Debates of April 27th, 2015

Opposition Motion—Government Advertising

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, obviously there are times when we forecast what we are going to be doing. That was clearly one example. I remember very clearly sitting down with members of Conestoga College, for example, and discussing the Canada jobs grant and their excitement about what that would actually bring to the table in terms of providing a better stream of skilled workers and helping workers who had been in a particular occupation who may have lost their jobs and needed to upgrade. There was certainly wide acceptance of that program, even though it has been adjusted from its original idea.

Our government has spent money on many initiatives that are very important for Canadians to be aware of, such as services to newcomers. I have had the privilege of attending new citizenship ceremonies in my riding. Actually, the office is just outside of my riding. I have probably attended more than 100 new citizen welcomes in this last nine and a half years. There is nothing more enjoyable in my job as a member of Parliament than to look into the eyes of these new citizens as they arrive, and after they have been for three years, as they take the oath of citizenship. It is important that we inform newcomers about the steps our government is taking to create a fast and flexible immigration system, including improvements to foreign credential recognition and super visas to speed up family reunification.

These and many other things I could list are important advertising initiatives we have taken to inform Canadians about programs that are available to them.

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is clear that Canadians do not support wasteful partisan advertising. Their dollars are being spent on just such advertising by the government. While the government has spent $750 million on advertising, it has cut any number of very important services, whether it is providing services for veterans' front-line needs, cutting in half the number of youth employment program dollars, or cutting settlement services, contrary to what the member just said, by $15 million in my province of British Columbia.

What is mystifying is that the member was saying that their advertising is so great. If so, then they would have no concern with this motion, because it simply says that there would be a third-party review process. If the advertising was appropriate, it would be approved, so what are they fearing? Perhaps they fear that the bulk of their advertising is the kind of wasteful partisan advertising Canadians do not want their tax dollars spent on.

I would like to ask the member why there is concern when the motion simply says that there would be a third-party review rather than the Orwellian kind of review the member talked about, approval at the highest levels. That means his Prime Minister, who wants this wasteful partisan advertising, and subject to parliamentary scrutiny in a majority--

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Barry Devolin]

Order. The hon. member for Kitchener—Conestoga.

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it does not surprise me that the Liberals are intent on creating yet another bureaucracy to oversee a process that I clearly outlined in my remarks. All of the checks and balances that are already in place to create another bureaucracy, to oversee another bureaucracy to oversee another one; this is the kind of Liberal government that members would create.

I have a more fundamental question. Many times today I have heard the member and her colleagues talk about partisan advertising. I am wondering if she would consider the advertising that existed prior to the Gomery inquiry as partisan. That is one question, but does the member have any idea where the $40 million is? Would she please encourage her colleagues to pay it back?

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I heard my colleague from Kitchener—Conestoga say that he thought this motion said that the opposition party that put it forward and the opposition member actually opposed government advertising to tell Canadians about programs. As I read the motion it is quite clearly saying a third party review would ensure only advertising in future by other parties and other administrations, with which my hon. friend may not be quite as friendly.

Would it not be a good idea to control how they spend taxpayers' money in the future by making sure a third party does ensure that advertising is actually for the purpose of informing Canadians and not attempting to delude them with propaganda?

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I outlined throughout my remarks the various checks and balances that are already in place as they relate to getting government advertising approved. We could argue about whether or not something is partisan or not because of the colour of it, for example.

These are extraneous arguments that are taking us away from the important fact that it is incumbent upon any government to let its citizens know about what programs are available to them and how that will actually help them whether it is a tax credit, or the ability to take apprenticeship training, for example, or the upcoming child care benefits that are going to be available. We know that those who have children between ages six and 17, if they have not been enrolled in a previous program, will not qualify until they enrol. It is important for government to let people know what programs are available to them.

