House of Commons Hansard #149 of the 38th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was liberal.

Topics

Airport SecurityOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Conservative

James Moore Conservative Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, BC

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have been in power for 12 years and any excuses for inaction are absolutely hollow.

A few days ago, an investigation revealed a number of security breaches at Pearson airport, particularly with cargo loaded on board without ever being checked. A security expert said the situation is worse now than it was before September 11.

With all the money it spends, how could the government neglect airport security in such an appalling and careless way?

Airport SecurityOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Outremont Québec

Liberal

Jean Lapierre LiberalMinister of Transport

Mr. Speaker, I would not want hon. members to make air travellers worry. The Canadian system is very safe. In some cases, such as Pearson, for example, access to various doors is the responsibility of the airport and not at all of our Canadian airport safety agency. However, I took the television documentary very seriously and have asked Transport Canada to investigate. As soon as we know all the facts, I will be pleased to get back to him on this.

Airport SecurityOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Conservative

James Moore Conservative Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, BC

Mr. Speaker, what makes travellers nervous is the fact that in the four years since 9/11, virtually nothing has changed in terms of airport security or the government's oversight of the changes that it has said it has put in place. This year the government will tax Pearson Airport $144 million in airport rents and charge Pearson Airport travellers roughly $80 million in air security taxes. That is roughly a quarter of a billion dollars in taxes from Pearson Airport and yet its security system, according to reports, is leaking like a sieve.

Why is Canada's largest, most important airport getting third rate security from the government?

Airport SecurityOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Outremont Québec

Liberal

Jean Lapierre LiberalMinister of Transport

Mr. Speaker, I guess the hon. member did not watch the same program because the main problem was the doors which are the responsibility of the airport authority. He knows that CATSA has nothing to do with the doors and access at the airport.

We will be having a review of the CATSA process because it is part and parcel of the law. I will be announcing in the next few days the people who will be part of the review panel. We will do our best to provide the best security in the world. We already have one of the most secure systems in the world and the member should not make passengers nervous about security.

AgricultureOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Bloc

André Bellavance Bloc Richmond—Arthabaska, QC

Mr. Speaker, farm producers are increasingly concerned about the government's real desire to protect supply management and are rightly fearful of becoming a bargaining chip in the upcoming negotiations planned for December in Hong Kong.

Can the government reassure the farmers by giving its negotiating team a clear mandate to maintain the current system of supply management?

AgricultureOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Parry Sound—Muskoka Ontario

Liberal

Andy Mitchell LiberalMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister of State (Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario)

Mr. Speaker, in the negotiations leading up to Hong Kong, we are pursuing the objectives that we always have. We want to see a reduction in domestic supports, the elimination of export subsidies and increased market access for Canadian producers around the world. We are doing that in a way that guarantees that Canadian producers can make their own decisions about their domestic marketing regimes.

AgricultureOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Bloc

André Bellavance Bloc Richmond—Arthabaska, QC

Mr. Speaker, if, as the minister claims, the mandate of the negotiating team is to maintain the supply management system, when will he walk the talk by closing the border to butter oil, milk protein products and other products that could circumvent the supply management system?

AgricultureOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Parry Sound—Muskoka Ontario

Liberal

Andy Mitchell LiberalMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister of State (Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario)

Mr. Speaker, supply management has existed in this country for close to 35 years now. It was a proposal put forward by a Liberal government, a proposal that has been maintained by a Liberal government and a proposal that will be kept into the future by a Liberal government.

Access to InformationOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Conservative

Guy Lauzon Conservative Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON

Mr. Speaker, in his annual report, the Information Commissioner gave the PCO an F, and with good reason.

Last year, partly because of the sponsorship scandal, the number of requests the office received increased by 60%, while it refused to respond to nearly 30% of them.

My question is for the Prime Minister. What is his corrupt government trying to hide and why is it refusing to provide the information requested?

Access to InformationOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Winnipeg South Manitoba

Liberal

Reg Alcock LiberalPresident of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board

Mr. Speaker, absolutely nothing. The reality is that it is the Privy Council that led an unprecedented release of documents to Mr. Justice Gomery. It is the Privy Council that was absolutely forthcoming with the committee when it came to Bill C-25, giving all manner of documents.

It is the Prime Minister who led the proactive disclosure program that is putting more information on public view than ever before.

Access to InformationOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Conservative

Guy Lauzon Conservative Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON

Mr. Speaker, the cover-up continues.

In his annual report, Privacy Commissioner John Reid gave the Liberal government an F when replying to access to information requests. Mr. Reid noted that the government flatly refused almost 30% of the 480 requests received by the government in 2004. These 480 requests represent a 60% increase, mostly due to the sponsorship scandal of course.

On behalf of the Canadian taxpayer, I would like to ask the Prime Minister once again, what is the corrupt Liberal government trying to hide?

Access to InformationOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Winnipeg South Manitoba

Liberal

Reg Alcock LiberalPresident of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board

Mr. Speaker, 12 million pages of documents, many of them confidential cabinet documents, in an unprecedented move, were made available to Mr. Justice Gomery by the government under the leadership of the Prime Minister.

The EnvironmentOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Liberal

Nancy Karetak-Lindell Liberal Nunavut, NU

Mr. Speaker, I understand that last week the United States House of Representatives removed the plans for oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska from its budget bill, as Canada has been pressing Congress to do for months.

Many Canadians, especially northerners, are very concerned about this issue and want assurances. Could the Minister of the Environment confirm that this is the case and update the House on the status of ANWR?

The EnvironmentOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Saint-Laurent—Cartierville Québec

Liberal

Stéphane Dion LiberalMinister of the Environment

Mr. Speaker, Canadians should be proud of the hard work of the Prime Minister, the hon. member for Yukon, the G'witchin people, other aboriginal people across North America in both countries, members of Congress and everyone who has worked so tirelessly on this important issue.

This is not only great news for the Caribou but also for Canada and North America, and it sends a very positive signal around the world for the cause of nature conservation.

JusticeOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Conservative

Vic Toews Conservative Provencher, MB

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Justice wants Canadians to believe that his recent legislation will cut down on the rate of house arrest for violent criminals but his legislation says that in exceptional circumstances convicted rapists can avoid jail time.

Under what circumstances does the minister believe that criminals who rape women should get house arrest?

JusticeOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Mount Royal Québec

Liberal

Irwin Cotler LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Mr. Speaker, when we met with all the provincial and territorial ministers of justice in Whitehorse last week they all supported and praised the proposed conditional sentencing reform. I will take their views, with respect, to that of the member opposite.

JusticeOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Conservative

Vic Toews Conservative Provencher, MB

Mr. Speaker, the minister may support house arrest for rapists but Canadians do not.

The minister believes that the struggle for the illegal drug trade is fueling gun violence in Canada. The minister's recent bluster about cracking down on gun crime is meaningless unless he is also prepared to eliminate house arrest for those who are killing our youth with drugs.

Why is the minister willing to allow repeat drug dealers to qualify for house arrest?

JusticeOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Mount Royal Québec

Liberal

Irwin Cotler LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Mr. Speaker, I do not know why the member opposite insists on rewriting the Criminal Code, on rewriting the recommendations that are being proposed in the conditional sentence reform. Serious and violent offences will not be the subject of a conditional sentence.

Mining IndustryOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Bloc

Diane Bourgeois Bloc Terrebonne—Blainville, QC

Mr. Speaker, instead of imposing restrictive standards in terms of social and environmental responsibilities on Canadian mining companies operating abroad, the minister would prefer to let them self-regulate. We can see the results in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, the Philippines and Guatemala.

Does the minister realize that, with that attitude, he is giving companies the green light to do what they want, without any respect for the rights of the communities?

Mining IndustryOral Questions

3 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Pierre Pettigrew LiberalMinister of Foreign Affairs

Mr. Speaker, our government is trying to work very closely with mining companies, which are found throughout the world. However, it is obvious that we cannot impose Canadian laws or regulations on these Canadian mining companies. That would be an issue of extraterritoriality, which we condemn in numerous other cases throughout the world.

We do hope, however, that Canadian companies, along with the Government of Canada, will develop codes of conduct and corporate responsibility through a developed social conscience. That is what the government is doing with companies throughout the world, while respecting Canadian legislation—

Mining IndustryOral Questions

3 p.m.

The Speaker

The hon. member for Davenport.

Italian CanadiansOral Questions

3 p.m.

Liberal

Mario Silva Liberal Davenport, ON

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of State for Multiculturalism.

During World War II many Canadians of Italian background were interned simply because of their ethnocultural background. Would the minister explain to the House what the government is doing to make sure that these tragic events are recognized in Canadian history, and through that recognition help ensure that it never happens again?

Italian CanadiansOral Questions

3 p.m.

Richmond B.C.

Liberal

Raymond Chan LiberalMinister of State (Multiculturalism)

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his excellent work on this file in the heritage committee. I would also like to thank the Minister of Canadian Heritage for her dedication, advice and support on this file.

On Saturday I was proud to sign an agreement in principle with the leaders of the Italian Canadian community to make sure that this bad part of Canadian history is properly and correctly acknowledged and commemorated, and that Canadians are educated about it to ensure that this kind of thing never happens again.

National DefenceOral Questions

November 14th, 2005 / 3 p.m.

Bloc

Claude Bachand Bloc Saint-Jean, QC

Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, November 10, I wrote the cabinet expressing my opposition to the purchase of $12 billion worth of military aircraft without any real competition.

Why the rush? The materiel procurement plan, which is to follow on the defence policy, has not even been submitted yet. Does the minister admit that he is preparing to spend $12 billion of the taxpayers' money only to meet an electoral deadline?

National DefenceOral Questions

3 p.m.

Toronto Centre Ontario

Liberal

Bill Graham LiberalMinister of National Defence

Mr. Speaker, this program has no connection whatsoever with an electoral deadline as the Bloc Québécois suggests. Instead, the deadline is our troops' need of the equipment required to do the job the Government of Canada and the people of Canada want them to do. We will continue on that path and we will obtain what our troops require. I would respectfully ask the hon. member over the way to wait until we have a plan before he starts attacking it. You have to see something before you can attack it.