Debates of April 20th, 2016

Ministerial Expenses

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

Mr. Speaker, our ministers, our government, and our Prime Minister are of course committed to openness and transparency. We will follow all the rules of the Treasury Board.

I just want to say, in terms of the matter of our international trade minister, an exceptional public servant, that she actually became a parliamentarian after having garnered international attention for her work as a financial journalist and a writer who actually tackled some of the biggest issues facing the world, including that of inequality.

She was asked, in fact, because she has international—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The hon. member for Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou.

Indigenous Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, we hope that the people of Attawapiskat can start to look to the future after some very difficult years.

We commend the minister's commitment to build a youth centre and allocate resources for cultural programs. However, the budget does not contain any new investments for mental health services for indigenous young people. Furthermore, Health Canada does not have enough staff to meet the needs.

My question is simple. Will the minister commit to immediately increase funding for mental health services?

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we are extremely concerned about the rash of tragic suicides in indigenous communities across Canada.

Attawapiskat also desperately needs programs in the community.

I was very happy to hear that First Nations and Inuit Health is prepared right now to begin the land-based programming that the youth have asked for. We know this is about getting back hope and what exactly the youth said to me: that they want their identity back.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

I would like to thank the minister for coming with me to meet with the youth in Attawapiskat and committing to build that youth centre. It is a profound moment.

However, the larger issue of the crisis in mental health services in indigenous communities remains. For example, there is only $350,000 for the mental wellness framework for the entire country. How many children is that expected to save?

My question is for the finance minister. He can respond to the crisis that has taken the lives of too many indigenous children across the country by putting those resource dollars into this budget now.

He has the power to act. Will he do it?

[Kamal Khera, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to closing the gap in health outcomes for first nations and Inuit Canadians. In budget 2016, we outlined our historic investment of $8.4 billion to improve the socio-economic conditions for indigenous peoples and their communities. Health Canada collaborated with the Assembly of First Nations, community mental health leaders, and our government departments to develop our first nations mental wellness continuum framework.

The Budget

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the parliamentary budget officer released his report on budget 2016. First, he confirmed that the government did indeed inherit a surplus from us. He also confirmed that the Liberals' plan will cost significantly more than the $10 billion that they promised Canadians. However, most importantly, he confirmed that their plan actually lacked incredibly important details.

When will the minister face the facts that they talk a good game but they are really not delivering on an open and honest government?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am so happy for the question from the hon. member. Let me quote from the independent parliamentary budget officer talking about our budget:

...we believe that ultimately these measures will have a sizable impact on the Canadian economy”.

That is what the PBO said yesterday.

Our budget is for Canadian families, for the Canadian middle class. That is helping the economy. That is what the PBO says. That is what we are going to continue to do.

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Milton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians deserve to have confidence in a government. The Liberals inherited a surplus from us. That is what the PBO said. They manipulated private sector economists' projections for their own purpose. They padded deficit projections by the billions, and they have exaggerated how many jobs Canadians can expect out of the budget. That is what the parliamentary budget officer said.

Does the minister realize, quite frankly, that his economic credibility is in tatters and that Canadians deserve to have somebody and some government that can actually manage their tax dollars responsibly?

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

Mr. Speaker, Canadians understand, and everyone in this House should understand, that in the last month of the fiscal year our expenses are going up and our revenues are going down. The Conservatives have left us a deficit.

Let me say what the independent parliamentary budget officer said about the Conservatives. He said that the Canadians economy has remained below its level of potential GDP since 2008. Thanks to Canadians, we are going to grow this economy for Canadian families, for business, and for the middle class.

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

Mr. Speaker, before becoming a Liberal, the Minister of Finance endorsed the Conservative plan to change the age of eligibility for seniors. In his book The Real Retirement, the minister wrote, “In 20 years' time, the economy will run better if we retire around age 66 to 67 instead of the current age of 62”, but since then, the Prime Minister has told him to change his tune.

When did the finance minister stop caring about the long-term financial security of Canadian seniors?

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

Mr. Speaker, this budget is historic in investing in Canadians. We have reduced taxes for nine million Canadians already, which is helping our economy. We have the Canada child benefit, which is going to help nine families out of 10, lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty; and we are investing in our seniors, in youth, in clean tech, and in innovation. That is what Canadians want, and that is what we are doing.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, maybe they will understand the question better if I try again. One of this government's bad economic decisions was to reduce the age of retirement from 67 to 65. According to the parliamentary budget officer, this is going to cost an additional $11 billion.

I am sorry, but we cannot afford that. What is more, that is what the current Minister of Finance said in his book The Real Retirement, and I quote , “In 20 years' time, the economy will run better if we retire around age 66 or 67.”

