Debates of Oct. 26th, 2005

Justice

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

Mr. Speaker, I will state unequivocally that there is absolutely no causal relation between any donations and the appointments. I will go further. What is undermining public confidence in the administration of justice is that kind of trafficking in innuendo. That kind of cheap shot is undermining its independence and integrity. The process is independent.

The Environment

[Greg Thompson, Conservative, St. Croix—Belleisle, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada said no to the passage of supertankers in Head Harbour Passage 30 years ago. That was the right decision. Now the minister is suggesting that this needs more studies, refusing to say no to LNG tankers.

Those studies were done by his department, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and other government departments when they concluded that this is the most dangerous passage in all of Canada.

What would have changed? The tides are the same. The water depth is the same. It is still a narrow channel. Why the hesitation in saying no?

[Jean Lapierre, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, one of the things that has changed since the 1970s is that those regulations that were used in the 1970s were revoked by a Tory government in 1987.

[Greg Thompson, Conservative, St. Croix—Belleisle, NB]

Mr. Speaker, that is a pathetic minister. He knows--

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker]

Order. I cannot hear the hon. member. For one reason or another, there seems to be a bit of a disturbance in the House at the moment. Perhaps we could have a little less discussion of the question and answer and hear the next question. The hon. member for New Brunswick Southwest has a supplementary.

[Greg Thompson, Conservative, St. Croix—Belleisle, NB]

Mr. Speaker, that is a pathetic answer. Those people have been in government for 12 years. They are in the driver's seat. They now make decisions. They cannot blame it on anyone but themselves.

The man sitting next to the minister refuses to get up and actually answer a question in the House. Why will the Prime Minister not get up and answer for him. If he does not have the wherewithal to say no, maybe the guy next to him can say no.

[Jean Lapierre, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I cannot understand the hypocrisy of the member who was accusing the Prime Minister of conflict of interest and now he wants him to talk about it. It is pure hypocrisy.

Housing

[Christian Simard, Bloc, Beauport, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Labour and Housing claims that the CMHC board of directors is doing an excellent job in travelling across the country and listening to those who have things to say. We learned that, in August 2004, the board of directors spent five days in Newfoundland for a dinner and a meeting that lasted five and a half hours.

Does the minister find it appropriate to spend five days in a hotel to do so little work?

[Joe Fontana, Liberal, Minister of Labour and Housing]

Mr. Speaker, I think I addressed this yesterday. We want our boards and board members to live up to the higher expectation standards that the public expects of all of us.

I can tell the hon. member, and I am prepared to sit with him or anybody else and show them that this board has travelled the country. The board members talk to stakeholders. They talk to clients. They do their job. They want to hear from Canadians from the west coast to the east coast, from the north to the south.

Their job is to get out across Canada and to hear from their clients so that we can build more and better housing, including social housing in Quebec.

[Christian Simard, Bloc, Beauport, QC]

Mr. Speaker, that is not all. In May 2004, the same thing happened in Victoria, British Columbia. The directors again stayed five days in a hotel to attend a dinner and a meeting that lasted five hours and 25 minutes.

Is this the sound CMHC management that the minister is so proud of: 10 days of travel for 11 hours of work?

[Joe Fontana, Liberal, Minister of Labour and Housing]

Mr. Speaker, I know that the Bloc Québécois does not like the CMHC, which is a successful corporation that has made it possible for people to buy homes.

If the member is honestly suggesting that the board of directors, meeting with hundreds of stakeholders in Vancouver and Montreal and taking a ferry, spent five hours in five days to talk to stakeholders, buddy, come to see me and I will show you the facts.

[The Speaker]

I know the Minister of Labour and Housing likes to be chummy, but he might be a little more respectful than addressing the Chair as “buddy”.

Commonwealth

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is insisting that Canadians pursue interests beyond the U.S. to look at networks for development.

This year the theme at the biennial Commonwealth leaders conference is “Networking for Development”, but the Prime Minister decided that part of his legacy is to become the first Prime Minister in Canadian history to turn his back on the Commonwealth meeting and be a no-show.

Can he tell us what kind of message he is sending to our allies, to our friends and to Canadians who expect him to be there to represent their interests? Why is he not going?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I have spoken to Prime Minister Gonzi. I have spoken to the secretary general of the Commonwealth. I have spoken to a wide number of the leaders of the Commonwealth. We have discussed all of this.

