Mr. Speaker, to begin I would like to seek unanimous consent to share my time.
House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2021, with 46% of the vote.
Citizen Voting Act February 3rd, 2015
Mr. Speaker, to begin I would like to seek unanimous consent to share my time.
Citizen Voting Act February 3rd, 2015
Mr. Speaker, we have been through this on a few occasions now, where we have talked about changes to the Canada Elections Act, and here we go once more.
I agree with 99% of his speech. However, one of the issues that I would like to address with him is the issue of coming into force. It states that it would come into force 60 days after royal assent. On top of Elections Canada getting used to the changes made in the former bill, Bill C-23, this will be a particularly hard thing to do, especially when we are dealing with outside entities, and especially with issue he brought up of the Canadian entity.
How do we get the poll clerks trained to the point where they are able to recognize that? It could result in the mass confusion he talked about. I am not sure if he addressed that issue, but could he address the coming into effect of this particular piece of this legislation?
Citizen Voting Act February 3rd, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I can obviously tell the minister is fighting a flu, so I will try not to be too long and prolong the agony.
I just want to ask some specific questions. My colleague asked one of them, but there is another one I want to ask. When we talk about people employed by the Government of Canada, such as military personnel, people working in embassies, and so forth, there is an exemption for them, but I am worried about their families who are also Canadian and also eligible to vote. Will they be included in that?
Second, the timelines here are really tight. People have to register. They are living in a country abroad, which could be halfway around the world, and they would have to do three things. They would have to apply, get their ballot, and it then it has to go back as their vote. With a 36-day writ period, it is a very tight timeline for people living halfway around the world to follow.
My third point is about riding shopping, as was described, where one gets to choose any riding. Was that really a problem brought to the minister by Elections Canada or any other entity? In the press release they say that they want to get rid of it, but where is the research showing this was such a major problem and major abuse?
Business of Supply February 2nd, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I have been here for 10 years. Ten years ago, when the Conservatives were in opposition, the government put out a pamphlet to all Newfoundlanders that said there was no greater fraud than a promise broken. The Conservatives have managed to make that even worse. Not only did they break a promise, they continue to pretend that they kept it, which makes that fraud even worse in this case.
This deal has gone from being one thing to another with little conversation involved. Would my hon. colleague talk about how, or even why, Newfoundland said to the world that it was this deal and that the Conservatives never said anything otherwise?
Business of Supply February 2nd, 2015
Mr. Speaker, if we consider the manufacturing sector, such as the auto sector, there have been many subsidies granted to that sector, for all of the right reasons, in deals which in the beginning resembled what they turned out to be in the end.
The issue in this debate today is not just about CETA, or this particular deal and what flows from the initial agreement with respect to all of these tariffs being reduced. It is wonderful that over 95% of the tariffs would be reduced because in the shrimp sector alone that could represent a big benefit. I do not know why the Conservatives keep asking why we are arguing against that because we are not. The issue, as has been pointed out time and again, is a deal that managed to meander its way to a point where it went from a positive to a negative. As an example, in all of the literature we have seen which stated that it was up to a certain amount of money, the initiatives announced within were always about things like marketing. All of these agreements that the Conservatives use throughout this country would illustrate just that. However, in this case, that is being referred to as a slush fund. I dare them to go to people in any other sector and ask why they are asking for a slush fund. They would not do that. The reason is because they were deals that in many cases were lived up to from the beginning. However, this one went south.
The question is this: Who said what and when? I would like the hon. member to address the issue as to why this deal changed from beginning to end, or perhaps he would like to tell the House that the deal never changed, even though everyone else is saying that it did.
Business of Supply February 2nd, 2015
On division.
Business of Supply February 2nd, 2015
Mr. Speaker, one thing I noticed in the correspondence, when we received the answer to the order paper question, was that there was a lot of activity and conversations that took place between two levels of government from the fall of 2013, November, right up until June of 2014, but then there is scant mention of that. They go by the wayside until October and into November. Therefore, in that period, there seemed to be a lot of activity, but nothing was really happening at that point.
Although he says they are living up to the deal in questions, whether the words “up to” are used, or in many cases that demonstrable losses are assumed in this particular case, these arguments on certain other measures are valid. However, in this particular case, there is no doubt in my mind, as my colleague pointed out, that nothing was said in the media about how wrong it was to assume that the province would get the full $400 million. It also seemed like there was a change in tone altogether a year after the announcement. Something happened that led the government of Newfoundland and Labrador to assume that the deal was not what it had signed originally.
Seeing that the hon. member has notes there, I would like him to demonstrate to us how wrong the Progressive Conservative government in Newfoundland and Labrador is to assume this. Is the government misleading all of us?
Business of Supply February 2nd, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I have great respect for my hon. colleague, who always provides valuable input, but my comments are really angled at ACOA.
The member of Parliament for Labrador sent in an order paper question back in December, and here is the response that she received. I thought I would bring it to the attention of the House and to the minister.
The question asks in part about any involvement by the government in the announcement of October 29, 2013, which is where this debate comes from.
The question following the affirmative answer asked about the nature of that involvement. The response to that particular question was simply, in part, “ACOA was not involved in this file at the time of the announcement.”
We are well aware that ACOA was not involved in the announcement, but it says it was not involved in the file. Why has the minister for ACOA now become the grim reaper of Newfoundland and Labrador, the ultimate deliverer of bad news for Newfoundland and Labrador? Why has the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency become the Atlantic Canada disopportunity agency? I would like to know the answers to these questions, as would a lot of people. Something happened between the time of the announcement and this past fall that made a lot of people start changing their minds, and I think we are facing the government that managed to do that.
Business of Supply February 2nd, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the member could comment on a couple of things about this particular deal.
First, we only have a day to debate this. This is not specifically about the merits of free trade with the European Union. This is about a specific measure between the national government and its subnational government, being Newfoundland and Labrador.
I hearken back to October 2013. In the release that was put out by the provincial government, it states unequivocally:
The fund will be used to invest in research and development, new marketing initiatives, fisheries research, and enhancements....
That is the same line it used throughout the entire spread. From 2013 to 2014, there have been a few correspondences, but nothing was ever made public that pointed out it is wrong.
In other words, the provincial government never said it was only to be used in case of demonstrated losses. Did the federal government point that out to them at some point? Before 2014, in that full year, did it point out that it was wrong in the release? Why would the federal government not do that?
Business of Supply February 2nd, 2015
Mr. Speaker, if you would allow me for just a second, I want to answer the question he posed. Now, the hon. member for Newton—North Delta is right, as well, in the fact that we are reinvigorating and growing the industry, which may alleviate any suffering from the removal of the minimum processing requirements.
However, to his question about getting workers for these particular plants, I would just say very succinctly that he is right on target, but wide of the mark. I say so because the fund would have given us the opportunity to market species in a way that we did not have before. Therefore, the new realities realized by the processing industry can be dealt with if, and I say “if”, this money is available, $280 million from the feds and $120 million from the province. Therein lies the essence of the issue.
Again, the free trade itself would provide some of these opportunities via reduced tariffs, but this particular deal that we talk about today, however, casts a different light on this, because the opportunity I mentioned has been squelched somewhat.
To my friend who talked about the other provinces, I appreciate that she talked about the fact that we could be here all day on a litany of broken promises. That is a valid point, but I would like for her to talk about not only the breaking of promises, but also the fact there is a product that is shown in the window and by the time we get to the cash register, the deal has changed.