Debates of June 15th, 2015

Public Safety

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the government cannot slough this off. It is being investigated now by the OPP.

If the government thinks it can whitewash this illegality with some retroactive exemption buried in the budget bill, it needs to think again. A new government in October could just as easily withdraw that phony absolution, especially for those who pressured the RCMP into illegal conduct and then lied about it.

Who concocted the plan to destroy the data illegally while deceitfully telling the Information Commissioner that it was preserved?

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, let us be very clear. It is our government that put an end to the wasteful and inefficient long gun registry after Parliament expressed its will in a vote.

What is shameful is that that member and his party are putting out misleading ads at the expense of public safety. We will continue to implement effective measures to protect the public and to show respect for the firearms community, law-abiding Canadians who do not deserve to be treated like second-class citizens.

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister is doing his level best to avoid the question. To sum up, in 2012, the office of the Minister of Public Safety, with the approval of the Prime Minister's Office and in violation of the Access to Information Act, put pressure on the RCMP to destroy the data from the gun registry as quickly as possible.

Will the Conservatives admit that they broke the law, that they are now trying to change the law retroactively to cover their tracks, and that the scheme they tried to hide—which the minister is still trying to hide—is both constitutionally suspect and morally indefensible?

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, I will be very clear about this. Our government is very proud to have followed the will of Parliament by destroying the wasteful and ineffective long gun registry. We will not apologize for respecting the will of Parliament. We will, however, make sure that the Liberals' misleading ads, which threaten public safety, will be treated like the hogwash they are. We will treat all Canadians with respect. Law-abiding Canadians will be treated like everyone else, not like second-class citizens.

International Development

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

Mr. Speaker, Canada is lagging behind when it comes to contributing to international development.

The minister himself has acknowledged that Canada's financial contribution to development is declining. Canada ranks near the bottom of the list of donor countries and is nowhere near to meeting the goal of 0.7% of gross national income set by the international community.

How did we get to this point? Why is the Conservative government refusing to do its part?

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Minister of International Development and Minister for La Francophonie]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, the Prime Minister has shown leadership on the world stage when it comes to closing the gaps in order to reach millennium development goals 4 and 5, which deal with saving women and children.

Let us look at the facts and the results. In 2011, over 700,000 more children around the world celebrated their fifth birthday than in 2010. Over the past five years, maternal mortality rates have dropped significantly in over 125 countries. Between 2010 and 2013, an estimated two million deaths from disease were prevented. Lastly, five million children were treated with vitamin A.

We are doing what we said we would do and delivering results—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order. The hon. member for Laurier—Sainte-Marie.

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

Mr. Speaker, we also have to provide education and a future for those children.

Ninety-four per cent of Canadians believe it is important to improve the lives of the world's poor, but Canada's record is embarrassing. Our international assistance is at the lowest level in a decade, and only under the Liberal government of Paul Martin was it ever lower. Even the Conservative government in the U.K. reached its 0.7% goal.

Why is Canada not pulling its weight?

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Minister of International Development and Minister for La Francophonie]

Embarrassing, Mr. Speaker? Come on.

Let me cite Rosemary McCarney, a coordinator for the Canadian Network for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, who stated:

Canada came out of the gate when MDG 4 and 5 were the worst performing MDGs, and Canada said we're going to do something about that, and get our G8 partners onto it, and kept going.

David Morley of UNICEF recently praised our efforts, saying, “The Government of Canada [is] a global leader in maternal, newborn and child health...”

The Toronto Star gave the Prime Minister credit in a recent editorial, declaring, “Canada’s contribution is almost twice what we might normally have been expected to provide”.

Mr. Speaker—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. member for Ottawa Centre.

Foreign Affairs

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we cannot expect others to follow if we do not lead. Today, a leaked memo shows that the government will not implement a UN sustainable development plan here at home. Despite the G7 communiqué declaring support for the arms trade treaty, Canada has not signed it yet. Every one of our friends and allies has signed this treaty, everyone in the G7 and everyone in NATO. A hundred and thirty countries have signed the arms trade treaty.

I have a basic question for the government. Why will it not take a leadership role and at least sign the arms trade treaty?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, Canada already has some of the strongest export controls. The treaty actually brings countries up to our already existing export control standards. We are going to continue consulting with stakeholders and experts to ensure that this treaty will not affect lawful and responsible firearms owners. We will only make a decision to join this treaty if it is determined that it is in the best interests of Canada and Canadians.

