Debates of June 11th, 2015

New Democratic Party of Canada

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the rules have always been clear.

Using parliamentary resources for partisan purposes is unacceptable. However, the House of Commons administration discovered what 68 NDP members did, and they now owe taxpayers $2.7 million.

Although the NDP refuses to pay back that money, the House administration will make sure that taxpayers are treated fairly; it will begin collecting the money on July 1. Canadians deserve better. The NDP should have some respect for taxpayers, do the right thing and immediately pay back the $2.7 million it owes Canadians.

The Senate

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

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have had a good look at the depths of Conservative and Liberal entitlement thanks to the Auditor General, and they are not impressed with what they see.

In the wake of the report on senators' expenses, instead of calling for the transformational change that is needed in the Senate, the old-school parties are defending the status quo. Just like the Liberals and Conservatives joined together to pass Bill C-51 in the House, they have teamed up in the Senate to block independent oversight and to rig the expense arbitration process. Why? It is so senators can keep policing themselves.

It is unacceptable. Canadians want real change. New Democrats know that change is not only possible, it is necessary. Canadians can trust the NDP to fix the damage done by the Conservatives, to end the culture of entitlement of the old-school parties, and to bring real change to Ottawa. On October 19, that is exactly what we will do.

Royal Canadian Air Force

[Ted Falk, Conservative, Provencher, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the depraved genocidal death cult of ISIS continues to commit brutal crimes in Iraq and Syria, especially against women and children. ISIS has called for brutal attacks in Canada against Canadians. Ignoring this threat is not a solution.

On behalf of my riding of Provencher, I want to thank the Royal Canadian Air Force for standing on guard for Canada and for standing up to this threat. Our CF-18 Hornets successfully led their third air strike in Syria, hitting an ISIS compound near Al-Hasakah. That followed another successful strike against an ISIS fighting position in Baiji, Iraq.

We thank our men and women in uniform, who are getting the job done.

Ethics

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have the right to know what the Prime Minister knew about the Senate expense scandal. Instead, the Prime Minister is extending his trip to Europe.

Canadians are sick of seeing their tax dollars wasted. Are we to believe that the Prime Minister would rather defend the status quo in the Senate than answer Canadians’ questions?

[Paul Calandra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, as you know, it was the Senate that invited the Auditor General in. He has tabled his report, and of course, we expect the Senate to listen to those recommendations and implement them.

As we all know, the status quo in the Senate is not acceptable. That is why we have fought to bring openness and transparency into the Senate. The Supreme Court, in its wisdom, has suggested that we need the unanimous support of the provinces to move forward with any reform. We anxiously await that.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, every time we learn more about Conservative corruption in the Senate, the Prime Minister suddenly finds urgent business to do on another continent. When this scandal first broke, he had urgent business in Peru. When the RCMP released the documents about the cover-up, suddenly he had to rush off to Europe.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please.

The government will have an opportunity to answer the question when the member for Halifax is finished asking it but not before then.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, when the RCMP released documents about the cover-up, suddenly the Prime Minister had to rush off to Europe.

Now we have a devastating report about corruption in the Senate, and the Prime Minister once again is not answering questions. Why is it that whenever there is a scandal, the Prime Minister hops on a plane?

[Paul Calandra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, that question just highlights that it is not only the Liberals who are incapable of ever governing this country again and that their leader is in over his head; it is the entire NDP caucus.

It is called a G7, where the world's most powerful nations come together to talk about the economy, come together to talk about security. Our Prime Minister was there leading the G7 with respect to improving the economy and fighting ISIL terrorism. We are proud of that, and we will continue to do that job on behalf of Canadians.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians really marvel at how the member evades questions. Make no mistake, accountability is coming for the Conservatives.

While the Prime Minister's parliamentary secretary keeps trying to distract us with make believe, we are asking questions about real abuse of trust and public money being misspent, and the Prime Minister will not answer a single question.

After promising change, why have the Conservatives now given up on doing anything to clean up the culture of corruption, waste, and entitlement in the Senate?

[Paul Calandra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, as I just said, obviously the status quo in the Senate is unacceptable. That is why the Auditor General came in and examined the expenses. He submitted a report, and the Senate is taking action on that.

As I said yesterday, Canadians do not differentiate. When parliamentarians abuse their money deliberately, they want some recourse. There are 68 members of that caucus who owe three times as much as the Auditor General identified in the Senate report. It is absolutely inappropriate. Starting with their leader, who owes $400,000, they should repay the money they owe Canadians.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Romeo Saganash, NDP, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations has joined the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and thousands of residential school survivors in calling for an official apology from the Catholic Church for the role that it played in this sad chapter of our history.

