House of Commons Hansard #205 of the 37th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was lead.
Christiane Gagnon Bloc Québec, QC
Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of Public Works and Government Services give us the assurance that there is sufficient staff in his department to manage this program, and does he therefore plan to do away with the needless middlemen?
Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Public Works and Government Services
Mr. Speaker, the department involved here is Communication Canada and it is one that is relatively small in terms of the Government of Canada overall. I will be looking at the resource requirements, both human resources and otherwise, within Communication Canada to ensure that it does have the physical capacity to do the tasks I ask it to perform.
Kevin Sorenson Canadian Alliance Crowfoot, AB
Mr. Speaker, why is it that here in Canada the security of a federal building can be so easily breached in this post-September 11 era?
The recent break-in and theft at Citizenship and Immigration is a sorry commentary on just how the government has taken the threats of the security of our country.
I ask the minister of public works: How can a federal building, particularly one housing such sensitive and confidential information, be so easily broken into?
Denis Coderre LiberalMinister of Citizenship and Immigration
Mr. Speaker, if the official opposition is so eager for security, why does it not pass Bill C-55? They should support Bill C-55 because there are some issues there.
Second, when that happened we reacted immediately and I can assure the Canadian people that there is no problem regarding security. They stole some information and some computers, but it was nothing relating to important information.
Kevin Sorenson Canadian Alliance Crowfoot, AB
Mr. Speaker, we are left wondering if the government is taking the integrity and security of its own resources and information as seriously as it should. If the government cannot keep one of its own offices secure from either ordinary burglars or perhaps potential terrorists, how can it assure Canadians and the international community as a whole that it can keep our country safe?
Denis Coderre LiberalMinister of Citizenship and Immigration
Mr. Speaker, they have to do two things. First, they have to apologize, like the Deputy Prime Minister has said, and second, if they pass Bill C-55 they will not have that kind of problem. I can assure the House that information is placed on a network and not on hard disk, so, another scapegoat.
Bob Speller Liberal Haldimand—Norfolk—Brant, ON
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. Last month the U.S. farm bill was passed, giving massive subsidies to U.S. farmers and undermining our efforts to reform world trade. I wonder if the minister of agriculture could tell the House and Canadian farmers what actions he is taking to make the U.S. aware of the global consequences of its actions.
Lyle Vanclief LiberalMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
Mr. Speaker, I just had the honour of leading the Canadian delegation to the five year review at the world food summit.
At that location, I had the opportunity to talk to a number of ministers from around the world and to spearhead a press conference, including members of developing countries, less developed countries and developed countries, where we pointed out very clearly that the actions of the United States in its farm bill have put the timely conclusion of the WTO rounds in jeopardy. It has hurt Canadian farmers. It has hurt farmers in developing countries. It came very clearly from everyone that commodity specific support and protectionism helps no one but hurts many.
Svend Robinson NDP Burnaby—Douglas, BC
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Deputy Prime Minister. On the eve of the G-8 summit in Alberta we see growing evidence of the Liberal government's efforts to block peaceful dissent against the G-8 agenda of corporate globalization. Leaders are in a bubble far out of sight and hearing, borders are closed to peaceful protesters, RCMP threaten lethal force, and now we learn that the Liberals paid $300,000 to the Stoney Nation to block a solidarity village on its land.
Why did the Liberals spend $300,000 of taxpayers' money to shut down a place for peaceful dissent, education and protest? Why this attack--
G-8 SummitOral Question Period
The Speaker
The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Solicitor General.
Lynn Myers LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Solicitor General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, as we know, the RCMP are in charge of making sure that security is safe and secure in Kananaskis. That is precisely what we will do. We will ensure that protestors, people who come from around the world and residents who live there are safe and secure in that venue. I think it is important that all Canadians know that, because that is precisely what the RCMP will do on behalf of all Canadians.
Wendy Lill NDP Dartmouth, NS
Mr. Speaker, last fall 106,000 vulnerable Canadians received a form letter telling them to reapply for their disability tax credit because the government no longer believed they were blind or had Down's Syndrome or schizophrenia. In response, MPs from all sides of the House wrote to the minister of revenue demanding that these letters be withdrawn and passed a unanimous committee report which recommended: a written apology to everyone who received a letter; compensation for re-certification; immediate amendments to the law to incorporate recent court decisions; plus consultations on the process and medical forms.
Will the government implement this unanimous committee report?