[Brad Butt, Conservative, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure my good friend from Kitchener—Conestoga would agree with me that regardless of the stripe of party that is in government at the time, there is a fiduciary responsibility for governments to communicate, to advertise and to make sure that Canadians are aware of government services and programs. It is the height of hypocrisy that Liberal Party of Canada members bring this motion forward in the House today. There is no way they can possibly suggest that while they were in government that none of their advertising was “partisan” whatever that means.

However, my residents in Mississauga—Streetsville appreciate the fact that they are informed of exactly the programs and services the government is delivering, and how they can take advantage of programs, services and benefits that they need. I want the member to clarify that he agrees with me that this is an important role of government, that we do advertise, we do make sure Canadians understand the programs and services that are available to them.

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, that is a very clear question with an easy answer. Most of us in the House try to inform our constituents in our individual ridings about things that we are doing. For example, each year I host what is called the shredding party where people can bring their old financial records and shred them so they are not available for potential cyber thieves. We have the RCMP and regional police services there to explain to people how they can prevent identity theft.

The way I get the word out to my constituents is through what we call the ten percenter. Many times I have had complaints about the fact that I send out ten percenters at parliamentary expense. I remember one day a person at a shredding party complained about all the mailings I was doing. I asked him how he became aware of the event and he was holding the announcement in his hand. Sometimes we argue one way, but really we realize that unless government is taking the time to inform Canadians about what is available to them, there is really no other option.

I mentioned the home renovation tax credit, the job-sharing program that helped many employers retain some of their most skilled employees during the economic downturn, elder abuse awareness programs that we have advertised, income splitting for seniors, child fitness tax credits, caregiver tax credits. I could go on and on.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

We are out of time for our questions and comments, but I see the hon. member for York West rising.

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, York West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in my comments earlier this afternoon, I used the word “lies” and I would like to withdraw that.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

I thank the hon. member for York West for responding to the earlier intervention, and I think we will consider the whole matter closed.

Resuming debate.

The hon. member for Random—Burin—St. George's.

[Judy Foote, Liberal, Random—Burin—St. George's, NL]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to speak to the motion from my liberal colleague, the member for Ottawa South, on the very serious issue of wasteful partisan advertising.

Also, Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to be splitting my time with the hon. member for Winnipeg North.

All members of this House have an obligation to ensure the hard-earned dollars of taxpayers are spent responsibly, which is why this debate on the use of public funds for partisan ineffective advertising is so very important. At a time when the current Conservative government preaches fiscal restraint and belt-tightening to everyone else, it has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on self-promotion. For over nine years, the Conservatives have used taxpayer money to broadcast highly partisan advertising, often containing little to no useful information. Between fiscal years 2006-07 and 2014-15, the Government of Canada spent $758 million on advertising.

According to figures revealed in media reports today, the current Conservative government is planning to spend $13.5 million to promote its pre-election budget in April and May alone; $13.5 million of taxpayer money to promote targeted tax breaks.

It has wasted millions of dollars on advertising during high-profile events when the cost to do so is so much higher, such as the Academy Awards, the Grammys, the Super Bowl, the World Junior Hockey Championships, and the NHL playoffs, while refusing to disclose the costs to Canadians.

The Conservatives have repeatedly used taxpayer money to pay highly partisan advertising during some of the most expensive time slots on television, including the Super Bowl and Stanley Cup finals; a time slot that, by the way, costs over $100,000 for a 30-second ad. This is simply unacceptable and irresponsible. I can only imagine the number of young students who could find jobs with that money.

It is not just Liberals who are concerned about this issue. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation, an organization where the Minister of Defence served as CEO and the Conservative member for New Brunswick Southwest served as national director, has called upon the government to end these taxpayer-funded partisan ads.

In a recent release, the organization's federal director said:

If a government can use public dollars to “inform” Canadians by conveniently putting a positive spin on the governing party’s policies at the same time, they probably will. This is not only a waste of precious resources; it’s also an affront to fairness in a democracy. Further, it violates the democratic principle that public dollars shouldn’t be directed towards partisan ends.

The current government has spent millions of dollars on ad campaigns, advertising programs that do not even exist yet.

