Sean Casey

[Frank Zakem, February 1st, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, last week, Frank Zakem passed away at the age of 82. He was revered by Prince Edward Islanders.

Frank was fond of saying that there were three types of people: those who made things happen; those who watched things happen; and those who did not know what happened.

Frank was clearly in category number one. He was a city councillor and then mayor of Charlottetown. He was the charter president of the Hillsborough Rotary Club and a Paul Harris Fellow. He helped create the Rotary Youth Parliament.

He spent much of his career in leadership roles at Holland College and in the administration of then premier Joe Ghiz. He was truly a mentor to many in public office, including my wife Kathleen and myself.

Frank authored three books, held an honorary degree from UPEI and was a member of the Order of Prince Edward Island. His wife of 50 years, Janet, and his boys, Steven, Kenneth, Bruce and Albert, can be rightly proud that Frank Zakem left everything he touched better than he found it.

I count myself among the many who are grateful to have been in his company.

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, January 28th, 2013]

With respect to funding announcements regarding veterans: (a) how much of the $300,000 announced on August 7, 2006, for renovations to the Robert L. Knowles Veterans’ Unit at the Villa Chaleur Nursing Home in Bathurst, New Brunswick, was spent, and what was the breakdown of that amount; (b) how much of the $10,000,000 in funding announced in Budget 2007 to establish five new Operational Stress Injury (OSI) Clinics across Canada has been spent, broken down by OSI Clinic; (c) how much of the $1,500,000 announced on June 25, 2007, to establish a new OSI Clinic in Fredericton was spent, and what was the breakdown of that amount; (d) since the announcement of $850,000 in increased funding for the Calgary Carewest OSI Clinic in 2007, what has been the Clinic’s annual budget for each fiscal year to present date; (e) how much of the possible $18,500,000 payable to Right Management over four years under its national contract for the Job Placement Program announced on October 25, 2007, has been spent, broken down by amount spent annually; (f) since the announcement of $1,400,000 in increased funding for the Quebec OSI Clinic on November 16, 2007, what has been the Clinic’s annual budget for each fiscal year to present date; (g) how much of the possible $20,000,000 payable to CanVet VR Services over three years to provide the vocational components of Veterans Affairs Canada’s broader Rehabilitation Program announced on May 21, 2009, has been spent, broken down by amount spent annually; (h) how much of the $114,500,000 earmarked to compensate Agent Orange victims has been spent, broken down by amount spent annually; and (i) how much of the $2,000,000,000 announced on September 19, 2010, “to ensure that veterans who have been seriously injured in the service of Canada have access to the support they deserve” has been spent, broken down by both the amount spent annually and the project/initiative under which the money was spent?

[Technical Tax Amendments Act, 2012, January 28th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Kings—Hants for his reference to my riding. Prince Edward Island is the only province in Canada where a taxpayer cannot get in-person assistance with income tax issues. That is also the case for immigrants in Prince Edward Island, people looking to have their EI claims processed and veterans. All of those services have been removed. Prince Edward Island is also the only province where one cannot get a passport.

My question relates to his theme regarding income tax simplification. I know my colleague has for some time spoken out against piecemeal amendments to the Income Tax Act and the boutique tax credits. Could he elaborate a little more on what he sees as the process and important elements of the large scale clarification and simplification of our income tax system?

[Employment Insurance, December 10th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives' financial incompetence has increased our national debt to over $600 billion, and now the Conservatives are making cuts to employment insurance. Workers are being backed into a corner, and the seasonal economy is in crisis. As a result, Canadians are being forced to seek social assistance from the provinces.

Why do the people of the Atlantic provinces have to pay for the Conservatives' financial incompetence?

[Government Services, December 3rd, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development plans to eliminate 46% of jobs in Service Canada offices in Prince Edward Island.

The Minister of Veterans Affairs plans to close our only district office and eliminate 800 jobs.

The Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism has already closed our only Citizenship and Immigration Canada office.

The Minister of National Revenue closed our only consultation office, where people could go in person.

Why is Prince Edward Island being punished for the Conservatives' financial incompetence?

[Intergovernmental Affairs, November 30th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, apparently size matters. Size matters to Senators Duffy, Wallace and Greene, who want to erase Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick off the Canadian map.

We are a proud people back home and, yes, we have challenges. If the Conservatives really want to help the Maritimes, how about they stop attacking our way of life? How about they stop gutting thousands of jobs from our region? How about they stop saying that we have a culture of defeat? How about they stop the EI changes that are killing seasonal industries? How about trying to find real solutions instead of creating division?

