Philip Toone

[Petitions, June 13th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I have today a series of petitions, petition after petition, from people in my riding and neighbouring ridings in northern New Brunswick demanding improved service from VIA Rail. My riding, members will remember, has absolutely no VIA Rail service whatsoever as of a few months ago. Northern New Brunswick almost lost VIA Rail service, but it still has only half the service it used to have. The petitioners absolutely insist that this service be re-established.

[Rail Transportation, June 13th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I do want to point out that the rail line in the Gaspé was owned by CN. The government allowed CN to sell the railway to the municipalities. The municipalities in the Gaspé are the owners, not a private corporation per se, but a conglomeration of all the municipalities.

The government allowed the track to deteriorate to the state that it was in. It now says it washes its hands of it, that it is no longer responsible because it allowed the sale to provincial municipalities. That is abdication of responsibility. It should have ensured that the track was in a good state in the first place before it allowed the sale. It did not. It did not order an engineer's report. It simply evaluated the value of the track based on CN's own numbers. That is just not the proper due diligence. The government failed in its obligations.

What it should do now is make up for that and ensure the track is safe. It is in fact safe, according to the corporation that owns it. As of June, VIA Rail no longer has reason not to start service again in the Gaspé. The government should not hide behind this arm's-length argument. As the parliamentary secretary pointed out, the government invests heavily in VIA Rail. VIA Rail will come to the Gaspé if it has proper support from the government. I would argue at this point that it does not have adequate support.

[Rail Transportation, June 13th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, there is a crisis at VIA Rail. The number of passengers has dropped as has the frequency of trips. Equipment is in terrible shape and is often out of service. Trains are increasingly late. The train no longer even goes to my region, Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine. We have not had service for two years. Rail service in eastern Canada has been cut by 50%. There is no service on Vancouver Island as well. They have not had service there for four years. This is a crisis.

The government's support for passenger rail service in Canada is woefully inadequate. VIA Rail has reduced service in all of eastern Canada. The Ocean only runs three times a week. Many stations in eastern Canada have closed. VIA Rail stopped running through the Gaspé almost two years ago. Although the Gaspé railway is now safe, VIA Rail still has not resumed service to the Gaspé, in spite of its commitment. It is unacceptable.

It is about time the government addressed this issue, which is very important to all Canadians. VIA Rail must be able to provide proper passenger rail service for Canadians. That is why I introduced a bill today to provide a better framework for VIA Rail. During the summer, I will present my bill to Canadians, and I will have the privilege of hearing the comments and suggestions of my constituents.

VIA Rail is a very popular service, not only in my riding but in all of eastern Canada. VIA Rail reduced the service in my riding to zero passages per week. We do not have any VIA service whatsoever. VIA promised to come back when the rail line was in a secure state. It has now been confirmed to be secure, and VIA Rail still has not started service. It reduced service to the Maritimes by 50%.

I remember when VIA Rail issued a press release soon afterward, claiming that it was a great success because it only lost 40% of its clientele. I hardly think that losing 40% of the clientele of VIA Rail is in any way, shape, or form a victory. VIA Rail should be ashamed of itself.

The Canadian government must give VIA Rail what it needs to provide proper service. VIA Rail is a vital service for the Gaspé region. We need it to ensure that the tourism industry is well supported.

A remote area such as ours must have transportation that properly serves the region so that its inhabitants can have access to major centres like everyone else. We need a network that will provide these services. Unfortunately, VIA Rail is not fulfilling its obligations towards the people of the Gaspé, and more and more it is not fulfilling its obligations towards Canadians.

The Government of Canada must give more support to VIA Rail. It has missed the boat. It is about time the government put more emphasis on rail transportation.

[Speaker's Ruling, June 12th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I move:

That the House do now adjourn.

[Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act, June 12th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles for yet another excellent speech that is representative of the extraordinary work she does in her riding.

In her speech, she suggested that the Conservatives are trying to get the Supreme Court to put them in their place. During their speeches today, the Conservatives repeatedly claimed to be making science-based decisions and listening to the people, yet they accepted not one single amendment.