Earlier this month, I was watching TV and, to my surprise, I saw a government ad advertising proposed tax measures, such as the so-called family tax cut that has not been approved by Parliament. In fine print, I saw the words “subject to parliamentary approval” written across the screen.

Surely the government should be waiting until its program or measure has actually been approved by Parliament before advertising it.

This is not the first time a government ad has advertised a program that did not exist, but I hope we can make it the last, as a result of this responsible motion by the Liberals that we are discussing before this House.

A particularly egregious example of this occurred in 2013 when Advertising Standards Canada forced the government to pull its May 2013 ad campaign, calling it misleading. Advertising Standards Canada sent a letter to an assistant deputy minister at Employment and Social Development, stating that the Government of Canada had breached the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards by airing commercials that ask Canadians to apply for the Canada job grant. At the time, the grant did not exist and no provinces had agreed to the potential program, despite the fact that the original model required provinces to pay for one-third of the grant.

Advertisements have also continued after a program has ended. In yet another example of waste, the government spent $37.4 million promoting the Conservative economic action plan since the program ended. Even when the programs advertised do exist, government public polling about its own advertising campaigns has consistently shown that the ads have little to no effect on Canadians. The vast majority of them report that they did nothing upon seeing a Government of Canada advertisement. According to a government-funded poll on the effectiveness of the 2013 budget ads, only three respondents of the 2,003 surveyed actually visited the action plan website and not a single person called the 1-800-O-Canada number promoted in the ad.

Ads by the Government of Canada aired overseas do not fare any better. A series of ads in the Washington, D.C. area subway stations praising Canada's environmental record and oil industry were found to have little effect, according to research funded by the government itself. Even so, the Conservative government decided to extend this campaign using $22.7 million over two years. I repeat, $22.7 million for ineffective subway advertisements in a foreign capital. Just think what Canadians could do with that money. Just think of the vulnerable Canadians who could use that in programs that this very government has cut, programs that have been so needed by the most vulnerable in our country. The government's research shows these vague, partisan ads are not working, and yet it continues to fund them with taxpayers' own dollars.

At the same time as the Conservative government is spending over a quarter of a billion dollars on ineffective partisan advertising, sometimes for programs that do not yet exist, there are people throughout our country who are struggling to make ends meet and having to tighten their belts to provide for their families. This, too, is blatantly unacceptable. The Conservatives should focus on strengthening the economy and helping to create jobs, not spending taxpayers' money on expensive partisan ad campaigns.

This most recent budget by the Conservative government built an artificial surplus on the backs of Canadians by cutting programs and services that are, indeed, meant to help the most vulnerable in our country. This is part of a larger pattern, unfortunately. In recent years, the government closed nine regional Veterans Affairs offices, which helped veterans who really need our support, who have given so much on behalf of our country, and yet when they need us to be there for them, the government is not there.

It ended funding to low-income co-operative housing units and raised the age of eligibility for old age security from 65 to 67. I know people who just cannot work beyond age 65 and if they are not eligible until age 67, they are going to have to turn to programs in their provinces, assisted welfare programs, which pay a lot less than they would get on old age security.

It is not right that throughout our country we are seeing reduced health care funding to the provinces by nearly $36 billion in the name of financial prudence and austerity. The Conservative government spent more than $100,000 in one year to increase the reach of Twitter posts by Veterans Affairs Canada while neglecting veterans themselves. Last year, Veterans Affairs Canada spent $4.3 billion on an ad campaign advertising rehabilitation, financial support, mental health services and career transition services, while closing the very offices that veterans would need to visit or get in touch with to discuss these services. By going forward with all of these services, the Conservatives still neglect veterans because they do not make it possible for them to be able to access the services. The backlash from viewers was noticeable.

The backlash from viewers was noticeable. According to an internal analysis, when asked to describe the main point of the ad, some 150 people who saw the ad said that it was either that veterans were being neglected or it was government self-promotion for not doing enough for veterans. Despite the backlash, the department claimed the campaign was effective.

