Debates of Oct. 6th, 2016

Foreign Affairs

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, according to The Guardian, last July, peacekeepers did nothing to help the civilians and humanitarian aid workers who were attacked, raped, and killed just a few steps away from their camp.

We learned that the Chinese peacekeepers even abandoned their post when the situation became hostile. The Liberals are pleased to see China working to become the head of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations.

In light of these revelations, does the government still support China's bid?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to the protection of civilians, I have been very clear that Canada will ensure there is a proper mandate, make sure there is protection of civilians in that mandate, and make sure that all troop-contributing nations fulfill that mandate.

When Canada comes to its final decision, we will also do our part.

Treasury Board

[Karen Vecchio, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it looks like the President of the Treasury Board has decided all on his own that he is above the rules.

He used to be the chair of SeaFort Capital, a major company in Atlantic Canada that is backed by powerful families in the region. When he joined cabinet, his husband replaced him on the board.

Canadians will not believe that these families and this corporation have no influence on this minister.

What is stopping the President of the Treasury Board from doing the right thing and putting up a screen to end this obvious conflict?

[Scott Brison, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, I have always worked with and been open with the commissioner's office. As a public office holder, my holdings are publicly disclosed. They are in a blind trust. I do not discuss that with my partner, in the same way that, as a cabinet minister, I do not discuss cabinet business with my partner.

The commissioner decides if a screen is necessary and, based on the facts, she has said it is not.

[Karen Vecchio, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

Mr. Speaker, his spouse is the chair of the board. The family personally contributed $50,000 to his leadership campaign. The family flew him to Mexico, Berlin, Davos, and Dublin.

Canadians are not buying that this family has no influence over the minister. How can the minister stand here with a straight face and claim that this is not a major conflict of interest?

[Scott Brison, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, the trips to which she is referring were fully disclosed and in fact pre-approved by the Ethics Commissioner. In each case, I was accompanying Mr. Sobey because we were both members of The Trilateral Commission and also invitees to the World Economic Forum Davos meetings.

Sponsored travel is something that all members of Parliament fully disclose. That is what I did, and I would recommend to the hon. member and her colleagues to do the same thing.

Fisheries and Oceans

[Fin Donnelly, NDP, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in the last election, the Liberals promised to restore habitat protections to the Fisheries Act gutted by the Conservatives in 2012.

So far, the government has done nothing to restore these lost protections. It is approving projects that impact fisheries habitat still using Harper's gutted version of the Fisheries Act. This week, the environment commissioner revealed that the government is failing to sustainably manage threatened fish stocks.

I ask the minister, will he make good on their promise to immediately restore the lost protections to the Fisheries Act?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague knows well that our commitment was to restore the lost protections that the previous government had gutted in a series of omnibus budget bills.

He will also know that we have asked the fisheries committee, on which he is a member, to immediately consult with Canadians and advise us, not simply how to cut and paste the protections that were in the previous legislation that was deleted by the Conservatives, but how we could further strengthen them to ensure that fish habitat across the country are protected in the best possible way. We look forward to working with him on that very important issue.

Youth

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour bragged about reducing youth unemployment thanks to the Canada summer jobs program, but young graduates need good long-term jobs to start their working lives. They need more than a three-month job. The facts speak for themselves: youth unemployment is at 13%, which is double the Canadian average for the active workforce. The Liberals promised 5,000 green jobs for youth, but have managed to create just 2,000. That is not even close.

How will the Minister of Youth create more stable jobs for young people?

[MaryAnn Mihychuk, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, this is a government that recognizes the challenge that young people face in today's economy, not like the previous government which chose not to address these issues.

Instead, we are providing help to go to school, providing help to find the experience that they need, and working with industries and employers from coast to coast to coast to allow them an opportunity to have more co-ops, work placements, which will ensure that young people have a successful career going forward.

Citizenship and Immigration

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, in 2014, the RCMP targeted about 11,000 people suspected of fraud in obtaining Canadian citizenship by misrepresenting their residency in Canada. There are many other cases that have been flagged by immigration officers.

The minister has said he wants to amend Bill C-6 to allow those cases access to a lengthy and costly appeals process that would divert resources away from people who play by the rules.

I wonder why on earth the minister wants to do this.

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, it is absolutely true that the Auditor General recently identified examples of citizen fraud under the previous government's watch.

