Debates of June 18th, 2015

Public Safety

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

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. gentleman will know, the Canadian Human Rights Act and several of its provincial counterparts, as well as the Criminal Code itself already recognize that discrimination on the basis of transsexualism, gender identity or expression is a form of sex discrimination. Section 718 of the Criminal Code specifically provides a non-exhaustive list of aggravating factors used to increase sentences, which includes sex, sexual orientation and/or any other similar factors.

Therefore, sufficient protection exists, as it should. I respect what the hon. member is attempting to do, but the reality is that the protections are there now.

National Defence

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

Mr. Speaker, it is simply unbelievable that in this day and age, the Chief of the Defence Staff would excuse sexual harassment in the Canadian Armed Forces as “biological wiring”. What is even more shocking is that the Prime Minister refuses to fire him. The Prime Minister cynically claims outrage but then refuses to take any action.

I have a simple question. When will the Prime Minister do the right thing in the interest of all who serve in the Canadian Armed Forces and fire the Chief of the Defence Staff immediately?

[James Bezan, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I think that everyone is disgusted by the comments that were made by the CDS. He has apologized for those comments. He has also announced his retirement and his replacement has been named in General Vance.

There is going to be a change in command very shortly and I just ask that the member be patient.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday's report of the National Aboriginal Economic Development Board confirmed that under the Conservative government, gaps between aboriginal people and the rest of Canada are getting worse.

Underfunding education, inaction on overcrowded housing, crumbling water systems and inferior health care are not only morally reprehensible, but economic incompetence.

When will the government make the concrete investments necessary to ensure the equality of opportunity that first nations, Inuit, and Métis deserve?

[Bernard Valcourt, Conservative, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, we welcome the report of the National Aboriginal Economic Development Board and we thank the board for its work.

We agree that economic development is key to improving the living conditions of aboriginal peoples everywhere in Canada. That is why since coming to office we have taken measures to improve first nations' well-being by enabling them to take full advantage of Canada's prosperity. We will continue to work with willing partners to continue in that vein.

Canada Revenue Agency

[Emmanuel Dubourg, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last year, 70% of the calls to the Canada Revenue Agency got a busy signal. That is 40 million calls. Things have gotten even worse: now it is 80%. The Conservatives have closed all of the service counters and cut the budget by 25%. That is disgusting, and that is why the Liberal Party leader decided to clean house and come up with a plan to give the agency back to Canadians.

How can the Conservatives tolerate the fact that 80% of Canadians' calls do not get answered?

[Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Conservative, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, when Canadians reach out to the CRA, we expect them to be provided with quality service and accurate information. We encourage anyone who believes that they may have received incorrect information from the CRA or has any complaint of that nature to make a formal complaint. That is what the CRA taxpayers' ombudsman's office is for. It is a position that this government brought into place.

We do expect the CRA to continually improve its service and the quality and accuracy of those services. We have implemented several measures which are ongoing to do that.

Employment Insurance

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the employment insurance situation is going from bad to worse: 240,000 Canadians applied for employment insurance benefits in April, but the unemployed may have to wait for months to get help because Conservative cuts have caused a backlog of 253,000 files. The 400 employees who were hired have not changed anything, and an internal memo reveals that the Minister of Employment and Social Development knew that the cuts would have a devastating impact.

Why did the Conservatives ignore the warnings that could have prevented this disaster?

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Minister of State (Social Development)]

Mr. Speaker, the member's comment is absolutely false. There have been no cuts to Service Canada. In fact, we have added 400 extra staff to deal with the EI claims during seasonal times.

The department is meeting service standards. In fact, the majority of EI claimants are now paid within 28 days of making their claim.

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, for six straight months, the number of EI recipients has been rising in Alberta. This month the increase in beneficiaries was 10 times the national average. This is only the tip of the iceberg since many laid-off contract workers cannot even get EI.

Last month Albertans sent a wake-up call to the provincial Conservatives. Why has the federal Conservative government refused to invest in a more diversified and sustainable economy to avoid yet another boom and bust cycle?

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Minister of State (Social Development)]

Mr. Speaker, under our Conservative government, we have created 1.2 million net new jobs. The majority of those jobs are high paying, full time and in the private sector. We have done that because we reduced taxes on businesses. We have reduced taxes on those who are creating jobs.

We know what the NDP plan is. The NDP actually does not know what the business tax rate is, so we are going to let the people in Alberta know. The NDP does not know what the business tax rate is. All the NDP knows is it wants to increase it. That is going to kill jobs. That is going to kill opportunity. We are going to continue with balanced budgets and reduced taxes for job creators.

Tourism Industry

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are neglecting key sectors of our economy, such as the tourism industry, which employs 600,000 people across the country. Because of this lack of leadership, Canada has fallen from 7th to 16th in the number of international visitors arriving here. This is hurting our regions and border towns that rely on tourism to support their local economies.

Why are the Conservatives failing to support our tourism industry? What is their goal: to take us out of the top 20?

