Debates of Nov. 22nd, 2006

Autism

[Blair Wilson, Liberal, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is shameful the heartless minority Conservative government is paying lip service to parents and children affected by autism. Surely the minister does not believe that telling parents to go to a website makes up for the fact that his government has put up no new money for autism research, no new money for program support and no new money for autism development and treatment.

The previous Liberal government invested $16.2 million which supported 32 separate products. Will the Minister of Health stop turning his back on families with autism, put his money where his mouth is, and cough up some new money to support families with autism today?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Minister of Health and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, we know that this is an important public health issue, which is why I made my announcement yesterday on behalf of the Government of Canada on additional support for families and children facing ASD.

I would only read the headline from the Autism Society of Canada website news release in reply, where the Autism Society of Canada welcomes the announcement from the federal Minister of Health in support of Canadians with autism spectrum disorders.

We are working with the stakeholders. As importantly, we are working with the families and their children, which is quite frankly more than was done by that member's party when in government.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. member for St. John's East.

Veterans Affairs

[Norman Doyle, Conservative, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, on Remembrance Day Canadians often reflect upon the sacrifices made by so many of our war veterans. However, over the years a small group of veterans has gone unrecognized.

The U.K. ministry of defence has identified about 200 veterans including soldiers from Newfoundland serving in the British army who underwent chemical agent testing in England. They have gone unnoticed.

Can the Minister of National Defence please inform the House what he is doing to rectify this situation?

[Gordon O'Connor, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, it is my great honour today to announce that our new government will be extending Canada's chemical warfare agent testing recognition program to account for those who volunteered as test subjects in Britain. These 200 veterans, or possibly their primary beneficiaries, are now eligible for a one time tax payment of $24,000. They will finally be recognized for the personal sacrifice they made in the service of Canada.

Supporting our brave men and women in uniform means giving them the recognition and care they are due when their service is done. Those who served decades ago need our support today. Canada's new government is honoured to be able to give it to them.

National Defence

[Dennis Bevington, NDP, Western Arctic, NT]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP has learned through access to information that a major fuel spill at the Canadian Forces installation at Alert went unreported at the time. The significant incident report which we obtained states that on September 6 of this year a flex expansion joint failed and 21,000 litres of jet fuel were spilled at Alert.

Why did the government fail to inform northern Canadians? What actions has the minister taken to ensure this never happens again?

[Gordon O'Connor, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, as soon as that incident occurred, the defence department moved quickly to clean it up. All the necessary actions have been taken.

[Dennis Bevington, NDP, Western Arctic, NT]

Mr. Speaker, current and former northern military installations have wreaked havoc on the environment.

Why did it take the NDP to have this information see the light of day? The government promised to be open, transparent and accountable.

The minister should apologize. This incident should have been reported to the hard-working people of the north. We are not second class citizens.

Will he immediately announce that any incident like this will be promptly reported to the Canadian people?

[Gordon O'Connor, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, all the necessary actions were taken to clean up the spill. I should inform the member that DND is spending about $60 million each year cleaning up residue that was left in the north for the last 30 to 40 years. We will continue to do that until all the areas are cleaned up.

Tourism

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as a result of the decision to abolish the GST visitors' rebate program, with no consultation, Canada has become the only OECD country that does not reimburse tourists for some of their spending.

The Tourism Industry Association of Canada estimates that this will result in losses of several billion dollars for cities such as Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto, which organized conferences for companies based outside Canada.

How does the Minister of Finance plan to make up for the losses resulting from this policy worthy of a banana republic?

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the government invests more than $300 million each year in the tourism industry in Canada.

This particular GST rebate was not being used by many people. It was being used by 3% of the 35 million visitors to Canada and was a very inefficient way of raising taxes.

Having said that, we are committed to the tourism industry in Canada. I look forward to further discussions with that industry as we move toward preparation of budget 2007.

Health

[Patricia Davidson, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Health made an important announcement with regard to health care professional human resources. Canadians know that there is not a sufficient number of health care professionals, especially in rural and remote areas of our vast country.

Can the minister inform the House what he has done in order to alleviate the pressure on the current human resources level, something which was not addressed by the previous Liberal government?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Minister of Health and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, the member for Sarnia—Lambton is quite correct. Yesterday I was able to announce on behalf of the new Government of Canada an investment of $18.3 million to help more health professionals trained abroad to be able to work in Canada. This is yet another example of Canada's Conservative government delivering on a campaign pledge that we made in the last election.

We are working cooperatively to ensure that the foreign trained professionals meet the Canadian standards and get them working in Canada quickly. This is another way to reduce wait times. We are on the job.

Presence in Gallery

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order. I would like to draw to the attention of hon. members the presence in the gallery of Her Excellency Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Croatia.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

I would also like to draw to the attention of hon. members the presence in the gallery of Mr. Sean O'Neachtain, Chairman of the delegation of the 29th Interparliamentary Meeting of the Canada-Europe Parliamentary Association.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

Oral Questions

[Daniel Petit, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, during oral question period, in a heated moment I got carried away and made an inappropriate gesture. I apologize to the opposition.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Does the hon. member for Bourassa also have a point of order?

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am trying to understand something. The hon. member for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles said that he gave the finger to this entire House and that, for reasons of decorum, he should apologize. Is that what he means? He is apologizing because he made another gaffe.

Is that it?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

I believe this matter is closed at this time.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Jim Prentice, Conservative, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians]

Mr. Speaker, today I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the Canada-First Nation Education Jurisdiction Agreement.

Public Service Integrity Officer of Canada

[Michael Chong, Conservative, President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), I have the honour to table in the House of Commons the annual report to Parliament of the Public Service Integrity Officer of Canada.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Rod Bruinooge, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians]

Mr. Speaker, under the provisions of Standing Order 32 I have the honour to table, in both official languages, copies of the 2003-04 and 2004-05 annual report on the state of Inuit culture and society in the Nunavut settlement area.

Income Tax Amendments Act, 2006

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-33, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act, including amendments in relation to foreign investment entities and non-resident trusts, and to provide for the bijural expression of the provisions of that Act.

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