Debates of Nov. 16th, 2004

Prime Minister

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud that as finance minister I was part of the government that brought in $100 billion in tax cuts, the largest tax cuts since the second world war. However, I will also say to the hon. member that after the election campaign, I then went across Nunavut, across the Northwest Territories into Yukon. I visited Pond Inlet and Rankin. I will continue to do that kind of thing.

The Prime Minister of the country ought to be out seeing Canadians, not sitting here with those who would build firewalls around their province.

Health

[Mario Silva, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, diabetes, including type 1 diabetes, is a disease that affects hundreds of thousands of Canadians. The Department of Health needs to support research and education programs which will meet the serious needs of those affected by this difficult illness.

Could the Minister of Health reassure the people about the government's continued commitment to this important matter?

[Ujjal Dosanjh, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the government recognizes the growing epidemic of diabetes and the social and economic burden it places on the communities and Canadians across the country. Because there is no way to prevent juvenile diabetes, the focus is on finding the cure.

In 1999 the federal government introduced the Canadian diabetes strategy to help prevent and control the disease. This year we are devoting $30 million in funding, and $6.3 million has been allocated directly to juvenile diabetes research.

Finance

[Judy Wasylycia-Leis, NDP, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister who, when he was finance minister, actually pioneered the concept of lowballing the surplus and fudging forecasts.

After 11 years of Liberal rule, tuition is higher than it was, pollution is worse than it was, more people live on the street, we have an environmental crisis and housing problems. Liberals made these choices.

Will the Prime Minister assure the House that an unanticipated surplus this year will not just go to the debt, but that the House will choose what to do with it?

[John McKay, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, prebudget consultations are all about that. We have a surplus. We are consulting Canadians, including members on the committee, as to what is the appropriate use of a budget surplus.

There are certain allocations that the government has made to health care and equalization, et cetera. There is still some money to be discussed. I welcome the hon. member's contribution to that discussion.

[Judy Wasylycia-Leis, NDP, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the Prime Minister might want to rise in his place today and talk about investing in Canadians and not just about tax breaks for corporations and debt repayment to the banks.

Given the fact that there is an unanticipated surplus and the fact that we know there is an environmental deficit, a social deficit, growing poverty, a housing crisis and so on, will the Prime Minister agree to put the unanticipated surplus into these vital areas for Canadians?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, investing in Canadians, would that be $41 billion in the health care program? Would investing in Canadians be bringing forth the first national early learning and child care program? Would investing in Canadians be increasing the amount of money that is going into our universities, into research and development? Would investing in Canadians be bringing down the kinds of financial policies that have given the country one of the strongest job creation records of any other major industrial country?

Technology Partnerships Canada

[James Rajotte, Conservative, Edmonton—Leduc, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the government has insisted for years that all loans through Technology Partnerships Canada would be repaid in full. To date the program has spent $2.7 billion taxpayer dollars, but only has recovered $89 million, less than 3%. That is a shame.

Now an internal Industry Canada report makes clear what the opposition and the media have been saying for years, that these loans will not be repaid in full, not even close.

Why has the government consistently misled Canadians by telling them and the House that these loans would be repaid? Why is the government continuing to waste taxpayer dollars on corporate--

[The Speaker]

The hon. Minister of Industry.

[David Emerson, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, I have said right from the first day that I was in this portfolio that Technology Partnerships Canada is not intended to be a chartered bank. It is intended to partner with companies to make technology investments, to create jobs that are based on high technology and human capital, and to drive the competitiveness of this economy.

Economic Development

[James Moore, Conservative, Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in the Parti Québécois fiasco surrounding Gaspésia, our Liberal hon. minister has admitted that his department already knew about the almost insurmountable risks involved in this project back in 2001. When things got really bad, he decided not to inform the unsecured suppliers, to remain at risk and to protect the dubious interests of the PQ government.

Did the government ignore the information it had available and did it give in to pressure from its sovereignist partners?

[Jacques Saada, Liberal, Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec and Minister responsible for the Francophonie]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, permit me to repeat what I said yesterday, which is that if there are no risks, then business does not need the government. The government intervenes by taking the risks it must in order to provide jobs for the people affected by these businesses.