I get the impression that they are trying to make work for lawyers because they know that so many of their bills end up before the Supreme Court only to be torn to pieces.

None of this is based on science. It is all about partisanship and opportunism. That is why I do not think they are listening to anyone. I therefore seek the unanimous consent of the House to move the following motion:

That the House do now adjourn.

[Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act, June 12th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for his speech.

He quoted many people who support the Conservative government. I commend him for having found them. I would like to quote Mr. Fogel of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, who appeared before the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration on May 5, 2014.

He said:

There doesn't appear to be any safeguard that would preclude a minister from commencing a revocation proceeding for someone who declared intent to reside, but then went abroad to study, work, or tend to an ill relative...

In our view, the problem of potential abuse could be dealt with by requiring the minister to seek a court declaration in cases of misrepresentation of intent to reside, similar to the requirement included for other cases of fraud.

We already have the tools to deal with cases of fraud. Frankly, this bill is electoral opportunism, pure and simple. The Conservative government handles immigration issues with complete incompetence, and the temporary foreign worker program is one example.

The member concluded his speech by saying that they are reducing processing times for citizenship applications. However, 320,000 people are still waiting for their file to be processed. In addition, since the government came to power, application processing times have doubled.

Is this just electioneering, or will the government actually start processing the backlog of immigration applications?

[Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act, June 12th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for that clarification.

We all do our best to represent our ridings. I can guarantee that people living in the Gaspé and the Magdalen Islands are very concerned about this bill. Society should continue to be free and democratic. This bill, however, does not comply with the charter. It does not embody the fundamental characteristics of a free and democratic society.

I would not be surprised if the people represented by the member for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, a name we have heard frequently of late, also want a society based on freedom and democracy. Regardless of which riding we represent, those basic values always matter.

[Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act, June 12th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question.

When we change Canada's laws and regulations to standardize them with those of other countries, we must first verify whether other countries' legislation is consistent with our laws, charters and customs.

The Conservative government is not introducing this bill to improve the immigration system. This is partisan-driven. The government is looking for more voters in the next election. It would have us believe that this bill is militaristic. The government keeps talking about the First World War, the Second World War, and NATO.

The bill is about immigration in 2014. To my knowledge, we are not bringing immigrants into Canada to send them into the army and declare war elsewhere. People come to Canada first and foremost to seek refuge, then to contribute to the Canadian economy, democracy and the good life we lead. That is what immigration is about. We are welcoming here in Canada.

There is no room for partisanship in bills. Bills should be able to stand alone. Unfortunately, this bill does not stand up at all.

[Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act, June 12th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her excellent question. I would like to point out that the work she does in her riding is second to none. She is probably the best MP the region has had in quite some time. I would like to congratulate her on all the work she is doing.

As for her question, two-tier citizenship is definitely unacceptable. You are either a citizen or you are not.

Canada has constitutional guarantees that all Canadians should benefit from. According to many experts we saw, the bill has created an unacceptable situation in a free and democratic society. The Canadian Bar Association clearly stated that this bill would almost certainly end up before the Supreme Court. It is almost certain that many aspects of this bill will be deemed unconstitutional. Two-tier citizenship is one of those aspects.

It is unfortunate to have to move in that direction. If the bill is challenged in court, I hope that the Supreme Court will deal with this file quickly so that there is more fairness in this country.

[Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act, June 12th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, it is troubling that there are new language requirements in the bill. I would like to point out that the government does not believe that many in its own employ have to meet those kinds of language requirements. The government does not agree that Supreme Court justices have that kind of language requirement.

We should have some consensus. We should have language requirements in this country that are consistent for everyone. We should not expect immigrants to be held to a higher standard than people in this chamber or the people in high justice situations, such as the Supreme Court. We need to have some fundamental equality here.

If the government stopped cutting programs so that people could actually get that kind of language acquisition, maybe this element would make a little more sense. However, if the government keeps cutting back on all the programs and prospective citizens do not get the training they need, surely they could never respect the language requirements that the bill is presenting.