Debates of Nov. 26th, 2004
House of Commons Hansard #33 of the 38th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was tax.
Topics
- Department of Canadian Heritage Act
- Department of Social Development Act
- Canadian Rangers
- Banting Homestead
- Family Physicians
- Tourist Industry
- Tantramar Regional High School
- Engineering Scholarships
- The Greatest Canadian
- Maison Simons
- Herring Fishery
- Drug Strategy
- National Arts Centre Orchestra
- Sikh Community
- Courage Campaign
- Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
- Post-Secondary Education
- Arthur Hailey
- Citizenship and Immigration
- The Environment
- National Defence
- The Environment
- Citizenship and Immigration
- Agriculture and Agri-Food
- Citizenship and Immigration
- Rail Transportation
- Mirabel Airport
- Justice
- Public Safety
- Foreign Affairs
- Softwood Lumber
- Textile and Clothing Industry
- Coast Guard
- Taxation
- Canada-U.S. Relations
- Music Industry
- Aerospace Industry
- Manufacturing Industry
- Financial Institutions
- Official Languages
- Provincial Centennial Projects
- Drug Strategy
- Regional Economic Development
- Seniors
- Industry
- The Environment
- Arts and Culture
- Tabling of Documents
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency Enforcement Act
- Committees of the House
- Petitions
- Questions on the Order Paper
- Question No. 13
- Department of Social Development Act
- Excise Tax Act
Taxation
Oral Question Period
11:45 a.m.
Wascana
Saskatchewan
Liberal
Ralph Goodale Minister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, the hon. gentleman will know that this issue arose as the result of a complaint by a junior hockey player with respect to his particular rights and interests. That has led to a number of investigations and inquiries.
Two things are particularly important: first, that the law be applied with absolute precision and equity everywhere in the country, with no favouritism and no discrimination anywhere; and second, that we be prepared to review the law to ensure that it is in tune with the times.
The hon. gentleman has tabled a bill. I will be interested to see what it says.
Canada-U.S. Relations
Oral Question Period
11:45 a.m.
Conservative
Merv Tweed Brandon—Souris, MB
Mr. Speaker, the posters are up and graffiti is appearing on the streets in Ottawa. No, it is not a festival, but a planned demonstration on the visit of U.S. President George W. Bush to Ottawa. The slogan of the demonstration is, “When Bush comes to shove“. I am concerned this may be a call to violence.
Will the minister guarantee today the safety of all visiting dignitaries, Canadians and property, both public and private?
Canada-U.S. Relations
Oral Question Period
11:45 a.m.
Edmonton Centre
Alberta
Liberal
Anne McLellan Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Mr. Speaker, the security of visitors to our country is a matter of key importance to all of us. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is working with the city of Ottawa police, DND and the OPP to ensure that President Bush and his party will be safe and secure while they are visiting our nation's capital.
We obviously are a nation that values freedom of expression. I would--
Canada-U.S. Relations
Oral Question Period
11:45 a.m.
The Speaker
The hon. member for Edmonton--Leduc.
Music Industry
Oral Question Period
11:45 a.m.
Conservative
James Rajotte Edmonton—Leduc, AB
Mr. Speaker, in 1996 the government signed the World Intellectual Property Organization treaty. The treaty was necessary to update our copyright laws to ensure that our artists such as Tom Cochrane, Amy Sky and Blue Rodeo received fair compensation for the music they create.
The Conservative Party supports amending our copyright laws to be in accordance with international standards.
Why has the government failed for six years to ratify the treaty? Does the government not realize that because of its delays and lack of leadership, it is putting at risk millions of dollars for the music industry and putting at risk the works that our artists, like Tom Cochrane, create for Canada?
Music Industry
Oral Question Period
11:50 a.m.
Jeanne-Le Ber
Québec
Liberal
Liza Frulla Minister of Canadian Heritage and Minister responsible for Status of Women
Mr. Speaker, we have also met with members of the music industry. The whole copyright issue is indeed a critical one. We are currently drafting a copyright bill with the Minister of Industry. We intend to submit it to cabinet before Christmas, so that it can be referred to a committee during the next session.
