House of Commons Hansard #42 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was justice.
John McCallum LiberalMinister of Immigration
Mr. Speaker, such behaviour is clearly against the rules and the perpetrators will be held to account. If judged appropriate by the appropriate authorities, they could be charged as well under criminal law.
That being said, the vast majority of Canadians are displaying extraordinary generosity to the Syrian refugees.
John Brassard Conservative Barrie—Innisfil, ON
Mr. Speaker, immigration consultants in partnership with refugee sponsorship groups are violating federal rules. A Mississauga organization called Fast to Canada has refugees paying from $12,000 to $32,000 before arriving in Canada. The group's website displays the logo of the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council and indicates it is a member.
What is the minister doing to protect legitimate refugees fleeing a dangerous situation from being defrauded?
John McCallum LiberalMinister of Immigration
Mr. Speaker, as I just said, such behaviour will not be tolerated. It is possible that sponsorship agreements could be terminated or the refugee could be not allowed, or if deemed appropriate by the authorities, such individuals or organizations could be charged.
This behaviour is not tolerated by this government and perpetrators will be held to account.
John Brassard Conservative Barrie—Innisfil, ON
Mr. Speaker, yesterday the immigration minister would not say how much the Syrian refugee program will cost Canadians. He said it will come under budget, but there is no budget. The minister also admitted that 13% of refugees, or 3,400 people, are still in hotels.
The Liberals renovated five Canadian Forces bases for 6,100 people costing $6.4 million. Why did the Liberals blow millions of dollars displacing troops over Christmas to house refugees with no intent on using the bases?
John McCallum LiberalMinister of Immigration
Talk about a glass half empty or half full, Mr. Speaker.
I said yesterday that 87% of the refugees have now found permanent housing. That is a very large number and we should be pleased with it. The remaining 13% will find permanent housing very soon.
My colleague beside me, the Minister of National Defence, confirms there is nothing truthful in the member's comments about defence.
Alain Rayes Conservative Richmond—Arthabaska, QC
Mr. Speaker, this morning we learned that some immigration consultants are charging Syrian refugees fees of more than $32,000 to process their applications to the federal government. When a program is fast-tracked, there are sometimes weaknesses and, unfortunately, some people take advantage of those weaknesses.
Can the Minister of Immigration assure this House that no refugees applying to come to Canada are being exploited by immigration consultants?
John McCallum LiberalMinister of Immigration
Mr. Speaker, yes, I can assure the members of this House that that kind of behaviour will not be tolerated. Guilty parties will be punished under the law, where the authorities see fit, or by other means. This kind of behaviour will not be tolerated in Canada.
Georgina Jolibois NDP Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK
Mr. Speaker, the process of reconciliation is a long one. Residential school survivors opened deep wounds to share their stories and placed their trust in other parties to hold up their end of the deal. Our collective healing depends upon it. We cannot let a legal mistake by government lawyers jeopardize justice for survivors.
The parliamentary secretary was not clear yesterday, so I ask again, will the government ensure full payment for the victims of residential schools?
Carolyn Bennett LiberalMinister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs
Mr. Speaker, all parties to the settlement agreement have a critical role in reconciliation. We believe that the Catholic Church has to honour its obligation. This is not the time to get off on a technicality. Catholic people from coast to coast to coast in this country expect their church to honour this obligation and get on with the reconciliation and they, I am sure, will help in this endeavour.
Romeo Saganash NDP Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC
Mr. Speaker, for the victims, the obligations imposed on the Catholic Church were part of the justice and healing process.
Because of a government error, the church can now shirk its obligations. We simply cannot abandon the survivors and their families yet again, for they are still living with the painful legacy of residential schools.
Will the government make a firm commitment today that the victims will receive the compensation they were promised?
Carolyn Bennett LiberalMinister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou for his question.
All parties to the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement have a crucial role to play in renewing their relationship with Canada's indigenous peoples and in reconciliation, although the previous government left no legal recourse.
However, it is up to the officials of the Catholic Church to do the right thing and fix—
Gagan Sikand Liberal Mississauga—Streetsville, ON
Mr. Speaker, the leak of the Panama papers has highlighted the need for collective action to crack down on people and companies who are trying to get out of paying their fair share of taxes.
At last week's G20 finance ministers' meetings, the world's major economies took a united public stand on tax dodging and sent a strong warning to other countries that are not meeting their international commitments.
As Canada's representative at the G20 finance ministers' meetings, would our Minister of Finance tell us how he is contributing to international efforts and the measures here at home?
Bill Morneau LiberalMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, I would like to assure my colleague, the member for Mississauga—Streetsville, that we were a strong voice at the G20 meetings around cracking down on tax avoidance and tax evasion.
