Raymond Côté

[Situation in Ukraine, December 10th, 2013]

Mr. Chair, I thank my colleague from Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles for her question.

We can obviously take meaningful action when we are on the ground. We can also offer economic support. Beyond that, we can provide clear, consistent moral support. That is another must.

I repeat: the issues there go beyond the economy and democracy. We are talking about identity, about the survival of a culture that has been largely repressed.

We must take meaningful action and have a presence on the ground. We must bring to order a political power that has completely forgotten where it came from, that has completely forgotten the progress made in response to public demand in the past 10 years. These demands can never be suppressed or denied.

[Situation in Ukraine, December 10th, 2013]

Mr. Chair, I thank my colleague for his remarks. When we compare their situation to ours, we feel compelled to reach out to the people of Ukraine.

I have lived in a country governed by the rule of law my entire life. It is very upsetting to see people risk their safety and even their lives in pursuit of their right to live in a democratic country. These people want to live in their own country. They want to fulfill their destiny and affirm their identity. This is a call that we absolutely must answer.

[Situation in Ukraine, December 10th, 2013]

Mr. Chair, I will not hide the fact that it is with emotion that I am speaking tonight on the situation in Ukraine.

That emotion is tied, in part, to the speech and testimony of the previous speaker, who experienced the repression in Poland under the Soviet regime first-hand.

I am also emotional because of the interest I have had in Russian culture for many years now. I have read certain authors who were severely repressed in the Soviet Union. Those readings have helped me discover a rich world with very deep historic roots.

Whether we like it or not, Ukraine's future is closely tied to that of Russia. For the Ukrainian people, living under the rule of Russia and the Soviet Union—in recent history and in the past—was a denial of their culture, their identity and their dreams of controlling their own destiny.

This probably explains the reaction and the strong grassroots movement we have been seeing for the past few weeks. This grassroots movement is an echo of the fabled Orange Revolution, which took place nearly 10 years ago, when people refused to accept a set of circumstances linked not only to their leader at the time, but also to Russian control.

The issues related to this crisis and this grassroots movement are not just democratic and economic; they are also cultural and relate to the Ukrainian sense of identity. I would even say that they are spiritual; they have to do with the Ukrainian soul. This explains why the protesters reacted so strongly to President Viktor Yanukovych's scarcely justifiable decision regarding the legitimate aspirations of the Ukrainian people.

This decision basically constitutes a complete and sudden flip-flop on the part of President Viktor Yanukovych with regard to negotiations and the path his government had been on for some time, which involved creating and maintaining ties with Europe. Those ties were linked primarily to economic exchanges, but could have gone further. They could have allowed Ukrainians to improve their lot, first and foremost, but also to fully express their identity and their culture with real pride.

It therefore comes as no surprise that the people reacted so strongly. Of course, people felt threatened by the old Russian controls, which unfortunately still exist today as a result of current economic ties, the Ukraine's dependence on Russian oil, among other things, and strong economic exchanges.

These factors could well prevent the Ukraine from pursuing its efforts to take full charge of its destiny.

For people who have lived for so long, for centuries, under authoritarian regimes, especially under foreign regimes outside the Ukrainian nation, the path to democracy is obviously challenging, tortuous and very difficult. The current government was democratically elected, but now it is working to turn back the tide of progress, to reverse an entire process, a steady progression towards advances and achievements. It is obvious that President Yanukovych is either refusing to understand or is responding to interests other than the public good, the good of his fellow citizens.

Given these facts, how could we not denounce the government's violence against the protesters? How could we not denounce this denial of the people's will and aspirations? The people cannot act solely through an electoral process, but must also use other options such as the public forum to protest, engage or interact with the officials in power.

We must truly stand by the Ukrainian people. In fact, more than stand by, we must give them our unwavering support. They must be given the opportunity to grow in a process that is brand new, unlike ours. Indeed , we already have a democratic tradition. It is not that old, going back barely 150 years. However, our democratic tradition is the heir to ancient British traditions, a history that spans nearly a thousand years. One might even say it is our western heritage in general. Indeed, our close ties with the United States are also part of our evolution. Our institutions also developed alongside our American neighbours.

