Debates of Feb. 26th, 2016

Ethics

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the member knows full well that appointments as heads of mission are subject to the appropriate controls from the Ethics Commissioner. Obviously, the ambassador would have ensured that all of his previous business arrangements are in compliance with his new role, and the Ethics Commissioner is the person whose advice we always follow on those matters.

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Mr. Speaker, StrategyCorp lobbies the Prime Minister's Office, the Privy Council Office, the Department of Foreign Affairs, and countless other departments. It is even lobbying for the finance minister's own company, the firm Morneau Shepell Ltd. The ambassador designate is still the chairman of a major lobbying firm that lobbies the very people who appointed him, including the Prime Minister's Office. What is it that the Liberals just do not understand about conflicts of interest?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the idea that people on this side of the House have any lessons to take from the other side of the House with respect to following the conflict of interest regime is a bit rich.

What the member is obviously having trouble understanding is that the Conflict of Interest Act and the code that is applicable is applied by the independent Ethics Commissioner. If the Conservatives think there is a significant problem here, they are free to go and meet with the Ethics Commissioner or, in fact, file a formal complaint. The fact that they have not done so confirms that they know there is no material whatsoever, except to stand up at question period and make those accusations.

Indigenous Affairs

[Romeo Saganash, NDP, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, right before the election and, not surprisingly, in a shroud of secrecy, the Conservatives imposed a new financial system for all modern treaties, which goes against those very same treaties. The Liberals have promised a new era of nation-to-nation relationships with Canada's first nations. Now is the time to prove it and to deliver on that promise.

Will the government put an end to this totally unjust and above all illegal policy?

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

Mr. Speaker, we recognize that the fiscal arrangement that was put in place by the former government is not a fair process. It was not done in consultation with first nations people; rather, it was imposed upon them. We are undertaking to look at that full fiscal arrangement. We had met with a number of indigenous governments across Canada. We will continue to do so, and we look forward to implementing a new fiscal framework.

[Sheri Benson, NDP, Saskatoon West, SK]

Mr. Speaker, thousands of indigenous children abused in residential schools have been denied justice after the government used a legal loophole against them. It has been a month since the Liberals promised urgent action. Not only has this not happened, but today we learned that the oversight committee will not investigate why the government was allowed to use a legal technicality to deny these legitimate claims.

Will the Minister of Justice now direct her officials to abandon their legal loopholes and instead start working to bring justice to these victims?

[Sean Casey, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, we certainly are aware of the situation raised by the hon. member. The Department of Justice officials will continue to work with first nations to resolve these conflicts and these issues. In any given situation, it is ultimately up to the tribunal in question, but we are apprised of the situation and will continue to work co-operatively to get it resolved.

Small Business

[Gary Anandasangaree, Liberal, Scarborough—Rouge Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, nine in 10 Canadians in the private sector are employed by small businesses across this country. Small businesses are key drivers of the Canadian economy, and a vital part of our growth.

Could the Minister of Small Business and Tourism explain what this government is doing to encourage and support gender balance among Canada's entrepreneurs and small businesses?

[Bardish Chagger, Liberal, Minister of Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, I agree with the hon. member that entrepreneurs are key to Canada's prosperity. This week I presented eBay Canada's entrepreneurial awards, and for the first time all three recipients were women.

This government is committed to increasing opportunities for women entrepreneurs, young people, and under-represented groups. We are supporting entrepreneurs through programs like BizPaL, Canada Business Network, and CanExport, and we are committed to reducing the administrative burden, so entrepreneurs can grow their businesses, create jobs, and lead the world in innovation.

Ethics

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Kevin Fram is a close personal friend of the Irvings. He has told us that. However, as chief of staff for the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, he let himself be lobbied by the Irvings anyway. In spite of that serious lapse in judgment, the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons then hired him as senior adviser.

With one minister after another in a conflict of interest, how can Canadians have any confidence in the government?

[Hunter Tootoo, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, it looks as if on Friday, today, we have found another fan of the book Something from Nothing.

As minister, I and my team held many meetings with stakeholders on issues related to my mandate. The individual the member is talking about was a fine public servant at the time in my department and attended these meetings as my acting chief of staff. He was doing his job. He did it well. All the rules were followed. The system works.

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons is punching holes in his supposed ethics screen with every hire. A case in point is senior adviser Kevin Fram, who shares the same glaring conflict of interest as his boss. We know this because Fram declared his close personal friendship with the Irvings over a decade ago.

How can the House leader possibly maintain any credibility on ethics when his entire office is tied to the Irvings?

