Debates of April 18th, 2008

Canadian Wheat Board

[Raymond Simard, Liberal, Saint Boniface, MB]

Mr. Speaker, when asked this week about his attempt to breach the Privacy Act, the Minister of Agriculture gave a ridiculous response. The fact is that he tried to break the law twice by writing letters to the president and CEO of the Canadian Wheat Board asking for the names and addresses of and specific commercial information about individual producers.

Why did the Minister of Agriculture put in a second request to receive personal information after being warned the first time that he would be breaking the law?

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Secretary of State (Agriculture)]

Mr. Speaker, the minister was clear this week. He acted within his powers. Instead of creating diversions here, the member should follow the wishes of the farmers to bring changes to the Wheat Board, as we do as government, and he should stand up in the House and vote once in a while.

Sponsorship Program

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today the RCMP arrested Benoît Corbeil, the former director-general of the Quebec wing of the Liberal Party of Canada. He will face charges including fraud, exercise of influence, and conspiracy to defraud as a result of the investigation into the Liberal sponsorship scandal.

Canadians rejected this kind of corruption by voting in the Conservative Party in the last election. Can the government tell us what it has done to clean up this kind of corruption?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, we have introduced the toughest anti-corruption law in Canadian history. That anti-corruption law has brought in whistleblower protection, expanded access to information and banned big money from the political process.

Now I would like to take the opportunity to invite the Liberal House leader to stand in his place and issue a formal apology to all Canadians for the massive criminal conspiracy known as the Liberal sponsorship scandal.

Infrastructure

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, despite years of delay we are finally getting down to selecting a new border crossing in Windsor.

The government has three proposals on the table that involve crossing the Detroit River. One of those proposals will require bulldozing through a historic community called Olde Sandwich Towne, the oldest European settlement west of Montreal. Another proposal will also require bulldozing of forests next to the Spring Garden ANSI, which is of significance for the environment.

Will the minister reject those two proposals and support a crossing that protects Sandwich Towne and the environment?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

First of all, Mr. Speaker, I will do no such thing. As the hon. member knows, this process has been ongoing for a number of years now. An organization has been put in place. It has looked at different alternatives. It looked at a number of options.

As we know, and I will repeat this in the House, this is the most important border crossing between Canada and the United States. This government is committed to making sure that this gateway is maintained and continues to progress.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it will be a cabinet decision at the end of the day and the minister has the power to do the right thing. We are calling upon him from my community to protect the children, to protect the environment and to protect Sandwich Towne, which is an area of historic significance. We do not take it lightly.

This is an opportunity to do the right thing for the community. There has been a long history of bad mistakes on the border. It is time to clean it up and do it right. This minister has to take his responsibility seriously, show some leadership and make sure we do it right this time.

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, this question from my colleague is somewhat premature. He knows full well that everything has been put in place, every action has been taken, every rule and regulation will be followed, and everybody's concerns will be met.

Official Languages

[Jean-Claude D'Amours, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the merit of the court challenges program has been proven once again with Ms. Paulin's victory in the Supreme Court. The ruling acknowledges that the RCMP maintains its status as a federal institution under the Official Languages Act and must ensure bilingual services in Canada.

Why does the government refuse to recognize that the court challenges program is a useful tool in defending the rights of linguistic minorities? Why does the Conservative federal government not want to respect the will of the linguistic communities?

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary for Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, our government strongly supports official language minority communities. We announced $30 million in funding and that hon. member and his party voted against that measure.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[Rick Norlock, Conservative, Northumberland—Quinte West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when I go home to my riding I hear from my local farmers that our Conservative government is delivering real results for Canadian farmers.

I hear how we listened to industry and made changes to the advance payments program. I hear how we delivered $50 million for the cull breeding swine program. I hear about how we delivered $600 million for Kickstart.

Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food speak to some of the other accomplishments of this Conservative government?

[Guy Lauzon, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, finally, I have a question from a member who really cares about agriculture.

This past week the Minister of Agriculture received a standing ovation from over 250 farmers attending a dinner in my riding. The loudest ovation of the night came when the minister talked about the real results we had achieved for supply management.

