Debates of Sept. 28th, 2006

Government Programs

[Bonnie Brown, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it appears that the Prime Minister and his wife are reading from different pages these days.

This week the Prime Minister took money away from programs that help people learn to read. This morning his wife was out on the streets of Ottawa raising money for literacy programs.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order, please. The hon. member for Oakville has the floor and members will want to hear the question.

[Bonnie Brown, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we agree that we should applaud her efforts.

However, now that the Prime Minister's wife has publicly demonstrated the error of her husband's government's ways, will the Prime Minister immediately restore funding to literacy programs?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development]

Mr. Speaker, hypocrisy has a new spelling. It is L-i-b-e-r-a-l.

In 1995 the previous Liberal government froze settlement funding, money that was used to help new Canadians become literate.

In budget 2006, Canada's new government put $307 million of new money into these programs. Why did the Liberals vote against it?

[Bonnie Brown, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on International Literacy Day, the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development praised the adult learning and literacy program. Today, the President of the Treasury Board, who cut the money, said that helping adults learn to read was a waste of money. He said that Canada was wasting money on trying to do repair work after the fact.

Will the Prime Minister promise today to spend less time with his Treasury Board president and spend a little more time listening to his wife?

[John Baird, Conservative, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, I said absolutely no such thing. What I did hear a member opposite on the front benches of the Liberal Party say was that in his party he faced bigotry and discrimination as a new Canadian.

Why has not one member of the Liberal Party stood up for the comments made by the member for Eglinton—Lawrence?

[Anita Neville, Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the meanspirited cuts announced this week by the Conservative government may appeal to its social conservative friends but they hurt so many other Canadians, especially women and aboriginal peoples.

The Prime Minister has cut 39% of the operating budget from Status of Women Canada and the court challenges program.

During the election the Prime Minister signed a pledge to uphold Canada's commitments to women. Is drastically slashing their budget his idea of upholding a commitment?

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, again we see the party opposite, the former Liberal government that did nothing, continuing to talk and use inaccurate information. In fact, the Liberals talk while we act and we have acted in seven months.

We have delivered on child care with $100 a month and new spaces coming next year. We have delivered on justice to uphold the safety of communities and women. We have also introduced guidelines for human trafficking so that victims are no longer treated as victims but are supported.

[Anita Neville, Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, in addition to cuts to funding for women, the Prime Minister has also eliminated the first nations and Inuit tobacco control strategy. This is yet another addition to a long list of decisions by the government to cut funding for aboriginal peoples.

First the Conservatives cancelled Kelowna and then they opposed the UN declaration on the rights of indigenous people. It is a trend so disturbing that the grand chief of the Assembly of First Nations characterized it as discriminatory.

Why has the Minister of Health cut a program that saves the lives of first nations, Inuit and Métis people?

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

Mr. Speaker, there is no evidence for the contentions of the hon. member.

When we look at programs we look at them to deliver results and that they are delivered effectively, responsibly and accountably. In this particular case, there is no evidence of that. However, if there is any member of any first nation or any citizen of Canada who has a better plan to deliver real results for the reduction of tobacco use by first nations people, we are all ears.

Taxation

[Pierre Paquette, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister made an unconditional promise to correct the fiscal imbalance. He therefore must meet the expectations of Jean Charest, who wants significant progress with the next budget. According to his spokesperson, that means a series of concrete measures and a specific timetable for fully correcting the fiscal imbalance.

Will the Prime Minister clear up the uncertainty about the fiscal imbalance, and does he plan to make good on his original promise and clearly identify the solutions he intends to apply to correct the fiscal imbalance, in the next budget?

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, first, we did acknowledge the fiscal balance during the election campaign and we continue to say that.

Second, we put out the paper on restoring fiscal balance with the budget. We said in the paper and I said in the budget speech that we would proceed with consultations. We have proceeded with consultations, not only by me in my job in finance, but also with respect to post-secondary education, skills training, infrastructure and other challenges that we have between levels of government in Canada.

The next stage is to move forward toward budget 2007 where we will be able to announce the changes that will be made.

