Debates of Nov. 28th, 2006

Quebeckers

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I see that the minister did not answer my question.

To make sure there is no misinterpretation possible, I will also ask this question in English. They understand better that way.

Jean Charest, premier of Quebec, said that “when we are talking about the Quebeckers as a nation, every citizen, regardless of their origins, is included in that definition”. Does the Prime Minister have the same definition of the Quebeckers' nation as his counterpart from Quebec, Jean Charest?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague has decided to put forward this, of course, and probably he went to see André Boisclair to see whether or not he was able to speak in English in this House. The question is fundamentally that the people of Quebec can name themselves how they want, whether it is Québécois or Quebecker. This, of course, is not government policy. The important thing is that we have to recognize that they form a nation within Canada and now--

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. member for Trois-Rivières.

[Paule Brunelle, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, a government minister resigned his post saying that the nationalism evoked by the Prime Minister in his motion was an ethnic nationalism.

After all the vague statements made yesterday and today, I am again asking the government to confirm that its former minister was wrong and that its vision of the Quebec nation is not defined on the basis of ethnicity, but on the basis of inclusion for all men and women of all origins living in Quebec.

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, it is a matter of a definition that includes all Quebeckers living in Quebec. In that sense, yesterday we recognized what Quebeckers historically have said in a number of referendums, namely that they opted for a united Canada.

[Paule Brunelle, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on October 27, when talking about the Quebec nation, the Prime Minister said, “I recognize that the National Assembly has taken that position. That is its own business”.

I am again asking the government whether it can confirm today that the Quebec nation officially recognized in yesterday's motion is indeed the nation as defined by Quebec's National Assembly and that all citizens of Quebec are part of it?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I understand the Bloc Québécois' urgency to want to ensure that everything is approved by Quebec's National Assembly. However, this sovereign assembly, the House of Commons of Canada, decided last night that yes, Quebeckers are part of a nation. We recognize that fact, but within Canada, within a united Canada.

Health

[Jack Layton, NDP, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we have a new reason to thank the Auditor General. Her latest report could save lives.

Indeed, because of cuts made by the Liberal government for many years, Health Canada did not have sufficient resources to test all medication correctly. Even those who managed the program cannot say who is supposed to test what. This is a ticking time bomb.

When will the government take action to correct and resolve this situation?

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

Mr. Speaker, I can say that this issue affects Health Canada and all Canadians. Of course, we must work very hard to protect the health of all Canadians.

I would say to the hon. member that this is an ongoing exercise. We think that when it comes to health and safety, that has to come first. That is certainly our mission here on this side of the House.

[Jack Layton, NDP, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I think Canadians wish it were true. What we have seen is billions of dollars of corporate tax cuts instead of investment in the very kinds of programs that could be saving lives. There is a 32% reduction in Health Canada's resources. These are the very people that check on medications to see if they are dangerous. They are the ones who made sure Vioxx was taken off the shelves.

Why does the government come up with billions of dollars for corporate tax cuts but it cannot come up with any money to make sure that the drugs that Canadians use day in and day out are safe for their families? It is a result of the politics of the government.

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

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member should check his facts. Indeed, when it comes to ensuring the health and safety of Canadians, that is the prime and full responsibility of Health Canada. It will continue to be so. I think if the hon. member does his addition properly, he will find that Health Canada is indeed fulfilling its mission and will continue to do so in the future.

Firearms Registry

[Belinda Stronach, Liberal, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on Saturday the member for Yorkton—Melville shared the stage with the president of the National Rifle Association at an event in Toronto.

Today, victims of the Dawson College shootings are on Parliament Hill pleading for the government to stop listening to the U.S. gun lobby and to start respecting the victims of gun violence. Unfortunately, they are not getting the same access to the Conservative government as is the president of the NRA.

Will the minister finally admit, if not to the Dawson survivors and their families, then to the front line police officers who use the registry over 6,500 times a day, that his attempts to shut it down are misguided?

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I do not think I have to remind the member opposite that she voted against the long gun registry.

With the proposals that we have, anybody wanting a firearm still has to be registered. They will still be on that police check.

As far as the National Rifle Association is concerned, the keynote speaker to the Liberal convention, Mr. Howard Dean, has a 100% endorsement from the National Rifle Association. I would call that a screaming endorsement for the Liberals' keynote speaker.