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, I think that the member was not at the meeting in Niagara Falls a month ago with all the representatives of the tourism industry in Canada. What did they say? They said that this year is the best year for the tourism industry. They were very happy with the investment from our government, $30 million over three years, to invest in the U.S. to make sure Americans will travel to Canada to visit our great country.

[Annick Papillon, NDP, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this government has been cutting money for tourism for nine years. Now suddenly it has decided to adopt the NDP's proposal to invest more.

In Quebec City alone, 15,000 people work in hotels, restaurants and parks and as tour guides, all serving tourists. In the past two years, Canada has dropped from 17th place to 20th place in tourism revenue. This week I moved a motion setting out concrete measures to clean up the mess in our tourism industry.

Will the Conservatives support that motion, which lays the foundation for a real national tourism strategy?

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, we support the hundreds and thousands of small business owners across Canada who work in tourism. We brought in a plan three years ago.

Now we are taking action for the tourism industry and doing everything we can to meet their needs. That is why, a few weeks ago in Niagara Falls, people from the tourism industry were so happy to hear our announcement of an additional $30 million over three years for Destination Canada.

Justice

[Joan Crockatt, Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians in my riding do not understand why the absolute worst violent offenders would ever be let out of prison and back onto our streets, where they are a risk to our families and children. Meanwhile, the Liberals and the NDP tout Pierre Trudeau's faint hope clause that would give these offenders an escape route. The opposition even opposes tougher penalties for murderers who kill police, commit kidnappings and sexual assault.

Could the Minister of Justice please tell the public what our government is doing about it?

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

Mr. Speaker, like my friend from Calgary, I have spoken to many victims and heard their concerns. It is why we have passed over 30 justice bills in this place, including the victims bill of rights. Our proposed bill would help ensure that the worst of the worst offenders, those who kill police officers, prison guards, who kill during a sexual assault, kidnapping or act of terrorism face severe consequences, including the potential of imprisonment for life without parole.

Only this Conservative government can be counted on to give victims a voice and to protect our families and communities from violent criminals.

To you, Mr. Speaker, and all of my colleagues, I say goodbye, Godspeed, and enjoy the summer.

Official Languages

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, provincial ministers responsible for the Canadian Francophonie are meeting in Toronto this week to talk about francophone immigration. Immigration is a major issue for the future of Canada's francophone communities. The roadmap money is fine, but we need programs tailored to francophones.

Will the minister promise to work with the provinces and the communities to develop a real strategy for francophone immigration?

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

Mr. Speaker, we are very proud of the progress made by this government in nine years with respect to creating an infrastructure to welcome thousands of francophone immigrants across the country. There are francophone immigration networks in every province and territory, including northern Ontario, where we are working with the Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario to attract more immigrants.

Thanks to the express entry program and all the enhancements we have made to our immigration programs, we expect to see a growing number of francophone immigrants in the years to come. That is important to us and to all regions of Canada.

Canada Post

[Anne Minh-Thu Quach, NDP, Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this morning I found out that the residents of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield will be the next to stop receiving their mail at home. Canada Post is insisting on getting rid of a service that is essential to our seniors, our SMEs, our community groups and everyone else. We found out yesterday that some densely populated areas elsewhere in the country will be exempt while others will not. Canada Post is making things up as it goes along and being discriminatory.

Will the minister do the right thing and restore home delivery service?

[Jeff Watson, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, in 2014, Canada Post delivered 1.4 billion fewer letters than in 2006. Canada Post has to balance its books without being a burden on Canadian taxpayers. In the meantime, the NDP and Liberal plans for Canada Post will cost taxpayers half a billion dollars a year, which means that the NDP and the Liberals will raise taxes on all Canadians. That is not what we on this side of the House are going to do. We are going to try to keep taxes low for all Canadians.

Foreign Affairs

[Sadia Groguhé, NDP, Saint-Lambert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Foreign Affairs likes to boast about Canadian sanctions against Russia. However, one of the most influential members of Russia's business elite, Vladimir Yakunin, boasts about not being on Canada's sanctions list, when he is on the U.S. sanctions list.

How does the minister justify the fact that, unlike the United States, our sanctions still do not target the individuals and entities that would be most affected?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP may have missed this, but we are leading the way with the toughest sanction regime in the world. We have more individuals and entities, over 270, which is more than the United States and the European Union.

We need no lessons from the NDP when it comes to foreign affairs and doing the right thing internationally.

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is about quality not quantity.

Members will not believe who the Conservatives are going along to get along with.

Yesterday, we learned that the Conservatives have most conveniently left off most of the most powerful Russian tycoons from their sanctions list. The Americans had no problem blacklisting people like Vladimir Yakunin. Yakunin is so delighted by the Conservative government's protection that he even boasted about it.

I would like to ask the minister, who has a lot of huff and puff, why the Conservatives are going along to get along with Russian tycoons who are tied to Mr. Putin. What do you have with Mr. Putin? Why are—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

I will take this opportunity, this far into this Parliament, to remind the hon. member to direct his comments to the Chair and not directly to his colleagues. As the member knows, I certainly am no friend of Mr. Putin's.

The hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs.