House of Commons Hansard #273 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was money.
Marc Garneau LiberalMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. I remind her that there is a mechanism for people to request that the Canadian Transportation Agency create railroad crossings.
If my colleague needs information on this process, I would be happy to provide it.
Gary Anandasangaree Liberal Scarborough—Rouge Park, ON
Mr. Speaker, today is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Recently the Prime Minister officially recognized the International Decade for People of African Descent and reiterated that we have much work to do.
I am pleased to see that budget 2018 is making investments in anti-racism initiatives.
Can the minister update this House on these initiatives aimed at ensuring a more inclusive future for all Canadians?
Mélanie Joly LiberalMinister of Canadian Heritage
Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to thank my colleague, the member for Scarborough—Rouge Park, for his important question and his hard work.
Today our government reaffirmed its commitment to the fight against racism. Through budget 2018, we are investing $23 million, which will include support for multiculturalism programs.
We are also investing $19 million to take meaningful action to address the problems faced by our black Canadian colleagues. We have come a long way, but of course, there is still much more work to do.
Todd Doherty Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC
Mr. Speaker, how the minister chose his colleague's brother to award the Arctic surf clam bid to is beyond me. According to the DFO website, Arctic surf clam applicants had to meet certain criteria. They had to describe the vessel used, except they did not have one, and they still do not. They had to provide an ownership profile, including all the partners, except there were none. They were not even incorporated until a week after the announcement was made.
If they did not have a boat and did not have multiple first nation partners, how did they win the bid?
Dominic LeBlanc LiberalMinister of Fisheries
Mr. Speaker, I am interested to hear my colleague's observations with respect to a specific bid. The only challenge is that he has not actually seen the bid he is commenting on. He is taking a series of media reports, which were inaccurate, and asking a question about a bid he has not read.
Our process was transparent. It was inclusive. Our process was designed to add indigenous partners to an important offshore fishery. We chose the proposal that offered the best economic benefits to indigenous people, and we are proud of that decision.
The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan
Order. The hon. member for Battle River—Crowfoot will come to order.
The hon. member for Saanich—Gulf Islands.
Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC
Mr. Speaker, as millions of tons of grain sit on prairie farms and in grain elevators, on our coast of British Columbia, we have freighters and container ships waiting to pick up that grain at the Port of Vancouver backed up and using the waters of the Salish Sea as a free parking lot. In between, we have CN Rail, which has empty railcars but laid off 1,000 workers last year, as if it is a surprise to it, again, that we have grain to be shipped.
Can the hon. Minister of Transport assure us that he can get CN to do the job and deliver the grain?
Marc Garneau LiberalMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, after the Minister of Agriculture and I wrote to CN and CP and told them that we were not satisfied with the movement of grain, they came back to us with plans that involve considerably more resources in terms of crews, in terms of equipment, and in terms of prioritization for the movement of grain.
We want to get our farmers' grain out to the west coast. I am monitoring this on a daily basis with the Minister of Agriculture, and we will continue to insist on this accelerated pace of movement of Canadian western farmers' grain to market.
The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan
I would like to draw to the attention of hon. members the presence in the gallery of Her Excellency Dr. Fang Liu, Secretary General of the International Civil Aviation Organization.
Marilène Gill Bloc Manicouagan, QC
Mr. Speaker, I believe that if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: That this House recognize that when the Prime Minister was in Quebec City on January 18, 2018, he stated that negotiations with the Davie shipyard would begin on January 19 for the contract for four icebreakers; that this House recognize that on March 12, 2018, the Association des fournisseurs du chantier Davie asked the Prime Minister to commit to finally reaching a deal for the four icebreakers; that this House recognize that no announcements have been made to this effect to date and that hundreds of jobs at the shipyard and with its suppliers are at risk; that this House call on the Government of Canada to grant the Davie shipyard the contract for four icebreakers no later than March 31, 2018.
The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan
Does the hon. member have the unanimous consent of the House to move the motion?
Todd Doherty Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I and hon. colleagues have stood in the House a number of times on the fisheries file and have asked the Minister of Fisheries to explain how a proponent that is not a business has received a sizeable contract. The minister has said it is a company.
I ask permission to table the certificate of incorporation, which shows the company that received this sizeable contract from the government was incorporated one week after the announcement was made by the minister.
The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan
Does the hon. member have unanimous consent of the House to table the document?
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Carleton, ON
Mr. Speaker, I rise today with respect to conflicting statements by a member of the government versus a servant of the House.
