Debates of May 10th, 2007

Afghanistan

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

Mr. Speaker, I know the member opposite has been around a long time. I know he poses as a defence critic. I know he holds himself out as an expert on many things, but I really do not think it would surprise him to know that at NATO meetings, where he was outside the room in fairness to him, there were discussions about the ongoing commitment of NATO troops in Afghanistan.

Softwood Lumber

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Mississauga—Brampton South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we all know the government is a one man show, but will the trade minister demonstrate some political courage and admit the softwood deal is flawed?

Today, we find out the U.S. trade representative, Susan Schwab, is in Ottawa to meet with the Minister of International Trade, in secret. Why is that? Is this another complaint? Maybe it is on stumpage fees. Are we heading into another court case?

Will the minister acknowledge that his deal is flawed and when will he stop selling us out to the U.S.?

[David Emerson, Conservative, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics]

Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. member is taking his economics lessons from the NDP. To begin with, Ambassador Schwab was not in Ottawa. There was no secret meeting. We have had conversations in the past. We have had telephone conversations. They have been very constructive conversations.

The softwood lumber agreement is maintaining stability in the industry at a time when the lumber market is absolutely in the tank. If we did not have the softwood lumber agreement, those companies would be poorer, workers would lose their jobs and we would be in trouble.

Employment Insurance

[Johanne Deschamps, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, at report stage, the House of Commons voted in favour of Bill C-269, introduced by the Bloc Québécois. This bill improves the employment insurance system. A majority of members supported the bill, which will require royal recommendation.

Will the government respect the decision of the House of Commons and grant this bill royal recommendation?

[Monte Solberg, Conservative, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development]

Mr. Speaker, I point out that this government has moved to improve employment insurance benefits on several occasions. We have also lowered premiums. So far the opposition has voted in favour of private members' bills that would cost the EI fund $6.2 billion every year, effectively bankrupting the fund and leaving workers holding the bag.

We cannot be that irresponsible. We are being responsible with the funds of workers and employers.

[Yves Lessard, Bloc, Chambly—Borduas, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister's figures are inaccurate. It is actually $1.9 billion. The minister needs to tell the truth here.

By not respecting the democratic decision of the House of Commons, the government is saying no to the regions.

Does the government realize, however, that it is also saying no to increasing the period of benefits, that it is saying no to repealing the waiting period and saying no to increasing the coverage of income earned from 55% to 60%?

In short, does the government realize that it is saying no to unemployed Canadians?

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform]

Mr. Speaker, you are the one who said no to this bill. This problem is that the Bloc Québécois is incapable of drafting a bill that is in order.

Those members cannot bring a bill that is in order. If they want to get their bills passed, they should try to learn how to write them so they are in order in the House of Commons.

Foreign Affairs

[Bernard Patry, Liberal, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Foreign Affairs refused to shed any light on the scandalous situation that occurred in his caucus.

The member for Mount Royal introduced a motion in committee to, first, denounce the Iranian president's explicit call to annihilate Israel and, second, to ask the Canadian government to ensure that the International Criminal Court conducts an inquiry.

Did the Conservative members of the committee vote against the motion at the request of the Minister of Foreign Affairs?

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

Mr. Speaker, no, it was not.

Justice

[Dave Batters, Conservative, Palliser, SK]

Mr. Speaker, sex offender Audrey Black of Moose Jaw was sentenced earlier this week to four years in prison for sexual exploitation and making child pornography. Black and her husband, Don, were both convicted of sexually abusing two young children they babysat.

I share the outrage of my constituents regarding these heinous crimes and I support their call for tough child protection laws.

Would the Minister of Justice please advise the House on what our Conservative government is doing to make our country safer for all Canadians, especially our most vulnerable citizens?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his continuous efforts to fight crime in this country.

As Attorney General, I do not comment specifically on a case, but I want the House to know that this government is absolutely committed to the best interests and protection of children. That is why we introduced Bill C-22, the age of protection legislation, to protect 14 and 15 year olds from sexual predators. That is why we have introduced Bill C-27, to improve the process by which violent and repeat offenders will be kept in prison. That is why we introduced Bill C-9, to ensure that violent and serious offenders do not get house arrest.

We are absolutely committed to the best interests of children, victims, reducing crime in this country and—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. member for Burnaby—New Westminster.

National Revenue

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it did not take a long time for the Conservative government to look exactly like the old tired corrupt Liberal government. We are seeing scandals emerge. We are seeing a clear incompetence and the same sense of entitlement among Conservatives and their corporate backers.

Now we have the latest chapter in the sad book of Conservatives' betrayal of the public interest. We find out that the government has ripped up tax bills worth hundreds of millions of dollars owed by Sun-Times Media Group Inc.

Why do their corporate friends not have to pay the taxes they owe and how much do they give away?

[Carol Skelton, Conservative, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question, but I want to reassure the House that we ensure that all people who owe money to the Government of Canada pay their tax bills.

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Mr. Speaker, that is clearly not the case. Sun-Times Media Group admits it owed $605 million to Canadian taxpayers. That is following the many twisted financial transactions of its former CEO, Conrad Black.

