House of Commons Hansard #52 of the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was efficiency.

Topics

Employment InsuranceOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

Employment InsuranceOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken

Order. Everyone will want to hear the question.

We have another question. The hon. member for Bourassa.

SportOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Liberal

Denis Coderre Liberal Bourassa, QC

Mr. Speaker, people are not interested in quotations. They are interested in making ends meet. That is what is important.

On another note, I would like to wake up the Minister of State (Sport), who seems to be taking a nap over there.

Alex Harvey, one of our greatest cross-country skiing Olympic hopefuls, has been given the cold shoulder by Cross Country Canada because he chose to train alone for a while rather than train with the team in the United States. He was downgraded from the A squad to the B squad, and will receive between $15,000 and $20,000 less support to participate in the World Cup, a critical step toward participating in the Vancouver Games in front of a home crowd.

Will the minister make sure that Cross Country Canada reconsiders its decision and allows Alex Harvey to pursue his Olympic dream?

Enough with the power trip—

SportOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken

Order, please. The hon. Minister of State (Sport).

SportOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Saanich—Gulf Islands B.C.

Conservative

Gary Lunn ConservativeMinister of State (Sport)

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to report to the House that Cross Country Canada and Mr. Harvey are continuing discussions and we are very confident that there will be a very successful conclusion. I can tell members that we want the very best athletes from right across Canada representing us at the 2010 Olympics.

Speaking about the best, I am also pleased to report that last winter season, our athletes won 28 medals in world championships, placing Canada number one in the world.

Our government will continue to support Canadian Olympic and Paralympic athletes.

Science and TechnologyOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Bloc

Gilles Duceppe Bloc Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of State (Science and Technology) misled the House when he declared that he has invested $5.1 billion in research and development. What the minister did not say is that a large portion of this money has been allocated to infrastructure and not to funding research per se.

The Obama administration is announcing a $10 billion investment in research in the United States, at the same time that our government is announcing cuts.

Does the government realize that its attitude will only result in researchers heading south of the border?

Science and TechnologyOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Parry Sound—Muskoka Ontario

Conservative

Tony Clement ConservativeMinister of Industry

Mr. Speaker, our government understands that it is important to invest in our researchers and in infrastructure because university administrators have told us that it is important to have the infrastructure in order for researchers to innovate and make discoveries. That is our strategy. It is a national strategy that is successful.

Science and TechnologyOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Bloc

Gilles Duceppe Bloc Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC

Mr. Speaker, it is successful all right. It has succeeded in sending 25 researchers to the United States so far.

As well, the Minister of State (Science and Technology) stated yesterday that Canada leads the G7 countries in the percentage of GDP spent on research and development. That is false: Canada is fifth and only invests 1.9% of its GDP.

Does the government realize that its stubborn refusal to give priority to scientific research, on creationist and ideological grounds, will have irreversible repercussions in this area?

Science and TechnologyOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Cambridge Ontario

Conservative

Gary Goodyear ConservativeMinister of State (Science and Technology)

Mr. Speaker, what the member fails to realize and refuses to quote is that the president of McGill University just yesterday said that we have attracted 900 researchers from around the world. This country is number one in the G7 with respect to basic discovery research as a percentage of GDP and the Bloc votes against it every time. The Bloc members vote against funding for their universities, their colleges, their scientists, but they would not raise taxes like the Liberals would.

Science and TechnologyOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Bloc

Marc Lemay Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC

Mr. Speaker, in spite of a very positive evaluation, the Lake Duparquet teaching and research station was refused funding because of the Conservatives' decision to eliminate support for regional research resources. This centre, established by the Université du Québec en Abitibi—Témiscamingue and the Université du Québec à Montréal has an international reputation in forest renewal.

Does the Minister of State (Science and Technology) realize that Abitibi—Témiscamingue will lose this research centre and nearly 30 top researchers because of his wrong-headed research policy?

Science and TechnologyOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Cambridge Ontario

Conservative

Gary Goodyear ConservativeMinister of State (Science and Technology)

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member should know that these decisions are made by independent peer review panels. These are experts in the field who choose specific projects for research funding.

This government chose to put $5.1 billion toward science and technology. The Bloc members, all of them, voted against that. They voted against research funding at Université Laval. They voted against the Vanier Scholarships, which the Université de Montreal, McGill and Laval all share in. The Quebec Bloc voted against that.

Science and TechnologyOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Bloc

Claude Guimond Bloc Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives' approach is jeopardizing the survival of scientific treasures located in the regions such as the Mont Mégantic Observatory and the Coriolis II, the only university vessel conducting oceanographic research in Canada.

How can the Minister of State (Science and Technology) justify such an illogical decision as cutting funding for the Coriolis II just when the Arctic and oceanographic research are becoming major issues?

