Debates of April 2nd, 2015

Housing

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

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I did not realize that the member now speaks for the provincial Government of Ontario, because I can tell him that when I met and signed agreements with the minister of housing from Ontario, they were very pleased with our housing agreements. Do members know why? It is because we provide funding, it matches funding, and then it decides where the funding goes.

It is called working with the provinces. It is called making our role as the federal government have the greatest impact, but working with provinces. I would like to explain that to the member. I think he would understand it if we had a little more time to explain that simple matter to him.

National Defence

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Speaker, last month, I asked about reservist Leading Seaman Robyn Young.

She was misdiagnosed and injured by a military doctor. She lost her health, she lost her job, and she lost her benefits.

The minister said he would do everything possible to help, but he did not. Last week, I asked again. The minister said he would do everything possible to help, but again, he has not.

This brave soldier and her mum will be homeless in just two weeks. Why does the minister not just keep his word to Robyn?

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

Mr. Speaker, I have instructed the armed forces to cover all of Ms. Young's medical expenses relating to her present condition, going back to before DND was even aware of that condition.

My instruction was clear. This is to continue regardless of the outcome of the current review. In fact, the armed forces covered the cost of her relocation to British Columbia and provided her with interim housing upon her move.

If there are any other outstanding medical claims, we encourage her to submit them to the armed forces, which is providing full support for medical and rehabilitation costs.

I have also instructed officials to treat all of Leading Seaman Young's requests as priority and provide her with everything that can be made available to her.

Infrastructure

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

Mr. Speaker, Thunder Bay city officials have announced that the federal government has rejected a gas tax fund request for the proposed Thunder Bay event centre.

This rejection comes despite the federal government already spending more than $800,000 on the project. The FedNor minister says the city is confused.

Will the infrastructure minister provide clarification about his decision, and will he pledge to work together with the city council so that Thunder Bay can access gas tax funding for this or other projects?

[David Anderson, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Consular]

Mr. Speaker, our government's building Canada plan is the largest infrastructure program in our country's history.

We have provided the City of Thunder Bay with the finances necessary to complete the detail, design, and schematic for the proposed new event and convention centre, and further support will be contingent on the proposal being consistent with the criteria for funding established by the Province of Ontario and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, which came into effect last year.

Shipping

[Matthew Dubé, NDP, Chambly—Borduas, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the excessive speed of boats travelling on the Richelieu River is a nuisance and is unsafe for people engaging in water sports; most of all, it is making the riverbanks erode more quickly.

All the mayors from the Richelieu valley stand with me and my provincial colleague in calling on the Minister of Transport to simplify the federal regulatory process, which is far too complex.

Will the minister help us, abide by the regional consensus and implement a speed limit for the Richelieu River?

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I should let the hon. member know that I have brought this up with my officials already. They are looking into the matter with respect to process.

I would also like to say how refreshing it is for the member of the opposition to seek less red tape and less regulation—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Barry Devolin]

Order. The hon. member for Pickering—Scarborough East

Veterans Affairs

[Corneliu Chisu, Conservative, Pickering—Scarborough East, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on Monday, our government introduced the support for veterans and their families act, to recognize and fulfill the obligation of the people and Government of Canada to show just and due appreciation to members and veterans for their service to Canada.

However, veterans and their families are already seeing results. Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs please update this House on the progress we are continuing to make for veterans and their families?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Pickering—Scarborough East for his hard work for our veterans.

Of the five great initiatives announced by the Minister of Veterans Affairs to improve benefits for injured veterans, two have already come into effect. Effective April 1, we have expanded the eligibility criteria for the permanent impairment allowance, so more veterans are eligible for financial support each month.

Also effective April 1, the earnings loss benefit is now calculated in the same way for reserve force veterans as it is for regular force veterans, and this is all about respect for veterans.

I encourage the opposition to support these initiatives and our other government initiatives.

Foreign Affairs

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Mr. Speaker, just yesterday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs sought clemency in the Raif Badawi case, but a simple call for clemency does not mean he will be immediately and unconditionally released and reunited with this family in Quebec.

