Candice Bergen

[Royal Canadian Mounted Police, October 4th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I want to respond to the question put forward to the House by the member for Alfred-Pellan regarding the issue of sexual harassment in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, RCMP.

All of us are very concerned with this issue. We are all definitely concerned with the issue of sexual harassment within the RCMP and in any workplace. We are also concerned with the issue of general harassment within the RCMP.

As my hon. colleague will recall, yesterday we heard testimony from Commissioner Paulson. He talked about the fact that men and women both felt harassment. About 33% of women and 26% of men feel they have been harassed. In terms of sexual harassment, about 3% of women feel they have been sexually harassed. All members certainly were certainly concerned with that.

I disagree with the member's premise that our government is not taking action on this. In fact, we are taking very firm action and have made strong statements on these issues. We took immediate action by asking the Commissioner for Public Complaints Against the RCMP to take an in-depth look at how harassment complaints were managed in the workplace. We also have a commissioner who, from the time he was appointed, has taken a strong stance on this issue, and we congratulate him on that.

In addition to that, our government, which has been a majority for just over a year, has brought forward a lot of initiatives. One of those initiatives is the introduction of Bill C-42, which would update the RCMP Accountability Act.

As my hon. colleague heard testimony from the commissioner yesterday, and we will hear more testimony, changing the RCMP Accountability Act and legislation by which it is governed is the fundamental foundation to change the culture in the RCMP. This would address the harassment and certainly help bring an end to sexual harassment. It would change the complaints process and modernized it, among a host of other things that are being done under Bill C-42.

I do not know whether the member heard the testimony yesterday, but the commissioner was very clear in wanting the legislation to pass. He was very technical in the way he spoke about how accusations of any kind of harassment had to be dealt with and how draconian it could be right now. That is why he asked that we get the legislation passed.

We have consulted with the provinces and other stakeholders and introduced the proposed legislation. It is good legislation that addresses a number of factors within the RCMP: how public complaints are made; how to deal with serious incidents by the RCMP, ensuring that police are not investigating police; and it lays the foundation to deal with issues like sexual harassment.

We would encourage the opposition to reread the bill and look, in a foundational way, at what can be done. When a human resource department is able to deal with issues like this, it is usually the best to help change the culture, but it needs the tools. The RCMP, under the current legislation, does not have the tools.

The commissioner was clear yesterday when he said that the RCMP did not need more money, that it just needed these rules changed so it could do the work it needed to do. He wanted his human resource managers and supervisors to be able to deal with issues at the level they appeared. Sometimes it is education, working together, mitigation and discipline. These are all things that the RCMP need tools to do and they are in Bill C-42.

We encourage the opposition to get the bill through committee and into law so the RCMP can work at these sexual harassment and other harassment cases.

[Firefighters, October 4th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the chance to speak to the motion that has been put before us today by the member for Wascana.

The motion covers a lot of ground with implications for the Department of Public Safety, Industry Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Part (a) of the motion, which falls under the purview of Public Safety Canada, calls for the creation of a national public safety officer compensation benefit to help the families of firefighters and other public safety officers, which is not defined, who are killed or permanently disabled in the line of duty.

Part (b) requests that firefighters and other public safety officers be provided with priority access to vaccines and other drugs in cases of public health emergencies. This would fall within the responsibility of the provinces and territories for implementation. One of my colleagues will be addressing this point in more detail.

Parts (c) and (d), which fall within the focus of Industry Canada, call for changes to the national building code, including specifying firefighter safety as an objective of the code and reviewing the code to identify urgent safety issues for firefighters.

I will focus my remarks today on the public safety aspect, namely that of creating a public safety officer compensation benefit.

Our government has been a strong advocate for our first responders and particularly for our firefighters. All of us in the House agree that our firefighters deserve our respect and support as do our police officers, paramedics and all other emergency and first responders.

Sacrifice, bravery and courage are the words that come to mind when we think of these people. Every shift, they make a conscious choice to save lives, protect their communities, make a difference and put their own lives at risk. When the beeper goes off, when the fire alarm sounds, there is no hesitation. Day or night, firefighters are willing and ready to go to work.

They know that they can face moments of extreme danger where the lives of citizens, their colleagues and certainly their own are at risk. They also experience great moments of pride when they rescue someone and they know that the work they have done has made a huge difference. Firefighters have the mental toughness and courage that is required in these moments, and when they put themselves in harm's way for the rest of us we all stand in gratitude.

