Debates of June 5th, 2015

Citizenship and Immigration

[Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe, NDP, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on another disturbing subject, we have learned that the Canada Border Services Agency is still deporting Burundians who do not have residency permits. The political situation in Burundi is getting worse. To date, nearly 100,000 people have fled the violence. The Canadian Council for Refugees is calling the situation catastrophic. The Minister of Foreign Affairs said that he is deeply concerned and advised Canadians to leave Burundi immediately.

That being the case, how can the minister justify deporting Burundians to a country in crisis?

[Costas Menegakis, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, these decisions are made by highly trained officials. We have a very diligent system of evaluating cases. I hope that the member respects the fact that we have a very comprehensive way of evaluating whether somebody needs to be deported or not.

The safety of Canadians comes first for our government. I wish that the member would come on board with that.

Foreign Affairs

[James Rajotte, Conservative, Edmonton—Leduc, AB]

Mr. Speaker, various media outlets are reporting that Vladimir Putin has broken the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian President Poroshenko is warning against a possible full-scale invasion from Russia.

I ask the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs to provide Canada's official reaction to these serious events.

[Deepak Obhrai, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and for International Human Rights]

Mr. Speaker, Canada strongly condemns any and all violations of the INF treaty. This is further proof of Vladimir Putin's outdated and misplaced cold war mentality.

We will continue coordinating with our NATO allies to respond to Russia's military aggression. Canada has led the way when it comes to sanctioning individuals and entities with ties to the Putin regime.

Whether it takes 5 months or 50 years for liberation, Canada will never recognize the annexation of a sovereign Ukrainian territory. Canada stands with Ukraine.

International Trade

[Ruth Ellen Brosseau, NDP, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, many agricultural businesses in Quebec and Canada have designed their business models around supply management. That is what enables them to supply quality foods while ensuring their own financial stability.

However, when we try to find out exactly what is happening with supply management in the trans-Pacific partnership free trade negotiations, nothing is clear.

Can the Minister of Agriculture assure us that supply management will not be sacrificed during the trans-Pacific partnership negotiations?

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

Mr. Speaker, our government will continue to promote Canadian trade interests across all sectors of our economy, including supply management. That has never prevented us from successfully completing other free trade agreements, such as free trade with the European Union and South Korea. We make no apologies for ensuring that any deal reached must be in Canada's best interests. As always, we will only sign trade agreements if it significantly benefits Canadian businesses, workers, and families.

[Ruth Ellen Brosseau, NDP, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, they can reassure us all they want, but the Conservatives are sending us mixed signals.

The Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec is telling farmers that they will have to make concessions, and the Conservative member for Edmonton says that supply management in Canada simply has to go.

Can my colleague tell us what the Conservatives have in store for supply management? Are they going to sacrifice it, yes or no?

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

Mr. Speaker, there is no other government that has done more for Canadian farmers than this Conservative government right here. Our government understands and has expanded trade as the key driver for future economic growth in Canada. We are participating in the TPP negotiations in order to open up new trade and investment opportunities for Canadians in the regional market of close to 800 million consumers. Our goal is to secure balanced outcomes that benefit all sectors of our economy across all regions of our country.

Public Service

[Mathieu Ravignat, NDP, Pontiac, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives' mismanagement has reached new heights: they are no longer even capable of paying all the government employees on time.

Some employees in a number of departments and agencies have not been paid in two months. They have not received a paycheque in two months. It makes no sense and it is all the result of the Conservatives haphazard budget cuts.

Does the President of the Treasury Board consider this to be good management?

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, the President of the Treasury Board works with all departments to make sure that our employees have a safe, and obviously good work environment. We also make sure that they are paid. This is something that the Treasury Board president will look into, and I do appreciate the member opposite raising his concerns in this place.

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, one of the most basic responsibilities of any employer is to actually pay their employees, and we have a government that is not able to do that. These are hard-working public servants who make us proud every day. However, the government has fumbled the ball on actually being able to pay them. It brought in the centralized pay system that is inefficient and has not figured out how to work out the kinks to pay our public servants.

People are counting on their pay to pay their bills. They cannot wait for months without getting paid. Conservatives get their pay. We get our pay. Why do the public servants not get their pay? What are they going to do to fix this problem?

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, I have already mentioned that we want to make sure that all employees of the Government of Canada have a good work environment and we treat our employees with respect. We also want to ensure that our employees are treated fairly. I have already mentioned that some of the concerns that have been raised today will be looked at. If the members are serious about actually helping to improve our workers, I sincerely hope that they would meet with me after question period and give more details on their concerns, and I will look into it as well.

Public Safety

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, daily now we hear reports of how the government continues to fail the RCMP rank and file. Government claims of proper funding ring hollow when RCMP members are saying they are bringing their own weapons and ammunition to work. Lack of funding is now so serious that the RCMP has been charged under the Labour Code for not providing a safe workplace due to lack of training, proper equipment, and supervision.

