Andrew Cash

[Canadian Museum of History Act, May 22nd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I hate to interrupt the romance between the Conservatives and the Liberals tonight. It is a sight to behold. It is full of amnesia and falsities.

We have the look at this in the context of the government of the day and its behaviour on all manner of files. We have a government that somehow cannot find $3.1 billion. We have a museum here, and with the snap of the fingers, the minister found $25 million. He could not tell the House where the money came from. I do not know if it was in his motorcycle satchel or under his mattress.

This is the way the government deals. I listened to my hon. colleague's soliloquy and his ode to the Minister of Canadian Heritage with quite a lot of interest. I wonder how the member can separate the actions of a government that misplaces $3.1 billion, that spends $1 million renaming a museum, which by all accounts was the most successful museum in the capital region, and then magically finds $25 million to spend on it, when we have people on affordable housing waiting lists and all manner of living conditions we need to fix.

How can the member say in the House that this is a fantastic idea and that he hopes this new museum will have the independence the government never, ever displays a willingness to accord to the agencies of the government that are supposed to be third-party?

I would argue that the member is being a little naive in this instance. I would like his comments on that.

[Extension of Sitting Hours, May 22nd, 2013]

Speaking of hollow arguments, Mr. Speaker, this one is echoing like the largest reverb chamber I have ever heard.

On the one hand, the member opposite is saying that the underpinning of democracy is strong debate, and that is what we should be doing in the House. On the other hand, he is giving justifications for the record the government has on time allocation. If there is any hypocrisy going on right now, and if Canadians are paying attention, they understand from what side of the House that hypocrisy is coming from.

Can the member opposite clarify this? On the one hand, you are saying that you want debate, but on the other hand, your government is closing down debate time and time again. If you want debate, you should cross over to this side of the House, where this is what we want, this is what we stand for, and this is what we fight for every single day in the House of Commons.

[Extension of Sitting Hours, May 22nd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt and no wonder there is uncertainty in the economy. Last week's scandal was that the government had misplaced $3.1 billion. No wonder Canadians have concern about the economy. It is the government's inability to manage the economy that has created the uncertainty.

Furthermore, there is all the talk about safe streets the government likes to prattle on about. Every time it mentions that, we get reports in the media about more and more guns coming over the border onto our streets in Toronto. Not only are they coming over and being sold, contraband, they are now being rented. The government has no response to that. The Conservatives go on and on about us on this side of the House, when they are not accountable at all to the people of Canada.

With respect to what we are discussing here today, I would like to ask the government House leader if this working until midnight is a one-off. We are happy to work. Everyone knows that New Democrats are the hardest working people in the House of Commons. Is this a one-off, or are we going to run out the calendar? We are happy to work until midnight to the end of the calendar. Will the member let us know if we are going to the end of the calendar?

[Petitions, May 21st, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is with respect to the fact that many companies, phone companies, now banks and telecoms of all sorts, are charging their customers $2 and up just to receive their paper bill in the mail. This negatively affects seniors and those who do not have access to the Internet. It negatively affects those who are in a fixed income situation.

The petitioners call on the government and relevant agencies to take the issue seriously as it is an issue of fairness, especially for those on the margins of our society, and to call on companies to stop this practice.

[Petitions, May 21st, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I have a two petitions. The first is in respect to the GE Hitachi nuclear fuel processing facility in my riding. A few months ago the people of Davenport awoke to the news that this facility had been operating for 50 years in the riding. They were to have engaged in a very broad and important public engagement process over the course of those 50 years and had not.

The petitioners call on the Nuclear Safety Commission to reopen the licence so the public can have its rightful moment to participate in a discussion about the facility. I am honoured to present this on behalf of the people in my riding.

[Business of Supply, May 9th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, in fact, what the Auditor General said was that it is important that there be a way for people to understand how this money was spent, and that summary reporting was not done. In other words, nobody knows where the money is. If money cannot be accounted for, then it is missing.

What we want to know is where the money is and what the money was spent on. The member across the way can go on and on and drone on and on, and many of the members on the government side have done that all day. They talk about how the opposition is trying to manufacture a scandal. No, we are not trying to manufacture a scandal; Conservatives are doing a fine job on their own manufacturing scandals. Instead of all the torqued rhetoric, why do they not just come clean and tell us where the money is and what it has been spent on?

[Business of Supply, May 9th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, while I was listening to my hon. colleague's speech, I was thinking about some of the members on the front bench of the Conservative Party who were on the front bench of the Mike Harris government in Ontario.

When the Harris government took power in Ontario, one of the first things it did was fill in a big hole on Eglinton Ave. that had been dug to build a subway. It cost the taxpayers millions of dollars to fill that in. Some members may remember that. Now we are spending millions to dig that hole again to build a subway.

That is the kind of economic model the Conservative government operates under. It is no wonder the Conservatives have lost $3.1 billion. It is no wonder they have the biggest deficit in Canadian history.

I wonder if my hon. colleague can talk a little bit about the disconnect between the idea, on the one hand, that the Conservatives are sound fiscal managers and the reality that they are incredibly, unbelievably inept at this.

[Library and Archives Canada, May 7th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the head of Library and Archives Canada spent thousands of dollars on private Spanish lessons and another $10,000 to renew the contract for what seems to be his hobby. Now Conservatives are cutting services and laying off workers, yet they allow this outrageous expense at Library and Archives Canada. As usual, the Conservatives only act after they get caught.

What is the minister's excuse for allowing this to happen? Will he say adios to this kind of waste under his watch?

[Economic Action Plan 2013 Act, No. 1, May 7th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, we in the NDP have considerable concerns about the budget implementation act. In particular, I would like to bring up the issue of the direct control that the government is now going to have over crown agencies that it often describes as third party or at arm's length to the government. It seems as though the arms are getting shorter with each passing month here in Ottawa.

I wonder if my colleague would speak to the concern that many of us have around the fact that the government has now, in a sense, placed itself in control over the agreements that the CBC and other agencies may make with their unionized and non-unionized employees.

[Petitions, May 7th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition I present today comes from members of my riding who are very concerned, if not angry, over the fact that many people are being charged money, $2.00 and more, just to get their paper bills in the mail.

The petitioners call for the government to take measures to stop this practice.