House of Commons Hansard #195 of the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was information.

Topics

EmploymentOral Questions

11:35 a.m.

Conservative

The Acting Speaker Conservative Barry Devolin

The hon. Minister of Employment.

EmploymentOral Questions

11:35 a.m.

Nepean—Carleton Ontario

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre ConservativeMinister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Democratic Reform

Mr. Speaker, there are two parts to the question. Let us start with jobs, jobs for young people. Our government brought in place the Canada apprenticeship grant, which helps young people get into the trades, high demand fields that pay good salaries to our young people and give them a brighter future. There have been half a million of these grants that have already gone out to help young people. The Liberals opposed that.

On advertising, we are advertising the increased universal child care benefit and the thousands of dollars families will save through income splitting. The Liberals do not want those families to know about those benefits, because the Liberals would take them away.

The EconomyOral Questions

11:40 a.m.

Liberal

Francis Scarpaleggia Liberal Lac-Saint-Louis, QC

Mr. Speaker, the health of retail spending is a sign of economic confidence.

In my riding, a Future Shop and a Target are closing their doors. The two stores are located less than a kilometre apart. These closures have left a void in the local economy. The government has eroded consumer and business confidence with its too little, too late approach.

When will the government do something to address the economic challenges facing Canadians?

The EconomyOral Questions

11:40 a.m.

Nepean—Carleton Ontario

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre ConservativeMinister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Democratic Reform

Mr. Speaker, the worst way to help retailers is to raise taxes on families. If families have more money in their pockets, they will be able to purchase goods and services from the retail sector, and that will create jobs.

That is why we increased the universal child care benefit to nearly $2,000 per child under 6 and to $700 for children aged 6 to 17.

The Liberals voted against that. They want to take that money away and raise taxes. We will not let them do it.

EmploymentOral Questions

11:40 a.m.

Liberal

Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB

Mr. Speaker, the government's failure to create jobs over the last couple of years has led to Canada's economy shrinking. That is the bottom line. That has been very hard on the middle class of Canada. When I drive around Winnipeg, I see that Safeway stores are disappearing, Target stores have closed down, and Future Shop has closed down. The government does not even understand the importance of economic growth and creating jobs.

When are the Liberal Party and Canadians going to start to see a plan that is going to generate the jobs that are so important to our middle class?

EmploymentOral Questions

11:40 a.m.

Nepean—Carleton Ontario

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre ConservativeMinister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Democratic Reform

Mr. Speaker, their only plan is to raise taxes on families that shopped at these retailers. We do not create jobs for retailers by taxing the people who buy their goods. We are doing exactly the opposite on this side of the House of Commons. We have lowered taxes for small businesses so that they can afford to hire more. We have lowered taxes for families so that they can afford to spend at their local businesses, and we are training our young people for the jobs that actually exist—good, solid, well-paid jobs for our young people—through quality training. The Liberals are opposed to all of it, and that is why Canadians side with us.

Public SafetyOral Questions

11:40 a.m.

NDP

Rosane Doré Lefebvre NDP Alfred-Pellan, QC

Mr. Speaker, the more people hear about Bill C-51, the more they oppose it.

Ninety per cent of the witnesses who appeared before the committee agreed that Bill C-51 jeopardizes our rights and freedoms. Members of other parties have even changed their tune and plan to follow the NDP's lead. Only the leader of the third party would rather let the Prime Minister win than stick to his principles.

Is the minister so easily distracted by clay pigeons that he really cannot see the consensus against his flawed legislation and the need to withdraw Bill C-51?

Public SafetyOral Questions

11:40 a.m.

Lévis—Bellechasse Québec

Conservative

Steven Blaney ConservativeMinister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the committee members, who did important work over the past few weeks and heard from dozens of witnesses over many hours.

Everyone agrees that it is important to ensure that terrorists cannot take advantage of our inability to share information between the various government agencies, to prevent terrorists from boarding planes, to shut town terrorist propaganda websites and to allow passport officers to report suspicious individuals to police.

We are taking appropriate measures to keep Canadians safe.

Public SafetyOral Questions

11:40 a.m.

NDP

Randall Garrison NDP Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC

Mr. Speaker, it is no wonder the Conservatives rushed Bill C-51 through. They could not stand the opposition coming even from their own base. The more Canadians have heard about Bill C-51, the more they oppose it. Even the Bloc has seen the light and will not vote for this dangerous legislation, and maybe even the Liberal leader will follow.

