Debates of Sept. 19th, 2016

Foreign Affairs

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, conflicts in Africa are extremely complex. We need to ensure there is an appropriate mandate in place and ensure that contributing nations also fulfill those mandates. A lot of work needs to be done. We need to make sure that all the efforts from the international organizations, the United Nations, and all the other agencies there are also contributing well. When we have all the information, we will present it to Canadians and to the House for debate.

The Environment

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, have Canadians heard correctly that it is Canada that is now backtracking on its international climate promises? The Liberals criticized the Harper government on its climate targets as totally inadequate, and they were right. In their platform, the Liberals promised to “establish national emissions-reduction targets”. Then, in Paris, they committed to doing better than the previous government.

Why is the government now breaking its promise to the world and to future generations of Canadians? Why is it backtracking?

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

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to working with the provinces and territories to meet our international obligations. We are working very hard to understand the challenges and opportunities in different provinces and territories, and we are going to come forward with a plan.

Let us be clear about the Harper target. The Harper government had absolutely no plan to reach the target. It did not care. It had a target out there, with no actions. That is not what we are going to do. We are going to come with concrete actions that are going to tackle our emissions and grow our economy in a thoughtful way.

Public Safety

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, travellers who use the Pierre Elliott Trudeau international airport are furious. The waiting time to clear Canadian customs is simply unacceptable. Since April 1, passengers in Montreal have been three times more likely than passengers in Toronto to wait more than one hour while staring at empty booths.

This is a simple question: will the minister fix the problem quickly or call for another study in order to buy some time?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I certainly acknowledge that the waiting times are unacceptable.

We know that tourism and the arrival of passengers from foreign countries are extremely important for Montreal and we are pleased to see the increased traffic. However, we must absolutely reduce these waiting times. It is important to go through security, but the waiting times need to be reduced.

That is why I am working with my colleague, the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, to find a solution to this problem.

Government Advertising

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals recently stated that their government plans to use TV ads to promote their electoral reform campaign. Given the Liberal Party's history with the sponsorship of ad campaigns, there are a lot of questions and Canadians deserve the answers.

Liberals have alluded to the fact that they will be working with third parties to create these ads. Who are these third parties? Are they taxpayer funded and what are their connections to the Liberal Party?

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

Mr. Speaker, there are no plans for television advertising. Certainly, what we do want to do is to engage Canadians on a pan-Canadian basis. I am very proud that more than 140 members of Parliament on this side of the House have either had, or will have in a very short while, town halls. Unfortunately, the Conservatives have had three. I am having that many on Sunday.

If we are going to purport to listen to Canadians, let us actually engage them.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Banff—Airdrie, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is pretty clear the Liberals already have an outcome in mind and it is one that will only benefit Liberal politicians. First the Liberals charged entry into their town halls, then the justice minister turned away over 30 people from her meeting, and now the Liberals are making shady deals with third parties to make sunny ways electoral ads, despite the claims we are hearing today.

It has become abundantly clear this is not about Canadians; it is about Liberal politicians and their friends. Why are the Liberals rewarding their friends with advertising dollars instead of giving Canadians a say in a referendum?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative critic for democratic reform has himself said that first past the post is not the best system. The minister has gone to Saanich—Gulf Islands, has gone to Skeena—Bulkley Valley, has worked with members from all of the different parties.

I would say to the Conservatives that it is the time to put forward ideas, to work with us, to improve our democracy, to make sure that every vote is counted, and to participate in this process.

Democratic Reform

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

Mr. Speaker, the election system is one of the aspects, perhaps the most important aspect, of a democracy. There is no playing games with that. The debate must be serious and balanced, and it must be fair for everyone. That is why we support a referendum at the end of the year.

Meanwhile, to ensure that the debate will be fair and balanced, can the government assure us that its cronies from the sponsorship scandal, those who lined their pockets, will not be returning with the Liberal Party?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is really important that we improve our electoral system. This is an historic opportunity, not just for our party, but also for the House of Commons in general. I want to encourage the Conservative Party to participate, along with the other parties and the Liberal Party, in consultations that will be held across Canada with a view to improving our system.

Housing

[Salma Zahid, Liberal, Scarborough Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, access to affordable housing is a problem for many Canadians.

In Scarborough Centre, one in three people are spending 30% or more of their income on housing compared to the national average of one in five. The lack of affordable housing is especially challenging for seniors trying to make ends meet on fixed incomes.

Could the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development tell us what the government is doing to encourage the building of more affordable housing, especially for seniors?

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

Mr. Speaker, I will start by thanking the member for Scarborough Centre for her hard work on behalf of all seniors.

This government believes that all Canadians need and deserve housing that is safe, affordable, and secure. To give Canadians greater access to affordable housing, last year's budget invested a record $2.3 billion in assisting affordable housing, particularly the needs of seniors. This funding is expected to benefit more than 5,000 seniors across Canada.