Likewise, Ukrainians must somehow respond to their environment, but this response cannot occur in isolation. It must have support, not only from European countries, but from Canada as well, especially since Canada has a reputation, indeed a certain status, that gives it an almost de facto power to mediate certain situations in the world. I have heard this throughout my two and a half years as an MP. In my riding, I keep in touch with various communities, especially in Central Africa. They have praised Canada's voice in the world and clearly told me that it was a voice of authority.

We must really use that voice. In that sense, I join my colleagues from the other parties who spoke about offering strong support to uphold this democratic process and to avoid abuses of power. Canada has to be a major player in Ukraine to help this fledgling democratic process triumph, mature and grow over the coming years. This will not be settled in a matter of days. Everyone agrees on that.

Let us make a commitment to the Ukrainian people and help them realize these legitimate aspirations.

[Business of Supply, December 9th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to the speech by my colleague from Willowdale.

Since he was boasting about the tax measures his government has adopted, I would like to let him know that my mother, who is an average Canadian retiree, was not able to take advantage of the public transit tax credit. This is not because she is particularly poor, but simply because her retirement income is average. She is among the large number of retirees who cannot take advantage of these measures.

That said, I would like to get back to PRPPs. What I find most intriguing is that the government is bragging about creating this kind of program by claiming that it will benefit everyone. However, when we talk about improving the Canada pension plan and the Quebec pension plan, we are talking about economies of scale. The Globe and Mail editorial said that it was a savings plan and that it did not constitute a tax increase.

Could my colleague tell us where to find the studies that would detail the individual management costs of these PRPPs compared to the overall envelope that helps reduce the cost of the Canada pension plan?

[Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, December 5th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I see that there has been a huge reaction to Nelson Mandela's death. I was saddened to hear the news. He unfortunately passed away after a long and full life.

I want to take this opportunity to say that the fight against apartheid was a great source of pride for Canadians. We could be very proud of our government, which was a leader in this battle. By making Mr. Mandela an honorary citizen, we paid tribute to him and to the great figures from this country who sought to defend and promote human rights.

I know that there will be more elaborate tributes, so I will speak to the wonderful bill introduced by my colleague from Terrebonne—Blainville. I think it is wonderful because I admire that my colleague is looking to innovate, to get us caught up and to anticipate some very serious problems related to the major changes society is experiencing so rapidly.

I want to read the first part of section 10.01:

For the purposes of this section and section 10.02, “harm” includes bodily harm, humiliation, embarrassment, injury to reputation or relationships, loss of employment, business or professional opportunities, financial loss, identity theft, identity fraud, negative effects on credit rating and damage to or loss of property.

I read that section because I think it is important to understand that our world has changed considerably and has done so very quickly.

I have already mentioned in this House that I used to be an archivist. I therefore understand the importance and value of information, especially when it is nominative information. I worked in this field for a long time, and my job would have eventually included applying the principles associated with the protection of personal information. I would have done it as a professional, but the organization I belonged to as an archivist would have also fully applied these principles.

I am not that old, but I graduated quite a while ago, in the early 1990s. At that time, our tools were far more limited. The emergence of computers began to change things, but the possibilities were much more limited than they are today.

I also had the privilege to read notarial deeds from the first half of the nineteenth century. To give some background, many parents passed on a parcel of land to their descendants. More often than not, the heir was their son. They would place a clause in the deed requesting support from their son as the new owner of the land, because social programs did not exist at that time.

Since that time so long ago, our society has changed so much that we now totally depend on exchanging money to live. Things were different 150 or 200 years ago, when we could depend on the strength of our arms, the bounty of our land and our ability to obtain almost everything we needed without spending a single cent.

There has been a profound change over the last 15 or 20 years. The electronic means with which we carry out our transactions have not only become commonplace, but are also extensively used by all generations.

