Cheryl Hardcastle

[Windsor—Tecumseh, September 22nd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I returned to Ottawa re-energized after an inspirational summer in win city, and my riding of Windsor—Tecumseh.

First, I would like to congratulate all the local yet world-class Olympians who made us so proud in Rio: Kylie Masse, Brian McBride, Miah-Marie Langlois, and Ryan Cochrane, Noelle Montcalm; and the Tecumseh Thunder Baseball Club for clinching the senior championship for the second year in a row.

I salute Jan Wright and her team for putting on the Terry Fox book sale and Terry Fox run, and the amazing young people at Maya's lemonade stand for organizing another successful food drive.

I appreciated the informative discussion for those who joined me at my electoral town hall that I hosted, and everyone I have been able to meet and talk with at the fairs, festivals and barbecues. The people of Windsor—Tecumseh have an impressive social conscience and a sense of solidarity. It is they who truly inspire my own commitment to—

[Economic Action Plan 2015 Act, No. 1, September 21st, 2016]

Madam Speaker, I heard such intriguing discussion from the hon. member with regard to his vision of the fundamental right of public service workers to be free of intimidation. Does this mean that this member thinks we should be moving quickly in other areas to restore the fundamental right of a public service worker to refuse unsafe work conditions?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, September 19th, 2016]

With regard to Employment and Social Development Canada and the Social Security Tribunal: (a) how many appeals are currently waiting to be heard by the Income Security Section (ISS), in total and broken down by (i) Canada Pension Plan retirement pensions and survivors benefits, (ii) Canada Pension Plan Disability benefits, (iii) Old Age Security; (b) how many appeals currently waiting to be heard by the ISS are legacy appeals that pre-date the Tribunal, in total and broken down by (i) Canada Pension Plan retirement pensions and survivors benefits, (ii) Canada Pension Plan Disability benefits, (iii) Old Age Security; (c) how many appeals currently waiting to be heard by the ISS date from prior to December 2014, in total and broken down by (i) Canada Pension Plan retirement pensions and survivors benefits, (ii) Canada Pension Plan Disability benefits, (iii) Old Age Security; (d) how many appeals were heard by the ISS in December 2015 and in 2016, to date, in total and broken down by (i) month, (ii) Canada Pension plan retirement pensions and survivors benefits, (iii) Canada Pension Plan disability benefits, (iv) Old Age Security; (e) how many appeals heard by the ISS were allowed in December 2015 and in 2016, to date, in total and broken down by (i) month, (ii) Canada Pension plan retirement pensions and survivors benefits, (iii) Canada Pension Plan disability benefits, (iv) Old Age Security; (f) how many appeals heard by the ISS were dismissed in December 2015 and in 2016, to date, in total and broken down by (i) month, (ii) Canada Pension plan retirement pensions and survivors benefits, (iii) Canada Pension Plan disability benefits, (iv) Old Age Security; (g) how many appeals to the ISS were summarily dismissed in December 2015 and in 2016, to date, in total and broken down by (i) month, (ii) Canada Pension plan retirement pensions and survivors benefits, (iii) Canada Pension Plan disability benefits, (iv) Old Age Security;

(h) how many appeals at the ISS have been heard in person in December 2015 and in 2016, to date, broken down by (i) appeals allowed, (ii) appeals dismissed; (i) how many appeals to the ISS have been heard by teleconference in December 2015 and in 2016, to date, broken down by (i) appeals allowed, (ii) appeals dismissed; (j) how many appeals at the ISS have been heard by videoconference in December 2015 and in 2016, to date, broken down by (i) appeals allowed, (ii) appeals dismissed; (k) how many appeals at the ISS have been heard in writing in December 2015 and in 2016, to date, broken down by (i) appeals allowed, (ii) appeals dismissed; (l) how many appeals at the ISS have been decided on the record in December 2015 and in 2016, to date, broken down by (i) appeals allowed, (ii) appeals dismissed; (m) how many members hired in the Employment Insurance Section (EIS) are currently assigned to the ISS; (n) what is the current average caseload of members in the ISS; (o) what is the average number of decisions per month by members in the ISS; (p) what is the average time between the filing of an appeal and receipt of a decision at the ISS; (q) what is the average time between Notice of Readiness and receipt of a decision at the ISS; (r) since September 1, 2015, how many ISS cases have met the Tribunal’s new service standard of being decided within five months of the appeal becoming ready to proceed, broken down by (i) month, (ii) Canada Pension plan retirement pensions and survivors benefits, (iii) Canada Pension Plan disability benefits, (iv) Old Age Security;

