Debates of Feb. 16th, 2005

Public Transportation

[Paul Crête, Bloc, Rivière-Du-Loup—Montmagny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the coming into force of the Kyoto protocol will be the opportunity to launch a great offensive to improve everyone's lives. Moreover, it will also be an important economic lever, if the government takes appropriate action.

Is the Minister of Industry prepared to develop a public transit component within the Technology Partnerships Canada program, which would enable the industry to reach the Kyoto targets as quickly as possible?

[David Emerson, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, it is something that we will be looking at as part of the overall plan going forward.

[Paul Crête, Bloc, Rivière-Du-Loup—Montmagny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, will the Minister of Industry intervene to provide massive support to the public transit industry, for example Bombardier Transportation and Nova Bus, thus enabling the renewal of transportation infrastructures and creating thousands of jobs? Will there finally be an optimistic message for people who want a better environment?

[David Emerson, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, we are moving ahead very rapidly with an aerospace strategy for Canada. We will continue to push aggressively on that in the months ahead.

Child Care

[Carol Skelton, Conservative, Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar, SK]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Social Development made a shocking statement. He said that parents only said they wanted to stay at home with their children because they felt guilty about having others care for their kids.

Will the minister apologize and admit his child care scheme does not include stay-at-home options for parents?

[Ken Dryden, Liberal, Minister of Social Development]

Mr. Speaker, it is an interesting approach. They make up quotes. They attribute quotes to whomever they want, and then they attack the quotes and they attack the person. That is quite a strategy. However, it is not honest and it is not a game I will play.

[Carol Skelton, Conservative, Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal child care plan would only increase the number of regulated subsidized child care spaces from 7% to 10%. A program that only helps one in ten children, only helps some parents and only some provinces is not a national program.

When will this minister admit his plan will not meet the needs of shift workers, part time parents and rural parents?

[Ken Dryden, Liberal, Minister of Social Development]

Mr. Speaker, the government has made a commitment of $5 billion over five years for an early learning and child care system. That represents a 40% increase in the amount of money that will be spent on early learning and child care in the country. That 40% is something that is unprecedented. In fact, if the government had not made that commitment, we would be nowhere in child care for many years to come.

Auditor General's Report

[Monte Solberg, Conservative, Medicine Hat, AB]

Mr. Speaker, and he thought the NHL was rough.

Yesterday the Auditor General ripped the government for the lack of accountability around foundations. It was this Prime Minister ironically who set up these foundations to be unaccountable, the same person who never misses a chance to talk about how outraged he is about the lack of accountability around sponsorship.

It is not true that the Prime Minister set up these foundations precisely so the public would not have a clue what was happening with their money?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is certainly not true. If the member would like, I will quote what the Auditor General of Canada said this morning on CBC Radio. She said:

We don't have any issues with the people who are there and I wouldn't want any of our comments to be taken as a criticism of those people nor of the activities that are going on in the foundations.

On the issue of accountability, as a result of legislation presented in the House by the current Prime Minister when he was finance minister, foundations are required under the funding agreements to provide information to the public. Plans are provided annually to the responsible minister and Parliament.

[Monte Solberg, Conservative, Medicine Hat, AB]

Mr. Speaker, how could the Auditor General criticize anyone in the foundations when she is not allowed to audit their books? We know that not a day goes by when the Prime Minister is not mad as hell about sponsorship, and he always wants to get to the bottom of it, come hell or high water. Now he has a chance to channel that chronic anger into something positive.

For the foundations he set up to be unaccountable, he now has a chance to go in and do something good. Will he commit to allowing Parliament and the Auditor General to go in there and scrutinize those foundations?

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

Mr. Speaker, I do not know where the member has been for the last number of years because the foundations have willingly come before Parliament many times.

In the agreement that they were given by the government, their requirements were independent evaluations which must be presented to the responsible minister and made public, provisions that allow the responsible minister to carry out special independent program evaluations and audits of compliance.

The tools the Auditor General is looking for are all there. Parliament has them and may want to use them.

