Debates of June 17th, 2010
House of Commons Hansard #65 of the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was prorogation.
Topics
- Question Period
- Commissioner of Lobbying
- Air India
- Government Response to Petitions
- Strengthening Aviation Security Act
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police Modernization Act
- Interparliamentary Delegations
- Committees of the House
- National Housing Act
- Forgiveness of Student Loans for Health Professionals Act
- Investment Canada Act
- Canada Elections Act
- Protecting Canadians Abroad Act
- Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
- Criminal Code
- Canadian Human Rights Act
- Cell Phone Freedom Act
- Fisheries Act
- Business of Supply
- Committees of the House
- Iran
- Petitions
- Questions on the Order Paper
- Questions Passed as Orders for Returns
- Business of Supply
- The Environment
- Robert Bruce Salter
- Ginette Lamoureux
- Stewart Memorial Church
- Justice Legislation
- Cupids 400
- Retirement Wishes
- Maureen Forrester
- Agriculture
- Public Safety
- Bloc Québécois
- Bombing of Air India Flight 182
- The Economy
- Education for All
- Robert Middlemiss
- Firearms Registry
- Air India
- G8 and G20 Summits
- Quebec Nation
- Securities
- Forestry Industry
- Air India
- G8 Summit
- International Co-operation
- Agriculture
- The Environment
- Quebec Nation
- Copyright
- Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
- Sydney Harbour
- Justice
- Tax-Free Savings Accounts
- Poverty
- Firearms Registry
- Young Offenders
- Lighthouses
- G8 and G20 Summits
- Jazz Air
- Foreign Affairs
- Job Creation
- Business of the House
- Bill C-23--Instruction to the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security
- Celebrating Canada's Seniors Act
- Points of Order
- Privilege
- Points of Order
- Committees of the House
- Business of Supply
- MAIN ESTIMATES, 2010-11
- Business of Supply
- Main Estimates, 2010-11
- Supplementary Estimates (A), 2010-11
- Business of the House
Sydney Harbour
Oral Questions
2:45 p.m.
Liberal
Mark Eyking Sydney—Victoria, NS
Mr. Speaker, today an all party delegation from Cape Breton has come to the Hill to push for the dredging of Sydney Harbour. The government has known about this project for years. The Cape Breton Regional Municipality, the province and the private sector are on side. The only seat empty is the federal government. Time is of—
Sydney Harbour
Oral Questions
2:45 p.m.
Some hon. members
Oh, oh!
Sydney Harbour
Oral Questions
2:45 p.m.
Liberal
The Speaker Peter Milliken
Order, please. We have to have some order. The hon. member for Sydney—Victoria has the floor. We will want to hear the question.
Sydney Harbour
Oral Questions
2:45 p.m.
Liberal
Mark Eyking Sydney—Victoria, NS
Mr. Speaker, time is of the essence. If the federal government continues to delay, the contractor will pull anchor and move on.
Once again, when will the government commit to dredging Sydney Harbour?
Sydney Harbour
Oral Questions
2:45 p.m.
Fredericton
New Brunswick
Conservative
Keith Ashfield Minister of National Revenue
Mr. Speaker, that was darned interesting. I would like the member opposite to tell me what he did for 13 years. What that party do? Nothing. In fact, I am very pleased to meet with the committee this afternoon. After a request of two weeks, we are having it here this afternoon.
The more important thing in the last year in Cape Breton alone is the $43 million worth of federal funding. That is what is important.
Sydney Harbour
Oral Questions
2:45 p.m.
Liberal
Rodger Cuzner Cape Breton—Canso, NS
I will tell you what the member did, Mr. Speaker. He put $400 million together to clean up the Sydney tar ponds. Then the Tory hacks tried to steal—
Sydney Harbour
Oral Questions
2:45 p.m.
Some hon. members
Oh, oh!
Sydney Harbour
Oral Questions
2:45 p.m.
Liberal
Rodger Cuzner Cape Breton—Canso, NS
—the minister has been nowhere on this file. There has been no voice on this. Where is it tied up? Either the Prime Minister is not listening or the minister is not speaking. It is one or the other. He did his job; you do yours.
Sydney Harbour
Oral Questions
2:45 p.m.
Liberal
The Speaker Peter Milliken
I assure the hon. member that I will. The hon. Minister of National Revenue, I believe, is rising to answer this question that may have been directed at me.
Sydney Harbour
Oral Questions
2:45 p.m.
Fredericton
New Brunswick
Conservative
Keith Ashfield Minister of National Revenue
Mr. Speaker, I can recommend some real good blood pressure medicine for the hon. member. Who announced the clean up of the Sydney tar ponds? This government did, and we are proud of it.
Justice
Oral Questions
June 17th, 2010 / 2:45 p.m.
Conservative
Steven Blaney Lévis—Bellechasse, QC
Mr. Speaker, the brother and father of 16-year-old Aqsa Parvez pleaded guilty yesterday to murdering her.
Why was she killed? Because she refused to wear a hijab, which her father saw as an act of defiance and women's independence that brought shame on him. That is unacceptable.
Will the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism tell the House our Conservative government's position on honour killings like this one?
Is multiculturalism an excuse for honour killings?
Justice
Oral Questions
2:50 p.m.
Calgary Southeast
Alberta
Conservative
Jason Kenney Minister of Citizenship
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his question.
No, it is not an excuse. I want to be clear: multiculturalism is never an excuse for such crimes, particularly crimes against women and honour killings.
That is why we included the following in the new citizenship guide, Discover Canada:
In Canada, men and women are equal under the law. Canada’s openness and generosity do not extend to barbaric cultural practices that tolerate spousal abuse, “honour killings,” female genital mutilation, or other gender-based violence.
This is something we condemn.
Tax-Free Savings Accounts
Oral Questions
2:50 p.m.
NDP
Chris Charlton Hamilton Mountain, ON
Mr. Speaker, thousands of Canadians who opened tax-free savings accounts have now found out that these accounts are anything but tax free. In fact, they have become tax-grab savings accounts.
People are facing huge penalties for over-contributing, because the rules are neither clear nor sensible. People who are simply replacing money they had withdrawn are now having their contributions double-counted, and they are being hit with massive penalties.
Will the government admit that it screwed up, waive the penalties for people who contributed in good faith, and rewrite the rules to prevent this from happening in the future?
Tax-Free Savings Accounts
Oral Questions
2:50 p.m.
Fredericton
New Brunswick
Conservative
Keith Ashfield Minister of National Revenue
Mr. Speaker, it is nice to hear a reasonable question for a change.
Our government has built on our aggressive tax relief by reducing taxes on savings with the landmark tax-free savings account, the most important personal savings vehicle since RRSPs.
The vast majority of the 4.6 million Canadians who opened a TFSA understood the rules and acted accordingly. Unfortunately, about 70,000 Canadians may have accidentally over-contributed to their TFSAs. We are not looking to unfairly punish those people.
Poverty
Oral Questions
2:50 p.m.
NDP
Tony Martin Sault Ste. Marie, ON
Mr. Speaker, there are currently at least 3.5 million Canadians living in poverty. This figure is totally unacceptable.
Poverty costs this country $90 billion, an amount that one Conservative senator has called wasteful. This is a loss of potential and a loss of tax revenue.
Yesterday we introduced a bold plan to end poverty in Canada. Will the Prime Minister admit to Canadians that we cannot afford poverty anymore? Will he finally show some leadership and commit to a comprehensive national poverty elimination strategy?