Debates of June 2nd, 2005

Broadcasting Industry

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Windsor—Tecumseh.

Ethics

[Joe Comartin, NDP, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we have heard today both from the Deputy Prime Minister and the government House leader that if we have information we should be turning it over to the RCMP.

We have asked this before and I am repeating the request now. There are logs, there are memos and there are exchanges that have gone on within the PMO with regard to the taping and the whole incident. I am asking the Deputy Prime Minister today: your former prime minister was investigated very quickly and are you prepared to turn that information--

[The Speaker]

The hon. member will want to address his remarks to the Chair, not to the Deputy Prime Minister.

The Deputy Prime Minister may wish to respond to the question.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am not exactly sure what the hon. member is referring to. In fact, I think this Prime Minister and this government have a history of openness and transparency that is unparalleled.

All we have to do is look at the extraordinary steps this Prime Minister took in releasing all sorts of documents and cabinet confidences never before released so that Mr. Justice Gomery could do his work. I think this is a government that is committed not only to transparency but to accountability.

Air Transportation

[Bev Desjarlais, NDP, Churchill, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I hope the Prime Minister will protect the privacy of Canadians as much as he protects the privacy of his minister.

Any time the Liberal government goes into discussions with the U.S., Canadians get worried. After all, the Liberal government has been discussing the softwood lumber dispute and the BSE dispute for years with no resolution. Now the transport minister says he is discussing the U.S. requirements to release private information on airline passengers flying over the U.S., not landing in the U.S. but flying over the U.S.

The government needs to make it perfectly clear that Canada will protect the privacy of Canadians and this is not up for discussion. Will the minister do that? Will he say--

[The Speaker]

The hon. Minister of Transport.

[Jean Lapierre, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, let me be perfectly clear. I was talking with Secretary of Transportation Mr. Mineta this morning. I made it quite clear that Canadian routes and Canadian destinations are Canadian information and we want it to remain Canadian information.

Child Care

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Edmonton—Spruce Grove, AB]

Mr. Speaker, we learned this morning that the Minister of Social Development is negotiating with the opposition Liberal leader of New Brunswick. The families of New Brunswick and the Premier of New Brunswick have spoken loud and clear. They want choice in child care. The minister should be listening to the families of New Brunswick instead of giving political direction to his provincial Liberal counterpart.

When will the minister admit that no political rhetoric will change the reality that families do not want a two tier child care system and instead want choice in child care?

[Ken Dryden, Liberal, Minister of Social Development]

Mr. Speaker, I met earlier today with the leader of the opposition in New Brunswick. All that was discussed is where things are in terms of the negotiations and how in fact our negotiations with New Brunswick have proceeded to a point where the officials agreed. We expected to have an announcement. That announcement did not happen. This is an announcement and an agreement very similar to five others that have been signed across the country and to others that are being negotiated at the moment.

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Edmonton—Spruce Grove, AB]

Mr. Speaker, let us hope the agreement involves choice.

The Moncton Times and Transcript said in its editorial today, “It is inane and short-sighted of the federal government to impose a one-size-fits-all solution on New Brunswick”, and we could not agree more.

A gender based analysis of the Liberal child care plan shows that it discriminates against women who work shift work. It discriminates against women who live or work outside of urban centres and women who choose to work part time or full time in the home.

Can the minister please explain why the Liberal child care plan does not support the choices of all women?

[Ken Dryden, Liberal, Minister of Social Development]

Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned earlier in the House, about a year ago in terms of early learning and child care in this country there was very little push going on for anything big and ambitious. It all came from the commitment that was made by this government in last year's election campaign. That is where it all came from. There was nothing foreseeable that was about to happen without that kind of commitment.

If anybody wants to talk about discrimination, $320 for low income children as part of a tax cut is true discrimination.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Nepean—Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday I asked the social development minister how much it would cost to fully implement his day care bureaucracy. He said no one can know, yet the NDP, which wrote this year's federal budget, seems to know. It estimates $10 billion per year. Major unions, day care industry groups and other supporters of the minister's day care bureaucracy say it could be more than $10 billion.

