Debates of Nov. 3rd, 2004

Sponsorship Program

[The Speaker]

Order. The hon. member knows I do not answer questions in the House. He must address his remarks to the Chair, not to the minister. I am sure that in saying “you” he meant me, knowing that I do not answer questions. I invite him to please address his remarks to the Chair.

[David Christopherson, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I apologize.

Chuck Guité was given a raise to facilitate the plundering of the public purse. He testified today that no contracts were tendered, there were no rules and no guidelines. Does this sound like a person who deserves a raise?

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, that does not sound like a person who deserves a raise either.

We have an independent judicial inquiry. Justice Gomery is doing his work well. Canadians trust Justice Gomery to get to the truth. What Canadians do not want is a parallel Gomery inquiry here on the floor of the House, sullied by that kind of partisan rhetoric.

Softwood Lumber

[John Duncan, Conservative, Vancouver Island North, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of International Trade insisted before the U.S. election that Canada had a window of opportunity to negotiate the softwood dispute after the U.S. election. In the meantime, the minister's Liberal cabinet colleagues completely marginalized Canadian influence with the Bush administration due to Kerry endorsements.

Will the minister get all of Canadian industry and the provinces together to fix the problem he and his colleagues have created?

[Jim Peterson, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I find it passing strange that the hon. member is suggesting we immediately get everybody together to negotiate a settlement because the official position of his party was, the last time I heard it, that we should not be negotiating a settlement for softwood lumber.

Having said that, I remain ready to follow our two-track approach. We will continue to negotiate and to litigate under NAFTA and under WTO. We also stand ready to negotiate in the interests of all Canadian stakeholders.

[James Lunney, Conservative, Nanaimo—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister's laissez-faire attitude is hardly appropriate given the great amount of money owed to our industry.

It is not just the forest workers in Nanaimo—Alberni who are suffering from the iniquitous imposition of countervailing duties. In Abitibi, Mauricie, Beauce and Bois-Francs, too, people are waiting for a fair and equitable settlement. The Liberals have fostered the distrust and disdain of the Americans. Today, their partisan choice will cost exporters dearly.

When, in fact, is the government going to return the overpayment to softwood lumber producers?

[Jim Peterson, Liberal, Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I agree that there are problems with softwood lumber and the American position. We have been fighting against it. We have also allocated over $300 million to help workers in the softwood lumber industry, and we shall continue to work very closely with the industry and the provinces to resolve this issue.

Justice

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Provencher, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the American ambassador has stated that changes to Canada's drug laws are a border issue for the American government. It is clear that the Liberal government's position on marijuana will harm Canada's jobs that depend on our billion dollar a day trading relationship with the Americans.

Can the minister explain to Canadians why he thinks it is more important to decriminalize drugs than to protect Canadian jobs?

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday, I discussed the matter with the attorney general of the United States who understood our position. With regard to the question of smuggling, we have a shared concern. We are cooperating on that and the Americans respect that.

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Provencher, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I take the word of the American ambassador that he stated in public. It is clear that the government is willing to jeopardize Canadian jobs. It also appears that Liberals are willing to sacrifice public safety on our highways since training police officers to detect drug impaired motorists will only be complete in four years.

In the interests of public safety, will the minister promise that the marijuana law will remain unchanged until all necessary officers have been trained and in place?

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, the marijuana law is intended to protect public safety, particularly in combating cultivation and grow ops.

Sponsorship Program

[Michel Guimond, Bloc, Charlevoix—Montmorency, QC]

Mr. Speaker, at the Gomery commission we have learned that a contract awarded to a communications firm was split in two at the request of the finance department, and one part given to a firm with very close ties to the current Prime Minister.

When the Prime Minister confirmed, last winter, that there had been political direction behind the sponsorship scandal, was he thinking of his own interventions on behalf of his own friends?

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, Justice Gomery's mandate includes both sponsorship and communication strategy work. He has a strong mandate and sufficient resources to conduct his work. We have also provided cabinet documents back to 1994 and in fact over 10 million pages of documents for him to do that work.

I would urge the hon. member to have some patience and some courage because we are looking forward to receiving the truth. I would urge similar courage over there.

[Michel Guimond, Bloc, Charlevoix—Montmorency, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Works and Government Services can try to defend his boss by saying the commission's work is not done. But one fact remains; the evidence against the Prime Minister is growing more and more serious. In fact, no one believes the Prime Minister when he says he knew nothing about the sponsorship scandal.

