House of Commons Hansard #226 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was c-49.
Matthew Dubé NDP Beloeil—Chambly, QC
Mr. Speaker, after the troubling revelations of harassment at CSIS, the Correctional Service of Canada is now at the heart of a scandal at the Edmonton jail. The assaults and threats against female correctional officers are unacceptable.
We know CSC has suspended the offending individuals, but my question to the minister is this. Can he assure us that such behaviour is not happening in other federal establishments, and will he undertake investigations to be absolutely certain?
Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Mr. Speaker, as the hon. gentleman knows, the situation at the Edmonton institution is under investigation by a number of agencies, including the police. Accordingly, the commentary with respect to that particular situation needs to be careful to avoid any interference with the investigation.
However, I want to absolutely assure him that the concern that he has expressed is shared by the government. I have asked the commissioner of Correctional Services to ensure that this problem is contained and goes no further.
Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB
Mr. Speaker, Canada's immigration system should be compassionate, safe, and fair. However, this Prime Minister ignored for months the desperate pleas from genocide survivors. He has no plan to support the integration of tens of thousands of refugees. He has refused to close the loophole in the safe third country agreement, instead prioritizing those who have entered Canada illegally. He has also created massive wait times for everyone else who is trying to enter Canada by playing the rules.
How can the Prime Minister bring in 300,000 more people while having no plan to fix the mess that he has created?
Ahmed Hussen LiberalMinister of Immigration
Mr. Speaker, speaking of the mess that is being created, the party opposite brought a grand total of three Yazidi refugees out of genocide. We have brought almost 800 survivors of Daesh to Canada.
The party opposite gutted settlement services for newcomers. We are investing more than $1 billion in settlement services.
The party opposite gutted health care for refugees, who are the most vulnerable people in the world. We will take—
Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB
Mr. Speaker, this government often forgets that immigration is not about numbers. It is about people. Last week, I met with Mirabel. She entered Canada—
Immigration, Refugees and CitizenshipOral Questions
Some hon. members
Oh, oh!
The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan
Order, please. This time I need to hear the question.
The hon. member for Calgary Nose Hill has the floor.
Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB
Mr. Speaker, last week, I met with Mirabel, and she is watching us today. She entered Canada as a live-in caregiver and has played by the rules. All she knows is that every time the Prime Minister prioritizes a person who has illegally crossed the border, her application to bring her kids here seems to drop to the bottom of the list, and that is not fair.
Is the Prime Minister going to fix the system that he broke, or is he going to continue to let Mirabel and everyone else like her pay for his arrogance?
Ahmed Hussen LiberalMinister of Immigration
Mr. Speaker, I am so happy the member opposite has finally found a priority in reducing backlogs. We inherited a system under that party, where we were waiting for 24 months for citizenship. We cut that down to 12 months. Under the Conservative members' party, when it was in power, it was taking 48 months for spouses to be reunited. We now have a new standard of 12 months. We eliminated 20,000 cases from the spousal backlog. That means 20,000 spouses are now reunited because of our efforts.
I am so proud the member has finally joined us in enthusiastically embracing and reducing—
Pierre Paul-Hus Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
Mr. Speaker, the minister appears to be attacking my colleague when he is the one that is off base; in fact, I would say he is way out in left field.
With respect to illegal asylum seekers arriving at the Quebec border, the processing time has been dropped from the usual eight hours to one hour. The officers do not have enough time to do their work.
Now the government wants to welcome 300,000 new Canadians.
That is fine, but what are we going to do to help our immigration and border services officers?
Ahmed Hussen LiberalMinister of Immigration
Mr. Speaker, we faced an extraordinary situation in the summer, but I am proud of the fact our agencies responded. We were able to move around resources to make sure we responded to the pressure points. We made sure we dramatically improved processing times for work permits so asylum seekers could support themselves and eliminate pressure on provincial health and social programs.
We have established a task force to make sure we collaborate across all levels of government. Our response has been efficient and has made sure we move forward together.
Sonia Sidhu Liberal Brampton South, ON
Mr. Speaker, as tomorrow begins a month-long awareness campaign on the impacts of diabetes on Canadians, I stand in the House today to acknowledge and recognize the profound impact this disease has on patients and their families.
In addition to supporting programs that prevent diabetes, including healthy eating and physical activity, could the Minister of Health please inform us how our government is supporting the researchers who are tirelessly working to find new treatments and hopefully a cure for this disease?