[Hunter Tootoo, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, as the government House leader said, it is really hard to take ethical advice from that side of the House. I am sure all Canadians would agree with that. As the House leader said, if opposition members believe they have something other than standing here in question period trying to make people look bad, why do they not file a complaint?

Democratic Reform

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Democratic Institutions does not seem to take the democratic part of the title too seriously. Alberta elects senators through Senate nominee elections; however, when appearing in a Senate committee on Wednesday night, the minister confirmed that the Liberals have no intention of abiding by this democratic process.

Why will the Liberal Prime Minister not accept the Alberta Senate election results? Why are they thumbing their nose at Albertans?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, for over a decade, Canadians have waited for real change when it comes to the Senate. We are ready to deliver. Let me say exactly what that democratic process looks like. It means that every single Canadian from every corner of this nation is going to be given the opportunity to apply to be part of the Canadian Senate, and finally for that to be a merit-based non-partisan process that ensures that we have the highest calibre of candidates in place.

I assure the member if he awaits that process, if he sees the quality of candidates that will come from it, he will see just how well it works.

Indigenous Affairs

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, House Leader of the Official Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, we just heard the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice tell the House that “a law is a law is a law”, and that all laws need to be followed in Canada.

We are hearing from many on-reserve first nations people who are disturbed that the government is not enforcing the law, the first nations accountability law that allows first nations people to know how their band is spending their money.

If a law is a law is a law, I would like to ask the parliamentary secretary, will they enforce the law that already exists to give first nations people access to the information on how their money is spent?

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

Mr. Speaker, everyone, including first nations governments, wants to see increased transparency, and we certainly do as well.

We are working in partnership with first nations leadership and organizations to ensure that we have the proper process in place. We do not believe in a top-down process. We believe in working together collaboratively to implement solutions to these transparency requirements. In fact, they are required to table these documents with their band councils.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, for years, successive Liberal and Conservative governments mismanaged Canada's immigration program, creating huge backlogs and long wait times. People are forced to live in uncertainty or to be separated for long periods of time. It currently takes nearly a year and a half to sponsor a child and more than two years to sponsor a spouse.

Can the minister explain and inform this House on what concrete actions he will take to shorten wait times and to help reunite families quickly?

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her question. I am entirely in agreement with her that the current situation is a mess when families' waiting times have ballooned and mushroomed over the last decade. It is my single top priority to bring those processing times down sharply over the coming years. The House and Canadians will hear that we will have a concrete, specific plan with specific targets to get this job done as quickly as possible.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, platitudes are no replacement for actions. As a proud immigrant Canadian, I know the importance of having one's family around when one is new to a country. Parents and grandparents are key supports in a family unit.

However, some families are waiting for up to 10 years to be reunited, and that is when they are able to submit an application at all. This program needs more than a simple increase to the application quota; it needs a total overhaul. Will the minister fix the program so that families can be reunited quickly?

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, as I said before, I basically agree with the propositions of the hon. member. I would point out that in our platform we committed to double, from 5,000 to 10,000, the number of parents and grandparents who could apply every year. That has been done. We have promised to increase the budget for family class unification. That may well be done in the budget to come.

We are on track on this, but we appreciate the urgency that the member conveyed. I can promise that we will move as quickly as possible to achieve these—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

Order, please.

The hon. member for Kitchener—Conestoga.

Physician-Assisted Dying

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Cancer Society recently issued a report that shed some very discouraging light on the state of palliative care in Canada. However, instead of dealing with this sad fact first as its number one priority, the Liberal government seems to be focusing all its efforts on physician-assisted suicide.

Why is the Liberal government working so hard on a plan to allow living people to die, rather than helping dying people to live?

[Sean Casey, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank this member for the question and also for his excellent work on the joint committee on physician-assisted death.

As the member knows very well, we have been placed in a situation where there is a hard deadline to meet. The effort towards coming to a response in the Carter decision is one that is driven by the court. It is not exclusive to the efforts that need to be taken to improve the system of palliative care in this country. These are not mutually exclusive. We are and should be working on both at the same time.

[Mark Warawa, Conservative, Langley—Aldergrove, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadian seniors have worked hard to build our great country. Seniors deserve dignity, our thanks, and our respect.

One in six Canadians is a senior. Seniors are also one of Canada's most vulnerable groups. The Liberal euthanasia plan will put our seniors at risk, especially seniors with dementia. The Liberal euthanasia plan is a dangerous plan that ignores instructions from the Supreme Court of Canada.

Why is the Prime Minister not protecting our most vulnerable Canadian seniors?