Debates of June 9th, 2015

The Environment

[François Choquette, NDP, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, 16 communities along the St. Lawrence River are taking action to ban microbeads.

Found in a variety of cosmetics and toothpastes, these plastic microparticles are contaminating the St. Lawrence River. The NDP has shown leadership on the issue by successfully seeking unanimous consent of the House to have microbeads placed on Canada’s list of toxic substances. However, we have heard nothing since then.

What are the Conservatives waiting for before they act on our motion and protect our environment?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, Environment Canada has initiated a scientific review to assess the effect of microbeads on the environment. This review builds on the work we have done to reduce the risk of harmful chemicals.

Since 2006, we have taken action on more than 2,700 substances under the chemicals management plan, and we are on track to assess 4,300 substances by 2020. We are also putting the issue of microbeads on the agenda of this summer's meetings of the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment.

[Hélène LeBlanc, NDP, LaSalle—Émard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Montreal is one of the 16 communities along the St. Lawrence standing together to ban microbeads. However, it is up to the federal government to approve personal care products. The minister has yet to act on the NDP motion passed in the House to ban microbeads from these products.

Given the urgent need to act, when will the government take action and protect our waterways by banning microbeads?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, as I stated, Environment Canada has initiated a scientific review to assess the effects of microbeads on the environment. Scientists are reviewing the issue of microbeads. This review builds on the work that we have done on the risk of harmful chemicals in our environment. We will also be including the microbead issue on the agenda this month in Manitoba's meetings of the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment. Now that is action.

Citizenship and Immigration

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

Mr. Speaker, throughout their decade of Conservative failure, processing times for families have moved steadily up, with a sharp jump after the budget cuts of 2011. We see family members who cannot get into the country for important events such as marriages, funerals or the birth of a loved one. Families are left separated by the Conservative government's gross incompetence.

Will the Conservatives finally take responsibility for this mess that they, and only they, have created?

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

Mr. Speaker, that is absolutely nonsense. The number of visitor visas has never been higher. Citizenship applications are being processed within about a year. Iraq and Syrian refugees are being processed within record times. Sponsored spouses are receiving their work permits within months. Under the express entry, economic immigrants are being processed within weeks or months.

None of that happened under the Liberals. All of that has been opposed by the Liberals, because they are wedded to backlogs, to political influence and to abuse in the immigration system.

That member and the Liberal Party of Canada have become the anti-immigration party.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration is so wrong. He is absolutely silly and knows nothing in terms of what he is talking about.

The delays that the minister has caused are cruel, and it is getting worse. These delays are negatively affecting families, not only in Canada but also abroad. Constituencies and the people we are trying to serve continue to have to wait as the minister's incompetence in increasing delays is causing problems.

When will the minister going to fix the problem that he created?

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

Mr. Speaker, if I understand correctly, the hon. member thinks it is silly to reform the immigration system. It is silly to have doubled the number of foreign students in Canada. It is silly to have given over a million visitor visas to people wanting to visit Canada for legitimate reasons from around the world, most of them 10-year, multiple entry visas. That never existed under the Liberal Party of Canada.

These reforms were opposed every step of the way by the Liberal Party of Canada. The Liberal Party of Canada is against large-scale immigration and good service for immigrants and visitors to Canada. It is clear now that it is willful—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. member for Surrey North.

Pubic Safety

[Jasbir Sandhu, NDP, Surrey North, BC]

Mr. Speaker, last night there was yet another shooting in Surrey near a busy restaurant patio. People are terrified and parents are afraid to let their children play outside. My community needs to know that the federal government is doing everything it can to stop the violence.

However, the Conservatives are not even providing answers to their questions. Therefore, will the minister finally please tell us the timeline for the proposed 100 RCMP officers?

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

Mr. Speaker, our thoughts are with those who were impacted by what took place last night in Surrey. Certainly, this is strong motivation to keep on and push forward with the measures we put forward. I would invite the member opposite to support those initiatives.

Those 100 boots on the ground are being deployed. It is an operational matter. However, in the meantime, the member can support our tough on crime agenda. He can also support the budget where we are investing in prevention.

We are standing up for the people of Surrey, and I invite the member to support our initiatives.

[Jinny Sims, NDP, Newton—North Delta, BC]

Mr. Speaker, this is about the safety of my community, not about partisan political gains. Standing up for Surrey means providing answers and a clear timeline.

Surrey desperately needs help now to make its streets safer. We have been waiting too long, and with each shooting, families are becoming more and more afraid.

Why can the minister not give our community the news it is waiting for? When are the new officers arriving in Surrey?

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

Mr. Speaker, the answer is very clear: as soon as officers are available, they are put on the ground. We are working hand in hand with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

What is outrageous is when I see, day after day, week after week, members stand up and not actually do anything to protect their communities, although they are ready to make a lot of noise.

