House of Commons Hansard #41 of the 38th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was salaries.
Jean Lapierre LiberalMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, I have had a look, a brief look to be sure, at the Senate committee report. It is a very useful report. Over the years, various departments have drawn on it. When we have reviewed all the recommendations, I will ask my department to prepare a clause by clause answer to this report, because I take it very seriously.
My first meeting as Minister of Transport was with Senator Colin Kenny, because I believe his work is essential to the country's security.
Peter MacKay Conservative Central Nova, NS
Mr. Speaker, our Minister of Transport is a fashion expert. However, as he says, his airports are as leaky as sieves. There are not enough employees and they are poorly trained. Packages and goods go through without being checked. Entry into an airport is far too easy.
Will the minister address this interminable list of flaws?
Jean Lapierre LiberalMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, of course. Moreover, all recognized employees in these airports must pass a security test. The previous five years of their lives are investigated to ensure they have nothing questionable in their past and that passenger and airport security are not endangered.
As a result, the system is in place, but we will be going further, for we intend to make greater use of biometrics to recognize our employees. The technology that will be used is currently being tested in four airports in Canada. Obviously, we intend to increase the level of security at every opportunity.
Gilles Duceppe Bloc Laurier, QC
Mr. Speaker, one after the other, the transport minister's arguments in the Mirabel issue are collapsing. After falsely accusing the Bloc Québécois, on November 29, the minister recognized in the House that Bombardier did not need the 11,000 acres of land requested in order to develop. After Bombardier, the minister hid behind ADM. “We are going to respect ADM's lease”, said the minister on the same day.
Given that, yesterday, in committee, ADM's president recognized that, lease or no lease, he would do as Ottawa decides, what is Ottawa waiting for to give the land back to the people of Mirabel?
Jean Lapierre LiberalMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, I trust the word of ADM's president, who said, “By maintaining our property reserve of 11,000 acres, we are safeguarding the future of the Montréal Mirabel facility. To sell back the land at this time would be an error with serious consequences for both Aéroports de Montréal and the Mirabel area”. That is what Mr. Cherry said and, I believe him, until proven wrong.
Gilles Duceppe Bloc Laurier, QC
Mr. Speaker, he said clearly yesterday that it was up to Ottawa to decide. Let us take a look at the minister's analysis. With 6,000 acres for current and future activities, Mirabel has twice the area of Dorval, and twice that of Heathrow in Great Britain, with its 63 million passengers, whereas Dorval has a mere nine million, and Mirabel fewer than one million. That does not make sense, especially after ADM's president recognized that there were no plans. These are the same arguments we were given in the 1970s. We have a distinct impression of déjà vu.
Will the minister show more respect for people than his government has in the past?
Jean Lapierre LiberalMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, a lease was signed. The fact of the matter is that the Conservatives signed a 60 year lease with ADM. We are going to respect their signature. I trust what ADM's president said, which is, of course, that it would be an error with serious consequences for both Aéroports de Montréal and the Mirabel area. That is what he said; it was in his press release, and we have to take his word. He is the expert, and the lessee until 2052. I trust his word.
Caroline St-Hilaire Bloc Longueuil, QC
Mr. Speaker, unlike the minister, I was at the Standing Committee on Transport, and that is not what the president of ADM said at all. What James Cherry told the Standing Committee on Transport yesterday is that of the four projects submitted in response to the recent calls for tenders, none planned to use the 11,000 acres of land expropriated for Mirabel in 1969.
How can the Minister of Transport continue to refuse to transfer the 11,000 acres of expropriated land to the people of Mirabel, when all the reasons he used no longer hold water?
Jean Lapierre LiberalMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. member skipped a few paragraphs of what the president of ADM said yesterday. Obviously, if the Government of Canada ordered it to return the land, ADM would receive financial compensation and all the rest. We decided that we would not break the lease. We are going to respect the Conservatives' signature, and I stand by what the director of ADM said in his November 25 press release. This man who spoke on November 25 is, I hope, the same man who appeared before the committee yesterday.
Caroline St-Hilaire Bloc Longueuil, QC
Mr. Speaker, the reality is that the Minister of Transport is inventing reasons not to return the land expropriated for Mirabel. After using the excuse of the lease, he tried Bombardier and finally talked about hypothetical development over the next 30 years.
With the testimony before the transport committee yesterday, the minister has run out of excuses.
