Debates of June 16th, 2016

Oil and Gas Industry

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the downturn in the oil and gas sector has left many western Canadians without work. Shamefully, the Liberals want to increase taxes on job-creators and keep the industry down indefinitely. They continue to ignore a ready-made solution, which is to clean up decommissioned oil and gas wells. Cleaning up these wells would put unemployed Canadians back to work, retain expertise, and create economic and environmental benefits.

Will the Liberals stop their attack on oil and gas workers and help get them back to work?

[Jim Carr, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, it is the responsibility of those who created the problem in the first place to clean it up. If the premier of Alberta or the premier of Saskatchewan believe it is a top priority for infrastructure investments in their province, then I am sure the government would be interested in considering their request.

Office of the Prime Minister

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, we have learned that, in November, the Prime Minister's own department asked Google to remove dozens of public documents from government websites. This happened 51 times. The Prime Minister's website is not his own website to do with what he pleases; it belongs to the Canadian people. It cannot just be changed at the whim of the Liberals.

Who in the Prime Minister's Office ordered this deletion, and will they reverse this?

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

Mr. Speaker, all of the previous prime minister's archived web content can be accessed by Library and Archives Canada, along with other archived government material. Canadians expect government websites to reflect the most up-to-date and accurate information when they are searching on these sites.

The fact is, and I assure my friend opposite, that our government hopes that the memory of the former Conservative prime minister lives in the minds of Canadians for a very long time.

Democratic Reform

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last weekend journalist and noted electoral reform advocate Andrew Coyne criticized the Liberals' schedule for the committee on electoral reform. He stated, “The very tightness of the timeline feeds suspicions the Liberals are trying to rig the process in favour of their own allegedly preferred reform model“.

Nonetheless, the short timeline does give the Liberals enough time to conduct a national referendum in 2017, after they introduce their final proposal. Keeping this in mind, will they use the available time to hold a national referendum and give Canadians the final say?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, let me quote the member opposite in 2014, when the unfair elections act was being rammed through with no consultations, when the opposition parties were not being engaged at all, and expert witnesses were not being listened to. I am sorry, he did not say anything.

I am glad there is a change of heart and that we want to see Canadians be engaged. There is a process for that. We have a committee working with the member opposite. I hope he will take the opportunity to hear from Canadians and ensure that process is as valid as it can be.

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, for eight months now, the official opposition has been asking legitimate questions about electoral reform.

Every time, the minister's reply sounds like the same broken record. We all know that the minister is not listening to journalists, political scientists, three-quarters of Canadians, analysts, or even her colleague, the Minister of Foreign Affairs. I have a very simple question to ask her.

Why is the minister so determined to dismiss out of hand everyone who is calling for a referendum? Is it because she does not trust them?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, quite the contrary. In fact, it was the party opposite that said it was going to support a motion from the NDP on the change of the committee to make it one of the first, and maybe the first ever, committee that a majority government allowed to be controlled by minority parties. The Conservatives made that suggestion, we listened, and then they voted against it. The point of the matter is that we are ready to work with them, and with all parties, including on the issue they mentioned. A committee hopefully will begin its work next week and examine these issues, engage Canadians, and, in the process, improve our democracy.

Indigenous Affairs

[Georgina Jolibois, NDP, Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the Northlands Denesuline, Athabasca Dene, and Sayisi Dene first nations have been in land claims negotiations with the federal government for over 16 years. An agreement is close, but the Liberal government is refusing to move forward on the next steps towards ratification. If the government is really committed to reconciliation and a nation-to-nation relationship, will the minister instruct her officials to stop stalling and move forward immediately on the next steps toward ratification?

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

Mr. Speaker, as the member well knows, this is not just an agreement between the federal government and the first nation or the land claim. It requires the co-operation of the provinces and territories that are involved in this. We are working with those other jurisdictions to try and find a resolution to this.

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB]

Mr. Speaker, what is missing here is federal leadership. The fact is that some progress was made on this file under the previous government, but the Liberals are stalling.

The Sayisi Dene and Northlands Denesuline have worked for 16 years to resolve this land claim, and they are waiting for the federal government to step it up.

This is about reconciliation, and reconciliation includes resolving land claims, like the Denesuline claim. Will the minister instruct her officials to work with the Denesuline to resolve this land claim as soon as possible?

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

Mr. Speaker, I reassure the member that the new approach of our government in terms of trying to resolve these land claims, the approach of creative solutions and working together, is happening now. We will do everything in our power to offer that leadership to be able to resolve this claim.

Public Safety

[Arnold Chan, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in the previous Parliament, and during last year's election campaign, we committed to keeping Canadians safe while ensuring that our national security framework complies with the charter and reflects Canadian values. This morning the government upheld an important part of that commitment by introducing legislation to establish a committee of parliamentarians that will provide a new review and scrutiny for departments and agencies with national security responsibilities.

Can the Minister of Public Safety please tell the House what else he is doing to protect both Canada's national security and the rights and freedoms of Canadians?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, on national security, we will provide new scrutiny by the committee of parliamentarians and a new office for community outreach, careful compliance with the charter, a more precise definition of terrorist propaganda, repairs to no-fly appeals, full protection of the right to advocate and protest, and a statutory review after three years. For the first time ever, Canadians will be honestly consulted on what other steps are necessary to keep Canadians safe and to safeguard our values, rights, and freedoms.

