday, at the Standing Committee on Finance, the Conservatives rejected our motion to get to the bottom of this tax avoidance scheme.
Why is the Conservative government refusing to work with us to fight white collar criminals who are benefiting from tax havens?
Kerry-Lynne Findlay ConservativeMinister of National Revenue
Mr. Speaker, as I said before, this government has zero tolerance for tax evasion.
The CRA received 1,349 files from France related to HSBC. Of those files received, 154 were duplicates, 801 contained zero dollars and 394 were deemed high risk or high dollar files. Where non-compliance was expected, the CRA conducted hundreds of audits, leading to $21 million in taxes and penalties being reassessed. This work is ongoing. Furthermore, the CRA has received over 250 voluntary disclosures identifying $123 million in undisclosed amounts.
Judy Sgro Liberal York West, ON
Mr. Speaker, nothing is more important than protecting our children. I believe we all agree with that. However, the Conservatives have chosen to use $10 million from the fund the RCMP uses to fight child pornography. This is the same government that just spent $2.7 million on glamour photos for its cabinet ministers. Just yesterday, it had the nerve to ask Parliament for an additional $11 million for partisan TV ads, and we have all seen enough of those.
When it comes to stomping out child pornography, it is all about budget cuts. How can the government continue to make these kinds of talks, saying what is important and what is not when its priorities surely are not the priorities of—
The Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer
The hon. parliamentary secretary to the minister of public safety.
Roxanne James ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Mr. Speaker, I wholeheartedly reject the premise of that question. The fact is that we have not cut anything. We have actually increased funding to our security agencies by one-third.
With respect to this child exploitation coordination centre, there has been difficulty retaining and recruiting individuals to work in this field. Imagine for a moment the horrific scenes officers have to weed through. I talked a moment ago about the fact there are 200 million images. That is the issue. The Liberal member knows full well—
David McGuinty Liberal Ottawa South, ON
Except that is not true, Mr. Speaker.
The facts do not back up the Conservatives' claims that they take crime seriously. They cut the RCMP's funding to combat child pornography by $10 million. On the other hand, since coming to power, they have spent $750 million on partisan advertising. Their ministers spent more than $2.3 million on photos of themselves. It is obscene.
When will this government make it a priority to protect our children?
Roxanne James ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Mr. Speaker, it is our government that brought in new, tough sentences for child exploitation. It is our government that ended the ability of child molesters to get criminal record suspensions. It is this Conservative government that introduced the tougher penalties for the child predators act.
Canadians listening today will not be fooled by the opposition parties. They know it is only this government that will protect the interests of our children and our country. It is this government that is protecting our national security as well.
Rodger Cuzner Liberal Cape Breton—Canso, NS
Mr. Speaker, American basketball fans are getting excited about another annual March madness, while in Canada taxpayers ready themselves for another round of March sadness. This is the sad practice of Conservative ministers shovelling money to their party pals for little or no work, like the March 2013 contract the finance minister dished to Guy Giorno. The party's legal adviser was paid $5,000 for a 2,000 word speech that was never read. The department said that the speech broke the rules. Why are taxpayers on the hook for this blatant Conservative patronage?
Paul Calandra ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs
Mr. Speaker, as I said the other day, that is just simply not true.
I suspect Canadians, and I know Ontarians, are quite nervous about the approaching Ontario Liberal budget, which, with the support of the Liberals here, will introduce a carbon tax that will cost all Canadians more money and a payroll tax that will kill business and job investment.
On the opposite token, we have a Minister of Finance who will introduce a budget very soon that will include a balanced budget, reconfirm the investments we have made in the armed forces and the fact that we have put more money into the pockets of every Canadian family. That is good news for families and good—
Claude Gravelle NDP Nickel Belt, ON
Mr. Speaker, the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada will hold its annual convention in Toronto in a few days.
The government's track record on mining has not been great. The government is dragging its feet on the Circle of Fire, and we still do not know whether the tax credit for junior mining companies will be renewed.
Why is the Conservative government not providing predictable and long-term support for the mining sector?