Science and TechnologyOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Cambridge Ontario

Conservative

Gary Goodyear ConservativeMinister of State (Science and Technology)

Mr. Speaker, once again, this government put $87 million toward Arctic research. The Bloc voted against it.

I am pleased to see that the independent panel actually chose the research icebreaker, the Amundsen. Again, the Bloc voted against that research.

The Liberals have promised to raise taxes, but the question really is, when will the Bloc stand up and vote yes for the science and tech community?

Employment InsuranceOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

NDP

Jack Layton NDP Toronto—Danforth, ON

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have presided over 400,000 people being thrown out of work, including miners who are here on the Hill today. Some 400,000 people have been thrown out of work, but 60% of those people, when they try to get help from EI, cannot get it.

The government has already said that it is prepared to backstop the EI fund. These workers have paid into the EI fund year after year. Why is the government preventing so many of them from getting the help they need when their families need it?

Employment InsuranceOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Haldimand—Norfolk Ontario

Conservative

Diane Finley ConservativeMinister of Human Resources and Skills Development

Mr. Speaker, maybe if I say it often enough the hon. member will actually understand. According to Statistics Canada, over 80% of those who are unfortunate enough to lose their jobs and have paid into EI can and do collect.

Here is the thing: while we have been trying to help these people, while we have been trying to give them extra hours of regular benefits, while we have been trying to keep them in work through work sharing, every single effort we have made in that regard has been denied them by the NDP. The NDP members voted against every single move. They should be ashamed.

Employment InsuranceOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

NDP

Jack Layton NDP Toronto—Danforth, ON

Mr. Speaker, the people know what the truth is about unemployment, and that is that the Conservatives have abandoned the unemployed. That is the truth.

We are not alone in making these points. Even a prominent Conservative, someone rather close to the federal government we understand, Conservative MPP Christine Elliott, agrees that changes need to be made.

The statistics are very clear. Every dollar spent on EI produces $1.60 in benefit in the economy. Is there a better rate of return on any element of the government stimulus? The answer is no.

Why are the Conservatives standing in the way of helping the unemployed and helping--

Employment InsuranceOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken

The hon. Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development.

Employment InsuranceOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Haldimand—Norfolk Ontario

Conservative

Diane Finley ConservativeMinister of Human Resources and Skills Development

Mr. Speaker, the one who is standing in the way is the leader of the NDP and his party.

What did those members vote against? They voted against five extra weeks for those unfortunate enough to lose their jobs. They voted against increasing the maximum number of weeks of eligibility to 50. Shame. They voted against expanding work sharing to 50 weeks. They voted against expanding the targeted initiative for older workers. They voted against all these things.

They are voting against the unemployed. We are standing up for the unemployed and we are delivering.

Employment InsuranceOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

NDP

Jack Layton NDP Toronto—Danforth, ON

Mr. Speaker, we will see whether the government votes for the NDP bill to change the qualifying hours to 360, which will be up for debate tomorrow.

I cannot understand why the Conservatives are so relentless when it comes to this issue. Sixty per cent of people who lose their jobs do not qualify. Not of those who contribute, but of those who lose their jobs. That is a fact.

There is consensus to reduce the number of hours required to 360. The only thing getting in the way is the Conservative Party. Why will they not change their minds and help the unemployed?

Employment InsuranceOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Haldimand—Norfolk Ontario

Conservative

Diane Finley ConservativeMinister of Human Resources and Skills Development

Mr. Speaker, why is the hon. member refusing to help the unemployed? Why did he and his party vote against every proposal we made to help the unemployed? Why did he vote against five extra weeks? Why did he vote against work sharing? Why does he always vote against the unemployed? They deserve better.

TradeOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Liberal

Bob Rae Liberal Toronto Centre, ON

Mr. Speaker, at Camp Pendleton in California, they are tearing out pipes made by IPEX, a company in Mississauga, for one simple reason. Those pipes contain the words “made in Canada”.

The government sat on its back and was not able to respond to the crisis in Congress and the crisis that is now affecting us with respect to the buy America provisions. I ask the minister, what is the government going to do to make sure that Canadian companies are not locked out of the American market which is so critical to our export industry?

TradeOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

South Shore—St. Margaret's Nova Scotia

Conservative

Gerald Keddy ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade

Mr. Speaker--

TradeOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

TradeOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken

Order, order. The hon. member has the floor for a response. The member for Toronto Centre wants to be able to hear the answer.

TradeOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Conservative

Gerald Keddy Conservative South Shore—St. Margaret's, NS

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of International Trade continues to work with his American counterpart to make sure that Canadian companies have access to American contracts, especially on infrastructure. We will continue to represent Canada's interests. We will continue to make sure that American companies abide by the rules under NAFTA and abide by the rules under the WTO.