Debates of Oct. 7th, 2004

The Environment

[Bernard Bigras, Bloc, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the minister that in May 2004 Quebec signed a harmonization accord on environmental assessment with Ottawa, but today we learn that the federal government is thinking about imposing a single environmental assessment system.

Does the Minister of the Environment realize that this approach threatens the terms of the 2004 agreement between Ottawa and Quebec on environmental assessments?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, leave it to the Bloc to promote such paranoia. If an environmental assessment agreement was signed in 2004 that means we have a federation that works well. I thank my hon. colleague opposite for confirming once again how well Canada works.

Canada Post

[Brian Pallister, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the Prime Minister will remember his words from before the election when he said that every piece of information and every fact will be made available to the public as quickly as possible. Well, the facts are these: The Deloitte & Touche audit of Canada Post was given to the Prime Minister before the election was called. He knew it had harmful information. The Prime Minister decided to delay its release until after the election.

I ask the Prime Minister today, would he now explain the contradiction between his words and his deeds?

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, the words of the hon. member are without foundation. The fact of the matter is that the board of directors of Canada Post requested that Deloitte & Touche be given additional time to finalize the report before delivery to the government.

The critical fact is that no report was received by the government until after the election. At that time, soon after becoming the minister, I received the report and two days after that, I released it to the public.

[Brian Pallister, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, obviously the only words that are without foundation are the words of the Prime Minister and the promises he made before the election to be open to Canadians.

The Prime Minister had the Deloitte & Touche interim report. He knows it. He was aware of it before the election. He had a choice to make at that time. He could release it as he promised he would do, or he could hide it and break his promise to Canadians. That is the choice he made.

I have asked the Prime Minister to be open and transparent and I will give him another chance to do that. Before he goes off on his globe trotting journey around the world, maybe he would like to explain to Canadians why he chose--

[The Speaker]

The hon. Minister of National Revenue.

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, it sounds as if the hon. member read his second question without listening to my answer.

It is impossible to hide something from the public of Canada when one has not received it. As I said just a few seconds ago, it was the board that requested a delay in the report. The government received the report only after the election and I released it to the public. Those, for the second time, are the facts of the matter.

[Diane Ablonczy, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, how can Canadians trust or respect someone whose solemn word proves worthless? The Prime Minister, facing outraged voters, purported to establish a new process for senior appointments to crown corporations. He promised, “We are going to condemn to history the practice and the politics of cronyism”. Well, the new guidelines have just been swept aside for a Liberal crony to chair scandal plagued Canada Post.

Let the Prime Minister speak. Why does his word mean so little?

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, to repeat the answer to this question, I received a recommendation of names from the board of directors of Canada Post. I selected one of those names, Mr. Feeney, at an annual base salary of $17,100. I recommended that name to the cabinet. The name was accepted.

Then, in the spirit of cooperation in today's minority government, Mr. Feeney has agreed to appear before a parliamentary committee before he assumes his duties on October 28.

[Diane Ablonczy, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, nothing can excuse breaking solemn promises to Canadians. Nothing. The Prime Minister gave his word. “No longer will the key to Ottawa be who do you know”, he pledged, “Let's be clear. This culture of change that we are bringing to Ottawa is not some exercise in political grandstanding. It is genuine change”.

But Gordon Feeney is chair of Canada Post today because of his Liberal connections. The new process was simply thrown out the window.

Let the Prime Minister speak for himself. What does he have to say to Canadians?

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, Liberal connections? I am unaware of that.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker]

Order, please. How is the poor member for Calgary--Nose Hill going to be able to ask another question if she cannot hear the answer?

The Minister of National Revenue has the floor and the members will want to hear the answer.

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the job of the chair of Canada Post is to promote the governance of that institution and to seek out a new CEO. It is an important job which Mr. Feeney is undertaking for an annual salary of $17,100. In my opinion, he is totally qualified to undertake that task, but I will listen to any negative points that the members of the opposition may have if they summon him to appear before them.

Public Service

[David Smith, Liberal, Pontiac, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Public Works and Government Services.

Some years ago a policy was put in place to distribute Government of Canada jobs in the national capital region in a particular way: 75% in Ottawa and 25% in the Outaouais region of Quebec. At present, the number of jobs on the Quebec side is hovering around 20%.

What is the minister going to do to comply with this policy?

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question. I have also discussed this with the hon. member for Hull—Aylmer. We do respect the 75/25 principle. It is not exactly being applied at this time. This situation should be attended to as soon as possible.

Industry

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Industry.

More than 11,000 Canadian businesses were taken over by foreign investors under the Mulroney and Chrétien governments. Nothing could be easier than getting Investment Canada's green light for an acquisition; the light is always green.

Will the minister commit today to review the Investment Canada Act to secure an effective examination of foreign takeovers of Canadian firms, including human rights, labour and sustainability standards, starting with the expected Minmetals purchase of Noranda?

[David Emerson, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for asking me that question because it gives me the opportunity to thank for the first time the people of my constituency for allowing me to be here.

The hon. member also knows that foreign investments in Canada, foreign acquisitions, are reviewed by the Minister of Industry. We will continue to do that. The Government of Canada has an unassailable record of human rights. We will continue to have an--

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Churchill.

Canada Post

[Bev Desjarlais, NDP, Churchill, MB]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister.

Under his direction the Treasury Board minister introduced new guidelines to clean up the mess created by the Liberals. The revenue minister blatantly ignored these guidelines when he appointed his buddy, Gordon Feeney, to the board of Canada Post. Now he says he will put the appointment before a parliamentary committee. How is this any different from the procedure used under the predecessor's regime?

Will the Prime Minister either revoke Mr. Feeney's appointment or at least guarantee that he will accept the recommendation of the committee?

[Reg Alcock, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, if the member would read the guidelines, I could tell her how they are different. We instructed all the boards in the interim to appoint a nominating committee that would review and recommend candidates. That was done. Candidates were presented to the minister. The minister was then charged with making a selection and presenting that selection to the House of Commons, which will be done the moment a committee is struck.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Central Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, two weeks ago the Conservative Party denounced the closing of nine RCMP detachments in Quebec, a decision that could endanger the safety of communities in those regions. Yesterday the federal Liberals' Quebec caucus said it shared our concerns.

Why is the government endangering the safety of Quebeckers by closing these RCMP detachments? Will the minister take action to reverse this unfortunate decision?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure the hon. member would not want me to interfere in the operational matters of the RCMP. I do want to reassure the hon. member that this is a redeployment. The number of RCMP officers in the province of Quebec will remain the same. This redeployment only took place after broad based consultations, including the Sûreté du Québec.

Everyone, I am sure, is aware the RCMP is not the provincial police force in the province of Quebec. The RCMP works strategically with them. The redeployment is taking place to ensure that strategic cooperation is facilitated.

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Central Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the closing of nine RCMP detachments in Quebec is intended to reorganize the resources needed to fight organized crime and terrorism. Just by chance, all the detachments being closed are in places that had the misfortune not to elect Liberals.

Does the minister believe that crime only strikes in Liberal ridings?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, I cannot believe the outrageous allegation that I have just heard from the hon. member.

I simply go back to the fact that the RCMP, in all provinces and territories in this country, regularly makes decisions around redeployment. The number of officers in the province of Quebec will stay the same. In fact, the redeployment is taking place so that we can work with our partners, like the Sûreté, to do a better job of fighting organized crime.