After 13 years of nothing but talk from the Liberals and the irrelevant Bloc, our Conservative government is providing real results for our farmers. Unlike the party opposite, Canadian farmers are standing up and cheering for our actions.

The Environment

[Bill Siksay, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Oceans Day is exactly 51 days, 16 hours and 4 minutes away. The Living Oceans Society, David Suzuki Foundation and the Sierra Club have called for action on a Pacific north coast integrated management plan by that time, an ecosystem-based management plan that is sustainable, protects the environment and provides for human well-being as needed.

First nations, the province and the federal government must be directly engaged in this development. Will the government commit today to launching a formal Pacific north coast integrated management plan process by Oceans Day?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, first, I thank the member for his genuine concern for the environment.

We are taking real action to try to address the challenges on the west cost. One of the first announcements we made, when I became Minister of the Environment, was the investment of $30 million in the Great Bear Rainforest. It is one of the largest coastal temperate rainforests in the world, with the Haida Gwaii islands and the coast of British Columbia.

We are also working to stop the dumping of raw sewage in the Pacific Ocean in Victoria. This is something that has been endorsed by the former Liberal environment minister, who now sits within the Liberal caucus, and the member for Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca.

Days of dumping raw sewage in the Pacific Ocean are over under this government.

Tourism Industry

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

Mr. Speaker, as the snow is melting across Canada and the tourism season is upon us, one thing we do not see is real action by the government to enhance this vital industry.

The industry has put forward concrete steps that the Conservatives should act upon, like air access, the individual GST rebate and the approved destination status with China. Why do they not act? Why do they not care?

[Diane Ablonczy, Conservative, Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism)]

Mr. Speaker, I guess the hon. member did not read our last budget, which has put millions into building tourism products along the St. Lawrence and Saguenay River, which will build a new port, which will help the cruise industry in Pangnirtung, Nunavut, which also will put money into our border crossings to ensure visitors will have a speedy entry into our country.

We spend $400 million a year on tourism. That is in addition to what is spent by all the provinces and many municipalities. Tourism is doing very well in Canada.

Broadcasting Industry

[Luc Malo, Bloc, Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Paris and its francophone partners continue to disagree about the role of the multilateral channel, TV5 Monde. Belgium, like Switzerland yesterday, has threatened to withdraw if France continues with its plan to integrate the francophone television network into the proposed France Monde holding company and if TV5 is no longer a multilateral resource for francophone countries?

Does Canada concur with Switzerland and Belgium that, no matter what the governance of TV5 may be, it should not be controlled by France Monde?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada sent a letter on April 15, 2008, addressed to all the TV5 partners. It included the Canadian proposal and reiterated the importance of safeguarding the multilateral nature of the TV5 Monde project.

TV5 Monde is an important tool in the promotion of the culture and values of the international francophonie and must remain a shared project.

Ethics

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, if the financial considerations, the offer the Prime Minister spoke of in the tape, were simply to secure Mr. Cadman's candidacy and not to buy his vote, how many meetings did Mr. Finley and Mr. Flanagan have with Mr. Cadman after that crucial vote to continue efforts to secure his candidacy?

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

Mr. Speaker, there was just the one meeting on May 19, 2005. That is the only meeting that took place on this matter.

It is good to see that the member for Kings—Hants is in the House of Commons today. It saves me a trip to the Clerk to ask her a question as to whether we have a vote in the House of Commons tonight. Now that I know he is here, I know we do not have any votes.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

I am sure the parliamentary secretary knows that votes on Fridays are deferred to Monday in any event. It is just for fun.

Government Response to Petitions

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8) I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to seven petitions.

Foreign Affairs and International Development

[Kevin Sorenson, Conservative, Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fifth report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development in support to the Minister of Industry of Canada's decision concerning RADARSAT-2.

The Environment and Sustainable Development

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fourth report of the Standing Committee on the Environment and Sustainable Development with respect to RADARSAT-2.

Natural Resources

[Lloyd St. Amand, Liberal, Brant, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the second report of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources in relation to the RADARSAT-2 satellite.