House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2015, with 43% of the vote.
Ethics May 13th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, these allegations are with respect to a private citizen who did not get a contract with the government. As soon as we found out about these allegations, we referred the matter to the RCMP, the Ethics commissioner, and the Commissioner of Lobbying. We will not tolerate rule breaking. If this individual is found guilty, he should suffer the severest consequences available under the laws that we brought in.
Questions on the Order Paper May 12th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, the government’s position on the voting rights in Canadian elections of Canadians who have lived abroad for longer than five years can be found in the Canada Elections Act, Part 11, Special Voting Rules, which states:
222. (1) The Chief Electoral Officer shall maintain a register of electors who are temporarily resident outside Canada in which is entered the name, date of birth, civic and mailing addresses, sex and electoral district of each elector who has filed an application for registration and special ballot and who: a) at any time before making the application, resided in Canada; (b) has been residing outside Canada for less than five consecutive years immediately before making the application; and (c) intends to return to Canada to resume residence in the future.
222. (2) Paragraph (1)(b) does not apply to an elector who is (a) employed outside Canada in the federal public administration or the public service of a province; (b) employed outside Canada by an international organization of which Canada is a member and to which Canada contributes; (c) a person who lives with an elector referred to in paragraph (a) or (b); or (d) a person who lives with a member of the Canadian Forces or with a person referred to in paragraph 191(d).
Questions on the Order Paper May 12th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, the response from the Privy Council Office is publicly available on the Privy Council Office’s orders in council website at http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/oic-ddc.asp.
Questions on the Order Paper May 12th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, with regard to the Prime Minister’s “24 Seven” videos, with regard to (a), the PCO was first advised of the project in November 2013, and the first video was published on January 6, 2014.
With regard to (b), the PCO manages the Prime Minister’s website, the content of which is owned by the Prime Minister’s Office. All aspects of video production are the responsibility of the Prime Minister’s Office.
With regard to (c), the PCO does not have any contracts associated with the conception and production of the videos.
With regard to (d), PCO Communications and Consultations manages the Prime Minister’s website, the content of which is owned by the Prime Minister’s Office. All aspects of video production, including conception, are the responsibility of the Prime Minister’s Office.
Questions on the Order Paper May 12th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, with regard to part (a), no costing breakdown is available. The Privy Council Office, PCO, manages the Prime Minister’s website, the content of which is owned by the Prime Minister’s Office. All aspects of video production are the responsibility of the Prime Minister’s Office. PCO Communications and Consultations provide web publishing and maintenance support for the PM’s website as well as advice on content, using existing resources.
These activities fall under:
“1.1 Program: Advice and support to the Prime Minister and portfolio ministers” and “1.1.5 Sub-Program: Offices of the Prime Minister and portfolio ministers”.
With regard to part (b), all aspects of video production are the responsibility of the Prime Minister’s Office. PCO Communications and Consultations provide web publishing and maintenance support for the PM’s website as well as advice on content. The information and technical services division is responsible for the servers that host www.pm.gc.ca.
Consumer Protection May 6th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, again, it is just the opposite.
This government, of course, has made it a policy to make sure that we do everything we can to actually bring down the cost of wireless to Canadian consumers. We have done that since we have been elected. Unfortunately, the opposition is constantly voting against those measures.
As I just said, it is our government's policies that have brought down the wireless rates for Canadian consumers, while at the same time employment in that sector has increased by 25%. That is good news.
We will continue to do that and we will continue to put the focus on putting more money back in the pockets of hard-working Canadians.
Consumer Protection May 6th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, of course, this government has done extraordinary work with respect to our telecom policy. In fact, competition has increased. At the same time, wireless rates have come down by 20% while employment in this sector has actually increased by some 25%. That is good news for all Canadians. It is something that has been a priority for us.
Putting more money back in the pockets of hard-working Canadians will remain a priority of this government, and we are proud of that.
Privacy May 5th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth.
Personal information that is protected by the charter requires a warrant. This is what Rogers had to say when asked about this, “Where there is an immediate danger to life; we will provide information to law enforcement agencies to assist with 911 service, missing persons cases, individuals in distress”.
That is what we are talking about. I wish the opposition would support us. There is a bill before the House, Bill S-4 that will help tighten this even further and make the bill even better.
Privacy May 5th, 2014
Mr. Speaker, Bill S-4 is an update. This is what the Privacy Commissioner had to say about it, “I welcome proposals...” in this bill. This bill contains “...very positive developments for the privacy rights of Canadians”. She went on to say, “I am pleased that the government...has addressed issues such as breach notification...”.
It is a good bill and I do hope the opposition will consider supporting it.
Privacy May 2nd, 2014
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows quite clearly that Canadians' personal information that is protected by the charter requires a warrant. Moreover, the legislation that governs this, of course, was introduced by the Liberal Party, and we had not heard a word from the Liberals until a couple of days ago that there were any problems with it.
Having said that, we did recognize that some updates needed to happen. That is why we brought a bill forward, Bill S-4, which will address this even further. We have been consulting, and we have spoken to the Privacy Commissioner. I would suggest that the opposition support that bill.