Paul Dewar

[Canada-Honduras Economic Growth and Prosperity Act, March 6th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I am astonished. Just minutes ago, the government said it would not force a vote. Then, again, it flipped. The minister—maybe the House leader was not aware; maybe they do not talk, but I suspect they do—said the government would not force a vote.

Here we are, yet again, with time allocation. Why? It is not about trying to get legislation through; it is about trying to actually muzzle debate on the Chief Electoral Officer.

The current government does not even care anymore. In fact, the Conservatives are all laughing. There are smiles, right across the bench, because they think how great it is that they are going to muzzle the Chief Electoral Officer—and to do what? To present his evidence on his concerns about what? About our democracy.

We have the House leader working with the front bench, including the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, who pretended to think that we were going to buy his argument that he would not force the vote, which the government then did. That is what it did. Why? So that the government could shut down debate on the Chief Electoral Officer. And they smile. They think this is great.

My question for our friend across the way is, is this what we are going to do in our democracy from here on with the current government? Is it going to continue with time allocation on every bill so that not only are we going to shut down debate on important bills but also muzzle people from bearing witness in committee?

Further, my final question is, can we trust the current government on its word when we make a deal with it to have people present at committee? I guess not. What is this—

[Venezuela, February 28th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, if you seek it I believe you would find unanimous consent for the following motion. I move:

That the House express its deep concern at the escalation of violence in Venezuela; convey its condolences to the families of those killed or injured during the ongoing public protests; ask the Government of Canada to urge Venezuelan authorities to proactively de-escalate the conflict, protect the human and democratic freedoms of Venezuelan citizens, release all those detained during the protests, immediately cease all government interference with peaceful protesters, and ensure that those people who perpetrated the violence be brought to justice and bear the full weight of the law; encourage the Government of Canada to play a leading role in supporting a political dialogue in Venezuela that respects legitimate grievances and differences of opinion; and call for an end to divisive rhetoric and actions that only delay and jeopardize the inclusive political solution that the Venezuelan people deserve.

[Pensions, February 28th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the President of the Treasury Board has a very strange idea of negotiation.

After unilaterally announcing that federal retirees and former RCMP and Canadian Forces members will have to pay double for a more limited health care plan, he now wants them to negotiate.

Negotiation actually means exchange and agreement, not dictating major concessions. I have a very simple question. Will the President of the Treasury Board sit down and negotiate in good faith?

[Public Service of Canada, February 28th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, it is my great pleasure and honour to represent many public service workers. These men and women provide important services for Canadians. They help immigrants settle in Canada and support our veterans and seniors. They make sure that pensions, employment insurance, and tax refunds are delivered on time. They keep our food safe, and they help grow Canadian businesses.

They deserve our respect, not false Conservative claims about wages and sick leave. Canadians deserve a strong public service, not more Conservative cuts. The Conservatives say that front-line services will not be affected by their cuts, but anyone who actually relies on these services knows it is not true. More and more of my constituents are coming to me and my staff, seeking help they cannot get from underfunded and overworked government offices.

Canadians deserve better. It is time for the government to start respecting and supporting our public service.

[The Budget, February 25th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I want to have my colleague elaborate on some of the other aspects of the budget. One point I was glad to hear from her was on the effect this is going to have on seniors, which will affect many of my constituents. I agree with her completely that this was a missed opportunity, particularly for those seniors living in poverty right now. We could have lifted them out of poverty; the government decided not to.

I would like to hear from her some of the other points she had on the budget.

[Request for Emergency Debate, February 24th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to stand today on behalf of my party and with Ukrainian Canadians and the people of Ukraine to request an emergency debate on the situation in Ukraine.

The situation has changed since I submitted my written notice last week, but it remains urgent and worthy of our immediate attention. This remains an emergency, and I would urge you, Mr. Speaker, to allow this debate to occur.

Free speech and the right to peaceful protests are fundamental to democracy. The extended use of repressive force by Ukrainian security forces has been entirely unacceptable. We are all saddened by the dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries and unjustified arrests that we have seen over the past weeks and months. Canada should lead the international community in supporting the Ukrainian people in achieving a lasting political solution. That includes justice for human rights, justice for the victims, and respect for democratic freedoms.

