James Moore

[Consumer Protection, February 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, with respect to gas prices, our government introduced a bill.

It is our government that put in place the Fairness at the Pumps Act in order to protect consumers. It was the NDP that did nothing to promote and push that bill forward; but since when is it the NDP's position to have lower prices for consumers? Since when is it the NDP's position?

The New Democrats have always advocated for carbon taxes, always advocated for higher prices against consumers, and now they pretend to be in favour of consumers when it comes to gas prices. It is ridiculous. It is our government, our party, that has lowered taxes consistently by over $3,000 for every Canadian family. It is we who stand with consumers, never the NDP.

[The Budget, February 13th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, that is not the case. As my colleague should know, last week we announced our new policy for the space industry. We have the support of Chris Hadfield and David Saint-Jacques, the new astronaut who will be involved in the process in the future. We are making new investments through this new policy to protect these key jobs in the future. We are using the Emerson report as we move forward with this new policy.

These new measures will benefit the aerospace industry in each region of the country.

[Telecommunications, February 5th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, there are over 18,000 cell towers all across this country. Four hundred new ones were built last year, and far too often those cell providers are not doing direct consultation with communities. The announcement that our government made today will force cell providers to engage directly with everyday Canadians and consult directly with municipalities all across the country before cell towers are built. We want cell towers to be built, but not without due consultation directly with Canadians, directly with communities.

We want Canadians to have the best technology possible and high download rates, and all that, but of course it has to be done with the consent of everyday Canadians, and that is why we have made these changes. We have listened to everyday Canadians, we have acted responsibly, and these new rules will protect communities.

[Questions on the Order Paper, January 27th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to contracts that have been entered into by the government that require the other contracting party to provide industrial regional benefits or other similar offsets across the country, since January 1, 2006, Industry Canada reports the following.

In response to (a), the projects are listed on the Industrial Regional Benefits, IRB, website, www.ic.gc.ca/irb.

In response to (b), in 54 of the contracts, the contractor’s IRB commitment is 100% of the contract value. In 2 contracts, the IRB commitment is 80% of the contract value.

In response to (c), the IRB obligation value for these contracts is available on the IRB website, www.ic.gc.ca/irb.

In response to (d), while there are IRB commitments and activities occurring in all provinces in Canada, provincial statistics are not tracked and reported.

In response to (e), contractors report to Industry Canada annually on their IRB activities. All contractors are on track to meet their IRB obligations by the end of their contract.

[Questions on the Order Paper, December 9th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a) to (h), the department cannot release data on jobs created or maintained on individual TPC and SADI projects because it is commercially confidential information.

With regard to (i), 18 TPC projects were approved in 2006-07 for a total authorized assistance of $484.6 million.

With regard to (j), in 2007-08, one project was approved for $19.6 million in SADI-authorized assistance. In 2008-09, nine projects were approved for $395.4 million in SADI-authorized assistance. In 2009-10, six projects were approved for $25.4 million in SADI-authorized assistance. In 2010-11, seven projects were approved for $375.6 million in SADI-authorized assistance. In 2011-12, one project was approved for $399,386 in SADI-authorized assistance. In 2012-13, five projects were approved for $73.8 million in SADI-authorized assistance. In 2013-14, two projects have been approved to date for $10.2 million in SADI-authorized assistance.

With regard to (k), 55% of SADI-funded projects are subject to conditional repayment terms based on gross business revenues.

With regard to (l), 59% of total disbursements made through SADI are for projects subject to conditional repayment based on gross business revenues. The dollar value of this subset is $364.1million of $620.7 million in total disbursements.

With regard to (m), 14 projects under SADI have accepted unconditional repayment. The total value of the disbursement for these projects is $256.6 million, representing 41% of the total disbursements.

With regard to (n), Industry Canada regularly adjusts its short-term repayment expectations to reflect current economic realities and the progress of projects within its portfolio. Revised forecasts are published annually as part of the report on plans and priorities supplementary information tables, available at http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/017.nsf/eng/h_07289.html.

