Debates of Jan. 30th, 2020

Public Services and Procurement

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Services and Procurement recently visited a very important initiative for Nova Scotia, for my constituents and for our navy and Coast Guard. She saw Canada's burgeoning shipbuilding industry up close. The economic impact, which can be felt across the region, includes enhanced skills training and spinoff jobs.

Will the minister inform the House of the importance of the middle-class jobs being generated and the exceptional craftsmanship of the new vessels being produced at the Irving shipyard in Halifax?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, I saw first-hand many Canadians hard at work building Canada's next generation of vessels. This work is contributing over $1 billion annually to Canada's GDP and creating or maintaining over 11,000 jobs per year.

I can assure Canadians that they can take pride in these new vessels and in the workers who are equipping the navy and the Coast Guard with the ships they need to serve all Canadians.

Public Safety

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, during the debate on Bill C-3, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada said, “The police should not be policing themselves.”

It is therefore understandable that Canadians find it unacceptable to hear the Prime Minister say that the Parole Board will investigate its own members in the case of Marylène Levesque's murder. An internal investigation is not enough.

Will the government allow an external investigation?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, let me assure the member for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles and all Canadians that I and our government take very seriously this heinous crime that was committed against an innocent Canadian. We will do all that is necessary to ensure, first of all, justice for her, and also to ensure that this terrible crime is not committed again.

We have asked for a very comprehensive review and investigation. First of all, the criminal investigation will be conducted independently by the Quebec police service, and we have asked the chair of the Parole Board and the commissioner of corrections to conduct an extensive review to look at all of the circumstances so that we may have the facts and respond appropriately.

[Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, here is a good idea for the minister if he wants justice to be served for the victim's family. As members of the House know, the two Parole Board members who made the decision to release the murderer were appointed under Order in Council 2018-0802. This order in council clearly stipulates that a member can be dismissed for just cause. It is absolutely inconceivable to give permission to obtain sexual services to an offender with limited freedom who was convicted of brutally murdering his wife. Marylène Levesque did not deserve to meet such a tragic end.

When will the minister take action and dismiss the two individuals in question?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, I certainly agree with the member that Madam Levesque did not deserve her tragic fate, and we are going to take steps to make sure that these circumstances are not repeated. It is precisely why we have asked the Parole Board and the Correctional Service of Canada to conduct a full investigation and review. If individuals have engaged in malfeasance or misconduct, they will be held to account.

However, we are also going to look at our policies and procedures and the training of Parole Board members so that we can ensure that Canadian safety is always protected.

[Glen Motz, Conservative, Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the electronic surveillance report tabled recently in this House showed that for the first time there were zero judicial authorizations issued to keep track of returning terrorists. We know from numbers provided by CSIS that there are approximately 60 ISIS terrorists in this country.

Can the minister explain to Canadians why none of these terrorists appear to have been monitored in the last year?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear that those who leave Canada to support terrorism are utterly reprehensible, and our goal is always to arrest, charge, prosecute and convict these individuals. We have now charged, in fact, five of these extremist travellers, and we have convicted four of them for travelling abroad to engage in criminal activity.

Despite the Conservatives' concern now, during their term as government no one was charged or convicted under the Conservatives.

We condemn the acts of these individuals and we will act to ensure the safety of all Canadians.

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Mr. Speaker, my question is a simple and straightforward one for the Minister of Public Safety. Will he bring Canada into full alignment with the Palermo protocol, yes or no?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, to be very clear, we are absolutely committed to fulfilling our responsibilities to our agencies and departments in protecting the health and safety of all Canadians and we will ensure adherence to all the legal requirements to do so.

Public Services and Procurement

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, 3,900 civilian members of the RCMP are worried about what will happen when their pay moves to the Phoenix system, or should I say, the Phoenix nightmare. Last year alone, Phoenix caused problems for 74% of staff. The worst part is that employees are being threatened. They are being told that if they do not want to move to Phoenix, they have until tomorrow to take retirement without getting in trouble.

First, will the government stop threatening people and postpone the February 1 deadline? Second, will it stop loading more people onto the Titanic that is Phoenix?

[Anita Anand, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's public service employees deserve to be paid accurately and on time for the important work they do. We have made tremendous progress towards stabilizing the pay system. Our government knows that employees and their families continue to experience stress and inconvenience due to pay issues. In the meantime, we are still offering employees flexible repayment options, in order to minimize the financial hardships and repercussions.

[Julie Vignola, Bloc, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister's mandate letter calls on her to replace Phoenix with a new pay system, because there is no hope it can be fixed. What a colossal disaster.

This is the perfect example of how this federal government operates. The left hand is trying to destroy Phoenix now, while the right hand is trying to bring even more people into this nightmare. What genius came up with this?

Will the government make sure that 3,900 civilian RCMP employees do not get caught up in the Phoenix nightmare?

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Minister of Digital Government]

Mr. Speaker, our public servants deserve to be paid properly and on time. The Conservatives botched the Phoenix pay system, causing thousands of hard-working public servants to suffer. We are working with public servants, experts, unions and service providers to find a modern, reliable system. Our public servants deserve nothing less.

Public Safety

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the previous government took concrete action, and that is to say it banned the practice of prisoners within federal penitentiaries being able to access sexually explicit material on their televisions. I would like the minister to confirm that this ban is still in place.

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, I can advise the member opposite that I have not been advised that there has been any change in the established protocols of Correctional Service of Canada with regard to this matter.

[Bob Saroya, Conservative, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, mayors from across the GTA have called on the Liberals to keep convicted gang members behind bars longer, stop the revolving door of releasing known gang members out on bail and stop gun smuggling. These are all measures that have been rejected by the Liberals in favour of a soft-on-crime approach. That approach will cost billions of dollars and do nothing to keep us safe.

Will the Minister of Public Safety listen to the GTA mayors?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to tell the member that he is simply wrong. Our government is absolutely committed to the safety of our communities.

We have made a commitment to strengthen gun control, for example. We are going to redouble our efforts at the border to prevent these crime guns from being smuggled into our country by increasing the presence of CBSA officers, adding technology and supporting the police in their investigations. We are also preventing theft by strengthening storage requirements and preventing criminal diversion with new rules, new offences and stricter penalties.

We, unlike the previous government, have invested in policing to support guns and gangs investigations, and we will invest in communities to help our—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound.

[Alex Ruff, Conservative, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON]

Mr. Speaker, despite being a veteran infantry officer fully trained on a number of prohibited and restricted firearms, I recently completed the Canadian firearms and restricted firearms safety courses. These courses are integral to knowing about firearms safety and ensuring that Canadians safely store and use firearms. These courses would also be incredibly valuable to any of us in the House of Commons looking to craft firearms legislation.

Could the Minister of Public Safety please confirm he has completed these courses?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to offer my congratulations to the member opposite for his successful completion of his course. I am also pleased to advise him that I carefully carried a firearm for 39 years and I have taken extensive training—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Order. I want to remind hon. members that if they have a comment or a question, to direct it through the Chair, not directly across the floor.

The hon. member for Bourassa.

International Development

[Emmanuel Dubourg, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of International Development recently travelled to the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Can she tell the House about the objectives of this trip and how Canada is working with its partners to build a prosperous, sustainable and peaceful country?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of International Development]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

During my trip, I had the opportunity to see the work that Canada supports and the striking needs of the people. I saw the huge impact on 170,000 people affected by flooding that has devastated certain areas of the Congo since last September. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, I announced aid for the urgent needs of survivors of sexual violence and for the fight against the second-largest Ebola epidemic on record.

Finally, I would like to commend all our partners in the region for their extraordinary work.