Costas Menegakis

[Business of Supply, May 6th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to speak on the topic of the temporary foreign worker program. I know this topic has been of great public concern in recent weeks. Because of this, I think it is especially important that we try to put the topic into perspective.

I will begin by reminding my hon. colleagues that the temporary foreign worker program, which certainly plays a role in serving Canada's economy, our country's employers, and the Canadian labour force, is not a new program. Indeed, it has been in existence for more than four decades. I would also like to take this opportunity to remind my hon. members that it was a Liberal government that expanded the temporary foreign worker program for low-skilled workers in 2002. It was the Liberal Party members who voted time and time again against our changes to reform the program and who constantly lobby the government to bring in more temporary foreign workers.

The temporary foreign worker program serves a very important purpose by helping address skill labour shortages across Canada, which we all know exist. However, it is our responsibility to ensure that this program is protected from abuse and that we take action against anyone who is found to bend the rules.

I would like to describe how our government is doing just that, but before I do, in the interest of context, I will describe the economic role played by the temporary foreign worker program.

In every region of the country and throughout many different industrial sectors, Canadian employers are grappling with challenges that have roots in a number of long-term trends, namely Canada's aging population, our growing economy, and acute labour market shortages in a number of our industrial sectors. Of course, all of these trends are interrelated. With a growing percentage of Canadians hitting retirement age at the same time as the economy is expanding, it stands to reason that some sectors of the economy would subsequently experience skills shortages. When employers use the temporary foreign worker program as intended, it can help this challenge of labour market shortages. That is why the program was created back in the early 1970s and why it continues to exist today. The program is designed to support economic growth in Canada by allowing for the hiring of foreign workers on a temporary basis to fill short-term labour needs.

In the fall, I had the opportunity to travel to Newfoundland to speak at the Newfoundland and Labrador Employers' Council. I heard from industry leaders and employers that they genuinely require temporary foreign workers to fill various labour needs in the region. They conveyed that while Canadians always come first, there are short-term labour needs that could not be filled by Canadian workers. These employers use the program honestly and sincerely.

Do not get me wrong, when employers abuse the program, that can certainly do damage. However, that does not mean that the program at its core does not fill much-needed and real labour market needs. When a global company headquartered in Canada needs to bring some of their workers here for a short period of time, it may be through the use of the temporary foreign worker program. When a major piece of new high-tech equipment is purchased from the United States and the business that bought it needs to bring in an expert to train its employees, it may use the temporary foreign worker program.

The temporary foreign worker program responds uniquely to offers of employment from Canadian employers, and they know well that they should only use it as a last resort when it is impossible to fill positions with Canadian workers. We will not tolerate any other use of the program. The rules are very clear.

In no way is the program designed to take jobs away from Canadians. The government is obliged to ensure that the program is not abused in this way, and the government has been proactive in fulfilling this obligation.

A comprehensive review of all aspects of the program has been under way for some time now, well before any recent media reports about specific allegations of abuse. Our government embarked upon this review to ensure that the temporary foreign worker program is still meeting its intended purpose of addressing acute labour shortages and that whenever possible, Canadians get first crack at available jobs.

The opposition is once again misleading the public by not mentioning the specific changes we have made to improve the program. Canadians should also be aware of the many reforms that the government has made to the program in recent years.

I see the member opposite laughing; this is not a laughing matter.

In 2012, the government announced its intention to better align the temporary foreign worker program with labour market needs and to ensure that businesses look to the domestic labour force before accessing the program.

Last year, the government announced further changes to strengthen and improve the program. These changes are to ensure that temporary foreign workers are relied upon only when Canadians genuinely cannot fill the job, require employers to increase their recruitment efforts to hire Canadians before they will be eligible to apply for temporary foreign workers, and help employers who legitimately need to make use of temporary foreign workers to formulate plans to transition to the Canadian workforce over time.

At the end of 2013, improvements to the temporary foreign worker program took effect that enhanced the government's ability to ensure employers are using the program as intended. That increased protection for foreign workers as well. These included: imposing conditions on employers who hire temporary foreign workers to demonstrate they are paying proper wages, and providing safe and healthy working conditions; giving government officials the authority to conduct on-site inspections to make sure employers meet the conditions of the program; introducing legislative authority to impose significant penalties on employers who break the rules; and facilitating the banning of non-compliant employers from the program for two years and adding their names to a public blacklist.