(s) how many income security appeals are currently waiting to be heard by the Appeal Division (AD), in total and broken down by (i) Canada Pension plan retirement pensions and survivors benefits, (ii) Canada Pension Plan disability benefits, (iii) Old Age Security; (t) how many income security appeals waiting to be heard by the AD are legacy appeals that predate the Tribunal, in total and broken down by (i) Canada Pension plan retirement pensions and survivors benefits, (ii) Canada Pension Plan disability benefits, (iii) Old Age Security; (u) how many income security appeals waiting to be heard by the AD date from prior to December 2014, in total and broken down by (i) Canada Pension plan retirement pensions and survivors benefits, (ii) Canada Pension Plan disability benefits, (iii) Old Age Security; (v) how many applicants were not given leave to appeal on income security cases in December 2015 and in 2016, to date, broken down by (i) month, (ii) Canada Pension plan retirement pensions and survivors benefits, (iii) Canada Pension Plan disability benefits, (iv) Old Age Security; (w) how many income security appeals were heard by the AD in December 2015 and in 2016, to date, in total and broken down by (i) month, (ii) Canada Pension plan retirement pensions and survivors benefits, (iii) Canada Pension Plan disability benefits, (iv) Old Age Security; (x) how many income security appeals heard by the AD were allowed in December 2015 and in 2016, to date, in total and broken down by (i) month, (ii) Canada Pension plan retirement pensions and survivors benefits, (iii) Canada Pension Plan disability benefits, (iv) Old Age Security; (y) how many income security appeals heard by the AD were dismissed in December 2015 and in 2016, to date, in total and broken down by (i) month, (ii) Canada Pension plan retirement pensions and survivors benefits, (iii) Canada Pension Plan disability benefits, (iv) Old Age Security; (z) how many income security appeals at the AD have been heard in person in December 2015 and in 2016, to date, broken down by (i) appeals allowed, (ii) appeals dismissed;

(aa) how many income security appeals at the AD have been heard in by videoconference in December 2015 and in 2016, to date, broken down by (i) appeals allowed, (ii) appeals dismissed; (bb) how many income security appeals at the AD have been heard by teleconference in December 2015 and in 2016, to date, broken down by (i) appeals allowed, (ii) appeals dismissed; (cc) how many income security appeals at the AD have been heard in writing in December 2015 and in 2016, to date, broken down by (i) appeals allowed, (ii) appeals dismissed; (dd) how many appeals are currently waiting to be heard at the Employment Insurance Section (EIS), in total and broken down by (i) legacy appeals that predate the creation of the Tribunal, (ii) appeals that date from prior to December 2014; (ee) how many appeals have been heard by the EIS in December 2015 and in 2016, to date, in total and broken down by month; (ff) in December 2015 and in 2016, to date, how many appeals were (i) allowed, (ii) dismissed, (iii) summarily dismissed; (gg) how many appeals at the EIS have been heard in person in December 2015 and in 2016, to date, broken down by (i) appeals allowed, (ii) appeals dismissed;

(hh) how many appeals at the EIS have been heard by videoconference in December 2015 and in 2016, to date, broken down by (i) appeals allowed, (ii) appeals dismissed; (ii) how many appeals at the EIS have been heard by teleconference in December 2015 and in 2016, to date, broken down by (i) appeals allowed, (ii) appeals dismissed; (jj) how many appeals at the EIS have been heard in writing in December 2015 and in 2016, to date, broken down by (i) appeals allowed, (ii) appeals dismissed; (kk) how many appeals at the EIS have been decided on the record in December 2015 and in 2016, to date, broken down by (i) appeals allowed, (ii) appeals dismissed; (ll) what is the current average caseload of members in the EIS; (mm) what is the average number of decisions per month by members in the EIS; (nn) what is the average time between the filing of an appeal and receipt of a decision at the EIS; (oo) since September 1, 2015, how many EIS cases have met the Tribunal’s new service standard of final decisions being made within 90 days of the appeal being filed, broken down by month; (pp) how many EI appeals are currently waiting to be heard by the AD, in total and broken down by (i) legacy appeals that predate the creation of the Tribunal, (ii) appeals that date prior to December 2014; (qq) how many applicants were not given leave to appeal EI cases in December 2015 and in 2016, to date;

(rr) in December 2015 and in 2016, to date, how many EI appeals have been (i) heard, (ii) allowed, (iii) dismissed; (ss) how many EI appeals at the AD have been heard in person in December 2015 and in 2016, to date, broken down by (i) appeals allowed, (ii) appeals dismissed; (tt) how many EI appeals at the AD have been heard by videoconference in December 2015 and in 2016, broken down by (i) appeals allowed, (ii) appeals dismissed; (uu) how many EI appeals at the AD have been heard by teleconference in December 2015 and in 2016, to date, broken down by (i) appeals allowed, (ii) appeals dismissed; (vv) how many EI appeals at the AD have been heard in writing in December 2015 and in 2016, to date, broken down by (i) appeals allowed, (ii) appeals dismissed; (ww) what is the current average caseload of members in the AD; (xx) what is the average number of decisions per month by members in the AD; (yy) what is the average time between the filing of leave to appeal and receipt of a final decision at the AD; (zz) what is the average time between the granting of leave to appeal and receipt of a final decision at the AD;

