Debates of Nov. 5th, 2009

Navdeep Bains Mississauga—Brampton South, ON

Mr. Speaker, the government's signs are a sheer waste. It requires separate signs, separate designs and separate sizes, all of which add thousands of dollars to the cost of the signs.

In Mississauga alone, the city had to put up 396 signs to promote only 130 projects--

The Speaker Peter Milliken

Order, please. The hon. member for Mississauga—Brampton South has the floor. We will have a little order, please.

Navdeep Bains Mississauga—Brampton South, ON

Mr. Speaker, 130 projects and 396 signs. Do the math.

Would the minister not agree that this money would be better spent on flu clinics, as opposed to partisan propaganda?

John Baird Minister of Transport

Mr. Speaker, as to spending money and making investments in the city of Mississauga on infrastructure, home to seven Liberal MPs, I plead guilty.

John Weston West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC

Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister is aware, reports indicate that nine million sockeye salmon went missing during last summer's migration to the Fraser River.

Would the Prime Minister tell this--

The Speaker Peter Milliken

Order, please. The hon. member for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country has the floor. We will have a little order, please.

John Weston West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC

Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister is aware, reports indicate that nine million sockeye salmon went missing during last summer's migration to the Fraser River.

Would the Prime Minister tell this House what action this government will be taking to respond to the problem?

Stephen Harper Prime Minister

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country for his question and for his interest in this serious matter.

As the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans has said on numerous occasions, we are very concerned about the low and falling returns of sockeye salmon in British Columbia.

Tomorrow, the Minister of International Trade, as the regional minister for British Columbia, will be making an announcement outlining the terms of reference for a judicial inquiry, as well as the judge who will lead that inquiry.

Judy Wasylycia-Leis Winnipeg North, MB

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are worried about their children and their families in the face of the H1N1 pandemic. They wonder why it is taking so long to get the vaccine and why their government is not doing its job.

Either the government is hoarding 1.8 million doses or they are a figment of the government's imagination because they are not getting to the provinces. Manitoba, for example, has just been told that its supply for next week will be 10 times less than was promised or than can be delivered.

So, without blaming anyone, what is the government doing to fix the problem?

Leona Aglukkaq Minister of Health

Mr. Speaker, again, six million vaccines have been distributed to all the provinces and territories. Close to two million will be sent out to the provinces and territories next week. As well, this week we have sent an additional 225,000 unadjuvanted vaccines to the provinces and territories. Each province that receives the vaccine further distributes it to their authorities and are rolling out the vaccine.

Judy Wasylycia-Leis Winnipeg North, MB

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of Canadians everywhere, I say to the minister, stop the broken record, stop the blame game and start acting on behalf of parents who are worried about their children.

In fact, the government has offered no leadership while the provinces have had to work with less vaccine than promised and cut back drastically on a day's notice. Next week they will again be shortchanged on supply.

When will the government become a reliable ally in the fight against H1N1?

Leona Aglukkaq Minister of Health

Mr. Speaker, we have taken the steps to ensure that the provinces and territories have the vaccine. Again, we have provided the vaccine as quickly as it has been produced by GSK. We prepositioned it in the provinces and territories so that, when the authorization came through, the provinces were able to start the vaccination campaign immediately.

We will continue to distribute vaccines as they are being produced to the provinces and territories.