Debates of May 2nd, 2016

Census

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for Richmond Hill for his efforts in supporting good data collection.

I am proud to say that my first official act was to reinstate the mandatory long-form census. Today, census letters and packages are being sent to all Canadians from coast to coast to coast. Canadians will have access to high-quality data that truly reflects the needs of our communities and businesses. After 10 years, evidence-based decision-making is back.

Ministerial Expenses

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we know that the Minister of International Trade spent public money to appear on a Hollywood talk show and neglected her ministerial duties.

Can the minister explain how she was defending Canada's trade interests by rushing to Los Angeles to be interviewed by Bill Maher, with taxpayers footing the $20,000 bill?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, the minister was defending Canada's economic interests when she met with California's business leaders and with elected and public officials.

We believe that a $40-billion-a-year trade relationship is important. The minister signed important agreements during her visit to California.

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is clear from the Minister of International Trade's actions that she was not in Los Angeles to negotiate trade agreements in the interest of Canadians.

That said, can her government confirm that it will support the trans-Pacific partnership which, let us recall, is good for beef, pork, maple syrup and blueberry producers?

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Consular Affairs)]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to repeat that our government is committed to consulting Canadians on the TPP. The House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade is conducting a study on the TPP. Therefore, I invite all members of the House to participate in this consultation. We are looking forward to a meaningful discussion.

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

Mr. Speaker, the trade minister's own officials were not told of the L.A. junket until November 17, two days before she arrived. The department's director of communications did not even know what the minister was doing in L.A. besides the Bill Maher show. Her department scrambled to find events so she could bill the vanity trip to the taxpayers of Canada.

When will the trade minister pay for this personal trip so Canadian taxpayers do not have to?

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

Mr. Speaker, our government does not apologize for promoting Canadian business interests abroad. When the Minister of International Trade was in California, as I and she have mentioned before, she had a series of meetings with business leaders and with officials in the government of California.

We think promoting Canada on critical issues like our support, for example, for Syrian refugees is an important part of every member of Parliament's work. We are proud of our Minister of International Trade.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Treasury Board's guidelines require ministers to disclose their travel and hospitality costs quarterly.

For the past eight months the Minister of Finance has been travelling all over Europe, Asia and Canada, but has only disclosed the costs of one trip. The minister is in charge of Canada's finances, but will not even obey the law when it comes to his own travel.

Why is the Minister of Finance hiding his own spending from Canadians?

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

Mr. Speaker, we as a government are committed to the proactive disclosure of ministers' expenses. In fact, it was a previous Liberal government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Martin, that first introduced proactive disclosure of ministers' expenses. It was our prime minister in opposition that for the first time ever members of Parliament proactively disclosed their expenses. We are committed to proactive disclosure, and we will continue to be as a government.

Search and Rescue

[Rachel Blaney, NDP, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in a few days the Liberal government will be shutting down the Comox MCTS station. The minister keeps claiming there is no risk.

However, just last weekend a massive communications failure in Prince Rupert meant that the entire west coast of Vancouver Island was left with no marine safety communications. This put the lives of mariners in danger.

Will the minister now reverse the Conservative decision to close the Comox station?

[Hunter Tootoo, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, I am aware of the temporary outage that happened in Prince Rupert. I want to assure all members, including the member herself, that the outage had nothing to do with the modernization of our MCTS systems. The outage was caused by a third-party landline. By the way, Comox has virtually no overlapping coverage in this sector, and it was not a factor in the situation at all.

[Fin Donnelly, NDP, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are clearly choosing to ignore the evidence here. During the campaign, the Prime Minister promised Canadians they would reopen the Kitsilano Coast Guard station. Once in power, the minister assured Canadians it would be operational 24/7, 365. Now it appears that is not the case. The base will only reopen on a part-time basis. Why did the minister mislead Canadians about this commitment?

[Hunter Tootoo, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Speaker, last December, I announced that we would be reopening Kitsilano. I am proud to say that yesterday we kept that commitment and the base became operational.

We are continuing our phase-in capacity at the base. By the May long weekend, the same number of search and rescue crew will be on site at the facility as was previously.

Foreign Affairs

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as Conservatives host Iran Accountability Week on the Hill, we recognize that Iran is widely considered the world's pre-eminent sponsor of state terrorism through its support of groups, including Hezbollah and Hamas. The Iranian regime has been correctly listed by Canada as a state sponsor of terrorism. This listing has enabled terror victims to sue Iran in Canadian courts and hold the regime accountable.

