Ted Hsu

[Business of Supply, February 14th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I understand that there has not been enough consultation with aboriginal groups on that particular bill. It is a complicated issue, and there is no silver bullet that is going to advance a solution to the problem at hand today, which is the unacceptably high rate of murdered and missing aboriginal women and girls.

[Business of Supply, February 14th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, if I understood the question correctly, my hon. colleague is worried about the fact that seven of the 12 members on the special committee will be Conservative members.

Maybe the work of this committee will be restricted or limited.

We have to have confidence in the positive things that have been said today on the government side, because we have to move forward in a multi-party fashion. If we give up and say that the Conservatives are going to dilute whatever work comes out of the committee, that is being pessimistic. We should take every opportunity to move forward. That is what I would tell my colleague.

[Business of Supply, February 14th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, we have to be focused on what is at hand, which is murdered and missing aboriginal women and girls. My hon. colleague mentioned that it is a complicated issue. There is no magic bullet. That is why there needs to be a special committee to study this problem and go across the country to hear testimony. This is a bigger problem than what my hon. colleague on the government side is talking about.

[Business of Supply, February 14th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity today to speak to the motion. I will start with a review of some numbers and facts. It is very important to feel the force of these facts.

However, before I talk about numbers, I want to acknowledge that these numbers are made up of individual lives. My colleague from St. Paul's, who presented the motion, said something very important. She said that in this world, each victim may be just one woman, but to the family and loved ones of each of these victims, each woman means the world. We must remember the value of each person who lives on the margins of our society. It is with this in mind that I bring up some numbers.

The Native Women's Association of Canada estimates that 10% of female homicides are of native women, whereas they represent only 3% of the female population of Canada. Over 600 cases of missing or murdered aboriginal women and girls have been documented by NWAC. If we apply that rate to the general population, it would result in something like 20,000 murdered or missing women. We must wonder what the outcry would be if we had that statistic for the general population. Would people with the means, resources, education and time come to a place like this to talk to policy-makers and influence government? If this rate occurred in the general population, we wonder whether something would have been done already. That is one of the reasons we are here today.

Another thing that strikes me is that most of the cases involve young women and girls. I noted here that 17% of the cases involve women and girls 18 years of age or younger. The other reason we are here is that a lot of these cases are unresolved. Nationally, the average number of homicide cases cleared is something like 84%, whereas only half of cases involving aboriginal women and girls are solved.

I am happy to stand here today not only to speak to the motion but to respond to what the government members have said today. They support this motion, and I want to thank them for their support. I am very glad that this Liberal motion has won the support of Conservative members of Parliament. It is a sensible thing to do. I am appreciative of the all-party support and am therefore hopeful that good work comes out of the special committee that would be set up after the vote takes place in a couple of weeks.

We still believe that a public inquiry is necessary, but we look forward to the committee from this House of Commons travelling across the country to hear testimony from witnesses and to hear them tell us what the government needs to do.

We should also summarize some of the deficiencies that have been pointed out. We had a report this week from Human Rights Watch. It heard testimony from indigenous women and girls about deficiencies in our policing system that prevent the overwhelming number of good men and women, who work in the RCMP and other police forces to protect us, from adequately protecting aboriginal women and girls.

We also know that United Nations human rights bodies have criticized Canada for an inadequate government response. We had an announcement in December 2011 from the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women that it was going to open an inquiry into what was happening in Canada. In 2008, that committee called on the Canadian government to examine the reasons for the failure to adequately protect aboriginal women that has resulted in this unacceptable number of cases of missing and murdered aboriginal women and girls.

We have heard today about some of the measures the government has taken, such as the RCMP's National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains, which launched a national website at the end of January. That is a good thing, but that tool does not focus on the problem at issue today, which is missing and murdered aboriginal women and girls.

My hon. colleague from Portage—Lisgar talked about all sorts of initiatives to improve essentially all the things that can be done after a crime has been committed. We have to think more about problems with the system. Maybe there are problems with the policing system that prevent the good men and women who work in our police forces from doing the best they can. Maybe it is poverty or racism or sexism. If we realize that poverty, racism or sexism have contributed to the murder, abduction or disappearance of an aboriginal woman or girl, do we go to the police and tell them that the real cause of the case is poverty? No, we do not. Poverty is not something for the police to take care of. That is something that must be addressed by policy-makers, legislators, and government. That is another reason we are here today. It is to establish the special committee. We need to study the root causes in addition to all the things we could do after a crime is committed.

I am glad that the first government member to rise today to speak to the motion acknowledged the importance of working on prevention. We have to ask if there is something in our system of policing that results in inadequate protection for aboriginal women and girls. We have to ask about the role of poverty, racism, sexism or a lack of awareness among the general population.

