Debates of Oct. 17th, 2005

National Defence

[Keith Martin, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the member points out one of the threats there, and that is unexploded devices, not only those but the IEDs that we have seen being used with such deadly effects in Iraq. We know this and that is why the minister and all of our defence colleagues are working very hard to ensure our forces personnel are protected.

I might say that it is well known that our forces in Afghanistan are some of the best protected forces there on the ground. We will do no less for our CF members who work so hard to ensure peace and security will come to the beleaguered country of Afghanistan.

Social Development

[Susan Kadis, Liberal, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of State for Families and Caregivers.

Like all parliamentarians, I am very aware of the important contribution made by our caregivers to Canadian society. Would the minister provide an update on the government's efforts and initiatives on behalf of caregivers?

[Tony Ianno, Liberal, Minister of State (Families and Caregivers)]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her concern for our three million Canadians, our unsung heroes, who give of themselves 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with little at their behest.

What we are saying is that we are having a national conference today and tomorrow. We brought together Canadians from across the country to ensure that cooperatively with the provincial and territorial governments we will find a long term solution to help those who are our heroes.

Firearms Registry

[Joy Smith, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Mr. Speaker, provincially, Manitoba reported the highest homicide rate in Canada for 2004. Just last week an innocent bystander, 17-year-old Philippe Hayart, was shot to death in a gang crossfire while walking down the street.

The government has sunk more than $1 billion into the gun registry, money that could be spent on front line police officers to make our streets safer in Manitoba.

When will the government realize that criminals do not register their guns? When will the government shut down the gun registry and put those resources toward front line police officers?

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

Mr. Speaker, the only people who do not get the importance of gun control in this country appear to be members of the opposition. In fact, front line police use this system over 35,000 times a week. The chiefs of police endorse this system and describe it as an ever increasingly important tool in our fight against crime.

I find it amazing that the opposition would suggest that a comprehensive approach to gun control is not absolutely key to keeping our families, streets and communities safe.

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the only people who do not get it are those in the Liberal government.

Over the weekend a TTC bus driver was shot in the head after getting caught in the middle of a dispute during his shift. Just hours before the shooting, I attended a crime and justice forum in Scarborough where constituents were in unanimous agreement that mandatory prison sentences were needed to control the recent wave of violent crime. The Liberal government has opted for throwing money at an ineffective gun registry instead of investing in front line policing to keep our communities safe.

When will the Liberals start listening to Canadians and institute mandatory prison sentences for violent offenders?

[Paul MacKlin, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I think everyone in the government is concerned about our communities and the violence that is being demonstrated in those communities.

Clearly this is a complex matter that requires a number of steps to be taken. One of those is dealing with legislation, which we already have on the books, another one is working with the community groups to educate the public, and the third one is to make sure we work with those other community groups that are interested in keeping these young people employed in other aspects of their lives and not to participate in this sort of activity.

Canada Post Corporation

[Christiane Gagnon, Bloc, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government has to understand that Canada Post closing down the Quebec City sorting station without providing a satisfactory explanation is wrong. Canada Post has to make its intentions known, not only for the Quebec City sorting station, but also for the other sorting stations elsewhere across Canada.

Will the government admit that the best, and the only, way of knowing what Canada Post's true intentions are is for the corporation to table its plan for its entire network? We want to see the plan; it is as simple as that.

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, there is one very simple point that the hon. member does not seem to be grasping: no jobs will be lost. I have repeated several times that no jobs will be lost. That is an extremely important point. Another important point is that, if we do not want it to go back into deficit, Canada Post has to be efficient.

St. Lawrence Seaway

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

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

Given the critical importance of the St. Lawrence Seaway, can the minister give us details of the investments made by the government to maintain the St. Lawrence Seaway infrastructure, and of the positive economic spinoffs for the Quebec economy?

Can the minister also give us his vision for the future, to ensure that the St. Lawrence Seaway remains a key component of shipping trade in our country?

[Jean Lapierre, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, current activities on the St. Lawrence Seaway in Quebec represent about $2 billion and 20,000 jobs. The St. Lawrence Seaway is investing about $34 million annually.

We are currently conducting a study with the Americans. The Bloc Québécois is engaging in scaremongering, but the purpose of the study is to improve the flow of traffic and navigation on the St. Lawrence River.

Over the past few weeks, I met with officials from the St. Lawrence Economic Development Council and the St. Lawrence Shipoperators, and with shippers, and we are going to work, particularly in the area of transport—

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Beauport—Limoilou.

