Debates of Feb. 18th, 2016

Employment Insurance

[MaryAnn Mihychuk, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, employment insurance has failed Canadians. The number of working Canadians that are eligible to receive employment insurance declined year after year under the previous government. It is important for us, and we have committed to do so, to review the whole program to make it accessible for Canadians. That is exactly what we intend to do.

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians do not want a review. They want immediate action so they can access employment insurance in their communities.

Let us turn to what fishers in Norway House, Manitoba are facing. They are being treated like criminals for receiving EI. They are being interrogated, intimidated, and even being told to hand over the records of people who have died. People are being cut off from their benefits without even having the chance to plead their case.

We are talking about some of the poorest people in Canada. Will the government work with Norway House fishers to resolve this situation immediately?

[MaryAnn Mihychuk, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, this is a very sensitive case. Individuals are going through an investigation. It is ongoing, and I cannot comment.

Intergovernmental Relations

[David Yurdiga, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

Mr. Speaker, in late December, the Minister of Finance announced that the territorial governments would be facing major federal funding cuts due to the rejigging of the territorial funding formula. Now, under mounting pressure, the minister is saying he will restore the funding, but only partially.

The territorial governments are still facing millions of dollars in cuts. When will the government fully restore the funding and stop leaving northerners out in the cold?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to answer this question.

We found that Statistics Canada made a change in the way it calculated the territorial financing formula, a change that impacted the northern territories. We worked collaboratively with the northern territories. I would like to thank the members on this side of the House who helped me as well.

We came up with a solution that gives them stable and predictable funding over time. It brought them back, very close to where they were before. We dealt with it appropriately.

[David Yurdiga, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

Mr. Speaker, in northern communities the cost of shipping goods drives up costs tremendously. The territorial governments are also facing high costs when delivering services such as health care to remote communities.

With the government already shunning natural resources, the biggest industry in the north, how does it expect territorial governments to budget and deliver key services after cutting vital funding?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, again, I would like to say that we will continue to work collaboratively with the territories in the north.

We recognize that provinces and territories across this country have challenges when we deal with difficult economic times, especially times when commodity prices change. We believe that in the instance of the territorial financing formula, we came up with a solution that helped those territories to understand their future situation.

We will continue to work together, dealing with the challenges that people across this country face.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Finance dismissed the concerns of Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Despite the calls by Premier Wall to address the problems in the equalization formula, the Liberals are doing nothing. Saskatchewan is being forced to pay into equalization as if oil were still at $100 a barrel, despite the fact that oil is clearly trading closer to $30. This is so obviously unfair.

The Minister of Finance agreed to make some changes to other calculations for Yukon, Nunavut, and the Northwest Territories. Will he provide the same fairness to Alberta and Saskatchewan?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by confirming again that the territories in the north were dealing with a statistical change through Statistics Canada.

We are talking about how we can help people who are facing real challenges across this country, middle-class families across the country, people in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

We are putting forth a program that will actually help them, including tax cuts for nine million Canadians, and the Canada child benefit for those most vulnerable. We are going to make investments in infrastructure that will help the middle class, that will help those most vulnerable, and that will improve our economy.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, leftover money for infrastructure does not make up for the unfairness in the formula.

Saskatchewan is paying millions of dollars to other provinces, despite the crash in the price of oil. If the minister thinks that paving some roads is going to make up for the massive amounts of wealth being transferred, he obviously does not understand how equalization works.

All we are asking is that he provide the same fairness to western provinces. Based on his last answer, clearly he will not.

Can the minister at least explain to the people of Alberta and Saskatchewan why they do not deserve equal treatment?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I would again like to say that we are working hard to improve our economy for all Canadians.

We are working hard to improve the economy for middle-class Canadians who are challenged. We are working especially hard to work with those provinces that have been particularly hard hit through the change in commodity prices.

That will be a continuing endeavour of this government. We will see initiatives in our budget that will make a real difference. We will focus on making that difference in the weeks and months to come.

Health

[Brigitte Sansoucy, NDP, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in Quebec and Canada, we must provide care based on needs and not on means. The NDP has twice written to the Minister of Health, and I must rise again to ask her to address the matter of ancillary fees in Quebec. Few people, in every one of our ridings, can afford to pay $300 for drops or $500 for a colonoscopy. The Canada Health Act is clear on this, and the minister has a duty to enforce it.

