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Monday, May 26, 2014 · sitting No. 89
House extends sittings to June 20 after lengthy debate on motion
Government House leader Peter Van Loan moved a motion to extend daily sittings until June 20, setting midnight adjournment on most days and limiting recorded divisions after 6:30 p.m. The motion, which took the largest share of the day's time, was debated by New Democratic MP Peter Julian, who criticized the government's refusal to heed opposition advice on legislation later struck down by the Supreme Court.
In Question Period, NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair pressed Prime Minister Stephen Harper on shifting accounts of contacts with Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin over a Supreme Court appointment. Harper replied that legal experts inside and outside the court had been consulted and had confirmed the eligibility of Federal Court judges.
Liberal MP John McCallum questioned Harper on the payment of below-prevailing wages to nearly 10,000 temporary foreign workers, calling the practice illegal. Harper said employers are required to pay the prevailing wage under rules introduced by the government.
Decided that day
- Motion to adjourn debate passed
- Opinion motion on CBC/Radio-Canada failed
From the Hansard record of the sitting. Full Hansard
No CPAC Question Period upload is on file for this day. CPAC’s channel goes back to December 2019.
Who held the floor · 2014-05-26
64House Passes Adjournment, Moves Two BillsThe sitting mixed procedural debate with modest progress on legislation. One motion failed while another passed and two bills advanced.AI-rated Score out of 100; the verdict and the answer ratings behind it are a model’s reading. How the AI rates this
AI-rated The sitting score and the rating of each answer come from a language model reading Hansard. How the AI rates this
Other moments
Corrections and Conditional Release Act
Conservative MP Dave MacKenzie defended his private member's bill amending the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, saying it protects victims' rights while allowing escorted temporary absences only after Parole Board approval. New Democratic MP Randall Garrison asked why the bill did not require two correctional staff on first escorted absences for murder convictions.
Read the exchangeNational Defence
New Democratic MP Jack Harris said five Canadian Forces members suffer sexual assault daily and urged the minister to adopt the Australian approach of removing personnel who cannot respect colleagues. Defence Minister Rob Nicholson said investigations are under way and the government has done more for victims than any previous administration.
Read the exchangeInternational Development
New Democratic MP Hélène Laverdière asked whether the Toronto summit would address women's equality and reproductive choice as part of reducing maternal deaths. International Development Minister Christian Paradis said the meeting would keep Canada on track to save lives under the Muskoka initiative.
Read the exchangeHuman Rights
New Democratic MP Craig Scott asked Citizenship Minister Chris Alexander to expedite visas for nine LGBTQ activists from Uganda invited to the WorldPride conference. Alexander said the government would use the immigration system to help the conference succeed, as it had for refugees from other countries.
Read the exchangeQuestion Period, exchange by exchange
AI-rated Each answer’s rating (answered, partly answered, deflected, answered something else) is a model’s reading of the exchange. How the AI rates this
- deflectedJusticeThomas Mulcair (NDP) asked Stephen Harper (Conservative). substantive question.Answer claims ignorance of the question and restates prior position without addressing any change in version.
I have no idea of what that question was about.
- deflectedJusticeThomas Mulcair (NDP) asked Stephen Harper (Conservative). substantive question.Answer denies knowledge of any version change and pivots to restating consultation process.
once again, I do not know what the change of version is.
- deflectedJusticeThomas Mulcair (NDP) asked Stephen Harper (Conservative). substantive question.Answer ignores the question about realizing a version change and repeats the consultation narrative.
as I have said multiple times, we consulted inside and outside legal experts
- answeredJusticeThomas Mulcair (NDP) asked Stephen Harper (Conservative). substantive question.Answer directly explains why Federal Court judges were considered eligible in the appointment process.
the reason Federal Court judges were considered in this appointment was that Federal Court judges had always been considered eligible for these appointments
- answeredJusticeThomas Mulcair (NDP) asked Stephen Harper (Conservative). substantive question.Answer directly addresses the yes/no question by stating the government will respect the ruling.
the government must respect that ruling.
- misdirectedEmploymentJohn McCallum (Liberal) asked Stephen Harper (Conservative). loaded question.Answer attacks the Liberals' position instead of addressing whether the government broke the law on wages.
it is difficult to understand the Liberals' position.
- deflectedEmploymentJohn McCallum (Liberal) asked Stephen Harper (Conservative). substantive question.Answer dismisses Liberal contradictions and restates the prevailing wage rule without engaging the inconsistency raised.
the contradictions of the Liberal Party on this are really too numerous for me to document in 35 seconds.