I could not have put it better myself. Can the Prime Minister acknowledge that his Minister of Finance was right at the time?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question.

I am very pleased to see his interest in seniors. I am sure that he, like me, recognizes the importance of budget 2016 in addressing this issue. We reduced the age of eligibility to 65 in order to prevent 100,000 seniors from slipping into poverty and to bring the poverty rate of seniors aged 65 and 66 down from 17% to 6%. We will continue to work in that direction.

Foreign Affairs

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on the Saudi arms deal, Ottawa consulted no human rights groups but asked only the Department of National Defence. After signing the export permit in secret, the minister repeated that the Liberals would scrutinize any future arms deal. However, when we proposed a transparent subcommittee to look at our arms exports, the Liberals used their majority to vote it down.

What are they afraid of? Where is the transparency they keep talking about? When will they start walking the talk?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, indeed, we take very seriously the review we are doing about the export permits. It is a very serious decision, and I assume my decision and the ones I do in the future, certainly, I will do very seriously.

I am sure that the committee will work very seriously as well. The committee has a lot of work to do. We will ask the committee to look at the legislative changes that we will have to make to make sure Canada will be a member of the arms trade treaty. I look forward to working very positively with the committee.

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government keeps digging itself a deeper hole on the issue of the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia. The fact that the contract was a done deal and the very existence of cancellation penalties have apparently been contradicted.

Yesterday, the Liberals voted against our proposal to create a subcommittee to study arms exports.

Why are the Liberals refusing to let parliamentarians do their job? What are they afraid of?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, since the answer I gave in English will be translated into French in the Hansard, I will not repeat it because it is the same question.

However, since the member is giving me the opportunity, I will repeat that the contract was signed by the previous government, not in part, but in full. We do not want to renege on the Government of Canada's signature. When the contract is deemed valid, the export licences arrive at the office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who carefully and diligently examines them. That is what we did with full transparency.

Seniors

[David Graham, Liberal, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, during the election campaign, many of my constituents were worried that the previous government had increased the retirement age from 65 to 67. This poorly thought-out decision by the Conservatives caused a lot of anxiety for many residents of Laurentides—Labelle who wanted to plan for retirement.

Can the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development explain how the budget will reverse this bad decision in order to benefit Canadians?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his interest and for this important question.

The previous government unfortunately brought in this reform without conducting any serious economic and social studies. It would have plunged 100,000 seniors into poverty, lowered the income of 20% of the poorest seniors by 35%, and taken away $13,000 from the most vulnerable seniors. We have decided to reverse this decision and to invest in our seniors. I think the whole House should be pleased about that.

Natural Resources

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, during question period yesterday, the Minister of Environment was specifically asked when she would make a decision on the Pacific NorthWest LNG project in British Columbia. Her answer shocked all of us. She flippantly said, “We will make a decision when we are ready to make a decision”.

When will the minister realize that the uncertainty her government has created is causing investors to flee Canada and is jeopardizing a $36 billion job-creating investment in Canada?

[Catherine McKenna, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, unlike the party opposite, we understand that the environment and the economy go together. The only way projects will go ahead is if they are done in a sustainable way.

At the beginning of March, the proponent brought significant new information that raised concerns about impacts on salmon, human health, and indigenous peoples. We are committed to doing a review that is based on science and facts, and we have said that once we have the necessary information we will make a decision within 90 days. That is what we will do.

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, that is not good enough, because the minister first claimed that her decision would be based on science. Then the natural resources minister proudly contradicted her by saying that the decision would be political. Now the minister simply says she will make the decision whenever she feels like it. That is the ultimate uncertainty.

Does the minister not realize that her inaction is risking a $36 billion job-creating investment in Canada?

[Catherine McKenna, Liberal, Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, I will repeat my answer. We will make decisions based on facts, science, and evidence. We understand the importance of getting resources to market. However, we need to be doing it in a sustainable way. That is what we are doing.

I will quote from the proponent:

Pacific NorthWest LNG will work to assess this latest information request and continue to work constructively with federal agencies through this rigorous process.

We are working with it. When we are prepared, we will make a decision.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Mr. Speaker, maybe it is agenda, third party, and magic eight ball.

The minister of environment rose yesterday and confirmed that LNG decisions will be made when and only when she feels like making them. She has just created another level of uncertainty.

The justice minister is on record as saying that LNG remains a positive prospect for many first nations. The environment minister herself cannot deny that LNG could and would replace Chinese coal.

Rather than creating more uncertainty by consulting her magic eight ball for answers, why does she not look at the actual facts and support the project?