House of Commons Hansard #124 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was questions.
Brigitte Sansoucy NDP Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister ignored his provincial counterparts' request for months, but now he is finally going to sit down with them to have a friendly chat about money for health care. It is really not what they asked for. It is clear that the premiers are not backing down from demanding that the 6% annual increase be reinstated.
I am asking the Prime Minister if he plans to keep his election promise to work with the provinces and not to impose his terms on them.
Jane Philpott LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, it has been my pleasure to work with my counterparts across the country over the past number of months to discuss how we can make sure that Canadians have access to the health care they need.
I am very pleased that the Prime Minister will be speaking with the premiers across the country about health care tomorrow evening, and then the Prime Minister will ask me to continue to work with the health ministers across the country to make sure that we invest in health care in a way that will transform the system and ensure that Canadians have access to the care they need.
Julie Dzerowicz Liberal Davenport, ON
Mr. Speaker, there are many residents in my riding of Davenport who have been waiting upwards of three years to be reunited with their spouses and children. This has led to significant economic impacts, to broken families, and to an enormous amount of stress.
We know that the large backlogs and unacceptable processing times are the result of the former Conservative government's cutting of immigration levels and resources.
Can the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship please update the House on what he is doing to accelerate bringing families together here in Canada?
John McCallum LiberalMinister of Immigration
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to say that yesterday, we reduced the processing times for spouses and their families from two years to one year.
A special thanks to the young officials whose tiger team led to a radical improvement in the processing guidelines for our new system, and I can tell the House that we will harness their skills to improve our performance in other areas.
Tony Clement Conservative Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON
Mr. Speaker, today we learned that the Canada Border Services Agency is very concerned that violent drug cartels will extend their reach into Canada now that the visa requirement for Mexicans has been lifted. CBSA believes that Mexican drug cartels will send their operatives over the border with ease and recruit airport and marine employees with ties to Mexican crime rings.
With drug overdoses in the news every day, can the minister tell us how he plans to fix this mess made by the Liberals' political decision to lift Mexican visas?
Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Mr. Speaker, CBSA has worked very closely with the immigration and citizenship department to ensure that we have a strong system in place to facilitate appropriate, legitimate travel between Canada and Mexico and at the same time to ensure the safety and security of Canadians.
Canadians can be absolutely assured that every reasonable step has been taken to make sure that this arrangement works successfully both ways.
Tony Clement Conservative Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON
Mr. Speaker, that is not what they are saying in an internal report. The CBSA sees Mexican drug cartels picking up the baton from China on fentanyl shipments into Canada.
The Liberals' ill-advised decision to lift Mexican visas on a whim is now coming home to roost, and we will have tragic consequences.
How can the minister assure Canadians that murderous Mexican drug cartels will not have easy access into Canada to supply our streets with more deadly drugs?
Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Mr. Speaker, contrary to that kind of fearmongering, in fact what that memo shows is that CBSA has done its homework. It has worked assiduously with all its partners in Canada and in Mexico to make sure that the border arrangement works effectively and that Canadians are indeed safe.
Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB
Mr. Speaker, let us talk about another area where there is a lack of planning in the government's immigration policy. The funding for Liberal-sponsored Syrian refugees is about to run out, and months ago, in advance of this, I asked the minister how many of these refugees had found full-time jobs and how many they were predicting to do so.
He has already had this question in committee, and I will ask it once again. How many Syrian refugees have found full-time employment?
John McCallum LiberalMinister of Immigration
Mr. Speaker, in terms of funding, the hon. member should know that just recently, last month, we initiated $18.5 million of additional funding, half of which is going to language training and half of which is going to settlement areas.
The member should also know that this is a long-term investment. When refugees come from a terrible civil war without language or education, it takes a while for them to become fully operating Canadians.
Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB
Mr. Speaker, that is code for “I don't know and I don't care”. He should care, because in order to have—
The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan
Order. The hon. member for Winnipeg Centre and others will want to hear the question.
The hon. member for Calgary Nose Hill.
Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB
Mr. Speaker, this is a very simple question. It is one that ensures the success of both Syrian refugees and Canadian taxpayers. They should be planning for this. He should be able to answer it.
How many of the refugees have found full-time employment?
John McCallum LiberalMinister of Immigration
Mr. Speaker, we have been working with the provinces to plan this since day one, and the settlement agencies and many Canadians. As I have said, this is a long-term investment.
