Debates of April 22nd, 2016

Finance

[Bradley Trost, Conservative, Saskatoon—University, SK]

Madam Speaker, the Liberals' first budget goes out of the way to discriminate against the Province of Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan receives less than 1% of federal funding for transportation infrastructure in this budget, even though it represents 3% of the population of Canada.

Under the Conservative government, transportation funding was allocated on a per capita basis.

Why is the government shortchanging the people of Saskatchewan?

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities]

Madam Speaker, that question gives me the opportunity to say how pleased I am with the budget and with how much money is being invested in infrastructure. A record $60 billion is being invested, including $20 billion in public transit infrastructure.

That is excellent news for all the provinces, communities, and municipalities. The hon. member should be pleased as well.

Port Infrastructure

[Guy Caron, NDP, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Madam Speaker, for the second year in a row, the research vessel belonging to the Université du Québec à Rimouski, the Coriolis II, will have nowhere to dock. Actually, it will have a place to dock, but it will be in Quebec City, 300 km from Rimouski. Why? Because the federal government declared the west pier at the port of Rimouski to be condemned after neglecting it for many years.

This situation is unacceptable for one of our country's leading oceanographic research institutions.

Despite the efforts made over the past six months to get the minister's office to take action, there is still no plan to remedy the situation. The minister's office is being very cavalier about this extremely urgent situation.

Will the Minister of Transport take his responsibilities seriously and help find a plan to solve the problem at the port of Rimouski?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Madam Speaker, my colleague informed me of the problem. We are looking into that situation and the situations of other ports under federal jurisdiction.

Canadian Heritage

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

Madam Speaker, Avis de recherche is a public interest television channel. No channel gives a higher priority to such issues as missing children and other missing persons, action on violence against women, and crime prevention than Avis de recherche. However, if nothing is done, the channel will have to shut down next week because of a CRTC decision.

The minister can intervene under the law. What is she waiting for to do so?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question.

I am very aware of the demands that Avis de recherche, or ADR, is making and of its mission to broadcast important information. From what I understand, ADR still has its licence and can therefore develop the full potential of its licence.

Furthermore, the CRTC is the one that made the decisions regarding this channel, and as my colleague is well aware, under the the Broadcasting Act the CRTC has the sole authority to order mandatory distribution.

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, York—Simcoe, ON]

Madam Speaker, next year Canada observes the 150th anniversary of Confederation, but a funny thing happened on the way to the celebrations: the new government left out Confederation. When the minister introduced the themes for the 150th anniversary of Confederation, Confederation was not there, not even the subject of Canadian history is a theme.

Why the Liberal war on history?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Madam Speaker, I would like to stress to my hon. colleague that we have many programs within Canadian Heritage which are in line with celebrating the important landmarks of Canadian history.

That being said, I would also like to stress that I will not take any lessons from a past government that forgot to include indigenous people as part of their way to commemorate our history. That is why the reconciliation with indigenous people will be part of the 150th anniversary.

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, York—Simcoe, ON]

Madam Speaker, at committee, the minister justified excluding Confederation from the 150th anniversary themes by saying “...we shouldn't play politics with [it]”.

Admittedly, Conservatives John A. Macdonald and George-Étienne Cartier drove the project, but Macdonald's archrivals, George Brown and Oliver Mowat, were partners and full founding fathers. In fact, Confederation is the ultimate bipartisan example of Canadian nation building.

Why will the Liberal government not make Confederation a theme of the 150th anniversary of Confederation?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Madam Speaker, as my colleague will know because he was involved in the past government, there are programs within Canadian Heritage to support the history of Confederation. For example, last year, an entire play was supported 100% by Canadian Heritage on Sir John A. Macdonald. In that context, we will continue to support historical landmarks.

I must stress again that we will make sure to put emphasis on—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The hon. member for Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte.

Tourism Industry

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

Madam Speaker, the Liberals have proven that they simply cannot be trusted to spend taxpayers' money responsibly. With their vanity trips to Hollywood, and now to a gym in New York, the Liberal government is all about photo ops and self-promotion.

We are worried about where the Liberals will spend this $50 million dedicated to Destination Canada.

Can the minister stand in the House today and tell us how the money will be spent, and how much of it will be spent on advertising?

