Debates of April 1st, 2015

The Economy

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, York West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today is April 1, but with mounting job losses and deepening financial woes across the country, Canadians are not laughing. The government has mismanaged the economy, and now Canadians are paying the price for Conservative incompetence.

Tens of thousands of retail sector jobs have either vanished or are evaporating, such as those at Future Shop, Target, Sony, Zellers, and Jacob, and I direct these to the minister in case he missed all of that.

When will the Conservatives finally admit that their fiscal plan is more like an April Fool's joke than an economic strategy?

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

Mr. Speaker, the only joke is when the Liberal leader says that budgets balance themselves, but Canadians who have to balance their family budget are not laughing at the Liberal plan for higher taxes.

The Liberals would raise taxes on middle-class families by cancelling income splitting for both parents and seniors. They voted against the universal child care benefit, which would put $2,000 per preschooler in the pockets of 100% of families with small kids.

We are delivering benefits directly to families. The Liberals would take them away. That will kill jobs and hurt our economy. We will not let them do any of that.

Foreign Affairs

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this just in: Canadian citizen and journalist Mohamed Fahmy has just received a letter from the government rejecting his request for a passport. The government is requesting a definitive signal from the court that a passport is needed, even though that has already been done. It requests proof that his previous passport is lost, even though that has been reported by the prosecutor in Egypt.

Conservatives were incapable of getting Mr. Fahmy home here to Canada. Will the government at least provide him with a passport, yes or no?

[Lynne Yelich, Conservative, Minister of State (Foreign Affairs and Consular)]

Mr. Speaker, we have a travel document prepared for Mr. Fahmy when he is able to travel. Canada continues to ask for the full and immediate release of Mr. Fahmy, and consular services are being provided to ensure Mr. Fahmy's well-being.

Taxation

[Joyce Bateman, Conservative, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, Canadian families know that our Conservative government is the only one that trusts moms and dads to make the best decisions for their families. That is why we introduced the family tax cuts, which will save the average Canadian family nearly $1,200.

Yesterday the PBO looked at this package and released a report on its benefits. Could the Minister of State for Social Development please tell us what the PBO report showed about our plan and the opposition's stance on supporting families?

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Minister of State (Social Development)]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague, the member for Winnipeg South Centre, took a look at the report and she is right. The report shows what we have been saying all along, and that is that every family in Canada with children will benefit from our universal child care benefit.

What has also been seen is the insult that the opposition has given to families who are not using licensed day care. They are still incurring child care costs, and the opposition has completely insulted Canadian families by not acknowledging that and not recognizing it.

The value that these families are providing to their children is huge for our country. The opposition needs to apologize for this insult.

Canada Post

[François Pilon, NDP, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the City of Laval wants a moratorium on the installation of community mailboxes.

Residents are outraged by the lack of public consultation, and the mayor of Laval deplores the one-way communications from Canada Post. Over 200 municipalities have now spoken out against Canada Post's attitude.

Will the government honour the City of Laval's request or will it plough ahead with the installation of community boxes?

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities at its 2014 annual conference at Niagara Falls was very clear with respect to this issue of community mailboxes. It overwhelmingly rejected a resolution, on a vote of 311 to 185, that we not continue with the conversion to community mailboxes.

I encourage the hon. member to speak to Canada Post on the particular issues that his town may be having with respect to the siting of the post office boxes. That is exactly what Canada Post should be doing.

Intergovernmental Relations

[Louis Plamondon, Bloc, Bas-Richelieu—Nicolet—Bécancour, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Quebec budget, which was presented last week, contains a section on transfer payments that talks about the negative impact that Ottawa's unilateral decisions are having on Quebec's finances.

In a letter I tabled in the House, the Bloc Québécois proposed some measures that would allow the federal government to create the flexibility it needs to reconsider some of its decisions.

Will the Minister of Finance first acknowledge the negative impact of his unilateral decisions on Quebec's budget, and will he also pay back that money in the next budget, which he should be delivering any day now?

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to remind my colleague that federal transfers to Quebec have never in Canadian history been higher than they are today.

In fact, the Government of Canada has transferred $19.4 billion to the Government of Quebec, including over $9.3 billion in equalization payments, all while respecting jurisdictions and working on the future.

We also reduced the GST by 2%. Of course, we are allowing the provinces to recover those points, and we continue to work with them. However, never has Quebec had more support from the federal government than under the leadership of this Prime Minister.

Presence in Gallery

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

I would like to draw to the attention of hon. members the presence in the gallery of Rolly, Fred, Darrell, and Judith Fox, father and siblings of Terry Fox.

The exhibition “Running to the Heart of Canada” is opening tomorrow at the Canadian Museum of History. This exhibition, organized in partnership with the Terry Fox Centre, is marking the 35th anniversary of Terry Fox’s heroic Marathon of Hope, a 143-day, 5,300 kilometre journey from St. John’s, Newfoundland, to Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Foreign Affairs

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I believe that, if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent for the following motion:

That the House denounce the reprehensible treatment of Raif Badawi and call on the Government of Saudi Arabia to cease his punishment and release him from prison immediately.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Does the hon. member have the unanimous consent of the House to propose this motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The House has heard the terms of the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

(Motion agreed to)

Government Response to Petitions

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8) I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to nine petitions.

Interparliamentary Delegations

[David Tilson, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian delegation of the Canada-Europe Parliamentary Association respecting its participation at the first part of the 2015 ordinary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, held in Strasbourg, France, January 26 to 30, 2015.

Justice and Human Rights

[Mike Wallace, Conservative, Burlington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 17th report of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights in relation to Bill C-587, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (increasing parole ineligibility).

Transport, Infrastructure and Communities

[Hoang Mai, NDP, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the seventh report of the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities in relation to Bill C-627, An Act to amend the Railway Safety Act (safety of persons and property).

Agriculture

[Mike Wallace, Conservative, Burlington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have one petition to present. The petition is with respect to small scale farming, and preserving, exchanging and using seeds.

Child Care

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise to present petitions from my constituents.

The first petition is from 120 constituents, some of whom pay thousands of dollars each month for child care, if they can find it.

The petitioners call on the House to work with the provinces and territories to create an affordable, quality child care program, so every child who needs a child care space across the country can get one.

Canada Post

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

Mr. Speaker, my second petition is signed by more than 100 constituents who call for a stop to the cuts to Canada Post. Many of my constituents, seniors and people with mobility problems, are very concerned that they will no longer get home delivery.

They call on the government to stop the cuts to our postal service.

Foreign Affairs

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present two petitions in the House today.

The first petition was signed by over 200 Canadians who are urging the Government of Canada to make immediate use of all diplomatic means necessary to ensure that Raif Badawi is released and reunited with his family, which has sought refuge in Sherbrooke, Quebec.

Raif was sentenced to 10 years in jail and 1,000 lashes for having created an online forum in Saudi Arabia. The petitioners are joining parliamentarians who adopted a unanimous motion to the same end.