Debates of April 19th, 2007

Equalization

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Whitby—Oshawa, ON]

Relax, Ralph, I am going to explain this.

The second is the O'Brien formula and the government of Newfoundland and Labrador has the choice of going that route--

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. member for Bonavista--Gander--Grand Falls--Windsor.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL]

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the minister should relax while I explain to him an e-mail exchange from his office. It said, and this was in the St. John's Telegram:

I have apologized to Wade that a previous e-mail from one of our staff may have misled him.

That was from his office. The minister is responsible for a great deal of misinformation. Remember income trusts? Remember interest deductibility?

The premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, Danny Williams, has called for the minister's resignation. Will he stand in the House and respond to the premier's request?

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I suggested to the premier of Newfoundland and Labrador the last time that perhaps we could have a hockey game together so we could settle it. He would have to pay for his own jerseys, of course, if we were going to do that.

There is an important choice for the government of Newfoundland and Labrador. It can either go ahead with the Atlantic accord, which is the same as it has been since it was negotiated by the current premier, or it can go the route of the new equalization formula. That is a choice for Newfoundland and Labrador.

The reason this is necessary, of course, is that the premiers themselves could not come to an agreement with respect to equalization, so it was incumbent on the federal government to do that.

Foreign Affairs

[Dave Van Kesteren, Conservative, Chatham-Kent—Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today China's official news agency is reporting that Huseyin Celil has been sentenced to life in prison and the deprivation of all political rights, as well as a second sentence of a further 10 years in prison.

Can the Minister of Foreign Affairs inform the House of the government's reaction to this news?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister, members of the government and I were deeply disappointed to hear the news this morning with respect to the verdict and the sentence of Mr. Celil. I spoke with his wife Kamila to express those sympathies as well as our ongoing support and commitment on this case.

Chinese authorities have persistently refused to respond to our concerns with respect to this Canadian citizen. In addition, there are concerns for Mr. Celil's health and his well-being. I immediately called in the Chinese chargé d'affaires this morning to speak with him and I expressed these views and Canada's ongoing interest in this case.

We believe that China has not lived up to the Canada-China consular agreement. We will conduct a thorough review to determine whether this remains an effective way to safeguard Canada-China citizens travelling and passports. I will be raising this matter next week in China.

[Wayne Marston, NDP, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this is the second time today the competence of that minister has been called into question.

Mr. Celil has been in jail for over a year on unspecified charges. Canadian officials have not even been able to speak to him to this point in time, and now we hear the government is taking this kind of action which should have been taken ages ago.

Just yesterday I received a message from a minister that said Mr. Celil had received a nine year sentence. It is clear that hardly anybody knows what is going on in the government.

I am pleased to hear that the--

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

I will leave it to others, Mr. Speaker, to determine who knows what is going on.

We have been involved in this serious case from the moment we first learned that Mr. Celil had gone through Uzbekistan back to China and has been in custody. We have made persistent attempts to see him through consular officials. We have had members of the consul in Urumqi following this case.

We continue to represent his interests there to the best of our ability, to make representations through the Chinese government, to have access to Mr. Celil, to provide support for his wife and family here in Canada. We continue to do so.

[Wayne Marston, NDP, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as I recall, it started with the Prime Minister making his comments on human rights on an airplane going to the South Asia conference which did nothing to help that individual.

The government has done nothing over the year to secure a fair trial for that individual or legal representation. The government has done nothing to keep him safe from torture, which we know happens in Chinese jails.

Beyond a much needed apology, what is the government going to do beyond today?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, the member displays a stunning lack of depth of understanding of the justice system in China if that is his submission.

I have just outlined in detail what we have done and continue to do. There are ongoing representations on behalf of Mr. Celil. We are working in every possible way to provide him with consular support.

This is a very tragic case, one that has gained great prominence and is representative of the ongoing human rights problems that exist in the People's Republic of China.

