James Moore

[Questions on the Order Paper, December 4th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, Canada is one of the most welcoming and profitable places in the world for international business and foreign direct investment. Canada’s economy, widely recognized as one of the world’s most innovative and stable, offers investors a series of competitive advantages, such as low business costs and corporate tax rates, ready access to markets, strong public support for R and D, and robust financial institutions. Industry Canada routinely meets with global stakeholders to promote Canada as an ideal location for investment in the automotive and manufacturing sector.

The Government of Canada understands the importance of the automotive and manufacturing sectors to the Canadian economy and has established a fiscal and economic environment that supports investment in these sectors. Government policies that support investment in Canada’s automotive and manufacturing sectors include streamlining regulations and reducing red tape; enhancing trade and market access; and investing in innovation and research and development.

Canada is alone among the Group of Seven, or G7, countries to receive the highest possible credit ratings from all the major credit rating agencies, which contributes to our strong global reputation. The Government of Canada has earned the trust of global investors for our responsible fiscal, economic, and financial sector management, which makes Canada an increasingly attractive destination for investment.

In Canada’s economic action plan 2013, the government announced $1.4 billion in tax relief for Canadian manufacturers by extending by two years the temporary accelerated capital cost allowance for new investments in machinery and processing and by creating a business tax environment that is conducive to foreign investment. Some 25,000 businesses in Canada used the accelerated capital cost allowance to write off the purchase of new investments and machinery since the federal government first introduced the measure in 2007.

By completing the Canada-EU comprehensive economic and trade agreement, CETA, we are opening up the largest market in the world for Canadian exporters. With CETA, Canada will be the only G8 country and one of the few developed countries in the world to have preferential access to the world’s two largest markets, the EU and the United States. This will make Canada the envy of trading nations and an even more attractive destination for investors and manufacturers looking to benefit from this access.

With regard to the automotive sector, the government has made investments in automotive research and development, such as Automotive Partnership Canada and Auto 21. The government has also made strategic investments in Canada’s automotive sector through the Automotive Innovation Fund, AIF, as the Government of Canada’s main lever to secure major automotive manufacturing investments. Introduced in 2008 and renewed in January 2013, the AIF has been highly successful, generating $2.3 billion in private sector investments by Ford, Linamar, Toyota, and Magna for advanced strategic projects to bring innovative and more fuel-efficient vehicles to market. These investments have generated significant economic benefits throughout the industry and for local communities. With a funding envelope of $250 million over the next five years, the AIF will continue to support major strategic automotive investments that contribute to the long-term competitiveness and sustainability of Canada’s assembly facilities.

[Consumer Protection, December 4th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, our government passed legislation to protect Canadians from unwanted email and spam. This is actually quite a serious problem for Canadians. It hurts productivity. It hurts people's wireless rates when they get unsolicited email that causes their prices to go up every month. We passed legislation to protect consumers, and today we put forward the regulations to ensure that this legislation comes into force.

We said in our throne speech that we would stand up for consumers. We acted when we passed our anti-spam legislation. Today, we are putting in place regulations to ensure Canadians are protected from those emails and those messages that they do not wish to receive that cause their monthly bills to go up and threaten their cyber security.

[Consumer Protection, December 3rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, in the fall throne speech, we made it very clear that we were going to introduce a number of new measures to further protect Canadian consumers. We have passed the Fairness at the Pumps Act and today we are announcing regulations to make sure that it comes into force.

What it will mean for everyday consumers is that regulators and inspectors will now have the tools and powers necessary to ensure that local gas stations and their parent companies are providing truth to Canadian consumers. When they buy a litre of gasoline, what it says on the sign it should say on the pump, and what it says on the pump should be reflected in the true price that consumers are paying at the till.

Consumers need this protection. We now have the regulations necessary so that the Fairness at the Pumps Act will come to life and protect everyday consumers.

[Ethics, December 3rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, again, I do not know where the member for Wascana has been since Sunday night, but the Privy Council Office has spoken very clearly to the status of those emails. Those emails are now in the hands of the RCMP so it can continue its independent investigation.

[Ethics, December 3rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, again, I would refer the member opposite to the comments made publicly by the Privy Council Office. It erred in saying publicly that the emails had been destroyed. They had not been destroyed. They had been frozen in unrelated litigation. This information is now in the hands of the RCMP, which is were it should be, so it can continue its independent investigation.

[Ethics, December 3rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP leader just asked the same question, and the answer is the same. The Privy Council Office clearly stated that it made a mistake in not turning over the emails and not informing the Prime Minister's Office and the RCMP about the content of the emails. Now the emails have been delivered to the RCMP for its independent investigation.

[Ethics, December 3rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, of course, there is no such truth to the allegations of the leader of the NDP. In fact, it is the RCMP which said in its ITO just last week, “I am not aware of any evidence that the Prime Minister was involved in the repayment or reimbursement of money to Senator Duffy”.

The RCMP makes it very clear and it also makes it clear that the Prime Minister has been wide open and transparent in terms of making sure that the RCMP has all the information that it needs. It said, “The PMO has also waived solicitor-client privilege for access to those e-mails”.

The transparency that has been demanded has indeed been delivered.

[Ethics, December 3rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, there is actually no question here.

If the NDP leader really believes in these laughable arguments, he should be presenting them to the people who are about to conduct the independent investigation.

[Ethics, December 3rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, this is not true at all.

The Office of the Information Commissioner is independent from the government. It is a parliamentary office. The Commissioner may conduct any investigation she wants, and it is up to her to decide whether to do so.

[Ethics, December 3rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, again, the Privy Council Office has taken responsibility for the mistake that it made in not handing over the information to the RCMP. However, the real question that the leader of the NDP is asking here is with regard to the openness of the Prime Minister's Office and here is what the RCMP said in its ITO. It said:

Rob Staley, legal representative for the PMO, advised my office that he had clear orders from the Prime Minister to provide complete cooperation with the investigation, and to provide any assistance or documentation the RCMP requested....The PMO has also waived solicitor-client privilege for those e-mails.

This also includes any emails related to, or being sent by, Mr. Perrin. Therefore, the transparency that has been demanded has been delivered and the mistake made by the PCO—