In light of last week's deal between the government and opposition parties and the subsequent removal and indictment of former president Yanukovych, further Canadian action is urgently needed to support political mediation and monitoring, including support for documentation of crimes and delegations of observers before and during the election to be held later this year. Parliamentarians, meaning us, need an opportunity to discuss how Canada can best respond to the situation and assist the people of Ukraine. The House must remain engaged with the ongoing political crisis.

Earlier today I spoke with a member of the opposition in the Ukrainian legislature, who described the situation as an emergency. She pleaded with me to go forward with the request for an emergency debate. Ukraine is struggling politically and economically as a result of this crisis. We know that right now is a critical time for the people of Ukraine to make this important transition. The Ukrainian people need friends like Canada now more than ever.

This is an opportunity to take a firm stand on our support for the people of Ukraine. We must show that our friendship is a long-term commitment and that we will remain vigilant to ensure that the recent political progress in Ukraine just this past week is not jeopardized.

Finally, if I may, I would hope that all members of Parliament will remember that the focus is the people of Ukraine and that we will rise above any partisan shots that might be tempting for all of us to make in this debate.

[Foreign Affairs, February 24th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I would love to, and that is why I am on my feet.

We asked the government to act on sanctions. It would not act when we asked it to. We asked it to act on a visa ban. It would not act when we asked it to. Now we are asking if the Conservative government will join others and send a high-level delegation.

We wanted the Prime Minister to speak to President Yanukovych and ask him to stop. The Conservatives did not do that.

Will the government actually work with us to help the people of Ukraine? Will it send a high-level delegation to work with others to make sure that we get political transition and peace for the people of Ukraine?

[Democratic Reform, February 14th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the House leader's parliamentary secretary told reporters he opposes hearings on the unfair elections act. He is worried that by letting Canadians have their say, it would rally public opinion against his bill. I agree. The more Canadians learn of this bill, the less they like it.

Elections belong to the people, not the Conservatives. Why will they not let Canadians have their say on how our elections are run?

[The Budget, February 13th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the parliamentary secretary for his comments. He certainly gave a great resumé of the Conservative government's perception of how things are going. However, it is interesting that with all the tax cuts he mentioned, he left out one of the dilemmas the government has, which is the astronomical household debt.

We put forward some very practical solutions to help everyday Canadians. In fact, some of them were adopted in the Speech from the Throne, but they somehow disappeared by the time they got to the budget. I would like to know what happened there.

The other issue is that the loans for apprentices are not going to help our youth. My friend from Winnipeg Centre, who has gone through the trades, will tell us it is just more debt burden, which goes back to my original point on household debt. It is not going to help. We need to do more to help people get into apprenticeships and then get into jobs.

Finally, if the Conservative government is serious about going forward, it has to be coherent. I would like to know what the member's opinion is on income splitting. Is he with his Minister of Finance on this or with his Prime Minister? Where does he stand?

[The Budget, February 13th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I have to point out a couple of things in the parliamentary secretary's comments.

The previous government used to have a parlour trick, in which it would look at the estimates and say that the surplus was going to be x, and it would be y. Of course it would be a lot more than it had initially predicted.

We put the Parliamentary Budget Officer in place, and we worked with the government to do that.

Now there is a new parlour trick, and actually Kevin Page identified it. It goes like this: the government does not actually spend the money that Parliament assigns. So we have $300 million in foreign affairs that was not spent, to help things like the START program to help South Sudan. We have programs that were actually needed for Canadians, and money for them is not being spent. Then the government invites us to see how well it is doing.

We have $7 billion booked in this budget that is coming out of the pockets of public servants here in Ottawa. This is some magical, great financial wizardry.

The government cannot even procure defence equipment, so it has to kick the can of $3 billion ahead.

What I am laying out here is the basis for the question to my colleague. There is no great financial management here. This budget had a lot of references to the previous budget.

How can the parliamentary secretary stand there and actually look people in the eye and say the government did a good job of managing when it cannot even fulfill the promises and expectations of the last budget, and when it cannot procure defence equipment, and when it is doing the budget savings, surplus, and deficit on the backs of everyday people?