Debates of March 9th, 2015

Ethics

[Paul Calandra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, as I just said, we will continue to provide every possible assistance that we can to the Crown in its case against Mr. Duffy. I contrast that to the NDP.

When the Leader of the Opposition had the opportunity some 17 years ago to come forward with information that would have helped the people of Quebec, he chose to hide that information.

Again, the NDP owes some $2.7 million to Canadian taxpayers. Instead of just paying the money the NDP members owe to the Canadian taxpayers, they are doing everything possible to hide and ensure that they do not pay it. What they have to do is come clean and pay the taxpayers back the money they owe.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is something watching my hon. colleague fumble through his Rolodex of the ridiculous.

Let us stick on the issue here, because not only are Conservative insiders being subpoenaed, but last week we learned that a number of key Conservative MPs have been called to testify.

Let me ask a simple, straight-forward question. Who will be on the hook for the legal bills of the Conservative Party insiders and MPs? Will it be the Conservative Party, because this had to do with Conservative malfeasance in fundraising and bribery, or will it be the taxpayer? It is a simple question.

[Paul Calandra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, what we know is that the NDP owes the taxpayers over $2.7 million, and it will be the taxpayer who is on the hook if NDP members do not do the right thing and pay up. For instance, the member for Trois-Rivières owes $30,000. The member for Honoré-Mercier owes $29,000. The member for Jeanne-Le Ber owes $31,000. The Leader of the Opposition some $400,000. The Leader of the Opposition with the whip owes some $600,000 to the Canadian taxpayer. They should make it easy and just pay it back.

Employment

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives allowed many employers to abuse the temporary foreign worker program, increasing unemployment and driving down wages, while foreign workers were cheated and abused. However, now a Conservative MP makes the disgusting claim that the real problem here is that too many brown-skinned people are coming to our country. This comes on the heels of all the fearmongering and divisive politics we have seen from the Conservatives.

How could the Conservatives blame Canadians and the temporary foreign workers for a program that they have messed up so badly?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Democratic Reform]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member immediately realized that his comments were unacceptable. He has apologized, and I think we can move forward from here.

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

Mr. Speaker, instead of letting their member from New Brunswick Southwest make offensive, racist comments, the Conservatives should be working to fix the negative effects of their temporary foreign worker program, such as an increased unemployment rate and lower salaries.

Instead of looking for scapegoats for their own mismanagement, will they finally acknowledge how much they messed up?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Democratic Reform]

Mr. Speaker, we have already acknowledged that there were problems with the program. That is why we made adjustments. We proposed financial penalties and even prison terms for anyone who abuses the temporary foreign worker program.

We encourage employers to hire Canadians before hiring foreign workers. We have limited the percentage of foreign workers in a given workplace. We will continue to work on fixing the problems.

[Dany Morin, NDP, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, here is another sign of the depressed climate: on Thursday, the executive of Resolute Forest Products announced the permanent closure of paper machine #9 at its mill in Alma. This represents a loss of 85 jobs and some difficult months ahead for many families. My thoughts are with them today.

The worst part is that these jobs will be transferred to Tennessee in the United States.

Will the Conservative government finally do something to protect jobs in our regions and show some leadership with respect to the forestry industry?

[Greg Rickford, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, our government has provided unprecedented support to the forestry industry. Our focus on innovation, energy efficiency and market expansion has produced remarkable results. Wood exports to China have increased by 1.4% since 2007, and we produce state-of-the-art products from coast to coast.

Unlike the member, who voted against supporting the forestry industry, we are taking steps to create jobs and support forestry industry communities.

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

Mr. Speaker, while eating breakfast before heading to work, a Timmins father found a note from workers who are now out of work. The note was written on the last box of cereal ever produced at the London Kellogg's plant by three workers who had each put in more than 20 years of work at the factory, the same factory where I worked as a university student. Kellogg's closed last December, putting 550 people out of work.

Why have the Conservatives stood by while so many good manufacturing jobs continue to disappear? Where is the jobs plan?

[James Moore, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, of course, we have not stood by. We have put in place programs like the advanced manufacturing fund and the automotive innovation fund that have resulted in job growth in this country since the recession. There have been 1.2 million net new jobs created since the depths of the recession. As a matter of fact, just in the month of January, 10,700 new manufacturing jobs were created in the Canadian economy. It is in large part because our government has kept taxes low and we have kept the Canadian economy competitive. If my hon. colleague from London—Fanshawe would like to know, she should know that 5,000 new jobs were created in her hometown of London, in spite of the fact that she is an MP for London.

[Peggy Nash, NDP, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have abandoned more than just the manufacturing sector. Never has the job market been so precarious.

The CIBC employment quality index indicates that job quality is at an all-time low. The Conservatives have managed to perform even worse than the Liberals, if you can believe that. The CIBC believes that the decline is here to stay and could even last for decades.