Liberals would remove the partisanship from taxpayer-funded advertising and ensure that government ads only provide useful information to Canadian taxpayers. The Liberal member for Ottawa South has a bill at second reading that would take the partisanship out of government advertising by saying that the Auditor General must approve the content before it is broadcast.

We have seen that system work in Ontario. During the previous Progressive Conservative government's tenure, taxpayers paid for commercials that featured then-premier Mike Harris. In 2004, the Liberal government in Ontario—

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

Order. Questions and comments.

[Brad Butt, Conservative, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have sat here most of the day. I have listened to the debate on the Liberals' opposition motion on advertising, yet I have not heard one single member of the Liberal Party who stood up to speak apologize to Canadians for the sponsorship scandal, not one.

The member who just spoke is her party's whip. She is in a senior leadership position of the current Liberal caucus in the House of Commons. I want to ask her if she will stand in the House right now and apologize for the $40 million that is gone, wasted, finished, that we will never see again. Will she apologize for the sponsorship scandal, and apologize for what Liberals put Canadians through in the 1990s under the Chrétien and Martin governments in their attempt to spend advertising dollars?

I think the Liberal Party owes this House an apology.

[Judy Foote, Liberal, Random—Burin—St. George's, NL]

Mr. Speaker, I acknowledge the question from my colleague across the way. I want to say that given his comments, it is pretty obvious that he, as a member of the Conservative Party, is actually embarrassed by what is happening with the Conservative government. The amount of money and the numbers I talked about in my speech clearly show that, given the anger that seemed to come out of the member in terms of his remarks, he is embarrassed.

I think the member recognizes that what is happening is wrong, and that this motion is exactly what this House needs. What is being put forward by the Liberal member for Ottawa South is exactly what all parties should be considering and should in fact be supporting unanimously, so that we do not see any more of this partisan advertising, the use of taxpayer dollars to do anything other than promote programs that Canadians need and deserve.

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to listen to my colleague's thoughtful remarks.

To a certain extent in response to the last Conservative speaker, let us just illustrate what the government has been doing. There was $29.5 million spent on erecting 9,800 billboards in Canada. Not only that, but the Conservatives compelled the municipalities where those billboards were put up to spend the money out of the infrastructure proceeds they were receiving from the federal government, to be able to blame the municipalities. This is the kind of subterfuge that is surrounding the advertising choices being made by the government.

Surely my colleague would agree that $29 million, for example, would pay for 515 public health nurses for a year, would build 500 affordable housing units, or would pay for 15,000 chemotherapy treatments for cancer patients on waiting lists. That is exactly the kind of responsible spending we are looking for, which is why the suggestion here, as the member rightly points out, is to have a third party, an advertising commissioner inside the Auditor General's office, provide a perfectly reasonable, balanced and objective review.

Could the member help us understand what the alternative expenditures could be for this kind of wasteful advertising spending?

[Judy Foote, Liberal, Random—Burin—St. George's, NL]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Ottawa South on two fronts: first, in putting forward this motion today, which is very important to Canadian taxpayers, and second, for his question.

I acknowledge, as we have discussed here today, that we really need to do things differently. What is being proposed is important because we do need to be advertising programs to Canadians. They do need to know what is available and what we are doing. What we do not need to be doing is wasting taxpayer dollars by being partisan and suggesting that only the Conservative government can do this.

This is meant to be fair use of taxpayer dollars. It is not government money. It is taxpayers' money. Having a third party look at how we are going to spend money is a responsible way to go forward. It is responsible to have someone other than one of the parties in the House of Commons, someone other than the Conservative Party, the Liberal Party, the New Democratic Party, the Green Party, or any other party, decide what is good use of taxpayer dollars when it comes to advertising.

We need to ensure that what we are advertising is something Canadians need, want and deserve, and that it is not being portrayed as somehow a great initiative by a particular party when in fact it is taxpayer money. We are going to be doing things from a leadership perspective that will offer those programs that Canadians want and have asked for, because we have been listening from coast to coast to coast. What we are not going to do is say—

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

Order.