I could go on with the many positive changes our government has made in the past few years but I do not want to use all of my time. I do want to highlight the quick action that we saw our government take when the Minister of Employment and Social Development put in place a moratorium on the food services sector's access to the temporary foreign worker program pending the government's ongoing policy review of the program.

This was a definitive response on the minister's part to serious allegations of abuse in this particular sector. The minister's actions demonstrated our government's vigilance against such abuse and its determination to ensure that employers always make an effort to hire Canadians first before making use of the temporary foreign worker program.

All of the actions I have described thus far clearly demonstrate our government's determination that the temporary foreign worker program complements and does not undercut the recruitment of unemployed skilled Canadians or permanent residents into the workforce.

I hope that my contribution today to this debate has served to assure all hon. members of the House that the government is very eager to make sure that the temporary foreign worker program serves Canadians well, that it complements the domestic job market, that it is not abused or misused in order to deny jobs to qualified Canadians, and that any potential changes to the program will help it best meet labour market demands.

[Situation in the Republic of South Sudan, April 29th, 2014]

Mr. Chair, the simple answer to the question is that Canada will continue to provide humanitarian assistance on the basis of the needs of South Sudan through its international humanitarian assistance bureau. There is a litany of things we have heard tonight, a whole list of support that Canadians have given the good people of South Sudan and will continue to provide for them. As I said, we will continue to work with our partners around the world. We will continue to monitor the situation. It is a priority for our government.

I applaud all members who are showing their interest by being here tonight and speaking on this very important issue.

[Situation in the Republic of South Sudan, April 29th, 2014]

Mr. Chair, I thank the hon. member for Etobicoke North for her passion and the feeling with which she has so eloquently and passionately asked her questions and positioned herself on this specific issue. It is obvious that she cares a lot about the good people of South Sudan. I, too, want to acknowledge the Sudanese people who are here with us today, as well as the Canadians watching across the country.

In response to the question, our government, Canada, will continue to work very closely with our partners around the world to ensure that the aid we are providing reaches the people who need it the most. We will continue to monitor the situation to see what else can be done moving forward.

[Situation in the Republic of South Sudan, April 29th, 2014]

Mr. Chair, before I respond to the question, let me just say how proud I am of my colleague, the hon. member for Newmarket—Aurora and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development, for the focus that she has given to this specific issue and particularly for the attention and dedication that she continues on a daily basis, focusing not only on South Sudan but also on many other countries, particularly in Africa, that need our help and assistance. I know she travels quite often to the area, and often to areas of the world that are not the safest. They do not have the services that we are used to here in Canada, but she does it with such passion and such love that she is to be commended. I want to thank her very much for her service to our country and for her service to the people who are really in need in those countries that she visits and frequents so often.

South Sudan continues to be one of Canada's priority countries as identified in the Muskoka initiative. In response to the hon. member's question, here are some of the recent results we have seen in the maternal, newborn, and child health area.

In partnership with the World Health Organization, Canada funded the launch of a new maternity ward at a state hospital in South Sudan. The number of safe deliveries at the hospital increased by 27% compared to the previous year, and 1,113 women have delivered their newborns safely since the beginning of that particular project.

In partnership again with the World Health Organization, Canada helped eliminate hospital user fees of about $15 per birth in Jonglei State.

In partnership with the United Nations Population Fund, 29 international midwives have been recruited and deployed to provide urgently needed maternal and newborn health services at hospitals and primary health care centres throughout South Sudan. Four national health training institutes for midwifery and nursing have become operational in South Sudan. Over 33,000 pregnant women have received prenatal care. Over 8,300 pregnant women delivered their babies in facilities across South Sudan. Since the crisis, international midwives have also provided safe deliveries to over 50 women, and over 300 pregnant women have accessed prenatal care services at the protection of civilians sites and one of the communities hosting many internally displaced persons.

Five hundred and twenty-five health workers have been trained on sexual and reproductive health, emergency obstetric care, and midwifery skills across South Sudan. Over 300 midwifery and nursing students have received clinical instruction and guidance from international midwives.

[Situation in the Republic of South Sudan, April 29th, 2014]

Mr. Chair, I rise tonight to join my colleagues in speaking about the plight of the people in South Sudan. My speech will focus primarily on Canada's maternal, newborn, and child health programming and how that programming is helping the good people of South Sudan.