When will the government finally take action and make employment for middle-class families a priority?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Democratic Reform]

Mr. Speaker, the facts show the opposite. The median net income of Canadian families has increased by 44% from 2005 values, when the Liberals were in power. Disposable income after tax and inflation has risen by 10% across all income levels since 2006, most of all among the poorest families.

We have achieved this by lowering taxes and implementing the universal child care benefit. The NDP wants to raise taxes and claw back all of those benefits. We will not let them do so.

[Peggy Nash, NDP, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the CIBC report is clear. Job quality in Canada reached a record low this year, in 2015, no argument about that, and it is declining on all fronts. After decades of Conservative and Liberal mismanagement, middle-class families are working harder and are falling further behind. Part-time jobs, lower-paying jobs, precarious employment are replacing full-time work, and the Conservatives clearly are in denial.

Will the government finally wake up and make full-time, middle-class jobs its priority?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Democratic Reform]

Mr. Speaker, low taxes and more jobs are our priority and it is working. We have 1.2 million net new jobs since the bottom of the recession: 85% of those jobs are full-time; 80% are in the private sector; almost two-thirds are in high-wage industries. At the same time, incomes have gone up. The net worth of the average family is up by over 40%. These are the hard facts and the hard realities to which the NDP should become accustomed. We are getting taxes down and we are getting jobs up.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

Aboriginal women and girls are five times more likely to be murdered in Canada. Unfortunately, the Minister of Status of Women has dismissed this ongoing tragedy by blaming aboriginal men, by highlighting domestic abuse. She has sadly demonstrated her ignorance of the RCMP report, which found that indigenous women were actually less likely to be killed by a spouse or a former spouse than non-indigenous women.

Will the government finally accept the consensus, get the facts straight and call for a national public inquiry now?

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

Mr. Speaker, these are terrible crimes against innocent people. The RCMP itself has said in its own study that the vast majority of these cases are addressed and solved through police investigations. We do not need another study on top of the 40 that we already have. What we need is for the police to catch those responsible and ensure they are punished.

Now is the time, not for more talk but for action. The minister tabled her action plan last September and it is a very good action plan. It would help address and combat violence against aboriginal women and girls.

Employment

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

Mr. Speaker, this weekend, when he thought he was only speaking to Conservatives, the member for New Brunswick Southwest, and a former communications director to the Prime Minister no less, referred to “whities” and “brown people” to divide Canadians. This is unacceptable. Will the Prime Minister denounce these words in no uncertain terms, and will the Prime Minister also request that the member apologize to Canadians, in this House?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Democratic Reform]

Mr. Speaker, the member has apologized.

Citizenship and Immigration

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

Mr. Speaker, this is not good enough.

Just a few weeks ago, the Parliamentary Secretary for Multiculturalism asked Iranian Canadians why they had not stayed in Iran, and he was forced to apologize.

This is becoming a pattern in the Conservative Party. The Conservatives use racially or culturally divisive language when they think they will not get caught, and then offer up hollow, insincere apologies.

Is the Prime Minister caving to pressure from the old anti-immigration Reform Party?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Democratic Reform]

Mr. Speaker, the member immediately recognized that the comments were unacceptable. He apologized.

We speak about the broader job market. The reality is we have a good-news story that there are 1.2 million net new jobs: 85% full-time, 80% in the private sector, two-thirds in high-wage industries. Incomes are up, taxes are down. We are moving in the right direction.

National Defence

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

Mr. Speaker, the sad saga of the death of Corporal Stuart Langridge continues. At least now the family will not have to sue the Department of National Defence in order to get the department's response to the upcoming report of the Military Police Complaints Commission. However, the family members have still never been shown the results of the previous military board of inquiry into their son's death. They have never been briefed on the inquiry. With the family here in Ottawa today, will the new Minister of National Defence give the family members the findings of the internal board of inquiry in the death of their son, Corporal Stuart Langridge?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Minister of National Defence and Minister for Multiculturalism]

Mr. Speaker, of course we continue to express our sorrow to the family of Mr. Langridge for what happened, the tragic incident that occurred. I can confirm that last Friday the Provost Marshal of the Canadian Armed Forces did remove the protected designation for the interim report, so that it can now be made public. With respect to the specific request made by my friend from St. John's, I will look into that matter and get back to him as quickly as possible.

[Élaine Michaud, NDP, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the family of Corporal Stuart Langridge deserves better. Not only did the corporal's family never receive the results of the board of inquiry into their son's death, but National Defence waited for 14 months after his suicide to tell the family that their son had left them a note.

Will the minister finally show some decency and compassion and sit down with the family to tell them what really happened?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Minister of National Defence and Minister for Multiculturalism]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for her question.

We continue to keep Corporal Langridge's family in our thoughts.

On Friday, the Canadian Forces decided to publicly release their response to the interim report of the Military Police Complaints Commission.

As for the specific question the member just asked, I will discuss it with my officials and get back to her as soon as possible.