Will the government explicitly call for the immediate and unconditional release of Raif Badawi, as required by the motion adopted unanimously by the House yesterday, so that Raif can be reunited with his family here in Quebec?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, with the passage of the motion, that is exactly what we are doing. We consider the punishment of Mr. Badawi to be a violation of human dignity. There have been representations made to the ambassador and to the government, and the government will continue.

Co-operatives and Mutual Companies

[Hélène LeBlanc, NDP, LaSalle—Émard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, mutual insurance companies are worried about the Conservatives' proposed new regulations, which would create two classes of policy holders.

Why is the government refusing to require that all policy holders be treated equally and that capital be invested in the community? Why are the Conservatives bringing in regulations that would jeopardize the future of mutual insurance companies by introducing incentives that could lead to demutualization?

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I know that the mutual insurance industry has made its concerns about this issue very clear to the government. Of course, the primary questions here are of a provincial nature. However, we are in dialogue with the industry, and I know that the Minister of Finance is following this very closely.

Taxation

[Wai Young, Conservative, Vancouver South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, earlier this week the Parliamentary Budget Officer confirmed that our family tax cut and universal child care benefit would put more money into the pockets of every Canadian family with children. The PBO also confirmed that these benefits are progressive, helping the lowest-income families the most.

Can the Minister of State for Social Development please inform the House about why the government believes that all families deserve support?

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Vancouver South for the great work and the very good question.

The PBO did report definitely that our benefits would help lower- to middle-income families the most, which is what we have been saying. He also confirmed that every Canadian family with children would benefit.

We recognize that there are no two families that are alike in Canada when it comes to their needs and the decisions they make regarding child care. We will continue to support all Canadian families. While the NDP plan would leave out 90% of Canadian families, we will support all Canadian families with real assistance.

Health

[Massimo Pacetti, Independent, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, most Canadians do not have access to palliative care. Currently, only 15% of Canadians have access to a palliative care bed in a hospital. The budget 2011 initiative known as “The Way Forward: Moving Toward Community-Integrated Palliative Care in Canada", ended in March.

Now that the work and consultation have been going on for three years, can the Minister of Health tell us when she and her provincial counterparts will introduce their strategy for organizing palliative care?

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and for Western Economic Diversification]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member raises a really good point around palliative care and the real challenges that are faced by families as they deal with this difficult time in their lives.

It is important to know that the provinces are responsible for health care, and we have record-high transfers. They are going to be $70 billion by the end of the decade. However, the federal government also has an important role. Since 2006, it is important to know that we have invested more than $43 million in research, and that is going to provide much-needed support and information for the provinces.

[Massimo Pacetti, Independent, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the period for consulting is now over. Action needs to be taken. End-of-life care is an essential health care need. If the health minister needs help, Quebec has already legislated in Bill 52 that palliative care should be a legislative right. Canadians should be guaranteed palliative care when they need it, and the consequences of failing to provide such care should give Canadians grounds for legal action. Several countries, like Germany, France, and Italy, have legally provided citizens this right. It is urgent that the current government offer more support for nursing homes, caregivers, and home palliative care as our hospitals are unable to meet demand. When will the Minister of Health take action?

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and for Western Economic Diversification]

Mr. Speaker, again there are record-high transfers to the provinces so they can actually deliver, which they are constitutionally obliged to do. On top of the money we have spent on research, we play an important partnership role. Another example of something we have done is the $6 million to the Pallium Foundation, which provided palliative care training for health care providers.

Again, it is important for us to work in partnership with the provinces who deliver health care, but we can provide them with much-valued information around research and, again, things like the recent budget in terms of the Pallium Foundation.

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

Mr. Speaker, we certainly learned this week what Conservatives are really concerned about.

Is it the 400,000 manufacturing jobs that have been lost in this country? No, it is not that. Is it the lack of access to child care across this country? No, it is not that.

What concerns Conservatives, as reported by a member of the national Conservative caucus, is the temperature of their cheese. These Camembert Conservatives are more interested in that than they are in fundamental issues.

What we would like to suggest to them is that they should be more concerned about the “atrocious” state of the Canadian economy, as the head of the Bank of Canada said. They should be more concerned about the record debt load that Canadian families are experiencing. People say that Tory times are tough times, and there is proof for the average Canadian family.