Service Canada

[Christian Simard, Bloc, Beauport, QC]

Mr. Speaker, true to form, the government has presented Parliament with a fait accompli and announced the creation of service Canada, which will consolidate the services provided by a dozen or so departments. The government has allocated $500 million to set up this project, yet no bill for its implementation has been introduced.

What is the government waiting for to be transparent and democratic and to present this House with a bill to create service Canada?

[Peter Adams, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and Minister responsible for Democratic Renewal]

Mr. Speaker, service Canada is committed to continuous improvement and reports regularly to Canadians. Its service charter describes the commitment of service Canada. I am very pleased to announce that we have appointed an office of client satisfaction to allow Canadians to judge the performance of service Canada.

Health

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the people of Kashechewan First Nation have been under a boil water advisory for eight years. This past weekend an E. coli outbreak hit the community. The school is closed, the health centre is closed and a Health Canada official told the people that it was perfectly safe to bathe their children in E. coli contaminated bathwater. That is like telling those Cree people to bathe their children in toilet water.

Would the health minister or any of his staff be willing to come up to Kashechewan and bathe their children in this kind of water?

[Ujjal Dosanjh, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, obviously that is a very serious issue. I will look into it and I would be happy to provide an answer to the hon. member.

[The Speaker]

I just want to point out that we have gone through the entire list of questions today because members were so restrained. They had short questions and there were short answers. We did well.

Government Response to Petitions

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to table, in both official languages, the government's response to eight petitions.

Interparliamentary Delegations

[Sarmite Bulte, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34, I have the honour to present to the House reports from the Canadian branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association concerning three events: first, the bilateral visit to the Falkland Islands from January 15 to 22; second, a report on the seminar on corruption, human rights and party politics, which was held in London, United Kingdom from January 23 to 29; and third, the 17th CPA seminar report which was held in Cape Town, Republic of South Africa from May 29 to June 4.

Petitions

[Richard Marceau, Bloc, Charlesbourg, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table two petitions today. The first one is an initiative from workers in the shoe industry, in my riding. They strongly ask the government to create a POWA to help their fellow citizens who work in soft sectors of the economy and who too often pay the price for globalization and lose their job at an age where they are too old to get new training and find a job. This first petition, which is signed by about 1,000 people, follows the initiative of workers in the shoe sector in my riding, whom I want to congratulate.

[Richard Marceau, Bloc, Charlesbourg, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my second petition also comes from my riding. It asks the Government of Canada, and particularly Canada Post, not to proceed with the closure of the sorting station in Quebec City, because it is an essential station and its closure will lead to the loss of well paying jobs in the Quebec City area.

This shows once again the lack of interest of this government for the national capital region of Quebec. This petition is thus used as a pressure tactic against the closure of this sorting station.

[Gurmant Grewal, Conservative, Newton—North Delta, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today on behalf of the constituents of Newton—North Delta to present a petition. The petitioners call upon Parliament to pass legislation to recognize the institution of marriage in federal law as being a lifelong union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others.

The petition is signed by over 1,000 people from Newton—North Delta and the neighbouring ridings.

[Nancy Karetak-Lindell, Liberal, Nunavut, NU]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to present a petition from my riding of Nunavut asking that the Government of Canada help protect the future of public broadcasting in Canada. It was signed by many people in Nunavut.

[Jay Hill, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, as I have been doing at virtually every opportunity over the last number of weeks since Parliament reconvened this fall, it is my pleasure to present yet another petition, this one signed by residents of Nepean and Orléans, Ottawa, Port Colborne, Welland and Grimsby, Ontario and points west as well.

The petitioners wish to draw to the attention of the House that on average 2,000 children are adopted from other countries and are brought to Canada by Canadian families who welcome them into their lives.

Whereas biological children of Canadian citizens born abroad receive automatic Canadian citizenship at birth and other countries as well provide this for foreign adoptees, they call upon Parliament to immediately enact legislation to grant automatic citizenship to minors adopted from other countries by Canadian citizens, with citizenship being immediately granted upon the finalization of the adoption.

[Borys Wrzesnewskyj, Liberal, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36 I have the pleasure to present a petition signed by 30 people from my riding of Etobicoke Centre.

In recognition of the 100th anniversary of the Polish Alliance of Canada in 2007 and the contribution of Polish Canadians to the building of our great country, the petitioners pray and request that Parliament encourage Canada Post Corporation to issue a commemorative stamp on the organization's 100th anniversary in December 2007.