Debates of Feb. 19th, 2016

National Defence

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

Mr. Speaker, I am glad the member opposite asked that question.

Regarding an anti-armour capability, it should have been provided before the Liberal government was elected, when our ground troops went there in the first place. This capability was not there.

I would also like to remind her that the reason we are putting this in is that in inclement weather, the air strikes cannot take place. If there is a threat that can only be taken care of by anti-armour capability, we need a portable system to do so, and that system is not in our inventory any more. This decision was made by the previous government and I am going to bring that capability back.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Defence said that we need to be on the ground to combat the so-called Islamic State. Since he has confirmed that our soldiers are involved in ground operations where they could be exposed to enemy fire, he has the duty to protect them. However, he is withdrawing our CF-18s from the fight.

Why is the minister asking our allies to take our place in protecting our soldiers?

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

Mr. Speaker, as a coalition, we fight as a team. We defend each other as a team, as well.

When we put our military package together for the coalition, we consulted, we looked at the gaps, and we provided the necessary capacity. This is the reason why, I will repeat, we are tripling our training capacity, providing intelligence, and even putting in additional capabilities, which I personally briefed my critic about over the phone on the day we made the announcement.

Labour

[Sheri Benson, NDP, Saskatoon West, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives' attack on labour rights included stripping the rights of workers to refuse unsafe work, and rolling back health and safety protections for federally regulated workers.

These are fundamental labour rights that took generations to achieve. Yet, despite the Liberal election promises, the new government has failed to act.

Instead of patting themselves on the back, will the Liberals give working Canadians a straight answer today for why they are refusing to reverse these Conservative attacks on the protection of workers?

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague across the way is right to state that the previous Conservative government had organized labour in its crosshairs. We saw that time and again, with Bill C-377 and Bill C-525 for example, which I am very pleased that our minister's first piece of legislation, Bill C-4, will repeal.

We will continue to work on labour issues, fair wages, and the definition of danger. Those are important issues and we will continue to pursue them as we go forward.

Statistics Canada

[Kennedy Stewart, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, between 2006 and 2015, the Conservative government took an axe to Statistics Canada. More than 539 products were slashed, including crucial information needed to make informed policy decisions, such as information on food production, farm prices, GDP, and much more. All of these products are no longer available to researchers, scientists, policy-makers, and Canadians.

Will the government bring back these crucial products, or will it continue the Conservative war on science?

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

Mr. Speaker, one of the first things that our government did was to bring back the long-form census. That is a clear indication that we will bring back evidence-based decision-making in government to replace the Conservatives decision-based evidence-making, which was going on for 10 years, because we believe not only in open and transparent government but that we can make the best possible decisions when we have the best evidence.

I agree with the hon. member, and we will continue to ensure that the Canadian government makes the best decisions with the best evidence.

Foreign Affairs

[David Sweet, Conservative, Flamborough—Glanbrook, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, I was pleased to see backbench members from across the aisle clearly condemn the anti-Semitic boycott, divest, and sanctions movement and agree to support our motion.

Will the frontbench Liberals be clear and unequivocal in fully condemning the boycott, divest, and sanctions movement, as our allies in Britain have already done, and will they launch an education program to inform Canadians of the anti-Semitic nature of the boycott, divest, and sanctions movement, as the Minister of Foreign Affairs stated was the best course of action in his speech yesterday here in the House?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, this government is certainly determined to strengthen all the programs that will educate Canadians against racism and intolerance, and to have a more tolerant and open-minded country, especially regarding our Jewish community.

This being said, the attempt of the Conservatives to divide the House on this issue failed yesterday, and it will always fail as long as we have this government in place.

[Alex Nuttall, Conservative, Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said his only goal was “to free every Canadian in trouble around the world”.

Ernest Fenwick Macintosh is a Canadian and a convicted pedophile. He is in jail in Nepal right now for sexually assaulting a child. In 1997, the government issued a passport when it should not have done so.

Is this someone that the Liberals want to bring back to Canada?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, Canada will be there to give consular help to Canadians when it is appropriate, and all the help they are entitled to have.

Who we want to free are those Canadians that are unfairly put in jail everywhere in the world. That is what I want to say. If it were not clear for my colleague, I am pleased to clarify it for him today. I hope he is clear on it now.

Copyright

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, for people who are visually impaired and love to read, the good news is that there are 285,000 books in Braille, audio, and large print available around the world, in addition to what is already available at home. The problem is that the copyright laws keep those books out of this country. That is the bad news.

Last spring our government introduced legislation to change copyright and implement the Marrakesh Treaty in order to make more than a quarter of a million books available to the visually impaired at zero cost to taxpayers.

I wonder if the government would commit today to reintroducing this legislation and working with all parliamentarians to pass it as quickly as possible.

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his very thoughtful question.

I want to say that we do support the treaty, because we understand that many Canadians live with print disability. For these Canadians, it can be especially difficult to obtain access to the printed material they need to participate in the economy and our society.

This government is working to address this challenge by facilitating, for persons with a print disability, published works around areas of audio and large print to provide greater accessibility and opportunities for all Canadians.

