Debates of June 17th, 2015

Taxation

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hard-working member for Chatham-Kent—Essex for that question.

Our Conservative government understands that Canadians want low taxes and the freedom to make their own financial decisions. We are proud to be providing historic tax relief that is putting $6,600 back into the pockets of a typical two-earner family of four.

We reject the Liberal leader's $1,000 tax hike on middle-class workers. Canadians know now is not the time for risky schemes and untested leadership.

Canada Post

[Rosane Doré Lefebvre, NDP, Alfred-Pellan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, people in Laval are outraged by Canada Post's decision to put an end to home delivery. Despite record profits, Canada Post insists on doing away with an essential service for our seniors and SMEs.

Today, we learned that some neighbourhoods will be exempt while others will not. Canada Post is making things up as it goes along. This is another example of the Conservatives' mismanagement.

Will the minister finally do the only reasonable thing and restore home delivery service?

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, let us get to the facts of the matter. Canada Post is losing a significant amount of money. As a result, it is converting to community mailboxes, which are $178 per address cheaper. This is the way it is going to be self-sufficient in the future.

Let us contrast that with what the opposition wants to do, which is to reinstate some, all, part—I do not know—of door-to-door service, which will cost upwards of half a billion dollars.

This is not the way to manage finances. Canadians know exactly who can manage the finances in this place, and it is this government.

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canada Post made almost $200 million in profits last year. However, it is still going ahead with the plan to end door-to-door service for over five million Canadians; that is unless one lives in a certain neighbourhood. Today we found out that Canada Post is allowing some neighbourhoods special concessions.

Why will the minister not admit that the Canada Post plan is flawed in all areas and tell it to go back to the drawing board to restore home delivery?

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I think the opposition should admit that it is flawed in anything to do with economics because what it does not realize is this. There is no profit at Canada Post. It had a $1.4 billion pension payment that had to be made in 2014. That was forgiven, because we are trying to get Canada Post back on its right footing.

The members of the opposition should stop talking to the members of CUPW and they should start speaking on behalf of Canadians who want to make sure their tax dollars are well looked after.

Royal Canadian Mint

[Murray Rankin, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Mr. Speaker, CBC has uncovered yet another Conservative appointee wasting tax dollars. This time it is at the Canadian Mint. He okayed post-conference vacations for employees and their spouses.

Do members remember back when the Conservatives attacked the Liberals for David Dingwall being “entitled to his entitlements” when he was at the Mint? Now the Conservatives' appointees are jetting off on taxpayer-funded vacations, putting even Mr. Dingwall to shame. What happened to them? When exactly did they become just like the corrupt Liberals they replaced?

[Joe Oliver, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, abuse of taxpayers' dollars is unacceptable and will not be tolerated by our government. As soon as I was made aware of the expenses, I instructed the Mint to adhere to appropriate management and oversight of travel and hospitality expenses by staff and board members, consistent with Treasury Board guidelines.

While the Mint manages its own expenses like other crown corporations, it has a responsibility to ensure public funds are managed properly and in the best interests of taxpayers.

[Pierre Dionne Labelle, NDP, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, senior executives from the Royal Canadian Mint, those who manufacture our money, have been using taxpayers' money to pay for wonderful personal vacations for themselves and their spouses: five star hotels in Mexico and trips to Thailand, Australia and Vienna. Nothing is too good for the royals at the Royal Canadian Mint. They spent over $160,000 in public funds to relax with their toes in the warm sand.

Can the Minister of Finance, who is responsible for the Royal Canadian Mint, explain how all this is possible?

[Joe Oliver, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, as I said, any abuse of taxpayers' dollars will not be tolerated by our government.

As soon as I was made aware of the questionable expenses, I instructed the Royal Canadian Mint to adhere to appropriate management and oversight of expenses. Like all other crown corporations, the Royal Canadian Mint has a responsibility to ensure public funds are always managed in the best interests of taxpayers.

Public Safety

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Michael Chan has been a good friend of mine for 15 years, and I know he is a loyal, patriotic Canadian.

Four years ago, CSIS told him he was no longer under investigation, and the Premier of Ontario has said the charges against him are baseless.

Do Conservatives believe it is wrong to maintain strong ties with one's country of origin?

Yesterday's comments by the Attorney General on operational matters were beneath the dignity of his office. Will he stand and apologize in this House?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is very simple. This is a Government of Ontario matter. I have no further comment.

Telecommunications

[Francis Scarpaleggia, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the regulations governing the installation of cell towers require companies to consult local municipalities beforehand, but there is a glaring loophole. If the antenna is to be installed on an existing structure, such as a hydro pole or telephone pole, there is no obligation to consult. Why not?

Whether it is on a new or existing structure, residents like those on Taywood Drive in my riding have the same concerns about an antenna's proximity to their home, especially if children are involved.

Will the minister close this loophole as soon as possible?

