Debates of May 3rd, 2016

Ovarian Cancer Awareness

[John Oliver, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to welcome representatives from Ovarian Cancer Canada, including friends and neighbours, who are in Ottawa today to promote increased research to fight ovarian cancer.

There are 2,800 Canadian women diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year and 55% will die from the disease within five years. Without a screening test and with symptoms that are easily confused with other less serious conditions, ovarian cancer is usually detected at too late a stage.

The five-year survival rate for ovarian cancer is just 45%. If the cancer is found and treated before the cancer has spread, the five-year survival rate climbs dramatically to 92%. Research for early detection and treatment is critical.

On behalf of the many affected Canadian women, their families and friends, please join me in helping Ovarian Cancer Canada increase awareness for its cause by joining the fight this May 8 on World Ovarian Cancer Day.

Anti-Semitism

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, B'nai Brith Canada has just released its annual audit of anti-Semitism in our country, and the results are alarming.

Although the level of anti-Semitism has remained relatively constant over the past five years, the nature of incidents has changed. While spray-paint vandalism, crudely drawn swastikas, holy site desecrations, and violent events are down, there has been striking growth in social media anti-Semitism.

The audit points out that social media has a much broader reach than the old form of hate and that it is much more difficult to remove once such anti-Semitic content is posted. The B'nai Brith findings are similar to the Toronto Police Service report that Jews continue to be the single most-targeted victim group in the city of Toronto.

Anti-Semitism has no place in Canada. I call on all members of the House to join me in condemning this pernicious form of hatred.

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

Mr. Speaker, for more than three decades, B'nai Brith has published an annual audit on anti-Semitism to educate and advocate ways to reduce this form of hatred and intolerance against the Jewish community.

Anti-Semitism was widespread and overt in 2015. There were a number of violent, indiscriminate attacks around the world, in various locations such as synagogues, public markets, and the streets.

Here in Canada, there were 1,277 incidents of anti-Semitism recorded, with offenders moving increasingly online as the forum of choice for spreading their hateful message to a wider audience.

Prejudice against one community is prejudice against all communities.

I commend B'nai Brith in playing a vital role in combatting hate through education. I encourage all members to read the 2015 annual audit. It is essential that we see anti-Semitism as a challenge to be overcome together through our shared values of diversity and inclusivity.

Dairy Industry

[Ruth Ellen Brosseau, NDP, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, since early this morning, because of the Liberal government's inaction, a few hundred dairy farmers have decided to set up a blockade in front of a dairy processing plant in Montreal. The producers' spontaneous demonstration shows that they really are at the end of their rope. This government's inaction is simply causing a crisis that is escalating. This could have been avoided. The only party responsible in this matter is the federal government, because it is still not enforcing the compositional standards for cheese.

The government has been telling us for months and weeks that it is in the process of consulting and speaking with the industry. However, we know what the solution is. It is simple, it costs nothing, and it can be applied right away. We know that the government will unfortunately vote against the NDP motion, but I sincerely urge the government to act today and enforce the Canadian standards. Let us stop diafiltered milk.

Iran

[David Sweet, Conservative, Flamborough—Glanbrook, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud of the steps that our Conservative government took in trying to coax Iran into halting its nuclear ambitions by way of an aggressive sanctions program. The Iranian regime truly felt the impact of global sanctions on Iran; so much so that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called the day sanctions were lifted “a golden page” in the country's history.

Iran has a long history as a vicious actor in the Middle East: exporting terror globally, supplying military assistance to Assad in Syria and to Hezbollah and Hamas, as well as routinely threatening the destruction of our friend and ally, Israel. A commander of the IRGC said as recently as March, “Even if they build a wall around Iran, our missile program will not stop”.

Any Liberal plan to abandon sanctions against Iran would overturn our principled stand by the previous Conservative government. The evidence is clear: the Tehran regime commits horrible human rights violations against its own people and supports terror throughout the Middle East and incitement against Israel.

The Conservatives still see Iran for what it is and would rather judge Iran by its actions than by its words.

