House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2015, with 32% of the vote.
Foreign Affairs May 8th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the treaty entitled, “Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of the Republic of Chile on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters”, done at Puerto Natales on April 13, 2015. An explanatory memorandum is included with this treaty.
Foreign Affairs May 8th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, we have repeatedly and publicly expressed Canada's strong objections to the imprisonment and punishment of Raif Badawi.
We will do so again today. Canada considers Mr. Badawi's sentence to be a violation of human dignity. We will continue to call for clemency in this case. We have made representations to Saudi Arabia's ambassador here in Ottawa, and Canada's ambassador in Riyadh has met with senior Saudi representatives a number of times.
We have also registered our government's concerns with the Government of Saudi Arabia. This will continue going forward until clemency is granted.
Railway Safety Act May 7th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for introducing this bill. As she talked about in her speech and in her response to the question from the member opposite, it is very important that we empower inspectors.
I would like if she could maybe take a minute just to describe what can happen without that empowerment. What is that normal process of how the issue of a level crossing gets addressed? What is the intervening period of time? What are some of the things that could happen? What is the impetus for this bill?
Obviously, the carriers, the railroads, are the owners and operators of these level crossings so it is important for them to take action. In many cases, a municipality is also one of the stakeholders in a level crossing and owns part of it. Why is there a need for an inspector to have that additional power to be able to act quickly?
Safe and Accountable Rail Act May 7th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, there is some important insight to be gleaned from the member's comments.
First, I commend him for focusing on the actual content of the bill. It is an important one, focused very squarely on the compensation and liability regime for railroads. It is not a panacea.
Railroads have been operating for well over a century in North America and in Canada. They will continue to operate and be a real cornerstone of our economy, our vibrant continental and international economy.
Could my colleague expand on the compensation fund? I think we all understand insurance and how that works, and the need for companies, where there are risks, to have adequate insurance. Certainly in the case of Lac-Mégantic, that railroad, the MMA, did not have adequate insurance to ensure that the victims were properly compensated.
On the compensation fund, the notion is that the railways are responsible for the risks, but the shippers are responsible for the risk as well. Could the member comment on that? How will the shippers take some responsible for the risk? At the same time, will this compensation fund affect their competitiveness? We understand how important it is to the petroleum industry in our country. It pays for all kinds of things that we appreciate in our great country.
Safe and Accountable Rail Act May 7th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member commented about dribs and drabs. There is something to be said for incrementalism. Incremental improvements are better than no improvements. My colleague on the opposite side, with the NDP, pointed out that there were certain things that government did not do over 13 long years. We are actually achieving some success with some of these regulatory changes.
The focus of this bill is liability and compensation. I know the member wanted to take us down the primrose path. He was talking about food safety and other unrelated items. However, let us talk about compensation and liability in the railroad industry, specifically for the smaller railroads that might not have enough insurance. That is important, so let us focus on that. Can the member admit that these are good, positive changes, and will he support that aspect of the bill?
Last week the Minister of Transport was in Washington and announced with Secretary Foxx important changes to the tank car standards, important changes that are achievable and realistic and that will bring about safety, because of the enormous increase in volume with respect to petrochemicals and petroleum products across the border.
Can the member comment on those two things we are doing to address rail safety?
Safe and Accountable Rail Act May 7th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to the speech by the NDP's transport critic. I must correct a few of the member's statements. When he said that the government has reduced the number of inspectors, he knows that that is untrue. We have been significantly increasing the number of rail inspectors for many years now.
The changes regarding the regulations for insurance and money for cleanup in the event of an accident are significant. The member himself said he wanted these changes to be put in place quickly. This is an important bill that he will surely support. Will he tell us that today?
We are at third reading stage of this bill. We had a lot of debates at second reading and we even studied the bill in committee. The Canadian—or even North American—public expects us to bring in a modern compensation and insurance regime, especially in light of the serious issues associated with transporting dangerous goods.
Can he promise that they will stop prolonging the debate? We are having an important debate today, and there is no use repeating the same arguments for weeks. At the end of today can we put an end to this debate and hold a vote?
Safe and Accountable Rail Act May 7th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I spent a lot of time working around the edges of the railroad industry in my past, and I understand. Many of the members opposite alluded to the fact that it is a continental industry, the United States and Canada. The rolling stock, crews and all kinds of equipment go across the border. It is an integrated industry.
I would like my colleague to expand on what the United States is doing. How do the Canadian regulations with respect to the shipper pays levy, as well as the compensation and liability regime, compare to what the United States is doing? To what extent were there discussions with the United States to make sure there were some similarities between our regimes?
Taxation May 7th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, our government created the family tax cut and universal child care benefit to ensure that every Canadian family with children will have money in their pockets. Canadian families, including those in my riding of Etobicoke—Lakeshore, are further ahead because of our universal child care benefit.
Now the Liberals want to take that away. Instead of a family tax cut, the leader of the Liberal Party wants to introduce a family tax hike. He wants high taxes and huge government debt. This does not help the middle class.
Only our Conservative has a plan that will help middle-class Canadians keep money in their pockets.
Anti-Terrorism Act, 2015 May 4th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, in our most recent budget there is increased monies for police forces and certain initiatives.
However, I think the important thing to remember is that this initiative of de-radicalization is not really the entire responsibility of our police forces. It really has to be the community and society as a whole. There needs to be a complete societal effort for de-radicalization. There are imams I have met with in Toronto who have talked about their need to get involved in this initiative. They know they need to root out extremist elements within some of their congregations, and there could be other organizations that get involved in terrorist activities.
The point is that the police forces will work in conjunction with communities. A lot of these people are actually volunteers. People get involved; they identify; they come forward.
The bill is about giving police certain tools. We think about the ability now, that we do not have, to take down terrorist recruitment websites that call for people to commit acts of terror against Canadian society. Finally, with the legislation we would have that ability. Currently, it is not illegal in this country to do that, to actually advertise and recruit terrorists.
Anti-Terrorism Act, 2015 May 4th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, this bill explicitly states that peaceful protests that are of no threat to anyone are legitimate and that they are not covered by this bill. It is also clear that Canadians' right to participate in public protests will be respected. That has nothing to do with this bill.
The purpose of this bill is to target people who represent a threat to Canada's security and economy and who want to kill Canadians. That is the purpose of this bill. It in no way affects peaceful protests.