Aerospace Industry
Oral Question Period
11:50 a.m.
Bloc
Robert Carrier Alfred-Pellan, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Transport, who is never short on demagogic rhetoric, claims that returning 11,000 acres of land to Mirabel farmers would jeopardize Bombardier's development. This is false. Bombardier has enough space to build its new aircraft in Mirabel, if it so wishes.
The real threat to Bombardier is a lack of federal assistance to help it develop its new aircraft in Quebec. What is the Minister of Industry waiting for to act?
Aerospace Industry
Oral Question Period
11:50 a.m.
Winnipeg South
Manitoba
Liberal
Reg Alcock President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board
Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member would know, these lands are part of the ground lease with Aéroports de Montréal. The minister has consulted with it. They have looked at the future needs of the airport and they have made a decision. That decision has been conveyed.
Aerospace Industry
Oral Question Period
11:50 a.m.
Bloc
Robert Carrier Alfred-Pellan, QC
Mr. Speaker, Bombardier has enough space to develop its operations in Quebec. The company is only using one third of the 104 acres that it is currently leasing in Mirabel. Moreover, an adjacent lot of 222 acres is also available. What is not available though is a federal contribution to the development, in Quebec, of Bombardier's new aircraft.
What is the minister waiting for to announce his intentions and thus ensure the creation of 5,000 jobs in Quebec?
Aerospace Industry
Oral Question Period
11:50 a.m.
Kings—Hants
Nova Scotia
Liberal
Scott Brison Minister of Public Works and Government Services
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada is committed to Bombardier as it is committed to our nationwide aerospace industry, which employs 80,000 Canadians.
I can assure the hon. member that the long-standing commitment of the Government of Canada will continue to grow as Canada's aerospace industry continues to be a leader in the world.
Manufacturing Industry
Oral Question Period
November 26th, 2004 / 11:50 a.m.
Conservative
Gary Schellenberger Perth—Wellington, ON
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Industry. Many manufacturing plants in my riding are concerned about the high Canadian dollar and the impact it is having on their businesses.
Companies in my riding like Honeywell-Fram, Richardson Foods and Nuhn Industries Ltd. are well managed and efficient.
What is the government doing to protect Canadian manufacturing jobs in light of the high Canadian dollar?
Manufacturing Industry
Oral Question Period
11:50 a.m.
Wascana
Saskatchewan
Liberal
Ralph Goodale Minister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, as I identified in the fiscal statement of a week or 10 days ago, the rapid escalation in the value of the Canadian currency does pose a downside risk to growth in the future.
The Government of Canada is obviously anxious to foster the conditions that will encourage growth. That is why in the throne speech and in the fiscal statement we laid out a plan for productivity that we believe would help Canadian business and industry to move forward. That is why we are also prudent in the planning to ensure that nothing pushes us off our fiscal track.
Financial Institutions
Oral Question Period
11:50 a.m.
Conservative
Monte Solberg Medicine Hat, AB
Mr. Speaker, the finance minister has been promising new guidelines for bank mergers for months now. Tens of billions of dollars have been tied up while investors try to figure out what the minister is doing.
Are we going to see these guidelines before Christmas? If not, when? What is the holdup?
Financial Institutions
Oral Question Period
11:50 a.m.
Wascana
Saskatchewan
Liberal
Ralph Goodale Minister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, the hon. gentleman in asking the question was groping for his BlackBerry. I encourage him to deal with one thing at one time, which is what I propose to do with respect to the issue of mergers.
The issue is very much before the government. As indicated earlier, we are anxious to produce a statement that lays out the guidelines for going forward. At the moment, I am taking the time to speak directly with the chief executive officers of all the major financial institutions to collect their views.
Official Languages
Oral Question Period
11:55 a.m.
Liberal
Don Boudria Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON
Mr. Speaker, in her November 9 report, the Commissioner of Official Languages pointed out some serious shortcomings as far as official languages are concerned in our foreign missions. These included security services not being available in both languages, a large percentage of unilingual mission staff, and some English only websites.
What steps does the Minister of Foreign Affairs plan to take to remedy these very serious shortcomings?