Debates of Dec. 3rd, 2004

John Diefenbaker

[Dave Batters, Conservative, Palliser, SK]

Mr. Speaker, it is with pleasure that I rise today to pay tribute to John Diefenbaker, the only prime minister to hail from Saskatchewan.

This past Sunday, Mr. Diefenbaker's childhood home was moved from Regina to the Sukanen Village south of Moose Jaw, in my constituency of Palliser.

Given Mr. Diefenbaker's many accomplishments, this is a great honour for us.

In addition to introducing the country's first bill of rights, Mr. Diefenbaker had two major electoral triumphs in 1957 and 1958 as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party. The first victory ended 22 years of Liberal rule. The second resulted in the largest majority government in Canadian history.

In my home province we recently declared that September 18 each year will be John Diefenbaker Day.

While Saskatchewan has produced many politicians, John Diefenbaker stands in a class by himself. I ask today that members join me in paying tribute to this great Canadian.

Health Partners International of Canada

[Keith Martin, Liberal, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the outstanding work of Health Partners International of Canada which recently sent out a shipment of Canadian medical aid, including essential drugs valued at over $2.1 million, to Afghanistan.

HPIC was able to send this shipment thanks to donations from a whole host of research based pharmaceutical companies, the embassy of Afghanistan, the Non-prescription Drug Manufacturers Association, groups like GlaxoSmithKline and many others.

The WHO stated, “This Canadian shipment stands out uniquely among all medical aid programs that the WHO has been involved with in Afghanistan. Canada should be very proud of what this unique partnership has accomplished”.

Speaking personally, I can say that Health Partners International enables essential medications to get to people on the ground in the most dispossessed and conflict ridden places in the world. It is something that is a true success story in Canada.

International Volunteer Day

[Alain Boire, Bloc, Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC]

Mr. Speaker, next Sunday is International Volunteer Day.

In 1985, the United Nations General Assembly established December 5 as International Volunteer Day and decreed it an international celebration to recognize volunteers around the world for their contributions and dedication.

Because the United Nations is an organization providing international programs dependent on volunteers, it was fitting that the UN set aside a day to honour these unsung heroes. This is a day to recognize their contribution to the socio-economic health of our communities and also an opportunity for each of us to recognize and celebrate their generosity.

On behalf of my Bloc Québécois colleagues, I invite everyone to join us in wishing all volunteers the world over a happy International Volunteer Day.

Millennium Scholarship Excellence Award

[Sue Barnes, Liberal, London West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to six individuals in my riding of London West: Julia Baratta, Justine Féron, Elizabeth Goodale, Lauren Killip, Jennifer Pearce and Melissa Rossoni.

Those students were all awarded the Canadian Millennium Scholarship Excellence Award.

This excellence award is one of Canada's most prestigious national scholarship initiatives. The program plays a crucial role in the recognition of excellence in the classroom and beyond in our communities.

The millennium excellence awards were chosen in a nationwide competition on the basis of outstanding achievement in four areas: academics, community service, leadership and innovation.

I hope all hon. members will join me in congratulating these young people for a well deserved award and recognition.

Nappan Experimental Farm

[Bill Casey, Conservative, North Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, recent comments coming from the Nappan Experimental Farm have raised concerns about the future of this facility.

In discussions with the Minister of Agriculture I have told him about the employees who are saying that the farm does not even have the resources to fix broken essential equipment. In another case, one of the researchers has resigned and is going to work in Australia for the government there because he feels there is no future working at the Nappan Experimental Farm.

This farm has served the farmers and the agricultural community in Nova Scotia since before Confederation. Now is not the time to abandon farmers. Now is the time to reach out to help them.

In a time when farmers are fighting for survival, the Department of Agriculture should be enhancing the services at this farm in order to help the farmers survive and prosper and find new products and markets.

I urge the Minister of Agriculture to ensure that the level of operation at this facility is maintained and enhanced. I urge the Minister of Agriculture to maintain this facility to serve the farmers in Nova Scotia.

Pierre Berton

[Maurizio Bevilacqua, Liberal, Vaughan, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer my deepest sympathies to family and friends on the passing of a great Canadian, Mr. Pierre Berton.

During our lifetime we are fortunate to get to know individuals of real distinction whose significant contribution to Canada warrants special recognition. Pierre Berton was such a man. He was a prolific author, journalist and broadcaster, but he will forever be remembered as a Canadian icon who spent more than five decades chronicalling the rich history of our country like no other.

He truly had a unique gift for making Canada's past come alive. In essence, he celebrated our nation and our people by telling Canadian stories from a Canadian perspective. He helped us understand better our country.

Pierre Berton's passing has undoubtedly left a void, however, his works and his contribution to the fabric of our nation will live forever.

Violence Against Women

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Monday is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. This day coincides with the anniversary of the tragic death of 14 young women who were killed at the École Polytechnique in Montreal because of their gender.

The case of the 69 women missing from the downtown east side of Vancouver also highlights the grave danger many women face in their lives. Sex trade workers are awarded no rights in our society and the level of violence they face is astronomical.

