Debates of Feb. 2nd, 2005

Public Works and Government Services

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker]

Order, please. The hon. member for Timmins—James Bay has asked a question. He is entitled to hear the answer. With all this noise he will not be able to hear a thing. The Minister of Public Works and Government Services has the floor now.

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that Canada is a trading nation. We benefit as a trading nation not only from what we purchase here from other countries, but more importantly, from what other countries purchase from Canadian companies. For us to benefit from those external markets and for Canadian companies to be protected under the principle of national treatment, it is essential that we respect that principle as part of all our trade agreements and as such protect Canadian investment anywhere in the world.

The Environment

[Bob Mills, Conservative, Red Deer, AB]

Mr. Speaker, we have a Prime Minister who says Kyoto is too bureaucratic. We have an environment minister who says we should not focus on the targets. We have a natural resources minister who says we could not hit the targets anyway. Now, this group wants to spend billions of dollars and send it offshore for hot air credits.

Why will the government not spend the money and spend those billions of dollars to help the Canadian environment before sending it off for hot air?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, I have said that the enhanced plan that will be out pretty soon about Kyoto will be a very convincing one and not a penny will be spent on hot air. The only hot air that exists is coming from that party which refuses to come clean on where it stands on climate change.

[Bob Mills, Conservative, Red Deer, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I hope Maurice Strong comes up with a plan in time.

The government needs to admit and tell people what achieving these Kyoto targets will really mean in terms of higher electricity costs, heating costs, gasoline costs, and the destruction of many hundreds of thousands of jobs in Ontario and in Quebec.

Will the minister come clean and tell Canadians what exactly the real economic costs will be by adhering to Kyoto?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, maybe one day the official opposition will understand that in the new industrial revolution we are in, the environment and the economy go together. Kyoto is not only necessary for the environment. It is a wonderful opportunity to strengthen the competitiveness of Canada.

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Kyoto protocol takes effect in Canada on February 16. While everyone supports a greener environment, including the auto industry, the Liberal-imposed vehicle emission targets will penalize Canada's automakers and harshly punish consumers.

Will the industry minister come clean today and admit that his government's own emission targets will kill thousands of auto jobs?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, again the official opposition does not understand. It is a fact that recently the chief strategist of General Motors said that we have been slow entering the market of hybrid cars. In Europe there is an agreement with the auto industry and those cars become more and more competitive. We will do the same in Canada.

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is the government that does not understand. It is like telling Canadian dressmakers to just make small sizes, force the public to fit into them and that should fix the problem.

While the government dithers over an automotive policy, Ontario auto jobs, factories and initiatives like GM's Beacon project hang in the balance. When will the government admit its Kyoto plan will kill thousands of auto jobs in Ontario?

[David Emerson, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, the government has done more for the automotive sector in this country than any government in many, many years. We have saved thousands and thousands of jobs in the automotive sector and there will not be jobs lost in the automotive sector due to Kyoto.

Parental Leave

[Christiane Gagnon, Bloc, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Quebec Minister Claude Béchard expressed his impatience with the federal government as he prepared to enter a cabinet meeting this morning. He said. “I am looking into the situation in Ottawa. If they are convinced, then they had better convince those who are not.”

Could the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development stop saying any old thing and instead explain clearly to us why, eight months after what was described as a nearly final agreement, the parental leave file has yet to be signed by the federal government and the Government of Quebec?

[Lucienne Robillard, Liberal, President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada]

Mr. Speaker, contrary to what my colleague from Quebec has said, Quebec's Minister Béchard is very patient because we are continuing to talk to each other and both of us are trying to find the right approach to settle this entire matter.

[Christiane Gagnon, Bloc, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is all well and good for the minister to say that everything is going fine, but Minister Béchard went on to say: “It remains to be proven whether they are acting in good faith or not”.

Can the minister understand that even her Quebec counterpart is questioning the federal government's good faith in this matter, since it is unacceptable that, eight months later, negotiations have still not come to an end, and until they do young parents are being denied the parental leave program?

[Lucienne Robillard, Liberal, President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada]

Mr. Speaker, it is interesting that the member for Québec wants to pass herself off as the spokesperson for the Liberal government of Quebec, but I must tell you that we are engaged in direct contacts with that government.

I must point out as well that the parental leave system is being provided at this time to all Quebec families by the federal government. No one is being penalized at this time. We are trying to help Quebec improve this program, which is why the discussions are still going on.

National Defence

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

Mr. Speaker, over the past few years Canadians have reason to be proud of Joint Task Force Two members in the war against terrorism. Canadians are not proud that our special forces, who have been injured in the line of duty while on classified missions, are denied disability pensions.

Why is the minister allowing his government's obsession with secrecy deny pensions to disabled JTF-2 soldiers?

[Bill Graham, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the first thing we have to recognize is that members of our special forces do an incredible job for this country. I understand there is a specific problem about the secrecy of their missions and the need to fill out certain forms.

I promise the hon. member and all members of the special forces that I will work with them to ensure they are justly and properly treated. They will not be discriminated against because of their great service to this country. We have to reconcile their record with the need to have a system that protects their privacy. We will do that.

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

Mr. Speaker, this problem has been going on for years. The minister should know that without proper documentation of service related injuries a disability pension will still be denied.

Injuries to our special forces in the line of duty are not being reported due to so-called reasons of national security, even when the injuries can be confirmed without details of the operation.

How does the minister intend to increase recruitment and morale among our soldiers when the troops know that the JTF-2 veterans are being denied proper care?

[Bill Graham, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is doing her best to paint this into a huge problem. I went to the JTF-2 base. There is no recruitment problem with them. They are thrilled to be doing the jobs they are doing. They are proud of the jobs they are doing for this country. They will continue doing it. They are great soldiers. They will work with us to solve these problems, but they will not turn it into a silly political football like the hon. member is trying to do.

Infrastructure

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

Mr. Speaker, the new deal for cities and communities, particularly that part which deals with the federal gas tax allocation, is one of the government's principal priorities in order to achieve its environmental objectives.

Would the hon. minister for infrastructure please update the House on the status of this key component of the new deal for cities and communities?

[John Godfrey, Liberal, Minister of State (Infrastructure and Communities)]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to tell the House today that we have passed another important milestone in our commitment of the $5 billion gas tax toward our communities.

Each province and territory has been told of its allocation. There will be a per capita formula with a special allocation for the three small territories and P.E.I. This approach was proposed to us by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and we have accepted it. These funds will be supporting environmentally sustainable infrastructure across Canada.

Taxation

[Gary Lunn, Conservative, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, during the last election the Prime Minister went to Saanich--Gulf Islands and promised JDS employees that he would fix their tax problem. He said, “I told Ralph to fix that”.

In December the Minister of National Revenue said he was seized of the file. I have now learned that the government has no intention of keeping its promise and that in fact it is going to seize their money.

Why does the Prime Minister say anything just to get a vote? His words are hollow. They are empty. They are meaningless. Why does the Prime Minister continually break his word to these people?

[John McCallum, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue]

Mr. Speaker, the integrity of the tax system is a core national asset. What is critical is that each and every taxpayer knows that he or she will be treated exactly the same as every other taxpayer. That is the principle we are applying in this case. I can assure the hon. member that these individuals will be treated within the law but in a manner that is fair.

[Gary Lunn, Conservative, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, if the minister wants to talk about integrity, I want to talk about the integrity of the Prime Minister. He looked these people in the eye, made promises to them and he broke them. He will say anything to get a vote. It is shameful. The Prime Minister's honour is in question. He should be absolutely ashamed of himself.

He promised me four years ago he would help these people. Why did the Prime Minister lie--

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!