House of Commons Hansard #221 of the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was consumers.

Topics

Co-operatives and Mutual CompaniesAdjournment Proceedings

7:10 p.m.

Conservative

Andrew Saxton Conservative North Vancouver, BC

Mr. Speaker, allow me to explain our position in detail.

There are a number of steps that a company would have to undertake before making an application to demutualize, including developing a conversion proposal and having it approved by eligible policyholders. How these steps are carried out and how long the company has to do so would depend on whether the company has only mutual policyholders or both mutual and non-mutual policyholders. The time required to complete a demutualization process will therefore depend on the company.

As I mentioned earlier, throughout the process policyholders are being kept well informed through various disclosure requirements and are given access to external experts. I can reassure the hon. member that we will continue to protect Canadians and their financial interests at all times.

The EnvironmentAdjournment Proceedings

7:10 p.m.

Green

Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pursue a question that I initially asked in question period on February 23. Unfortunately, in the course of assessing my question and because the response was given by the Minister of the Environment, my question was rather mischaracterized, because I was speaking directly to the minister about public safety. It was about some disturbing language used in an RCMP report related to environmental protests and first nations' objections to fossil fuel developments.

The report was given some prominence in The Globe and Mail on February 17. It was originally authored and dated January 24, 2014. In other words, more than a year before the question that I put to the minister there was a report and assessment by the RCMP of what the RCMP labelled an “anti-petroleum movement”. The report, as obtained by Greenpeace and published in segments in The Globe and Mail, said:

There is a growing, highly organized and well-financed anti-Canada petroleum movement that consists of peaceful activists, militants and violent extremists who are opposed to society’s reliance on fossil fuels.

What I raised with the minister was that just recently, President Barack Obama had pointed out that the climate crisis is a much bigger threat to security than terrorism and that it is important to understand security threats for what they are. He said that ignoring the climate crisis is to put the nation, its economy, and its citizens at risk.

The question I put forward asked if the Minister of Public Safety would undertake scientific briefings so that the RCMP would actually understand the nature of the climate crisis, because the The Globe and Mail, with direct quotes from the RCMP, described the RCMP report as saying:

...environmentalists “claim” that climate change is the most serious global threat, and “claim” it is a direct consequence of human activity and is “reportedly” linked to the use of fossil fuels.

The language that concerns me and the overall context that concerns me is that in conducting surveillance of some kind on the climate change movement and in assessing the movement's objections to fossil fuels, the RCMP is mischaracterizing the nature of the understanding of the threat by those who are active in opposing fossil fuel developments as being merely claims and that rely on reports, whereas those who object to the expansion of the fossil fuel industry are basing their concerns on science.

If the RCMP wanted to investigate the language of those who are opposed to fossil fuel development, it might find those opponents include the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the International Energy Agency. It is the International Energy Agency that has said that of all known reserves of fossil fuels, two-thirds must remain in the ground till at least 2050 or we will put human civilization at risk.

It is the RCMP that needs a science backgrounder in climate and perhaps needs to direct its attention to those things that are real threats to Canadian security, rather than monitoring the legal activities of Canadians who oppose expansion of fossil fuel developments in the interests of protecting our children.

The EnvironmentAdjournment Proceedings

7:15 p.m.

Scarborough Centre Ontario

Conservative

Roxanne James ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to rise today to address the concerns of the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands.

Let me first be very clear on this and highlight a fact that I believe the member often forgets, which is the importance of the global fight against terrorism all around the world, not just here in Canada. The member seems to forget that the international jihadi movement has declared war on Canada, actually naming Canada and its citizens as one of the countries and peoples that terrorists should attack. We are being targeted by the jihadi terrorists simply because of the values that we have in this country and the fact that these terrorists hate Canada's society, which is very open and tolerant. That is why our government has put forward measures to protect Canadians from terrorists who seek to destroy the very principles that make Canada the best country in the world in which to live.

I also want to be clear that there is no liberty without security, and without strong security, there would be no prosperity for anyone here in Canada. That is why we are making sure that our policing agencies have the legislative tools that they need to keep us safe, as well as the financial resources. In fact, our government has already increased the resources available to police forces by one third. Interestingly, but unsurprisingly, the Liberals and NDP voted against both of these seven times. It has increased each time that we have tried to enhance the resources for those types of agencies.