We respect their courage and their professionalism. Our government has proudly supported the work of our firefighters along with all of our public safety officers through a variety of initiatives and programs since 2006. For example, in budget 2007, we included a contribution of $2.5 million over five years to the International Association of Fire Fighters to support and implement hazardous material training. This is a worthy investment that has provided thousands of hours of haz-mat training to firefighters and many other first responders right across Canada.

We are very proud that in budget 2011 our government introduced a volunteer firefighters tax credit to support volunteer firefighters who perform at least 200 hours of service for their communities. There are more than 85,000 volunteer firefighters across this country serving in both urban and rural settings. In my riding of Portage—Lisgar, there is no way our communities could be protected if it were not for the volunteer efforts of firefighters, brave men and women who volunteer their time.

Our government has been listening to firefighters. We listened to their concerns and that is why we introduced the volunteer firefighters tax credit. The credit recognizes and supports the critical role that these volunteers play in all of our communities.

We also support first responders through the development of national policies and by supporting consensus-based national code development processes and response systems and standards. For example, our government actively participated in the development of the chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives resilience strategy and action plan for Canada, which was launched in January 2011. This plan sets out clear guidelines for policy and decision-makers at all levels of government on how to better prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from any CBRNE event. These guidelines ultimately protect our first responders, including our firefighters.

We also launched the communications interoperability strategy and action plan for Canada in January 2011. The goal of this action plan is straightforward. It is something that first responders have been asking us for and we are listening. The goal is to help first responders respond rapidly to any emergency by allowing them to communicate more effectively and efficiently across jurisdictions. As part of this, Public Safety Canada and the first responder community have urged Industry Canada to set aside dedicated bandwidth for public safety use in the 700 megahertz spectrum auction.

This past June, we announced that an initial 10 megahertz has been secured for this use and this news was widely applauded across the first responder community. We are proud that we have helped to push this issue forward. We are proud that as we work in collaboration with our first responders and firefighters we are getting results for them.

Our government is firmly committed to supporting our firefighters and indeed all of our public safety officers. However, we are also committed to respecting Canada's Constitution and the various authorities that fall within the federal, provincial and municipal levels of government. The Liberal Party argued in 2005 that many of the measures that the member for Wascana is proposing today in his private member's motion are more relevant to provincial areas of responsibility. As he must be aware, the creation of a public safety officer compensation benefit is one of them.

As hon. members likely know very well, provinces and territories already have a legal framework in place for occupational health, safety and workers' compensation to provide benefits to the families of workers who are injured or killed on the job. In the United States, labour laws are the jurisdiction of the federal government. In Canada, that jurisdiction lies with the provinces. In many cases, benefits received under these workers' compensation programs are supplemented through collective agreements or group insurance plans that provide compensation for losses incurred due to workplace accidents or death.

Our Conservative government stands up for our front-line public safety officers, especially firefighters. However, in the current climate of fiscal restraint, and with the broad definition of “public safety officers” making an amount pretty well impossible to determine, establishing a fund in excess of $60 million would not be feasible.

It is very interesting that when the member for Wascana was minister of finance he realized this fact, which is why he voted against it in 2005. When he talks about changing circumstances, we are in a time of even greater financial restraint and economic uncertainty. I am very surprised that he is changing his mind without credible reasons. It is important that he stand and speak more clearly on why he voted against this in 2005 and why he now finds it expedient to introduce the motion.

Our government will not be supporting M-388. As is evident by what we have done in the past and what we continue to do, we support our firefighters with tangible efforts that help them do their jobs and that recognize the volunteer work they do. However, we will not go into jurisdictions that are not ours. We will be consistent with our federal jurisdiction and federal responsibilities. The proposed changes found within the motion would be more relevant to provincial jurisdictions and that is why we will not support changes to the areas that would fall under the authority of provincial and territorial governments.

I therefore respectfully ask that all members would oppose the motion. Let us continue to work for firefighters and first responders, but the motion is not the way to do it.

[Firefighters, October 4th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I have two specific questions for my hon. colleague.

Maybe he will be expecting the first question. When he was the minister of finance back in 2005, a very similar bill was brought forward and he voted against it. I think we would all appreciate knowing why he voted against it then and why he is introducing it now, which would appear to be a contradiction?

Also, could my hon. colleague explain his definition of a public safety officer, which is very broad. Does he want to include CBSA officials, RCMP, municipal and provincial police, conservation officers, CSC, Correctional Service Canada officers? Does he want to include any public safety officer within the purview of the motion?