[Pierre Paquette, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when he made his promise, the Prime Minister never said he was tying the correction of the fiscal imbalance to any consensus between the provinces and Quebec. What we expect from the Prime Minister is a full, permanent solution to a problem that he promised to solve.

Does the Prime Minister plan to use the upcoming budget, as his counterpart in Quebec City is calling for, to outline the permanent solutions he intends to apply to correct the fiscal imbalance once and for all? Yes or no?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Clearly, Mr. Speaker, the answer is yes.

Government Programs

[Susan Kadis, Liberal, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the $4.6 million that has been cut from the museums assistance program is threatening the existence of regional museums across the country. When asked about the cuts yesterday, the minister responded that two museums were in the parliamentary secretary's riding, the member for Kootenay—Columbia, who supports these cuts.

Could the minister confirm that these were the only two museums that were consulted before scrapping this program? Were these the only museums that deserved a privileged heads-up?

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's new government will spend $245 million for museums across the country.

After more than a decade of neglect, all museums are facing challenges. We recognize that. That is why we are going to develop a new museums policy that will serve all museums, national, regional and local, in every community across the country.

Forest Industry

[Dick Harris, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Mr. Speaker, this Conservative government has clearly demonstrated its commitment and support for Canada's forests and its forest industry.

This is National Forestry Week in Canada. I would like to ask the Minister of Natural Resources to update the House on the progress made with Canada's forests since forestry measures were confirmed in our budget.

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

Unlike the previous government, the current government announced significant measures in the 2006 budget.

We are working with the provinces and the industry to develop a long-term strategy to make the industry as competitive as possible.

That is delivering the goods.

The Environment

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, today's environment commissioner's report is a stinging indictment of 13 years of Liberal inaction on climate change.

The Liberals cannot account for more than $1 billion that was intended for the environment. They do not have a clue where it went, or at least they are not telling us.

Will the government take this report as what it is, a wake-up call? Will it do whatever it takes to find every last penny that was intended for the environment and may have ended up in the pockets of Liberal cronies?

[Mark Warawa, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for the good question. We agree with the commissioner's recommendations, as I said previously. She said that the previous Liberal government lacked leadership, direction and planning on the climate change issue.

It is no wonder Canadians are asking why the Liberals did nothing for 13 years. Listen to this quote, “I will be part of Kyoto but I say to the world, I don't think I can make it”. Who was that? It was the former environment minister.

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

Canadians now know that while the Liberals dithered and feigned concern about climate change, money went missing and pollution went through the roof.

Will the Minister of the Environment make the effort to finally show up and tell Canadians what her plan is to fix the problem? Will she set a real target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050? And will she tell her oil company buddies in Calgary today that the oil subsidy gravy train is over, that she is going to do her job and fight for the environment?

[Mark Warawa, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, our new government recognizes that climate change is an issue that must be dealt with. That is why our plan focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and cleaning the air that Canada breathes.

Our plan will go far beyond Kyoto and will improve the health of Canadians and the environment.

Firearms Registry

[Maria Minna, Liberal, Beaches—East York, ON]

Mr. Speaker, despite the Dawson College tragedy, this minority government has cut $6 million from the Canada Firearms Centre. Gun control is supported by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, the Canadian Professional Police Association, and victims organizations among many others.

Police officers use it at least 5,000 times a day. The government is not prepared to put Canadian interests above its own narrow partisan ideology.

How can the minister claim that cutting gun control will keep our streets safe?

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, first I congratulate the Canada Firearms Centre for having achieved savings, not cuts, but savings, savings that can go to programs that make a difference.

Quite rightly my hon. colleague points out that there are differences in opinion. Shelley Marshall, a board member with the Manitoba Organization of Victim Advocates, said, “Why would we want to see funds going somewhere that is not beneficial to preventing homicides?” Loren Schinkel, president of the Winnipeg Police Association, said, “The Winnipeg Police Association has never supported the long gun registry”. Brian Ford, the former chief of police in Ottawa, said that he was upset. In referring to the former Liberal government, he said, “They were lying. It bothers me. I was talking to people that I believed were telling the truth”. We want to see gun crime reduced.