- deflectedEmploymentScott Brison (Liberal) asked Stephen Harper (Conservative). substantive question.Answer pivots to Canada's job record and attacks opposition policies rather than addressing the long-term unemployed or providing a jobs plan.
Canada has the best job creation record among all of the G8 member economies.
- deflectedJusticeMs. Françoise Boivin (NDP) asked Peter MacKay (Conservative). substantive question.Answer rejects the question's premise outright and pivots to a general promise without addressing respect for the court ruling.
Mr. Speaker, of course I reject the entire rambling preamble of inaccuracies in the member's question.
- misdirectedJusticeMs. Françoise Boivin (NDP) asked Peter MacKay (Conservative). substantive question.Answer attacks the asker's prior statements instead of addressing the commitment to a Quebec-agreed candidate pool.
The hon. member, who was part of the process in fact, called Mr. Justice Nadon a very able jurist.
- misdirectedJusticeMs. Françoise Boivin (NDP) asked Peter MacKay (Conservative). substantive question.Answer deflects by sarcastically inviting self-reflection and ends with a personal jab rather than confirming process fairness.
If she plays her cards right, she might even be considered.
- partly answeredEmploymentMrs. Sadia Groguhé (NDP) asked Jason Kenney (Conservative). substantive question.Answer corrects the program details cited but does not fully explain the 15,000 minimum-wage permits.
She is referring to faulty research about the live-in caregiver program, which used to be based on minimum wage.
- deflectedEmploymentMrs. Sadia Groguhé (NDP) asked Jason Kenney (Conservative). substantive question.Answer again disputes the programs referenced without addressing tolerance of abuses or wage suppression.
once again, the honourable member is wrong.
- misdirectedEmploymentMs. Jinny Jogindera Sims (NDP) asked Jason Kenney (Conservative). substantive question.Answer attacks union research and challenges the NDP on agriculture wages instead of agreeing to an independent review.
Will they tell the farmers of Canada that, or will they just say one thing to us here and another thing to the farmers out in the rest of Canada?
- deflectedEmploymentMs. Jinny Jogindera Sims (NDP) asked Jason Kenney (Conservative). substantive question.Answer reiterates rule changes for specific programs but avoids accountability for repeated disregard of rules.
We have since raised the requirement to a prevailing median wage rate for that program.
- deflectedNational DefenceMr. Jack Harris (NDP) asked Rob Nicholson (Conservative). substantive question.Answer notes investigations but pivots to a broad unrelated claim about victims rather than committing to the demanded approach.
No government has done more for victims in this country than this government.
- misdirectedNational DefenceMs. Élaine Michaud (NDP) asked Rob Nicholson (Conservative). loaded question.The answer attacks the NDP's past voting record instead of addressing sexual assaults in the forces.
when the hon. member for Selkirk—Interlake , my parliamentary secretary, introduced legislation that would toughen the sentencing for sexual assault, kidnapping, and murder, the New Democrats were the first ones on their feet opposing that.
- deflectedGovernment AdvertisingJudy Sgro (Liberal) asked Tony Clement (Conservative). substantive question.The answer restates a general talking point about government communication and attacks Liberals without addressing the ad spending criticism.
Of course, when we spend money on advertising, it actually goes to advertising, unlike the former Liberals.
- deflectedJusticeStéphane Dion (Liberal) asked Peter MacKay (Conservative). loaded question.The answer dismisses the question as editorialization and defends the process without addressing the apology request or politicization claim.
that is more inaccurate editorialization by the member opposite.
- partly answeredJusticeStéphane Dion (Liberal) asked Peter MacKay (Conservative). substantive question.The answer addresses the appointment timeline and process but avoids the specific question about replacing Justice Fish by end of June.
we plan on appointing a candidate to the Supreme Court soon.
- deflectedInternational DevelopmentMs. Hélène Laverdière (NDP) asked Christian Paradis (Conservative). substantive question.The answer highlights past results and the summit but does not address whether reproductive choice or gender equality will be included.
A total of 80% of the funds committed as part of the Muskoka initiative have been distributed, and we have seen results.
- deflectedInternational DevelopmentMs. Niki Ashton (NDP) asked Christian Paradis (Conservative). substantive question.The answer promotes the summit and past results without addressing reproductive choice or unsafe abortions.
our G8 Muskoka initiative on maternal, newborn, and child health will save the lives of 1.3 million children and newborns as well as more than 60,000 young mothers.