The Internet and the numerous sites that facilitate transactions and offer new ways to trade and barter create new opportunities. This is like the wild west. Anything is possible, both good things and, unfortunately, abuses by dishonest individuals. It is really deplorable that the government would neglect Canadians and contemplate spying on them through legislation such as Bill C-30. Instead, the government should have taken into consideration these new tools and imposed a requirement to take precautions and report incidents resulting from the loss, theft or unintentional or negligent transmission of sensitive data. In the case of lost or stolen sensitive data, the technology is now so quick that in just a few hours these sensitive data can be used to commit fraud or abuse or to damage someone's reputation. It can be used widely, to the detriment of the aggrieved individual. The hon. member for Terrebonne—Blainville is taking a particularly important, crucial and laudable initiative to the great shame of the government, which should have done this itself.

Since the government was not taking action, the official opposition put forward a proposal and one of its brightest members proposed a solution widely supported by the testimony of leading experts. There are many of them. It is a great pleasure for me to put things in perspective and, more importantly, to call on the government to take a serious look at this bill in committee, because this is an opportunity that we cannot afford to miss. The Governments of Alberta and Quebec are already ahead of the federal government and have plugged some holes. If the federal government does not follow suit and correct the flaws that exist in the legislation, millions of people could potentially become victims. We are aware of the burden that having to comply with the act could represent for organizations. However, the potential harm can be so costly that I am convinced the impact and external costs of the government's negligence would ultimately exceed the costs that may be incurred to comply with the bill introduced by the hon. member for Terrebonne—Blainville.

Again I congratulate my colleague for her initiative. I wish her well and I thank her on behalf of my constituents in Beauport—Limoilou.

[Northwest Territories Devolution Act, December 5th, 2013]

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

I must humbly admit that I cannot answer it, since I cannot read my Liberal colleagues' minds. All I can do is look at what has come out of their actions. I hope their unquenchable thirst for power is not making them forget other public considerations.

It is rather disappointing. The situation could have started moving forward a long time ago. Fortunately, this government is moving forward with the bill after being in power for almost eight years. We have to at least give the Conservatives that.

The Premier of the Northwest Territories will see part of his dream come true and will be able to be master of some of his own destiny. That is why the New Democratic Party will work in a positive and constructive way to pass Bill C-15.

[Northwest Territories Devolution Act, December 5th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, that is truly an excellent question from my esteemed colleague.

I am going to make a sad observation about the implementation of the budget, about Bill C-4, which we studied in committee.

Unfortunately, we had to review, examine and vote on 472 clauses. The opposition parties introduced over 60 proposed amendments to that bill, and they were systematically voted down.

That is not even to mention the government's particularly underhanded trick of amending the rules in committee to allow independent members to submit their proposed amendments to the committee instead of here in the House. That showed a lack of respect and it reduced the powers of independent members. Those powers are widely recognized and have been in effect for a very long time.

The government respects virtually nothing, and that completely undermines our trust.

[Northwest Territories Devolution Act, December 5th, 2013]

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

Under the proposed agreement, with respect to the development of resources on public lands, we are told that the Government of the Northwest Territories will retain 50% of revenues to a given maximum, whereas the Government of Canada will retain the rest. That is the proposed agreement that is on the table.

It is not always easy, but I still try to avoid preconceived ideas when I begin consideration of a bill and I try to leave the door open to reasonable proposals.

As was said, the Government of the Northwest Territories would ultimately like the measures to be adopted. This has extraordinary potential for taking a step or two toward progress and achieving a result.

[Northwest Territories Devolution Act, December 5th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question and his observation.

I hope he will not reproach me for automatically having serious doubts about his choice of quotation because we have so often been served up partial and partisan quotations on various topics. Consequently, it is very hard for us to trust the government.

That being said, if that is the will of the Government of the Northwest Territories, we will obviously complete the study in the House and consider the bill in committee. If the Government of the Northwest Territories can convince the 12 members of the committee that it should be passed as is, then so be it. However, that is to disregard other witnesses, because the representatives of the Government of the Northwest Territories will not be the only ones heard.