When will the minister accept responsibility, stop the spin, act, and provide the proper resources for the RCMP rank and file?

[Roxanne James, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, the facts are that the government has actually increased resources to the RCMP by one third since forming government.

We have also increased those resources seven times during this period, and seven times that member, the member for Malpeque from the Liberal Party, has voted against those measures.

I also want to remind the member that training and procurement matters fall directly under the purview of the RCMP itself. The RCMP has taken action following the report regarding the events and will continue to take those types of actions.

This matter is before the courts, and it would be inappropriate for me to comment on that particular case.

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, first the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness ordered the RCMP to break the law by destroying gun registry documents subject to the Access to Information Act. Now the minister is using legislation to retroactively cover up this crime and stop the ongoing police investigation into the issue. This cover-up is so serious that the Information Commissioner has filed a preservation order in the Federal Court.

How can the minister justify legislation that will retroactively nullify this criminal act?

[Roxanne James, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, I reject the premise of that question.

We also firmly reject any claim that the RCMP did anything wrong when it destroyed the data from the long gun registry. It did it at the will of this Parliament. In fact, it was this Conservative government that finally ended the ineffective and wasteful long gun registry.

On this side of the House, to law-abiding hunters and sports shooters, we will make no apologies for ensuring that the will of Parliament is followed.

Mining Industry

[Ryan Cleary, NDP, St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL]

Mr. Speaker, hundreds of pensioners from Wabush Mines in Labrador had their health and life insurance benefits cancelled this week.

The previous owner of the iron ore mine has begun debt restructuring, and, as usual, the first to suffer are the retirees. Many of these people worked for the company for decades. They have been left with nothing. Their pensions may be next. They deserve to be treated better than this.

What will the Conservatives do to help these pensioners?

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

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question from the hon. member. Again, if he will meet with me after question period, I would be delighted to look into this matter for him.

[Jonathan Genest-Jourdain, NDP, Manicouagan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, three generations of my constituents worked at the Wabush mines, but now hundreds of retirees are no longer covered by the company's life and medical insurance, effective June 1, while the Wabush group is placed under the protection of the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act. Some of my constituents spent their life working hard in the mine only to end up with nothing, not even medical insurance.

What is the government doing to protect these workers?

[Gary Goodyear, Conservative, Minister of State (Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario)]

Mr. Speaker, we always work very hard on this side of the House to protect Canadian workers.

We have created jobs, 1.2 million net new jobs. In fact, by reducing taxes across the board some 180 times, we are helping businesses survive and the workers get the funding they need.

We will continue to support Canadians. The opposition wants to raise taxes. That is not only going to kill businesses, it is going to kill jobs, and it is going to hurt a lot of Canadians.

Pensions

[Pat Perkins, Conservative, Whitby—Oshawa, ON]

Mr. Speaker, our government believes that all Canadians should be given as many options as possible to save for a comfortable and secure retirement, how they want and when they want.

Can the Minister of Employment and Social Development please inform the House on our government's approach to helping Canadians save for their retirement?

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

Mr. Speaker, last week, the Liberal leader said, “We are looking at an expansion and a mandatory expansion of the CPP of the type that Kathleen Wynne put forward in Ontario”.

This would mean a new $1,000 payroll tax on every middle-class worker and the small business that employs them.

According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, that would kill jobs and force businesses to cut wages.

Our plan, by contrast, is a low-tax plan for a secure retirement. By providing tax-free savings accounts, lower taxes for families, we allow Canadians to set aside more money and grow it, tax free, for a brighter retirement.

Telecommunications

[Sean Casey, Liberal, Charlottetown, PE]

Mr. Speaker, in a residential area of Charlottetown, very close to West Kent Elementary School, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans has struck a private deal to allow for the installation of a cell tower atop a range lighthouse it owns.

People in my community want to know why taxpayers will be paying for the upkeep on a public structure to benefit a private company. Parents are rightly concerned about the health impacts on their kids.

Will the government put the public interest first and halt this project?

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the approach of our government has been to engage communities constructively on these decisions. We have, in fact, changed the rules affecting the location of cellphone towers in such a fashion that there was heavy reliance upon community. In fact, in 99% of the cases that come forward, the approach of the government was to rely entirely upon the decisions made by the communities.

I do not know the particulars of the case. They have not been brought to my attention before. However, that certainly has been the policy and practice under this government when it comes to location of cellphone towers. We work together with and co-operate with communities.

Employment

[Dave MacKenzie, Conservative, Oxford, ON]

Mr. Speaker, though the global economy remains very fragile, the strong leadership of this Conservative government has steered Canada in the right direction.

Could the hard-working, dedicated Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance please tell the House what new steps the government is taking in this year's budget that would create more jobs?