The humanitarian situation in South Sudan is of deep concern to Canada and to Canadians. The widespread fighting has taken a terrible toll. From 10,000 to 40,000 people have been killed, and more than one million have been forced out of their homes.

This crisis was triggered by a dispute between the president and his former vice-president and between ethnic Nuer and Dinka members of the presidential guard.

The plight of the South Sudanese people demands and deserves immediate attention, and that is why the Government of Canada recently announced nearly $25 million in additional funding. These funds will alleviate the humanitarian crisis with the provision of food, shelter, emergency medical care, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, and protection.

We need partners to help effectively, and so I applaud all of the international efforts and the spirit of co-operation that has emerged among donor nations in this particular instance.

As my hon. colleague, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development, stated earlier in this House, Canada pays what it pledges, and we encourage our partners to do the same.

In addressing this urgent, high-profile crisis, we must not forget that South Sudan's instability is the result of more deep-rooted problems. A devastating civil war has shattered lives, institutions, and infrastructure. The lingering tensions among ethnic groups have threatened peace and security and advances in gender equality.

We must not lose sight of the long-term impact, as well. Canada is working to improve South Sudan's sustainable development, particularly through our leadership in maternal, newborn, and child health.

South Sudan's health system is weak. This is in part due to the devastation of decades of war but also due to the lack of public facilities and trained professionals. This means inadequate or non-existent services for mothers. According to the United Nations, a 15-year-old South Sudanese girl has a greater chance of dying from pregnancy-related causes than of finishing secondary school, and this begins a vicious circle. Mothers who do not have access to adequate nutrition or prenatal care are less likely to deliver healthy children. Children who do not get proper nutrition and vaccinations in their earliest years are less likely to become healthy and productive adults. The gateway to sustainable development begins here.

That is why maternal, newborn, and child health has been a priority in Canada since the Prime Minister co-led the Muskoka initiative in 2010. Maternal, newborn, and child health is Canada's leading development priority. Before the Prime Minister drew attention to this important issue, the world was falling short on reducing child mortality and curbing maternal death. Thanks to the Muskoka initiative and subsequent global action, maternal mortality rates are declining, and millions more children are celebrating their fifth birthdays.

Our common goal has not yet been reached, but it is within arm's reach. That is why the Prime Minister is once again taking action to mobilize the world. Canada will host the high-level summit in maternal, newborn, and child health from May 28-30, 2014, right here in our own country, in Toronto. Together we can eliminate preventable deaths among children, women, and newborns, and we can save millions of lives that hang in the balance.

Canada has a track record of results, because we have taken a pragmatic approach focused on results. South Sudan is one of Canada's priority Muskoka initiative countries.

Despite the interruptions and required adaptations, our investments are yielding results in South Sudan. These are crucial to the long-term stability and prosperity of the country.

Most of our programming is devoted to strengthening health systems and focuses on three primary areas: safer deliveries through improved emergency, obstetric, and newborn care; training of health workers, particularly midwives; and the provision of basic maternal, newborn, and child health services at primary health care facilities.

Several of the Canadian-supported initiatives deliver results in more than one of these areas. For example, in partnership with the World Health Organization, Canada funded the building of a new maternity ward in a state hospital in South Sudan. It is now fully operational. Wards in two other state hospitals will be completed in the coming weeks. Through this project, 1,113 women have delivered babies safely at one of the hospitals. This has created an increase of 27% in safe deliveries over the previous year. Over 200 hospital staff have received training in obstetrics and gynecology. This has improved their ability to provide emergency health services to women giving birth.

Canadian-supported initiatives have also made great progress in training and deploying midwives. Through the United Nations population fund, Canada committed $10.6 million to deploy 29 UN midwives from other countries to help facilities in all 10 states of South Sudan is becoming a reality. This will increase access to qualified midwives, reduce maternal and newborn deaths, and provide mentoring for South Sudanese midwifery students.

The results in the first year of this initiative are impressive. More than 33,000 pregnant women have received prenatal care. There have been more than 8,300 deliveries. There have been 525 health workers trained, and over 300 midwifery and nursing students have received clinical instruction and guidance.

Canada also committed $19 million to make four national health training institutes for midwifery and nursing in South Sudan operational. Currently over 200 midwifery and nursery students are enrolled and are studying at these institutes. The first group of 17 midwives and 13 nurses graduated in the summer of 2013. These midwives provide safe delivery, prenatal care, and clinical services, such as psychological counselling and medical examinations for survivors of rape.

In such a difficult environment, these successes are important to highlight. It is important to show results. It is important to remember that when we say maternal, newborn, and child health, we are talking about saving the lives of mothers and children.

Canada will continue working with our partners and supporting initiatives like the health pooled fund, a multi-donor fund that works with NGOs and county health departments to increase access to and quality of health services. This initiative targets children, pregnant women, and other vulnerable groups. Health service coverage is increasing through the support of the fund.

Canada is playing a leadership role in South Sudan and around the world when it comes to saving the lives of mothers and children. All Canadians can be proud of our government's record in this important area. Canadians should also be proud of the progress that has been achieved.

Naturally, the difficult environment makes it very difficult to achieve results in South Sudan. However, we are working closely with our partners already on the ground. We are continually reassessing risks, and we continue to adapt our programs to ensure that our investments deliver results for those in need.

Canada supports a peaceful resolution to the current conflict, one that will enable South Sudan to continue on its path to sustainable development.

[Employment and Social Development, April 28th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, we totally reject the notion that regulations governing the temporary foreign worker program have no teeth. On April 7, the member will know, the Minister of Employment and Social Development made public a list of employers who broke the rules. This shows our determination to protect the rights of Canadians who are qualified for jobs that have been offered to temporary foreign workers.

We will take no lessons from New Democrats, who decry the program publicly but privately ask for more foreign workers for their ridings, often on behalf of employers who have had their LMO applications rejected, as they did not meet the criteria about putting Canadians first.

Employers who plan to hire temporary foreign workers must first demonstrate that they have made every effort to hire qualified Canadian workers first. This is a rigorous process. In 2013, we issued 14,000 negative labour market opinions.

Our government will not tolerate any abuse of the temporary foreign worker program. Every allegation of misuse will be vigorously investigated. There are serious criminal sanctions, including fines and jail time, if employers lie about their efforts to hire Canadians. All allegations made to Service Canada about misuse of the program will be vigorously investigated.

[Employment and Social Development, April 28th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, at a time when there are so many unemployed Canadians seeking to fill available jobs, we think it is unconscionable for employers to try to circumvent the system by hiring foreign workers to do those jobs instead.

Let us be clear about the purpose of the temporary foreign worker program. Canadians must always come first for available jobs, no exceptions. Temporary foreign workers can only be hired as a last resort when all other efforts to hire Canadian workers have failed. Employers have to demonstrate this when they apply.

In 2013, over 14,000 negative labour market opinions, or LMOs as we call them, were issued. Not only that, but after an LMO is issued, if employers do not follow the rules, we will suspend or revoke their LMO and place their name on a blacklist, named and shamed for all to see. Our government will not tolerate any abuse of the temporary foreign worker program. Every allegation of misuse will be vigorously investigated. There are serious criminal sanctions including fines and jail time if employers lie about their efforts to hire Canadians.

We made a series of reforms to the program last year and the program remains under ongoing review. Amendments were introduced to give the government the authority to conduct on-site inspections to make sure employers are meeting the conditions of the program; bar non-compliant employers from applying for labour market opinion for two years; immediately add the names of these non-compliant employers to a public list; and introduce application fees and fees for work permits, so that hardworking taxpayers no longer subsidize these costs.

The temporary foreign worker program is employer demand driven and there primarily to fill temporary labour shortages where Canadians are not available. This government will not tolerate any abuse of the temporary foreign worker program and we have even more improvements coming to the program soon. There are no two ways about it. We will throw the book at any employer who does not respect the rules of the temporary foreign worker program. We will investigate allegations of serious abuse. Those found guilty will face the due consequences. There are no two ways about this.

On March 28, my colleague, the hon. Minister of Employment and Social Development, announced the introduction of legislative amendments that will give the government authority to impose serious financial penalties on employers who break the rules of the temporary foreign worker program. These are tough penalties. We are sending a clear message to employers who abuse the temporary foreign worker program that they will be publicly named and barred from the program.