[Northwest Territories Devolution Act, December 5th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to rise to speak on Bill C-15. It is a major piece of legislation, in terms of both its size and its implications for the residents of the Northwest Territories.

I would like to point out to the House that the residents of the Northwest Territories have been trying for a very long time to acquire powers that are similar to those of the 10 Canadian provinces. Their quest is entirely legitimate considering that the Northwest Territories have been part of Canada for a long time and that they are contributing more and more to our country’s social and economic sphere, not to mention the fact that, from a geographical point of view, they occupy a huge space, a very large area.

For a long time now, the New Democratic Party has been in favour of enhanced status for the Northwest Territories that will allow them to move forward. With an adequate transfer of powers, they will be able to make progress in taking control of their destiny. Above all, we must recognize that it is entirely normal, legitimate and desirable that the residents of the Northwest Territories should have control over their future. After all, they are in the best position to understand the repercussions of decisions. They are living in their reality and experiencing the problems relating to their territory and their lifestyle, as well as any changes that occur. Things are changing very rapidly in that part of Canada. They can therefore make enlightened decisions that can help them meet the challenges of the modern world, and they can do so more quickly as well.

Of course, the NDP really wants to make sure that we meet their expectations and that we meet them completely and respectfully. In talking about respect, it is not enough merely for us to enact legislation or amend a range of different laws, because a great many laws are affected by this bill. We must also listen to the various groups that make up the society of the Northwest Territories. There are many different nations located in this huge territory. In the Northwest Territories, these groups face realities that are really very different.

This brings me to one very specific element of Bill C-15. The bill replaces the Northwest Territories Act. In addition, it affects the Northwest Territories Lands and Resources Devolution Agreement, and it amends other legislation such as the Territorial Lands Act and the Northwest Territories Waters Act. I would like to take this opportunity to speak primarily about the amendments to the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act.

Our work on the Standing Committee on Finance involved the consideration of another omnibus bill, the enormous Bill C-4, A second act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 21, 2013 and other measures. Of course, the omnibus aspect of the bill meant that we were again faced with a catch-all bill containing amendments to legislation ranging from the Supreme Court Act to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, as well as to the law governing labour relations in the public service of Canada.

This bill was a disgrace, and the part that involved the Mackenzie Valley really dealt with the Mackenzie Gas Project Impacts Fund Act. This is a very specific issue, one that is much narrower than the amendments made to the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act.

In reality, the new Mackenzie Gas Project Impacts Fund Act is a marketing campaign by the government. The idea of having financial resources set aside in order to mitigate the impact of the development of the Mackenzie gas project is not something new. It has been around for a long time.

Canada already had the Mackenzie Gas Project Impacts Act. It was passed in 2006, was most recently amended in 2011 and is still in effect.

The people of the Northwest Territories and the first nations have many concerns about this gas project. It has been in the background for a number of years but has still not been implemented, and we still do not have any real idea about when it will get going.

In addition, the Standing Committee on Finance has not heard from very many witnesses about the Mackenzie Gas Project Impacts Fund Act, despite the many hours that have been spent on Bill C-4 over the past few weeks.

Unfortunately, the committee has been able to devote only a few minutes and direct only a few questions to witnesses who are directly involved in the issue.

This is really shameful because the government, in a particularly underhanded way, hid, kept secret and failed to disclose this amendment, which should have been examined separately by the committee that was the most directly concerned, instead of being buried in the omnibus bill sent before the Standing Committee on Finance. That is really a shame.

Basically, it is a sign of contempt for the people of the Northwest Territories. Once we have completed our debates in the House at second reading and we are able to consider Bill C-15 in greater depth in committee, I hope that the government will show a great deal more respect than it did to the Standing Committee on Finance with regard to Bill C-4.

Several years ago, the Prime Minister asked the opposition parties to make suggestions and put forward ideas concerning our shared future. However, every single one of the ideas and suggestions put forward by the New Democratic Party were voted down by the Conservative members on the committee.

