House of Commons Hansard #65 of the 37th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was offences.
Bryon Wilfert LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, the government has a tremendous record when it comes to working with the disabled community: over $1.9 billion in assistance in total, close to $4 billion in terms of programs.
I suggest that the hon. member should take a look at what the government has been doing. Instead of criticizing the government, she should be congratulating us on the work that has been going on.
Madeleine Dalphond-Guiral Bloc Laval Centre, QC
Mr. Speaker, only a week ago, we tabled in this House a petition signed by over 6,000 people calling for this government to cease its restrictions on access to the DTC.
Since the House has spoken out unanimously against any restrictions on assistance to the disabled, particularly the Minister of Finance's bill of August 30, 2002, how can the minister use his budget as an opportunity to go against both this motion and the recommendations of the Standing Committee on Human Resources Development on this subject?
Bryon Wilfert LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, in fact, the opposite is true. We have widened the provisions for people in terms of assistance for dietary needs, but there has to be some balance. Individuals will not be eligible for the DTC solely because they are having difficulty finding specific food requirements within their specific area.
The fact is that we have widened it. We have listened to the House and the minister has responded effectively by also listening to the groups involved.
Myron Thompson Canadian Alliance Wild Rose, AB
Mr. Speaker, Operation Snowball has identified over 2,000 suspected child pornographers in Canada. Police clearly state that they do not have adequate resources to enforce the law in these cases. They have clearly stated that.
For all the talk of children in the minister's budget, not once did the minister mention any funding for fighting child pornography.
Will the Minister of Justice commit to reallocating money from his bungled firearms registry to an active child pornography task force?
Wayne Easter LiberalSolicitor General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Justice spoke earlier about the legislative areas that we as a government have worked on to increase the penalties for child pornography. I have mentioned to this member twice before in the House about the RCMP and the Ontario Provincial Police joint steering committee we have set up to look at and intensify our efforts in child pornography, and he should keep in mind that in last week's budget we enhanced spending for policing and taking on organized crime.
We are doing our bit. It is just too bad he will not listen to what we are doing.
Darrel Stinson Canadian Alliance Okanagan—Shuswap, BC
Mr. Speaker, all talk, no action: The Liberal government's billion dollar firearms registry targets law-abiding Canadians while over 2,000 suspected child pornographers are free to roam our streets.
The government's plans for reallocation have not produced one dollar from one wasteful program, so I ask the minister again: Will he reallocate wasteful spending in the firearms registration program to the useful investment in the fight on child pornography?
Wayne Easter LiberalSolicitor General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, the fact of the matter is that we have tabled legislation in the House on a sex offender registry. I would hope that members opposite will support that. We have strengthened child pornography provisions. We have created a new category of sexual exploitation. We have increased the maximum sentences. We have facilitated the testimony of child victims and witnesses. We are introducing new offences for voyeurism.
I think we are moving ahead. There is more we can do and the steering committee will certainly work toward that objective.
Mac Harb Liberal Ottawa Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, recently the Minister of Industry as well as the Minister of Human Resources Development held a conference on innovation.
My question is for the Minister of Industry. Would he tell the House when we can expect to see some results in terms of the implementation of the recommendations from that conference?
Serge Marcil LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry
Mr. Speaker, last Tuesday's budget clearly shows the government's desire and intent to follow up on the recommendations of the National Summit on Innovation and Learning.
The government has already announced that it intends to invest close to $2 billion in programs aimed directly at implementing the recommendations of that summit.
The minister's recent budget contains responses to a number of those recommendations, those on the business environment in particular. I could provide a list of them that would be fairly—
Rob Merrifield Canadian Alliance Yellowhead, AB
Mr. Speaker, Health Canada exists to protect the health and safety of Canadians, but the national standards for the safety of tissue and organ transplants are still not in place.
Regulations are estimated to be at least two years away, so my question is very simple. If the transplants are taking place, why are the standards not in place?
Anne McLellan LiberalMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, this is a very important issue that my colleague raises, so let me take him through the situation that presently exists. Health Canada has worked for some time with the Canadian Standards Association, provinces and other stakeholders to set standards aimed at ensuring the safety of cells, tissues and organs for transplantation.
In January, Health Canada issued a directive communicating these standards to establishments across Canada. Next March, these standards will have the force of law as regulations. In the meantime, Health Canada will exercise its authority under the Food and Drugs Act to prohibit distribution of such products where evidence shows that they are not--
Philip Mayfield Canadian Alliance Cariboo—Chilcotin, BC
Mr. Speaker, even before it is proclaimed law, the species at risk legislation is throwing guide outfitters out of work in my riding. Healthy, thriving northern caribou herds in the Itcha IIgachuz Mountains of western B.C. have been lumped in with the red listed mountain caribou over 500 kilometres in distance, and there is no cross-migration.
