Debates of Sept. 28th, 2018

Public Safety

[Karen McCrimmon, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, our government vigorously defends the rights of all Canadians to peaceful assembly and demonstration. In 2017, the Security Intelligence Review Committee investigated and dismissed the complaint at hand in this matter, finding that CSIS had not acted outside of its mandate and that its activities were reasonable and necessary. As the Federal Court is reviewing this decision, we cannot comment further at this time.

[Matthew Dubé, NDP, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, with that answer, on the SIRC findings that are being referenced, the government is trying to keep those shared behind closed-door deliberations.

It is bad enough that CSIS spied on environmental activists, but apparently it then shared information with the National Energy Board and even some oil companies.

As I said, the government is trying to keep everything hush-hush and behind closed doors. When the government came to power, it had a lot to say about transparency, but it is not walking the talk.

What does the government have to hide? Why is all of this being done in secret?

[Karen McCrimmon, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, we have introduced national security legislation that will clarify once and for all that advocacy, protest, dissent and artistic expression are not activities that undermine the security of Canada. They are, in fact, hallmarks of a free and democratic society.

Unlike the Harper Conservatives who labelled protesters as foreign-funded radicals, we recognize that not everyone will agree with all of our decisions.

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Prime Minister claimed that he believes in the rights of all Canadians to peacefully protest, and yet proceedings before the Federal Court this week suggest the contrary. It has been revealed that CSIS is treating environmental activists as a threat to national security, and sharing this information with the National Energy Board and private corporations.

The Liberals promised to undo Harper's repressive Bill C-51. How then can the government accuse Canadians exercising their democratic rights as a risk to national security?

[Karen McCrimmon, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, we are undoing Harper's Bill C-51. We have a proposed piece of legislation that will be before this House, Bill C-59, which will make improvements that people have been demanding. We have had the most widespread consultation on this proposed piece of legislation, and we are confident that it will reflect the needs and desires of the people of Canada.

[Linda Duncan, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, this is personal, not just for me but for all Canadians who speak up for the protection of their communities' health and environment.

In the 1980s, Canadians were called “unAlbertan” for protesting a dam. The utilities board was later shut down when it was discovered that the utilities board was spying on farmers who were protesting a power line.

I call on the government to rein in CSIS now before Canadians' democratic rights to protest are further eroded.

[Karen McCrimmon, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, I want to reinforce what I said earlier. We have introduced national security legislation that will clarify once and for all that advocacy, protest, dissent and artistic expression are not activities that undermine the security of Canada.

Bill C-59 was developed with the most extensive consultation we have ever done. It will reflect the needs and desires of the Canadian people.

Health

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the national pharmacare online consultation that the Liberals are doing does not even mention rare diseases. One in 12 Canadians has a rare disorder. Why is the health minister systematically discriminating against this group and will she update her consultations to ensure that input on rare diseases is included?

[John Oliver, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to improving access to necessary prescription medications including orphan drugs as we understand the difficulties experienced by people dealing with rare medical conditions. To that end, we have launched a regulatory review of drugs and devices initiative, a major effort to improve the availability of prescription medications including drugs for rare diseases.

Last year, our government authorized 36 new drugs and we look forward to the health committee's report on rare diseases.

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, first, it was discrimination against people with type 2 diabetes, and then autism, and then multiple sclerosis, and now this. Yesterday, the rare disease organization testified that the Liberal government has not kept any of its promises on access to drugs for rare diseases. Now they are being excluded from the pharmacare discussions.

Why are the Liberals discriminating against people with rare diseases?

[John Oliver, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to improving access to necessary prescription medication, including orphan drugs, as we understand the difficulties experienced by people dealing with rare diseases. We are working on improving access to orphan drugs. We have, as I said earlier, launched a regulatory review of drugs and devices initiative and we encourage people with rare diseases to work with the implementation of a national pharmacare council to give advice to the development of those recommendations.

Justice

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Mr. Speaker, healing lodges are for criminals who are getting ready to transition back into society. It is job training, language, culture and household maintenance. Healing lodges are not appropriate for Tori Stafford's murderer who is not eligible for parole until 2031. Her crimes are heinous and she belongs behind bars.

Why can the Liberals not see this? Why can they not act? They are hiding behind a lot of excuses and they just need to actually do something appropriate and take action.

