House of Commons Hansard #348 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was disabilities.
Gérard Deltell Conservative Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC
Madam Speaker, it is news to us that this is a pilot project. Could the government tell the pilot to land the plane? This situation is ridiculous.
What is worse, there could be privacy breaches. We requested information about this. In Canada, during the past 19 months there were more than 1,000 situations where personal information was disclosed.
How can we have faith in this so-called pilot project?
David Lametti LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation
Madam Speaker, Statistics Canada has been collecting data about Canadians for 100 years in an exemplary manner. Reliable, good quality information is vital to making decisions that actually reflect the needs of Canadians.
Unlike the Conservatives, we believe that facts, not ideology, are a very good starting point for public policy. I know that the Conservatives like to make their decisions based on ideology. However, as a government, we like to base our decisions on the facts.
Gord Johns NDP Courtenay—Alberni, BC
Madam Speaker, veterans have fought hard for this country and deserve nothing but respect from our government. When the Liberal government allocated funds for veterans, we expected these funds to be spent. The government is doing what it said it would never do, authorize funds for veterans and fail to use them. The Liberals are not honouring their promise to respect veterans and to make sure every dime allocated is spent. This is unacceptable.
When will the Liberals show veterans the respect they deserve and make sure every dollar allocated by this House is spent?
Veterans AffairsOral Questions
Seamus O'Regan Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, Lib.
Madam Speaker, our benefits are demand-driven, so whether there are 10 veterans or 10,000 eligible veterans who come forward, they receive benefits. They are based on estimates, and they provide us some guarantees. Whether a veteran comes forward this year or the next year or the year after, we will always have the resources available for veterans. When we took office, we immediately increased financial supports by putting more money in veterans' pockets, increasing mental health supports, delivering on the promises we made to veterans and their families.
Karine Trudel NDP Jonquière, QC
Madam Speaker, the Liberals are making promises to our veterans that they cannot even keep. They authorize spending but keep the money.
They left $80.9 million unspent in 2016, $183 million in 2017, and $148.6 million in 2018. Without this money, veterans cannot access the services they are entitled to.
Will the Liberals keep their promise or will they fail our veterans?
Veterans AffairsOral Questions
Seamus O'Regan Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, Lib.
Madam Speaker, benefits are demand-driven, so whether there are 10 or 10,000 eligible veterans who come forward, they receive benefits. We estimate the number of people who will claim benefits to ensure that the resources are there for these veterans, no matter which year they file their claim.
Karine Trudel NDP Jonquière, QC
Madam Speaker, for the workers currently on the floor of steel mills in Hamilton or at SMEs in Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean, the negotiations between the United States, Mexico, and Canada are not just some game to be won.
The unfair U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum are a serious threat to jobs and my region. Workers always need to come first in trade negotiations.
Will the government promise to refuse to sign the agreement as long as the tariffs have not been lifted?
Andrew Leslie LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Canada-U.S. Relations)
Madam Speaker, these unjustified and illegal tariffs are hurting the American economy, American workers and American consumers of course. The national security excuse is absurd and insulting to Canadians. That is why we have imposed measured tariffs that are perfectly reciprocal. Canada must stand united against these attacks on our workers.
Murray Rankin NDP Victoria, BC
Madam Speaker, a report out this week says that over the last 25 years the earth's oceans have retained 60% more heat than scientists had thought. Also this week, a glacier in Antarctica lost a section of ice five times the size of Manhattan, but the Liberals do not seem to get the urgency of climate change. They think following Harper's targets is just fine. Our oceans are warming, our icebergs are melting. We need urgent action now.
Why do the Liberals not ditch their grossly inadequate plan and come up with something consistent with the urgency of climate change?
The EnvironmentOral Questions
Sean Fraser Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Lib.
Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for his concern for a great challenge of our time, and that is the challenge we face in respect of climate change.
The results of the recent IPCC report are not lost on me nor on our government. I was very proud when our government and the Minister of Environment and Climate Change played a key role in facilitating the agreement in Paris that led us to set forth a plan that is going to allow us to make a meaningful difference to reduce our emissions.
We know that after this plan is implemented, we may have to do more after that. I look forward to working with members from all parties to continue to fight this existential challenge.
Dan Albas Conservative Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC
Madam Speaker, another day has gone by with the Liberals refusing to actually listen to Canadians. Putting aside the hundreds of pages of privacy breaches by the government, the state does not have the right to monitor law-abiding citizens going about their daily lives, full stop.
Will the Liberals accept that people are rightfully concerned, and end this unprecedented surveillance scheme?
David Lametti LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation
Madam Speaker, we understand that privacy is important to Canadians. That is why we have taken measures to protect Canadians' privacy in this matter and in a number of different places.
Nobody will have access to the personal nominative information that Canadians give to Statistics Canada. Indeed, Statistics Canada cannot even be compelled to give that information to a court of law. It is protected in their hands.
Statistics Canada has policies and procedures in place to protect the privacy of Canadians, and we need, all Canadians need—
The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes
The hon. member for Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola.