The federal government promised to respond this week to British Columbia's request to exempt from the red list those northern caribou, a request made last October. I ask the minister, has this request for an exemption been given to the government of B.C.?
David Anderson LiberalMinister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, the management of mountain caribou in British Columbia, and particularly the south mountain herd, is the responsibility of the provincial government. This will not change when the species at risk act is proclaimed.
Quite properly, the provincial government has taken advice and has established a recovery team. It is launching the process for a recovery plan for this species. I think it is taking prudent steps, but as the hon. member has indicated, there are concerns. If there are such concerns, they should be addressed to the provincial government, which has representation on the--
The EnvironmentOral Question Period
The Deputy Speaker
The hon. member for Saint-Hyacinthe--Bagot.
Yvan Loubier Bloc Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC
Mr. Speaker, microbreweries in Quebec and Canada are facing unfair competition from large Canadian breweries and small foreign breweries, which, unlike our microbreweries, benefit from a reduction in their national excise tax.
During the prebudget consultations, the Standing Committee on Finance unanimously recommended that this excise tax be reduced.
Could the Minister of Finance explain why, despite the injustices suffered by microbreweries, and after 38 of them have had to shut down, no such measure was included in his budget?
Bryon Wilfert LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, the government continues to look at all forms of taxation. Whether it is personal income taxes or corporate taxes, we are continuing to reduce them.
We have heard representations and in fact we value those representations. We will look again at those comments that have been made, but I suggest to the member that he knows full well we have been in dealings with the microbreweries, and we will continue to do so.
Norman E. Doyle Progressive Conservative St. John's East, NL
Mr. Speaker, HRD Canada is cracking down on graduates who owe money on their student loans by confiscating their income tax refunds. In many cases these graduates are single parents working at minimum wage or working part time, perhaps subsidized by social assistance, people who require every cent they can get to feed and house their families.
Is the minister aware and supportive of this cruel attack on debt ridden graduates by her department?
Human Resources DevelopmentOral Question Period
February 21st, 2003 / 11:55 a.m.
Shefford Québec
Liberal
Diane St-Jacques LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources Development
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for his question. The government is aware that costs relating to education have increased student debt for many students.
This is why, in the 2003 budget, we committed in excess of $60 million, over a two year period, to improve the Canada Student Loans Program and make more money available to help post-secondary students manage their debt.
Deepak Obhrai Canadian Alliance Calgary East, AB
Mr. Speaker, this week the Chinese minister in charge of religious affairs visited Canada. Canadians continue to be concerned with human rights violations in China. Falun Gong practitioners are still being prosecuted there. Recently a Buddhist Tibetan monk was executed.
I wish to ask the government if it took this opportunity to tell the Chinese that Canada views these human rights violations with serious concern and that they must be stopped.
Bill Graham LiberalMinister of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Speaker, I want to assure the hon. member that we speak out regularly about the human rights situation, both in Tibet and in China. We have registered protests concerning the execution and the recent sentences involving Tibetans in China, and we will continue.
We have two positions with the Chinese government. We remonstrate with them, we point out where we believe they are strongly in the wrong, and we also try to work with them to upgrade their human rights record by bringing them Canadian expertise in the courts and the human rights record in China.
Libby Davies NDP Vancouver East, BC
Mr. Speaker, the use of biological, chemical or nuclear weapons marks the darkest moments of human civilization. Abolition of these weapons must be the highest priority, whether they are in Iraq or the U.S. That is why volunteer citizens are heading to the U.S., to stop their stockpile and use by any nation.
U.S. war planners have refused to rule out the possible use of nuclear weapons on Iraq. Will the Prime Minister make it clear that the government is opposed to the use of these weapons by any nation, including the U.S., and that these weapons must be abolished?
Bill Graham LiberalMinister of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada has always made it clear that we are opposed to the use of nuclear weapons or any weapons of mass destruction. We have constructively worked through the international community at the disarmament commission in Geneva which I attended last year.
We have consistently been working with all the powers, both to reduce the number of and to eliminate nuclear weapons, consistent with the non-proliferation treaty, and ultimately all weapons of mass destruction. The government is committed to this. It is an important part of our foreign policy and I want to assure the House that we will take all steps we possibly can to do that.
Antoine Dubé Bloc Lévis-Et-Chutes-De-La-Chaudière, QC
Mr. Speaker, since January 30, 353 refugee claimants have been temporarily sent back to the United States while waiting for their meeting with Immigration Canada. Of the 94 files reviewed, 34 claimants did not show up for their interview, and some of them are on the list of people detained by U.S. immigration authorities.
In light of this situation, how much longer will the minister wait to reinstate the directive requiring U.S. authorities to ensure that asylum seekers in custody will indeed be able to attend their interview with Immigration Canada?