[Karen McCrimmon, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, I will repeat again. Section 28 of the Corrections Act says that inmate placement decisions must be made by Correctional Services. That act was created in 1992 by a Conservative government and Parliament decided that the power did not belong to a minister. Section 28 was last updated by the Harper government. As much as he might like to, the Minister of Public Safety cannot simply overrule laws created.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Mr. Speaker, despite all of the money they spent on deliverology, they clearly did not learn any lessons. We have something here that is absolutely absurd. We have someone who is a murderer who is in a facility where children play. It has been less than nine years since she committed her offence. Instead of hiding behind excuses, other ministers have taken action in other governments. It is time for the government to act.

[Karen McCrimmon, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, all Canadians share the grief and the pain of the family of little Tori Stafford. That being true, the minister has asked the Commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada to review this case and ensure that all the policies and procedures that are in place were appropriately applied. He has also asked her to review to make sure that these policies and procedures remain appropriate.

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d’Orléans—Charlevoix, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights is a supra-constitutional statute, which includes the right to information for victims and their families. It is unacceptable that Tori Stafford's parents were only informed after their child's killer was transferred. They should have been informed much sooner. This fiasco has only added to the family's pain and trauma.

Will the Prime Minister take responsibility and cancel this offender's transfer, yes or no?

[Karen McCrimmon, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, it is important that we understand what the requirements are, what the policies are and what the legal actions available to all ministers and members of government are. Section 28 makes it quite clear that the authority to make a different placement decision rests with the Correctional Service of Canada. That power does not belong to a minister.

[John Nater, Conservative, Perth—Wellington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Terri-Lynne McClintic pleaded guilty to the first degree murder of eight-year-old Victoria Stafford of Woodstock. She was eight years old. Now McClintic is being transferred from a prison with bars and razor wire to a healing lodge, a healing lodge where the commissioner of corrections has confirmed there are children present. Every Liberal on that side knows this is wrong.

Will the Prime Minister reverse this decision?

[Karen McCrimmon, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, the minister has asked the commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada to review this case to ensure that all decision-making was properly done in accordance with the law and long-standing policies that stretch back more than a decade.

To correct the public record, I want to confirm that CSC's correctional facility has both minimum and medium security capacity. This particular offender was classified as medium security back in 2014.

Employment

[Christine Moore, NDP, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, every time I am in my riding, business owners talk to me about all the hoops they have to jump through to stay in business because of the labour shortage.

Although they are cutting business hours, increasing wages and trying to recruit abroad, they still cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel. They are working crazy hours so that their years of investment are not all for nothing.

The Liberals need to understand that this cannot go on much longer. Business owners are exhausted.

What is their plan?

[Jennifer O'Connell, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance (Youth Economic Opportunity), Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, the fact remains that Canada and our government are firmly focused on investing in small businesses and ensuring that we create a competitive economy for entrepreneurs to grow their businesses. We have lowered small business taxes and taxes on the middle class. The Minister of Finance pointed out yesterday that we have had 8% growth in business investment in the last six consecutive quarters. Our government is making investments to ensure that Canadian businesses thrive.

Indigenous Affairs

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals fought the Human Rights Tribunal over four non-compliance orders, ignored an order of Parliament to flow funds to the underfunded child welfare system, and the price of that delay was the death of 12 children in the broken foster care system in Ontario. I encourage the government to read that report. It is a damning indictment of children being disappeared into a gulag of hopelessness. The report shows that indigenous children are still suffering systemic negligence from underfunded education, lack of mental health services and even lack of protection from abuse.

Does the government not understand that the primary responsibility of a nation is to protect its children?

[Dan Vandal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Services, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, the overrepresentation of indigenous children in the child welfare system is a humanitarian crisis. Our government is reforming the current broken system, which takes far too many indigenous children into its care. We are providing funding for first nation child and family services agencies based on actual needs, with an emphasis on prevention. We are working with our partners to transform the delivery of indigenous child welfare so that it is community directed and focused on prevention.

Justice

[Stephanie Kusie, Conservative, Calgary Midnapore, AB]

Mr. Speaker, a person who is convicted of murdering a child deserves to be behind bars. A judge sentenced Terri-Lynne McClintic to be behind bars until 2031 for the brutal murder of eight-year-old Tori Stafford. Instead, she is being held at a lodge that does not even have a fence.

Will the Prime Minister use the power he has to correct this wrong?

[Karen McCrimmon, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, our hearts do go out to the family of Tori Stafford for the loss they endured.

The Minister of Public Safety has requested that the commissioner of corrections do a review of that placement, make sure that all policies and procedures were followed and ensure that the policies and procedures in place are indeed appropriate. The offender is currently housed in a correctional institution equipped to provide programming in a medium security environment.