The Conservatives should of course be concerned about cuts to food safety and rail safety on their watch, which tragically led to the death of dozens of Canadians. They should be concerned about 1,200 missing and murdered indigenous women. Those are issues that I think most Canadians believe the government should be concerned about.

The good news is that as of today, there are only 200 days to the end of the government on October 19. There are only 200 more days before Canadians will be able to judge the government on its lack of concern for these issues of concern to Canadians.

I have the utmost confidence that on October 19 Canadians will make the right choice and say “no” to this government and “yes” to a new NDP government that will actually put their priorities first.

With that, we have been told the date for the budget. It was not announced in the House, of course, but somewhere far away from here. We have not seen the Minister of Finance respond to questions here for months. I do not know if it is because he did not like the temperature of the cheese or what, but he has not been here.

I certainly hope he will actually be here to present a budget and we hope that the budget will reflect Canadians' priorities. On that note, I would like wish you, Mr. Speaker, and all Canadians a very happy Easter.

I would like to wish everyone in Canada and of course you, Mr. Speaker, a happy Easter.

Could my colleague tell us what the government's priorities are for the week after the Easter break?

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, this afternoon we will conclude the second reading debate on Bill C-42, the common sense firearms licensing act. This bill will reduce the red tape faced by law-abiding hunters, farmers, and outdoors enthusiasts.

Then we will return to our constituencies for the Easter adjournment. When we come back on Monday, April 20, that day will be the first allotted day. The House will debate a proposal from the New Democratic Party. I expect this proposal will be the 81st time-allocated opposition day debate since the last election.

As we know, notwithstanding the option available to them to allow many days of debate on any issue they raise on opposition days, the NDP has always chosen to limit the debate to the minimum of a single day of debate. What is more, this will be the 179th time-allocated opposition debate since the government took office.

On Tuesday, we will debate and ideally conclude third reading of Bill C-12, the drug-free prisons act. Then we will move on to the report stage of Bill S-2, the incorporation by reference in regulations act.

As to my hon. friend, the Minister of Finance this week, I do not know where the opposition House leader was, but I quite enjoyed the Minister of Finance's answers this week in question period. I know why he does not remember it; it is because he does not want to remember that the finance minister laid on the table the clear choice before Canadians. It is the choice between a government that is focused on the priorities of Canadians and lower taxes for families versus the priorities of the New Democrats, which are to raise taxes on families, reverse the tax reductions our government has delivered, and deliver higher debt, higher deficits, and bigger government.

It is a clear choice. That is why we look forward to the budget on Tuesday, April 21, that the Minister of Finance has announced will take place. That will be at 4:00 p.m.

On his behalf, pursuant to Standing Order 83(2), I will be asking later that an order of the day be designated for the purpose of that budget.

I am looking forward to that balanced budget, because it will continue our focus on creating jobs and supporting Canadian families. Over 1.2 million net new jobs have been created since the economic downturn, and that is a remarkable record, especially when contrasted with every other developed country in the world. It is something I know Canadians are remarkably proud of.

Canadians recognize the importance of the economic leadership we have had from the Minister of Finance and our Prime Minister in delivering those results. That, of course, is why there is such strong support for our economic agenda in contrast with the agenda offered by the New Democratic Party.

The budget debate will continue on Wednesday. Subject to discussions with my counterparts, the second day of debate will be on Friday.

On Thursday, we will debate Bill C-51, the Anti-terrorism Act, 2015, at report stage. This important bill provides our law enforcement and security agencies with crucial tools to tackle new and emerging threats posed by terrorists.

Over the last several weeks, our hard-working public safety committee held many hours of meetings, hearing from dozens of witnesses, and then spent a very long day on the bill’s clause-by-clause consideration.

Let me congratulate and thank the committee for its efforts.

Designation of Order of the Day

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 83(2), I request the designation of an order of the day to allow the presentation of a budget speech at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 21.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[Gerald Keddy, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and the Minister of International Trade, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2) and in accordance with Standing Order 109, I am pleased to present, in both official languages, the government's response to the seventh report of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food entitled “Canadian Agriculture and the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement”, which was tabled in the House of Commons on December 10, 2014.

The government response addresses the motion adopted by the House on November 19, 2014, which asked the committee to reconsider its earlier report on the Canada-EU pact now that the final agreement had been reached.