[Belinda Stronach, Liberal, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am a member of Parliament from the GTA. We have all seen the increased gun violence, especially since last Christmas. I am listening to my constituents. Look where I stand. My position is clear. Old quotes are not good enough for these families.

One cannot claim to be tough on crime and then publicly share the stage with the president of the largest gun lobby in the world. Talk about insensitivity; the door prize at this event was a rifle and a scope.

Why is the government sending conflicting messages to Canadians about gun control?

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, our message has always been clear. The member opposite has changed her vote and her position on this on more than one occasion.

We have already addressed the fact that the Liberals' keynote speaker is someone who has a 100% endorsement from the NRA.

The tragedy is that already this year on the streets of Toronto 236 people have been shot and 25 of them have been killed. Former and present chiefs of police in Toronto are saying it is not the long gun registry. They are saying to go after illegal guns, to go after criminals. That is what we are doing.

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

Mr. Speaker, the attitude of the Conservative government and of the NDP towards the victims of the Dawson College tragedy is disturbing. Two victims, Hayder Kadhim and the family of Anastasia De Sousa, have asked repeatedly to meet with the Prime Minister and the leader of the NDP but have received no reply.

They are in Ottawa today and have but a simple request, that the gun registry be maintained.

Why does this Conservative government refuse to listen to people who do not share its point of view?

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I met with the victims a number of weeks ago and with other people at Dawson College. I travelled there to meet with them and to spend some time with them.

They had more than one request. The member opposite should know they presented some other suggestions which, if we can implement them, we will see gun crime reduced.

The hon. member may want to listen to the member for Ottawa South, the brother of Premier McGuinty. He said:

It's important for all of us to remember that no long gun registry, no weapon registry can stop unfortunate acts like the one that happened in Montreal.

He said he wanted that on record, so it is on record.

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

Mr. Speaker, what I see is that despite the suggestions of the De Sousa family and of the young victim from Concordia University, the minister has not suggested anything that would improve the situation. This government totally ignores the requests of the majority of Quebeckers and Canadians.

If the Conservative government were truly listening, it would agree to listen to Dawson College, the police associations, the suicide prevention centres and the families of the École polytechnique victims that are asking that the gun registry be kept.

Rather than making decisions based on reasons—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. Minister of Public Safety.

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I have already quoted a number of police authorities that agree the problem is not the long gun registry, that it is the illegal weapons and we have to go after that.

I would also quote Shelley Marshall, board member of the Manitoba Organization of Victim Advocates. She said:

[The Prime Minister] has promised to put more money into front-line police officers, compensation for victims and better border checks for illegal handguns. That's where we think the money should go.

That is what the victims are saying too.

[Serge Ménard, Bloc, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today, the victims of the shootings at Dawson College are here to again pledge their full support for maintaining the gun registry. The National Assembly is also unanimously calling on the government to maintain the registry. True, the registry was difficult to set up, but it is in place now and it is useful to police.

Why is theMinister of Public Safety determined to abolish it?

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, we want to stress that we are going to maintain a system that will list all the people who want to own restricted, banned and unregistered guns. Every day, police officers who want to do so can check whether the people in a house or somewhere else own guns. We are going to maintain such a system.

[Serge Ménard, Bloc, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

Mr. Speaker, clearly, this is not enough. The consensus in Quebec in favour of the gun registry is growing every day, yet the minister is refusing to continue updating the registry.

Does the minister not understand that a registry that is not kept up to date is not very useful to police and that, in the short term, it will no longer be of any use at all because it will be too incomplete?

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, police officers are unanimous that we need legislation to prevent crime and stop criminals, yet the Bloc continues to vote against the dangerous offender bill. Why?

Treasury Board

[Jean-Yves Laforest, Bloc, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General has told us that the Treasury Board, whose minister is responsible for the Access to Information Act, has refused to give her access to some strategic documents necessary to her investigation, going against a practice established since 1985.

How can the President of the Treasury Board, the sponsor of Bill C-2, the Federal Accountability Act, brag about being transparent and claim to allow broad access to the government’s books and, at the same time, demonstrate such pettiness towards the Auditor General by challenging a practice that goes back to 1985?