Ted Hsu

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, December 4th, 2013]

With regard to citizenship applicants from 2011-present, broken down by year: (a) what is the percentage breakdown of all applicants by country of birth for any countries of birth where the number of applicants represented 1% or more of the total; (b) how many applications were received from each country in (a); (c) of those in (a), broken down by country and listed as a percent, how many applicants received a residence questionnaire; (d) what is the policy for determining whether applicants receive a residence questionnaire or not; (e) has this policy been changed since 2011; and (f) if it has changed, what was the previous policy?

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, December 4th, 2013]

With regard to the Canada Summer Career Placement Program/Summer Jobs Program: (a) what was the total amount of funding allocated to the program on an annual basis from 2005 to 2013 (i) overall in Canada, (ii) by province and territory, (iii) by riding; (b) what was the total amount of funding spent through the program on an annual basis from 2005 to 2013 (i) overall in Canada, (ii) by province and territory, (iii) by riding; (c) if there was a difference between funding allocated and funding spent through the program, what accounts for the difference each year, broken down by year; (d) what was the total number of student summer jobs created on an annual basis from 2005 to 2013 (i) overall in Canada, (ii) by province and territory, (iii) by riding; (e) what are the names of the employers awarded funding through the program on an annual basis from 2005 to 2013 (i) overall in Canada, (ii) by province and territory, (iii) by riding; (f) what was the average wage paid on an annual basis from 2005 to 2013 (i) overall in Canada, (ii) by province and territory, (iii) by riding; and (g) what was the total number of hours of work funded on an annual basis from 2005 to 2013 (i) overall in Canada, (ii) by province and territory, (iii) by riding?

[Economic Action Plan 2013 Act No. 2, December 2nd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I enjoyed listening to my colleague's speech. It seemed to me to be one of those absolutist Conservative speeches. He is very confident in what he believes in, and good for him. I am also glad he likes to read the cartoons so he knows what the other parties think.

In the spring, the Liberal Party tried to amend the previous budget implementation bill, Bill C-45, to extend the small business hiring credit and increase the maximum threshold from $10,000 to $15,000. I guess we should compliment the government's legislation when it is time to do that. I agree with what the government has done in Bill C-4. It rejected the Liberal amendment earlier this spring, but it has decided to take the Liberal idea and implement it in Bill C-4. I guess the Conservatives thought about things over the summer and decided that what the Liberals were calling for was the right thing to do, and so I commend the government on adopting that Liberal idea.

[Economic Action Plan 2013 Act No. 2, December 2nd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, that last question and answer moment feels like question period in reverse.

My question is related to the National Research Council, which my hon. colleague from the paradise of Manitoba just brought up. I am interested in whether he would like to comment on the reduction in the number of council members for the National Research Council from 19 to 12. As he may know, the NRC is undergoing some dramatic changes at the moment. It is surprising that only five of these council positions are filled. At this time of dramatic change, I wonder if the NRC really should be consulting more and should have a larger council. In this way it would be able to consult with councillors from both a broad geographic range and from the very diverse range of technical fields that the NRC is involved in.

[Economic Action Plan 2013 Act No. 2, December 2nd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague from across the way talked about the Canadian corporate tax rates being lower than those in the U.S. I do not see a lot of companies lining up to come to Canada because of that. There are other things going on.

I should also point out an example of something else that is going on. Quite often I find that Canadian managers of R and D cannot get the large global corporations, often headquartered in the United States, to do their R and D in Canada. The proposals are just not as good as what they get from other countries where some of the subsidies are bigger.

An example of what is going on is that, in budget 2012, the government decided that it would reduce the scientific research and experimental development tax credit, and replace that with a system of direct grants.

We heard in the finance committee a couple of weeks ago that there is a delay. The cuts in SR and ED are already occurring, but replacement by the grants has been slow to happen. Therefore, a witness in committee told us that something like $300 million in investment has not been made. That amounts to something like 2,000 ongoing jobs.

I would like to ask my colleague to comment on that.

[Questions on the Order Paper, December 2nd, 2013]

With regard to the recent sale of crown land owned by Correctional Service of Canada (CSC), in the amount of 1,554.48 square meters, located on Frontenac Institute in Kingston, Ontario: (a) who is the purchaser; (b) what is the purchase price; (c) what is the closing date of the transaction; (d) what were all the measures taken to respect the Commissioner’s Directive for Real Property for CSC, in particular the statement, under Principles, that “acquisition and disposal of real property assets will be done in a fair and open manner, which shall include public consultation”; (e) what was the first date of any communications regarding the sale of this land between the government and the purchaser; (f) what was the first date of any communications regarding the sale of this land between the government and parties who expressed interest but ultimately did not purchase the land; (g) who signed the agreement; (h) under what authority; (i) on what date; and (j) what was the first date of any communications regarding the sale of this land between the government and parties other than those in (e) and (f)?

[Business of Supply, November 26th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the leader of the Liberal Party has been asking question after question about the scandal in the Prime Minister's Office.

At the same time, Conservative MPs have had opportunities every question period to ask questions about this very important matter, and they have never asked a question about it. It is pretty clear that the parliamentary secretary has no basis on which to make his accusation during debate today.

[Business of Supply, November 26th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, let me say that the Liberal leader has constantly been in the House answering questions and asking questions in question period about the scandal in the Prime Minister's Office. He has not been sitting on his hands. In every question period he has been here asking questions.

On the other point, the parliamentary secretary brings up another accusation from the past. He probably forgets that his party changed the rules in the middle of the Liberal leadership race in 2006. That was a very clever thing to do. The candidates started off with one set of rules, and the Conservatives changed the law in the middle of the Liberal leadership race. That is what is really responsible for what happened, and the responsibility lies with the Conservative Party.

[Business of Supply, November 26th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I do think that the Conservative Party is afraid that if it lets members speak, somebody might actually say what they think and get the party in trouble. That is why in question period members are quite often flipping through cards and reading the cards with their heads down while answering questions. It is to make sure they do not accidentally say something wrong. There are a lot of members on the Conservative side who think for themselves and who could speak if they were free to speak, or if they were courageous enough to speak or able to.

Let me address the second question. In any large organization, the manager cannot manage every single thing that every one of his or her employees does. Nevertheless, the manager is responsible for the actions and consequences of what his or her direct reports do. The way that a manager has to deal with this is to set the culture of an organization. Really the only way someone can direct a large group of people to act in a certain way and to uphold certain standards is to establish a culture, because that is what is possible in management.

What is not possible is to micromanage every single thing that employees say or do. The Conservatives try to do that with cards, but what they should be doing is to try to set a culture that would have prevented this scandal in the Prime Minister's Office.

[Business of Supply, November 26th, 2013]

No. Okay. We will have to look at the record.

Mr. Speaker, let me tell members about an experience I had, as a newly elected member of Parliament, with a Liberal senator.

One of the things I have learned since I have been elected the member of Parliament for Kingston and the Islands is that I thought I knew a lot about Canada. However, when I came here and started talking to people from across the country, I realized how little I knew about the rest of the country and how much there is to know.

I had the privilege of sitting down with Senator Mitchell, from Alberta, to talk about climate change, pipelines, the oil and gas industry, and the view of the country from Alberta. It was an enormously enriching experience for me to sit down and talk at length with someone from Alberta and to be able to ask a lot of questions and talk in a very frank and open manner, which is sometimes hard to do when two politicians are speaking, or when a politician is speaking with anybody.

However, I benefited enormously from this conversation. I think that is just an example of how having senators, with their experience and regional representation, can help Parliament in its work.