Debates of Nov. 21st, 2005

Agriculture

[Reg Alcock, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has done more than most for farmers in the 24 months that he has been Prime Minister. Not only that, the Wheat Board, which the member would know if he spent any time paying attention to it, is a completely independent organization run by farmers who make all these choices. It is because of the hard work of those farmers that he will get some very good news shortly.

Equalization

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, in a moment the finance minister will get up and recite a litany of band-aid fixes for Saskatchewan, but do not be fooled. These fixes were all for errors his own department made in the first place. They all do not even come close to what a substantial and fair equalization agreement would amount to. Everyone in Saskatchewan knows we are not getting a fair deal. He is not fooling anyone.

Why should people in Saskatchewan see our oil and gas revenues clawed back when other provinces do not?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. gentleman is plainly, flatly false in his preamble. He says that the $799 million that has flowed to Saskatchewan over the last 18 months is just in respect of previous anomalies in the formula. That is not true. The amount of $126 million relates to previous anomalies, but $672 million represent an increased amount. The hon. gentleman is simply wrong.

National Defence

[Claude Bachand, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, although everything was on hold last week, since the country is on the verge of an election, today we learn that the federal government is preparing to spend nearly $5 billion to purchase tactical aircraft.

Since over 50% of the aeronautics industry is concentrated in Quebec, Quebec companies in this sector are very keen to get a share of this huge contract.

Can the Minister of National Defence guarantee that no contracts will be awarded to the builders of such tactical aircraft unless they contain a Canadian content clause?

[Bill Graham, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, all the members of the House want our Canadian forces to get the equipment they need and to do the work we—in other words, Canadians—are asking them to do.

Our aim in procurement is to optimize Canadian industry. We are working with the Canadian industry on all procurements in order to guarantee participation in the growth of that industry. However, we must, first and foremost, buy what is needed.

Fisheries and Oceans

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Bonavista—Exploits, NL]

Mr. Speaker, today is World Fisheries Day, and this is a resource that feeds millions of people around the world each and every day. However, more than 70% of the world's resources of fisheries are fully exploited or depleted.

More than a year ago the government embarked on a strategy to combat illegal overfishing on the Grand Banks off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. Could the minister please update the House on this initiative?

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, under the leadership of the Prime Minister, we continue to make the fight against overfishing a top priority, as we saw again last week at the APEC summit in Korea. We are also putting our words into action. Because of our enhanced enforcement on the Grand Banks, the number of vessels fishing groundfish last week was down by nearly 70% since over the last two years. There is more work to be done, but our strategy is working.

Government Contracts

[Judy Wasylycia-Leis, NDP, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Virginia Fontaine scandal goes to the highest levels of the federal government. The ringleaders, assistant deputy minister Paul Cochrane and director Patrick Nottingham, siphoned off millions of dollars for their personal use in the form of cars, cruises and condos, yet they received little slaps on the wrist for this criminality. Hard to imagine how the deputy minister at the time, David Dodge, or the minister at the time, Allan Rock, knew nothing about this scandal.

With no accountability in sight, will the government finally agree to an independent inquiry to get justice for those denied critical services by the government's actions?

[Reg Alcock, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, the member will try to hang anything she can on this event. The fact is the wrongdoing was identified. The person has been charged, disciplined and dismissed. This matter is at an end. The money was identified. We have been to court on that. The person has been penalized for it. I am not sure what else she wants to find out.

Shipbuilding Industry

[Jean-Yves Roy, Bloc, Matapédia—Matane, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government is currently conducting a special review of its policy on the costs of ship transfers imposed during the assessment of bids relating to refitting work.

Considering that, when it comes to procurement, the federal government's responsibility is twofold, in that it must get the best value for taxpayers' money while also promoting economic development, does the minister not think that, in the name of regional equity, he should correct his policy, which systematically penalizes Quebec's shipbuilding industry?

[David Emerson, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, there is a massive procurement program with DND and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans over the next 10 to 15 years. I am working right now with the industry ensuring that there is substantial Canadian content in those procurement initiatives going forward.