Resuming debate. The hon. member for Winnipeg North.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the best place to start is where my colleague and friend just left off in terms of the importance of the issue. We need to recognize that we are talking about is tax dollars. The government establishes all sorts of programming, and no one would deny government the opportunity to promote and encourage legitimate programs through advertising. There are many different measures the public needs to know about and there is a role for the government to use tax dollars to promote those information-type ads.

However, the Prime Minister more than any other prime minister likely in the history of Canada has used and manipulated public tax dollars to purchase public advertising. We are not talking about a few million dollars; we are talking about $750 million. That is three-quarters of a billion dollars. A good portion of those taxpayer dollars is being used for advertising nothing more than political partisan propaganda so the Prime Minister's Office can send out the Prime Minister's message to pat the Conservative Party, the collective back of the cabinet, on the back.

I believe Canadians will not be fooled by the government's gross neglect of tax dollars. They recognize the government has gone too far in squandering tax dollars when there are so many other needs out there.

I have been here throughout the day listening to both the Conservatives and the New Democrats being critical of the motion, even though I suspect we will get support for the motion from the New Democrats. What it reminds me of is political parties that do not recognize the reality of the day. Members will recall when the leader of the Liberal Party stood in his place and brought forward proactive disclosure. They will recall that the Conservatives and the NDP said no. We continued to push the issue. Eventually, the Conservatives came onside and the New Democrats were dragged kicking and screaming and we had to force it to a vote, but eventually they too came on side, and now we have proactive disclosure.

Proactive disclosure would have been a wonderful thing to have had a number of years ago, just like what we have proposed today. It is a significant step forward. We are talking about a huge amount of tax dollars being spent every year on public advertising. Why not allow for an independent body approve what a political party should pay for versus a government? Why would the government oppose that? That is what it is doing today. The Conservatives have tried a great deal to change the channel.

Let us be focused on this issue. The motion we are debating today deals with public advertising and the creation of an independent body that would allow for the determination of which ads could go ahead because they would be in the best interest of the Canadian public, not the Prime Minister and the PMO. It is an independent agency. By doing that, we would have much better advertising on important issues facing governments and Canadians today.

I have heard members talk about the importance of some of the veterans and housing programs. No doubt there are a lot of good programs that need to be advertised. The Liberal Party is not saying no to that.

We are saying that there needs to be that independent body. When those very important tax dollars are being spent, we need to ensure there is an independent body that makes sure it is not being done for the wrong reason. A wrong reason would be that it is too political and it is more about the endorsement of a political party, the party that happens to be the government of the day.

The government's only response as to why this is a bad initiative is to reflect on years past. The Conservatives say that because of the past, they should not have to subject themselves to this. The NDP members will climb on their high horse as if they are not to blame and have no responsibility for any misgivings. They will say that fine, maybe we should have something like this, but why should the Liberals be the ones to introduce it? This is much like the approach on proactive disclosure where the Liberal Party ultimately led the charge because we recognized that there was a need for it. The same thing is happening here. The only difference is that the NDP members are the ones who are being a little reluctant in supporting us, but we kind of sense that they will. It is the Conservatives that are rejecting the motion.

I would suggest to the Prime Minister and his staff within his office, because they are the ones who circulate everything to the Conservative caucus members, that if they fail to recognize the importance of this issue, if they want to continue to hide and not be transparent with Canadians on literally hundreds of millions of dollars, then the Liberal Party will incorporate it into the next election. We are prepared to make the bold statement that it is time for change, whether there is the unanimous support of this House or not. The Liberal Party is committed to making a difference, because we recognize the importance of tax dollars.

There is absolutely nothing to be lost by taking the initiative that my colleague from Ottawa South has brought forward in the form of Bill C-544. If the government truly cared about the taxpayers and understood the importance of advertising in a legitimate fashion, it would recognize that there is a piece of legislation that we could debate and provide tangible results for Canadians today. This is not something that is difficult to understand. It is a fairly straightforward idea. It is an idea that is necessary.