What is he waiting for to respect the motion adopted by this House, respect the people of Mirabel and repair in some small measure the terrible mistake that weighs so heavily on the federal Liberals?
Jean Lapierre LiberalMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, I must say that the Bloc policy with regard to the return of Mirabel property, as expressed by the hon. member for Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, is that the lands must be returned and if needed, could be re-expropriated. I find this totally irresponsible and it is not the kind of argument we will accept. The Bloc wants to return the land only to re-expropriate it again later. That is totally irresponsible.
Jack Layton NDP Toronto—Danforth, ON
Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Prime Minister was attempting to brag about--
The EnvironmentOral Question Period
The Speaker
Order, please. The last question is over.
It is now over. We have moved on to another question. The hon. member for Toronto—Danforth is the one who has the floor.
Jack Layton NDP Toronto—Danforth, ON
Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Prime Minister was trying to brag about his environmental record, but today, right on cue, we have evidence to the contrary. We see that toxic pollution in the air is up. Toxic pollution in water is up. Toxic pollution in the soil is up.
My question is for the Prime Minister. If he is as good as he says he is, why is pollution still going up by more than 50%?
Stéphane Dion LiberalMinister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, we welcome this report which we will study carefully because the topic is very complex. It is reporting about 10 pollutants and their trends between 1995 and 2002. During these years, thanks to the national pollutant release inventory that this government created, the methodology has changed, the number of substances taken into account has changed, and the facilities have increased a lot. We can see that it is a very important topic. We will study it carefully without being alarmist like the hon. member.
Jack Layton NDP Toronto—Danforth, ON
Mr. Speaker, excuses, excuses, that is more or less what we would have expected, and this from a government that apparently is going to do absolutely nothing to stop China from buying Canada's oil in order to accelerate the climate change crisis.
Yesterday the NDP raised the issue of genetically modified fish. Today we learned that apparently Aqua Bounty is going to apply to the government for permission to market genetically modified salmon. I think Canadians would want to know that the government will say no to genetically modified fish in our ecosystem. Right now, today, let us put a stop to it.
Geoff Regan LiberalMinister of Fisheries and Oceans
Mr. Speaker, the import and manufacture of genetically modified fish is regulated by the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. GM fish is not allowed for commercial use or release in Canada.
Diane Ablonczy Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB
Mr. Speaker, allegations continue to grow that the immigration minister misused her position for political purposes. She needs to answer the question that the Leader of the Opposition just asked. So I ask again, and I do expect a straight answer, how many ministerial permits did the immigration minister issue to her supporters and in her riding during the 2004 election?
Judy Sgro LiberalMinister of Citizenship and Immigration
Mr. Speaker, even through an election I am still the minister. I still have to respond to members of Parliament, like I did for the official opposition critic on June 11. I still had a job to do. I continue to do that job, which is what Canadians expect of me.
Diane Ablonczy Conservative Calgary Nose Hill, AB
Mr. Speaker, I note that the minister did not answer the question.
The question is, how many ministerial permits did the immigration minister issue to her supporters and in her riding during the 2004 election? How many?
Judy Sgro LiberalMinister of Citizenship and Immigration
Mr. Speaker, I have to go and look at the allegations of supporters. I am very proud that I and many of you are supporters in the Ahmadiyya community in this country. How much richer this country is because of the work that community does here for all of us to move this country forward. Any help I give that community or any other one, I am very proud of what I did, and I will do it some more.
Helena Guergis Conservative Simcoe—Grey, ON
Mr. Speaker, yesterday the immigration minister claimed ignorance about the illegal campaign contribution, dismissing it as a “clerical error”, but today we learned that she actually attended the donor's event on the same day that the cheque was issued.
Is she still claiming ignorance, or will she finally admit her incompetence, rethink her answer of yesterday, and resign?
Judy Sgro LiberalMinister of Citizenship and Immigration
Mr. Speaker, I am very proud of the fact that I attended that event for the Ahmadiyya community, as I attend events for all the ethnic communities in this country. It is those ethnic communities that we care about. Clearly the opposition has only got one issue at hand and that is how it can continue to smear immigrants and vulnerable women.
Helena Guergis Conservative Simcoe—Grey, ON
Mr. Speaker, in a previous attempt to spin this mess, the minister told the House that she was out of commission for the last three weeks of the campaign, but apparently she was well enough to attend meetings, issue permits for political supporters and accept illegal donations.
It is time for you to stop hiding behind the Ethics Commissioner and to start accepting the responsibility--