Shelly Glover

[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, May 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said before, the government has nothing to do with the decisions made by CBC/Radio-Canada. We recognize that CBC/Radio-Canada plays an important role in remote communities, aboriginal communities, and official language minority communities. We encourage the corporation to continue to fulfill its mandate under the Broadcasting Act by serving all Canadians in French and English.

[Extension of Sitting Hours, May 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I rose because I too am concerned about hearing from the NDP with regard to the substance of this matter and that is whether or not New Democrats agree to come to work and do the work that is required, as put forward by the Conservatives. I want to thank my colleague from the Liberal benches for agreeing that we need an answer to this.

I am rather disappointed in the member from the NDP who continues to sling mud. Canadians watch this and they are, frankly, fed up. That is what I am hearing in my riding. I am sure many here are hearing the same. The NDP wants to sling mud. Jack Layton was a fine example of a true statesman, a person from the NDP who cared intimately about Canada and about his constituents. The member across the way continues to go against what Jack Layton's dream was, that they be respectful of one another, respectful of other parliamentarians and what their constituents want, and what Canadians want, which is a respectful place here in Parliament. I would encourage him to think about that when he trashes the next member who stands to confront his allegations, which are, frankly, not true.

[Veterans Hiring Act, May 16th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I am going to share a story as I ask the hon. member a question.

As many know, I am the granddaughter of three World War II veterans, including my grandmother, whose own father was in World War I. He was a Cree male, with three brothers who fought valiantly. My grandmother, when she went to World War II, was trained in a number of areas, including transcription services.

Unfortunately my grandfather, who had been in Dieppe, et cetera, survived the war but died at a very young age, and my grandmother was left to raise her children. She went into the workforce and tried to find a job so that she could support her children, and she had a very difficult time.

My grandmother's transcription abilities and the other abilities she got while serving in the Canadian Armed Services would have served this place very well. I only wish that this kind of bill was possible during that time.

I would ask my hon. colleague to describe the types of positions that might become available to our armed forces members.

I want to thank him very sincerely on behalf of me and my family, which is very much entrenched in military family situations, for putting this bill forward. It certainly will help our veterans go a long way after serving so valiantly. As we all know, some of them make the ultimate sacrifice, which cannot be repaid, but for those who are injured, this is a way to thank them.

[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, May 15th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I am not the only one who believes that. For the benefit of the Leader of the Opposition, I would like to quote the president of the Syndicat des communications de Radio-Canada, who had this to say before the cuts: “Any future cuts will not be due to federal orders”.

In addition, France Bélisle, CBC/Radio-Canada's director of communications and public relations, said, “The problem is the weak industry-wide advertising market”.

It was not a government decision. He knows that perfectly well and should accept it.

[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, May 15th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, obviously that is not true, because if it were, the CBC would not get so much money every year.

What the member is suggesting is ridiculous. The CBC's president explained the facts as follows: there has been a decline in the number of viewers, a decline in advertising revenues, and they lost hockey. That is why there were cuts. The CBC decided to make those cuts. It has nothing to do with the government. We are still investing significant amounts of money in the CBC.

[Canadian Broadcasting Corportation, May 15th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, as I have already said, we recognize the importance of CBC. Clearly, some remote communities, aboriginal communities and certainly minority communities depend on CBC. That is why we invest significant amounts in the corporation.

The recent decisions were made by CBC. They have nothing to do with our government. Again, we expect CBC to have programming in both French and English.

[Canadian Heritage, May 15th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague knows, the museums make their own operational decisions.

Let us talk about the 150th anniversary of our country, which will celebrate and commemorate Canada's achievements from coast to coast. It will be a success across the country as a result of the consultations we have held with Canadians. In fact, consultations are still ongoing. We have held at least 20 round tables.

I urge my colleague and his party to hold consultations. They have not held any in their ridings. I therefore urge them to do so and to share with us their constituents' ideas.

[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, May 6th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague clearly said, it was not the government's decision. CBC/Radio-Canada made the recent decisions itself.

Let us talk about the local programming improvement fund for a minute. Once again, it was CRTC that created and eliminated the fund. Once again, I suggest that my colleague check who is really responsible for those decisions before asking such questions in the House of Commons.

[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, May 6th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, one more time, as I have said before, the decision that was made recently was made by CBC, not by the government.

The president of CBC has said very clearly that the cuts they are facing are as a result of declining viewership in key demographics, 25 to 54 years of age, declining ad revenues, and of course the loss of Hockey Night in Canada.

It is up to the CBC to provide programming that Canadians want to watch. We give significant funds to the CBC. In fact, we created the Canadian media fund on top of all of this, to assist the CBC, and the NDP voted against it.

[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, May 6th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, as in the past, I am always prepared to serve the committee when I am called on to do so. However, when it comes to the recent decision, it was Radio-Canada's decision, not the government's. On behalf of taxpayers, we provide significant funding to Radio-Canada. It has enough money to fulfill its mandate under the Broadcasting Act. Again, this is a matter for CBC/Radio-Canada, not for the government.