Debates of Feb. 27th, 2015

Aboriginal Affairs

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in 1984, 8% of Canadian women who were murdered were aboriginal. Today, it is 23%, or nearly one-quarter. That is an alarming deterioration. The government is engaging in unfounded speculation on the causes of this tragedy. It refuses to open a public inquiry, which has been called for by the families of victims, aboriginal communities, the provincial premiers, experts and just about everyone.

Why is the government turning its back on history? Will the Prime Minister at least attend the round table today? I am asking my colleague. Will the Prime Minister attend the round table today, yes or no?

[Susan Truppe, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary for Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development and the Minister of Status of Women are attending the round table today.

There have been more than 40 studies on the plight of murdered and missing aboriginal women, and now is not the time for studies; it is the time for action. The minister tabled an action plan in September.

Our government has taken strong action to address the broader problems facing aboriginal women. We will continue to listen to those families and deliver programs that help the most. Again, it would be nice if the member opposite would support those initiatives that help women and girls.

Public Safety

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives would like us to fast-track Bill C-51 without asking any questions or following the rules of democracy.

However, when the Prime Minister introduced Bill C-51 in front of a crowd of party supporters, he said that this legislative process is the most critical aspect of parliamentary oversight.

Why does the Prime Minister refuse to let us truly study Bill C-51? What does he have to hide with this bill?

[Roxanne James, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, that question is absolutely false. It was the opposition party, the NDP, whose filibuster yesterday delayed the committee coming to an agreement on the number of meetings. We were more than accommodating. We finally agreed on having more than 50 witnesses come to speak on this particular legislation.

It is extremely critical. On this side of the House, we are looking forward to hearing from that expert testimony, including both the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness and the Minister of Justice.

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Mr. Speaker, over a hundred of Canada's leading law professors wrote to the government today saying it has to amend it, or kill the bill. How many of those law professors are going to be cut out because the government does not respect principles of law and justice and it does not want a study on Bill C-51?

The fact is, Conservatives are fighting hard to avoid scrutiny on the bill, and that is a disservice to Canadians. This open letter from Canada's leading law professors raises even greater concerns about this dangerous piece of legislation. What are the Conservatives hiding? Why are they so afraid to subject this overreaching new law to proper scrutiny?

[Roxanne James, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians do not expect parliamentarians to waste days debating schedules of when to hear from witnesses. We spent more than 10 hours in committee trying to come to some sort of an agreement. We were more accommodating. We are looking forward to more than 50 expert witnesses coming to committee to hear this.

Let me talk about one of the good measures of the bill. This is hard to believe for Canadians because they would expect that when one branch of government hears information that is pertinent to national security that it could communicate that to our national security agencies. That is not the case today. Canadians would be shocked. The bill would correct that. The NDP member needs to stop filibustering and let us get—

[The Deputy Speaker, NDP, Joe Comartin]

Order. The hon. member for Laurier—Sainte-Marie.

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in January, six young people left Quebec for Syria. The police believe that they joined jihadist groups. Their parents tried to stop them, but to no avail, and now they feel as though they are being left to fend for themselves.

Why are the Conservatives doing nothing to help parents who are concerned about the radicalization of their children?

[Roxanne James, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, the member is correct. During this week, during committee filibuster by the NDP debating how many witnesses we should hear from, we heard stories just like this of many Canadians who have gone overseas to engage or join ISIL.

There are measures in the bill that would give our national security agencies the ability to intervene and to disrupt terrorist travel. We also have measures in the bill that would change the passenger protect program and allow no-board orders to be issued in the very instances that the member is talking about.

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we know that education helps in preventing radicalization. Nevertheless, it has been several months since last June's replenishment conference and the Conservatives still have not committed to supporting the Global Partnership for Education. This partnership has a proven track record.

Why is the government dragging its feet on this? Would it happen to be waiting for an opportunity for self-promotion instead of just helping children and young people now?

[Roxanne James, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, recently we have seen attacks in Copenhagen, in Paris, in Australia, and in Canada, right here in this Parliament on October 22 of last year. That is why our government is standing shoulder to shoulder with our allies fighting a global fight against terrorism and why we are conducting air strikes in Iraq.

ISIL is a terrorist scourge. We are degrading what it is trying to do in that region. It has also put Canada on a list of countries to carry out jihadist attacks against. That is why we brought forward Bill C-51. I am looking forward to hearing from each of those 50 witnesses.

International Development

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is about the GPE.

The Minister for International Development has said that Canada's job is to ensure that children are able to keep learning and that no child should be left behind as a result of the ongoing crisis in Iraq. However, the pledging conference for the Global Partnership for Education took place over eight months ago and Canada has yet to make a pledge.

Are the Conservatives waiting for an opportunity for a self-serving big press conference rather than helping these kids now?

[Lois Brown, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has been deeply committed to ensuring that children get education. We continue to work with our partners globally on these issues to look for ways that we can help. We have been one of the largest contributors to helping in Iraq to make sure that the children there are being taken care of, and in Syria as well.