The minister should quit dodging. How much will it cost in the immediate future to fully implement your day care bureaucracy?

[The Speaker]

I urge the hon. member for Nepean--Carleton to address his remarks to the Chair.

The hon. Minister of Social Development.

[Ken Dryden, Liberal, Minister of Social Development]

Mr. Speaker, as I said to the hon. member the other evening, with our early learning and child care system we are in our early stages. We want to develop a true system, as education has been developed over the last 100 years and as health care has been developed over the last 100 years.

At those particular times no one knew at that moment how important or how costly those systems would be, but as we look back in time we see how important that health care system has been and how important that education system has been to us.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Nepean—Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the minister has effectively just admitted it will take 100 years to finally implement his program. We know it will take 100 years to pay for it.

This bureaucracy will cost $10 billion a year or more. The Liberals have only budgeted $1 billion. That leaves a $9 billion black hole. Is it not true that the only way to pay for this $10 billion bureaucracy is through higher taxes on working families and on parents?

[Ken Dryden, Liberal, Minister of Social Development]

Mr. Speaker, the creation of this kind of system is in the same way as the health care system costs parents and families, as education costs parents and families. We just need to ask any member of the public whether he or she wants the kind of health care system and education system that we have been able to build in this country in the last 100 years.

Member for Newton—North Delta

[Mario Laframboise, Bloc, Argenteuil—Mirabel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it appears the Prime Minister's chief of staff may not only have alluded to a future reward for the Conservative member, but may also have contemplated getting involved in the member's dispute with the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, because he said, and I quote: “I go to-- the Minister of Immigration--and say ‘don’t ask me why, but 10:30 am tomorrow you’re issuing a statement’. But, I do that and force him to, based on an agreement”.

Is the fact that the Prime Minister's chief of staff made his demand conditional on an agreement with the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration not an attempt to buy the vote of a member of Parliament?

[Tony Valeri, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, the Ethics Commissioner is an independent officer of Parliament. He was actually voted on in the House.

I understand that the matter has already been referred to the Ethics Commissioner. If the hon. member does have information that would assist the Ethics Commissioner, then I suggest that he bring that information forward for the Ethics Commissioner to review.

[Mario Laframboise, Bloc, Argenteuil—Mirabel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, he did not answer the right question. I will give him another opportunity to answer.

The chief of staff allegedly went even further by suggesting he could approach the Ethics Commissioner, precisely to ask him to speed up the production of a report dealing with the member.

In light of these revelations, can the government deny that it was prepared to do anything to save its own skin, even going so far as to contemplate putting pressure on the Ethics Commissioner? Is this not just despicable?

[Tony Valeri, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, as was said earlier in the House, there was no offer made to the hon. member. The Prime Minister provided that instruction to his chief of staff.

The Ethics Commissioner is an independent officer of Parliament. Rather than making allegations in the House, if the hon. member does have information to provide the Ethics Commissioner, then he should actually provide that directly to the Ethics Commissioner.

Fisheries and Oceans

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

Mr. Speaker, under the government, management of west coast fisheries has been concentrated in downtown Ottawa, thousands of miles from the nearest fish or fish boat.

After years of agitation, a cooperative agreement resulted in the establishment of a representative group from local communities, regional governments, first nations and various fishing sectors. The West Coast Vancouver Island Aquatic Management Board has been building consensus among those most affected by the resource and providing that input to DFO.

Why has the government failed to renew the funding to maintain this community driven and widely supported initiative?

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the work of this board and I have directed that the funding be continued for the board.

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

Mr. Speaker, promises have been good. We heard rumours that maybe the money was coming. I want to say that our local first nations prefer to work with their neighbours--

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker]

Order. I am sure the hon. member for Nanaimo--Alberni appreciates all the help with his question, but I cannot hear it. Hon. members, especially the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, has to be able to hear the question so he can give an answer. Perhaps the hon. member for Nanaimo--Alberni could continue with his question.