Ginette Petitpas Taylor LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the my hon. colleague from Brampton South for her tireless advocacy on this issue, as she chairs the all-party caucus on diabetes.
Our government recognizes the impact diabetes has on the health of patients. That is why we are making investments in research, prevention, and early detection of diabetes. In 2015-16, alone, the Canadian Institutes for Health Research invested over $41 million in diabetes research.
Tomorrow is the beginning of Diabetes Awareness Month and we will continue to work hard to support people living with diabetes.
Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC
Mr. Speaker, the minister should be restoring the tax credit for diabetics.
This past Friday in Abbotsford, within a 10-hour period, five different residents died of opioid overdoses. This kind of tragedy is playing out in hundreds of communities across our country, yet the federal government's silence on this health crisis has been deafening: no response, no strategy, no plan.
When will the minister wake up and realize Canadians are dying on her watch? When will she act?
Ginette Petitpas Taylor LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, our government recognizes that we are in a public health crisis and we are responding in a way that is comprehensive, collaborative, compassionate, and also evidence-based.
We recently announced $7.5 million that will enhance the development of evidence-based practices that could be used by those dealing with the crisis on the ground. This builds on our investment in budget 2017 and many actions to date.
We will continue to bring forward evidence-based solutions to help save lives and turn the tide of this national public health crisis.
Erin Weir NDP Regina—Lewvan, SK
Mr. Speaker, the Senate opted out of the Phoenix pay system to find another service provider, However, trying to fix the Phoenix boondoggle with even more contracting out is like the Prime Minister trying to fix his government's lack of vision by putting on fake glasses. The government will fail to meet collective bargaining deadlines because of Phoenix.
Rather than spooking our struggling senators and delaying collective bargaining with actual public servants, will the Liberal government rebuild a publicly administered payroll system for all federal employees?
Carla Qualtrough LiberalMinister of Public Services and Procurement
Mr. Speaker, let me assure everyone that resolving this issue is my top priority. People deserve to be paid properly and on time.
When the previous government irresponsibly treated pay modernization as a cost-cutting measure instead of the complex, enterprise-wide business transformation that it was, it set the project up to fail and exposed it to enormous risk.
We are taking the steps that the previous government did not take. We are improving governance, putting in place business processes and training, addressing technological challenges, providing emergency support for workers, and working with partners, in particular, public sector unions. While we did not create this problem, we will fix it.
David Graham Liberal Laurentides—Labelle, QC
Mr. Speaker, I was very pleased to hear that our government is going to increase funding for the athlete assistance program. It is especially important in light of the fact that the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, will open in 100 and 128 days, respectively. We hope that our athletes will do their very best.
Can the minister tell us what impact increased funding for the athlete assistance program has on Canada's high level athletes, many of whom are from Laurentides—Labelle?
Kent Hehr LiberalMinister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities
Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to seeing our carded athletes succeed at the highest level.
That is why I am very pleased we are investing $25 million over the next five years in our athletes. This will allow us to put $265 more a month in the pockets of these athletes. This will allow them to pay for rent and food, so they can concentrate on their athletics. This is their first raise in 14 long years.
Our government is committed to seeing them succeed in PyeongChang and beyond. We are committed to our athletes.
Sylvie Boucher Conservative Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île dOrléans—Charlevoix, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are forever rolling out the red carpet for foreign lobbyists who constantly influence this government's decisions and are brushing off the interests of Canadian companies.
This government has had 99 meetings with Amazon, 37 with Google, and 16 with Netflix, all companies that we know for a fact are seeking changes to our copyright and broadcasting laws.
It makes us wonder if the heritage minister is just a puppet for American Internet giants. How can the minister stand by and let American corporations rewrite our laws?
Mélanie Joly LiberalMinister of Canadian Heritage
Mr. Speaker, instead of ignoring the problem like the previous government did, we decided to tackle this issue head-on so we could protect and promote our culture in the digital era. That is why it is important to have a chance to present the views of our artists and creators to digital platforms, to make sure our arts and culture can thrive on those platforms.
I would also like to say to my colleague that, unlike the previous government, we also meet frequently with cultural groups. We are involved. We are in discussion with dozens of representatives of the cultural community, including—
Xavier Barsalou-Duval Bloc Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères, QC
Mr. Speaker, I am not sure how we are supposed to protect our culture without any guarantees regarding francophone content, but fine.
The Minister of Finance is introducing a bill on pension plans, when his company manages pension plans—