We look at the great success we have had in Afghanistan with getting the girls into schools, millions of girls in school today who were never there before.

We are watching with our allies. We will continue to do that, and we will put our money where it gets the best effect.

Veterans Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, we heard the sad news yesterday that Ernest Côté, a Second World War D-Day veteran, passed away at age 101.

Now we need to be there to better help our veterans today, like the story of Master Corporal Paul Franklin who lost both of his legs in Afghanistan. Unbelievably, Veterans Affairs has required him yearly to prove that he has no legs. Yesterday we learned that he is once again being asked to prove that he is disabled.

Can the minister explain this callous incompetence?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Veterans Affairs is engaged and committed to improving the services for veterans. In fact, when this issue first came to light, he made a personal phone call to this veteran to determine the nature of the problem.

As a result of veterans' feedback several weeks ago, the minister asked for this process to be reviewed.

On behalf of the Minister of Veterans Affairs, I am pleased to inform this House that the VIP renewal will move to a three-year cycle instead of a one-year cycle. Veterans will also have six months to complete this renewal, which is significantly longer than they have today. The form and the letter will also be updated for simplicity and to promote wellness.

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, under these Conservatives, veterans have endured failure after failure. Enough is enough. Veterans are still struggling to access the services they need and deserve.

Nothing could be more emblematic of the Conservative government's indifference than the struggles of Corporal Paul Franklin who is trying to access his disability benefits.

When will Conservatives finally take action so that retired Master Corporal Franklin does not have to prove yet again that he has lost his legs?

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

Mr. Speaker, we thank Corporal Franklin for his service to Canada, and we are here to help him and veterans like him across Canada.

The NDP has voted against every single initiative that we have brought forward to actually help our veterans in concrete ways. To give members an example, our Conservative government is delivering on new front-line mental health treatment facilities. We are delivering enhanced financial benefits to veterans, and we are supporting them in retraining and rehabilitation.

Through eight budgets, our government has earmarked over $5 billion in new funding to improve the benefits and services that we provide to veterans and their families.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Romeo Saganash, NDP, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, families of the 1,200 missing and murdered aboriginal women are joining the national round table today in good faith, but instead they will have to face the Minister of Status of Women simplistically blaming the communities and indigenous men. This will not excuse her own government's inaction on this file.

With all the evidence we have, how can the Conservative government still think this is not a sociological crisis and refuse the call for a national public inquiry?

[Susan Truppe, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary for Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said before, we do not need a national inquiry. We need the action plan that the minister tabled in September. We need the police to catch those who are responsible and ensure that they are punished.

Since coming to office, this government has taken action. We have passed more than 30 criminal justice and public safety initiatives, including tougher sentences for murder, kidnapping, sexual assault, and mandatory prison sentences for the most serious crimes.

It is a shame that the opposition votes against them every single time that we try to do something for women and girls in this country.

[Romeo Saganash, NDP, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Legal Strategy Coalition on Violence Against Indigenous Women reviewed the 40 studies the Conservatives like to cite when it comes to this issue, confirming that almost none of the 700 recommendations made over the past two decades have really been implemented, including the recommendation to hold a national public inquiry.

Why is the government refusing to take action?

[Susan Truppe, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary for Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, our government has already taken significant action in this area. It is important to remember that many of these recommendations are outside of federal jurisdiction.

Since coming to office, we have passed more than 30 criminal justice and public safety initiatives, as I just mentioned, including tougher sentences for murder, sexual assault, kidnapping, and mandatory prison sentences for the most serious crimes. Again, the opposition votes against them.

Infrastructure

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

Mr. Speaker, gridlock in the 905 is not only a drag on the economy, it keeps families separated for longer every day. Instead of supporting our commuters, the Conservatives have cut the building Canada fund by nearly 90% for the next two years.

What is their real priority, ads costing more than $100,000 a pop during the Oscars last weekend?

Why is the government turning its back on York region and the 905 to fund its own self-promotion?

[Peter Braid, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary for Infrastructure and Communities]

Mr. Speaker, in actual fact, since our Conservative government took office in 2006, Canada has consistently ranked at the very top of the list of all G7 countries with respect to investments in infrastructure as a percentage of GDP. Contrast that to the Liberal years, when Canada was at the bottom of the list. Clearly we had a decade of darkness, not only for defence but for infrastructure as well under the Liberals.

The Environment

[John McKay, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister scored a rare double-double last week. He managed to damage both the economy and the environment. By betting on Congress rather than listening to the most powerful man on earth, he lost Keystone XL. Simultaneously, he made a 44% cut to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency. He also cut Sustainable Development Technology Canada. He also cut species at risk and meteorological services.

Should double-doubles not be best served at Tim Hortons?

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, it is well known that the main estimates are exactly that, estimates, and they do not represent departments' total budgets for the year. Our government will remain committed to a strong environmental assessment process. In fact, we have increased funding and opportunities for aboriginal consultations and public participation throughout the environmental assessment process.