We have responded by saying we would attack this fraud assiduously, diligently, and with great seriousness. Citizenship is an extraordinary privilege, and those who seek to obtain it improperly will be gone after. That is indeed what my department is doing.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, adding a lengthy and costly appeals process is not supporting those who play by the rules. In fact, adding a process like this may make cheats more incentivized to game the system. I think that actually might make immigration officers' jobs a lot more difficult.

If the minister already has discretionary powers to overturn rulings by immigration officers, why is he looking to put more support in place for those who cheat rather than encouraging support for those who play by the rules?

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member seems not to understand that the two things are compatible.

On the one hand, we are going after, with great vigour, those who would cheat the system and obtain their citizenship fraudulently. The RCMP uncovered a ring of people doing that, and we are going after them.

That said, someone whose citizenship has been revoked should have the opportunity to appeal that decision. We have said we are open to amendments that may be suggested in the Senate to offer an appeal process.

Foreign Affairs

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians know that the Liberals practise a very quiet diplomacy when it comes to human rights abuse in China or with China's military expansionism in the South China Sea, but it is time for the government to stand up against China's thuggish behaviour in Canada.

It is bad enough that the Liberals did not protest when China blocked Taiwan's usual observer role at the civil aviation meeting in Montreal, but how could the government remain silent when China blocked a Canadian citizen, a journalist, from covering that meeting, in Canada?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

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

Clearly, the Government of Canada is not silent in China. The Government of Canada advocates the case for universal human rights in China on every occasion. We do it very strongly, and we are there. The big difference from when the opposition was the government, in fact, is that its members were staying in Canada instead of arguing the case for human rights in China.

Pensions

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this summer, the Minister of Finance reached a historic agreement in principle between the federal government and the provinces to enhance the Canada pension plan. This deal was part of the government's commitment to help middle-class Canadians at every stage of their lives by putting more money in their pockets when they retire. This week the government has moved forward with implementing the agreement.

Would the parliamentary secretary please update the House as to the work being done to enhance the Canada pension plan?

[François-Philippe Champagne, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Vaughan—Woodbridge for his excellent question.

This historic agreement in principle will help Canadians to be better off by boosting the amount they will receive from the Canada pension plan by about 50%. Currently, one in four Canadian families are not saving enough for retirement. Something has to be done.

On Tuesday we received confirmation from British Columbia that it supports a stronger CPP. Today our government tabled legislation that would make these changes law.

We are proud to support Canadians at every stage of their lives, and we will continue that as a priority.

Foreign Affairs

[Michael Cooper, Conservative, St. Albert—Edmonton, AB]

Mr. Speaker, when I rose in the House before question period to call on the government to make the return of the Azer children a priority, the Minister of Foreign Affairs made rude and unparliamentary gestures. Alison Azer is in Ottawa today and witnessed as the minister gave a thumbs down as we called on the minister to make the return of her children a priority.

Will the minister stand in his place and apologize to the House and apologize to Alison Azer?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the opposition members are free to behave as they want, but the proof is that when we work together, we do not take cheap shots against the Prime Minister and we do not accuse him of not caring. As my colleague said—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order. Members want to be listened to when they speak, so it is time they listened when someone else is speaking, whether they like what they are saying or not.

Members do not want to lose a question. The member for Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound would not want that, so he should settle down.

The hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs.

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, there is proof that when we work together, we get results, and we want to get results for this family. We want the children to be in the arms of their mother. For that I urge all of my colleagues to stop their politics and work together. We have the proof with us today that when we work together, we get good results for Canadians.

Rail Transportation

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, for years now, Montrealers who live or work near any CP Rail tracks in Montreal have been demanding safe pedestrian crosswalks. The tracks are an artificial barrier. They are a major obstacle for pedestrians and cyclists. The beauty of it is that everyone agrees: the city, its councillors, and federal and provincial elected officials, including my colleague from Laurier—Sainte-Marie. Unfortunatley, nothing is happening. CP refuses to listen and the minister refuses to act.

Are the Liberals serious about promoting active transportation? When are they going to take the needs of Montrealers seriously?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his passion on this issue.

As the member knows, the City of Montreal has been in contact with CP Rail. Those talks failed, and now the City of Montreal is going to request arbitration through the Canadian Transportation Agency. That is how this matter will be resolved. That is the procedure in place, and we will abide by it.