Sophia Leung LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue
Mr. Speaker, the government is very sympathetic to all disabled groups. We have to carry out periodic reviews on that. Also we are going to look into reviewing the process and forms, as the hon. member said. We will do the best we can to improve that.
Elsie Wayne Progressive Conservative Saint John, NB
Mr. Speaker, never before has a defence ombudsman report been delayed and never before has a minister of defence employed these stall tactics to avoid the House of Commons.
It is clear to everyone in the House that there is something in the report that the minister does not want discussed in this House. What is the minister trying to hide?
Will the Minister of National Defence honour his commitment to transparency and public accountability and release the ombudsman report today? If may he need 60 days to read it but we only need 24 hours.
John McCallum LiberalMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, I met the ombudsman yesterday and I made two points to him. First, having just received the report, I wanted to have a little bit of time to read it before he released it to the public. I can assure the House it will not take me as much as 60 days.
Second, I reassured him that in terms of his mandate to protect members of the armed forces and ensure that they get a fair hearing in case of difficulties, I was 100% on his side.
Bill Casey Progressive Conservative Cumberland—Colchester, NS
Mr. Speaker, today I received in my office a 59 page book from the Minister for International Trade outlining the wonderful efforts the government is making at the WTO to deal with softwood lumber. However I also learned today that it lost the decision at the WTO.
The U.S. trade representative has said that Canada does not seem to be interested in negotiations. Will the minister take this as a wake-up call, go back to the table and negotiate our way out of the softwood mess?
Pierre Pettigrew LiberalMinister for International Trade
Mr. Speaker, let me make it very clear that this was not at all a key element of our strategy that the member is referring to. The first real test on our softwood lumber case comes in mid-July. The WTO panel ruled that Canada's case was premature and that we were challenging U.S. legislation that had not yet been applied against Canada.
We are sorry it did not deal with the substantive issue but I can say that we will challenge any actual application of the U.S. legislation.
David Anderson Canadian Alliance Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK
Mr. Speaker, trade failures are Liberal failures and this trade delegation is one more failure. The agriculture minister has failed internationally to protect our farmers from rising subsidies and protectionism. Foreign governments have reacted by compensating their producers but this government's only reaction is to blackmail the provinces.
Trade is a federal issue. The Liberals have failed at trade, then expect the provinces to pay for their disastrous mistakes. Why should the provinces pay for an international trade war?
Lyle Vanclief LiberalMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member fails to recognize the constitution of this country, which is that agriculture is a shared jurisdiction between the federal and the provincial governments.
As I have said before to him and to the provinces, the benefits of trade are shared by the provinces and the federal government. The challenges of trade will be shared by the provinces and the federal government.
David Anderson Canadian Alliance Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK
Mr. Speaker, every trade issue that arises is a failure for this government. The government failed to confront the protectionist U.S. farm bill that deliberately targets Canadian producers. The expansion of U.S. subsidies into pulses is an example of that. Canadian grain and oilseed farmers are hardest hit and most affected by this government's international failures.
Will any new funding coming out of the agriculture minister's department be directly targeted to grain and oilseed producers for trade injury compensation?
Lyle Vanclief LiberalMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
Mr. Speaker, we have shown before that we are there to support the Canadian farmers in a number of different ways with programs to improve the marketability and the profitability of the agricultural industry out there. We will continue to be there and we will be making an announcement in that regard soon.
Benoît Sauvageau Bloc Repentigny, QC
Mr. Speaker, the minister of heritage says she could intervene to force the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to broadcast La Soirée du hockey on its French network. However, yesterday, the spokesperson for the CBC questioned whether the minister had jurisdiction over the crown corporation' s business decisions.
Could the minister, who is suggesting that she intends to take action, tell us specifically what she intends to do about this?
Sheila Copps LiberalMinister of Canadian Heritage
Mr. Speaker, every crown corporation must comply with the Official Languages Act. When a corporation negotiates for rights in one language only, rights for the broadcast of hockey games in English only, it shows a lack of respect for the francophone minority of one million people living outside Quebec.
The CBC has a responsibility not only toward sports fans, but toward all minorities, including francophones outside Quebec.
Benoît Sauvageau Bloc Repentigny, QC
Mr. Speaker, we must gather from the response of the heritage minister's answer that she intends to file a complaint with the CRTC, to get the CBC to comply with the Official Languages Act?