I will also take this opportunity to welcome our new cohort of pages and say that we look forward to working with them over the next few months.

Justice

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the imminent retirement of Supreme Court Justice Thomas Cromwell will leave a vacancy for Atlantic Canada.

The Minister of Justice has said that the next Supreme Court justice may not be from Atlantic Canada. This is very surprising, because it is a constitutional convention that Atlantic Canada is represented on the Supreme Court. It is also the fair thing to do.

I would like to know what the Liberal problem is with doing right for Atlantic Canada.

[Jody Wilson-Raybould, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister was pleased to introduce a new process for the appointment of Supreme Court justices to make it open and transparent.

I was very pleased to be able to appoint a panel to review applications. I look forward to receiving those applications, two of which will be from Atlantic Canada. No decision has been made, but we are confident that we will appoint a diverse, functionally bilingual, high-calibre jurist to the Supreme Court of Canada. I look forward to participating in that.

Statistics Canada

[Kennedy Stewart, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Wayne Smith, Canada's chief statistician, resigned Friday and blasted the Liberal government for failing to protect the independence of Stats Canada.

The Liberals promised to restore Stats Canada's independence, but Mr. Smith said:

...that independence has never been more compromised.

I ask the minister to resist the urge to simply blame the Harper Conservatives because Mr. Smith was referring to the Liberal government.

How does the Liberal government defend this breach of independence and this clearly broken promise?

[Greg Fergus, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, first and foremost, we would like to thank the former chief statistician, Wayne Smith, on his long, 35 years of service to Canada and to Statistics Canada.

We promised Canadians in the last election that we would reinstate the long-form census, and by golly, they responded in great numbers, historic numbers. That is a great testament to Mr. Smith's work.

Our government remains committed to reinforcing the independence of Stats Canada. We are working on that. We are making sure that it is an important part of the minister's mandate letter. We are going to continue with that work.

Air Transportation

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Don Valley West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, a number of my constituents in the riding of Don Valley West, particularly in the neighbourhood of Leaside, have raised strong concerns about the number and timing of airplanes flying over their homes and the noise they generate.

Could the Minister of Transport please update the House on what he is doing about these concerns?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Don Valley West, and indeed his fellow colleagues from the GTA, for raising this important issue.

Certainly, mitigating noise is something that we try to do within the parameters of maintaining aviation safety. Recently my staff met with some of the community groups that have raised the issue of noise. I have passed that on to the CEO of Nav Canada.

I am glad to say that the CEO of Nav Canada has hired a third party, which is looking into the matter. I will report when the results are obtained.

Foreign Affairs

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the decision to send Canadian men and women in our armed forces into harm's way is one of the most serious decisions that parliamentarians will ever undertake. That is why the Conservative government always believed in taking it to debate in the House of Commons.

Given that the Minister of National Defence formerly served for our country, and it seems like he will not allow this to come to a vote, can he explain both to our men and women in uniform and to Canadians why the Liberals will not put this to a vote in the House of Commons?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, we can be proud of our men and women who have served all over the world in previous missions, and even now. However, a lot of work needs to be done for peace operations. We are going to be going in with eyes wide open, making sure that we have all the necessary information to allow the military to do its work, as well as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of International Development. We will make sure that we have all the right information. We need to be able to get a full analysis.

Once we have better information, we will be presenting this to Canadians, as we have done, moving forward. A lot of work needs to be done, and I look forward to the healthy debate once we have all the necessary information.

Health

[Rhéal Fortin, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Make no mistake, Mr. Speaker: nobody wants ancillary fees for health care services.

Today we learned that the Minister of Health's plan for abolishing ancillary fees involves taking sick people in Quebec hostage by cutting transfer payments by an additional $160 million.

The minister can say she is protecting the health care system all she wants, but she is actually victimizing sick people in Quebec. Enough is enough.

Will the minister immediately and unconditionally restore the health transfers that she is planning to cut in the next budget?

[Jane Philpott, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, our government is working hard with the provinces and territories to strengthen our universal public health care system so that Canadians can access the care they need regardless of their ability or desire to pay.

The government has renewed its commitment by restoring federal leadership on health and championing a national vision that upholds the principles laid out in the Canada Health Act, including universality and accessibility. That is what we are going to do.

Status of Women

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Mr. Speaker, our Prime Minister recently visited a mosque.

Members of the Bloc Québécois want to know whether this government would have found it more or less acceptable if, rather than women, homosexuals, Indigenous people or Blacks had been the ones relegated to the balcony. If that were the case, would the Prime Minister still have agreed to speak?

[Patty Hajdu, Liberal, Minister of Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, this government is committed to gender equality in all areas of Canadian life, but we are also committed to respecting the diversity of Canadian communities. We will visit with people in ways that are appropriate for their communities, whether it is a military community, a religious community, or an indigenous community.

I am very proud of our government, which understands that in order to develop a relationship we must be respectful of the community we are in.