Debates of Feb. 16th, 2005

Auditor General's Report

[The Speaker]

I am afraid we have run out of time.

Airports

[James Moore, Conservative, Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, according to the Auditor General, the Liberal's much promised airport rent review due in the fall of 2002 is still not ready. Meanwhile, her report shows the government's airport taxes are projected to rise from $332 million to nearly $1.3 billion in the coming years. So much for the promised freeze. Taxpayers are being ripped off, once to build the airport, and then again to pay for these rents.

When are the Liberals going to stop ripping off Canadian airports and Canadian travellers?

[Jean Lapierre, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I hope the hon. member also read the report. It is congratulating the Department of Transport for its transparency and the way it is administering the leases.

As a matter of fact, the review is now complete. It has been shared with some of my colleagues, especially the Minister of Finance. I hope that in the next few days we will have some good news.

Auditor General's Report

[Guy Lauzon, Conservative, Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we have learned from the Auditor General that, since Jean Pelletier, nothing has changed under the Liberals. All appointments to crown corporations remain the Prime Minister's exclusive domain. For Ms. Fraser, favouritism, incompetence and inexperience are the trademarks of this administration. Governance is the last of our castaways' concerns.

Canadian families deserve good governance, but how can the Minister of Finance reduce taxes in this lackadaisical climate?

[Reg Alcock, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, if the member would take the time to read the Auditor General's report, he would find that she said exactly the opposite of that. She noted improvements in the appointments and qualifications of people appointed to boards.

However, tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock I will be tabling the report, and he can review the actions that we are attempting to take and judge for himself.

Child Care

[Christiane Gagnon, Bloc, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government wants to set up a foundation into which it can transfer funds for the child care program. Is this not a great way to pass the buck? This decision is all the more surprising given that the Auditor General has condemned the lack of transparency associated with the administration of foundations.

The Minister of Social Development should be extremely clear and should make a commitment that it is out of the question for child care funds to go to the same kind of foundation as the Auditor General has condemned.

Is he able to make this commitment right now?

[Reg Alcock, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, the government has made no such decision. I think the member is maybe presuming upon a budget decision, but she should wait until the budget is brought down.

[Christiane Gagnon, Bloc, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General has criticized the foundations that manage public funds without any sort of democratic controls. I remind the Minister of Social Development of the Prime Minister's promise that Quebec would get its share of the child care funding with no strings attached.

How does he intend to honour this promise and immediately transfer these funds to Quebec, in the next budget?

[Lucienne Robillard, Liberal, President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada]

Mr. Speaker, how can the Bloc, particularly the hon. member for Québec, talk out of both sides of its mouth at once?

On the one hand, the hon. member is asking for the unconditional transfer of funds to Quebec and, on the other, she is opposed to the foundation that might allow such an unconditional transfer to Quebec.

Such inconsistency. Such confusion. Such typical behaviour from the Bloc.

Terrorism

[Kevin Sorenson, Conservative, Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, providing testimony before the Senate security committee, the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness blamed two of her ministerial colleagues for the Liberal government's refusal to put the Tamil Tigers on the list of known terrorist entities.

Does the minister believe that the Tamil Tigers should be on the terrorist list, and if she does, has she advised cabinet to put them on the list on the advice of CSIS?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, what an absolutely ridiculous preface to this question. I did not blame my colleagues. I was trying to explain the process that the Minister of Foreign Affairs himself had described and talked about in the pages of the paper some days before.

In relation to the listing process, as I have made absolutely plain, the list is not static. We continue to review this list. I will continue to review it and as circumstances change and require, I will act.

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Okanagan—Coquihalla, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the good people in Canada's Tamil community, our own intelligence services and others have asked the government repeatedly to ban the Tamil Tigers. Apparently the Minister of Foreign Affairs has received a phone call from Condoleezza Rice or one of her officials, who apparently said, “Hey minister, we have banned that gang of thugs down here. Why do you not just let them run around Canada?”

Will the minister please clarify who exactly talked to him from the U.S. State Department, and why would he say yes to Americans but no to Canadians?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, our Canadian foreign policy is being made here in Canada and this decision has been made by our government. However, we do consult with our allies. When we talked about Sri Lanka, we consulted with Norway which has been playing an outstanding role in the peace process. We have consulted with the United States who are also interested.