My question is for the minister. After hearing overwhelming evidence that Bill C-51 is ineffective and poses a threat to our civil liberties, will he listen to Canadians and abandon this fatally flawed bill?

Public SafetyOral Questions

11:40 a.m.

Lévis—Bellechasse Québec

Conservative

Steven Blaney ConservativeMinister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

Mr. Speaker, there are so many good measures and checks and balances in this bill. I want to thank the member for having taken the time to listen to witnesses, such as the sister of Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent, members of the Muslim community, the security sector, and academics. All agree that it is important that we ensure that we have threat management measures so that we are able to prevent terrorists from using the gaps in our laws to arm Canadians.

We can reassure Canadians that we are taking the measures necessary to protect them from terrorists.

Rail TransportationOral Questions

11:45 a.m.

NDP

Matthew Kellway NDP Beaches—East York, ON

Mr. Speaker, Toronto mayor John Tory and 17 Toronto city councillors whose constituents border the CP Rail line have written to the Minister of Transport expressing their concerns about the transportation of dangerous goods through their neighbourhoods. With about one million barrels of oil going through Canadian towns and cities daily, with derailments across this country continually in the news, with Lac-Mégantic never far from our minds, is the minister going to listen to the concerns of Torontonians, implement the recommendations in this letter, and prevent another catastrophe?

Rail TransportationOral Questions

11:45 a.m.

Halton Ontario

Conservative

Lisa Raitt ConservativeMinister of Transport

Mr. Speaker, I can confirm that we have received the letter.

We have encouraged the municipality to work with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, with whom we have a very strong relationship in working on its rail advisory group. I meet with it at least three to four times a year, taking its concerns into great consideration as we continuously improve rail safety in the country. We have acted on its recommendations, it has indicated that it is in agreement with the direction we are taking, and I value the relationship.

Rail TransportationOral Questions

11:45 a.m.

NDP

Hoang Mai NDP Brossard—La Prairie, QC

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are once again dragging their feet. To prevent further derailments like the most recent one in Gogama, the fourth in northern Ontario since the beginning of the year, apparently CN plans to reduce speed limits across the country for any of its trains that are transporting crude oil in highly populated areas. CN, for one, seems to have learned from its mistakes.

When will the minister finally show some leadership and impose similar measures on the entire rail network?

Rail TransportationOral Questions

11:45 a.m.

Halton Ontario

Conservative

Lisa Raitt ConservativeMinister of Transport

Mr. Speaker, we are very proud of what we have accomplished as a government with respect to the improvements in rail safety in this country. It really has been unprecedented. I would encourage the hon. member to actually read what we have done so far, because it would save me the embarrassment of having to point out to him that we already did exactly that in an emergency directive last year.

JusticeOral Questions

11:45 a.m.

Conservative

Jay Aspin Conservative Nipissing—Timiskaming, ON

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to protecting our streets and communities, Canadian know who they can trust. Since 2006, we have toughened laws, held violent criminals to account, and most importantly, have stood up for victims of crime. In response to the Supreme Court's decision on Bedford, we brought in new criminal provisions to protect vulnerable Canadians from the harms of prostitution. The opposition dragged their feet and ultimately voted against the legislation.

Could the Minister of Justice tell the House the kind of impact our legislation is having on communities?

JusticeOral Questions

11:45 a.m.

Central Nova Nova Scotia

Conservative

Peter MacKay ConservativeMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate members of the RCMP, who recently conducted raids to break up an international prostitution ring. They identified hundreds of potential victims who were being forced into prostitution, an inherently dangerous life. At least 500 victims, mostly young women, were moved around the country and forced into sexual slavery in many Canadian cities. Through the investigation, although it is ongoing, six individuals have been charged with charges recently enacted by our government.

Canadians trust this government to protect Canadians in our communities, where they work, live, and raise their families.

Regional Economic DevelopmentOral Questions

11:45 a.m.

NDP

François Lapointe NDP Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC

Mr. Speaker, the mandate of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec is to support job creation in our regions. The report on plans and priorities tabled yesterday by the government shows that the Conservatives plan to cut another $20 million from the budget for the Economic Development Agency of Canada between now and 2018. That is almost 10% of the agency's total budget, and it is on top of the tens of millions of dollars left unused by the government every year.

How can the minister justify these continued cuts while millions of Quebeckers in the regions are losing their jobs or are unemployed and unable to find jobs? There is no excuse for this. How can he justify such a decision?