The Senate

[Ève Péclet, NDP, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is always a double standard with this Prime Minister.

He promised Canadians he would clean up the Senate. However, once in power, his plan to reform the Senate was quashed by the Supreme Court, and now nothing is happening. It is the status quo for the Conservatives.

Apparently the 30 Liberal and Conservative senators named in the Auditor General's report might be investigated by the RCMP. There is a real pattern of abuse in the Senate, and the Prime Minister just stands idly by.

What is he going to do? Will he take charge and clean house in the Senate once and for all?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I already said in this question period, it was the Senate that invited in the Auditor General to review their expenses. He, of course, came forward with a report that showed some 30 senators in dispute, but at the same time, this side of the House has come forward with a report that shows some 68 members of Parliament with three times the amount. In fact, all 68 of those happen to be NDP members of Parliament. That particular member owes her constituents over $27,000, and I hope that member will do the right thing and pay her constituents back.

[Ève Péclet, NDP, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as if that were not enough, we found out from Public Works and Government Services Canada that the senators' temporary offices could cost Canadian taxpayers $24.5 million just so that the Liberal and Conservative senators do not have to walk an extra block to get to Parliament, their place of work. Frankly, it is high time we abolished the Senate.

However, in the meantime, will the Prime Minister put his foot down and say no to the senators and this $24.5 million expense?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, as I said, we expect the Senate to agree to occupy a building that provides the best value for taxpayers' money.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last week Conservatives and Liberals rubber-stamped another $57 million for the Senate. Now we learn that senators are going to ding taxpayers for $24 million because they just do not want to have to walk an extra block to go to work.

The government is a party that has lost its way. Conservatives have become the defenders of entitlement, while New Democrats will defend the taxpayer. I have a simple question: will they work with New Democrats to end this rip-off of the taxpayer by rich insiders who are too lazy to walk a block to work?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, quite frankly, the member opposite and his party spending taxpayers' money on illegal offices is an abuse of taxpayers' money. Public Works, as a common service provider, works to fulfill the requirements of the Senate. We do hope that the Senate will agree to occupy a building that provides the best value for taxpayers' money.

Government Polling

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, they really need help with their answers. No wonder so many Conservatives are jumping ship. This used to be the government that railed against the Senate; now it is a party that defends Duffy and Wallin. It has become a mirror image of the corrupt old Liberal government. Remember how the Prime Minister, when he was in opposition, used to rail against Paul Martin for spending millions on partisan polling and advertising? Now, in the dying days of the current corrupt government, they turn the taps on to try and kick-start their electioneering machine.

I have a simple question: take your hands out of taxpayers' pockets and spend your own money on—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order. I would just remind colleagues to address their comments to the Chair and not directly at one another.

The hon. Minister of Employment.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Democratic Reform]

Mr. Speaker, I gather the question was about advertising. The reason we are communicating with Canadians is to tell them about the expanded universal child care benefit. The benefit that has already lifted 41,000 children out of poverty and into the middle class is being expanded, and 100% of children under the age of 18 will be eligible to receive it. It will provide $2,000 for kids under age six and $720 for kids age six through 17.

I understand the NDP wants to take that money away and spend it on big bureaucratic programs. We are going to tell parents about it and make sure they get the money they are owed.

[Mathieu Ravignat, NDP, Pontiac, QC]

Mr. Speaker, everyone knows what they are doing.

With the election just a few months away, the Conservative Party of Canada is conducting more polling to find out what Canadian voters are concerned about, at the taxpayers' expense. The Privy Council Office is supposed to provide non-partisan support to the Prime Minister. However, it spent nearly half a million dollars finding out what Canadians think about the Islamic State, taxes and Senate reform.

When will the Conservatives stop using taxpayers' money as a campaign coffer?

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

Mr. Speaker, this type of polling—

[An hon. member]

A prison haircut.

[Paul Calandra, Conservative, Oak Ridges—Markham, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there are so many things that are confronting this country and confronting the international community, but the member for Hamilton Centre thinks that this is the right time to hurl a comment about my hair.

Of all the members to be critical like a schoolyard bully, the member for Hamilton Centre thinks that is funny. While the little boys and girls over there play in the sandbox—