Veterans

[Alupa Clarke, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, during the election campaign, the Prime Minister said that no veteran would have to fight their own government to get the support and compensation they deserve.

Now we know that those words were nothing more than empty rhetoric, given that the Prime Minister and his party took veterans back to court instead of concluding the settlement negotiations initiated by our Conservative government.

Why are the Liberals distancing themselves from their election promises by turning their backs on veterans?

[Kent Hehr, Liberal, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to our sacred obligation to Canada's veterans, and this is outlined in the strong mandate given to me by the Prime Minister to repair the relationship with those men and women who have served this great nation.

We made a commitment in our platform to restore the option for a lifelong pension for veterans, and that is what we will do. Budget 2016 took historic steps getting financial security to veterans and their families by investing $5.6 billion.

I committed to work with all veterans and stakeholders to make this happen. We will fulfill our mandate commitments to our veterans.

[Alupa Clarke, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, veterans are sick and tired of hearing the same old story all the time.

However, it gets worse than that. In mail-outs to the riding of Winnipeg Centre, the Liberals deliberately misled Canadians when they said that they have reinstated lifelong pensions for aging veterans. Such a statement is clearly false. People now expect the Liberals to break promise after promise, but it is a totally different story to directly mislead veterans.

When will the Liberals begin to tell the truth to our veterans?

[Kent Hehr, Liberal, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, in the election, we made strong commitments to veterans to heal the relationship that was sadly broken under the previous Conservative government over the last 10 years. We made great steps in budget 2016, delivering $5.6 billion in financial security to veterans and their families.

We will continue to work on our mandate letter, restoring options for a lifelong pension, and building up opportunities for them in education and retraining to see them fit their new normal and get to civilian life in a dignified, refined fashion.

We will deliver on what we said we would do in the election.

[Cathay Wagantall, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, veterans are not buying the minister's excuses. Our Conservative government expanded the permanent impairment allowance and created the retirement income security benefit to provide lifetime financial support to injured veterans.

We struck an agreement with the Equitas Society upon its lawsuit. Now the Liberals have broken their word and have taken the veterans back to court.

Who made the decision to abandon the previous government's agreement? Was it the Minister of Veterans Affairs or was it the Minister of Justice?

[Kent Hehr, Liberal, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, as the member knows full well, the lawsuit started under the previous administration. The Conservatives merely kicked the can down the road for our government to deal with, and that is exactly what we are doing.

We are delivering on our commitments to veterans. We are going to fulfill our mandate letter, and we are going to return an option for veterans on a lifelong pension.

I will remind the member that, in budget 2016, we expanded the community impairment access. We expanded opportunities for the earnings loss benefit.

We are delivering on behalf of veterans and we will continue to do so.

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Durham, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has allowed an agreement in the Equitas Society veterans lawsuit to fall apart, and his lawyers are back to attacking veterans.

The Prime Minister promised to uphold the sacred obligation to our veterans, and his minister quotes this obligation today in the House, yet lawyers this week in Vancouver are denying this sacred obligation.

When will the Prime Minister and the silent veterans in his caucus finally stand up, take this court case out of circulation, and keep their promises to our Equitas veterans?

[Kent Hehr, Liberal, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, we understand on this side of the House that we do have a sacred obligation to our veterans, and we are doing that daily.

We are fulfilling our mandate commitments. We are fulfilling our obligations to increase financial security for our veterans and for those who are most severely disabled. We did that in budget 2016, and we are going to continue to work on our mandate items, including an option for a lifetime pension.

I would ask the member to understand that what he did was merely kick this problem down the road, and we are actually dealing with it at this time.

Pensions

[Scott Duvall, NDP, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Mr. Speaker, seven out of 10 Canadians have no workplace pension, and many have inadequate savings to retire. The Liberals promised to expand the CPP, but on the eve of the meeting with the provinces, the Liberals have still not said what they are trying to achieve. The complete lack of leadership from the federal government jeopardizes any progress at all.

Will the Minister of Finance publicly commit to pushing for expanded CPP benefits so that all Canadians can retire in dignity?

[Bill Morneau, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, yes I will. I will make a public commitment right here and now that we are looking to work with the provinces to expand the Canada pension plan to ensure that this plan allows Canadians today and in the future to have a dignified retirement.

I am looking forward to a meeting this coming Sunday night and Monday where we will be talking with representatives from the provinces and working together. I hope to have something positive to report to this House in the coming days.

Air Transportation

[Pierre Nantel, NDP, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate the City of Longueuil, the people of CAPA-L, and the flight schools in Saint-Hubert on reaching an agreement to improve the residents' quality of life. Under this agreement, new noise suppressors will be installed on the planes. The problem is that we have been waiting for three months for Transport Canada to approve the noise suppressors that could resolve the problem.

Can the minister please demand that Transport Canada approve the noise suppressors without delay? Does it really take three months to approve a noise suppressor?