Regional Economic DevelopmentOral Questions

11:45 a.m.

Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière Québec

Conservative

Jacques Gourde ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister

Mr. Speaker, I would like to share with my colleague an overview of what the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec has achieved since 2006.

It has supported 5,381 projects and provided over $2.4 billion in contributions, with over $9 billion in planned investments. The Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec is doing its job to improve Quebec's economy.

Regional Economic DevelopmentOral Questions

11:50 a.m.

NDP

Anne Minh-Thu Quach NDP Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC

Mr. Speaker, we do not have the same figures.

Quebec needs its regions to prosper, but the Conservatives are going to cut nearly $12 million from the business development program under the budget for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, nearly $2 million from entrepreneurship support and $3 million from programs that support the CDECs and community economic development in Quebec.

Why are the Conservatives doing everything they can to kill SMEs in the regions?

Regional Economic DevelopmentOral Questions

11:50 a.m.

Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière Québec

Conservative

Jacques Gourde ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister

Mr. Speaker, the Economic Development Agency of Canada was allocated nearly $1.5 billion in funding for the period from 2011 to 2014. Of that amount, 98% was invested by the agency based on community needs and its ability to invest.

Unfortunately, the NDP has always voted against the budgets that provide money for economic development in Quebec.

Citizenship and ImmigrationOral Questions

11:50 a.m.

NDP

Peggy Nash NDP Parkdale—High Park, ON

Mr. Speaker, a new report from York University legal researchers says that Hungarian Roma who came to Canada claiming refugee status have encountered systemic bias at Citizenship and Immigration Canada and unfair treatment by the government, despite increasing persecution and danger in their home countries. Between 2008 and 2012, only 8.6% of the more than 11,000 Roma refugee claimants were successful. These systemic failures must be fixed.

Will the government stop mistreating the Roma and denying them refuge?

Citizenship and ImmigrationOral Questions

11:50 a.m.

Ajax—Pickering Ontario

Conservative

Chris Alexander ConservativeMinister of Citizenship and Immigration

Mr. Speaker, Canada continues to have the most generous immigration and refugee determination system in the world. Every country on the designated country of origin list demonstrates respect for human rights, offers state protection to those whose human rights are violated, and has mechanisms for redress if these rights are infringed.

It is not an accident that almost every country of the European Union is on the DCO list. The decisions that the member is talking about were made by highly trained civil servants who follow our immigration laws. Our just immigration rules are applied impartially, based on the facts. We are not going to politicize these issues, as the opposition would have us do.

Citizenship and ImmigrationOral Questions

11:50 a.m.

NDP

Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC

Mr. Speaker, a family in Vancouver Kingsway is attempting to adopt its orphaned nephew who lives in Delhi, India. This child has no relatives left in India, and his uncle and aunt have already waited a year since applying to reunite their family. Unbelievably, Citizenship and Immigration Canada says that the adoption process will take another 31 months.

An immigration system that forces families to wait four years to adopt an orphaned child relative is simply unacceptable. Will the minister look into this case immediately and fix this broken system for all Canadian families? It does not sound generous to me.

Citizenship and ImmigrationOral Questions

11:50 a.m.

Ajax—Pickering Ontario

Conservative

Chris Alexander ConservativeMinister of Citizenship and Immigration

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite knows very well that he does a disservice to families affected by individual cases, worried about their files, when he raises those issues before the House of Commons. We cannot talk about those issues in this place, rightfully, due to the restrictions of the Privacy Act. If he wants to talk about these issues, he should raise them outside of the House.

Canada has the most generous immigration system, and we are among the leading countries in the world making adoptions happen and resettling refugees. The hon. member knows that.

HousingOral Questions

11:50 a.m.

Liberal

Adam Vaughan Liberal Trinity—Spadina, ON

Mr. Speaker, the government has just renewed an anemic housing agreement with the Province of Ontario. The province said thanks because it has good manners, not because it is a good policy.

In Toronto, this policy means that only 60 new units of apartments will be built in the next year, even though there is a waiting list in the city of 92,000 people waiting for housing. The mayor of Toronto said this week that he needs more help, not the status quo. In fact, the city is now losing almost 250 units of housing a year while it waits for the federal government to act.

The question is this. Why is the Minister of Finance going to Toronto and speaking at a private club, making one of his colleagues rich, instead of being in the House, providing housing money, and helping people in need?