Debates of April 28th, 2015

National Day of Mourning

[Scott Armstrong, Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to mark the National Day of Mourning and pay tribute to those who have been killed, injured, or suffered illness as a result of work-related incidents.

One of the best ways we can recognize those who have been affected by these incidents is to do everything in our power to protect Canadians from workplace hazards and prevent further accidents, illnesses, and deaths. Although there has been a decrease in fatalities from the previous year, one fatality is one too many.

Our government works with our partners and stakeholders to educate employees about their health and safety rights, responsibilities, and preventive measures. We develop and share tools and best practices with employers and workers to help them make informed decisions on how best to ensure workplace safety.

All Canadians deserve to return home safe and sound every day.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Following discussions among representatives of all parties in the House, I understand that there is an agreement to observe a moment of silence to commemorate the National Day of Mourning and to honour the memory of workers killed or injured at work.

I invite hon. members to rise.

[A moment of silence observed.]

The Budget

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, today, the Auditor General confirmed that the Conservatives are really bad managers. In fact, the Minister of Finance does not even evaluate the tax measures he puts in place. Those measures are just electoral goodies for the Conservative voter base, period. The Conservatives have no idea how much these measures will cost and they do not analyze the results. The finance minister said again this week that he does not even know whether the measures will create jobs.

Why is the Prime Minister insisting on giving gifts to the wealthiest Canadians when the Auditor General has once again proven that the Conservatives do not even know what they are doing?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, that is not what the Auditor General said. He said that he found that Finance Canada does a good job of analyzing new tax measures and monitoring existing ones.

The Auditor General has asked for an additional two years of data to be published in addition to the two years we have already published. That is a recommendation we will accept.

What we do not accept is the premise of the NDP that somehow giving people more of their own money is taking something away from Canadians. This is people's own money. We want to make sure more of it stays in their pockets and creates jobs and economic growth.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the problem is that 85% of Canadians do not benefit from it. He is taking from the poor to give to the rich.

The Auditor General just slammed the Conservatives for failing to be transparent with Canadians about billions of dollars in tax giveaways. Conservatives have introduced dozens of loopholes and boutique tax credits that help the wealthiest few, but they refuse to give even basic information about precisely who benefits and how much the giveaways cost.

Does the Prime Minister really think he can hide the cost of his gifts to the wealthy few? Who does he think he is, Paul Martin?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, obviously I am not. If I were Paul Martin, the NDP would be supporting me.

The Auditor General actually said he found that Finance Canada does a good job of analyzing new tax measures and monitoring existing ones. He has asked for an additional two years of data in addition to the two years we already publish and, of course, Finance Canada has accepted that recommendation.

What we will not accept is the NDP wanting to take away tax-free savings accounts and wanting to take away universal child care benefits. These are for all Canadians.

Ethics

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, he is right. Paul Martin would put up the same program as he. The only problem is that, after 150 years of Conservative and Liberal incompetence, Canadians deserve real change.

The last time we were in the House, the Prime Minister claimed that, before he appointed Mike Duffy to the Senate, Duffy signed a declaration swearing that he was a resident of P.E.I. The only problem is that there is nothing in that declaration about that. So here is the problem: The Prime Minister says Duffy signed it before being named; it is not true. Can the Prime Minister please tell Canadians which declaration he was referring us to, and when exactly did Mike Duffy sign it?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, just to reply to that earlier comment by the leader of the NDP, when it comes to what we have done to give 11 million Canadians tax-free savings accounts, to increase the guaranteed income supplement, to create the universal child care benefit, to allow income-splitting for seniors and for families, and to give a 2% tax cut to the GST, I know that the NDP wants to take those things away, but that is not the kind of change Canadians are looking for.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, Mike who? It is Mike Duffy. Mike Duffy is not the only longtime Ottawa resident that the Prime Minister appointed to represent Atlantic Canada. Carolyn Stewart-Olsen not only lived in Ottawa; she worked side-by-side with the Prime Minister day in and day out as his press secretary. She was his communications director and, frankly, his closest political confidant. Therefore how is it possible that the Prime Minister thought Carolyn Stewart-Olsen actually lived in New Brunswick, when she was showing up to work for him here in Ottawa every single day?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I certainly would not accept by any means the premise of that question. What I would say is what is very clear, that Mr. Duffy's actions are before the court. The government has been assisting the RCMP in its investigation and the Crown in its presentation of the case. Those matters are before the court. We will let the court adjudicate those matters.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, Liberal and Conservative senators are trying to block the internal audit report regarding their places of residence.

Senators do not want Canadians to know what they found out about their own colleagues. They are protecting each other, and the Prime Minister is playing along. There is a Conservative majority in the Senate.