We recognize the importance of advertising, but there has been a great insult to the collective intelligence beyond this chamber when we see the abuse of expenditures. The best example I can come up with offhand is the action plan ads. Some $13 million is being spent based on a budget that has been presented telling Canadians how wonderful the budget is. Well, if it is, where is the Minister of Finance? He is never around to defend it.

The budget is debatable at best in terms of its true value. It is an assault on the middle class. It is not creating jobs. At the end of the day, the budget is very limited in terms of the degree to which it would propel Canada into the future, both our economy and our social fabric. Yet, the Conservatives are spending $13 million to give false impressions to Canadians, as if the government has actually been doing a good job. Well, that has not been the case.

We can look at some of those underlying realities. There are trade deficits. There are infrastructure crises, depending on the community, in every region of our country, because the government refuses to spend the money but would rather wait until after the next federal election. There is underspending on important budget lines. The Conservatives talk tough about crime. They want to get child predators, yet the RCMP underspends because it is told to underspend in terms of the programs that would get tough on individuals who are exploiting our children on the Internet.

There are endless examples I could share with members today, just to show how bad this budget is, but they have no shame. They will spend millions promoting this budget and wasting tax dollars, in my opinion.

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

Mr. Speaker, I have heard a great deal of protest from the Liberal Party regarding the Conservatives' advertising expenditures. Although I agree with them that the $750 million the government has spent in recent years to promote its accomplishments and programs is too much, particularly in times of budget cuts, I would like to remind them of the facts.

I analyzed the amounts the Conservatives spent on advertising per year in recent years. They spent the most in 2006, when they spent $86 million. They spent the least in 2009, when they spent $36 million. On average, the Conservatives spend $73 million a year on advertising.

However, we see that the Liberals also like spending money on advertising. When they were in office, they spent $111 million on advertising in 2002, $70 million in 2003, $50 million in 2004 and $41 million in 2005.

Their spending is therefore rather similar to that of the Conservatives. What does my colleague think about that?

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the only thing missing that would have been nice to hear is how much advertising the New Democrats spent in B.C. when they were in government, or in Manitoba, where they are unfortunately still in government.

At the end of the day, I am asking the members of the New Democratic Party to recognize that what we have before us is a good idea. It is an idea that would make a difference. If the member were to consult with his constituents, I would suggest that he would find overwhelming support for a motion of this nature, because it makes sense. I believe that the taxpayers of Canada would appreciate it, and that is why I suspect that we will end up seeing the New Democratic Party voting in favour of the motion. We welcome that support.

Instead of reflecting on the past and previous governments, whether provincial or national, we need to recognize that we are talking about public advertising. There is a better way to ensure that there is a higher sense of accountability and transparency, and it is by having a third-party group established to protect the interests of the taxpayer.

[Arnold Chan, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I wanted to follow on the comments from my friend from Winnipeg North. Is this not ultimately a function of transparency? Is it a function of the fact that the government is afraid of a motion that proposes transparency in government advertising?

I want to specifically focus on the excellent piece of legislation, the private member's bill from the member for Ottawa South, Bill C-544, and particularly the proposal to bring in an advertising commissioner, a newly appointed position, under the rubric of the Auditor General. It would be an independent officer of the legislature.

Why is this a positive initiative in terms of dealing with transparent measures, which the government seems to be opposed to?

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I welcome the member back. It is great to see him here, and I very much appreciate the excellent question.

What we are hoping to see through this particular resolution is recognition. The recognition could easily be had by the government looking at Bill C-544, a bill that has been introduced by my colleague from Ottawa South. I have heard a number of speeches on that very important bill. It is a bill that would ensure a higher sense of transparency and more accountability. It is real. It is tangible. It can be done.

I would look to government members in particular and challenge them to explain why they would oppose a third party coming to the table and providing that authorization. It is only a question of time before it happens. The Prime Minister has a choice. He can either get out in front of the issue or he will be left behind on it. Whether it is the leader of the Liberal Party or the public, not only are they demanding it, but it is only a question of time before it happens.