[Public Safety, September 28th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, our government takes cyber security seriously and operates on the advice of security experts.

Our government recently made significant investments of $90 million in a cyber security strategy designed to defend against electronic threats, hacking and cyber espionage.

Telecommunications carriers operating in Canada are certainly subject to Canadian law. We will continue to work to protect the interests of Canadians and protect them from cyber security threats.

[Public Safety, September 26th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by congratulating the member for Scarborough Centre. This is a common-sense goal and a bill that our Conservative government supports. It will put an end to frivolous and vexatious complaints from inmates. For example, some of them are complaining about the temperature of their food or the lighting in their cell. It will give correctional officers the ability to focus on real, legitimate complaints.

I would encourage the opposition, the NDP and the Liberals, to support the bill. It is common sense and is very much needed.

[Public Safety, September 24th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the last thing we want is the NDP in touch with American politicians and denigrating our jobs in Canada.

Again, the facts speak for themselves. We are investing. Thankfully, the good work done by the CBSA and RCMP in stopping drugs at the border is done through the intelligence part of it. We have invested in that and continue to work with our allies and partners in the U.S.

We have reduced duplication, but maybe the NDP does not understand that when running an organization, one constantly has make things more efficient. Good businesses and organizations constantly check their efficiency, and that is what happened with the CBSA. It is going to be more efficient, with taxpayers' dollars being used wisely, protecting Canadians and making sure that illegal substances do not come across our border while keeping our border open to legitimate trade and travel.

[Public Safety, September 24th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I am disappointed that my hon. colleague would perpetuate such fear-mongering and inaccuracies. He certainly has the right to ask a question and I am pleased to answer it, but to make inaccurate statements that more drugs and child pornography will be on the street is very disappointing.

I will begin by stating the facts. It is pretty clear and self-explanatory that we are the government that has increased front-line officers at the border by 26%. The cuts we are making will reduce duplication within CBSA and not affect front-line officers in any way, shape or form. It is very important to be clear on that and I am very happy to repeat that for my hon. colleague, if need be. We are reducing unnecessary spending and duplication of work. We are not reducing front-line positions at the border. At all times, the highest level of security is maintained at Canada's border. Our government is committed to cracking down on the trafficking of illegal guns by criminal gangs.

Here are some more facts. Since 2006, CBSA has seized almost 30,000 prohibited weapons, including firearms and other weapons, at the border. The national weapons enforcement support team seized over 35,000 imported illegal guns between 2006 and 2010. Our government has added 1,030 border guards over the past six years. There has been no reduction in the number of those border guards.

In 2006, we announced an MOU with the United States that aided criminal investigations involving firearms on both sides of the border. We are spending taxpayers' dollars wisely to actually stop guns, illegal substances and pornography at the border. We are reducing duplication. We realize the unions and their members are upset about this. It appears that the opposition has taken its argument and made it a fact. The actual fact is that the unions are upset because we cut a $1 million slush fund of taxpayers' dollars they were using. We do not think that is a good use of taxpayers' dollars. We want to use that money on the projects that we just announced.

We introduced initiatives such as the shiprider and integrated border enforcement teams. In addition, we have introduced new travel exemptions that are allowing CBSA to focus its resources on preventing the importation of illegal handguns and other prohibited items. Again, we are using taxpayers' dollars wisely, not giving these dollars to unions but investing in programs, projects and investigations that actually stop drugs, child pornography, weapons and illegal substances at the border.

I hope my hon. colleague has heard my answer loudly and clearly. For Canadians listening, it makes good sense and good use of their dollars.

[Petitions, September 21st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the other petition calls upon Parliament to speedily enact legislation that restricts abortion to the greatest extent possible.

[Petitions, September 21st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present three petitions.

Two petitions call upon Parliament to amend section 223 of our Criminal Code to better reflect 21st century medical evidence in regard to when life begins.

[Status of Women, September 21st, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister for Status of Women recently launched a call for proposals, “Working Together: Engaging communities to end violence against women and girls”, which demonstrates our government's commitment to preventing and reducing violence against women and girls.

Our Conservative government is taking concrete action by supporting projects to enhance and address girls' and women's safety and security within their own communities. We must continue to champion this important cause.

I encourage all parliamentarians to join our government and promote this call for proposals to create awareness and put an end to violence against women in our ridings and nationwide. By working together we are creating safer communities for all.

All Canadians should know more about how to stop this type of violence and work toward solutions. As members of Parliament we play an important role in doing this.