Debates of Nov. 21st, 2016

Canada Revenue Agency

[Diane Lebouthillier, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, today's announcement confirms that the Canada Revenue Agency will hire more staff in addition to ensuring a strong regional presence across Canada. We will continue to work with unions and local stakeholders and assist them through this transition.

Canadians expect the agency to make informed decisions and good investments in order to provide world-class services.

Indigenous Affairs

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, two weeks ago, Parliament ordered the government to stop fighting first nations children in court and to comply with the Human Rights Tribunal. Two days later, the government was back in court fighting against medical treatment for a first nations child, and tomorrow, Cindy Blackstock will be back in court because of its stonewalling.

When it comes to broken promises to first nations people, government talk is really cheap, but its lawyers are expensive. We found out that since the ruling in January, the current government has spent over half a million dollars fighting Cindy Blackstock with lawyers, even though she won.

A simple question: How can the Liberals justify that?

[Yvonne Jones, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the government welcomes the tribunal's ruling and we have been taking concrete steps to address this order. In fact, we have committed more than $635 million to address the child funding welfare gap in this country. We provided services to more than 900 kids since July with an additional $382 million in investments under Jordan's Principle, and explained and expanded the definition.

This government prefers reconciliation with indigenous people, and we know—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

.The member for Port Moody—Coquitlam

Fisheries and Oceans

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

Mr. Speaker, then why is the government fighting them in court?

A humpback whale was found dead, entangled in an empty net at a salmon farm near Campbell River. This is the second time a whale has been entangled in this fish farm in three months. The last time, a juvenile humpback was trapped and needed to be rescued at this same site.

Open-net salmon farms are clearly a risk to marine mammals. Will the government eliminate this problem by supporting my bill to transition this industry to safe closed containment and protect marine mammals?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, we obviously share our colleague's concern with respect to the protection of marine mammals.

The circumstances around these humpback whale mishaps are obviously of huge concern to the government. This is why, two weeks ago, the Prime Minister, in a historic investment of $1.5 billion for ocean protections, put in place a series of measures that will not only ensure better protection of marine mammals but also make the scientific and operational investments to ensure that this kind of horrible incident does not happen again.

Infrastructure

[Andy Fillmore, Liberal, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, infrastructure investments we make today have potential to lock in future greenhouse gas emissions, in many cases, for years. This is why I brought my private member's Motion No. 45 to this House. It is because we know we must reduce infrastructure-related GHGs now in order to combat climate change over the long term.

Can the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities update this House on what the government is doing to reduce the GHG footprint of Canada's infrastructure today and in the future?

[Amarjeet Sohi, Liberal, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Halifax for his strong advocacy on environmental sustainability.

We are delivering on a historic commitment to grow the economy, increase productivity, mitigate and adapt to climate change, and build socially inclusive communities.

Once in place, Motion No. 45 would be part of an existing approval process for infrastructure projects.

Indigenous Affairs

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Speaker, first nations people across Canada, in fact, all Canadians, deserve financial transparency from their communities. The lack of action from the current government and the empty words from the Minister of Indigenous Affairs are completely unacceptable.

The minister seems keen to making it almost impossible for first nations people to have access to the financial audits for their community. The minister is not enforcing the First Nations Financial Transparency Act.

Why is the minister endorsing and allowing first nations leadership to break the law?

[Yvonne Jones, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I think it is quite obvious that on this side of the House we do not believe in a process that is top down. We believe in working with first nations and all indigenous people across the country.

We see transparency, openness, and accountability as one of the hallmarks of doing that, but we are not going to implement something the Conservatives tried to shove down the throats of indigenous people. We are going to work with them to develop a transparency process that works for all indigenous people.

[Glen Motz, Conservative, Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the First Nations Financial Transparency Act was put in place because grassroots first nations, like the Blood Tribe, requested increased transparency from their elected leaders.

Some first nations bands continue to file their transparency act disclosures despite refusal by the Liberals to enforce the law, because they, too, recognize its benefit to their members.

This minister is harming first nations people by restricting easy access to financial information. When will she start enforcing the law?

[Yvonne Jones, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, our government and first nations governments want more transparency. They want it increased, and they want more accountability. However, they do not want made-in-Ottawa solutions that are going to be forced upon them.

What I would say to the member opposite is that we are not prepared to enforce the top-down, regulatory process that they had in place, but rather we will work with first nations to ensure full transparency and full accountability for the work they do. We will not penalize them in the meantime.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the epitome of top-down is the process that the Liberals have undertaken.

We are talking about grassroots band members who are facing critical information, and the positive path forward is transparency as they look at how they move ahead. The reality is band members from Semiahmoo asked for financial information hundreds of times over 18 years.

When the transparency act finally revealed that things were not as comfortable as they should have been, the council did not like it. They have stopped filing, and now that information is no longer available.

