Debates of Feb. 11th, 2005

Tsunami Relief

[Ted Menzies, Conservative, Macleod, AB]

Mr. Speaker, six weeks after the tsunami tragedy in southeast Asia, the TV cameras have come home and the Liberals can finally have a cabinet meeting in Ottawa.

Reports now reveal that refugee camps in Sri Lanka are still waiting for tents and food. As feared, the conflict between the government and the Tamil Tigers is blocking the flow of aid. The Prime Minister assured Canadians that this would not happen.

Will he admit that he has mismanaged this humanitarian crisis and failed to deliver on another promise?

[Paddy Torsney, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Cooperation]

Absolutely not, Mr. Speaker. The Prime Minister has made incredible commitments and our commitments are being honoured in every way.

Canadians can be very proud of the fact that this government has responded with $425 million worth of support. Canadian NGOs, international NGOs and the multinational community are working together to ensure aid is getting into the affected regions. Canadians are making sure our commitments once again are being honoured in that area.

Foreign Affairs

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the situation in Togo, a member of the Francophonie, is of great concern. On the death of President Eyadéma, Togo did not comply with its constitutional requirement for the national assembly to fulfill interim presidential duties until an election could be held. Instead, the military put the late president's son in power, throwing that country into total disarray.

What action is the Francophonie taking to protest this situation?

[Jacques Saada, Liberal, Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec and Minister responsible for the Francophonie]

Mr. Speaker, the situation in Togo is indeed a cause of great concern. A few days ago, I met personally with Togo's ambassador to Ottawa, and on Wednesday, the Francophonie, in the form of the Conseil permanent de la Francophonie, met in Paris. The “sherpa” for Canada was in attendance, and a decision was reached by the council to suspend Togo from participation in Francophonie events and to suspend all aid to Togo from the international Francophonie until the situation is remedied. We are urging Togo to respect its own constitution and to hold the free and democratic elections it requires.

Agriculture

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the agriculture minister is back from his BSE mission to the U.S. but it appears he came back with half the deal he went there with.

The U.S. said that it would open the border to live animals and boneless meat from mature animals on March 7. Now it is only opening it to live animals under 30 months of age.

I am glad the minister came home when he did or we might have lost the entire deal.

Canadian producers have, for far too long, been hearing empty promises and getting false hope from the government. Will the agriculture minister guarantee that the border will open on March 7 for live animals--

[The Speaker]

The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food (Rural Development)]

Mr. Speaker, I really cannot understand where that member is coming from.

A delegation, with a member from that party, went to Washington to talk to United States congressmen and senators, as well as the secretary of agriculture, Mr. Johanns. It was a successful mission.

They met with a lot of congressmen and senators to keep the pressure on. In fact, Secretary Johanns is committed to the March 7 opening for live animals under 30 months, and that is progress.

Sport Canada

[Gary Schellenberger, Conservative, Perth—Wellington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, recently a decision was made by the Canada Games Council to remove men's softball from the 2009 Canada Summer Games.

I and many of my constituents are very concerned by this. I am told that removing men's softball from the games will result in lower levels of participation and dramatically reduce the funds needed to help build the sport.

As a lifelong player and fan of men's softball, I find this very troubling.

Will the minister commit to take action to reverse this decision?

[Jean Lapierre, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I know the Minister of State for Sport will be very interested in the topic. I will make sure he gets the information and responds to the request of the hon. member.

Arts and Culture

[Maka Kotto, Bloc, Saint-Lambert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on January 28, 2005, a number of well-known arts organizations joined with the Conseil québécois du théâtre in sending a letter to the Department of Foreign Affairs, in which they expressed their serious concerns about the possible impact of a 35% cut to the arts promotion program of that department.

Is it the minister's intention to protect our culture abroad, either by increasing the funding to support international tours outside of the public diplomacy program , or by allocating specific funds for this to the Canada Council for the Arts?

[Dan McTeague, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I am interested in the hon. member's remarks and documents. I know this is something of great interest to this Parliament as a whole. Meanwhile, obviously, there is a budget coming down. Perhaps certain proposals could be made first in order to calm the hon. member's concerns.

The Environment

[David Smith, Liberal, Pontiac, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this week, the Forest Products Association of Canada and Environment Canada launched the inauguralAir Quality Forum.

Could the Minister of the Environment elaborate on that?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, much improvement has already taken place in the pulp and paper industry in particular. However, the entire forest industry has mobilized, together with the governments, to ensure that, in forestry like in other sectors, the environment and the economy are considered together. Unless our forests are adequately protected, not only will the biodiversity be destroyed, but an industry which creates numerous jobs would suffer.

Environment and economy have to increasingly go hand in hand, and such is the vision of the Prime Minister.