Business of the House

[Tony Valeri, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I think you would find unanimous consent for the following. I move:

That Bill C-53 be deemed to have been concurred in at report stage and read a third time and passed on division;

That Bill C-54 be deemed to have been read a third time and passed on division;

That Bill C-55 be deemed to have been reported from the committee with the following amendments presented by the government:

That Bill C-55, in clause 131, be amended by replacing line 41 on page 127 with the following:

as provided in this section or under the laws of the

That Bill C-55, in clause 131, be amended by adding after line 11 on page 129 the following:

(8) For greater certainty, any collective agreement that the company and the bargaining agent have not agreed to revise remains in force, and the court shall not alter its terms.

and that the said bill be deemed to have been concurred in at report stage and read a third time and passed on division;

That Bill C-66 be deemed to have been read a second time, referred to and reported from committee without amendment, concurred in at report stage and read a third time and passed on division.

[The Speaker]

Does the hon. government House leader have the unanimous consent of the House to propose this motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker]

The House has heard the terms of the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

(Motion agreed to)

[Tony Valeri, Liberal, Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I would like to draw to your attention the fact that the House has just expressed confidence in this government once again through the passage of Bill C-66.

[The Speaker]

I am sure the House is glad to hear the news, but I do not think it is a point of order.

(Bill C-53. On the Order: Government Orders:)

November 16, 2005--The Minister of Justice--Consideration at report stage and second reading of Bill C-53, An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (proceeds of crime) and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and to make consequential amendments to another Act, as reported by the Standing Committee on Justice, Human Rights, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, without amendment.

(Bill concurred in at report stage, read a third time and passed)

(Bill C-54. On the Order: Government Orders:)

November 3, 2005--Resuming consideration of the motion of the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development that Bill C-54, An Act to provide first nations with the option of managing and regulating oil and gas exploration and exploitation and of receiving moneys otherwise held for them by Canada, be read the third time and passed.

(Bill read the third time and passed)

(Bill C-55. On the Order: Government Orders:)

October 5, 2005--Minister of Industry--An Act to establish the Wage Earner Protection Program Act, to amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts.

(Bill concurred in at report stage, read the third time and passed)

(Bill C-66. On the Order: Government Orders:)

November 1, 2005--Resuming consideration of the motion of the Minister of Finance that Bill C-66, An Act to authorize payments to provide assistance in relation to energy costs, housing energy consumption and public transit infrastructure, and to make consequential amendments to certain Acts, be now read a second time and referred to the Standing Committee on Finance.

(Bill read a second time, referred to and reported from committee without amendment, concurred in at report stage, read the third time and passed)

Global Partnership Program

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), I am pleased to table, in both official languages, the first annual report of the Global Partnership Program.

Government Response to Petitions

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

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour pursuant to Standing Order 36(8) to table, in both official languages, the government's response to 21 petitions.

Committees of the House

[Massimo Pacetti, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour of presenting, in both official languages, the 19th report of the Standing Committee on Finance.

Your committee has considered Bill C-273, an act to amend the Income Tax Act (deduction for volunteer emergency service). Pursuant to Standing Order 97.1, your committee recommends that the House of Commons do not proceed further with the bill.

[Andrew Telegdi, Liberal, Kitchener—Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present in both official languages, from the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, the 14th report, on Bill C-283, an act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Immigration and refugee protection regulations; the 15th report, on a motion regarding commemorative postage stamps; and the 16th report on motions regarding temporary resident permits.

The issue related to stamps is that the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, in a unanimous motion, calls on Canada Post to issue a series of commemorative postage stamps marking significant refugee movements to Canada, and that the series begin by marking the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the Hungarian refugee movement, and including but not limited to those refugees from Uganda, Vietnam, Indo China, Croatia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Slovenia, Yugoslavia and Macedonia to be considered.

[David Tilson, Conservative, Dufferin—Caledon, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the seventh report of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, entitled “Open Government Act”.

[Paddy Torsney, Liberal, Burlington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to seek unanimous consent to table a report from the Interparliamentary Union.

[The Speaker]

Is there unanimous consent to revert to reports from interparliamentary delegations?