We committed that we will move forward on the common reporting standards and work toward those standards internationally. We committed that we will follow through on base erosion and profit shifting deliverables. We are committed to combatting any sort of tax evasion in Canada and abroad.
Rona Ambrose ConservativeLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, today, on the budget, the Prime Minister's commitment to transparency has gone from a principle to a buzzword.
The current parliamentary budget officer has said, “When you don't see the details, usually somebody is trying to hide something,” and today he confirmed two more things: first, the Liberal budget does not add up; and second, good news, the Conservatives did leave a surplus.
My question for the Prime Minister is, why does he insist on this continuation of misleading Canadians on these basic facts?
Bill Morneau LiberalMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, as I have had the opportunity to say to this House before, in the last month of the year, revenues go down and expenses go up. The Conservatives left us with a deficit, as we will see.
I could say that the more important question is, what are we going to do about the era of low growth that has been left to us?
The PBOs independently confirmed that they agree our investments in the economy will grow the economy for the long term. That is what we are trying to do: improve Canada for this generation and the next generation of Canadians.
Todd Doherty Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC
Mr. Speaker, it was the justice minister who, in 2014, said about LNG, that there are “discussions that are happening where voices are being heard and concerns are being addressed”, and that LNG remains a “positive prospect for many first nations”.
Yet, the justice minister sits here silently, while billions of dollars in investment and thousands of jobs hang in the balance. When will she break the silence, stand up for British Columbians, and push her cabinet colleagues to approve an LNG project?
Catherine McKenna LiberalMinister of Environment and Climate Change
Mr. Speaker, there is no point in pushing me because we make environmental decisions based on evidence, facts, and science. We also do it engaging with indigenous people, in consultation with Canadians. We are committed to getting resources to market, but it must be done in a sustainable way, and that is what we will do.
Todd Doherty Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC
Mr. Speaker, the facts are that billions of dollars in investment and thousands of jobs hang in the balance.
The president of the Vancouver port authority had this to say in response to the calls from the member for Steveston—Richmond East about shutting down the port operations: “We are the federal manager of lands in the port and are clearly designated as the environmental permitting agency,” and that it is a “regulatory agency, not a political body”.
When will the Liberals stop colluding with third party environmental groups and approve the LNG project, which would create thousands of well-paying, high-quality jobs?
Catherine McKenna LiberalMinister of Environment and Climate Change
Mr. Speaker, once again, I will confirm that we will make decisions based on facts, science, and evidence in consultation with communities that are affected and indigenous peoples. That is the way we get resources to market in the 21st century. Unfortunately, the previous government did not understand this and it was not able to get our resources to market.
That is what we are going to do. That is the responsible thing to do.
Bob Zimmer Conservative Prince George—Peace River—Northern Rockies, BC
Mr. Speaker, just last week, two more first nations signed agreements with TransCanada for the Pacific NorthWest LNG pipeline. This adds to a growing list of first nations which have signed on to the project, including, Doig River, Halfway River, Blueberry River, Yekooche, Gitanyow, Kitselas, Lake Babine, Metlakatla, and Nisga'a Lisims.
When will the cabinet approve the Pacific NorthWest LNG pipeline?
Catherine McKenna LiberalMinister of Environment and Climate Change
Mr. Speaker, we make decisions based on science, facts, and evidence, and in consultation. We have engaged with indigenous peoples and now we are reviewing the project. There are concerns with respect to salmon. I am sure the member opposite would also be concerned if there were environmental effects on the salmon.
We are working with the proponent. We are working with the Government of B.C. We are engaging in consultation with indigenous leaders. We will make a decision when we are ready to make a decision.
Sheri Benson NDP Saskatoon West, SK
Mr. Speaker, when strikes and lockouts drag on, families and communities suffer.
Anti-scab legislation would lead to fewer and shorter labour disputes. This is a simple change that any progressive, pro-worker government would support, yet the Liberal parliamentary secretary actually said that he would vote against the NDP bill. The bill is a simple but important first step to modernizing the Canada Labour Code. It is good for workers. It is good for our economy.
Will the minister stand up for Canadian workers and support the anti-scab bill?
MaryAnn Mihychuk LiberalMinister of Employment
Mr. Speaker, I am glad to report to the House that 95% of all CBAs in the federally regulated sector were reached without a work stoppage: 215 out of 227 agreements.
This is a process that works. This is a process that will continue to work.
Karine Trudel NDP Jonquière, QC
Mr. Speaker, to hear the Minister of National Revenue's response, it is clear that the Liberals do not understand the difference between a manager and an official.
I hope that this government will properly understand the anti-scab legislation I introduced last week. I am proud of this bill to protect workers from abuse. We need to have anti-scab legislation to fully ensure the fundamental right to collective bargaining. A government that claims to be progressive should implement this legislation.
Will the Liberal government support workers and vote in favour of this anti-scab bill?