The motion today mentions a committee travelling across the country to consult with people. We must do our work in conjunction with aboriginal communities. We need leadership not only from the federal government but from indigenous communities across the country. We need to work together to develop and implement a national action plan on violence against indigenous women that would really address the structural roots and causes of violence. We also need accountability mechanisms to ensure that whatever plan we put in place is carried out and the results are measured.

Another reason for acting now is that there have been incomplete efforts. For example, the current government funds the Native Women's Association of Canada but says that it cannot use the money for Sisters in Spirit. The Sisters in Spirit project focused on violence against aboriginal women and girls. Committee work was started in this place in 2010 but it was interrupted by the 2011 election.

We are on the right path today. We are on the right path because the Liberal Party has won the government's support for the motion to set up a special committee. We are happy that we have been able to take at least this first step toward addressing the injustices and the inequities suffered by those living at the margins of our society. We are happy that we are going to be able to study and hear testimony about the root causes of the unacceptably high rates of violence against aboriginal women and girls. We look forward to the special committee travelling across our country to hear testimony.

[The Environment, February 8th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the environment commissioner just told the government to increase the money that operators set aside to cover the cost of a nuclear or offshore drilling accident. The liability cap is out of date now, far below what other countries require. Previous bills to take taxpayers off the hook for nuclear accidents had overwhelming support but died in 2008 because of an early election call, in 2009 because of prorogation, and in 2010 simply from neglect.

Will the Conservatives now raise liability caps? When will we see properly reviewed stand-alone legislation to do it?

[Lunar New Year, February 8th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, this weekend, thousands of Canadians will be making a special voyage home. Canadians of Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese heritage and their families eagerly await the Lunar New Year, a time to see friends and family, and a time to remember those who have passed on.

At home and together with our communities and fellow Canadians, we remember and share our traditions of food, music and the arts. We celebrate a year of hard work, and share our hopes and wishes for the coming year.

From my friends and colleagues in the House to all Canadians:

Xin nian kuai le.

Happy New Year. May you have health and may you achieve whatever your heart desires.

[Business of Supply, January 31st, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague for talking about things such as the education gap between aboriginal and non-aboriginal Canadians. If we look at university graduates, for example, something like 10% of aboriginals have a university degree compared to around 23% in the general population.

However, there is a program in my riding called the aboriginal leadership opportunity year, which allows aboriginal Canadians to spend a year at the Royal Military College. A few weeks ago the first commissioning ceremony was held for an aboriginal Canadian who is finishing her studies at the Royal Military College this year.

At the risk of putting my colleague on the spot, and I apologize for doing so, I wonder if she would support doubling the length of that program from one year to two years. I know that retention of students in post-secondary programs is an issue we have to be very cognizant of, and I wonder if the member might support something like that.

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

With regard to Sir John A. Macdonald's grave site and bicentennial in January 2015: (a) what is the total amount of dollars per year for the upkeep of Sir John A. Macdonald's grave site, which is listed in the National Program for the Grave Sites of Canadian Prime Ministers, from 2006 to 2012; (b) is the government considering allocating funding for the basic upkeep of Sir John A. Macdonald's grave site in the 2013 budget; (c) is the government considering funding the memorial service for Sir John A. Macdonald held at his grave site annually on January 6; and (d) what other steps has the government taken to commemorate Sir John A. Macdonald's upcoming bicentennial?

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

With regard to the National Research Council (NRC) and its short-term goal for 2012 of transitioning to a program management model, as of November 30, 2012: (a) what programs have reached the final phase of the program approval process; (b) what are the names and brief descriptions of these approved programs; (c) what is the total number of research staff working on each of these approved programs; (d) what is the total number of full-time equivalent research staff working on each of these approved programs; (e) what is the total number of full-time research staff working under the NRC; (f) what is the total number of full-time equivalent research staff working under the NRC; (g) what is the number of full-time research staff whose time has not yet been completely assigned to one or more approved programs; (h) what is the explanation for any full-time research staff still waiting to get to work at a full-time equivalency on approved programs; (i) for research staff whose time is not yet completely assigned to approved programs, how is it being decided what they will work on when they are not working on approved programs, and to what internal account is their time being billed; (j) what project reports are being filed on that interim research work; (k) since April 1, 2012, what concerns has the Minister of State for Science and Technology expressed to NRC management with regard to NRC’s transition to a program management model; and (l) since April 1, 2012, what directions has the Minister of State for Science and Technology given to NRC management with regard to itss transition to a program management model?

[Petitions, January 28th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition from my constituents of Kingston and the Islands, particularly young residents of Kingston and the Islands, who are very much concerned about the changes to the interim federal health program and the effects of this on pregnant women and their babies.

They ask the government to reconsider those changes so that extended health coverage is provided to pregnant women. They are very worried that the lack of primary maternal care could put the health of expecting mothers and their unborn children at risk.