House of Commons Hansard #191 of the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was c-26.
Emmanuel Dubourg Liberal Bourassa, QC
Mr. Speaker, no government other than the Alberta government is affected by the price of oil. Nevertheless, yesterday Alberta brought down its budget, as did Quebec. Here in Ottawa, the Conservatives are still using oil as a reason to put off their budget. That is an excuse.
They clearly have no plan for the economy. We need to create good jobs and invest in infrastructure, and we need federal leadership. Where is the Minister of Finance and where is the 2015 budget?
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeMinister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Democratic Reform
Mr. Speaker, the reason the Liberals want a budget is so that they can increase taxes for Canadian families. Canadians do not want the Liberal Party's tax increases.
The Liberal leader thinks that budgets balance themselves, but that is not how it works. We balanced our budget and now we are helping families balance theirs. We have lowered taxes for families and increased the universal child care benefit, a benefit introduced by the Conservatives. We are improving it and we will continue to put money right into the pockets of Canadians.
Adam Vaughan Liberal Trinity—Spadina, ON
Mr. Speaker, their budgets are so horrible, maybe we are better off without one.
However, Canadian cities do not get that choice. They have to present their budgets and they have done it again on time, and, something the current government has not done, their budgets are actually balanced. They do not get to play hide-and-seek like the Minister of Finance.
They also do not get something else from the current government: infrastructure money. Because the budget has not been presented, these cities did not get money this year and they did not get money last year. That is no money for Vancouver, for Calgary, for Winnipeg, for Toronto, for Montreal, for Halifax. That is two years now with nothing.
So Ollie, Ollie, umphrey, can the Minister of Finance come out from hiding under his desk? Can he—
Peter Braid ConservativeParliamentary Secretary for Infrastructure and Communities
Mr. Speaker, that member may be interested in knowing these actual facts. The City of Toronto, this year, will receive $150 million through the gas tax fund alone. The member may also be interested to know that since we formed government in 2006, Canada has consistently led the G7 with respect to investments in infrastructure as a percentage of GDP. Our average annual investments in infrastructure are three times greater than the previous Liberal government.
Matthew Kellway NDP Beaches—East York, ON
Mr. Speaker, Conservative cuts to the CBC continue to damage the cultural fabric of Canada. Yesterday, CBC management announced 244 layoffs. This is on top of the 400 jobs lost in October. This latest round strikes at the heart of local news services.
Canadians believe that our public broadcaster is important. That is why an NDP government would reverse the Conservative cuts and stand up for the CBC. Why will the Conservatives not get on board?
Rick Dykstra ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage
Mr. Speaker, I have responded to this question three times.
However, there is something that will strike at the hearts of Canadians, not at the media but at families and children across the country. The New Democrats are prepared to reinvest or say that they will spend all kinds of money on crown agencies. They will involve themselves in the day-to-day operations of them. Where will they get that money? They will stop income splitting. They will prevent pension splitting from happening. They will reverse the child care benefits to all families across the country.
We will not do that. We are about families. The New Democrats can worry about things that are relevant not to families but to anyone else who is not concerned about how they would govern.
Murray Rankin NDP Victoria, BC
Mr. Speaker, yesterday's CBC layoffs will have a huge impact on western Canada. In British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, another 76 jobs will be lost. Conservative cuts are simply destroying our public broadcaster. I hear it every day.
Canadians understand the importance of quality local news and why we need a strong CBC. An NDP government would reverse the devastating $115 million that the Conservatives have cut from the CBC and we would stand up for the CBC.
When will the Conservatives just take their hands off CBC?
Rick Dykstra ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage
Mr. Speaker, the only party in the House that allows the CBC to do its job and keeps its hands away from interfering on the day-to-day operation is the party on this side of the House, the government.
This proud agency has certainly faced difficulties. The changes in technology, the changes in demographics, the viewership in terms of what people want to watch and how they watch, that is left under the jurisdiction of the CBC. We will let it implement its plan. It put one into place in 2014. Let us let this crown agency do its job and not interfere on a political basis.
It is not what we will do on this side. We know that is what those members want to do on the other side.
Élaine Michaud NDP Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government has not stopped with its cuts to CBC/Radio-Canada. Yesterday's announcement will hurt the regions badly.
Ten positions will be cut at Radio-Canada Acadie. Francophones in Atlantic Canada have fought to preserve their culture for decades. They need the support of a strong public broadcaster.
Does the minister understand that our francophone communities will end up suffering as a result of her lack of vision?
Rick Dykstra ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage
Mr. Speaker, we on this side of the House completely understand the role of the CBC, which acts as an independent crown agency to deliver service to people across the country. We understand the role CBC plays in remote and minority language communities. That is why it gets significant taxpayer dollars on a yearly basis.
Let it do its job. It is what their professionals do. They understand how to deliver that service. It is not easy to do in the times we face today. Let the CBC do its job.
Claude Gravelle NDP Nickel Belt, ON
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives do not understand anything. The elimination of 244 jobs means the loss of one-quarter of all jobs back home in northern Ontario. It means that 25% of all jobs are being cut.
Franco-Ontarians need French-language television and radio services.
Will the minister stop gutting our public broadcaster and finally reinvest in Radio-Canada?
Rick Dykstra ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage
Mr. Speaker, our government expects the CBC to fulfill its duty to provide quality programming to official language minority communities under the Official Languages Act and the Broadcasting Act. The CRTC has expressed authority to ensure that the CBC is fulfilling its mandate under the law.