With regard to (o), forecast repayment expectations are the amounts reported in reports on plans and priorities, available at http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/017.nsf/eng/07306.html.

With regard to (p), as part of the redesigning of the website, the Industrial Technologies Office executive director authorized the elimination of information that was either no longer relevant, such as outdated industry statistics, or that was already available on the Industry Canada website.

The information about the type, purpose, and disbursement period for each project is available under the following link: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/icgc.nsf/eng/h_07018.html.

[Intergovernmental Affairs, December 9th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are the party of free trade, of FTA, of NAFTA and the Canada-Europe free trade agreement. It should not be easier for a business in Ontario to do business in New York State and Michigan than it is to do business in Quebec and Manitoba. We want to break down the internal barriers to trade in this country.

Specifically to my colleague opposite, this Thursday I will be meeting with my provincial counterparts to discuss this issue. This matter has been talked about for too long. I want to see specific actions. I want to see the ball moving forward so that we can break down internal barriers to trade and have more prosperity for Canadians all across this country.

[Privacy, December 9th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, we already have legislation that protects individuals and their information. I agree with the opposition member that it is very important for these companies to explain why they are collecting this information and what they are doing with it.

It is also important for consumers to protect themselves when it comes to the information they disclose online.

[Consumer Protection, December 9th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the CRTC is in the process of examining this issue and we will make an announcement in this regard in the very near future.

[Questions on the Order Paper, December 6th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a), the Department of Industry is taking steps to ensure the National Research Council, the NRC, remains a world-class organization that supports business-led initiatives.

With regard to (b), in order to stay within the defined budget envelope while ensuring a continued focus on priorities, an in-depth review of NRC Herzberg operations and programs was undertaken by NRC Herzberg senior program managers.

With regard to (c), the Long Range Plan for Astronomy and Astrophysics, LRP2010, is a document that balances both regional and disciplinary priorities in the Canadian astronomical community, and is the result of over a year’s worth of consultations between the NRC and relevant parties.

NRC meets on a regular basis with the Association of Canadian Universities for Research in Astronomy, ACURA, to ensure its activities are aligned with the astronomy community priorities.

With regard to (d), specific reductions were made to two completed projects.

In the first project, the Atacama large millimeter array, ALMA, telescope became operational in 2013. This 10-year project, led by NRC, was successfully completed in 2012. The positions related to the production, delivery, and integration of the relatively large number of deliverable units for this specific project were no longer required for ongoing astronomy technology development activities. The activities of the ALMA telescope will not be affected by this decision.

In the second project, the development work in support of the James Clerk Maxwell telescope, the JCMT, archive was completed in 2012, and the domain expertise of the incumbent position in this area was no longer required. The activities of JCMT will not be affected by this decision.

The visitors facility at NRC Herzberg in Victoria, known as the Center of the Universe, suspended its outreach activities at the end of August 2013. The National Research Council, NRC, has been meeting with the community and exploring options for the future management of the centre. The NRC is working with local stakeholders to find ways to resume some of the activities at the centre in the short term and is continuing to investigate options that would safeguard the long-term sustainability of the Centre of the Universe.

[Consumer Protection, December 5th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, we said in the throne speech not long ago that our government would be enacting new measures to protect Canadian consumers.

This week we have put in place our anti-spam regulations to make sure that comes to life. We have put forward the regulations to protect consumers from being ripped off at the pumps, and now we have our anti-counterfeit products legislation that has been passed now by the parliamentary committee.

Canadians deserve protection. This helps small businesses, larger business and consumers, because stuff that gets counterfeited is not just handbags and watches; sometimes these products are dangerous to our kids and dangerous to our health. It is important to have effective legislation moving forward.

I say to all members of Parliament who were on that committee and unanimously supported these recommendation, thanks for supporting that bill. We are moving forward to protect Canadian consumers.