Debates of Feb. 29th, 2008

The Speaker Peter Milliken

Order. I urge the hon. member for Halton to proceed immediately with his question. We had better get on with it.

Garth Turner Halton, ON

Mr. Speaker, when a journalist at the time, in 2005, taped the Prime Minister in asking him about this incident, the Prime Minister said, “I don't know the details, I know there were discussions”.

My question is for the right hon. Prime Minister. Was he deceiving the journalist then or was he shamming the House yesterday?

James Moore Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services and for the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics

Mr. Speaker, the issue on this is very clear. Chuck Cadman himself said there was no deal.

We remember well when the member for Halton was a member of the Conservative caucus and our government has never been more on track, more focused and more effective than when we kicked him out and threw him back into the Liberal Party where he belongs. He can stay over there and the Liberals can have him all he wants.

When we threw him out of the Conservative Party, he said in national interviews,“Why are they throwing me out? I don't get it”. He wanted to stay in the Conservative caucus. With questions like that, he knows clearly why we want nothing to do with that member.

Carole Freeman Châteauguay—Saint-Constant, QC

Mr. Speaker, this morning, the media reported that Canada had resumed transferring detainees to Afghan authorities in Kandahar. According to Lieutenant-Colonel Dane of the Canadian Forces, each transfer is to be assessed on a case by case basis.

What assurances has the Minister of National Defence received from the Afghan authorities that the transferred detainees will not be tortured?

Laurie Hawn Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence

Mr. Speaker, as I said previously, for the last four months or so since November, we have been working hard with the Afghans in this area. We have put over a million dollars into improvements for the prisons. We have been training Afghan guards and the Afghan national police force. We have had more visits by Canadian representatives over there.

We are continuing to work with our Afghan allies to ensure that the system works as it has been doing more recently. We will continue to do that.

Carole Freeman Châteauguay—Saint-Constant, QC

Mr. Speaker, does the fact that transfers are to be determined on a case by case basis not prove that there are no guarantees on the part of the Afghan authorities and that decisions will be made at the whim of the Canadian Forces, which may or may not decide to comply with Canada's obligations under the Geneva convention?

Laurie Hawn Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that the Canadian Forces take all their obligations very seriously. The forces evaluate them on a case by case basis because they do take this so seriously.

They want to make sure that each Taliban prisoner is treated in accordance with the obligations, in accordance with the rule of law, in accordance with the procedures and the agreement that we have in place with the Afghan authorities, and in accordance with all the improvements that we have made recently in the system, which will make the system work a lot better. The hon. member should be happy with that.

Irwin Cotler Mount Royal, QC

Mr. Speaker, the transfer of detainees was suspended because of serious allegations of torture and abuse. The Federal Court expressed serious concerns about these transfers.

Now that the transfers have resumed, what new measures, other than those mentioned today, have been taken to address the Federal Court's concerns and to ensure that transfers are taking place according to international law?

Laurie Hawn Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence

Mr. Speaker, at the risk of repeating myself, we worked very hard in the last four months to make specific changes in terms of the facility, the infrastructure, the training given to the Afghan national police and the judicial system, and also the guard training program. There are more visits to the Afghan prisons by Canadian officials.

The Canadian Forces take all of their obligations very seriously. We rely on the forces to exercise judgment and I think we have put our reliance in good hands. Canadian Forces members are doing a great job and we should thank them for that.

Sylvie Boucher Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Status of Women

Mr. Speaker, not only did our government increase the budget for the women's program by 76%, the biggest increase ever, but I am also pleased to say that in Budget 2008, our government confirmed that it will go ahead with the initiative by developing the first Status of Women action plan to advance equality of women in Canada by improving their social and economic conditions and increasing their participation in democracy.

We believe that equality is not just a symbol; it is our reason for being.

Nathan Cullen Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC

Mr. Speaker, the environment simply is not part of the Conservative agenda, as was proven in this week's budget. There is nothing in the budget to take on the big polluters. As the Toronto Star said, the Liberals have turned themselves into a “doormat” in the process.

In fact, instead of reducing pollution, this budget is going to take hard-earned tax dollars from working families and give them to oil companies in more subsidies and more tax breaks. There is nothing to protect hard-working families. When will the government finally find the courage to stand up to its oil patch buddies?

Mark Warawa Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment

Mr. Speaker, it is ironic that the member is going to be voting against the budget, a budget that provides $500 million for modern public transit and will contribute to cleaner air and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The NDP is guilty of the sin of green-washing, with false bills and false proclamations that it cares about the environment, but when it has an opportunity to vote for a cleaner environment it is constantly voting against good environmental practices.