Second, we had $80 million for this program and it appears that we had got to $50.6 million when the problems arose. At that point we stopped payments of all kinds. Thirdly, I am glad to hear the Alliance talking about Gaspé for the first time. The last time I heard anything about it, it was when the dead were going to vote in their leadership campaign.

Justice

[David Tilson, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the American ambassador has warned that the government's plan to decriminalize marijuana would exasperate already dire congestion problems at the U.S. border. The justice minister stated that the U.S. attorney general understood our position and that he had no problem with it. Who are we to believe, the ambassador or the justice minister?

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, the American policy, as expressed by the American attorney general, was an understanding that this is not an irritant in Canada-U.S. relations. There is full cooperation in cross border matters. We hosted the American attorney general and the secretary of homeland security. Our policy is understood and indeed, American states have the same policy in even more decriminalizing terms than does Canada.

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Provencher, MB]

Mr. Speaker, as soon as the minister stood up and said that the American attorney general had no problem with the issue, the American ambassador had to correct him and said that there would be congestion at the border, at a time when we have softwood lumber disputes, pork disputes, and all types of other trade disputes.

The American ambassador has made his position very clear on behalf of the American government. Why is the minister continuing to mislead Canadians?

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, the American ambassador is aware of the position of the former attorney general of the United States. He is aware of that country's position and has not contradicted it, nor has he contradicted our position.

Social Programs

[Christiane Gagnon, Bloc, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, while the Minister of Finance estimates that his surplus will be $8 billion, there are some important issues that have been left untouched: parental leave in particular, although that was supposedly settled before the election.

What is holding the Minister of Finance back from laying the money on the table so that the fathers and mothers of Quebec can benefit from decent parental leave? He made promises during the last election, so let him keep those promises now.

[Joe Volpe, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development]

Mr. Speaker, we do not make it a habit to carry out negotiations on the floor of the House. I have already said that I am in the process of negotiating parental leave with the province. So far, it is satisfied with the progress made. We will continue that process.

[Christiane Gagnon, Bloc, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as is the case with parental leave, the Minister of Social Development ought to take advantage of his finance colleague's surplus to hand the money over to Quebec, which already has its own child care system.

Does the minister realize that, if he wants to settle the child care problem immediately, there is a very simple solution: hand over to Quebec the money he has earmarked for child care, and do it now, with no strings attached?

[Ken Dryden, Liberal, Minister of Social Development]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, we have been meeting with the provinces and territories. The matter of funding was not discussed. It is a matter that will be coming up at subsequent meetings.

Middle East

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Okanagan—Coquihalla, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the government has made a decision to fund the UN Relief and Works Agency despite the fact that there is clear evidence that this UN agency has on its payroll agents of the terrorist group Hamas.

Why is the government taking such a casual attitude toward the security of Palestinians while it has terrorists in its midst?

[Dan McTeague, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, it is clear to us that we will take a position that is important for the security of all, particularly given the situation that exists today in the Middle East, and that provides us an opportunity to strive toward a better peaceful outcome.

I know the hon. member is passionate about some of these notions that float around from time to time. However, the reality is that the government will continue to work very hard to ensure that there is a peaceful resolution in the Middle East, and one that ensures a just and peaceful solution for all.

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Okanagan—Coquihalla, BC]

Mr. Speaker, protecting people from terrorism is not a notion. It is a necessity. The member probably does not realize that Canada is not one of the four nations at the table negotiating a road map to peace in the Middle East. The very least we could be doing is ensuring that Canadian taxpayer dollars are going to Palestinians in need, not to terrorists who are determined to wreck the process.

Why is the government afraid to demand accountability from these agencies that we fund?

[Dan McTeague, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, it is passing strange that the member and his party at one point were actually suggesting the abolition of UNRWA. That is not even a position that the Israeli government would have taken under the circumstances.

We will work very hard with all of our parties and all those who are there to ensure that there is in fact a peaceful solution to what is occurring in the Middle East. We think this is a good time to talk about these things. It is important that Canada reflect very clearly on some of the values that it can import and bring to bear on this very important discussion.

Justice

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Mississauga—Brampton South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as the minister knows, this is Restorative Justice Week in Canada. It is a time when interested groups come together to discuss new ways to resolve disputes and new ways to view Criminal Code acts.

Can the minister tell us what the Liberal government has done and is doing to promote the use of restorative justice in our justice system?