Mental Health Week

[Filomena Tassi, Liberal, Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to #GetLoud during Mental Health Week in support of mental health and well-being for all Canadians.

Mental health is often considered secondary to physical health. This is wrong. Mental health is essential to our overall health.

Our government has stated the importance of access to mental health care. As a high school chaplain, I have witnessed how people's lives were devastated when mental health services were inadequate. As well, the need for mental health supports is acute among our seniors and indigenous peoples.

Caring for mental health contributes to strong communities. Hamilton's CHML radio has inspired dozens of organizations to shine the light on mental health by lighting up their workplaces in green this week. I applaud the ongoing and often heroic efforts of all mental health advocates in my hometown of Hamilton, Ontario.

I urge my colleagues from all parties to work together to provide access to the mental health resources and supports required for all Canadians to reach their full potential.

Finance

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, while the Prime Minister was once again doing push-ups for the cameras yesterday, his Minister of Finance was doing some of his own verbal gymnastics back here.

He was trying to explain how a healthy Conservative surplus turned into a Liberal deficit. It turns out that we are just “stuck in this whole balanced budget thing”. He is right, and we are proud of it.

My question to the Prime Minister is simple. Is he actually ever planning to balance the budget?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for giving me an opportunity to talk about the Invictus Games and the extraordinary work this government is doing to support veterans and to ensure that there is an opportunity for all Canadians to cheer on the extraordinary valour, courage, and strength of Canadian veterans.

Obviously, on the issue of economic growth, we made it very clear during the election campaign that we are going to be investing in communities, we are going to be putting more money in the pockets of the middle class and those working hard to join it, because fiscal responsibility and, indeed, balanced budgets are important.

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, we have all heard of March madness.

Here is what the Liberals did in March, by their own budget numbers. They took the $7.5 billion surplus we left them, spent every dime of it, and then spent another $5 billion on top of that, in one month. It is reckless, it is irresponsible, and every Canadian is going to have to pay it back.

Does the Prime Minister understand that it is actually not his money to spend? It belongs to hard-working Canadians.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, is it reckless and irresponsible to be lowering taxes for the middle class while raising them on the wealthiest 1%?

Is it reckless and irresponsible to be giving a Canada child benefit that is more generous to nine out of 10 Canadian families, by doing more for the families who need it and less for the families who do not?

What, frankly, would have been reckless and irresponsible would be for Canadians to decide to keep the Conservatives in government for one more minute after October 19.

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Let us just skip to the push-ups.

Mr. Speaker, it is actually the job of the Prime Minister to try, at least try, to keep spending under control.

The facts are clear. The parliamentary budget officer and the finance department agree that Conservatives left the government a healthy surplus, and the Liberals have blown it.

Does the Prime Minister understand that this billions in spending actually has to be paid back?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that the member opposite has now discovered what she apparently thinks the job of the Prime Minister is.

The previous Prime Minister added $160 billion to Canada's debt with very little to show for it. Indeed, for 10 years we had lower economic growth than Canadians needed to have. We had under-investment in our infrastructure in our communities and in public transit.

That is why this government is committed to making the investments in our communities that Canadians so desperately need, that businesses so desperately need, and putting more money into the pockets of the middle class and those working hard to join it.

That is the job of the Prime Minister.

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in recent years, the former prime minister had to deal with the worst economic crisis since World War II. It is a good thing that the current Prime Minister did not have to deal with that crisis. We went through very difficult times and we left the house in order, with a surplus of $7.5 billion at the end of February.

Yesterday, in a flight of rhetoric, the Minister of Finance said: “Clearly, the members from other side are still stuck in this whole balanced budget thing.” Right now, families are filling out their tax forms and must balance their personal finances. Is the Prime Minister able to understand that balancing a budget—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The right hon. Prime Minister.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, what families all across the country understand is that there is a need for investment in public transit, which had been neglected for 10 years. That is why we announced a $775-million investment in public transit in Montreal. That is why we applaud the potential investment in the new light rail in Montreal that will help people get around, as well as investments in Edmonton, Toronto, and all over the country. The previous government refused to invest in our communities. It was time to put options and growth for Canadians back on the agenda.