[Andrew Cash, NDP, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour for me to once again stand in this place on behalf of the good people of Davenport in the great city of Toronto to speak to this motion put forward by the Liberals.

To touch very lightly on some of the comments by the previous speaker, who seemed to be a little unclear about whether we would be supporting this motion, and so that he understands, we will be supporting the motion.

However, just so he is also clear about some apparent trepidation, it is not so much the motion, but the record of previous Liberal governments. The Liberal Party in the House of Commons does not want Canadians to dwell on that history. I heard the member for Winnipeg North say that his party would bring these measures forward after the next election, if they were given that opportunity. I suppose one would forgive Canadians for skepticism around that promise, given that this is the party that promised to rip up the GST if they were elected, were then elected, and did not proceed to do that. It was also the party that said it would rip up the free trade agreement with the United States, were then elected, and did not rip up that trade deal. We look forward to the promises that the party makes in this place to see how much Canadians want to forget previous governments. We rest on our record and our past actions.

Speaking of that, there is no doubt among New Democrats that the government has been using public money for partisan purposes. The advertisements that the Conservatives are using on television are a clear example of that, and the cost is an outrage. However, when I listen to the debate today in this place, it seems to be more a debate of who has the worst record on this issue, the Liberals or the Conservatives. They have been going back and forth on that, as they have on many other issues, because on many issues they behave in the same way. When they are in opposition they want to be holier than thou, but we have seen both parties behave in a similar fashion.

Because it is important to the people in my riding and the people of Toronto, I want to touch on government services, access to them, and the information that Canadians need. This is vital stuff. In many ways the way to access information, to find out about government programs, is through advertising. It is a great way to serve Canadians. However, too often we see that it has become a way to serve the Conservative Party. This is wrong. This has to stop. We need much greater transparency, much greater oversight.

I have many immigrants in my riding. Many people in my community are trying to bring their families to Canada. They have been promised, through the immigration system in this country, that when they have their status, they too can apply to be reunited with their parents and grandparents. I want to tell a quick story because it connects to the opportunities that communications have for government.

One constituent came into my office with an application that she had sent. It had been stamped as being received on January 4, but her application to bring her father from the home country was denied. There was no explanation. The government had said through advertising that it was accepting 5,000 sponsorship applications for parents and grandparents and it was capping it at that.

My constituent couriered her application in. It was received January 1. There was no explanation for why it was denied and no recourse. We phoned Citizenship and Immigration. It did not even have a record of it, even though we have a stamp that says it was received. The reason I bring this up is that this constituent had been told that there was a cap of 5,000, and she knew she had to get the application in right away. The government gave her no explanation.

We have Service Canada, where many immigrants access services in a variety of languages. A couple of years ago, the very busy office in my riding was closed, leaving many in my community very concerned, because they would go and speak face to face with people in that office. I bring this up because this is about interfacing with government. This is about access to government services. This is not about spending millions of dollars on government propaganda trying to tell Canadians all the great work the government is doing while wasting opportunities and wasting money, and in fact, not giving Canadians, certainly not the people in my riding, the information they need to live a decent life here in our country. That is what concerns me about the misuse of public money.

We have been leading a campaign for greater protection for unpaid interns in the country. The government could have spent a fraction of that money to let young people know what their rights are, to let them know that they in fact have no rights under federal regulations as unpaid interns. It could have spent a little money to let young people know that if they took an unpaid internship in a federally regulated industry, they would have no protection under the Canada Labour Code. It could have let Canadians know that. It did not. Unfortunately, that has led to injured young workers, and tragically, to the death of one young worker in Alberta. Luckily the government bowed to our pressure and included measures in the budget to protect interns. However, it could have let people know this.

In other words, there are huge opportunities lost, and for the government, massive amounts of public money wasted on partisan adventures.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

It being 6:15 p.m., it is my duty to interrupt the proceedings and put forthwith every question necessary to dispose of the business of supply.

Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?