Debates of Jan. 26th, 2016

Natural Resources

[Jim Carr, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, at the time the American decision was taken, the Prime Minister indicated that we regretted that decision from the government of the United States. We have also said that the decision to appeal it through a NAFTA panel is the business of the proponent and not of the Government of Canada.

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, shame on the government. Previous governments have taken on NAFTA challenges, and COOL is an excellent example. The government should get behind jobs and opportunity, and get behind this challenge.

Yesterday the minister also said that the natural resources industry leaders had just come to the realization that aboriginal and environmental concerns were important. Does his arrogance know no bounds?

Energy east has done over 500 consultations since 2013. We have a minister who does not know which pipelines were built in the last four to ten years, a minister who does not understand the process, and a minister who will not get behind jobs for Canada. There is a lack of confidence in the minister already—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The Minister of Natural Resources.

[Jim Carr, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, the confidence that really matters is the confidence of Canadians in the process that we are about to encourage.

Rather than playing politics with pipelines, rather than trying to pit one region of the country against another, we will unite Canadians who will understand that the process as we are now in transition will be a much better process than was followed by that government.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Prime Minister was wrong when he said his government was working hard to create jobs. There is one important nation building project that will create thousands of much needed, well-paying jobs across Canada. It is energy east. While the government ponders vague regulatory changes, hundreds of thousands of Canadians ponder how they will pay their bills this month.

Does the Minister of Natural Resources realize that his levering does not instill confidence and creates an unstable environment for the whole economy?

[Jim Carr, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, we have indicated that we understand the human consequence to job loss. We understand that the low commodity prices in the oil and gas sector and in potash have led to layoffs across the country, most recently in New Brunswick. We take that very seriously.

We also understand that in moving forward the best chance to create new jobs in the energy sector is to ensure that major new pipeline projects and other projects throughout the country have a regulatory process behind them that enjoys the confidence of Canadians.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Alberta attracts people from all across Canada to pursue opportunities for themselves and for their families, but hard-working Albertans are hit by this energy sector downturn the worst, including thousands of people in Lakeland. On this side, we know that impacts all sectors and all Canadians. A strong Alberta means a strong Canada.

I am proud of Alberta's world-leading energy sector. When is the Minister of Natural Resources or any of the four Alberta Liberal MPs finally going to support Alberta's energy workers who contribute so much to Canada?

[Kent Hehr, Liberal, Associate Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for her concern for Albertans because I, too, am concerned. The people I am talking to are actually refreshed by the new approach of this government.

We have a Prime Minister who is willing to engage with first nations people, a Prime Minister who has willingly engaged with premiers and other people on the ground to see that these projects get consensus. I suspect the member should come down to Calgary and talk to the people to whom I am not talking. They are happy we are in charge.

Canada Post

[Karine Trudel, NDP, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the end of home mail delivery is still making lots of people angry. The new community mailboxes are a real fiasco: the locks have frozen, they are snowed in and inaccessible, and there are security issues. There have even been incidents of mail theft. Municipalities are now demanding the legal right to be consulted.

The Prime Minister has already backed down on his promise to restore home mail delivery, but can the minister confirm that consultations will be open and accessible to the people and that they will take place across Canada?

[Judy Foote, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, as we committed to in the election, we are going to ensure that there is an independent review of Canada Post, which will look at whether or not there should have been the installation of roadside mailboxes, which we had Canada Post put a stop to because Canadians were not happy with that initiative.

We are going to ensure that Canadians are consulted, from coast to coast to coast. We will ensure that it is an independent task force that actually undertakes this review.

Rail Transportation

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Transportation Safety Board is reporting more derailments, runaway trains, and violations of rail safety rules, including exhausted engineers.

Following the Lac-Mégantic disaster, rail companies were required to report on potential risks, the locations, and how they are being addressed. During the election, the government promised to increase transparency, yet it is refusing to make public critical reports on risks from rail traffic.

Will the minister today, in this place, commit to making public the safety risks posed by rail operations across our nation?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, rail safety is of paramount importance for this government.

Recently we took action against CP with respect to the issue of railway personnel fatigue. This is something that concerns us. There are far too many derailments occurring in this country. We have to improve rail safety.

We are going to continue to work in that direction so that municipalities across this country feel that their rail system is secure. This is an undertaking from this government.

The Senate

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

Mr. Speaker, unlike the Liberals' so-called changes, the Senate needs real reform.

Instead, the Liberals have announced an unelected, unaccountable board that will be making secret recommendations for an unelected Senate. This advisory board will meet in secret and provide a non-binding short list in secret. The Prime Minister will then choose from the list, or not, in secret.

I ask the Liberals, why the secrecy?

[Maryam Monsef, Liberal, Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, I was pleased to announce on January 19 the appointments of the members of the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments, a critical step as the government begins the process of injecting a new spirit of non-partisanship in the Senate.

The advisory board is led by the distinguished Order of Canada recipient Huguette Labelle. The advisory board consists of a chair and ad hoc members for the provinces where the vacancies exist.

We are confident that this process will lead to a less partisan and more effective Senate.

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, everything about the Senate appointment process is secret: the secret list of candidates, the secret advice that is proffered, the secretive Prime Minister, who then uses Maxwell Smart's cone of silence to make his decisions.

Last year an Angus Reid poll showed that 84% of Canadians support either Senate elections or abolition. By contrast, in the same poll, 14% support appointments.

My question for the minister is this. Does she believe all these layers of secrecy will boost that 14% support level?

[Maryam Monsef, Liberal, Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians mandated us to bring real change to the Senate, and we are doing that without opening up the Constitution.

The advisory board will be guided by public, merit-based criteria in order to identify Canadians who would make significant contributions to the work of the Senate.

Democratic Reform

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have a copy of the Supreme Court ruling right here, and it does not mention secrecy or mandate or require it.

On the subject of electoral reform, the last time a government in Canada changed the electoral system without a referendum was in 1951, when British Columbia's Liberal government calculated that a preferential ballot would favour it and therefore imposed it on the province as a legally sanctioned way of rigging the 1952 election.

It did not work for the Liberals then, thank goodness. They lost the election, unexpectedly, due to voter backlash. Trying to change the system without a referendum did not work in 1951. Why do the Liberals think it will work now?

[Maryam Monsef, Liberal, Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to wish the member opposite a belated happy birthday for his yesterday.

I remind the members of the House that the conversation we will be having about this very important reform will be more complex than a simple yes or no answer. It is more complex than that.

We have a tremendous opportunity to examine a variety of ways to ensure that Canadians feel fully engaged and are able to participate in our democracy. That is why we have committed—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order, please. The hon. member for Brampton East.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Raj Grewal, Liberal, Brampton East, ON]

Mr. Speaker, an overwhelming number of my constituents in Brampton East are frustrated by the processing times for family and spousal sponsorships, citizen applications, PR renewals, and visitor visas. Can the hon. Minister of Immigration please inform the House of the current processing times and reassure Canadians all across this nation that our government will reform the immigration program to ensure that it is fair, transparent, and works for all Canadians?

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague is absolutely right that over the last decade the processing times for family members have mushroomed to the point where the situation right now is a mess. Even for spouses the processing time is typically two years, versus four to six months in other countries. Therefore, members will know that my very top priority as immigration minister will be to bring these processing times substantially down over the coming years.

Government Appointments

[Chris Warkentin, Conservative, Grande Prairie—Mackenzie, AB]

Mr. Speaker, there is one person in the House who knows something about conflict of interest and that is the Minister of Agriculture. As a matter of fact, in 2002 he was forced to resign as solicitor general because it was found that the government had funnelled money to the place in which his brother worked. At the time, it was ruled that he in fact was in breach of his obligations.

I am wondering if the minister has learned from his past mistakes. Will he stand in the House and admit that his current chief of staff is in a complete conflict of interest?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, my chief of staff is extremely qualified for the job. I am proud that she has such a strong agricultural background.

I can assure my hon. colleagues in the House that from day one in my office she was subject to the Conflict of Interest Act, and she will also abide by any direction from the Ethics Commissioner.

The Environment

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

Mr. Speaker, the Kathryn Spirit has been moored at Beauharnois in Lac Saint-Louis for four and a half years now. The people and their elected representatives are getting more and more worried about the risk of fire and vandalism because the vessel is not being monitored or maintained.

Over the past four years, I have sent 16 letters to various ministers to no avail. I have also consulted ship recycling experts and proposed solutions.

Instead of denying the problem like the Conservatives did, will the Liberals take action and move the vessel?

[Hunter Tootoo, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, with respect to another birthday, I am proud to rise today on the 54th birthday of the Canadian Coast Guard. I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of the dedicated women and men of the Canadian Coast Guard a happy birthday.

I want to reassure the member and the public, as I did yesterday, that at the moment the Kathryn Spirit is not discharging any pollutants. I have and will be working with my colleague and seatmate, the Minister of Transport, to assess the situation and we will develop plans as we move forward.