Wladyslaw Lizon

[The Budget, February 14th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, if there is one thing our Conservative government prides itself on, it is keeping taxes low for Canadians and their families. In fact, since coming into office, we have reduced taxes over 160 times, which will save the average Canadian family nearly $3,400 in 2014.

In addition to helping families keep more money in their pockets, our government also takes pride in recognizing those who help keep our families and communities safe. Would the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance tell this House what economic action plan 2014 does to recognize the contributions of these brave Canadians?

[Fair Elections Act, February 10th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, in the little time I have, I would like to make a few comments.

I am disappointed with the debate taking place here. I listened to the argument across the aisle that when people have to show their ID, it will decrease voter turnout.

We hear a lot about rights. How about duties? We Canadians have a duty to this country. When people who come here from all corners of the world become Canadians, they are taught and then asked about what is both their right and duty at the same time. The right to vote is a duty to vote. It is our duty, as Canadian citizens, to shape the future of this country. It is not only the job of Elections Canada to make sure that the information gets to people; it is the duty of all of us. For parents, it is the way that they bring up their children.

Young Canadians, years ago, went to fight and died for the democratic rights and privileges we enjoy today in this country. I went to the cemetery in Groesbeek, Holland, last year. I walked and I looked at the headstones. Those boys were as young as 16 and 17.

Today, people are fighting in many places in the world to get the basic democratic right to vote and to have their say. We here in the House are saying that we cannot ask people this and that, but that we have to encourage them. No. We have to make sure that people are brought up in a way so that they love this country and feel and know that the future of Canada is the duty of us all.

We are shaping the future of this country. We do not only have the right. Do not speak only of rights; speak about duties. We all have duties and responsibilities to this great country. Let us never forget that.

[Fair Elections Act, February 10th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I have a problem following the logic of the opposition. Members who spoke before, including this member, were complaining about time allocation, but the first thing they did after the motion was to introduce their own motion to go home, to close the debate. I do not understand how this works.

There is a lot of talk about civic rights, but how about civic duties? Do we not have a civic duty toward this country? Do we not have responsibilities?

I go to many citizenship ceremonies. When people who become Canadian citizens raise their right hand and say the oath, part of the oath says “I will respect the laws of Canada and fulfill my duties as a Canadian citizen”. It is our duty and right to vote.

I ask the member what she has to say about that.

[Poland, February 10th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, 74 years ago today, following the invasion of Poland in September 1939, the Soviet regime started mass deportations of Polish citizens from invaded territories, deep into Russia.

The first victims of deportations were the Polish military, prisoners of war resulting from resistance to the September invasion.

Soon, the arrests, deportations, and murders were extended to government officials, politicians, civil servants, members of the intelligentsia, scientists, and any others deemed threats to the Soviet state.

Then, deportations were extended to families. About 1.8 million Polish men, women, and children were forcibly removed and placed in labour camps, deep in Siberia, where they faced hard physical labour and miserable living conditions. Over 700,000 died of cold, starvation, physical fatigue, and disease.

The accounts of daily life and loss in the harsh gulag are the personal histories that, to date, have largely been missing, lost, and underreported. It is my wish that this crime of Soviet Communism is brought to light and remembered.

[Citizenship and Immigration, February 6th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Speech from the Throne highlighted that citizenship is not simply a passport of convenience. Citizenship should promote attachment to Canada and Canadian values, as well as a responsibility to participate in the life of our communities and institutions.

Currently, our citizenship program remains vulnerable to fraud, with no authority to revoke the citizenship of dual nationals who become traitors, terrorists, or spies against Canada.

Can the parliamentary secretary inform the House of what our government is doing to strengthen the value of Canadian citizenship?

[Business of Supply, January 30th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I listened to the member's speech very carefully. He made some historical references to Prime Minister Borden's speech, but he chose the facts very carefully.

My question during this debate earlier today was this: Has he had some of kind of transformation in recent years? He portrays himself as a defender of veterans, but he and other members who sit with him were part of the government that in 1995 introduced the deepest cuts to veterans in this country's history. The Liberals removed veterans' benefits from Allied veterans, including those who fought under Canadian command.

What were veterans told? They were told that they were wearing the wrong uniform. They may have been under Canadian command, but they were not wearing a Canadian uniform. Canadian veterans were outraged.

They removed the veterans' benefits from so-called—

[Business of Supply, January 30th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I will not retract anything. I actually believe that the people who serve our country deserve our respect and deserve the services that are available for veterans.

The veteran he mentioned does not need to drive anywhere. He will get his services in the place where he lives.

It is awkward to hear that question from the member who was part of a government that introduced the deepest cuts to veterans in this country in the recent history of Canada. In the cuts that he voted for, veterans were cut off from their benefits and these were not restored until 2009. He knows that very well. I do not know why all of a sudden he has become a person who is fighting for the rights of veterans. He voted for those changes. He cut services and benefits that veterans truly deserve.

[Business of Supply, January 30th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, we discussed all of these issues at the committee meetings. We have done studies. We have members from both sides of the House on the committee. I do not quite understand the logic behind the opposition claims; it is as if anything new that is done is wrong.

We cannot continue the status quo. Times are changing. There are new technologies available. The population of our veterans is changing.

