James Moore

[Digital Privacy Act, May 28th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I know this is a very well-articulated and long-standing concern of the leader of the Green Party on this matter.

With regard to Bill S-4, the time in the House is precious. I personally have the view that I would like to see Parliament sit later into the evenings. Parliament is going to go from a 308-seat House to a 338-seat House, so affording more members of Parliament the opportunity to speak on more bills is an admirable goal. I would hope the Standing Orders in the next Parliament might reflect that.

If we look at other jurisdictions, for example, the U.S. Congress sits very late into the evening, but it also has an approach where it has fixed times for debate of specific bills. It allots to all political parties specific speaking slots and it is done a very different way. Perhaps this conversation needs to be had, given that the House will grow in size by 30 seats this coming fall.

There are other ways in which the government could accommodate, in a meaningful way, people's views on government legislation.

With regard to Bill S-4, which is a technical bill, as well as with the Copyright Modernization Act and other legislation that I have had the responsibility to steer through the House, I suspect the opposition parties would concede that we have tried to approach this in a pretty non-ideological, non-partisan way to draw in opinion from the private sector, from academics and from those who are interested in digital policy and privacy policy to arrive at legislation that would be as effective as possible and would move the country forward in a significant way.

[Digital Privacy Act, May 28th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, this is not the urgent matter that my colleague is making it out to be. We think it is very important to pass this bill, and as my colleague knows, the House will stop sitting in about three weeks.

We have already had a debate on this very complex bill. In my opinion, we have been very respectful of the members of the House of Commons and the opposition parties. We involved stakeholders from outside the House of Commons.

The Privacy Commissioner is on board with this. Mr. Therrien supports this bill and commends the government's approach in this bill.

It is truly essential that we move forward with this commitment and this approach for the sake of Canadians' privacy, in a world that is more digital than ever. We want this bill to become a reality for the sake of Canadians.

[Telecommunications, May 6th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, the CRTC decision from yesterday is an important contribution to ensuring that we have more competition in Canada's wireless sector. By putting a cap on roaming rates and ensuring that access to roaming is going to be accessible to new players, it is going to create more competition all across this country.

We have put more spectrum into the hands of the private sector, and therefore Canadians, than any government before in Canada's history. It is essential that we keep having policies that will keep us competitive so consumers have more choice, lower prices and more competition in all regions of Canada.

[Telecommunications, May 5th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, we have already taken peoples' needs seriously. That is why we proposed providing the amount required to enhance the power of wireless and high-speed services in every region of Canada.

We will make announcements next week in each region, including Quebec. All Canadians will have access to good quality high-speed Internet. We need to involve all Canadians.

[Telecommunications, May 5th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, that is a good question and I respect the member's sincerity on the matter, but of course we have taken action as a government. I just mentioned the satellite fee structure that we put in place.

Beyond that, we have our connecting Canadians program. We have done an RFP, and we have had a return from all of Canada. Our goal was to have 280,000 households connected, which would take us to over 99% of all households connected in Canada, and we have exceeded that with over 300,000 households. We are going to be making announcements next week, starting in Kenora. Then we are going to go to the Columbia River valley. We are going to go all across this country. We are going to make sure that all Canadians are connected to high-speed Internet all across the country.

[Telecommunications, May 5th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, we often forget but we should remind ourselves that while Canada is the second largest country in size, we are the 37th largest in terms of population. This means that our most rural, most remote and northern communities, often aboriginal communities, are completely cut off from the rest of the country, and indeed, the rest of the world.

This is why today our government is proud to announce that we have made changes that will reduce regulatory fees for satellite companies that provide rural and remote communities access to satellite services. This is essential for public safety, economic opportunities and ensuring that all Canadians have equal access to the digital world.

[Manufacturing Industry, May 5th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, on the subject of manufacturing, in this year's budget we put forth accelerated capital cost allowance, which has been called for by the manufacturing sector for a long time.

While New Democrats may not like our policies when it comes to manufacturing, here is who is endorsing our budget: the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, the Railway Association of Canada, the Canadian Steel Producers Association, the Agricultural Manufacturers of Canada, the Canadian Plastics Industry Association, and the Canadian Tooling and Machining Association. I could go on, but those who know what it takes to build manufacturing in Canada support our government and support our budget.

[Manufacturing Industry, May 4th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, of course, that is not true. Specifically, he opened his question talking about those people in Oshawa and at GM who lost their jobs.

Of course, we feel terrible for those who have lost their jobs, but we have an obligation as a government to ensure that we have a competitive auto industry going forward. That is why we have put in budget 2015 the automotive innovation strategy to support the supply chain. We have the auto innovation fund, as well, and we have free trade agreements that are going to allow for automobiles that are assembled and made in Canada to be sold all over the world.

We do look forward to GM continuing to grow in Canada as it has committed to do, in Oshawa and elsewhere, as we move forward with the best policies possible.

[Manufacturing Industry, May 4th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, we must certainly protect and promote the manufacturing industry. What is more, as a government we must put policies and approaches on the table to increase employment gains in that sector. That is why, in our budget two weeks ago, we introduced a plan to support Canada's manufacturers and exporters. They say that our economic action plan contains many important measures for investment and that these measures will have a very positive impact on the manufacturing sector.

I could provide other examples. However, we are doing everything we can to help the sector and to promote and create manufacturing jobs in every region of Canada.

[Foreign Affairs, April 29th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2) I have the honour to table, in both official languages, copies of the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled, done at Marrakesh on June 27, 2013.

I want to thank the Canadian National Institute for the Blind and all those Canadians who have worked so hard for so many years to ensure that on this treaty Canada would be the first G7 country to assent to the Marrakesh Treaty, which will help tens of thousands of Canadians who have perceptual disabilities and blindness to get access to books and works, so they can have full dignity in Canadian society.