The Prime Minister met with the Pope today. I have a simple question. Did he ask Pope Francis to apologize, yes or no?

[Mark Strahl, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs has written to the provinces, the territories, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, and the Vatican to notify them of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's report and recommendations. The Prime Minister also drew attention to the letter sent by the minister to the Holy See during his meeting with Pope Francis.

[Romeo Saganash, NDP, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, many residential school survivors have said that an apology from the Pope would help them find closure and healing. They were hoping that the Prime Minister would raise the issue with the Pope during his meeting today.

According to reports, the Prime Minister invited the Pope to visit Canada for its 150th celebration. When the Prime Minister extended that invitation, I would like to know if he also asked the Pope if he would be willing to issue an apology when he comes.

[Mark Strahl, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, as I just said, the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development has written to the provinces, territories, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, and the Vatican to inform them of the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The Prime Minister, when he met with the Pope today, also drew attention to that letter.

We are taking action on the recommendations of the commission and are committed to a fair and lasting resolution of the legacy of the Indian residential schools. We will continue to move forward in the spirit of reconciliation between non-aboriginal and aboriginal Canadians.

International Trade

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives like to thump their chests and brag about trade deals, despite the fact that under their watch, Canada has experienced unprecedented trade deficits 52 times. They just recorded the two worst monthly trade deficits in history.

The current Conservative government continues to look for scapegoats for its incompetence, blaming others for its inability to close a deal. When will the Conservatives stop the blame game, get CETA properly finalized, and include the federal portion of the $400-million fund promised to Newfoundland and Labrador?

[Parm Gill, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, no government has done more to advance Canada's trade interests than this Conservative government right here. Our government has concluded free trade agreements with 38 countries, with many more to come.

Had the member actually reviewed the statistics, she would have found, if we factor in the recent decline in energy prices, that our exports are actually up 6.2% compared to last year.

When the Liberals were in power, in 13 years they got three deals done, compared to our government, which since taking office has signed 38 free trade agreements.

Pensions

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the average Canadian boomer now near retirement is more than $400,000 short of what they need to take care of themselves. Canada has a retirement income crisis.

The Canadian Association of Retired Persons says that the voluntary approach has not worked. Sixty percent of Canadians want the Canada pension plan to be expanded, like Jim Flaherty recommended. Fragmented, optional schemes, mostly designed for tax planning, simply do not get the job done.

Why does the Conservative government keep insisting on failure?

[Kevin Sorenson, Conservative, Minister of State (Finance)]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal leader has confirmed that he would implement the Ontario Liberal's payroll tax on every worker and every small-business man and woman in Canada. That means that for a worker who is earning $60,000 a year, the Liberal leader would impose a $1,000 tax hike.

This mandatory tax increase would kill jobs and force small businesses to either cut hours, wages, or in some cases, jobs. By contrast, under the strong leadership of our Prime Minister, we will give—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. member for Wascana.

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, it is unseemly for members of the government to accuse their own finance minister of not telling the truth. The finance minster has been clear: CPP premiums are not payroll taxes; they are investments in long-term individual security. They do not belong to the government; they always belong to the pensioner, and the CPP Investment Board is getting impressive results. That is what the minister said.

At least 60% of Canadians want to build on that success. The provinces want to do the same thing. Jim Flaherty said it is the right thing to do, so why not?

[Kevin Sorenson, Conservative, Minister of State (Finance)]

Mr. Speaker, contrast what we are doing for Canadians with what the Liberals would do.

We have lowered taxes for seniors and pensioners, but the Liberals would raise taxes for middle-class seniors. We created the tax-free savings account and increased the amount Canadians can save tax free, but we know that the Liberals dislike the tax-free savings account and would remove it. They would remove the top-up we have provided for it. We provided pension income splitting for seniors. We know they do not like pension income splitting and would take it away.

Labour

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, just this week, the House adopted an important code of conduct for members recognizing the seriousness and unacceptability of sexual harassment in our workplace.

Yesterday the Speaker of the Senate confirmed that Senator Meredith is now under investigation for workplace sexual harassment and bullying.

Harassment of any form should not be tolerated in Parliament. Does the government agree that everyone working for the House and the Senate is entitled to a workplace free of harassment?

[Kellie Leitch, Conservative, Minister of Labour and Minister of Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, any allegations of harassment against women in the workplace must be taken very seriously.

Our government has been focused on taking significant actions to ensure that Canadians are protected. Many of those, the opposition have voted against. Whether it be those to ensure women are protected or to ensure women are empowered, the opposition parties continually vote against them.