Dan Albas Conservative Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC
Madam Speaker, speaking about privacy, we are talking about millions of records that could potentially impact millions of Canadians, and the Privacy Commissioner is concerned.
Speaking about the Privacy Commissioner, yesterday he said that privacy is not a right to be traded off in exchange for innovation. He also said that the current law allows the government to seek this information without anyone's consent. The information in Canadians' bank accounts belongs to them, not to the Liberals.
Will the government finally listen to Canadians and end this Orwellian program?
David Lametti LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation
Mr. Speaker, let me correct something the hon. member is saying. The government is not accessing the nominative data of Canadians; Statistics Canada is for all Canadians to be able to use.
The personal information gets protected. Once the information is processed by Statistics Canada, it is available for the use of municipal governments, provincial governments, the federal government, small businesses, individual Canadians, the Bank of Canada, other institutions and other individuals who have to make economic decisions in their lives based on the best available information.
It is—
Blake Richards Conservative Banff—Airdrie, AB
Madam Speaker, the Liberals just keep saying, “Nothing to see here. Move along, folks.”
If there was really nothing to hide, then why did they not just tell Canadians, in the first place, that they were collecting this information? We are talking about things like Canadians' ATM withdrawals, their credit card transactions and their bill payments. The first step to fixing a problem is actually admitting that there is a problem.
Will the Liberals stop trying to sweep this under the carpet and admit that trying to steal Canadians' data without their consent is a real problem?
David Lametti LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation
Madam Speaker, let me once again correct the narrative.
This was a pilot project that is still in the process of being designed. From the beginning, Statistics Canada has been open to working with the Privacy Commissioner and has in fact had privacy concerns protected from the get-go. It invited the Privacy Commissioner to take a look at what it was doing.
Statistics Canada is going to move ahead with the Privacy Commissioner in order to ensure that the privacy of Canadians is protected. Those are the facts. We take the privacy of Canadians seriously.
Earl Dreeshen Conservative Red Deer—Mountain View, AB
Madam Speaker, if this was a pilot project, then why did the Privacy Commissioner launch a full investigation?
If the Liberals are so proud of this, they certainly should have been announcing this publicly. The Prime Minister once expressed his admiration for basic dictatorship. Is this where he got the idea to start tracking every purchase that we make?
David Lametti LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation
Madam Speaker, it is a bit rich for the other side to try to criticize an institution such as Statistics Canada regarding privacy concerns.
It was in fact their government, under Vic Toews, that tried to have everyone tell Vic Toews what they were doing every day. “Tell Vic everything.”
That was the Conservative government trying to do that. In this case, it is not our government; it is not any government gathering information. It is Statistics Canada. It does it reasonably and effectively, protecting the privacy of Canadians.
Colin Carrie Conservative Oshawa, ON
Madam Speaker, the Liberal government will be collecting personal financial and banking information without consent from Canadians. That includes seniors, moms and small businesses in my community of Oshawa. This is not automated information. It includes debit and credit transactions, bill payments and mortgage payments. Even trips to Tim Hortons and Oshawa Generals games will be handed over to the leaky Liberal government, line by line, without the knowledge or consent of Canadians.
Will the big brother Liberal government do the right thing and respect the privacy of Canadians instead of incorporating them into the plot of 1984?
David Lametti LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation
Madam Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth. The government will not have access to this information. The first thing Statistics Canada does is to scrub all of the personal information from the data so it becomes anonymous. Then it repackages that data for a variety of different Canadians to use in a variety of different ways.
It is not a question of surveillance. Statistics Canada has an exemplary reputation in Canada. It is seen as a leader around the world in statistical gathering and statistical methods. It will continue to do this to the highest standard and to the highest standard of privacy.
Rachael Thomas Conservative Lethbridge, AB
Madam Speaker, here is the deal. We have Canadians who are having their bank accounts snooped through by the government. We are talking about transaction records. We are talking about bill payments. We are talking about bank balances. We are talking about social insurance numbers.
Now the parliamentary secretary is saying, “Don't worry, Canadians. We're not keeping it. We're sharing it. We're repackaging it. We're giving it away as a gift, so don't worry, Canadians. It's okay that we're collecting your personal data.” In what world is that okay?
David Lametti LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation
Madam Speaker, as a government, we rely on data. Other Canadians rely on data, the Bank of Canada, small businesses, other levels of Canadian government and municipal governments.
For 100 years, Statistics Canada has done that job of collecting the data of Canadians and of making it available for Canadians to use to make better decisions. This is not a surveillance exercise. This is an exercise in providing Canadians with the information they need to run their lives.
Brian Masse NDP Windsor West, ON
Madam Speaker, Canadians are appalled to learn that Statistics Canada plans to access their detailed personal banking information. They were never consulted and did not consent.
Like Apple or Facebook, the Liberal government is failing a fundamental principle of consent for privacy. Building a massive database of personal banking information without telling anyone is just wrong. This banking data breach is only the tip of the sphere of the new Liberal census Canada scheme. It is not a pilot project; it is the actual new regime the Liberals put in place.
Will the government halt this data collection from running wild until it is investigated, there are consultations and consent is obtained?