I will continue to work with the member opposite on this very important matter and will make sure we advance it. As I said from the beginning, we do support this very important treaty.

International Development

[Denis Lemieux, Liberal, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the humanitarian tragedy caused by the forced displacement of people in Syria reminds us of the responsibility we have to provide development assistance.

Can the Minister of International Development and La Francophonie explain what impact increased humanitarian aid will have on the victims of the crisis in Syria and in that region of the world?

[Marie-Claude Bibeau, Liberal, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his interest in this matter.

During my recent visit to the Zaatari camp in Jordan, which houses 80,000 refugees, I was able to see firsthand the impressive work being done by our humanitarian partners, including the grocery store set up by the World Food Programme and the health clinic set up by the United Nations population fund, which has made it possible for 5,000 babies to be delivered safely.

The work being done by UNICEF in regular and alternative schools in Jordan and Lebanon is also very impressive. Canadians can be proud of their contribution.

The Economy

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

Mr. Speaker, the government is out of touch with Canadians.

In just 100 days, it has done nothing to help the most vulnerable in society. It has done nothing to help low-income families, and it continues to keep them in the dark.

Why is the minister making moms and dads wait months to hear about their latest tax scheme? How are families supposed to plan their budgets when they are being told to hang in there until July 1?

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for her question even though I do not really understand it. If any party has been clear about its plan for the middle class, it is the current government.

In December, we cut taxes for the middle class, which will help over nine million Canadians. We even told our colleagues opposite and all Canadians that the upcoming budget will include the Canadian benefit for families, which will start in July and help nine out of 10 families, as well as our infrastructure program.

We have a comprehensive program to stimulate the economy and help children and the middle class.

Veterans Affairs

[Ken McDonald, Liberal, Avalon, NL]

Mr. Speaker, when Canadian Forces members are deployed across the world, their spouses and their children are just as much a part of that deployment. They live it alongside our service men and women as if they were on the front lines also.

Coming home, wounded or not, the primary support for forces members and veterans is their family. The government promised to do more to support families as they support veterans.

Can the Minister of Veterans Affairs tell us what steps he has taken to begin this work?

[Kent Hehr, Liberal, Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Avalon for his advocacy on behalf of veterans and their families.

The Prime Minister gave me a mandate to ensure that veterans receive the care, compassion, and respect they deserve. Families are the cornerstone of a return to wellness. We were proud to announce two new tools, the OSI resource for caregivers and the veterans' mental health tutorial. These online resources will help to better understand veterans' mental health issues and reduce stigma. These are just the first steps in a better approach.

Health

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Mr. Speaker, a search for Zika virus prevention in Canada on the Health Canada website yields nothing. The United States, Brazil, and many other countries have shown their citizens that they have preventive measures in place. Here in Canada, however, we have heard nothing from the minister to explain to Canadians what she is doing to protect against Zika. Why has the minister done nothing to protect Canadians against this virus?

[Jane Philpott, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the matter of the Zika virus epidemic is something that we have taken very seriously. My colleagues in the Public Health Agency of Canada have been very active on this file on a daily basis collaborating with our international partners at the World Health Organization. We have advised Canadians every day to make sure they are taking protective measures if it is necessary for them to travel to affected regions.

We have also advised, if women are pregnant or considering pregnancy, that they avoid travel to affected countries. All of that information is available at travel.gc.ca.

International Trade

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Minister of International Trade confirmed that officials in her department are negotiating a new softwood lumber agreement because, as she said, “It is essential for Canadians”.

Actually, for some Quebec communities, it is more than essential; it is vital. According to the Fédération québécoise des municipalités, 20,000 Quebeckers have lost their jobs in the forestry industry over the last decade.

What will the minister do to ensure that the new agreement recognizes Quebec's forestry regime, which is vital to Quebec regions such as Abitibi and the North Shore, and to ensure that our regime is not considered a subsidy, as is the case in the United States?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for her question.

This issue is a top priority. Our goal is to maintain stable access to the American market for Canada's softwood lumber industry. We will work with our American partners, and we are working very hard on this issue.

This specific issue has been raised with President Obama, Michael Froman, the U.S. trade representative, and Penny Pritzker, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.

Our officials are working very hard on this file. It is important for Quebec, for B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and the Maritimes. We know it is important. We are hard at work.

Aerospace Industry

[Xavier Barsalou-Duval, Bloc, Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after first threatening Quebec with cutting equalization payments and transfers, the Premier of Saskatchewan is at it again, now saying that help for Bombardier should be conditional on Quebec allowing the energy east pipeline project to go ahead.

Instead of aiding and abetting such a distasteful swap, will the government immediately provide some assistance to Bombardier, as it did for Ontario's automotive sector?

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, as the member opposite knows, the aerospace sector is very important to the Canadian economy. It employs close to 180,000 people. It contributes $29 billion to our GDP. That is why we are engaged with the company. We are looking at the business case. We are doing the due diligence. We are going to make sure we make the right decision in the best interests of Quebeckers and all Canadians.