Earlier today, I pointed to a quote by the Parliamentary Budget Officer, which indicated that there was no plan for the government's expenditure of $186.7 billion on infrastructure. The minister responsible for that very portfolio then rose and claimed there was such a plan. In fact, the Parliamentary Budget Officer confirmed in his report, which is a document now of the House, that he asked for that plan and “it does not exist”.
Herein lies the problem. If such a plan does exist and the Parliamentary Budget Officer has been denied it, then the Liberal government could well be in contempt of Parliament through the PBO, which is a creation of Parliament. On the other hand, if the plan does not exist but the minister says it does, then the minister will have been providing false information to the House. Either circumstance is very serious.
I ask you, Mr. Speaker, to put your investigative powers and skills to work to resolve this conflict and ascertain which of those two unacceptable circumstances arose today in the House of Commons.
The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan
I thank the hon. member for Carleton for raising this. I am not sure to which investigative skills he is referring, but I will look into the matter and come back to the House.
Todd Doherty Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC
Mr. Speaker, I rise this time on a question of privilege. Canadians right across our country have some questions regarding the Arctic surf clam bid. The opposition, in its job to hold the government accountable, has questioned the minister in his awarding another Liberal member's brother this contract. Time and again, the minister has been dismissive.
Today, in question period, he even said that the member had not seen the contract, or the RFP. Therefore, he is impeding my job as the shadow minister for Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, another member of Parliament, and he is also impeding the other members of the opposition in representing constituents from across Canada who have concerns regarding this RFP.
This question of privilege is with respect to the hon. colleague, the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard. By not tabling the RFP that has been asked for in recent days and the criteria used in awarding one of his colleague's brothers this lucrative contract, he is impeding our job as members of Parliament.
The Speaker Liberal Geoff Regan
I thank the member for Cariboo—Prince George for raising his point. While, at first glance, it sounds to me more like a matter of debate, I will look into and examine the matter and come back to the House if necessary.
Tom Kmiec Conservative Calgary Shepard, AB
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-399, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (disability tax credit).
Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to bring this bill before the House for consideration at first reading. I thank the member for Calgary Rocky Ridge for seconding my private member's bill.
The bill is entitled “An Act to Amend the Income Tax Act”. In fact, it deals with the disability tax credit. The short name for the bill is “Fairness for Persons with Disabilities Act”. It would increase accessibility for disability tax credit for Canadians living with diabetes as well as those with rare disorders.
The bill would ensure that those who qualify for the DTC actually would receive it and would put a stop to the Canada Revenue Agency practice of denying the tax credit for diabetics and some patients with rare disorders.
Like we saw in 2017, it would do three simple things, and I will not go into the details right now. The bill would reduce the time to qualify for the DTC from 14 hours to 10 hours; it would add the calculation of dosage into the time to qualify for the credit; and it would finally add the words “medical food and medical formula” for the qualification for the DTC.
I want to thank two individuals particularly who helped me in the drafting of the bill: Patrick Tohill from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund, as well as John Adams from the Canadian PKU and Allied Disorders.
I remain committed to improving the government's processes through this private member's bill to ensure all Canadians living with a disability receive the benefits they deserve and are entitled to. The bill has the support of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Diabetes Canada, Canadian PKU and Allied Disorders, Canadian Nurses Association, and the Canadian Organization for Rare Diseases. I thank them all for adding their voices to the bill.
I look forward to debate in the House.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Diane Finley Conservative Haldimand—Norfolk, ON
Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to table three petitions from 164 constituents.
The petitioners call to the attention of the government that as it is now written, the application form for the Canada summer jobs program forces employers to choose between the charter protected freedoms and eligibility for government programs. They call on the government to remove the discriminatory attestation requirement from the Canada summer jobs application and to respect the charter rights of all Canadians to have values different from the political ideology of the government of the day.
This brings the total number of petitioners to 309.
Darrell Samson Liberal Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook, NS
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to present a petition on behalf of the residents of Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook and over 750 Canadians.
The petitioners call on the government to continue funding support for the existing freshwater habitat conservation programs and to continue being a full partner in this important initiative.
Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have a petition from Canadians who wish to bring the attention of the House to the fact that the Canadian government at one time issued a Canadian volunteer service medal, a volunteer service medal to recognize Canadians who served voluntarily in the Canadian Forces, the volunteerism of our veterans, and our troops. Unfortunately, this medal was terminated in March 1947. They would like to see it come back.
The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to recognize, create and issue a new Canadian military volunteer service medal to be designated the Canadian military volunteer service medal for volunteer service by Canadians in regular forces, reserve military forces, the cadet corps, support staff, and those who have completed 365 days of uninterrupted and honourable duty in service to our country.