We have no tolerance for employers who displace Canadians. We have no tolerance for employers who abuse the program and temporary foreign workers. We have no tolerance for employers who break the rules. This is also a clear message to Canadians in all circumstances that they will be first in line to fill available jobs.

[Citizenship and Immigration, April 28th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, in order for me to answer specifically to that particular question, I would have to bring up examples of the specific cases that she is referring to, with some of the children that she has seen who have not been able to come back. As everyone in the House knows, due to the Privacy Act, it would be inappropriate for me to comment about that.

However, the fact is that we have issued a record number of visitor visas this year. We will continue to do so. We will continue to protect Canadians and Canadian interests in our immigration system at all times, but we will also continue to be compassionate to those who are in need. When we bring legislation to the House that reaches out to people who are in difficulty, I would urge her to vote with the government, not against the government, which has been her record and the record of members opposite certainly since I was elected here in 2011.

[Citizenship and Immigration, April 28th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, as the member would know, I cannot speak to specific cases with respect to citizenship and immigration issues, but I would like to respond in the following fashion.

All visitors to Canada must meet the requirements for temporary residence in Canada as set out in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. We understand that people are disappointed when their visa applications are refused; however, our responsibility is to make sure that all visitors meet the requirements to come to Canada as set out in Canada's immigration law.

I listened to the member opposite and I have to disagree wholeheartedly with her comment that our government is not showing compassion with respect to the Syrian people or the Syrian situation. The Government of Canada is deeply concerned about the crisis in Syria and will continue to do what it can to best help the Syrian people.

Canada is one of the world's largest providers of humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees. The member should know that to date Canada has committed more than $630 million in humanitarian development and security assistance to the Syrian crisis.

Canada has one of the most generous refugee policies in the world. We welcome about one out of every ten of all resettled refugees globally and are consistently among the top three countries accepting resettled refugees.

In response to the June 2013 UNHCR appeal for assistance with extremely vulnerable cases, Canada committed to resettling 1,300 Syrian refugees by the end of 2014: 200 refugees through the government-assisted refugees program, GAR, and 1,100 through the private sponsorship of refugees program. Canada is on track to meet its commitment to resettle these refugees through the government-assisted refugee program by the end of 2014.

In the time I have left, let me share a personal story.

In the month of January 2014, along with some colleagues from the governing party, I had an opportunity to visit Jordan. While we were there, we took the opportunity to visit a northeastern crossing of the border of Jordan with Syria.

While we were there, we were welcomed by Brigadier-General Hussein Al-Zyoud of the Jordanian Armed Forces, who was showing us the refugee resettlement camp that bordered the Syrian border. It was by chance, and I would like to say by fortune, for us to be there, because we had an opportunity to witness something very moving.

We saw about 150 Syrian refugees within 20 minutes of our arrival coming through the desert after having walked three days in the desert to this crossing point. Most of them were women and children. There were some gentlemen there, but older gentlemen. We assumed the fathers had stayed back to defend the family properties or had met with some misfortune. However, the women and children came to us. They were so happy to come and see that they had finally arrived in a place of safety. This is what was really moving for us as Canadians and Canadian parliamentarians.

Colonel Lawrence Zaporzan of the Canadian Armed Forces was there with us, and along with Brigadier-General Hussein Al-Zyoud he showed us the impact of Canada's investment in helping the Syrian people. They actually showed us the equipment and the maintenance plan moving forward.

Therefore, as a Canadian parliamentarian, I have to say that I am very proud of the action that our government has taken and will continue to take to support the plight of the Syrian people.

[Yom HaShoah, April 28th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, today, on Yom Hashoah, we stand together with Jewish communities in Canada and around the world in remembering the millions of innocent men, women, and children murdered during one of the most horrific periods of human history.

Canadians from all backgrounds will be gathering to reflect on the horrors of the Shoah to pay tribute to the innocent victims and honour the brave survivors.

As the Prime Minister said in his Yom HaShoah statement:

Walking through Yad Vashem, I was struck by how the Shoah was so premeditated, so monstrous and so barbaric. I was reminded of the importance of Holocaust education and remembrance, as well as our responsibility to learn from the brave survivors to combat anti-Semitism in all its forms. [...]Yom HaShoah reminds us that the Holocaust must never be forgotten and that we must remain vigilant against all forms of prejudice and hatred to ensure that such unspeakable acts of inhumanity never happen again.