- deflectedInternational DevelopmentMs. Libby Davies (NDP) asked Christian Paradis (Conservative). substantive question.The answer lists health statistics but avoids any mention of abortion services or evidence-based policy on reproductive rights.
Globally, over 700,000 more children lived to their fifth birthdays in 2011 than in 2010.
- answeredHuman RightsMr. Craig Scott (NDP) asked Chris Alexander (Conservative). substantive question.The answer directly confirms collaboration and efforts to expedite visas under immigration laws for the activists.
We have worked tirelessly with the organizers of this conference from the beginning.
- deflectedEthicsMs. Ève Péclet (NDP) asked Mr. Paul Calandra (Conservative). substantive question.The answer claims the issue is not federal instead of addressing awareness of the transactions.
none of these problems concern the federal government.
- misdirectedEthicsMs. Ève Péclet (NDP) asked Mr. Paul Calandra (Conservative). substantive question.The answer shifts to attacking the opposition and past Liberal actions rather than addressing lobbying for federal contracts.
the Leader of the Opposition held back information for 17 years
- partly answeredVeteransMr. Sylvain Chicoine (NDP) asked Julian Fantino (Conservative). substantive question.The answer addresses access to long-term care but pivots to a counter-question about voting.
all veterans, whether modern day or those who served before Korea, have access to long-term care facilities if their service condition indicates that they need one.
- answeredVeteransMr. Peter Stoffer (NDP) asked Julian Fantino (Conservative). substantive question.The answer directly states that all veterans have access to long-term care based on service condition.
All veterans, whether modern-day or those who served before Korea, have in fact access to a long-term care facility if their service condition indicates that they need one.
- deflectedGovernment AppointmentsMr. Rodger Cuzner (Liberal) asked Rob Moore (Conservative). substantive question.The answer notes expectations of integrity but avoids the severance and wrongdoing question by confirming leave only.
the CEO of ECBC is presently on a personal leave.
- misdirectedGovernment AppointmentsMr. Rodger Cuzner (Liberal) asked Rob Moore (Conservative). substantive question.The answer attacks past Liberal actions instead of addressing the rigged appointments or revoking them.
the Liberals gave ministerial aides free rides into the public service.
- answeredTransportMs. Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet (NDP) asked Lisa Raitt (Conservative). substantive question.The answer addresses the recall process, GM knowledge, and accountability under Canadian law.
There is no evidence that GM Canada knew anytime prior to the actual recall of the problem associated with this device.
- answeredTransportMr. Matthew Kellway (NDP) asked Lisa Raitt (Conservative). substantive question.The answer directly references prior committee testimony and restates the timeline of GM knowledge.
My officials were asked to ask GM Canada officials when they knew of the defect.
- misdirectedHuman RightsCarolyn Bennett (Liberal) asked Chris Alexander (Conservative). substantive question.The answer begins with a commitment but immediately pivots to attacking the Liberals rather than addressing the visa request.
Every time we get up to talk about it, the Liberals shout us down and heckle, because they are not really interested in the fate of repressed LGBT community members around the world.
- deflectedCanadian Broadcasting CorporationMr. Pierre Nantel (NDP) asked Shelly Glover (Conservative). substantive question.The answer states the government has no role in CBC decisions without addressing whether it sets the budget.
as I have said before, the government has nothing to do with the decisions made by CBC/Radio-Canada.
- partly answeredInternational DevelopmentMr. Wayne Marston (NDP) asked Christian Paradis (Conservative). substantive question.The answer describes existing Red Cross funding but does not commit to additional government support beyond the initial amount.
Through an ongoing DFATD-funded project with the Canadian Red Cross, which allows Canada to immediately respond to disasters around the world, the Canadian Red Cross automatically allocated a maximum contribution to these relief operations on behalf of the Government of Canada.
- deflectedJusticeMr. Louis Plamondon (Bloc) asked Peter MacKay (Conservative). substantive question.The answer notes no plans to debate the matter this session but avoids promising not to challenge Quebec's law.
The government has no plans to debate this matter during this session.
- answeredFisheries and OceansMs. Elizabeth May (Green) asked Gail Shea (Conservative). substantive question.The answer affirms the commission's value and lists specific measures aligned with its recommendations.
We have introduced several measures that are consistent with recommendations from the commission, which include the moratorium on aquaculture developed in the Discovery Islands.
- misdirectedEmploymentMr. Brent Rathgeber (Independent) asked Jason Kenney (Conservative). loaded question.The answer dismisses the question as bizarre and attacks its premise before explaining wage policy.
I have heard some bizarre things in this debate, but that takes the cake.