At the same time there is a very important conference on aboriginal Canadians, one which we have been leading up to now for over a year. It is very essential. I would like to be able to do both, but unfortunately, I cannot.

Iran

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

Mr. Speaker, the president and leader of the Islamic regime in Iran today announced that Israel must be “wiped off the map”, and that a new wave of Palestinian attacks will destroy the Jewish state. He has gone on to say that anyone who recognizes Israel will “burn in the fire of Islamic fury”.

Our government tried constructive engagement with the Zahra Kazemi torture and death. That did not work. It has tried constructive engagement related to the nuclear threat in Iran. That does not work.

When will the government abandon this policy of constructive engagement and ask the United Nations for sanctions against this regime?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Foreign Affairs has been quite explicit on this issue.

I just want to speak on behalf of all Canadians in vigorously condemning the remarks that were made by Iran's president. This is the 21st century and Canada will never accept such hatred, such intolerance and anti-Semitism of that kind. We believe that kind of an example does not reflect the opinion of the Iranian people. It certainly does not reflect the opinion of the Canadian people, and we vigorously condemn what the Iranian president said.

Mining Industry

[Raymond Bonin, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

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

The people of Sudbury are ecstatic with the friendly takeover of Falconbridge by Inco. Nickel Belt, northern Ontario and the rest of Canada will benefit greatly from this merger.

What is the position of the Canadian government on this coming together of two Canadian icons?

[David Emerson, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, as the member knows, the Inco and Falconbridge transaction is subject to regulatory reviews and shareholder approval. I do want to say in general, that while l would not want to comment specifically on this transaction, it is very important for us to have Canadian champion companies. It is important for them to come together in a friendly way to build deep roots right here in Canada. We need the corporate leadership in Canada. We need the high quality employment opportunities in Canada and we need their social contributions.

Health

[Steven Fletcher, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James, MB]

Mr. Speaker, Canada lags behind other developed countries in the battle against cancer. Cancer numbers in Canada are escalating.

Now the minister is trumpeting his so-called $60 million down payment, only a fraction of the money needed for the Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control. The Conservative Party brought forward a motion that was passed by the House to fully implement and immediately fund this strategy. For the cost of a minor Liberal scandal, the strategy could be fully funded.

Will the minister listen to the cancer community and the House and fully fund the Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control?

[Ujjal Dosanjh, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that over the last number of years we have spent over $1 billion on cancer control. The fact is that this year alone, the CIHR, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, is providing over $80 million for research in cancer. The fact is we have also provided $50 million going forward for the next five years to actually work on the elements of a Canadian cancer strategy.

[Steven Fletcher, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James, MB]

Mr. Speaker, if $1 billion has been spent, why are we not seeing the drop in death rates at the same pace as has been seen in other countries? The problem is that the $1 billion has been spent in an uncoordinated and inefficient way.

The Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control addresses these issues. Canadians wish that the minister would just stop with the rhetoric and commit to fully fund the strategy and immediately implement this effective and strategic investment in cancer control.

[Ujjal Dosanjh, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member actually never lets the facts interfere with his questions. The fact is that we have been spending millions of dollars on cancer control over the last number of years. The fact is that we have some of the best research being done right here in Canada on cancer control. The fact is that we provided $50 million going forward for the next five years to deal with some of the elements of the cancer control strategy. The fact is that this is just a down payment and watch for more perhaps over the coming years.

Burma

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel Laureate and the elected head of Burma in its first democratic election, has now languished under house arrest for ten years. The Minister of Foreign Affairs has just called for her release but refuses to help the Burmese government in exile.

What has the Government of Canada done to implement the recommendations of the motion passed by this House on May 18 particularly in connection with Canadian companies operating in Burma whose actions help the junta to remain in power?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, our government has taken note of the parliamentary committee's recommendations. It is our intention to work with the members.

It is absolutely clear that we are working extremely hard to clearly convey our message concerning the military regime in Burma. Each time we have met with representatives of that country, we have called for the release of the political prisoners being held in their country.

We do not recognize the political parties, but we can assure the House that Canada is vigilant. We are going to work with groups in that country that respect human rights and to continue to call for the release of political prisoners.