The Environment

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in the Senate this morning the Minister of the Environment brazenly attempted to scare Canadians into thinking that there will be dire consequences if we fulfill our Kyoto commitments. He presented a report full of misinformation, disinformation, propaganda, ridiculous assumptions and glaring omissions.

Can the minister explain to Canadians why he commissioned a report that deliberately deceives the Canadian people on the impact of meeting our Kyoto obligations?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Party asked us, through Bill C-288, to present a plan to implement Kyoto because it did not have its own plan. The Liberal Party needs to be honest with Canadians.

I know someone who is being honest. I will read a letter we recently received. It says:

I would like to begin by congratulating you on the important steps you have taken to address climate change by supporting provincial efforts through the ecoTrust Fund and through your financial support of public transit initiatives.

Does the member know who sent this letter? It was someone named D. McGuinty, the Liberal member for Ottawa South.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, for over a decade, the Prime Minister and his right-wing, extremist supporters have been exaggerating the economic impact of taking action on climate change.

When talking about taking action on acid rain the following is what the Prime Minister had to say. He said:

The alarmists said this would bring about a terrible recession.

Quite the contrary, the North American economy thrived, posting one of the longest and strongest periods of growth in history.

Is the Minister of the Environment now the government's chief alarmist? I would ask Chicken Little: Is the sky falling?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

I am not sure whether I am Chicken Little or the Minister of the Environment is the one being referred to.

The hon. Minister of the Environment has the floor.

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal member said, “when Canadians see the cost of Kyoto they will scream”.

Let us look at what one of the former Liberal ministers of the environment, Sheila Copps, said. She said, “On the environment, the Liberals are not on solid ground”. She also said, “People like Ralph Goodale and Anne McLellan were viciously against Kyoto”.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

I would urge all hon. members, and particularly the Minister of the Environment, to avoid using members' names. The person may have said that but the member knows that you cannot do indirectly what you cannot do directly. I think the member meant the hon. member for Wascana and he should use those kinds of terms in addressing the House.

The hon. member for Honoré-Mercier.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it was a difficult day for the Minister of the Environment, who appeared before the Senate committee with only one thing in mind: spreading fear among Canadians.

Except that when he brought out an incomplete report based on partial information, he instead discredited himself before the members of the committee, and before all Canadians. When he was asked for specific figures to justify at least one of his dire predictions, he had nothing to say.

Now that he has had a few hours to read his report, can he give us some explanations or figures that justify at least one of his outlandish conclusions.

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, not only are we justifying the conclusions of the report, we had a number of Canada's leading economists from outside of government validate it.

I would encourage the member opposite to listen to members of his own caucus. This is what one of his caucus members said two months ago, “We're so far behind now that catch-up is impossible without shutting the country down”.

I cannot say who said this but I did see it on a website called www.garth.ca.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, he has already been told, he can wear green ties all he wants, but we will no longer trust him, and even less so after this morning.

This morning, he resorted to fear, the weapon of the weak, the weapon used in the fight against acid rain and CFCs. We won those fights and the Canadian economy is still standing.

Fear is always the weapon of the weak, the weapon of those seeking excuses for their lack of action.

I will give him one more chance. He should admit that he was wrong, stop hiring Teletubbies to write his speeches, and learn to tell the truth.

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, I know members opposite are very fond of telling the truth. One of the members of the Liberal Party, who I think is quite truthful, has said a number of things which I would like to read. He said, “I think our party has got into a mess on the environment”. He also said, “We've done all the blah, blah, blah about the environment”.

My favourite quote is the one by the deputy leader of the Liberal Party who said, “We just didn't get it done”.

Quebec City

[Michel Guimond, Bloc, Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Canadian Heritage said twice that Quebec City's 400th anniversary celebrations committee did not send an invitation to the Queen of England. It is common knowledge. The chair of the committee himself told us he did not invite the Queen. However, he said that the federal government had taken steps for inviting the Queen.

What we want to know from the minister is simple: did the federal government take steps for inviting the Queen to Quebec City's 400th anniversary celebrations or not?

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

Mr. Speaker, no invitation has been sent to Her Majesty the Queen.