Irene Mathyssen

[Petitions, May 2nd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is in regard to the right of farmers to save, reuse, select, exchange, and sell seed.

The petitioners want the Parliament of Canada to refrain from making changes to the Seeds Act and Plant Breeders' Rights Act through Bill C-18 and re-enshrine the right of Canadian farmers to reuse, select, and exchange seeds in order to protect Canadian consumers.

[Petitions, May 2nd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present to the House today.

The first petition calls upon the Government of Canada to review thoroughly and change policy on blood and organ donation in Canada.

The petitioners understand that people should be pretested and if there is any disease, they cannot donate. However, they request that the government return the rights of healthy Canadians to give blood, bone marrow and organs for those in need no matter what the race, religion or sexual preference of that person.

[Pensions, May 2nd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, a social worker from my riding who works with CPP tribunals came to me with very disturbing news.

She told me that since the Conservatives restructured the appeal system, new hearings are not being booked. The previous backlog was already at 7,400 cases. People are not being helped. A crisis is brewing for vulnerable Canadians.

Does the minister have any plans to fix this situation so that elderly and low-income Canadians will no longer be left to suffer and left to wait?

[Petitions, April 30th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition from residents of Canada who call on the Government of Canada to review thoroughly and change the policy on blood and organ donation in Canada. They understand absolutely that people should be pre-tested for disease, and if they fail, they cannot donate. However, the petitioners request that the Government of Canada return the right of any healthy Canadian to give the gift of blood, bone marrow, and organs to those in need, no matter what the race, religion, or sexual preference of that person.

[Petitions, April 9th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition from Londoners who are very concerned about recent deaths in the city of London in regard to permanent residency applications. The petitioners want the Government of Canada to ensure that the Department of Citizenship and Immigration is properly staffed to reach decisions in a fair and timely manner and to ensure that immigration officials consider all factors in regard to an application, including humanitarian and compassionate grounds.

[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, April 9th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, we need a government that believes in supporting public broadcasting, not dismantling it.

CBC/Radio-Canada plays a unique role for both our official languages, but the Conservatives, like the Liberals before them, severely cut the budget: no more local content in minority francophone or anglophone communities. Even worse, tomorrow we expect deeper cuts.

Will the government finally commit to provide CBC/Radio-Canada with stable, long-term funding, so it can fulfill its mandate?

[Former Auditor General, April 7th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, there was a time when Conservatives listened to Sheila Fraser and acknowledged her expertise, but that time seems to have passed. Now they are treating her like every other watchdog who questions them, including people like Kevin Page, who dared to tell the truth. Conservatives championed Ms. Fraser when it came to the Liberal sponsorship scandal, but now they do not even want to hear her name.

Last week the Minister of State for Democratic Reform could not even bring himself to say her name in the House. It is a pattern for Conservatives. They go from saying a name to attacking a name, and finally the person simply becomes “that individual”. Tomorrow Ms. Fraser will testify, and she will face more ad hominem attacks from Conservatives.

I want to say to those members across the way to remember when they called her their friend and to reflect on what they have become.

[Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 1, April 4th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I am really glad that the member has mentioned some of these things, because I think he needs a history lesson.

Yes, I was in that government in Ontario between 1990 and 1995. Do members know what happened to that government? In 1989, the welfare rate was $1.89 billion. That was for people who were in desperate situations. The federal government decided that was not enough, so it changed the unemployment insurance rules, and the very next year that welfare rate was up to $6 billion.

Then the same bunch of people cut transfers for health care, training, and education. We wonder why students have horrendous debts in this country; it is because of the cuts to the very programs that were intended to maintain those people and help to make sure they had access to the economy.

He talks about free trade agreements. Free trade agreements are fine if they are fair trade agreements. What about the people who are injured by those agreements? What about the environment? What about the loss of labour rights? What about the loss of jobs because the government could not put in clauses to make sure that jobs here in Canada are protected?

Do not give me any rhetoric. I was there.

[Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 1, April 4th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for pointing out some of the misspending. I think $14 million on ads and $50 million for fake lakes and gazebos is a little much.

I would like to also mention the $72.5 billion that the government has given away to profitable corporations in tax breaks while veterans and seniors suffer and there is no child care. It has no money for the people of this country, but it has all kinds of money for profitable corporations.

It says it is going to create jobs. Tell that to the 300,000 Canadians who are still waiting. Tell that to the people of London—Fanshawe, who have lost many good jobs in the last few years.

[Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 1, April 4th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I am really sorry that they find this so amusing. My constituents are not amused.

The Conservatives expanded drug company monopoly rights. They moved to allow direct-to-consumer advertising, which would add $6.3 billion to our drug bills, even though Canadian consumers already pay some of the world's highest prices.

While the government has pandered to the large corporations, it has failed to renew the small business job creation tax credit, first proposed by the NDP in 2011, for the hiring of people by small businesses. New Democrats know that small and medium businesses fuel communities and help those communities to thrive. We believe that continuing to build on the existing job creation tax credit for small and medium businesses would benefit Canadians.

While Bill C-31 would provide for the compensation for deductions from veterans' pay between May 29, 2012, and September 30, 2012, it is silent on the amounts deducted between 2006 and 2012. We have already seen two ministers promise action and then fail to deliver on this issue.

With Veterans Affairs Canada, the Conservatives cut $225 million out of the budget. There is no concern for modern-day veterans. There is no concern for the young men and women who went on peacekeeping missions. There is none.

At the veterans affairs committee, we heard testimony from organizations that provide vital services to our Canadian veterans and their families. Those organizations, like the last post fund, had their budgets cut in 1995 to reduce government deficits. Those cuts have never been redressed, let alone seen an indexation for inflation, the kind we have seen over 20 years.

I should point out that this is not only the Conservative government's failure. It started with the Liberals, the same Liberals who voted in the past to support Conservative omnibus budget bills.

Those bills in the past included weakening environmental assessment in Canada. Bill C-31 would do nothing to correct that. We have a responsibility to leave clean water and breathable air to future generations in Canada, and we need to start now. We have heard that dire warning over and over.

I have received overwhelming support from the constituents of London—Fanshawe and the surrounding area to return the Thames River to inclusion in the Navigable Waters Protection Act. Canadians understand the value of environmental protection to the quality of life and a healthy economy. Why do the Conservatives not get that?

I see nothing in the budget, nor Bill C-31, to address Canada's staggering infrastructure deficit. New Democrats proposed a reversal of the $5.8 billion that the Conservatives cut from local infrastructure. We should be working with the provinces. We should be working with Canadians. We should be working to preserve rail travel and ensure that cargo transport on trains is sustainable, affordable, and safe. There is nothing in this budget that speaks to any of those needs.

In conclusion, I would like to end with my opening observation. Let the Conservatives rail that New Democrats did not support this budget or previous budgets. How could we possibly do that when these budgets harm Canadian families, veterans, and seniors?

We need something much better. Canadians deserve something much better.