Does he not now realize that serious suspicion has grown up around him and that it is his duty to explain himself to the public, right here in Parliament?

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has always been very clear on this, that he was aware of the sponsorship program. In fact, all members of Parliament were aware of the sponsorship program. It was a national program. In fact, the hon. member was aware of the sponsorship program because he was writing letters to the minister responsible, the Minister of Public Works, seeking support for projects in his riding from the sponsorship program.

Again, we are looking forward to getting to the truth and Justice Gomery is doing good work. We should be encouraging him, not sullying his work with that kind of partisan rhetoric. Beyond that, we did ensure that competitive processes did occur.

Canada-U.S. Relations

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Calgary Southeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, two weeks ago a Liberal member made some outrageous remarks that blamed global terrorism on the United States. The member for Don Valley East said:

Who wrought this terrorism? Where did they come from? They are the result of the policies of the United States.

The opposition leader has given the Prime Minister an opportunity to completely disavow those odious remarks. I would like to give him the opportunity one more time to stand in his place on the day following the U.S. election and denounce the blatant and destructive anti-Americanism.

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I do not think the opposition's questions are very useful when they try to say that this government or Canadians are anti-American.

We, alongside the Americans, have built the best continent on the planet in terms of the levels of justice, in terms of prosperity and in terms of having the most secure continent on the planet. We will continue to work with the Americans to make sure North America is safe, secure, prosperous and free.

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Calgary Southeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, what is not useful are Liberal ministers and Liberal members repeatedly undermining our most important foreign relationship by referring to Americans as bastards, morons, idiots, as a menace and as the cause of world terrorism. Those comments happen repeatedly. It is a deep-set pattern in the Liberal Party.

Why will the Prime Minister not stand up and denounce the remarks of his member which blamed global terrorism on the United States? Why will he not stand up and do that?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I think all Canadians know that it is the official opposition members who are calling a lot more attention to a few remarks that may have been made. It is the opposition members who have brought the attention of the United States to it. They are the ones who go down to Washington knocking on the doors of senators and congressmen to tell them that some obscure member of Parliament might have said something about them. They are the ones who call the attention all the time to some remarks.

This government will continue to build a strong continental North America alongside the United States of America.

Child Care

[Marc Godbout, Liberal, Ottawa—Orléans, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Social Development. The early childhood and child care issue is of critical importance to francophone and Acadian communities.

Can the minister assure the House that, in the context of federal, provincial and territorial negotiations on child care, special consideration has been given, or will be given to services and programs for minority francophone and Acadian communities? Can the minister confirm that a fair share of the funds and services will be earmarked for these communities?

[Ken Dryden, Liberal, Minister of Social Development]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to our official languages, I know how important it is for young children to have learning experiences in their first language when they live in linguistic minorities in this country.

I can assure the member that these communities will be an important part of a new national child care system.

Health

[Steven Fletcher, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James, MB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Health said that he would raise in cabinet the issue of compensation for all victims of hepatitis C from tainted blood, but I am skeptical.

It has only been a matter of weeks since the minister said that he would open the compensation fund, only to come out the next day and tell reporters that he had changed his mind and that he would have to look at it further.

The opposition parties have agreed unanimously to compensate hepatitis C victims. Now all of a sudden the government feels that opening the fund is the right thing to do.

Will the minister tell us exactly what issue he intends to raise at the cabinet table, and--

[The Speaker]

The hon. Minister of Health.

[Ujjal Dosanjh, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I have said repeatedly, both inside and outside the House, and the Prime Minister said during the election campaign that we were open to considering the idea of looking at the actuarial surplus.

I would just ask that the hon. member stop politicizing the issue because it is a very sensitive issue for people who have suffered a lot.

[Steven Fletcher, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James, MB]

Mr. Speaker, this is about the victims. If the government would compensate them it would be over.

I know the Prime Minister also has a vested interest in what happens on this file. He was on the board of directors of the Canadian Development Corporation, which was implicated in the tainted blood scandal, but conveniently he remembers nothing about importing blood from the United States prisons.

Since the Prime Minister was a decision maker at the CDC during that period, will he remove himself from the discussions relating to opening the compensation fund, because--