[James Moore, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, the regulations, when applied, actually do not allow for that loophole. I am happy to talk to the member and find out exactly what is happening in his district as he describes it.

The regulations that we put in place were proposed by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. Of course, the vastness of this country, the geographic dynamics, and the demand by all Canadians to have access to high-speed cellular connectivity is critically important for our government. However, we want to do this in a way that coincides with the demand for communities to build their communities with an aesthetic that makes sense.

I am happy to look into the matter with the member.

Health

[Christine Moore, NDP, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, 11 years ago, an NDP motion to regulate trans fats was adopted by Parliament.

Since then, not only have the Conservatives not followed Health Canada's recommendations, which would result in health care savings of $9 billion, but even worse they decided to abandon the regulations, which were expected in 2010. The United States announced that they would abolish the use of trans fats.

Why is the minister refusing to regulate the use of trans fats, which are so harmful to health?

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and for Western Economic Diversification]

Mr. Speaker, we have been very focused on making sure Canadians have the information they need to make healthy choices. We were the first country in the world to require mandatory labelling to decrease trans fat levels in food. This is working, and we are working with industry. The approach has actually decreased intake by 60% in the last two decades.

However, we are always willing to examine further action if it is going to benefit families.

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, it is not okay to put poison in our food just because it is properly labelled. Banning trans fat will save lives, full stop, period, yet 11 years after Parliament directed government to ban trans fat, we are still clogging our children's arteries with this toxic goop.

The United States has taken direct action and banned trans fat in all its forms. Will Canadians have to wait until the NDP forms the next government before we can protect consumers from this public health hazard?

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and for Western Economic Diversification]

Mr. Speaker, we have taken important and significant action on this particular issue.

I would like to note that there has been a 60% decrease in the intake of trans fat. Also, I did note that we will work to see if further action will benefit families.

Justice

[Mark Warawa, Conservative, Langley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we are tough on donuts, but let us talk about saving lives.

Impaired driving is a very serious crime that kills and injures thousands of Canadians every year. Can the hard-working Minister of Justice please update this House on what our Conservative government is doing to crack down on impaired driving?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, the member has been an outspoken advocate on this issue for many years.

Impaired drivers pose a significant risk to Canadians. It is the number one criminal cause of death in Canada.

To make offenders more accountable for their crimes, we have introduced legislation to increase mandatory minimum penalties for many transportation offences, including impaired driving involving bodily harm or death. This would also increase efficiency for police officers to investigate impaired driving and for the prosecution to go forward with these serious cases.

I encourage all members of this House to support this important bill, which targets the scourge of impaired driving that is causing carnage on Canadian highways.

Citizenship and Immigration

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the crisis and violence in Burundi are worsening with the approach of the July 15 presidential election. In my opinion, the Canadian government should expedite family reunification applications. Furthermore, at the end of May we deported a young woman who had to immediately flee Burundi because the police wanted to put her in jail. She probably would have been tortured or raped in prison.

Will the government temporarily stop the 650 or so scheduled deportations of Burundian citizens?

[Chris Alexander, Conservative, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, we are closely following the situation in Burundi. Decisions about that country, or any country in conflict, are always carefully considered by the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness and the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. We intend to continue reuniting families and welcoming Burundians to Canada, to the extent possible.

[Dan Harris, NDP, Scarborough Southwest, ON]

Mr. Speaker, a man with advanced cancer in my riding was nearly denied life-saving surgery all because of a mistake at Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

He could not renew his health card without verification of his immigration status, but immigration lost his application and then sent it to Alberta, mixed in with someone else's paperwork.

Thankfully, after two months, he finally got the life-saving surgery that he needed, but this is unacceptable. Will the minister investigate this horrendous bureaucratic blunder so that it never happens again?

[Chris Alexander, Conservative, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, as the member well knows, we cannot speak about individual cases in this place. The Privacy Act forbids it. Decisions are made by highly trained and highly professional public services.

However, the member would do well in this near-final question period of this Parliament not to politicize the cases of individuals, not to politicize the suffering of families, and to answer to the House why the NDP was unable to support a bill yesterday at third reading that would protect women and girls from early and forced marriage, from polygamy, and from honour-based violence.

Why has the NDP done nothing to protect Canadians from abuse in our immigration system?

Taxation

[Wladyslaw Lizon, Conservative, Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, our government believes in low taxes for employers and employees. In fact, we have been lowering taxes on job creators since we took office.

Can the Minister of Finance please update the House on our government's policy on taxes for job creators?

[Joe Oliver, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hard-working member for Mississauga East—Cooksville for the important question. Today we saw the NDP leader's ideological position on taxes. When asked what the business tax rate is, first he made a mistake and then he admitted that he did not know but still believed they should be higher.

This is the NDP position on taxes. Even when it is clueless about fiscal policy, it is convinced that taxes need to be higher.

I want to assure the House that our position on taxes is just as clear but starkly different. We understand that taxes need to remain low to create jobs and growth.