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

Madam Speaker, the tourism industry is an economic driver and a job creator, which is great. We recognize that $50 million has been committed to Destination Canada. We know that the previous government had no problem cutting tourism because it did not see the value in it. We will be working closely with Destination Canada. We will ensure that we have a presence on the international stage. Canada is a country that everyone should visit. We know that we offer the best and brightest.

We look forward to ensuring the dollars are spent well. Destination Canada is excited, and Canadians are—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The hon. member for Glengarry—Prescott—Russell.

Canadian Heritage

[Francis Drouin, Liberal, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Madam Speaker, to ensure greater transparency and efficiency, and in keeping with this government's approach, the Minister of Canadian Heritage recently delegated significant authority for the funding of various organizations.

Can the minister share with us the purpose of this delegation of authority and the results to date?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his important question.

Again this week, I received some very positive comments from different organizations that we support because with this delegation of authority, funding applications are processed much more quickly.

Payments are now being made two to four months earlier than before. One can only imagine what a pleasant surprise this must be for the organizations. We are now working on multi-year agreements to enhance organizations' planning process.

The issue has finally been solved.

Consular Affairs

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

Madam Speaker, on March 11, I asked the Liberals if they could tell us the status of Canadians John Ridsdel and Robert Hall, and two others held captive in the Philippines. The parliamentary secretary assured us that he was on top of the file.

We would like to see our fellow Canadians return home alive, so would the Liberals give us an update today on the situation?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for the question. I know that she cares a lot, the whole House cares a lot, and she will understand that under the circumstances, it is preferable that I do not comment further.

Science and Innovation

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Central Nova, NS]

Madam Speaker, we all know the importance of Canadian research to the national economy. Science and innovation help create economic growth, foster a positive environment for entrepreneurs, and find new solutions for sustainable economic development. For these advancements to take place, we must ensure that researchers have the tools and resources they need.

Could the Parliamentary Secretary for Science tell the House what our government is doing to ensure research infrastructure is properly funded?

[Terry Beech, Parliamentary Secretary for Science, Lib.]

Madam Speaker, in response to my hon. colleague's question, I am proud to say that we are delivering on our promise to restore science to Canada. Budget 2016 announced $2 billion to promote economic growth by improving research and innovation infrastructure at Canada's post-secondary institutions. These investments provide our research community with access to state-of-the-art facilities and equipment.

These important tools will be used to make new discoveries that will better the lives of Canadians and grow our economy. This is a great investment in science and it is a great investment in Canada.

Physician-Assisted Dying

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Madam Speaker, people choose a medical career because they want to care for the sick, but without conscience protection, doctors in Ontario will now be forced to facilitate killing. Dr. Nancy Naylor of Strathroy, Ontario, will not be renewing her licence. Dr. Naylor has practised family and palliative medicine for 40 years. She writes, “I have no wish to stop. But I will not be told that I must go against my moral conscience...”.

Will the government implement conscience protection in euthanasia legislation and let Dr. Naylor continue her vital work?

[Jane Philpott, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Madam Speaker, I am aware of the excellent work of Dr. Naylor and I am pleased that she has had such an illustrious career in palliative care.

One of the reasons that we introduced Bill C-14 was the fact that Canadians need access to all options for care at the end of life. We are committed in this government to make sure, as the Supreme Court has indicated, that people have access to assistance in dying, and I am pleased that people like Dr. Naylor are also providing assistance for people to live well until the end of their lives.

The Monarchy

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Madam Speaker, the British monarchy has caused irreparable harm to Quebeckers. This week, another survey indicated that 80% of Quebeckers are not in favour of the monarchy.

In response, the Minister of Canadian Heritage arrogantly, or perhaps out of ignorance, said that we had made the decision to be a constitutional monarchy.

Can the Minister of Heritage tell us when Quebeckers made that decision? Was it when the monarchy imposed the Act of Union in 1840 or Confederation in—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The hon. Minister of Canadian Heritage.

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Madam Speaker, as the House knows, it was the Queen's 90th birthday yesterday, and we celebrated the occasion. I would once again like to wish the Queen a happy birthday and remind members of her importance as Canada's head of state.