I urge my colleagues on the parliamentary committee, who are about to review the solicitation laws, to hear from sex trade workers themselves and put forward recommendations that will improve their safety and communities overall.

I also call on the Minister of Justice to place a moratorium on the enforcement of the communicating laws under the Criminal Code.

This December 6 we must dedicate ourselves to ensure that violence against women is eliminated and that all women live in dignity, with respect and equality in our society.

Nanaimo

[James Lunney, Conservative, Nanaimo—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the citizens of Nanaimo registered a historic vote on November 20 endorsing a major downtown renewal initiative. The $200 million program involves a new Nanaimo convention centre, a 140-room Marriott hotel, a new and expanded museum, commercial space and a multi-purpose community auditorium. Spinoffs include choice waterfront condominiums and a multi-purpose twin ice arena.

In recent years, the Nanaimo Port Authority and the city have done a great job transforming Nanaimo's spectacular waterfront through enhanced park space, walkways, a sea plane terminal, the Port Theatre, accessibility and parking.

The new project will expand that renewal into the downtown core. This ambitious proposal is seen as a great and historic opportunity to permanently transform the core area with economic spinoffs that will impact the entire mid and north Vancouver Island regions.

With a fledgling cruise ship industry on the rise and with the 2010 Olympics coming our way, Nanaimo is preparing to receive the world. We are now looking to the federal government to shoulder its share of the financial burden that this historic opportunity presents.

International Day of Disabled Persons

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to recognize the 13th annual International Day of Disabled Persons. This is a day to better understand the day-to-day lives of individuals with disabilities as well as an opportunity to pay tribute to their courage and perseverance.

There are 500 million disabled persons world-wide. They are actively involved in social, economic, political and cultural affairs.

This day, devoted to them, is an opportunity to acknowledge the gains disabled people have made, without forgetting the work that remains to be done to improve their lives and afford them truly equal opportunities.

I want to recognize and pay tribute to various organizations for the disabled in Laval, including the Regroupement des organismes de promotion des personnes handicapées de Laval, the Association régionale de loisirs pour personnes handicapées de Laval, the Corporation de personnes handicapées et de travail de Laval, as well as the Association lavalloise pour le transport adapté.

I thank them for their generous contributions.

[Lynne Yelich, Conservative, Blackstrap, SK]

Mr. Speaker, today we observe the International Day of Disabled Persons. According to the United Nations, this day offers an opportunity to foster changes in attitudes toward persons with disabilities and eliminate barriers to their full participation in all aspects of life.

No matter how far we think we have come, there is always more that can be done. We saw that even here, when my colleague from Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia first tried to navigate the halls of Parliament.

By removing barriers to access and participation of the disabled, society wins. We gain in contributions and perspectives of disabled persons and benefit from the potential of an inclusive society.

Again, I refer to my colleague as an example. His education, experience and expertise in a number of areas are incredible resources for his community, for our party and for all Canadians. Yet in another time or place, in a less inclusive world, his contributions and potential may have been overlooked.

We must not let that happen to anyone. I urge members to celebrate the International Day of Disabled Persons and embrace its motto, “Nothing about us without us”.

Third Language Broadcasters

[Francis Scarpaleggia, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, foreign third language broadcasters such as Rai International and Zee TV can play a vital role in upholding Canada's multicultural values. The CRTC should allow these broadcasters into Canada, under certain conditions.

First, the CRTC should give preference to third language broadcasters that are Canadian or that enter into partnership with Canadian broadcasters. However, applications by foreign third language broadcasters should not be automatically rejected just because a cultural community is already being served in its own language.

Second, the CRTC should require that same language services be bundled together by cable and satellite providers so that new entrants into the third language market will not reduce the revenues of existing players.

Third, the CRTC should urge the federal government to create a third language programming fund into which television service providers would invest a portion of the revenues they receive from foreign third language broadcasters. This money would be used to fund the production of third language programming in Canada.

Ukraine

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

Mr. Speaker, I have just returned from Ukraine, the new front line in the worldwide struggle for democracy, where hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets in the belief that their democratic right to vote has been denied. They are proclaiming to the world that after winning their long struggle for self-determination, they will accept nothing less than their full, unimpeded right to choose their leaders.

The atmosphere is very tense as negotiations continue in trying to find a path out of the crisis. In Canada's eyes the legitimate path must be one through an electoral process free from intimidation and free from any suspicion of fraud. This will not happen without our help. Canada is needed to play a leadership role to ensure that Ukrainians have that choice.

Canada must bring its experience to resolving this critical situation. I implore the government to take urgent action to assist Ukraine in every way possible to conduct free and fair elections.

Victoriaville Postal Outlet

[André Bellavance, Bloc, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to point out the excellent results obtained by the Victoriaville postal outlet, located on Saint-Jean-Baptiste street.

Under the Mystery Shopper Program, 505 postal outlets were in competition across Canada and eight of them did particularly well in Quebec, including the one in Victoriaville. This is the second award of excellence for the employees of this outlet in my riding.