(aaa) since September 1, 2015, how many appeals at the AD have met the Tribunal’s new service standard of a decision on leave to appeal being granted within 60 days, broken down by month; (bbb) since September 1, 2015, how many appeals at the AD have met the Tribunal’s new service standard of a final decision being granted within seven months of leave to appeal being granted, broken down by month; (ccc) how many requests has the Tribunal received for an expedited hearing due to terminal illness in December 2015 and in 2016, to date, broken down by (i) month, (ii) requests granted, (iii) requests not granted; (ddd) how many requests has the Tribunal received for an expedited hearing due to financial hardship in December 2015 and in 2016, to date, broken down by (i) month, (ii) section, (iii) requests granted, (iv) requests not granted; (eee) of the more than 60 recommendations made to the Tribunal in March 2015 for ways to improve operations, how many have been implemented; and (fff) is the special unit within the Department still functioning and if so, what is its expected end date?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, September 19th, 2016]

With regard to materials prepared for ministers or their staff since November 1, 2015: for every briefing document or docket prepared: what is (i) the date, (ii) the title or subject matter, (iii) the department’s internal tracking number?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, September 19th, 2016]

With regard to materials prepared for past or current deputy heads of departments, Crown Corporations, agencies, or their staff since October 19, 2015: for every briefing document or docket prepared, what is (i) the date, (ii) the title or subject matter, (iii) the department’s internal tracking number?

[Food and Drugs Act, June 15th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has mentioned several times that there is the opportunity here for us to improve the lives of women, specifically in other countries.

Basically and simply up front, does this mean that we are going to have an implementation with these other countries that is going to promote increasing access to financing for women entrepreneurs? Is this what is actually going to happen?

[Carrousel of the Nations, June 15th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I stand before you today to declare how proud I am of my riding of Windsor--Tecumseh and the surrounding area of Essex County as we head into two weeks of celebrating the vibrancy of our cultural diversity.

Carrousel of the Nations fully showcases our favourite expressions of culture: food, music, dance, art, and friendship. This year the carrousel showcases the hospitality of the Caribbean, Filipino, Greek, Polish, Romanian, Hungarian, Bavarian, Serbian, Chinese, Italian, Scottish, and Macedonian villages.

Congratulations to all of the volunteers and sponsors involved in making it a success for 41 years.

Yes, leading up to the amazing international fireworks that prove that Windsor-Detroit is the life pulse of North America, we are immersed in a celebration of our strengths and our differences, and I could not be more proud to call this home.

[Business of Supply, June 9th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, peace building and democratic development are extremely important, and we do know that with the previous government there were vast funding cuts to those areas.

I am new to this, and I am kind of naive. I am not a seasoned politician here. I know some of the members feel the same way, with the idea that we are going to weigh words so significantly and then, when push comes to shove, just not really have that momentum to move forward. No matter what we have done in the past, there is a lot of immediate action we can take.

We do have to have a holistic approach. We have talked about stemming the funding that goes to organizations such as ISIL. We have talked about stemming not just the flow of funds but the flow of arms and fighters.

It all boils down to money. With an informed citizenry, these peace-building and democratic programs cannot be underestimated. This is where the real work is. It does not pack a punch like the emotional response when we are watching a very poignant and disturbing video on the screen, when we see some type of military strike. It feels good, and I get that. However, I want to say that we cannot confuse revenge with justice, with real preventive measures.

There is room and distinction for these actions. That is why I was saying earlier that if we were to all say, yes, let us call it genocide, that is not really what the issue is here. It is how we move forward, and how we all get our heads around what comes next. We really have to form consensus.

It is very frustrating for somebody new like me to see how people who are so esteemed, who achieved their honourable seats here in this House, cannot form consensus on an issue as fundamental as this, because of pride.

[Business of Supply, June 9th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for that thoughtful question because that is very important. If we are going to use a word like genocide, then we are going to have to put some actions behind those words. That is what I was alluding to earlier in my speech. Our expertise is going to be required on that international stage with regard to the role that the International Criminal Court will have to play in the future if we are calling this genocide.

For us to embrace that, we will have to embrace the whole responsibility that goes with it. That means that, yes, we will have to put our money where our mouth is, and we will have to support an investigation. We are going to have to support a fulsome investigation that also brings forward a long-term plan for rebuilding. There are so many ripple effects of this that are going to require so much of us. For us to call it a genocide is one step.

I am hoping that will be the momentum that we can use to move forward with very real and comprehensive responses that include the important role of the United Nations. Otherwise, our role is actually as impotent as the member earlier said the United Nations is.

[Business of Supply, June 9th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the intent of my hon. colleague's question. However, in that is where I see our problematic issues, where we would have to build consensus once we called this genocide. I believe that each sovereign state as an actor is going to voluntarily, in the international community, bring strength to whatever action we have. Therefore, I do not accept the premise that economic stability trumps human rights.

There are things we have to do in tandem, but it is not acceptable to be participating in trade when we know there are flagrant human rights violations. We have talked about this with regard to trading with Saudi Arabia. We have talked about this with regard to countries having diplomatic relations and dialogues with countries that do have human rights. Actually a very prominent country with which everyone is very anxious to trade apparently has warned us publicly not to be talking to it about human rights if we want to trade with it. It was on the front page of a national paper.

Something that the opposition party has brought forward with this motion is the idea that we should call this genocide and have some integrity. That means as—