Where is the internal audit report?

Will the Prime Minister stand up and demand that his Conservative senators, who are his caucus colleagues, make this report public?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition knows full well that that is a Senate matter. It is not a House or government matter. Mr. Duffy's case is now before the courts, and we are going to let them do their job.

Government Advertising

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians watching the hockey playoffs are being bombarded with millions of dollars of wasteful, partisan government ads for which they are paying. As we have seen time and time again, the Conservative government has the wrong priorities, and here is another example.

Why is the Prime Minister spending more than twice as much on budget ads as he is on young entrepreneurs?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I was delighted to see the support of Futurpreneur Canada for the budget. I would urge the hon. leader of the Liberal Party to listen to it.

The reality, of course, is that the things we are doing for Canadians, such as the tax benefits that go to seniors and to families, are very good for all Canadians. We want to be sure that all Canadians benefit.

I know that the Liberal Party is opposed to these things and wants to take them away, but the reality is that these are benefits available to Canadians, and we want to make sure Canadians get them.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government is about to waste millions more taxpayer dollars on advertising in praise of its latest budget. Public money should serve the people's interests, not the Conservative Party's interests.

Can the Prime Minister explain why he is spending $17 million of our money on partisan advertising when he could have created 5,000 more jobs for our young people this summer?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's economic action plan provides many benefits to middle-class consumers, families, seniors and women, as well as to small and medium-sized businesses.

I am well aware that the Liberal Party despises benefits and tax cuts for the middle class, but those benefits are available, and we want to make sure people can get them.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, these are the answers of an out of touch, decade-old government. It is hard to imagine the Prime Minister supporting these measures back in 2006. He has changed.

Why is he spending $17 million on budget ads this year? Why not invest that into the Canada summer jobs program and put 5,000 young people to work this summer, as they want to do?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, here is a party, the Liberal Party, that has opposed tax-free savings accounts for ordinary Canadians. The Liberal Party has opposed the increase in the guaranteed income supplement for Canadians. It is a party that has opposed the universal child care benefit, income splitting for seniors and for families, and other tax credits for Canadian families. We know who is out of touch.

On this side of the House, we are helping families, seniors, and the middle class, and they can keep voting against them all they want.

Foreign Affairs

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we watch helplessly as the death toll in Nepal rises by the hour. Everyone needs help immediately, including our fellow citizens who are stuck there.

Apparently Canadians there are getting better service from the American and French governments than from our own.

Why is Canada not working with those countries and our other partners to coordinate help for Canadians in Nepal?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, that is certainly not the case. First of all, there has never been a Canadian embassy in Nepal. That being said, we already have eight additional staff members on the ground, who arrived yesterday, and there are six more on their way. We are working with our allies, other countries.

I can indicate to the hon. member that every single effort will be made to assist Canadians in that part of the world.

[Wayne Marston, NDP, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

Mr. Speaker, of course, our deepest condolences go to the people of Nepal as they deal with the devastation of this earthquake, but Canadians stranded in Nepal need help too. They want to return to Canada. They are being told that the Canadian transport plane will take them back to New Delhi, and they will be left, at that point, to find flights home on their own.

Will the government provide Canadians evacuated to neighbouring countries with the further emergency consular assistance they need until they can return home?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the C-17 Globemaster, which has already been deployed, will be available to evacuate Canadians from Kathmandu. That is the first priority.

I can tell the member as well that a second C-17 will be made available in the coming days to get Canadians, again, out of Nepal.

That being said, a consular service has been established at the American Club in central Kathmandu and will make every effort to assist Canadians.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill, MB]

Mr. Speaker, first nations have worse health outcomes than other Canadians, yet the current Conservative government has shown total disregard for this fact.

The Auditor General revealed this morning that first nations in remote communities are being forced to seek health care from substandard clinics with undertrained staff. The government is not even trying to allocate services based on need or to make sure that first nations have the same care as other Canadians.

The question is, why does the current government think it is okay to treat first nations in a substandard way?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, that is actually not what the Auditor General said, but I do thank him for the work he did, and I had a chance to meet with him to describe the comprehensive nature of the responses to his audit.

It is important that Canadians know that we have actually increased funding on first nations for health by 31%, and our number one priority is making sure that aboriginal Canadians have access to health care providers. Nurses on first nations are highly educated and qualified individuals, and they are a big part of the community. We are increasing our efforts so that nurses meet public service requirements, but we are also encouraging more practitioners to work in remote first nations by having Canada student loan forgiveness for doctors and nurses. We have also launched a nurse recruitment and retention strategy, and I am pleased to say that we have had over 250 applications since February. We are well on our way to addressing all of the issues the Auditor General--

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. member for Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing.