Dan Albas

[World Polio Day, October 24th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, today is World Polio Day, and Canada was recently commended for delivering on its commitments in regard to transparent and accountable development assistance by the respected efficacy group “Publish What You Fund”. I am pleased to report that Canada ranked in the top 10 in the world, as our government continues to ensure the effective and efficient delivery of development assistance to those around the world who need this development assistance that Canada can provide.

I mention this as, unfortunately, Canada often missed its targets under the Liberals, and we all know the NDP has voted against every effort our government brings forward to assist people.

Our government will continue to ensure that Canadians can all take pride in our global leadership development assistance focused on delivering concrete results at the front line for those who really need it.

[Intergovernmental Relations, October 23rd, 2013]

Again, Mr. Speaker, this government has worked very hard on the priorities of all Canadians. We believe in a strong, united Canada. We believe that our focus should be quite squarely on the economy, on creating opportunities, and on making sure that our families are safe on the streets.

I certainly welcome this discussion tonight, but I would again suggest that the member join with us in seeking to continue to serve Canadians' interests by focusing on their priorities, not waging referendums no one wants.

[Intergovernmental Relations, October 23rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, certainly this is an issue that is before the courts. The Prime Minister said it best the other day when he said that the process for dividing the country is best left to the courts.

More importantly, we all believe on this side that debates on the process for dividing the country are best left to the courts. Everyone on this side, including the Minister of Infrastructure, Communities and Intergovernmental Affairs, is an unconditional supporter of the unity of this great country.

I attend French lessons in the beautiful province of Quebec, and when I speak to people, they are very concerned about jobs and economic growth. They are concerned about their families. They are concerned about crime. When this government says that it is going to be focused on the priorities of Canadians, it means all Canadians, including Quebeckers. We are working hard on those issues, just as we are working hard on creating more opportunity and growth with the Canada-European Union free trade agreement we discussed earlier and on other matters before us.

I would invite the member opposite to accept my answer but also to join with us as we seek to make sure that every region of this great country, including his own riding, receives the benefits from that approach focused on the important issues of jobs, growth, and long-term prosperity.

[International Trade, October 23rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to hear that the NDP is open-minded.

I want to come back to the member's original points and his statement that it was this side of the House that was being misleading on the NDP position. On the day this agreement came out, the NDP was against it; now it is for it, and in between it was not sure about what its position was.

We have released a comprehensive overview that shows clearly that this is a very good agreement that will generate significant benefits in every region of our great country and across key sectors of our economy. The NDP just cannot see these benefits. It is blinded by its anti-trade ideology. Canadians will not be fooled; they know the NDP's track record on trade.

I will go back to my area of Okanagan—Coquihalla. When the North American Free Trade Agreement first came in, or its predecessor, the Canada-U.S. free trade agreement, let us bear in mind that there were some vintners who literally said it was going to ruin the B.C. wine industry and ruin the Canadian wine industry and that we should pull out our grapes.

Some people bought into the naysayers, but some people saw it as an opportunity for Canada to compete on the international stage. Now when we look at our industry here in this country, we are very proud of Canadian wines. There is opportunity just like that today in the European Union.

[International Trade, October 23rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to rise in this House to address some of the concerns of the member for Vancouver Kingsway.

I would like to start off by welcoming the question and asking the member to be open-minded, because there are a lot of great things happening in this country, and the comprehensive economic and trade agreement with the European Union is one of them.

The Canada-European Union trade agreement is by far Canada's most ambitious and historic trade initiative, broader in scope and deeper in ambition than the North American Free Trade Agreement. It will open new markets to our exporters throughout the EU and will generate significant benefits for all Canadians.

Our Conservative government has made opening new markets through agreements like the Canada-Europe trade agreement a priority, just one way it is creating jobs and opportunities for Canadians in every region of this great country.

We have released a comprehensive overview that shows clearly that this is a good agreement that will generate significant benefits in every region of Canada and across key sectors of our economy. As with all trade agreements, technical and legal work remains. Our goal is to work as expeditiously as possible through the remaining steps, including ratification, so that Canadian workers and business can access the vast benefits as soon as possible.