Now, in budget 2015, we would further increase resources for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Canada Border Services Agency by almost $300 million to further bolster our front-line efforts to counter terrorism. I hope that the opposition parties will support our budget and those measures, but I probably should not hold my breath.

Our government will continue to ensure that our police forces have the resources that they need to keep Canadians safe. The member opposite has brought up the issue of climate change. She was not happy with the answer that she had received from the Minister of the Environment, so let me just reiterate a part of the answer. Our Conservative government is the first government in Canadian history to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and we will continue to do so without a job-killing carbon tax. That is important for Canadians to know.

What is also important for Canadians to know is that we on this side of the House will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies around the world, fighting the global threat of terrorism. We will continue to fight, specifically, against the death cult known as the Islamic State.

I want to remind the members in the House and the member opposite that the director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service has said that the Islamic State and terrorism are the biggest threat to our national security. Canadians know that they can count on this side of the House, the Conservative government, to keep Canadians safe.

The EnvironmentAdjournment Proceedings

7:20 p.m.

Green

Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

Mr. Speaker, I do not think that you have ever heard an adjournment proceedings that constituted so much of a mismatch of the question that I asked and the response from the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.

Let me just point out that the current government is the one that has cut emergency preparedness for the environment on all of our coasts and cut preparedness for earthquakes. It has not prepared for the climate crisis, and it has cut back in natural disaster preparedness. I do not think that the government can make the claim that it keeps us safe.

I am surprised to find the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness raising the attack against me, saying that I am not aware of jihadi terrorism. In the context of the debate on Bill C-51, I made it very clear that the Green Party is concerned. That is why we opposed the bill and continue it to oppose it. Experts in security have been clear that Bill C-51 will make us less safe by creating CSIS without any oversight, giving it disruptive powers and, very likely, as many security experts said, making us more vulnerable to a terrorist attack.

Again, the Conservatives are ignoring the climate crisis.

The EnvironmentAdjournment Proceedings

7:20 p.m.

Conservative

Roxanne James Conservative Scarborough Centre, ON

Mr. Speaker, again, there is a lot of misinformation coming from the opposition benches, including the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands. She should know this, and I am not sure why she is misleading the House, but in her home province of British Columbia, we have increased Coast Guard funding by 27%. What we have just heard is simply not the case.

Again, when we get back to the issues of terrorism, public safety and standing up for Canadians, I want to be very clear, going back to what the director of CSIS said in his very public report. It was open for everyone to see. He said that the single most—

The EnvironmentAdjournment Proceedings

7:20 p.m.

Green

Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

Point of order.

The EnvironmentAdjournment Proceedings

7:20 p.m.

Conservative

The Acting Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton

There are really no points of order in adjournment proceedings—

The EnvironmentAdjournment Proceedings

7:20 p.m.

Green

Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

Mr. Speaker, I am just surprised to hear the hon. member make an accusation about misleading the House.

The EnvironmentAdjournment Proceedings

7:20 p.m.

Conservative

The Acting Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton

Just on that point, unless the reference is made to deliberately misleading, where there is some imputing of motive, normally those characterizations are not considered unparliamentary.

The hon. parliamentary secretary.

The EnvironmentAdjournment Proceedings

7:20 p.m.

Conservative

Roxanne James Conservative Scarborough Centre, ON

Mr. Speaker, as I said, in the public report the director of CSIS actually said that jihadi terrorism was the single most serious threat to Canada's national security. However, I believe that, deep down, the member probably already knows this but either chooses to ignore it or simply chooses to accept it.

While I am on my feet, I would like to take this opportunity to ask the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands to do the right thing. Not too long ago, in fact very recently, the member made ridiculous comments about admitted terrorist Omar Ahmed Khadr. This is a person who plead guilty to heinous crimes, including the murder of American army medic, Sergeant Christopher Speer. Our Conservative government has rigorously defended against any attempt to lessen Khadr's punishment for these crimes.

While the Liberal leader refuses to rule out special compensation for the terrorist and the New Democrats actually try to force Canadian taxpayers to compensate him, on this side of the House we believe it is the victims of crimes, not the perpetrators, who deserve compensation.

I would ask the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands to apologize to his wife, Tabitha Speer, who was left without a husband and to the children of army medic—

The EnvironmentAdjournment Proceedings

7:20 p.m.

Conservative

The Acting Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton

Order, please. We are well over the one minute permitted.

The motion to adjourn the House is now deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 7:24 p.m.)