House of Commons Hansard #134 of the 38th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was health.
Scott Brison LiberalMinister of Public Works and Government Services
Mr. Speaker, the fact is that there is an ongoing audit process. The Minister of Industry and the government support that process. We will continue to support that audit process. We look forward to that process being completed. In the interim, I would remind the members of the House how important it is that we let the auditors do their work.
Michael Chong Conservative Wellington—Halton Hills, ON
Mr. Speaker, eight times in the last two weeks I have asked the government the same question, yet it refuses to reveal the 11 names.
Since it will not, I will. Spectrum Signal Processing based in British Columbia is one of the 11 involved. I got this information from the company's public website.
The Prime Minister's tenure started with lofty promises of accountability and transparency. Why do we in this House have to get this information about Industry Canada from a private website? When will the government reveal the other 10?
Scott Brison LiberalMinister of Public Works and Government Services
Mr. Speaker, once again, the industry minister is the minister who supports fully this audit process, to get the facts that Canadians deserve, and to get the information that the government needs to make a good decision.
Let us recognize that Technology Partnerships Canada has made important investments on behalf of the people of Canada in industries that are making a real difference in the prosperity and the standard of living of Canadians. We are investing in the future.
However, I do want to congratulate the hon. member or a member of his staff on their ability to use the Internet.
Guy Côté Bloc Portneuf, QC
Mr. Speaker, instead of resolving the fiscal imbalance by transferring some of its surplus to Quebec and the provinces, once again the government, true to form, is getting ready to interfere in a provincial jurisdiction with a new post-secondary education aid program.
If the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development wants to work with Quebec and the provinces as she claims, then will she respect Quebec's authority over education and transfer money to Quebec with no strings attached pursuant to existing agreements?
Belinda Stronach LiberalMinister of Human Resources and Skills Development and Minister responsible for Democratic Renewal
Mr. Speaker, I am delighted that the provinces also recognize the importance of investing in people and learning, and promoting the skills learning agenda. I am working very closely with the CMEC chair, minister Jean-Marc Fournier, and looking at ways that we can collaborate to make progress toward our mutually shared agenda.
Guy Côté Bloc Portneuf, QC
Mr. Speaker, during the last election campaign, the Prime Minister promised to transfer between $7 billion and $8 billion for post-secondary education. He even promised that this money would be transferred to Quebec and the provinces with no strings attached.
In light of the Prime Minister's promise, how can the minister justify what seems to be another intrusion by her government into post-secondary education?
Belinda Stronach LiberalMinister of Human Resources and Skills Development and Minister responsible for Democratic Renewal
Mr. Speaker, let me be clear again. I am working closely with minister Fournier, the Quebec minister of education and chair of CMEC. We are evaluating our shared priorities. The areas that we are looking at are the areas that we have traditionally occupied with respect to access and research. There is no intention to infringe on provincial jurisdictions.
Roger Clavet Bloc Louis-Hébert, QC
Mr. Speaker, as the meeting between Quebec and Ottawa on the respect of Quebec's jurisdictions in international relations is about to begin, the positions of the two governments seem irreconcilable. For Jean Charest, “what is a Quebec jurisdiction at home is a Quebec jurisdiction everywhere”, whereas for the Minister of Foreign Affairs, to consult Quebec is specious.
Can the minister tell us what he intends to propose, so that Quebec can finally have full control over its jurisdictions, including abroad?
Pierre Pettigrew LiberalMinister of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Speaker, this afternoon, the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and myself will be meeting with our counterparts from the Quebec government.
I am surprised to hear the Bloc member claim that I would refuse to consult the provinces. I have been a member of Parliament and a minister of this government for 10 years. I am the minister who transferred manpower training to the Quebec government. I negotiated the national child benefit. I was the Minister of International Trade. Moreover, I have always included the ministers from the Quebec government and from the other provinces who took part in negotiations. My colleague, the Minister of Canadian Heritage has also been doing that.
Roger Clavet Bloc Louis-Hébert, QC
Mr. Speaker, the minister's answer leaves me speechless, somewhat like Quebec right now. I did not ask for the minister's resume. I just want him to comment. Even minister Benoît Pelletier said, “The federal government's position does not even meet the needs of contemporary Quebec”.
How can the Minister of Foreign Affairs reconcile his position with that of his own Prime Minister, who said in May 2004 that the door must be wide open to Quebec, no ifs, ands or buts?
Pierre Pettigrew LiberalMinister of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Speaker, currently, my mandate is to implement the international policy statement that we tabled in this Parliament on April 19. We were very clear in that statement. The Prime Minister of Canada, my colleague and myself must ensure that the partners of our country, namely the provinces and Quebec, are fully represented under our foreign policy and through our presence at the international level.
Next week, we will pursue the same objective, under the theme of cultural diversity. The Minister of Canadian Heritage succeeded, with Quebec's support, in having the Canadian text adopted by 53 of the 54 UNESCO members.
Andrew Scheer Conservative Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK
Mr. Speaker, we learned that the Minister of State for Multiculturalism funnelled $4,900 from his 2004 election campaign into one of his own companies. Thirty-four hundred dollars was paid to Greenwood Academy for advertising. The minister's own conflict of interest disclosure states that he is the sole owner of Greenwood Academy through a holding company called Grand Canadian Academy, which he also owns.