Over a million brave Canadians served in the Canadian Armed Forces in the Second World War. Those who are still alive are in their nineties or older and require a different approach than the young veterans who are released from the Canadian Armed Forces now. Therefore, we have to look at different approaches for the different veterans we have in Canada. They deserve the service for their service to this country.

[Business of Supply, January 30th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to stand in this House and confirm our government's full and continued support for men and women who have served our country so well.

It is a special moment for me, because since my election in 2011, I have been serving on the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs, and everything that is related to veterans is very dear to me.

Canada's veterans represent the very best of what it means to be Canadian. They have served with courage, distinction, and honour. They have always put country and service before all else to defend our cherished way of life, often at great sacrifice to their families and themselves. They have helped to bring peace and freedom to many places around the world that had known only violence and oppression.

That is their proud history, and it is why our nation is now the envy of the world. It is also why our government is committed to recognizing their service and honouring their sacrifice every day. That is our record, our history. We have made it an extraordinary priority to ensure veterans and their families receive the care and support they need and receive it when they need it. That is why our government has always insisted that veterans' benefits and services be maintained and enhanced, no matter what economic times we might find ourselves in.

That is why Veterans Affairs Canada's annual budget has increased by almost $785 million this year over 2005. That is why we have invested almost $4.7 billion in new funding to enhance veterans' benefits, programs, and services. We are committed to serving veterans as they have always served our great country.

With the time I have remaining, I would like to highlight some of the many ways we are working to serve veterans and their families better and faster and in more modern and convenient ways.

I am sure most members in this House are familiar with our government's cutting red tape for veterans initiative. We launched it in February 2012 with the single-minded purpose of providing veterans and their families with faster, hassle-free service, and that is what we have been doing.

We have been streamlining Veterans Affairs Canada's business processes, simplifying the department's policies and programs, and making greater use of new technology and e-services.

The results so far have been impressive, with improved turnaround time for processing veterans' disability benefits. Access to rehabilitation services is now being approved in just two weeks, instead of four. We have reduced the number of forms and the length of the forms veterans have to fill out, and we have placed a renewed emphasis on using plain language in our correspondence with veterans and their families.

That is just the start of what we have accomplished. By the time this five-year initiative is fully implemented, our programs, benefits, and services will be the most responsive, inclusive, and flexible that Canada's veterans have ever seen, and we will be delivering them as quickly and as efficiently as possible.

Veterans are already reaping many of the benefits. Just last fall, for example, the Minister of Veterans Affairs announced a new approach to our vocational rehabilitation program that gives veterans improved access to about $75,800 in training to start a new career. This is great news for approximately 1,300 veterans participating in our vocational rehabilitation and vocational assessment services.

These changes also build on other recent enhancements. For example, we have simplified our process for reimbursing veterans for travel costs to and from their medical appointments. This means that approximately 17,000 veterans no longer need to send receipts to the department or verify their appointments with it to recover their travel expenses.

This one change has eliminated a lot of cumbersome paperwork for eligible veterans, and it is putting money back into their pockets faster. We are doing the same for the more than 100,000 veterans, widows, and caregivers who use the veterans independence program. Last year, we began providing upfront payments for snow clearing, lawn cutting, and housekeeping services. Veterans no longer have to pay out of their own pockets for these services and then wait to be reimbursed.

These kinds of changes make a real difference. They represent real results for veterans. They also allow Veterans Affairs Canada's employees more time to provide the extremely high-quality service to veterans that they are best suited to offer.

Another way we are doing that is by introducing a full suite of e-services for veterans who prefer to go online for the information and assistance they want. These new e-services include the new veterans' benefits browser, which helps visitors to our website quickly determine which benefits and services are most relevant to them; the new “My VAC Book”, which is a customized, print-on-demand brochure that puts important information at veterans' fingertips; and the enhanced My VAC Account, which provides veterans with secure 24/7 online access to the department from anywhere in the world.

Of course, some veterans, like some Canadians, still prefer the traditional approach to service—that is, speaking to a clerk, an agent, or a teller face to face. We understand that. We get it. That is why our government has been expanding veterans' services in those areas with the largest populations of veterans. That was the raison d'être, back in 2009, for establishing the integrated personnel support centres on Canadian Armed Forces bases and wings. Today we have 24 such centres across the country, as well as seven satellite offices, so that military personnel and veterans who are in the process of releasing can have one central point of service for assistance from VAC and DND employees who are working side by side. It is also why, more recently, we have been expanding VAC services into the nearly 600 Service Canada locations nationwide. Through this single change, we are giving veterans and their families new points of contact and greater access to professionally trained front-line employees in their own communities.

Our government believes that veterans deserve more options and more choices when it comes to dealing with Veterans Affairs Canada. Through the many innovations we are introducing, our government is proud to be delivering, with better and faster service.

[Ukraine, January 27th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask my hon. colleague the following question.

There are statements made by people around the world, especially on the Russian side, that bring the issue of Ukrainian unity into question. They want to deflect the real problems that exists in the country. They say these issues exist because there is a big difference between eastern Ukraine and western Ukraine, and recently Mr. Zhirinovsky, the deputy speaker of the Russian lower house or Duma, said that if Stalin had divided Ukraine and taken it apart, there would not be the problems being experienced today.

Would my hon. colleague like to comment on how important it is for Ukrainians and the country of Ukraine to stay together despite the differences. Every country has its differences.