Jack Harris

[Questions Passed as Orders for Return, January 31st, 2011]

With regard to the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA): (a) is ACOA part of the government’s on-going strategic review and, if so, what is the purpose and rationale for a strategic review of ACOA; (b) how many ACOA projects were funded during fiscal years 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010 and the current fiscal year; (c) what is the breakdown by province and federal riding of the ACOA projects funded during fiscal years 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010 and the current fiscal year, and what is the allocated amount of funding for each of these projects; (d) how many projects were funded by ACOA under Canada’s Economic Action Plan; (e) what projects have been funded by ACOA under Canada’s Economic Action Plan; (f) how much funding was allocated for each of these projects; (g) what is the breakdown by province and federal riding for these projects; (h) what are the funding and full-time equivalent projections for ACOA for fiscal years 2011-2012 and 2012-2013; (i) how much core and project funding has been allocated for each regional development agency in each Atlantic province in 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010 and the current fiscal year; (j) how much funding was allocated to support operations of the Ottawa office of ACOA during the 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010 and current fiscal years; (k) how many staff were assigned to work in the Ottawa office of ACOA during the 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010 and current fiscal years; and (l) what programs or initiatives will sunset in 2010-2011 and are there any new programs to be launched in 2011-2012?

[Afghanistan, December 16th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, according to the International Red Cross in Afghanistan, despite the American troop surge, the war is spreading and there is no end in sight. Civilian casualties are once again on the rise and increasing numbers of Afghans are fleeing the violence. United States intelligence reports an inability to defeat the Taliban as long as it enjoys sanctuary in Pakistan. This is not the time to commit our troops to three more years.

When will the government, along with its Liberal allies, come up with a real plan to work toward peace and nation-building in Afghanistan?

[Democratic Representation Act, December 16th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, I want to ask my colleague question. I know this effort has been around for some time and I understand there were three separate versions of this bill. We have been experiencing this delay since the bill was first introduced in April and there have been three different versions of it. Can he comment on why that is, and how serious is the government about it if it cannot seem to get it right?

[National Defence, December 13th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are sick of the Conservative government playing fast and loose with numbers.

Wild claims about 16,000 jobs simply do not add up. An industry witness told the defence committee last week that the number of jobs created, even if $12 billion in work were obtained, would only be about 1,800 jobs, and even those would not all be new jobs. It is time for the Conservative government to stop its cynical approach designed to mislead the public.

When will the minister stop the fairytales and start telling Canadians the truth about the fighter jet purchase?

[National Defence, December 13th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the F-35 fiasco continues to grow. The choice for this jet was made without competition behind closed doors.

The minister has said that F-35 maintenance over 20 years will cost $5 billion. His parliamentary secretary has said $7 billion. However, in 2009, DND told industry that the cost would be $12 billion. Meanwhile, a competitor, Saab, told the defence committee that its maintenance costs would total $1 billion over 20 years but it did not even get a chance to bid. That is a big difference.

When will the government come clean, show us its math and stop pulling numbers out of thin air?

[Petitions, December 10th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition on behalf of a number of Canadians who are concerned about the significant reduction in tourism. In fact, the number of Americans visiting Canada is now the lowest since 1972, having fallen by five million visitors in the last seven years. This is blamed on increased costs as a result of the requirement of passports for Americans and Canadians, mostly the American law requiring American citizens to have passports to re-enter the U.S.

The petitioners ask for a fairer process and want the Canadian government to negotiate with the Americans to try to examine a mutual reduction in passport fees to facilitate tourism. It now can cost an American family of four in excess of $500 to obtain passports. This is a significant barrier to the traditional kind of cross-border family vacations that existed for many years.

This is a serious problem. It is something that we think the Canadian government should be working on because it is reducing tourism, and as the numbers show, it is significantly reducing the number of Americans who come to Canada and spend money in our tourism facilities and enjoy the benefits of Canadian vacations. This is something that the petitioners urge upon the Government of Canada, and we support this petition.

[Hydroelectricity, December 10th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and their energy corporations have signed an agreement to develop and transmit 800 megawatts of electricity from the lower Churchill River. The project will bring clean energy to the island of Newfoundland, making its electricity 98% renewable, reduce coal generation in Nova Scotia and provide clean power for New Brunswick and P.E.I.

Does the government agree this is a positive step for Canada in reducing greenhouse gases and providing significant industrial benefits? Will the government commit the financial support for the project and do its part to resolve outstanding aboriginal claims, which could stand in the way?

[Strengthening Military Justice in the Defence of Canada Act, December 6th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I know the figure of 93% has been used but not everybody has a choice. There are only certain offences in which people have a choice of having either a court martial or summary trial. There are a lot of offences where people cannot go the court martial route.

In civil courts, there is an option to go to the Supreme Court to be tried by a judge and jury or have it disposed of in a provincial court and 93% or more of the cases are decided in provincial court as well because the procedure is less frightening and it is more easily disposed of. That is not necessarily a statement about how fair it is but, rather, a statement of how available, convenient and less of a hassle it is. I leave that as a comment.

[Strengthening Military Justice in the Defence of Canada Act, December 6th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, as a parent of someone in the military, I am sure my colleague is concerned about the fairness by which his son and all military members are treated.

As my colleague indicated, people in the military often get treated more severely in terms of sentencing on the one hand because of military discipline reasons, and on the other hand because of the lack of full procedural fairness in accordance with the charter. They can still get a criminal record for doing things that they might be acquitted of if the different civil rules prevailed in the military. I wonder if my colleague would care to comment on that.

[Strengthening Military Justice in the Defence of Canada Act, December 6th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I know the member has a great deal of experience in labour matters as a legal counsel. Would he like to comment on the consequences of the current system we have for grievances within the military, where it takes up to 12 months sometimes to get an initial response? Grievances sometimes take two, three, and four years. There were a series of recommendations from Justice Lamer to put time limits on responses, to have a grievance finished by the end of 12 months and a series of other measures to allow the matters to be resolved. None have been acted upon, although some of members accept the one year limit.

In his experience, what is the effect of that on a work force? Would he be able to extrapolate that to the military? Would the situation be the same or different?