The Mystery Shopper Program, which has been in place for a few years, is designed to recognize excellence among postal outlet employees, in terms of sales and customer service. An impartial mystery client, who only makes one visit per outlet, shows up as if he were an ordinary customer. He determines whether customer oriented sales techniques are being used. The staff at the Victoriaville postal outlet passed the test with flying colours.

I congratulate all the members of the team at the Victoriaville postal outlet, namely Luc Bergeron, Alain Côté and Guy Cullen, and I invite them to continue on the path of excellence.

Citizenship and Immigration

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Central Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, it is an immigration exodus on the government side of the House.

Yesterday, a new deputy minister was appointed at the Department of Citizenship and Immigration. The government did not wait for the ethics report. This morning the minister's chief of staff took an extended leave of absence. The government did not wait for the ethics report. The government did not wait for the ethics report to manoeuvre in this area and other areas of the department, except when it came to the minister.

The government has reshuffled the public service and turfed the chief of staff. When will the minister join this exodus, simply take responsibility for her actions and resign?

[Lucienne Robillard, Liberal, President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we have all worked together in this House to put a new instrument in place, the Ethics Commissioner. The minister herself referred this matter to the Ethics Commissioner. With respect to the minister, we must first and foremost wait patiently for the commissioner's report.

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Central Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the democratic deficit deepens. The government waits only when it is to its benefit and it can hide behind it.

Government members claim they cancelled the exotic dancer program that they previously told Canadians did not exist. They shuffled the deputy minister, yet refused to take responsibility for the minister's actions. They brought in a Liberal spin doctor in a thinly veiled attempt to cover the minister's breach.

Instead of trying to redirect public attention away from the minister's breach of ethics, why does the Prime Minister not simply do the right thing and ask his minister to resign?

[Lucienne Robillard, Liberal, President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I would ask the hon. member to be much more prudent. He is making his own ethical judgment rather than waiting for the Ethics Commissioner's opinion. I believe he needs to show more respect for this mechanism put in place by all of us in this place. I feel that this is very important.

Meanwhile, the minister continues to fulfill her duties in the Citizenship and Immigration portfolio very well.

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Central Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, while the Prime Minister may be vague on missile defence, he is firmly committed to ministerial defence.

A bunker mentality has taken hold in the PMO as it draws up the strategy for the embattled Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. In fact, the Prime Minister is not waiting for the Ethics Commissioner's report at all. He is moving in the human shields right away, under the radar.

Yesterday, 24 hours ago, the top lieutenant of the immigration department was sent AWOL. The deputy minister has been parachuted and the new troops are being brought in to contain the collateral damage. The draftees are from the former Chrétien regime and are now in charge.

When will the Prime Minister wave the white flag, admit defeat and ask his Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to surrender?

[Lucienne Robillard, Liberal, President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, in the system by which we administer our public service and our senior public service, it is standard practice for changes to take place in the upper echelons from time to time. Moreover, the events of yesterday are the result of several deputy ministers taking retirement or moving on to new challenges. That is the situation here.

A change at the deputy minister level at Citizenship and Immigration was a definite possibility. There is no connection whatsoever between this and the matter of concern to us today.

[Helena Guergis, Conservative, Simcoe—Grey, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the immigration minister told Liberal colleagues that there would be no ministerial permits issued during the election campaign. She then issued one for a stripper who worked on her campaign.

While thousands of immigrants were put on hold during the election, why did the minister break her own rules and reward her campaign volunteer?

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

Mr. Speaker, the minister has consistently maintained in this House that she has issued permits on humanitarian grounds. She has continued to do so and in a totally responsible, coordinated and intelligent manner.

[Helena Guergis, Conservative, Simcoe—Grey, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Prime Minister told the House that he supported his minister.

I ask hon. members, with immigration staff who do business in strip clubs, an immigration minister who misleads Canadians and with the minister now being reduced to public ridicule on billboards, will the Prime Minister finally do the right thing, restore integrity to the ministry and fire the minister?

[Lucienne Robillard, Liberal, President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I would once again encourage the hon. member of the opposition to be very careful in her judgments and to also maintain respect for her colleagues in this House, who have a variety of responsibilities. There are no grounds at this time to think that our colleague, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, is not fulfilling her responsibilities completely. On the contrary, we are extremely proud of what she is doing at this time.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[Monique Guay, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Quebec minister of agriculture, Françoise Gauthier, gave assurances that the federal minister responsible for Quebec would do his part. The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, on the other hand, says that no decision has been made regarding the nature and amount of assistance he plans for Quebec's farmers.

Can the minister responsible for Quebec confirm his commitment and provide the House with some details?

[Andy Mitchell, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said on many occasions in the House, the federal government has been fully engaged in the province of Quebec in providing assistance both in a general nature and in terms of BSE.

I think the hon. member is referring specifically to the issue of cull cows and the work that is being done in that respect. We have said that the federal government understands that is a particular concern in Quebec, as it is in other provinces across the country, and that it is important for us to take measures to assist in that respect.