When will the government take action and put a stop to this two-tiered system?

[Jane Philpott, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I have been pleased, over the time that our government has been in power, to work with my colleagues in the provinces and territories to address modernizing our Canada health care system.

We know it is a system that Canadians are proud of, but we also know that it is a system that needs to be fundamentally modernized. I will be working with all of my colleagues, including my colleague, the minister of health, in Quebec. I will continue my conversations with him and other colleagues. We will work together to reach new agreements as to what the health care system needs to meet the needs of Canadians.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, if the minister supports the Canada Health Act, she should enforce it.

The tainted blood scandal of the 1980s affected 30,000 Canadians and infected them with HIV and hepatitis. It cost billions in compensation. The Krever inquiry found that for-profit, paid blood collection puts the safety of Canadians at risk, yet today, a private for-profit plasma clinic is opening in Saskatchewan, directly contrary to the Krever findings.

Will the minister stand up for safety in Canada's blood supply system and close this clinic, or does she disagree with Justice Krever?

[Jane Philpott, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to stand up in the name of safety for the blood supply system in Canada. It is recognized internationally as one of the safest systems in the world, and maintaining the safety of that system is an absolute priority of our government.

We are committed to using evidence-based policy. While this is a sensitive matter that my colleague has addressed, we have examined it in great detail and have confirmed that we are approaching this matter by looking at the science and making sure there are no compromises to the safety of the blood system.

Employment

[Michael Levitt, Liberal, York Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in recent years it has become more and more difficult for students to find summer work. Last summer alone, nearly 300,000 students could not find summer jobs. This simply cannot continue. We need to invest in young Canadians together, to help them build a stronger future and obtain the skills and experience they need to contribute to our collective economic growth.

Will the minister explain what the Government of Canada is doing to help Canadian youth find summer employment?

[MaryAnn Mihychuk, Liberal, Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, help is finally on its way. We are proud to have doubled the funding and the positions for Canadian students this summer. Over 35,000 new jobs are going to be added, and those young people will have the experience they need to get into our workforce.

Natural Resources

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

Mr. Speaker, Canadians want to buy and use Canadian oil, and that is because they support the over 450,000 jobs that the Canadian energy sector brings.

Folks in New Brunswick and Quebec are offended that foreign oil is being given better treatment than Canadian oil. Canadian oil is extracted responsibly and it is transported responsibly.

When will the government start to support the Canadian energy sector and the jobs it brings rather than undermining it, creating roadblocks, and giving foreign oil special treatment?

[Jim Carr, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister has said many times, it is the responsibility of the Government of Canada to move our natural resources to tidewater sustainably. This is an objective end result that the former Conservatives could not achieve, not building one kilometre of pipeline to tidewater when they had a majority government from 2011 until election day.

Rather than following a failed path, we are starting a new path that will end up in the credibility of a process we are confident will be in the best interests of—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Portage—Lisgar.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have a difficult time supporting Canadian oil and gas. It is like they believe Canadian oil and gas is bad and the jobs connected with them are bad.

Can the minister stand up today and agree with what millions of Canadians believe and what the evidence shows, that Canadian oil is responsibly extracted and Canadian pipelines are the safest in the world?

[Jim Carr, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, I have had the pleasure of consulting with the energy sector in Calgary, twice.

The oil sector in Canada is leading the world in responsible practices in the development of new technologies. It was innovation that led to the development of the oil industry in Alberta in the first place.

We will be working with those responsible entrepreneurs as we transition over time to an energy economy that is more dependent on renewables and on sustainable development.

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

Mr. Speaker, last week, the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations stated at a press conference that pipelines will need an indigenous licence to proceed. I would like to ask the minister this. Does she agree with giving a veto over the development of Canada's natural resources?

[Jim Carr, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, over the last number of weeks, I have had the pleasure of having meaningful conversations with indigenous leaders, in Halifax, in Winnipeg, and only last week in Vancouver, in meetings with leaders from the north coast, the Okanagan, and the Vancouver area itself. What they have been telling me time and time again is how refreshing it is for them to actually have a conversation with the Government of Canada, which they have not had in 10 years.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has confused this issue for both industry and first nations. During the election campaign, he said that no meant no. More recently, he backtracked from that commitment. Uncertainty hurts both prospective development and indigenous communities.

Can the minister stand in the House and provide clarity? Does no mean no, yes, or maybe?