On this side of the House, we are taking real action for the community of Surrey and for all communities facing security challenges. I wish to congratulate our members who stand up to support budget measures, prevention and more boots on the ground—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. member for Saskatoon—Humboldt.

Taxation

[Bradley Trost, Conservative, Saskatoon—Humboldt, SK]

Mr. Speaker, our Conservative government stands for the Canadian middle class, not against it. We want to keep taxes low.

Could the Minister of Employment and Social Development please inform the House what our government is doing to give Canadians more opportunity to spend on their priorities?

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

Mr. Speaker, to start with, we are opposing the Liberal-NDP plan for a new $1,000 payroll tax, which they would impose on every single middle-class worker and the small businesses that employ them.

In contrast, we have brought in the family tax cut and benefits. Through income splitting, families can shave up to $2,000. Through the increased universal child care benefit, parents will receive almost $2,000 for each child under 6 and $720 for kids aged 6 through 17. The first big payments come out on July 20.

We encourage all Canadians to ensure they are registered so they get the money they deserve.

Public Safety

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Speaker, massive budget cuts to the Canada Border Services Agency is harming the security of Canadians.

This week, the security screening process failed for an entire flight of international passengers who arrived in Vancouver.

The government talks about security but undermines actual border security with budget cuts and clawbacks to finance tax breaks for the wealthy. How can the Conservatives find $50 million in border services funding for gazebos in Muskoka, but they will not fund services to protect Canadians at our borders?

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

Mr. Speaker, it seems the member has found her question in a Cracker Jack box.

I want to reassure the member that we have increased front-line officers by 26%. We have increased the budget for the CBSA and every step of the way the Liberals opposed it.

Regarding what took place last night, as we know, airline companies have the responsibility to ensure that international travellers are presented to the CBSA for examination. In cases where individuals do not properly report for border processing as a result of errors caused by air carriers, these incidents are reviewed. The CBSA is working closely with the airline.

Veterans Affairs

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Edmonton Sergeant Kevin Nanson survived a bomb blast in Afghanistan. It broke his back, fractured his skull and left him in wheelchair. Then the Department of National Defence hired and paid an incompetent contractor to retrofit a home for him, leaving it uninhabitable.

To add insult to injury, DND will be charging Sergeant Nanson $2,000 a month for rent on top of his mortgage and clawing back the remainder of his compensation to pay for the uncompleted retrofit.

Why is the government making Sergeant Nanson suffer even more?

[Erin O'Toole, Minister of Veterans Affairs, CPC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member and veterans and Canadians who have been inquiring about this case.

Sergeant Nanson served Canada with distinction, and Canada will be there for Sergeant Nanson and his family. The renovations to the home have been approved. While the problems with the contractor are being resolved, we have directed that Sergeant Nanson and his family can remain in military housing at no cost after his release until the contracting is complete.

Pensions

[Joe Daniel, Conservative, Don Valley East, ON]

Mr. Speaker, our government has consistently lowered taxes and created new voluntary options for Canadians to save, like the tax-free savings account.

In contrast, the Liberal leader revealed a risky spending scheme that would force Canadians to take a $1,000 pay cut. It is clear that the Liberal leader has only one plan for our economy, and that is to raise taxes.

Could the Minister of Finance please tell the House what our government is doing to help Canadians save?

[Joe Oliver, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we know the Liberal leader's numbers do not add up. In fact, he is more than $3 billion short and counting. Now he has made yet another reckless spending promise and said that he would need to find alternative sources of capital, such as pension funds. This would undermine the CPP's independence and put pensioners at risk.

Canadians should be concerned. I say, “hands off Canada's pensions”.

The Environment

[Massimo Pacetti, Independent, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the scientific evidence is confirmed. That is why on March 24 the House voted unanimously for the government to take immediate measures to address the environmental menace of microbeads. Since then, no measures have been taken. That is hardly immediate.

The good news is that my private member bill, Bill C-684, has the solution, which is to simply ban the manufacture or importation into Canada of any personal care product containing microbeads.

Would the Minister of Environment do the right thing and ban microbeads, as my bill prescribes, before the end of this parliamentary session?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, as I stated earlier, Environment Canada has initiated a scientific review to assess the effects of microbeads to the environment. That review builds on the work that we have done to reduce the risk of harmful chemicals.

This issue will also be included at the meeting of the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment later this month in Manitoba. I look forward to working with my colleagues at the federal-provincial-territorial level to address this issue.

Presence in Gallery

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

I would like to draw to the attention of hon. members the presence in the gallery of His Excellency Dr. Ólafur R. Grímsson, President of the Republic of Iceland.