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's statements need to be corrected. We are the ones who did the work on the projects in Edmonton that he mentioned. In the Montreal region, we always worked while respecting provincial and municipal jurisdictions, including with regard to public transit. We delivered the largest infrastructure plan in Canada's history while still balancing the budget.

Why does the Prime Minister need to run deficits to do what we managed to do while balancing the budget?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives threw the budget out the window.

The fact is, we have made the necessary investments. For 10 years, there was no investment in public transit, in green infrastructure, or in anything to tackle climate change.

Canadians elected a government that is ready to invest in the future, in middle-class Canadians so that they have more money in their pockets, and in families. These kinds of investments will create growth, which was neglected in Canada by the previous government for the past 10 years.

Dairy Industry

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, enough jokes about the previous government.

Let us talk about this government. The current Liberal government's failure to take action on the diafiltered milk file is really hurting dairy producers across Canada. They can no longer borrow money, and they are losing hundreds of millions of dollars. The Liberals have been sitting on their hands for six months.

Will they support the NDP motion and stand up for our family dairy farms?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are supporting Canada's dairy industry.

We are in regular contact with industry representatives to understand the issues and ensure that producers are properly compensated in connection with the free trade agreement with the European Union. We are committed to working with them at every stage of the process to ensure that we protect the industry. We pledged to protect supply management, and that is what we will continue to do.

Tax Evasion

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, more talk will do nothing to help family dairy farms. They need action, and that action has to come from the Liberal government. The government has the responsibility and must enforce the rules, period. Why this inaction? It is inexplicable.

Let us talk about another area where people only get help if they are well connected. Today, members of a parliamentary committee asked that KPMG, which set up this tax sham, be held accountable.

Will the Liberals support our motion to bring KPMG before the parliamentary committee?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, like all Canadians, we are concerned about the allegations of favouritism within the Canada Revenue Agency. That is why we are working closely with the minister and the department in order to ensure that all Canadians and all companies pay their fair share of taxes. We will make sure this happens now and in the future.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, if the Prime Minister is sincerely concerned about what he just called potential favouritism at the Canada Revenue Agency, will he agree with the NDP to hold an investigation into the KPMG scandal?

Canadians do not accept that there is one law for the rich and well connected and one law for everybody else. Here we have a clear example, just like the Air Canada case: “You broke the law. No problem. The Liberals will change it for you retroactively if you're rich and well connected”.

Canadians want the law to apply to everyone. Are we going to have an investigation into KPMG, yes or no?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Once again, Mr. Speaker, we see that the NDP is always eager to play parliamentary procedure games as opposed to actually digging into the real facts of the issue.

We are working with the Canada Revenue Agency. We are ensuring that all Canadians and all companies pay their fair share of taxes.

We know that Canadians expect their government to uphold the rules, and that is exactly what we are going to do.

The Environment

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, speaking of parliamentary procedure, in committee today, the Liberals had a chance to vote with us to require KPMG to give the names. Do members know what they did? They used parliamentary procedure to avoid that.

Let us talk about the Liberals avoiding their responsibility in another key area, which is climate change. They signed Kyoto the last time they were in power and went on to have one of the worst records in the world. This time they went to Paris and said that Canada was back. Unfortunately, Canada was back with the Conservative plan.

Why is there no plan to reduce greenhouse gases in Canada? Canadians want to know.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I actually was not a politician when Kyoto was signed, but the member opposite was minister of environment for the Province of Quebec and wears a part of responsibility on what was not done in the past.

What is being done right now, however, is that we are working with the provinces. We have demonstrated a commitment, internationally and here at home, to engage on climate change, to ensure that we are actually living up to the responsibilities to future generations. Look at us to look at the challenges, but also the opportunities coming in investing in green technology and the real future of Canadian jobs.