The European Union, with its 28 member states, half a billion people, and annual economic activity of almost $17 trillion is the world's largest economy. A joint Canada-European Union study concluded that a trade agreement could boost Canada's income by $12 billion annually and bilateral trade by 20%. Put another way, the economic benefit of a far-reaching agreement would be the equivalent of creating almost 80,000 new jobs or increasing the average Canadian household's income by $1,000.

Of the EU's more than 9,000 tariff lines, approximately 98% will be duty-free for Canadian goods when CETA comes into force. European Union tariffs can be so high as to impose a real burden on Canadian exporters and limit considerably their ability to compete in the EU market.

I will just take a moment to give an example from my riding of Okanagan—Coquihalla. A cherry farmer had sent his crop to a European Union country. He phoned me in quite a bit of distress, because the tariffs had risen dramatically. I think it was in the neighbourhood of 60-odd per cent plus. He was very concerned that he would lose his livelihood.

It is the role of government to make sure that we can deal with these things, to make sure that our growers, whether they be in the Okanagan Valley or right across this great country, can have access.

The member said he does not have the details. He does, but maybe he just has not taken the time to read them and appreciate the wide scope of this agreement. Almost 94% of agricultural tariff lines will be duty-free when this agreement comes into force, rising to 95% when it is fully implemented.

This is a great agreement. We are moving forward to create more opportunities for every sector across this great country, and I encourage the member opposite to be open-minded.

[Access to Information, October 18th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I reject the premise of the question. Again, the government processed a record number of access to information requests, released a record number of materials, and had improved turnaround times. Our government processed nearly 54,000 access to information requests, a 27% increase over the previous year. The government also released a record number of materials. Over six million pages were released, an increase of nearly two million.

We will continue to improve access to information for Canadians. We are getting it right on access to information, increasing that to Canadians.

[Access to Information, October 18th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, in 2012-13, our government set a number of records for openness and transparency. This government processed a record number of access to information requests, released a record number of materials, and had an improved turnaround time. Our government processed nearly 54,000 access to information requests, which is a 27% increase over the previous year—over 10,000 more requests. The government also released a record number of materials, over six million pages released, an increase of nearly two million.

The numbers do not lie. Canadians are getting better and more access than ever before, thanks to this government.

[Not Criminally Responsible Reform Act, June 18th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I certainly appreciate the Minister of Justice's explanations thus far. I would simply like to ask the minister this.

The NDP voted at committee for this legislation to proceed. The Liberals, obviously, are certainly happy with the status quo and do not believe that needs to be changed. The victims that were heard at committee clearly said that this bill would help people like them in very tragic circumstances have a sense of safety, security and that they are being heard. If we do what the NDP wants, which would be to stall this, what consequences would that have? It would certainly take us through the summer break.

I would like to hear if the Minister of Justice thinks it is appropriate to make victims suffer further under the status quo that the opposition seems to be fine with.

[Not Criminally Responsible Reform Act, June 17th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the parliamentary secretary both for his speech and his work on committee.

Obviously this is an important piece of legislation. Questions have been brought up by members on both sides about the current process for NCR.

One thing I have found out through the process is that in the case of someone who has been designated not criminally responsible, the Criminal Code already allows the review to be extended up to 24 months by the Mental Health Review Board, in the case of a serious personal injury offence. By adding the extra 12 months of flexibility, it actually empowers the Mental Health Review Board.

There is a fine balance between making sure the safety of the public is paramount and that there is ample opportunity for treatment. Under this new high-risk designation, I would ask the parliamentary secretary if he feels there are sufficient provisions for both public safety and mental health treatment, to allow the NCR person to receive the treatment they need, while, again, balancing the aspect of safety.

[Tackling Contraband Tobacco Act, June 13th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, this is obviously an important bill.

I did not hear much in the member's speech on some of the more technical issues and I would just like the member to weigh in on them. Does he recognize that tools are given to both the provincial Attorneys General and the federal Attorney General to coordinate on these issues?

There is the premise that the current system of enforcement is mainly in the Excise Act. I would like to know if he appreciates having these other tools in the Criminal Code to charge and go after those who are trafficking in heavy amounts, because they often support organized crime.

Since the member said that some provinces are not supportive, I would like him to name one or two of the provinces that are not supportive of this bill.