M. Peter Julian (Burnaby—New Westminster, NPD): Monsieur le Président, on a hâte d'avoir un gouvernement qui reflète les valeurs canadiennes.
Le ministre des Anciens Combattants nous a dit hier qu'il a coupé les postes de 1 000 spécialistes qui venaient en aide à nos anciens combattants car ils ne sont que d'obscurs bureaucrates qui passent leurs journées à faire des photocopies. C'est faux. Seulement 10 % des coupures touchent des postes administratifs.
Pourquoi le premier ministre laisse-t-il son ministre tromper les anciens combattants? Pourquoi ne pas le congédier? Il est incompétent et il n'a plus la confiance des anciens combattants.
Le très hon. Stephen Harper (premier ministre, PCC): Monsieur le Président, on comprend très bien la position du NPD: il veut protéger les postes des bureaucrates du ministère des Anciens Combattants et il est contre les services pour les anciens combattants.
Let me give tell members, in line of this question, precisely what I am talking about. In fact, in the veterans independence program, the department cut 100 people whose only job was to process small claims from veterans that are now allowed automatically. That is what we did.
At the same time, we increased benefits under the veterans independence program. The NDP voted against that.
Mr. Peter Julian (Burnaby—New Westminster, NDP): Mr. Speaker, tell that to the 50% of veterans who cannot even access disability benefits.
Yesterday, when asked about cuts to frontline services, the minister responded, “veterans have been saying that we should in fact reduce�, but the minister cannot tell us the names of these veterans who have supposedly been coming to him, demanding cuts.
In the minister's fantasy world, he has only been cutting backroom and internal services.
He also says that cuts in his department are somehow reinvested back into service.
Wrong, wrong, and wrong.
The current minister has lost the confidence of veterans. Why does the Prime Minister not fire him?
Right Hon. Stephen Harper (Prime Minister, CPC): Mr. Speaker, I could give thousands of examples of where we have streamlined back-office support, including, of course, eliminating photocopy and processing clerks in place of digital medical records.
There is the difference. The NDP wanted to keep bureaucrats to do nothing but cross us and delay payments to veterans under a program it actually voted against. On this side, we cut down the bureaucracy. We deliver service to the veterans.
NDP Critic for Canadian Heritage Peter Julian issued the following statement:
"It has come to our attention that a consultant for a federally funded anti-racism project has a disturbing track record of spewing hate speech online against Jewish and francophone communities. This is completely unacceptable. We call on the Minister of Heritage to take drastic action and terminate his contract.
NDP Heritage Critic Peter Julian issued the following statement:
“Today’s announcement by Hockey Canada is another attempt to delay the important and urgent work to deal with the toxic culture in this organization. While a former Supreme Court Justice is a credible appointment to conduct the review into Hockey Canada, this won’t be the first time the organization undergoes this process.
NDP critic for Canadian Heritage, Peter Julian, made the following statement:
“Canadians are horrified by the incidents of sexual assault and by what they’re hearing from Hockey Canada. They are left with many questions about how this toxic culture is allowed to persist in our sports organizations and what the government is actually doing to ensure this doesn’t happen again.