Since the February 2002 ceasefire, no country has taken any action against the Tamil Tigers. We believe that at this time, given the situation, it should be in that direction.

Pharmaceutical Industry

[Don Boudria, Liberal, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the Minister of Health about Internet pharmacies.

It is now reported that two Internet pharmacies are being sued for selling counterfeit drugs from India to customers in the United States while pretending that they are selling Canadian products.

What does the Minister of Health intend to do to address this threat of irresponsible Internet pharmacies, which in addition to their usual faults are now threatening the excellent reputation of Canada's pharmaceutical industry?

[Ujjal Dosanjh, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the question of unethical practices is at the heart of what we are trying to address. We must ensure that there are good ethical practices that produce good medicine.

The Internet pharmacy association is providing evidence before the Standing Committee on Health. I am hoping it can shed light on the unethical conduct that it engages in and participates in.

Presence in Gallery

[The Speaker]

I would like to draw the attention of hon. members to the presence in the gallery of the Honourable Mildred A. Dover, Prince Edward Island Minister of Education; the Honourable Madeleine Dubé, New Brunswick Minister of Education; the Honourable Tom Hedderson, Newfoundland Minister of Education; and the Honourable Jamie Muir, Nova Scotia Minister of Education.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

Business of Supply

[The Speaker]

It is my duty, pursuant to Standing Order 81(14), to inform the House that the motion to be considered tomorrow during the consideration of the Business of Supply is as follows:

That, in the opinion of the House, the government should recognize the public health impacts of smog and the failure of voluntary emission standards by legislating mandatory improvements to vehicle efficiency in all classes of light duty vehicles sold in Canada.

This motion, standing in the name of the hon. member for Skeena—Bulkley Valley, is votable. Copies of the motion are available at the Table.

Order in Council Appointments

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, a number of order in council appointments recently made by the government.

Committees of the House

[Rob Merrifield, Conservative, Yellowhead, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fourth report of the Standing Committee on Health.

The committee has considered proposed regulations amending the tobacco reporting regulations and unanimously has recommended that the government enact the proposed regulations as amended.

Pursuant to Standing Order 109 the committee requests that the government table a response to this report.

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fourth report of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills Development, Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities on Bill C-23, an act to establish the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development and to amend and repeal certain related acts.

With your permission, I would like to thank the members of the committee for their cooperation in reviewing this very technical aspect of the legislation in such a short time. It heartens me to be working together with my hon. colleagues from the Conservative Party, the Bloc Québécois and the New Democratic Party.

It goes to show that when partisanship is put aside much can be accomplished to ensure that Canadians are given the highest quality of service.

[Massimo Pacetti, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the eighth report of the Standing Committee on Finance on Bill C-39, an act to amend the Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act and to enact an act respecting the provision of funding for diagnostic and medical equipment.

On Tuesday, February 15, 2005, the committee agreed to report it with amendments.

Parliament of Canada Act

[Joe Preston, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-335, an act to amend the Parliament of Canada Act (oath or solemn affirmation).

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce a private member's bill to change the oath of office of members of the House of Commons.

I was shocked, when I took my oath and joined this illustrious group, that it did not mention the word “Canada” at all. Therefore, I am adding to the oath that “I will be loyal to Canada and will perform the duties of a member of the House of Commons honestly and justly”.

I feel it is a way of making a commitment to this great country of ours as a member of Parliament.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Petitions

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the petitioners from Renfrew--Nipissing--Pembroke recognize that the best foundation for society, families and the raising of children is the lifelong union between one man and one woman. They are asking that Parliament define marriage in federal law as being the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.

[Don Boudria, Liberal, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table a petition originating from the very excellent riding of Kingston and the Islands.

Queen's University students, Ian Griffiths and a number of others, put a tremendous amount of time, I am told, into assembling 2,000 names of students who support the government's legislation concerning equal marriage.

I am pleased to table this petition on behalf of the good citizens of Kingston and the Islands, so well represented in this Parliament.