How does the minister justify that this information is not available to the membership?

[Yvonne Jones, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I have to be clear. The member knows that that is wrong. All first nations governments and individuals have access to information. There is a process they have to go through.

However, what the minister decided last winter is that she would not use her discretionary power to unfairly punish the members of first nations by withholding important program funding from them, something the Conservatives wanted to do.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the First Nations Financial Transparency Act also provides insight into successful band management practices.

I think there is a great example that was reported in The province, where the Osoyoos first nations is one of the most business-minded in Canada. There is virtually no unemployment. The chief's salary has been frozen for two years and is at a reasonable level.

Thanks to the transparency act, other bands and other people can look at the financial statements, see how they are structured and perhaps look at some of the best practices.

Does the minister not realize that shared information is a benefit to one and all?

[Yvonne Jones, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said before, there is a process whereby all members can access the information and transparency around our budgets.

After any allegation of misuse of public funds, we take that very seriously as a government. We have also conducted forensic audits when we felt that it was necessary to do so. We ensure that the funds that are allocated are used for what they are intended.

We will continue to work with first nations to implement a process that is fair, accountable, and transparent, that they are a part of, and is not something that was dictated by the former government.

Status of Women

[Sheila Malcolmson, NDP, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the government promised gender parity for its senior appointments, and that means fifty-fifty. However, only a quarter of federal crown corporation and agency directors are women. One in four is not gender parity. It is not even close.

According to the Canadian Board Diversity Council, the government's approach is insufficient, and “quotas may be necessary to bring about the desired change”.

Will the government support my bill to ensure equal representation? It is a simple question, yes or no.

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, we know that when women are involved in every aspect of our democratic society, Canada does better as a whole.

That is why we are so focused on ensuring that women have the same opportunities for economic success, for leadership, and to contribute to our country. I look forward to continuing this work with all members of the House.

Canadian Heritage

[Pierre Nantel, NDP, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, although the Minister of Canadian Heritage is free to make major changes to the rules governing our distinct culture, she has the responsibility to be open and transparent about what she is calling her “public consultations”.

In the interest of transparency, when will the minister make public the briefs submitted as part of these consultations? One thing is certain; they contain important information.

Can our ecosystem count on the minister to do what everyone thinks is the right thing and ask foreign companies such as Google, Facebook, and Netflix to pay their fair share?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his important question.

I would like to remind him that we are indeed holding an open and transparent consultation process and that we are going to make public the briefs submitted by the various stakeholders. I thank the member. I know that he specifically asked me to make this information public. Of course, I agree with him. This is a good example of co-operation.

National Defence

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government will be foolishly putting billions of taxpayer money at risk when it announces very soon it will be sole-sourcing Super Hornet fighter jets.

Respected Professor Elinor Sloan stated:

The...government’s plan to sole-source...Super Hornet fighter jets is wrong. The Super Hornet may—or may not—be the right aircraft for Canada, but we won’t know [that] until there is a full competition for the contract.

Why will the Liberals not hold an open, fair, and transparent competition that ensures that we get the best value for the Canadian taxpayer, the best jobs for Canadians, and the best aircraft for the Royal Canadian Air Force?

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

Mr. Speaker, I find that quite ironic, considering the previous government was into sole-sourcing the F-35. It should have looked at this problem a long time ago. It should have replaced our aging fleet.

Over the summer we have done a considerable amount of work with my colleagues in the various departments. The officials have done a lot of work. We are getting all of the necessary information and we will make a decision on replacing the fighters and will pick a process that will meet the needs of Canada.

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Speaker, we need to do a reality check here.

While the Prime Minister and the defence minister claim that there is a CF-18 capability gap, the fact is that the Liberals have a credibility gap on this issue. Just last week when asked about the supposed capability gap in committee, the chief of the defence staff said, “That is a false deduction.”

The Prime Minister's Office has manipulated the Liberal cabinet to force a sole-source contract. The only solution to fix this mess by the Prime Minister is to do the right thing. Will the Liberals hold a fair and open competition to get the best fighter jets for the brave men and women in uniform?

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

Mr. Speaker, there is a capability gap with our fighter jets. There is also a capability gap with our navy. If the Conservatives had looked at and focused on the military, we would actually have joint supply ships right now and not have to look at fixing things in the interim. Therefore, we are focused on replacing our fighter jets. We will be making a decision on the process going forward because we are committed to replacing our fighter jets.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the veterans affairs committee has heard personal testimony from veterans about the impact of the anti-malarial drug mefloquine. Many of our veterans have testified about suffering long-lasting and life-altering side effects after using this drug. In fact, after hearing these stories, the veterans affairs committee has unanimously agreed that action is needed. Why is the defence minister continuing to support the use of mefloquine, despite the mounting evidence of its harmful consequences?