Somewhat less than half of the refugees currently have full-time employment, but 90% of the government-assisted refugees are in language training, and many of them are making terrific progress toward gainful employment.
This will be a successful long-term investment for Canada, and the children always do extremely well.
Sheri Benson NDP Saskatoon West, SK
Mr. Speaker, 4,600 financial professionals and accountants working for the public service have been fighting for pay equity for years, but tomorrow they have to go before the Public Service Labour Relations Board to defend themselves against a government that is trying to limit their case before they have even had a chance to be heard. This is why we need proactive pay equity legislation now.
This government claims to support pay equity, so why is it using its lawyers to fight a pay equity claim against its own employees?
Bill Morneau LiberalMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, we are proud of Canada's world-class public service. We are encouraged by recent progress in negotiations. We remain committed to bargaining in good faith with public sector unions in negotiating deals that are fair for public servants and fair for all Canadians.
We have a strong mandate to implement an ambitious agenda focused on the middle class. We know the important role our public service will play in delivering on those commitments. We look forward to continuing those discussions.
Robert Aubin NDP Trois-Rivières, QC
Mr. Speaker, Christmas is just a few weeks away, and for many Canadians who live from paycheque to paycheque without a cushion, getting the money they are entitled to feels a lot like an overdue Christmas present.
Whether they are waiting for a tax debt to be sorted out or a new Canada child benefit calculation, families in my riding are finding it hard to make ends meet because the Revenue Canada backlog is doubling case processing times.
What will the minister do to ensure these families enjoy a merry Christmas?
Jean-Yves Duclos LiberalMinister of Families
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for giving me an opportunity to remind the House how important it is to invest in middle-class families and make sure that nobody falls through the cracks.
One way we are doing that is through the Canada child benefit. As our colleague said, that money is going a long way toward making real change for the families of nine million Canadians across the country and ensuring that benefits and services are meeting people's needs and expectations.
Gérard Deltell Conservative Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC
Mr. Speaker, Bill C-29 is a bad bill that implements bad measures from a bad Liberal budget. That is a fact.
However, it gets even worse. This bill contains a constitutional virus, since it attacks the Quebec Consumer Protection Act, which falls under provincial jurisdiction. The Supreme Court said so in 2014, and yet the government is bulldozing ahead anyway. We are heading for a big constitutional fight. Canada needs this like it needs a hole in the head.
Why is the Liberal government interfering yet again in provincial jurisdictions?
Bill Morneau LiberalMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, our budget contains several measures to strengthen the middle class.
We have also made improvements in the area of consumer protection. It is very important to have rules that work all across the country, and that is exactly what we did with respect to consumer protection regarding the banking sector.
Gérard Deltell Conservative Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC
Mr. Speaker, the minister is forgetting something. In 2014, the Supreme Court was clear: the Consumer Protection Act falls under provincial jurisdiction. However, the Liberal government is moving forward anyway.
At the National Assembly of Quebec, the Premier of Quebec said he was seriously considering challenging Bill C-29. The Liberal government is moving forward anyway. We are heading toward a constitutional battle. Lawyers will fare quite well, but the government is moving forward anyway.
Will the minister do what needs to be done and get rid of the flawed clauses in Bill C-29?
Bill Morneau LiberalMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, the banking sector falls under federal jurisdiction. We know that it is very important to protect consumers in the banking sector. That is precisely what we have done. We have made things better for Canadians across the country when it comes to protection in this sector.
David Anderson Conservative Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK
Mr. Speaker, neonicotinoids are a valuable tool for agriculture. Farmers have used these chemicals safely and effectively for decades, and they rely on them. Without consultation, and with virtually no scientific study, the Liberals announced that these chemicals will no longer be available to producers. Now we hear that decision was not based on science, but, in fact, came down from the PMO.
The integrity of our agriculture system is critical. How can that be maintained when decisions such as this are not being based on science, but on the whims of one or two of the Prime Minister's hired help?
Jane Philpott LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, our government takes matters of health and safety very seriously, and Health Canada reviews pesticides on a regular basis. As part of that scientific review, Health Canada found that a particular pesticide, imidacloprid, can be found in concentrations up to 290 times of what is an acceptable risk in water. Given this risk, Health Canada is proposing a phase-out of agricultural uses for imidacloprid.
There is a proposal. It is evidence based. It is sensitive to the realities of farmers while proposing steps to protect the environment.