Bruce Hyer

[Protection of Canada from Terrorists Act, December 8th, 2014]

moved:

Motion No. 1

That Bill C-44 be amended by deleting Clause 1.

Motion No. 2

Bill C-44 be amended by deleting Clause 8.

[Petitions, December 8th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization, the NWMO, has been made responsible by the federal government for the disposal of nuclear waste. It is looking at 15 communities, many of which are in northwestern Ontario. I have received and present petitions from almost 1,000 people who are concerned that leakage could occur in the Lake Superior and Great Lake's watershed. Therefore, they are concerned about the possibilities of either storage or transport throughout northwestern Ontario.

[Health, December 8th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, addiction is a huge problem in Thunder Bay—Superior North and across Canada. Canadians are the world's second-largest per capita consumers of opioids, and these cause one in eight deaths among young adults.

Suboxone is not addictive like methadone, actually prevents abuse, and is much safer and more effective than methadone. Will the minister take steps to make Suboxone the first line of treatment for opioids?

[Rouge National Urban Park Act, December 4th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I have spent most of my life fighting for parks and protected areas and I created quite a few.

I really wanted to vote for the Rouge park. An urban park is a great idea. I was intending to vote for the bill, until I brought amendments to committee that were dismissed out of hand.

Every conservation group—every single one—is now opposed to this bill. This bill would actually weaken the protections that were put in place by the province. It violates the memorandum of understanding with the province. Ontario now opposes this bill.

A few simple amendments could have made the bill better and fixed it, but committee members were busy on their Blackberrys, mindlessly voting against every amendment without even listening to them. The arrogance of the government on this bill is unspeakable.

[Supplementary Estimates (B), 2014-15, December 3rd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, we will be voting no, as we clearly did on the last motion.

[Petitions, December 3rd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition signed by hundreds of petitioners from across Canada.

The petitioners are concerned about funding to CBC. They feel it is very important, especially for CBC Radio in both languages, that there be national, regional and local programming to underscore our shared national consciousness and identity.

The petitioners also comment that the $1 billion that Canada invests in the CBC results in over $4 billion in economic benefit to the country.

I am very pleased to present this petition on behalf of petitioners from Thunder Bay and across Canada.

[The Environment, December 3rd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, one of Canada's most respected conservatives, Preston Manning, is calling for a price on carbon. He knows that the marketplace can reduce CO₂ pollution.

Truly Conservative MPs should support carbon fee and dividend. Not a penny goes to government, and money goes right into the pockets of Canadian families.

Which Conservatives will dare to publicly agree with Mr. Manning and let markets reduce both CO₂ and poverty?

[Canada Revenue Agency, December 2nd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, sorry, but it is clear that there has been a campaign of political activity targeting charities that have criticized the government. This is an abuse of power and cannot continue in a democratic society. If this does not convince the hon. member, perhaps comments from his colleagues might.

The finance minister said not very long ago that environmental groups have a radical agenda. What exactly is that radical agenda? Is it to lower our carbon emissions so future generations can live safely on a liveable planet? Is it to protect ecosystems that have been damaged by mismanagement and an irresponsible lack of regulation?

Perhaps if the Conservatives even looked at the harm they have caused the environment they would see that we need change. Instead of owning up to their failures, the Conservatives are targeting charities, whose main goal is to distribute information and research to Canadians, as they should.

It cannot be a coincidence that of the $8 million in the 2012 budget allocated to political activity audits, groups critical of the government have been targeted the most.

Will the Conservatives own up to their own policy failures instead of scaring charities into silence?

[Canada Revenue Agency, December 2nd, 2014]

I apologize, Mr. Speaker. As far as I can tell, the only partisan practice this charity was guilty of was disagreeing with the Conservative government. The Kitchener-Waterloo Field Naturalists simply sent letters to the government, opposing the approval of neonicotinoid chemicals that damaged bee colonies. It was contacted just a few days later by the CRA. Are we expected to believe this was a coincidence?

Another charity targeted last year was the David Suzuki Foundation. That organization provides dozens of programs to educate Canadians about the causes of global warming and to support sustainable practices. They are not left-wing radicals. The Suzuki foundation produces science-based analyses by some of Canada's greatest minds.

While there are quite a few climate deniers in the Conservative caucus, they cannot use their power to shut down environmental research. Last time I checked, Canada was a liberal democracy, not a dictatorship.

PEN Canada, an organization that advocates for freedom of expression, has also been targeted for a political activity audit. PEN Canada has been critical, as have I, of muzzling scientists on the public payroll and now it, too, is being muzzled by this audit.

Is the Conservative government so afraid of criticism that it must resort to harassing charities?

These organizations know as well as most Canadians that the Conservative government has been turning a blind eye to the environmental consequences of its policies. From lack of regulation of harmful chemicals to irresponsible energy policies, the Conservatives have made it clear that the environment is just not important to them.

However, this is not the main issue for tonight. The issue is the right to free speech. It is our democratic right as Canadian citizens to use our voices without fear of persecution. These citizens were exercising their freedoms as Canadians and, yet, were met with harassment.

This shift in Conservative policy has created a chill among charities. Despite being within their constitutional rights, organizations have received the message that criticism of the government comes with consequences.

On the flip side, conservative think tanks that are registered as charities have not endured these abuses. For example, the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, in Ottawa, is not being audited, despite its clear right-leaning research.

Charities work for the good of a cause rather than any one individual. Their founders and employees give time and effort for something they really believe in. Under the Conservative government, they have had to forge ahead, knowing that they may be targeted. This is simply unacceptable. The Canada Revenue Agency is not meant to carry out a political agenda.

Will the Conservatives stop punishing charities that advocate for science-based conclusions to Canadian issues simply because they oppose the Conservative agenda?

[Canada Revenue Agency, December 2nd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about a troubling trend of Conservative interference that is putting a chill on Canadian charities. Canadian charitable organizations now increasingly operate in a climate of fear. The Harper government has made it part of its mandate to target charitable organizations that oppose Conservative policies, especially environmental and social justice groups.

The latest victims include the Kitchener-Waterloo Field Naturalists, which received an ominous message from the CRA ordering an end to its so-called “partisan practices”. As far as I can tell, the only partisan practice this charity was guilty of was disagreeing with the Harper government.