Housing

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, hundreds of thousands of homes have been made dangerous and even devalued by virtue of Zonolite contamination.This happened because of a federal government program that promoted and even subsidized the installation of this Zonolite.

Within months of learning that UFFI foam was irritating, a program existed to remove that hazard from people's homes. Canadians are looking to their government for help in removing Zonolite.

What will the government do to help homeowners get this carcinogen out of their walls when the government helped put it in?

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

Mr. Speaker, I do not buy the premise of the question at all. I am sure the member would want to be more clear with Canadians.

Yes, any time they are undertaking renovations we would encourage them, obviously, to talk to professionals so that they can get the right information.

We have been told, and it is on Health Canada's website as well as CMHC, which advised all the stakeholders and so on, that if left undisturbed it does not pose a health risk.

Yes, we need to inform Canadians on the health and safety of their homes but I am sure the member would not want to alarm Canadians to suggest that they are--

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke.

National Defence

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Mr. Speaker, privatizing information technology services at DND resulted in over $160 million being defrauded from the people of Canada. Now the government wants to implement the same flawed system government-wide.

Past experience like the gun registry bureaucracy had $2 million become a $2 billion cost to the taxpayers.

Why is the government planning to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on another reorganization like the gun registry?

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

Mr. Speaker, I should point out to the member that it was a result of action by this government that the bulk of the money that was mentioned in defence was recovered, almost all of it.

The reality is that we are constantly looking at ways to modernize the services that we deliver and, frankly, we will continue to do so. We will continue to look at ways to improve services, to seek lower costs and to provide better services for citizens. It is the mandate of this government.

Foreign Affairs

[Roger Clavet, Bloc, Louis-Hébert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday North Korea announced that it has an atomic bomb and refuses to resume multilateral negotiations. They must resume with China, Russia, the United States, Japan and South Korea, and North Korea must abandon its nuclear ambitions.

Will the Minister of Foreign Affairs promise to talk to his international partners about resuming negotiations and calling on the international community to work together to bring North Korea back to the table to prevent a dangerous escalation between North Korea and South Korea?

[Dan McTeague, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, if the statements by North Korea are true, they are troubling and worrisome. I agree with the hon. member that we are in a position where we must make every effort to have an independent investigation to ensure that the country is not acting in a manner that could threaten global stability.

This would enable us to see the true situation and ensure that there will be negotiations aimed at maintaining peace in that region.

Order in Council Appointments

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table, in both official languages, a number of orders in council recently made by the government.

Criminal Code

[Myron Thompson, Conservative, Wild Rose, AB]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-327, an act to amend the Criminal Code (bail for persons charged with violent offences), the Extradition Act and the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the police agencies throughout the country I am pleased to introduce this bill that would amend the Criminal Code so that people who are arrested and charged with violent offences not be eligible for bail, as there are far too many incidents taking place after bail that could have been prevented had they been detained.

I have the support of the police departments across the country on the bill and I am pleased to introduce it on their behalf today.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Corrections and Conditional Release Act

[Myron Thompson, Conservative, Wild Rose, AB]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-328, an act to amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (dependence on alcohol or drugs).

Mr. Speaker, the bill would amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act to add the condition that an offender not have a dependency on alcohol or drugs in order to be eligible for parole, that if he or she is indeed addicted to any these, that he or she not receive parole.

I know that will be difficult because of the drug problem which is supposed to be a zero tolerance but which does not exist in this country. Nevertheless, when we send people to prison for rehabilitation and they are not rehabilitated, they continually remain addicted, and this bill would prevent them from being released on parole.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Criminal Code

[Myron Thompson, Conservative, Wild Rose, AB]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-329, an act to amend the Criminal Code (arrest without warrant).

Mr. Speaker, the purpose of this bill is at the request of the police forces throughout the country who have, for a number of years, asked that the government give them the right and the authority to arrest a person who is in breach of probation or parole. When police forces see individuals in breach of these offences today they are required to report them to a parole officer or probation officer. It takestwo or three hours usually to make contact and to have anything happen.

If we were to give police officers the power to arrest these people on site without a warrant. it would prevent a lot of trouble. I fully support the police departments.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Petitions

[John Reynolds, Conservative, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am presenting a petition today on behalf of the Sunshine Coast Peace Group that opposes participation in attack, invasion or occupation of foreign countries and call upon Parliament to denounce any further military attacks against foreign nations, and declare Canada's non-participation in such aggression.

The petitioners urge the UN to seek a peaceful solution that respects the charter of the UN and all other international laws regarding the sovereignty and equality of nation states and forbid the export of arms to any nation involved in military attack, invasion or occupation of other nations.