Now it announces that for a few million dollars the IOU to Canadians has been ripped up. After all the controversy around Conrad Black's twisted financial transactions, the government has said, “No problem”.

Why are the Conservatives giving multi-million dollar tax breaks to that American company?

[Carol Skelton, Conservative, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said many times before, I cannot comment on cases. We take very seriously any complaints of deliberate non-compliance on taxes. We take corrective action. I want to reassure the member that we stand up for good taxpayers in our country.

Canadian Heritage

[Tina Keeper, Liberal, Churchill, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the anti-culture government has broken another platform promise. It said that it would follow through on a national museums policy. For 16 months it has misled Canadians. It has demonstrated nothing but disdain for hundreds of museums across the country. It cut the much needed museums assistance program by 25% and it has provided no leadership and no vision.

Why does the minister care so little about heritage in small communities in Canada?

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

Mr. Speaker, the government does recognize the important role that museums play in cultural heritage. That is why we invested $290 million in museums last year.

However, we recognize our responsibility. For 10 years, under the previous government, our national museums had leaky roofs and leaky basements. That is why we put forward $41 million for the health and safety of the patrons of the museums and for the structures of those museums, so we can continue to preserve our history.

Democratic Reform

[Barry Devolin, Conservative, Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians know that the best way for citizens to hold their government to account is to vote. Yet voter turnout has been in decline in recent years.

In 1958, 79% of eligible voters cast ballots. This plummeted to 60% in 2004. It is clear more needs to be done to encourage people to vote. With today's hectic lifestyles, many people identified school, work and family responsibilities as their primary reasons for not voting.

Could the Minister for Democratic Reform please inform the House what measures he has taken to increase voter turnout in Canada?

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform]

Mr. Speaker, the expanded voter opportunities bill creates two additional advance polling days on the two Sundays before election day. This is a modern, practical and realistic bill. It is an effective way to increase voter turnout in Canada by giving hard-working Canadians more opportunities to vote.

What is more, we hope that families will bring their children with them when they go to vote to help them to appreciate from an early age the civic duty and the opportunity presented by the right to vote in a free and democratic society.

This week we are taking action to strengthen accountability through democratic reform and we are doing it in a number of ways. Increasing voter participation and turnout is just one of those ways.

Business of the House

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the government House leader would be good enough to describe the agenda that he has in mind between now and next week and the time that the House will rise for the May adjournment.

In his answer could also specifically indicate if he has been able to make a decision yet on the designation of the days for the consideration of estimates on the floor of the House of Common?

Could give us his assurance, pertaining to certain matters arising out of question period, if there is in fact an announcement related to taxation that the Minister of Finance proposes to make outside the House of Commons, that before the announcement is made, there will be the tabling in the House of the ways and means motion?

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform]

Mr. Speaker, as you are aware, this week is strengthening accountability through democratic reform week. It has been a busy week for the democratic reform family of bills.

We sent out invitations for the first birthday of Bill S-4, the Senate tenure bill, which Liberal senators have been delaying for almost a year now.

While we are disappointed with the behaviour of Bill S-4's caregivers, we did have some good news this week with the successful delivery of two new members of the family: Bill C-54, a bill to bring accountability with respect to loans; and Bill C-55, a bill to expand voting opportunities.

There is more good news. We are expecting.

Tomorrow, I will be introducing an act to amend the Constitution Act, 1867, on democratic representation, which is on today's notice paper.

Bill C-16, fixed dates for elections, was finally allowed by the clingy Liberal-dominated Senate to leave the nest when it was given royal assent last week.

With respect to the schedule of debate, we will continue today with the opposition motion.

Friday, we conclude strengthening accountability through democratic reform week with debate on the loans bill, possibly the Senate consultation bill and, hopefully, Bill C-52, the budget implementation bill.

Next week will be strengthening the economy week, when we will focus on helping individuals, families and businesses get ahead.

Beginning Monday, and continuing through the week, the House will consider: Bill C-52, the budget implementation bill; Bill C-33 to improve our income tax system; Bill C-40, to improve the sales tax system; Bill C-53, relating to investment disputes; and Bill C-47, the Olympics bill, which help us have a successful Olympics. Hopefully, we can get to Bill C-41, the Competition Act.

If time permits, we will also call for third and final reading Bill C-10, the minimum mandatory sentencing bill.

Thursday, May 17 shall be an allotted day.

Wednesday, May 16, shall be the day appointed, pursuant to Standing Order 81(4)(a), for the purpose of consideration in committee of the whole of all votes under Canadian Heritage of the main estimates for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2008.

Thursday, May 17, shall be the day appointed for the purpose of consideration in committee of the whole of all votes under National Defence of the main estimates for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2008.

Finally, there is an agreement with respect to the debate tomorrow on the 13th report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts. I believe you would find unanimous consent for the following motion.

I move:

That, notwithstanding any Standing Order or usual practice of the House, the debate pursuant to Standing Order 66 scheduled for tomorrow be deemed to have taken place and all questions necessary to dispose of the motion to concur in the 13th Report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts be deemed put and a recorded division be deemed requested and deferred to Wednesday, May 16, 2007, at the expiry of the time provided for Government Orders.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Does the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons have unanimous consent to move the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The House has heard the terms of the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?