Debates of March 17th, 2003
House of Commons Hansard #71 of the 37th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was war.
Topics
- Vacancy
- Committees of the House
- Canada Elections Act
- Privilege
- Business of the House
- The Budget
- International Women's Day
- Terrorism
- Peace Scarf
- International Trade
- Badger Flood
- Zoran Djindjic
- St. Patrick's Day
- Iraq
- MetroStar Gala
- Official Languages
- Meteorological Service of Canada
- Iraq
- Acts of Bravery
- National Defence
- Canadian Learning Institute
- Amber Alert Program
- International Women's Day
- Iraq
- Ethics
- Iraq
- Member for LaSalle--Émard
- Iraq
- Government Contracts
- Foreign Aid
- Iraq
- Government Contracts
- Fisheries
- Citizenship and Immigration
- Iraq
- Firearms Registry
- Veterans Affairs
- Softwood Lumber
- Iraq
- Trade
- The Environment
- Iraq
- Points of Order
- Privilege
- Report of the Electoral Boundaries Commission
- Government Response to Petitions
- Parliament of Canada Act
- Canadian Foreign Intelligence Agency Act
- Petitions
- Questions on the Order Paper
- Question No. 104
- Question No. 107
- Question No. 108
- Question No. 109
- Question No. 112
- Question No. 113
- Question No. 114
- Question No. 116
- Question No. 117
- Question No. 120
- Question No. 121
- Question No. 123
- Question No. 124
- Question No. 127
- Question No. 141
- Questions Passed as Orders for Returns
- Question No. 110
- Question No. 111
- Question No. 122
- Request for Emergency Debate
- Budget
- Business of the House
- The Budget
- Situation in Iraq
Firearms Registry
Oral Question Period
2:50 p.m.
Canadian Alliance
Cheryl Gallant Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON
Mr. Speaker, just being told to bite the billion dollar bullet is not good enough for Canadians.
Firearms Registry
Oral Question Period
2:50 p.m.
Some hon. members
Oh, oh.
Firearms Registry
Oral Question Period
2:50 p.m.
The Speaker
I hear hon. members saying they cannot hear. I am not surprised; I cannot. The hon. member for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke has the floor and we will want to hear her question.
Firearms Registry
Oral Question Period
2:50 p.m.
Canadian Alliance
Cheryl Gallant Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON
Mr. Speaker, since I am unable to get a satisfactory answer from the minister, I will ask the chair of the public accounts committee what the committee is doing to ensure that Parliament is being properly informed on the management of this program.
Firearms Registry
Oral Question Period
2:50 p.m.
Canadian Alliance
John Williams St. Albert, AB
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to advise that the President of the Treasury Board will be at the committee this very afternoon. We fully expect that we are going to get much better answers than we just had from her right now.
Veterans Affairs
Oral Question Period
2:50 p.m.
Liberal
Bob Wood Nipissing, ON
Mr. Speaker, the official opening of the Juno Beach Centre in Normandy, France will be on June 6 this year.
The centre, which was developed by a group of World War II veterans who participated in the D-Day landings, will be the first Canadian second world war interactive centre in Europe.
Could the Minister of Veterans Affairs please update the House on the involvement of the Government of Canada in this particular project?
Veterans Affairs
Oral Question Period
2:55 p.m.
Winnipeg North—St. Paul
Manitoba
Liberal
Rey D. Pagtakhan Minister of Veterans Affairs and Secretary of State (Science
Mr. Speaker, I was pleased to announce in Winnipeg last Friday that the Government of Canada has decided to provide an additional $1.775 million toward the Juno Beach Centre project, bringing Canada's contribution to a total of a little over $3 million.
The funding will help in the completion of the project, in the official opening event and as well, in the creation of an interpretive program.
The Juno Beach Centre project will recognize Canada's overall contribution and achievements during the second world war.
Softwood Lumber
Oral Question Period
March 17th, 2003 / 2:55 p.m.
Canadian Alliance
John Duncan Vancouver Island North, BC
Mr. Speaker, negotiations to settle the softwood lumber dispute have ground to a halt. Fourteen months ago I asked the minister to initiate a cost analysis of the dispute to provide Canadian stakeholders with a framework for negotiations. The government has not done this. Why?
Softwood Lumber
Oral Question Period
2:55 p.m.
Papineau—Saint-Denis
Québec
Liberal
Pierre Pettigrew Minister for International Trade
Mr. Speaker, we continue to work very closely with Canadian industry from east to west. We are continuing to work with the provinces. The channels are wide open with the Americans at this moment.
We continue to have a very strong dialogue. However, two weeks ago we came to the decision that negotiations per se were difficult on the interim measures because the gap was too wide between the two of us. We made great progress in January and February on the substance of the issue and the forestry management programs in our country.
Softwood Lumber
Oral Question Period
2:55 p.m.
Canadian Alliance
John Duncan Vancouver Island North, BC
Mr. Speaker, there has been no progress at all. The American lumber lobby is in the same place today that it was 12 months ago.
How does the minister expect to get to second base when he refuses to tag first? You are not displaying leadership by sitting in the dugout or cheering from the sidelines--
Softwood Lumber
Oral Question Period
2:55 p.m.
The Speaker
Order please. I am sure the hon. member is addressing his remarks to the Chair when he says those things.
Softwood Lumber
Oral Question Period
2:55 p.m.
Canadian Alliance
John Duncan Vancouver Island North, BC
Mr. Speaker, I was not talking to the minister. I was referring to somebody in an analogy in a baseball game.
Why is the minister so resistant to completing a cost analysis to provide strong Canadian leadership on negotiations?
Softwood Lumber
Oral Question Period
2:55 p.m.
Papineau—Saint-Denis
Québec
Liberal
Pierre Pettigrew Minister for International Trade
Mr. Speaker, I think it is only the member who is saying that the government has not been providing the leadership to the Canadian industry.
For the first time, Canada has not blinked before the Americans. For the first time, we have made progress with the Americans on the softwood lumber issue. It has been two years that Canada has been fighting these duties. It has been two years that we have been working with the secretary of commerce, who has now come to terms with our position and is trying to help. There are senators in the United States on our side asking the American administration to pull with us. That is leadership and progress.
Iraq
Oral Question Period
2:55 p.m.
Bloc
Gilles Duceppe Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC
Mr. Speaker, Canada's decision to maintain officers within the unified command in Qatar flagrantly contradicts our position to not intervene alongside the United States, Britain and Spain.
Therefore, I am asking the Prime Minister: would it not be wiser and more consistent to recall the Canadian officers in this unified command, because we cannot pretend that they are going to deal solely with Afghanistan when there is an intervention in Iraq, and Canada risks losing its credibility by wanting to play both sides of the fence?
Iraq
Oral Question Period
2:55 p.m.
Markham
Ontario
Liberal
John McCallum Minister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, I can remind the hon. member that, with regard to this group of ships, Canada is not the only country present; there are four other countries, including France.
The American authorities in charge of these ships are concerned not only with Iraq, in the event of war, but also with the war against terrorism. If we are to know what is happening in the war against terrorism, we must be informed. That is our objective.