Peter Julian

[Veterans Affairs, December 9th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, tell that to the 50% of veterans who cannot even access disability benefits.

Yesterday, when asked about cuts to front-line services, the minister responded, “veterans have been saying that we should in fact reduce”, but the minister cannot tell us the names of these veterans who have supposedly been coming to him, demanding cuts.

In the minister's fantasy world, he has only been cutting backroom and internal services. He also says that cuts in his department are somehow reinvested back into service: wrong, wrong and wrong.

The minister has lost the confidence of veterans. Why does the Prime Minister not fire him?

[Veterans Affairs, December 9th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, we cannot wait to have a government with Canadian values.

The Minister of Veterans Affairs told us yesterday that he cut 1,000 specialists who help our veterans because they were just backroom bureaucrats who spent their days photocopying. That is false. Only 10% of those cuts involved administrative positions.

Why is the Prime Minister letting his minister mislead veterans? Why not fire him? He is incompetent and has lost the confidence of veterans.

[Justice, December 9th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, today, the United States Senate Intelligence Committee released a report showing that so-called enhanced interrogation techniques used on militants were ineffective and never once produced information which prevented a terrorist plot. The conclusion is simple: torture does not work. Yet, in Canada, the Conservative government has repudiated basic Canadian values by issuing directives to CSIS, the RCMP and the CBSA that allow them to use and share information obtained through torture.

Will the government rescind these directives immediately?

[Petitions, December 8th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition on behalf of dozens of residents from the city of Vancouver in British Columbia. These petitioners call upon Parliament to support Bill C-378 to end sweatshop labour goods from coming into Canada.

As the House knows, it is estimated that there are about 250 million children worldwide who work in appalling sweatshop conditions. As well, there are a number of women around the world working in these deplorable conditions. The petitioners call upon the Parliament of Canada to take action against this type of abusive sweatshop labour by adopting Bill C-378.

[The Environment, December 5th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, climate change is killing jobs in Canada. It is costing the Canadian economy billions of dollars already. That is the reality.

The UN Secretary-General is begging Canada to act on climate change, which means the Conservatives should put their extreme ideology aside. However, instead of acting, the Conservatives prefer shameful bills, like that of the MP for Vancouver South, that risk criminalizing people who speak out on the environment.

Leadership is needed. The Conservatives promised oil and gas regulations for almost a decade. When will they finally act? When will this decade of darkness for the environment finally be over?

[The Environment, December 5th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the reality is that their so-called policy is a failure and is costing the Canadian economy billions of dollars. That is the reality.

What is more, instead of attacking climate change, the Conservatives are attacking honest people with the shameful bill introduced by the member for Vancouver South.

Ban Ki-moon has good reason to criticize this government's lack of action. Canada is ranked as one of the worst industrialized countries because of 20 years of inaction by the Liberals and the Conservatives.

The question is clear: will the Conservatives accept a binding international agreement to fight global warming, yes or no?

[The Environment, December 5th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Secretary-General of the United Nations is speaking out against the Conservatives' laissez-faire attitude towards climate change and is calling for a more ambitious and visionary policy. He notes that Canada lacks leadership and that it should immediately start transitioning towards a green economy.

Why are the Conservatives letting down the United Nations and the international community? Why do they not have a plan to fight climate change?

[Business of the House, December 4th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, once again this week, the NDP, as official opposition, has proposed practical changes and policies to the Canadian people.

Last evening, we had a vote on proportional representation, to bring in a fair and just voting system. Unfortunately, the leader of the Conservative Party and the leader of the Liberal Party voted against our motion, even though the public is becoming increasingly interested in this issue.

The other offer this week was the historic motion offered by my colleague from Vancouver East, which the NDP brought forward to finally put into place adequate compensation for victims of thalidomide, which passed overwhelmingly from the House, and on which we will hopefully be seeing action within the next few days.

There are only 16 sitting weeks in the life of the government, 16 sitting weeks before Canadians can put an end to the current government.

My question for the government House leader is quite simple. What will the government put on the agenda next week for the Canadian public?

[Veterans Affairs, December 4th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the irony is that veterans will never believe Conservative promises again, because Canadians expect some contrition and shame from this minister. The case workers who were fired by the minister were front-line workers who were helping veterans.

The Conservative government has closed nine regional offices and has fired a thousand people who helped veterans. It even took a billion dollars out of veterans hands, money that was authorized by Parliament for veterans' needs.

When will this Conservative decade of darkness for veterans end? When will the government start helping veterans instead of hurting veterans?

[Veterans Affairs, December 4th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, members of the NDP are fighting for veterans. The Conservatives are fighting against them, even in the courts.

The Conservatives have told the courts that they never promised to look after our injured soldiers. According to the government's lawyer, no formal promises were made; it was just political rhetoric. That is unbelievable. Why are the Conservatives blaming veterans for believing Conservative promises?