We on this side of the House will let it fulfill that mandate. We will not interfere with the day-to-day operation.
It is obvious the other side of the House wants to do that. It is not our mandate to do that.
James Lunney Conservative Nanaimo—Alberni, BC
Mr. Speaker, our Conservative government continues to stand up for hard-working Canadians. We have always believed that consumers should have more choice in choosing television channel, and that Canadians should only have to pay for channels they actually want to watch Last week, we fulfilled this commitment.
Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage please tell the House more about this good news?
Rick Dykstra ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage
Mr. Speaker, Canadians have been concerned about this question for years, and this was addressed last week. Our government has said that Canadians should not have to pay for the channels they do not want in order to get the ones they do.
In our Speech from the Throne we promised to provide consumers with more choice in channels. That is exactly what we have done. This will not only give more choice to consumers, it will help Canadian families make the best decision on how to spend their dollars.
Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB
Mr. Speaker, last week, the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs shocked and deeply wounded Alberta first nation leaders in alleging that unreleased RCMP data showed that indigenous men were 70% responsible for missing and murdered aboriginal women. The RCMP has now directly contradicted this.
I can personally attest to the relentless efforts of Alberta first nation leaders, men and women in seeking justice for their missing and murdered family members, and they have been relentless in calling on the government to call for a judicial inquiry into missing and murdered women.
Will the minister, who has made this shameful, groundless insult to Alberta first nations, stand and apologize?
Kellie Leitch ConservativeMinister of Labour and Minister of Status of Women
Mr. Speaker, as I have said many times in the House, violence against women and girls is simply not acceptable. This government has moved forward with an action plan. In fact, it was presented in the House in September of 2014.
Unlike the opposition, which does not want to take action to actually help these women and their families, to ensure that they are protected, that shelters are created, or maybe supporting matrimonial property rights, this government is taking action to ensure these heinous crimes are dealt with. The opposition just buries its head in the sand.
Jonathan Genest-Jourdain NDP Manicouagan, QC
Mr. Speaker, nutrition north Canada is yet another program that is not measuring up because of the Conservatives' incompetence.
Recent statistics show that the number of northern households that cannot afford healthy foods grew during the first year of the nutrition north Canada program. We are not the ones saying that. That is from the latest Statistics Canada report.
Instead of continuing to boast about the merits of nutrition north Canada, will the Conservatives acknowledge that they have failed?
Bernard Valcourt ConservativeMinister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development
Mr. Speaker, if the member and his party are really concerned about the cost of healthy food in the north, they should scrap their plan to tax carbon, which will increase the cost of food in the north.
The results are clear. As I have said before, thanks to nutrition north Canada, the average annual volume of healthy foods shipped has increased by about 25%, and the cost of a family's basket of groceries has dropped by $137 per month. That is significant, and we will stay the course with northerners.
Matthew Dubé NDP Chambly—Borduas, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Champlain Bridge is another example of the Conservatives' incompetence.
Bridge replacement work is threatening Montreal's drinking water supply. It will cost several million dollars to protect the aqueduct canal that supplies close to half of Montreal's drinking water. The city is asking the government for help.
I know how hard this is for the minister, but will he sit down with elected representatives from the Montreal region, find a solution to the lack of planning, and protect the people's drinking water?
Peter Braid ConservativeParliamentary Secretary for Infrastructure and Communities
Mr. Speaker, I want to assure the hon. member that the Government of Canada is working very closely with both the city of Montreal and the province of Quebec to ensure the appropriate safeguards are in place. We look forward to continued progress on this important project.
Paul Dewar NDP Ottawa Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, the proposed memorial to victims of communism gets a failing grade in design, cost and especially location. It is opposed by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, the Ontario Association of Architects, the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects, former directors of planning for the cities of Toronto and Vancouver, the Canadian Bar Association, the National Capital Commission, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and the vast majority of the people of Ottawa.
Why are the Conservatives ignoring all these voices and the democratic voices of the people of Ottawa?
Rick Dykstra ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage
Mr. Speaker, this memorial will honour the more than 100 million lives lost under communist regimes. It will pay tribute to Canadian ideals of liberty, democracy and human rights. In Canada, over eight million people trace their roots to countries that suffered under communism.
Our government committed to honouring the victims of communism in the Speech from the Throne, and we look forward to fulfilling that commitment.
Wayne Easter Liberal Malpeque, PE
Mr. Speaker, the government's preoccupation to basically rob money from critical programs in order to give a tax break to the rich is beyond comprehension. One example are the cuts to the RCMP. Commissioner Paulson informed us the RCMP had to take 300 personnel off of criminal investigations and transfer them to anti-terrorism. Rank and file RCMP officers are calling for more training and better equipment, yet the minister has forced budget cuts of $290 million since 2012.
Why is the government compromising the RCMP so it can give a tax break to the rich?
Roxanne James ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Mr. Speaker, that is absolutely false. We have actually increased resources to our national security agencies.
What is clear is that the international jihadist movement has declared war on Canada and our allies because of the values that we share. We only need to turn on the six o'clock news, or read in the paper of another attack around the world or of more people leaving countries like Canada to join ISIL.
We heard credible witness testimony in committee this week that has confirmed that the threat is real, it has evolved and it is growing. The number one priority of any responsible government is the safety and security of its citizens. That is why this Conservative government will pass this legislation and why the RCMP is supporting it.