Could the minister tell us why he funnelled election funds into one of this own companies?
Mauril Bélanger LiberalMinister for Internal Trade
Mr. Speaker, I wish that the member opposite would not smear reputations without checking his facts.
Here are the facts. My colleague reimbursed campaign expenses for two mail drops and paid the rent for his campaign office, as per the law, and reported it, as per the law.
The member opposite is essentially accusing my colleague of following the law. Does he not feel a bit ridiculous?
Andrew Scheer Conservative Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK
Mr. Speaker, this disregard for taxpayers is ridiculous.
Let me make this very simple. The multiculturalism minister took donations to his campaign, turned around and paid his own company for invoices. He takes tax deductible donations, which he benefits from, pays his own company, which he benefits from, and then receives a taxpayer subsidized rebate from Elections Canada, which he benefits from.
Could the minister tell taxpayers why they should have to pay rebates for election expenses that were paid to his own companies?
Mauril Bélanger LiberalMinister for Internal Trade
Mr. Speaker, I have already explained the facts. They are absolutely the opposite to what the member is saying.
However, I have here the statement of electoral campaign expenses of the leader of the official opposition. If I were to accept the logic of the member, and I am not, how would he explain that the June campaign election report declares paying over $3,000 for his leader's leadership campaign expenses in March? Again, if we were to accept that member's logic, which we do not, how would he explain that?
Bradley Trost Conservative Saskatoon—Humboldt, SK
Mr. Speaker, in the year 2004-05, I spent $66,577 for the entirety of my air travel. This includes all my flights to Saskatoon and across the country. However, the finance minister spent $67,100 on one flight to his constituency in Regina. That is $523 more than for my entire year's travel.
Why does it cost so much more to fly to Regina than to Saskatoon?
Bill Graham LiberalMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, we have been through this In the House all week. It is very clear. Hon. members can pick out this or pick out that. The fact of the matter is the facts on which many of the cases they referred to are erroneous. I have given examples where previous ministerial travel has not been properly accounted for when it was done.
I can assure members of the House that when these flights are approved travel, they are within the guidelines. They are for the necessity of the Government of Canada. The Minister of Finance is one of the hardest working ministers in our government and has produced tremendous benefits for the people of Canada. He deserves our credit for what he is doing, not—
Government AircraftOral Questions
The Speaker
The hon. member for Oxford.
Dave MacKenzie Conservative Oxford, ON
Mr. Speaker, despite all the information we already have on agent orange, including the Department of National Defence's own documents, the government's response to the situation has been three fact-finding task forces with no deadline and now no coordinator.
People are sick. People are dying. They do not have time to wait. Will the Minister of National Defence tell this House who will replace Mr. Vaughn Blaney?
Bill Graham LiberalMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member's question gives me an opportunity to thank Mr. Blaney on behalf of members of the House for having been willing to take on this task. He did it with distinction. He is a man with a great distinctive career. For health reasons he has had to withdraw. We wish him well.
I wish I could tell the hon. member that I have found a replacement for him. I have not yet, but I can promise him that I and the Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister for Veterans Affairs, the Minister of Health and all of us involved in this file are working to make sure we have someone who can help coordinate this work and make sure that Canadians who feel affected by this have a chance to tell—
Pablo Rodriguez Liberal Honoré-Mercier, QC
Mr. Speaker, the 4th Summit of the Americas will be held in Mar del Plata, Argentina on November 4 and 5. This summit brings together 34 democratically elected heads of state and government of the Americas in order to identify the main regional issues and define a joint plan to improve the quality of life of people living in the Americas.
This is an extremely important event although, currently, it receives little media coverage.
I want the Government of Canada to explain what are Canada's primary objectives for this important summit?
Pierre Pettigrew LiberalMinister of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Speaker, the 4th Summit of the Americas is a wonderful opportunity for Canada.
We will work with our partners in the region to promote democracy, equality and prosperity in our hemisphere. We want to put emphasis on our best practices on good governance, the Free Trade Area of the Americas, democracy in Haiti, sustainable development, aboriginal issues, contributions to civil society and public-private partnerships for development.
This is an excellent opportunity for Canada to promote these important values.
Pat Martin NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB
Mr. Speaker, the government insists on paying Dingwall severance, yet it denies any benefits whatsoever to 14,000 veterans who were deemed never to have served just because they did not fill out their discharge papers by the deadline. These veterans answered the call just like anybody else, but by order in council their service records were erased.
This is the year of the veteran. Would the Minister of National Defence please tell us that he will have the order in council reversed and reinstate the benefit for these 14,000 surviving veterans or their spouses? They did in fact serve and we cannot erase a person's service record by order in council.
Albina Guarnieri LiberalMinister of Veterans Affairs
Mr. Speaker, in the year of the veteran, of course we want to honour all those who served honourably in the second world war. I have asked my department officials to consult with veterans organizations. I am working closely with DND to excavate the facts and dig up the truth. If there are any individuals who have been misclassified, we will do justice.