Ralph Goodale

[Petitions, June 12th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition signed by a number of people in the Montmartre area in Saskatchewan dealing with Canadian foreign aid.

The petitioners call upon Parliament to demonstrate international responsibility by recommitting Canada to contribute 0.7% of GDP to overseas development assistance. The petitioners would like to see responsive funding to those NGOs that Canadians support and which have seen their funding cut in recent years by CIDA. In the spirit of global solidarity, the petitioners wish to see a grant in full of the funding of $49.2 million requested by the Canadian Catholic Organization For Development and Peace over the next five years.

[Foreign Investment, June 7th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the Saskatchewan government has raised the same concerns that I have about Glencore's foreign takeover of Viterra. One issue is the adverse affect on competition in the farm input business. Another is whether Glencore, with its checkered history, will keep its promises for a regional headquarters in Regina and $100 million in new investment.

When will Investment Canada rule on this takeover? Will explicit conditions be attached? Will they be made public, and will Glencore be required to post a bond to make its promises readily enforceable?

[Business of Supply, May 30th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, just as a matter of clarity on that last vote. Is it fair to say that the motion was carried unanimously?

[Public Safety, May 29th, 2012]

We absolutely did not.

[The Budget, May 29th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, for some reason, the government is reluctant to fix a glaring problem with registered disability savings plans. To qualify for such a plan, people have to be seriously disabled right now, but those suffering a debilitating disease like MS, for example, which will result in serious disability at some future point but not right now, cannot get a registered disability savings plan. In other words, they cannot save now while they are still able to do so.

For the third time, why will the government not fix this obvious problem?

[The Budget, May 11th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, here is an example of why the massive budget bill needs fixing.

To be eligible for a registered disability savings plan, people must first qualify for the disability tax credit, meaning that they have to have a severe disability right now. However, if they suffer from a debilitating condition like multiple sclerosis that leads to serious future problems, but not right now, they are not eligible for the DTC and therefore they cannot have a savings plan now when they could really use it. That is just wrong. For the second time, will the government correct that flaw?

[National Defence, May 11th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, there is screw-up after screw-up at National Defence. On top of the F-35 scandal, now the Libya mission cost 700% more than the ministry reported at the end of the mission, and Canadians are actually being lied to about what the contracts are actually for, claiming transmission parts instead of whole armoured vehicles.

Audit and control functions across government are being chopped, the Auditor General himself by some 10%. Access to information is clamped down.

Why is the government choosing to hide the deceit and incompetence instead of actually fixing it?

[Foreign Investment, May 9th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the government has made piecemeal promises about future changes to foreign investment rules, but 18 months after its potash fiasco, there is still no clear definition of “net benefit” or “national interest” or “strategic asset”.

Specifically, in the foreign bid by Glencore to take over Viterra, Canada's biggest grain company, do troubling public allegations against Glencore of past labour abuses, environmental degradation and even criminal matters get investigated in the assessment of net benefit, and how will any promise of a substantive head office in Regina actually get enforced?

[The Environment, May 7th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of the Environment has accused Canadian environmental charities of money laundering. That is a serious criminal offence triggering international obligations under FINTRAC, the G8 and the G20.

The minister's allegations are irresponsible. Could he actually define money laundering? Could he provide a specific example of it? Has he reported anything to FINTRAC or the RCMP? If not, will he withdraw his reckless allegation intended only to smear people he does not like?

[Access to Information, May 3rd, 2012]

Gotcha. We gotcha.