Matthew Kellway

[Petitions, May 12th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition today with respect to the climate change accountability act. The signatories to this petition are expressing their concerns with respect to the inaction of our federal government to address climate change in light of the impact of climate change on the day-to-day lives of Canadians. They are expressing their concerns about the billions of dollars in public money given to the oil and gas industry in the form of subsidies.

The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to support the NDP's climate change accountability act, a law that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions and hold the government accountable.

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, May 8th, 2015]

With regard to government funding for each fiscal year from 2008-2009 to 2014-2015: what is the total amount allocated within the constituency of Beaches—East York, broken down by each (i) department or agency, (ii) initiative, (iii) amount?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, May 7th, 2015]

With regard to the New Building Canada Fund (NBCF), between 2013-2014 and the current fiscal year: (a) broken down by date of application, individual project, province, and municipality, what is the total number of applications submitted under each of the following components of the NBCF, (i) the National Infrastructure Component, (ii) the Provincial Territorial Infrastructure Component--National and Regional Projects (PTIC-NRP), (iii) the Provincial Territorial Infrastructure Component--Small Communities Fund (PTIC-SCF); (b) broken down by date of application, individual project, province, and municipality, what is the total amount of money requested under each component identified in (a); (c) broken down by date of application, individual project, province, and municipality, what are all the approved projects and the total amount of funding allocated under each component identified in (a); (d) broken down by date of application, individual project, province, and municipality, what is the total number of applications submitted for (i) public transit infrastructure projects, (ii) highway, bridge, and major road infrastructure projects, (iii) inter-city and regional rail infrastructure projects, (iv) disaster mitigation infrastructure projects, (v) port, maritime shipping, and marine infrastructure projects, (vi) airport, helipad, and aviation infrastructure projects, (vii) information technology infrastructure projects, (viii) wastewater management and sewage infrastructure projects; (e) which provinces have submitted applications to Infrastructure Canada under (i) PTIC–NRP, (ii) PTIC-SCF; (f) which provinces have yet to open the process for municipal applications under PTIC-NRP; and (g) will delays in processing applications under PTIC-NRP cause any municipalities to miss the 2015 construction season and, if so, which municipalities will be affected?

[Questions on the Order Paper, May 7th, 2015]

Mr. Kellway (Beaches—East York) — With regard to the Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) ethical procurement of apparel: (a) what are the details of information collected by PWGSC from suppliers and industry associations on their current practices concerning ethical manufacturers and sources of supply in the Request for Information on Ethical Sourcing of Apparel (E60PR-140001/A), published October 30, 2014, broken down by (i) company name, (ii) company’s answers provided for each questions; (b) what information has the Federal Task Force (FTF), which was established by PWGSC, to undertake research on the ethical sourcing of apparel in other jurisdictions as well as the practices of apparel suppliers in Canada with offshore production collected since the FTF was established; (c) which individuals make up the FTF, including (i) their qualifications, (ii) the decision-making process behind each of their appointments; (d) what companies or stakeholders has the FTF consulted; (e) what information has the FTF shared with the public on current sourcing policies; (f) according to the FTF, what constitutes an ethical supplier and what criteria or standards are used to evaluate whether a supplier can be considered ethical; (g) what options has the FTF put forward to buy clothing from ethical suppliers and enhance PWGSC’s procurement practices with regard to ethical sourcing of apparel; (h) what companies does the Department plan to consult regarding the options outlined in (g); (i) how does PWGSC plan to measure the effectiveness of their procurement practices with regard to ethical sourcing of apparel going forward; and (j) what is the estimated cost of establishing the FTF?

[Petitions, May 7th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, my second petition calls upon the Government of Canada to implement the NDP's plan for affordable $15-a-day child care.

[Petitions, May 7th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present.

The first calls on the Government of Canada to extend a 0% GST rate on menstrual hygiene products.

[Petitions, May 6th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition today to ensure the dignity of all of Canada's veterans.

The signatories to the petition want to point the House to the fact that although veterans and their families deserve our deepest gratitude and respect and deserve to be taken care of, many veterans and their families cannot access adequate health care, pensions and other vital services, and now struggle with the closure of front-line Veterans Affairs offices.

The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to implement improved services, such as quality home care, long-term care and mental health care for our veterans and their families.

[Toronto Transit, May 5th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, in Toronto, people are waiting on buses that take forever, waiting on platforms for the morning train that will arrive already full. But before relief comes for the public, billions will go to the one-in-ten families eligible for income-splitting, hundreds of millions will be sheltered by those who have money enough to shelter.

When new federal funding for transit finally arrives, Toronto's share will be a small package wrapped in red tape, enough to put a few buses on the road or perhaps a boring machine in the ground, but not both. Transit under-investment in Toronto has been costly to date and without consideration for the future of a city region expected to grow by 2.5 million people and add 1.5 million jobs over the next decade and a half.

My city is a globally relevant city with great potential not just for itself and those who live there, but for all of Canada and yet, nowhere to be found in the city of Toronto is the Government of Canada. That has to change if Toronto is to become all that Toronto should be.

[Anti-terrorism Act, 2015, May 5th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, it is a fine question, probably better addressed to an actual lawyer, which I am not. However, most clearly, the bill is very simple in what it ultimately puts forward. It puts forward a judicial system in this country that is not consistent with constitutional traditions of Canada in that it does not respect the rule of law. We have seen judges under current law criticize CSIS for not seeking warrants when it should have. For the government to suggest that no oversight is required of CSIS to ensure that it is not seeking warrants when it knows full well that there is a potential breach of someone's charter rights is extraordinarily naive or misleading.

[Anti-terrorism Act, 2015, May 5th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, it would most certainly not be the same case as the current system of judicial warrants that are sought by police. Those warrants are sought to ensure that there is no invasion of charter rights, that the integrity of the charter is upheld, and that is what judges determine, and those warrants are monitored by judges from the beginning of the criminal process to the end. This would not be that process. This, in fact, would turn that process on its head. These are warrants explicitly intended to seek a breach of somebody's charter rights or freedoms. That process would occur not in open court subject to the scrutiny of the public, but in secret courts, in secret trials.

The Conservative Party is a party that has turned Canada, through this bill, into a country of secret trials and secret hearings, and this is not the Canada we support and believe in. The parliamentary secretary would be wise and would make a far better member of Parliament by acting in good faith and speaking honestly in this House about what is really in the bill and not continuing to misrepresent what Conservatives are doing to Canada, to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms of this country, through the bill.