Will the Liberals do the right thing and commit to keeping Iran designated as a state sponsor of terror?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we have no current plans to remove Iran from the list of state supporters of terrorism under the State Immunity Act. The inclusion or exclusion in the future will be based on the actions of the Iranian government. I am sure it was the purpose to improve human rights to protect the people of Iran, and it is very clear that it needs to make a lot of progress. Its record regarding human rights and the relationship with our allies, including Israel, is a problem.

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Foreign Affairs told the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development that Canada was taking the necessary steps to engage with Iran and to eventually open an embassy in Tehran.

Will the Minister commit today to consult with Iranian Canadians before a final decision is made and to be transparent and provide the opposition critics the risk assessment for a Canadian delegation in Tehran?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague knows very well that I always give him my full co-operation.

However, it is common knowledge that we prefer to engage rather than to withdraw or retreat. It was a mistake for Canada to sever ties with Iran. The human rights situation in Iran is no better for it. Israel's situation has also not improved. We are not in a position to help our allies or to help Canadian interests, Canadian families and Iranian Canadians because of the previous government's empty-chair and withdrawal policy.

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we need look no farther than Iran's supreme leader and official state media to get a clear and obvious handle on Iran's terrorist agenda. The regime boasts about its financial support of its terrorist proxies, its rogue missile program, and regularly proclaims the destruction of Israel a regime priority. Iran's state television this month is calling for young men to volunteer to fight in Syria, to position to invade Israel.

How can the Liberals, even for an instant, consider delisting Iran as a state sponsor of terror?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I am obliged to repeat, which I am pleased to do. We have no current plans to remove Iran from the list of state supporters of terrorism under the state Immunity act. The inclusion or exclusion in the future will be based on the actions of the Iranian government. I think it was the purpose of this motion and it is why we will respect it. We want to see improvement in Iran. It is why we are engaging this country: to help all of the people of Iran who want more human rights.

Dairy Industry

[Jean Rioux, Liberal, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Canada-European Union comprehensive economic and trade agreement is a major priority for our government, since Canadian companies and business owners will be able to take advantage of the many benefits this agreement offers.

We want all sectors of our economy to be able to move forward once this agreement is ratified.

Can the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food talk to us about what he is doing to ensure that Canada's dairy industry can continue to grow within a constantly evolving global marketplace?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, I can assure my hon. colleague and the House that our government is fully committed to the Canadian dairy industry and the supply management sector. That is why we have announced today that the government will be sitting down with the dairy industry in the coming weeks to get its views on the mitigation package as part of the CETA trade deal.

Together, our government will help the industry adjust. We will reach the best possible outcome for our dairy industry, and ensure Canadian agriculture is safer, stronger, and more innovative.

Health

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have abandoned regulations that would require generic drugs to have tamper-resistant properties. This decision has put the health and safety of Canadians at risk.

Not only does the decision allow for drug tampering and misuse to continue, but doctors themselves are now hesitating to prescribe these drugs to those who need them, fearing the drugs will end up on the illicit market.

Will the Minister of Health listen to physicians on the ground and reintroduce tamper-resistant regulations?

[Jane Philpott, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, an appropriate response to the problem of problematic drug use and prescription drug abuse needs to be comprehensive. There is no single strategy that will solve the problem, and there is no single drug that needs to be addressed.

The problem of tamper-resistant opioids, if it is applied only to a single drug, will not solve the problem. People will only go to another drug. We will continue with our comprehensive approach that will include increasing education and minimizing harm.

Small Business

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, small businesses are the job creators of our country. We thought the Liberals understood this when they campaigned to lower small business taxes, but Liberals have clearly broken that promise.

New documents obtained by the parliamentary budget office show the Liberal plan will take $2.1 billion out of the pockets of small business. Why are the Liberals taking billions from small business, and why are they hiding this cash grab in an omnibus budget bill?

[Gudie Hutchings, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary for Small Business and Tourism]

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House we do understand small business.

One of the things I would like all my colleagues to realize is our bizpal program. Entrepreneurs have made it clear to us that navigating through permits and licences, through all levels of government, is confusing, frustrating, and, most important, time consuming.

We are proud of our bizpal program. It is one of the many ways we align our efforts with provincial, territorial, and municipal governments to support and respond to what all entrepreneurs and small businesses are asking of us.

They want to succeed. They want to create jobs and drive—