The Environment

[Alan Tonks, Liberal, York South—Weston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister in his response has demonstrated his confidence on behalf of all Canadians that Canada can and will play its part in building a better environmental and economic future.

To this end, COP 11 will be the next international meeting in Montreal, where the global course on climate change beyond Kyoto will be set.

Would the Minister of the Environment please inform his colleagues on all sides of the House what opportunities lie ahead for Canadians in advancing the climate change agenda?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, delegations from 189 countries will gather in Montreal for the Montreal Conference on Climate, as it will be known. Up to 10,000 people are expected to attend.

When humanity emerges from the 21st century, it will need to have gained control of its impact on the planet. The Montreal climate conference will be turning point. It must enable us to create, on a sound footing, an international system that will apply to 2012.

The Government of Canada will work with all the countries in the world to make this major conference a resounding success for the planet.

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, earlier the parliamentary secretary commented that this was a day to celebrate, as the Kyoto accord comes into practice. Clearly, this is a humiliation for Canada in our lack of leadership on this issue. We have no plan and we have no leadership whatsoever on climate change.

Will the Minister of Natural Resources commit today to offering confirmation that he will not lift the moratorium on offshore oil and gas drilling off the Queen Charlotte Islands?

[R. John Efford, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, we have had over two years of consultation with the people in British Columbia. We have clearly put a process in place. More work needs to be done. We will have full consultation with the government, with the industry stakeholders and with the science review for further review on the impact of all offshore drilling. Only then, when everything is complete, will we make a decision.

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Clearly, Mr. Speaker, the minister's idea of consultation is continuing to ask the people of British Columbia until he gets the answer that he wants. Seventy-five per cent of British Columbians said no and 100% of the first nations said no to lifting the moratorium.

The minister seems so committed to jumping into bed with Gordon Campbell over this pipe dream of a project, he cannot hear the people of British Columbia. I ask him again to agree with the people of British Columbia and with the first nations to keep the moratorium on offshore oil and gas drilling in the Hecate Strait?

[R. John Efford, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, when I am satisfied that due diligence is done from every possible aspect and that a complete science review is done, only then will a decision be made.

Auditor General's Report

[Ted Menzies, Conservative, Macleod, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the CIDA budget tops $2 billion annually, but the Liberal government continues to treat taxpayers with disrespect and arrogance.

The Auditor General shocked Canadians yesterday when she revealed that Canada's foreign aid budget is being squandered on goods never received and services never rendered.

Is this a case of simple incompetence or is it another sponsorship scandal in the making?

[Aileen Carroll, Liberal, Minister of International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, I will try not to judge the confidence of that question, but I think what is key here is that the Auditor General said, “Overall, CIDA has made satisfactory progress” in responding to her recommendations.

It is important to note that it is often confusing because the Auditor General makes reference to grants and contributions. She made reference to the fact we are increasing grants. There was, after 20 years, a change in Treasury Board. It now allows grants.

The organizations to which I give grants are the World Food Program and the World Health Organization. I am very comfortable with their auditing processes.

[Ted Menzies, Conservative, Macleod, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General has taken CIDA to task for financial mismanagement yet again. This time she reprimanded the minister for a 25-fold increase in money funnelled through grants that are not audited or accountable. Even worse, seven out of eight audited cases show that CIDA pays out money before work is done, cutting lump sum cheques without proper authorization.

What is the minister hiding, or does she not know what is going on in her department?

[Aileen Carroll, Liberal, Minister of International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, I know it is a subtle challenge. It is one we call flexible response. When the first question has been answered and the second is a repeat, the member should try to connect with the answer he has received.

The Auditor General made it very clear, my dear sir, that there has been a change--

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker]

Order, please. I cannot hear the minister and she is not 10 feet away. There is far too much noise. I cannot hear because there is so much yelling. Perhaps the minister could continue her answer in silence.

[Aileen Carroll, Liberal, Barrie, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am trying to explain, although it is a challenge.

We have here a difference between contributions and grants. Treasury Board made a change which we found to be very good. The Auditor General is pleased with the change. The change allows us to give grants. I have a problem and I ask that the hon. member--