Debates of May 30th, 2006

Child Care

[Lynne Yelich, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said, we are in the early days of designing the child care spaces. There have been consultations with the provinces. After consulting with the provinces and territories, we are going to ensure that these initiatives will complement the design that Quebec already has in place.

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval—Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know when the federal government will understand that child care is a provincial responsibility. I will tell the federal government that Quebeckers are already penalized to the tune of $250 million a year because they do not have access to the child care deduction, since they subsidize their own child care system. Now, because of the government's inflexibility, they are about to be deprived of an additional $60 million a year.

I ask the Quebec ministers in this government whether someone can make the government see that in Quebec, we have paid for our child care system and that—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development.

[Lynne Yelich, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development]

Mr. Speaker, the member is correct. We do believe that day care should be in the hands of the province, but we also believe there is not a one-size-fits-all. We have a universal day care arrangement and we are very proud of it. I invite the members to please help us make it one of the best day care/child care agreements that we can possibly have for our country.

The Environment

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives seem to want to sink ever lower on environmental matters. Yesterday, the Prime Minister said, and I quote: “If...a provincial government wants to make its own decisions...it can also use its own money”.

The government is abandoning the provinces to their fate. It is abandoning its international commitments on climate change. But what is the Prime Minister really abandoning? He is abandoning our children, our health, our well-being and our children's future.

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, in the budget, this government announced a federal-provincial program to support public transit. But the NDP voted against the program. This government supports programs for the environment.

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

Mr. Speaker, actually it was money in an NDP budget amendment that went to public transit.

The attitude of the Prime Minister is, “Tough luck, provinces. You are on your own when it comes to climate change”. However, the Prime Minister adds his own personal touch. He goes and adds three great big SUVs to his fleet out in front of the House of Commons.

Yesterday the Prime Minister was lecturing us about how pollution was not the same as climate change. Really? Is that so? Could the Prime Minister stand in his place and explain the difference between climate change and pollution and how his new fleet of SUVs helps deal with either one of them?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I can explain the difference. The climate change agenda is principally about carbon dioxide, which is not a pollutant. The government is also concerned with pollutants such as nitrous oxides, sulphur dioxides and other organic compounds. There are differences and that is the difference.

In terms of the particular security arrangements the RCMP uses, that is its decision, not mine.

If this really is an NDP budget proposal, people will be wondering why this government voted for it and why the NDP voted against it.

[Bryon Wilfert, Liberal, Richmond Hill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, while the Minister of the Environment was in Bonn for a nine minute speech to tell the world that Canada was abandoning the Kyoto accord, she was hyping the U.S. Asia-Pacific partnership. Just last week, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to kill all U.S. funding for the Asia-Pacific partnership. Not one congressman, Democrat or Republican, tried to save the money: $46 million of funding for climate change, 30% of the entire partnership's budget gone.

Would the minister tell us why Canada should join a partnership whose biggest contributor has just walked away?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, it is interesting how the Liberals love to change the channel because they do not want to face the facts. They do not even know where they stand on Kyoto. They had a Liberal environment critic who was anti-Kyoto, but they switched him for a new Liberal environment critic, whom I would like to thank for endorsing, on his first day, Conservative policies for transit. The member for Don Valley West said that when we encouraged people to take public transit, we also reduced greenhouse gases. That is exactly what this government is doing.

[Bryon Wilfert, Liberal, Richmond Hill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this party knows where we stand on the environment. That party is still trying to make it up and figure out where they stand.

The Climate Institute recently published its findings on the Asia-Pacific partnership and it paints a very grim picture. The institute said that the AP6 modelling showed emissions would more than double worldwide by 2050.

Why does the Minister of the Environment want to convince Canadians and the House we should join something which the U.S. Congress clearly sees is a failure?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, the bottom line is that the Liberals did not do anything on Asia-Pacific and they did not do anything on Kyoto. Within the first 100 days, we have already done more than the Liberals did in 13 years.

We already have set a national target of 5% content in biofuels so Canadians can burn cleaner gas. We made the largest investment in public transportation in Canadian history and we want those buses burning clean biodiesel. On July 1, Canadians will be able to get almost two months of free public transit through our transit pass tax incentive. On June 1, we are setting in place regulations to reduce sulphur in diesel.

That is cleaning up the environment.

[John Godfrey, Liberal, Don Valley West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, was the minister aware until this very minute that the U.S. Congress cut off $46 million, the entire funding for the Asia-Pacific partnership?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, I am not concerned with what is going on in the U.S. Congress--

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order. The hon. member for Don Valley West asked a question and he is trying to hear the answer from the minister so he can ask a supplementary. I cannot hear the minister. I do not know how the hon. member for Don Valley West possibly could. So we have to have a little order.

The hon. Minister of the Environment has the floor to give her response.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for being appointed as environment critic and for endorsing our Conservative policy on transit passes.

However, I would like to point out to the hon. member that I am concerned about Canada. I am concerned about the priorities of the Canadian environment. Canada differs greatly from the U.S. in terms of the kinds of circumstances we need to address right here at home. I know he is obsessed with what the U.S. is doing, but I am focused on what Canada is doing to move forward.

[John Godfrey, Liberal, Don Valley West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is the minister who wants to get Canada to join the Asia-Pacific partnership. Did she know the funding was cancelled in the United States?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, any action that our government takes is in the interest of Canada. We are putting forward a made in Canada solution that will spend money--

[Some hon. members]

Yes or no. Yes or no.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order. The hon. Minister of the Environment has the floor to give her response. I remind hon. members this is question period, not answer period.

The hon. Minister of the Environment has the floor and she is entitled to give a response to a question that has been asked, and we are going to hear the response.

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

Mr. Speaker, I know the hon. member is obsessed with what is happening in the U.S. Congress, but I am not. I am focused on Canadian solutions--

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

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

--and billions of dollars in Canadian industry investments, and thousands and thousands of jobs being created in our Canadian economy.

Equalization

[Yvan Loubier, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister announced that he was seriously considering excluding non-renewable natural resources such as oil, gas and coal from the equalization formula. This would translate into a net loss of $872 million a year for Quebec.

Does the government not realize that, with its policies on matters such as Kyoto, new day care spaces and equalization, far from correcting the fiscal imbalance, it will only add to it considerably?