Were it not for the fact that Bill C-4 as a whole will have such serious, and even critical consequences, I admit that we might have laughed about the situation. It was almost comical to see my Conservative colleagues on the Standing Committee on Finance putting their hands up automatically.

Unfortunately, these are very serious matters. The new bill concerning the Mackenzie Gas Project Impacts Fund, that was hidden in the middle of the omnibus bill, Bill C-4, has finally been passed, even though no serious consideration has been given to it and even though there has been no consultation with those who are most directly concerned.

In addition to making proposals, as an opposition party, we tried to block the passage of six clauses in Bill C-4 that pertained directly to the Mackenzie gas project. These were clauses 282 to 287. We put forward a motion on each clause, that each one of them be deleted, considering the fact that it was completely impossible to thoroughly study the bill separately from the omnibus bill.

It is very sad that we have reached this point. The government is acting completely unilaterally and is paying no attention to any other opinions. I am not even talking about dissenting opinions; I am talking about reasonable accommodations for matters that should have been discussed and negotiated.

I must admit that Conservative government members sitting on the Standing Committee on Finance and other committees have, on rare occasions, agreed to certain minor concessions, in fact common sense suggestions. Many other common sense proposals were systematically rejected because they were not the government’s ideas, which is truly lamentable. After all, both Conservative Party members and those of the other parties represent all Canadians. Consequently, we should respect each other and the various realities and great diversity of opinion among the people of this country. It is utterly unacceptable for a party, particularly one that holds a majority, to turn a deaf ear, to refuse to listen to reason, to refuse even to hear the merits of an idea and to refuse to discuss ideas that will have an impact on thousands of people.

Coming back to Bill C-15 as a whole, I have done everything in my power to shed light on the measures that will unfortunately be adopted without any consideration for the needs and fears of the people of the Northwest Territories. There is nevertheless something positive in all this, and that is why we will support this lengthy bill at second reading. The Northwest Territories are currently governed by a constitution, by specific statutes that restrict its powers relative to those of the 10 Canadian provinces. They obviously limit the power of the Government of Northwest Territories over resources, lands and water and revenue collection. A large portion of the revenue of the Government of the Northwest Territories obviously comes from federal government transfer payments.

This agreement is linked to the resources developed and revenues derived from those territories. Although it holds out some semblance of justice, it does not enable the Government of the Northwest Territories to collect its own revenue, at least not completely, and thus to enjoy the freedom and dignity associated with that responsibility and with the consequences of making decisions with respect to its development and the welfare of its population. That will be a major challenge. That is why I have focused on a very specific aspect of this bill.

The enactment of Bill C-15 will result in amendments to 42 different acts. That is a vast legislative field. It is quite extraordinary that we have ultimately wound up with this bill. Once again, I hope that the government will seriously consider discussing this matter in committee with all parties concerned and especially that it will agree to hear, consider and respect the witnesses’ opinions on the subject of this major change to the destiny of the Northwest Territories. I have previously said so, and we made a distressing observation.

I had the honour to sit on the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights together with my colleague, our justice critic, and we had some success. However, we also saw the government close its mind completely. We found ourselves facing a very high wall. The government stuck to its position and especially abused its majority. It did not take advantage of its majority; it simply abused it in order to impose its ideas and its version of the facts.

It is entirely valid for someone to have a precise idea about a matter and to defend that idea. I will always respect that in my Conservative colleagues. However, Canada is far too big and diverse a country and has too many aboriginal nations on its land for the government to operate in isolation and to impose its will.

I am not saying that amendments to Bill C-15 are absolutely necessary. However, it would be tragic if our study led us to make amendments that were subsequently disregarded. It is normal for there to be inconsistencies. That is no one's fault; it happens in the normal course of affairs. This is an extraordinary bill, and, as is the case of any extraordinary and far-reaching bill, it is very hard to achieve perfection.

Let us hope the government will be willing to hear the other objections that are made and especially that it will consider the basic needs of the population and representatives of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories and of the tribal councils, which work very hard and must bear heavy responsibility for the welfare of their communities.