Debates of Oct. 23rd, 2009

Health

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Nepean—Carleton, ON]

It is 60,000. I thank the member for his correction.

This booklet will also be sent out across the country to ensure that people have the information.

Public Safety

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

Mr. Speaker, Mohammad Mahjoub is still being detained without charge, trial or conviction on a security certificate. It has been nine years. He is still the only prisoner at the double maximum Kingston Immigration Holding Centre and he is still on his hunger strike, now at 144 days, over the lack of an independent complaints process.

His hunger strike is extremely serious. Permanent serious health consequences or death could happen at any moment.

What has the Minister of Public Safety done to resolve this situation? Is he pursuing mediation and will he allow the correctional investigator jurisdiction?

[Dave MacKenzie, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, as you know, the safety and security of Canadians is of utmost concern to this government. These matters have been dealt with a number of times in the House.

This matter is one that we are aware of and the matter is being looked into with the individual involved.

Afghanistan

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Defence and PMO officials have stated that Canada will continue training the army and the police forces in Afghanistan post-2011 but end combat operations.

Now, General Hillier tells us:

If you stay in the south and try to do something like training, you will still be in combat. I don't care what...staffers say in the media about how they can find a way to do it. You simply will not. You will be in combat.

The question, obviously, is: Who do we believe? Do we believe the government and its spin doctors or do we believe the general?

[Laurie Hawn, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, what the hon. member should believe is the truth. The government has been clear, the Prime Minister has been clear and the minister has been clear: the military mission comes to an end in 2011.

We will maintain an ongoing presence in our governance and development work. In the meantime, we will be continuing the training and mentoring of the Afghan national security forces to protect the local population.

A well-led, well-trained, well-equipped Afghan force will enable the government of Afghanistan to assume increasing responsibility for its own security.

The Economy

[Bev Shipley, Conservative, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in his endless pursuit of trying to force an unnecessary election, the Liberal leader has attacked and attempted to discredit not only the hard work of this government, but also all levels of government across Canada that are making these valuable infrastructure investments which are helping communities and creating and maintaining jobs during the global recession.

While the Liberal leader might not support building our communities and, in fact, stimulating our economy, thankfully, his views are not shared by the majority.

Could the Minister of State for Transport please tell us what some others are saying about the important infrastructure investments?

[Rob Merrifield, Conservative, Minister of State (Transport)]

Mr. Speaker, yes, it would be a privilege for me to do that.

We are focused, as a government, on the economy, stimulating the economy and creating jobs right across the country from coast to coast to coast, and we are doing that with our municipal and provincial partners.

The Liberal deputy premier from Ontario agrees with this. This is what he had to say:

think overall when we see how all the infrastructure dollars that are stimulus related have been allocated, I am pretty confident that there is going to be a very, very equitable regional distribution.

We could not agree with him more.

Health

[Bonnie Crombie, Liberal, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pregnant women need clear, concise and accurate information pertaining to the H1N1 vaccine.

Will the adjuvant substance harm them? Will it harm their babies? They need to know.

The H1N1 information campaign is non-existent but the advertising money is being spent to wrap trains in Conservative propaganda banners.

Surely H1N1 is more important. The confusion must end. When can pregnant women and all Canadians get clear, concise and accurate answers?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the Chief Public Health Officer has been quoted as saying, “Both vaccines are safe for pregnant women”. We take his advice very seriously. If there is a serious outbreak and the unadjuvanted form is unavailable, the adjuvanted vaccine is safe and should be taken by all in Canada.

Infrastructure

[André Bellavance, Bloc, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Quebec lieutenant of the Conservative Party claimed early this week that the contracting process used by Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated was open and transparent, even though two corporation officials attended a cocktail fundraiser for the Conservative Party organized by Senator Housakos, thereby violating the corporation's code of conduct.

Will the Minister of Public Works, who was himself at the cocktail party if media reports are to be believed, stop having elastic ethics and admit that he is imposing a culture of impunity, a culture of “no problem”?

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services and to the Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to repeat the answer.

Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated is an independent crown corporation. The minister's office therefore cannot interfere in the management of contracts awarded by the crown corporation, which is autonomous because of its status.

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS]

Mr. Speaker, in beautiful Nova Scotia, the Colchester civic centre is ready to go. The municipal county and provincial dollars are all in place. The only player missing is the federal government, which tends to make me believe that Nova Scotia is being punished because Bill Casey once stood up for it.

When will the people of Truro and Colchester county get the money from the federal government so they can proceed with that wonderful centre?

[Rob Merrifield, Conservative, Minister of State (Transport)]

Mr. Speaker, the opposition member has been around here long enough to know that it would be inappropriate during a byelection to interfere with any kind of announcement, so that will not happen. We are not interested in that.

However, I want to take the opportunity to explain what we are doing for the Maritimes and some of the good folks out there. Just last week, the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities and the Minister of National Defence were in Halifax announcing $18.3 million for the Halifax Central Library. This is just one of the projects that we are working on coast to coast.