[Points of Order, November 29th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order arising from an order paper question that I submitted. The question that I posed was quite simple and, for the record, I will read the question and the answer provided in their original parliamentary form. The question reads:

With regard to websites accessed on the personal departmental desktop computers, laptop computers, mobile phones, tablet computers, or other internet-enabled devices issued to the Minister of Justice and to the Minister of Public Safety: (a) what are the URLs of all websites accessed on said devices between 12:01 a.m. on February 1, 2012, and 12:01 a.m. on February 14, 2012 (all dates and times inclusive), listed by ministry; and (b) at what times were those websites accessed, listed by ministry?

The answer, as provided by the Conservative government, reads:

Bill C-30 does not modify the fact that such information would have to be obtained pursuant to a court order or other lawful authority. Therefore, the information requested will not be provided.

However, as an example, under the proposed legislation, Bill C-30, the following is what would be available to law-enforcement officers.

It then proceeds to list the name of the Minister of Public Safety and the member of Parliament for Provencher, his address, his email address, his telephone number, his IP address and his service provider, Public Works and Government Services Canada.

The response given by the ministers has no link to the question asked. In fact, I was provided answers to questions which I did not pose. I made no mention of Bill C-30 in my question. I did not ask for the IP address or the email addresses of the ministers. I certainly did not request their phone number, mailing address or the name of their service provider. What I did ask for was specific information related to websites accessed by the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Public Safety from their government issued laptops, desktop computers, tablets and other devices provided and paid for by the taxpayers of Canada. These are not personal instruments of communication. They are the property of the government, paid for by taxpayers. They are not exempt from disclosure.

On this point, we know from media reports that regular accountability audits are conducted by the Government of Canada with respect to the computer usage of public servants, the same public servants who work for ministers. These audits are done to ensure public and government business is being conducted properly and that the websites accessed by public servants are material and relevant to their work. If that type of accountability is necessary for public servants, why not for ministers? It would be difficult to imagine what specific national security provisions would need to be invoked, or should I say invented, that would prevent the public from knowing if ministers access, for example, websites like CNN or even, one can imagine, the CBC?

The government does not have the right to decide which questions to answer and which ones to ignore without explicit legislative authority. Such authority does not exist in this instance.

The failure of the Conservative ministers to answer my question posed under the rules of the House of Commons is a matter of great concern. When I posed my question I was direct and specific. The ministers in question completely avoided answering my direct question and t instead chose to provide answers that had nothing to do with my question. The answers provided are, to be frank, bizarre.

The right of a member of Parliament to ask questions to hold the government to account is fundamental to the very notion of accountability in democracy. I, therefore, request that the Speaker check into this matter and consider providing me with an extra question while the minister revisits and prepares a new accurate answer.

[Veterans Affairs, November 29th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate the Minister of Finance for increasing the federal debt to $600 billion. Great job.

Now, to reduce the debt, Conservatives are cutting nine district offices that serve veterans. They claim that local Service Canada outlets will pick up the slack, but it is not true. I have a secret internal HRSDC document indicating a planned staff cut of 46% at Service Canada in Prince Edward Island alone by 2015.

Why are veterans and vulnerable Canadians paying the price for Conservative financial incompetence?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, November 27th, 2012]

With regard to torture: (a) what is the government’s policy on art. 1(1) of the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; (b) is it the policy of the government and its agencies that Canada is opposed to any violation of the article cited in (a); (c) is it the government's policy that s.269.1 of the Criminal Code, including, but not limited to, subsection 4, is consistent with art.1(1) and (2) of the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; and (d) is it the government's policy that information obtained by means of torture and provided to Canada by a third party deemed a non-state, or provided by a state as defined by the United Nations, is contrary to the article cited in (a) and a potential contravention of Section 269.1 of the Criminal Code?

[Petitions, November 26th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on behalf of several residents of Prince Edward Island to present a petition for the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development against proposed changes to the Employment Insurance Act.

These citizens are concerned that the government did not consult with those who would be hurt by the irresponsible and unfair changes to the act, and that forcing people to drive an unreasonable distance is an economic burden and a risk to their personal safety. They also express concerns over the new regime with respect to appeal and with respect to the provisions with regard to working while on claim.

These residents ask that the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development cancel the proposed changes. I would also point out that both the Liberal Party and the Progressive Conservative Party in Prince Edward Island are of the same mind.