Peter Schiefke

[Questions on the Order Paper, November 6th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, on July 25, 2017, the Prime Minister, in an introductory meeting with British Columbia Premier John Horgan in Ottawa, briefly discussed the Trans Mountain expansion project. Premier Horgan noted the need to protect British Columbia’s interests, and indicated that further discussions with Alberta were planned on the issue.

The Prime Minister announced the Government of Canada’s approval of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain expansion project on November 30, 2016. The Government of Canada requires that Kinder Morgan meet or exceed all of the 157 binding conditions set out by the National Energy Board. The Government of Canada has also established the oceans protection plan to ensure any risk coming from increased vessel traffic in Burrard Inlet is properly mitigated.

There has been no known direct communication of the official position of the Government of Canada to Premier Horgan. The Government of Canada’s approval of the project has been noted in the media many times since November 2016.

[Questions on the Order Paper, November 6th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to part (a) of the question, the Privy Council Office, PCO, is unable to respond because in processing parliamentary returns, the government applies the principles of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act, and this information has been withheld on these grounds. PCO is able to confirm that no employees had a salary higher than the salary of the Prime Minister: $345,400.

[Questions on the Order Paper, November 6th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Sarkar’s compensation is comparable to that of the San Francisco consul general appointed by the previous government.

With regards to key postings, it is common, both in the public service and the private sector, for compensation to reflect the qualifications and expertise of the appointee. This has been true for many recent appointees, including former cabinet ministers Lawrence Cannon, Michael Wilson, and Loyola Hearn, Gary Doer, Patrick Binns, Alex Himelfarb, David Alward, Vivian Bercovici, Kevin Vickers, Guy Saint-Jacques, Dennis Savoie, I. David Marshall, Paul Maddison, Gordon Campbell, Gérard Latulippe, Jean-Carol Pelletier, and Catherine Doyle.

With regards to key postings, it is common, both in the public service and the private sector, for compensation to reflect the qualifications and expertise of the appointee. This has been true for many recent appointees, including former cabinet ministers Lawrence Cannon, Michael Wilson, and Loyola Hearn, Gary Doer, Patrick Binns, Alex Himelfarb, David Alward, Vivian Bercovici, Kevin Vickers, Guy Saint-Jacques, Dennis Savoie, I. David Marshall, Paul Maddison, Gordon Campbell, Gérard Latulippe, Jean-Carol Pelletier, and Catherine Doyle.

Mr. Sarkar brings specialized expertise, including most recently as national director for high-growth markets at globally recognized KPMG. Throughout his career as an adviser and entrepreneur, he built a considerable skill in providing strategy and transaction-focused services to firms, investors and start-ups, enabling cross-border trade, investment, and innovation.

His background will serve Canada’s interests in San Francisco and Silicon Valley specifically. He is specifically responsible for working to attract investment and help Canadian business succeed in the fastest-growing industries on the continent, and work to expand our reach across the Pacific Rim while we grow our presence in the world’s fastest emerging markets in Asia.

This was one of a number of diplomatic appointments to strengthen our outreach to the United States, highlighting the importance and mutually beneficial partnership of our two countries, which continues to support millions of middle-class jobs on both sides of the border.

[Questions on the Order Paper, November 3rd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, since January 1, 2016, 79 employees of the Privy Council Office have been permanently bound to secrecy under the Security of Information Act. The maximum penalty for contravention of the act is no more than 14 years in prison. With regard to the titles of each employee subject to such an order, this information cannot be provided. In processing parliamentary returns, the government applies the principles of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act and this information has been withheld on these grounds for security reasons.

[International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, November 3rd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, November 25 is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

It is a day to show solidarity with the millions of women who are victims of violence in Canada and around the world.

It is a subject that is incredibly important to my wife and me, and I know that is a sentiment shared by all members of my community of Vaudreuil—Soulanges. That is why from now until November 25, I am inviting all members of my community to learn more about La Passerelle, a shelter supporting women and their children fleeing violence at home in Vaudreuil—Soulanges.

I encourage anyone who can to donate items to La Passerelle through my constituency office in order to help the women and children who need it the most, especially during the holiday season.

Lastly, I encourage everyone in my community and all Canadians to go online and learn more about what we can do to educate young men about what violence against women really means and how they can be strong allies in ending it.

[Youth, November 2nd, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I can say that we are very proud of our historic investments in young Canadians across the country.

First, we boosted the Canada summer jobs program by an unprecedented $300 million. Next, we made a historic investment in education by increasing funding for student grants by 50%. Recently, we invested $400 million to create co-op placements for young Canadians.

We fully understand that an investment in youth is an investment in our country's future, and that is exactly what we will keep doing.

[Sport, October 24th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, around this time of year, on any given day, we will find football teams like the Western Patriotes and the St-Lazare Stallions taking to the field in my community of Vaudreuil-Soulanges. It is a time of year that hundreds of kids look forward to. Unfortunately, about a week and a half ago, one of our peewee players, Kieran, took to the field and was injured.

While the coach and others were taking care of him until first responders arrived, all of the players took a knee as a show of support. It took some time before Kieran was able to receive care. The practice was long over, but the players stayed.

I rise today to first share with the House that Kieran is doing fine and is once again taking to the field, but I also want to say a special thanks to every one of the players who took a knee as a sign of respect, and finally, thank all of the parents, coaches, and managers, who do their best to teach our kids not only how to be good players in the field, but also how to be good people.

[Fall Festival, September 27th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, this October 7th to 9th, the historic town of Rigaud will be celebrating its 20th annual Festival des couleurs.

The festival is an opportunity for families, friends, and all those who form a part of our community to come together to celebrate the coming of fall and take in our dazzling displays of colour, arts, and culture, as well as delicious food and fun activities for the whole family.

I encourage all those who live in Vaudreuil—Soulanges to join my family and me at the 20th annual Festival des couleurs to celebrate the beauty of our community, which is what makes it so strong. This year, more than ever before, Rigaud is where the action is.

[Access to Information Act, September 26th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, we have taken the appropriate steps. The methodology we have used to come to a conclusion on the proposal in Bill C-58 is the best way to move forward on this. We did it in a transparent way. We were able to talk to Canadians about this. I had discussions in my own riding about the best path forward.

This is something all Canadians can get behind. It is easy to understand. I think Canadians understand that this would allow them to have more efficient, transparent, and easily accessible contact with their government so they can better understand the actions we take as their government.

I look at this bill as one that will positively impact not just the current government but future generations of governments to come. As well, it will positively impact Canadians. They will now have a better, more transparent, and more accessible government.

[Access to Information Act, September 26th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, that is a sincere question, and I very much appreciate all of the member's questions.

She is 100% right that the system is broken. The system is not working the way it should. I am confident in the steps we are taking right now to make the system work better, not only for members of the House but for all Canadians. Concrete measures are included in Bill C-58 that would ensure Canadians have greater access to their government and that future governments, not just the current government, are more transparent.

What is also great is that in five years, which is a component of the bill, we will see how things are going, if the changes we have put in place are having a positive impact, and if there are other ways we could perhaps make the system even better. It will be revised in five years. Hopefully we will all be here at that time to look at what has been done and see how we can make it even better. One of the positive aspects of Bill C-58 is that it would give us the capacity to do that in five years.