We are getting the job done. We are creating jobs and creating good infrastructure for Canadians all across this country.

Truth in Sentencing Act

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Wild Rose, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to see that Bill C-25, our Conservative government's truth in sentencing legislation, was finally passed unamended by the Senate and has received royal assent.

Could the Minister of International Trade please tell the House what this will mean for Canadians?

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Wild Rose for his question and for his work in this particular area.

For many years, police groups, victims associations and others have asked for truth in sentencing. This bill accomplishes that. There is no more discount for serious criminals of two to one time or three to one time because of pre-sentence custody. We have been waiting for this a long time.

Despite the fact the Liberals tried to stop and delay this, despite the fact they tried to hold it up in the Senate and despite the fact that 30 Liberal senators voted against it, we got it through. Truth in sentencing is a reality.

Government Response to Petitions

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

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

Sudan

[Maurice Vellacott, Conservative, Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the petition I have in hand here reminds us all that since 2003, over 400,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced in the horrific conflict taking place in Sudan.

This petition also stresses Canada's responsibility, as a prosperous, internationally engaged country, to play a leading role to save the people of Darfur from ongoing death and displacement.

The appeal of these petitioners to the Government of Canada then is to engage with the international community in whatever way is necessary to end these ongoing atrocities.

Human Rights

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

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to table a petition signed by approximately 150 Canadians who are calling upon the Government of Canada to use every means at its disposal to advocate for the unconditional release of Ethiopian opposition leader, Birtukan Mideksa, and for her return to full political participation in Ethiopia.

Ms. Mideksa is the leader of the Unity for Justice and Democracy Party of Ethiopia and she has been detained without charge since December 2008. She has been denied full access to a lawyer and due process, contact with her family and access to international human rights organizations.

Protection of Human Life

[Paul Szabo, Liberal, Mississauga South, ON]

Madam Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36 and as certified by the clerk of petitions, I am pleased to present this petition regarding the protection of human life.

These petitioners from my riding of Mississauga South want to draw to the attention of the House that Canada is a country which respects human rights, and includes the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom that says that everyone has the right to life. They also point out that it has been 40 years, since May 14, 1969 when Parliament changed the law to permit abortion, and since January 28, 1988, Canada has had no law to protect the lives of unborn children.

These petitioners, therefore, call upon Parliament to pass legislation for the protection of human life from the time of conception until natural death.

[Laurie Hawn, Conservative, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Madam Speaker, I have a similar petition that I have been asked by my constituents to pass on, and that is to pass legislation for the protection of human life from the time of conception until natural death.

Therefore, the petitioners call upon Parliament to pass legislation for the protection of human life from the time of conception, fertilization, until natural death.

International Aid

[Judy Wasylycia-Leis, NDP, Winnipeg North, MB]

Madam Speaker, I am honoured to table a petition regarding Canada's access to medicines regime.

The petitioners call upon Parliament to support my private member's bill, Bill C-393, that proposes changes to this regime to make it possible for generic drugs to flow more effectively, efficiently and quickly to countries in need, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.

They want this to happen because 14,000 people die every day from diseases, such as HIV-AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, diseases that are preventable if these countries were to have access to medicines that we take for granted in this country.

Natural Health Products

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Wild Rose, AB]

Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure today to present petitions from all across western Canada, with hundreds of signatures from citizens calling for greater freedom of use for natural health products.

Human Rights

[Jim Maloway, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Madam Speaker, my petitioners call for the release of Ms. Birtukan Mideksa from arbitrary imprisonment. Ms. Mideksa is the president for the Unity for Democracy and Justice Party of Ethiopia. She has been held in prison by the Government of Ethiopia since December 2008, without charge, on a politically motivated life sentence.

She is a confirmed prisoner of conscience according to international human rights organizations such as Amnesty International. She was pardoned of all charges against her before being rearrested for apparently no reason. In contravention of Ethiopian law, Ms. Mideksa was imprisoned without any formal hearings and was not given full access to her lawyer.

International human rights monitoring organizations have been denied access to Ms. Mideksa as well. Serious allegations of human rights abuses have been made, indicating that Ms. Mideksa has been held in solitary confinement in life-threatening conditions and has been prohibited from reading books and visiting her family.

The petitioners call on the House of Commons to pass private member's Motion No. 334, which requests that the government make use of every means at its disposal, in addition to working with its allies in the international community and the United Nations, to exert maximum pressure on the Government of Ethiopia to immediately and unconditionally release Ms. Mideksa and allow her to participate fully in her position as leader of a political party.

[The Acting Speaker, NDP, Denise Savoie]

I would like to remind members that they should not be reading the petition verbatim but summarizing it.

Questions on the Order Paper

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Madam Speaker, the following questions will be answered today: Nos. 413 and 415.