Debates of Feb. 4th, 2005

International Aid

[Pierre Paquette, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in London yesterday, on the eve of a meeting of G-7 finance ministers, Nelson Mandela challenged the leaders of the rich countries to reduce the debt of the poor countries, to significantly step up international aid, and to make international trade more equitable.

Mr. Mandela emphasized the urgent need to act promptly. Hon. members will recall that the Prime Minister made drastic cuts to international aid when he was finance minister. Now he has a duty to heed the heart-felt plea of the former president of South Africa, who said in his speech “Massive poverty and obscene inequality are such terrible scourges of our times—that they have to rank alongside slavery and apartheid as social evils”.

The Prime Minister must show some leadership and remedy his past errors. It is high time the government put a realistic plan in place to enable it to reach at least the minimum objective of 0.7 of GDP by 2015.

When the budget is tabled a few weeks from now, it will give us a good indication of how serious the Prime Minister is. This may be an opportunity for him to put his money where his mouth is.

Liberal Party of Canada

[Françoise Boivin, Liberal, Gatineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be able to tell all Canadians that the Liberal women's caucus, of which I am the Chair, has included three resolutions among its priorities leading up to the biennial convention to be held in Ottawa in March.

These are early childhood education and child care, Canada's plan with respect to climate change, and last but not least, gender-based analysis, commonly known as GBA.

These resolutions, not one or two, but all three, will be debated at the convention, because the National Liberal Caucus has incorporated them in the five resolutions adopted in Fredericton.

The women's caucus also has great hopes that the hon. Minister of Finance will incorporate the principles of gender-based analysis in his upcoming budget, in response to our lobbying.

To quote a certain daily newspaper:

“What is hot this week?” Definitely the Liberal women's caucus who makes daily strong commitments toward real equality.

Government Policies

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I have been looking back over the issues that have arisen in this Parliament and I have detected an interesting trend: special favours for strippers; taxpayer subsidized tattoos for convicts; and decriminalization of marijuana.

Suddenly it has become all so clear. The federal Liberals are the Trailer Park Boys of Ottawa. This explains a lot.

Our trade minister has not had much luck dealing with the U.S. on softwood lumber or beef, but a couple of years ago his department managed one significant success. It managed to enforce an anti-dumping ruling on the importation of American bingo cards. No doubt the good old boys back in the trailer park got good and cranked up about that one.

And to think most Canadians believe that Bubbles, Ricky, Julian and the rest of the gang reside in the Sunnyvale trailer park in Nova Scotia when they are really alive and well here in Ottawa sitting on the government side of the House.

Knights of Columbus

[Jean-Claude D'Amours, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Speaker, on January 29 I had the privilege of taking part in the 25th anniversary of Council 7503 of the Knights of Columbus, in the community of Saint-Joseph-de-Madawaska.

First, I want to remind this House of the commitment of the Knights of Columbus to their communities, all across Canada. Clearly the commitment and contribution of the Knights to many communities in Canada foster their communal and social development.

In that way, the Knights of Columbus of Saint-Joseph-de-Madawaska are no exception, and so I want to pay tribute to them today. The Saint-Joseph-de-Madawaska chapter is very active and certainly makes its community a better place to live.

Finally, I would like to thank the members of the Knights of Columbus of Saint-Joseph-de-Madawaska for inviting me to their 25th anniversary and I wish them many more years.

Post-Secondary Education

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise to express NDP solidarity with students who are rallying this week in CFS Days of Action to assert their right to quality post-secondary education. Fifteen hundred students came out in Winnipeg on Wednesday, and hundreds more in Toronto, Sudbury and Windsor yesterday, demanding federal action to cut tuition fees and student debt.

Liberal majority budgets slashed billions of dollars from provincial education transfers, leading to major cost increases for students. More and more young people are being denied access to education they need for jobs and hope for the future. More and more families cannot afford to send their sons and daughters to university.

The Liberals promised $8 billion for post-secondary education in last year's election and New Democrats intend to use this minority government to hold them to that promise. We are here for students to ensure that this government no longer takes their needs for granted.

We want a day of action on post-secondary education from this government and that day is February 23, budget day.

Star of Courage

[Ed Komarnicki, Conservative, Souris—Moose Mountain, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge Master-Corporal Jason Cory Hamilton, who is stationed at Trenton, Ontario, and whose parents, Russell and Fern Hamilton, are from Whitewood, Saskatchewan, in my constituency. They are in Ottawa today.

Today Jason will be awarded the Star of Courage, which is awarded for acts of conspicuous courage in circumstances of great peril.

On October 2, 2003, after their convoy's lead vehicle had struck an anti-tank mine, MCpl Jason Hamilton and Cpl Danny Matthews entered an undefined minefield to recover three of their stricken comrades near Kabul, Afghanistan. He and Cpl Matthews worked their way on to the dangerous terrain until they reached the first fallen soldier. After escorting the injured soldier back to safety to administer first aid, Cpl Matthews and MCpl Hamilton returned, advancing farther into the minefield, only to discover that the mine blast had claimed the lives of two other soldiers.

This is a salute to great acts of courage and bravery on the part of MCpl Jason Cory Hamilton.

Germain Boulianne

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as the shadow member of Parliament for the riding of Gatineau., I rise today to recognize the brilliant performance of Germain Boulianne, the first Quebecker ever to become a champion in the world Scrabble champion.

Mr. Boulianne, a resident of Gatineau and a translator right here in Parliament, won the highest honour last July at the world francophone Scrabble championships in Marrakesh, Morocco, in which more than 20 countries participated.

This sort of championship is not won without preparation. Germain Boulianne set himself a truly Olympic training regimen to prepare for this tournament, playing Scrabble for three to four hours every day. He had, in fact, won the Quebec championship six times before becoming world champion.

I would also like to mention that beautiful Quebec City will welcome nearly 1,000 players at the 36th world francophone Scrabble championships, from August 3 to 10, 2007.

Therefore, on behalf of all the Bloc Québécois members, I want to congratulate Mr. Boulianne, our own world champion from Quebec, and wish him continued success in this game, which showcases our magnificent French language.

Citizenship and Immigration

[John Duncan, Conservative, Vancouver Island North, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada was once known for its strong and principled backbone on human rights.

The behaviour of the Prime Minister in his recent visit to Beijing has only served to confirm that he is prepared to casually destroy this reputation by paying lip service to human rights in order to curry favour with Beijing.

The People's Republic of China desperately wants the return of Mr. Lai Changxing , who is in refugee hearings in Vancouver.

Chinese nationals only submitted depositions on behalf of Mr. Lai after a promise from the immigration minister that they would be protected and confidential. This promise was breached by Canadian authorities, who led Chinese police to Tao Mi. Now, over a year and a half later, she has not been seen since then.

The government has blood on its hands. When will the government have an accounting for Tao Mi ?

Conservative Party of Canada

[Russ Powers, Liberal, Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the cracks in the Alliance Conservative Party are beginning to expand every day. Canadians are having confirmed what they suspected all along. This is not a real merger. Instead, the extreme social agenda of the Reform Alliance party is being imposed on the members of the Conservative Party.

Reports are coming in from across the country that the leader of the official opposition and his centralized office are forcing out moderates who refuse to adopt his radical social views. One former party executive in Toronto said that “democracy...is not being followed at all” under this Conservative leader.

In a February 4 Globe and Mail article, in New Brunswick the Conservative riding president in Moncton says there is an obsession by the party leadership to “have the ridings operate more or less by remote control by Ottawa...”.

The backlash to this centralized control was apparent when the Leader of the Opposition recently went to a GTA Conservative meeting and was heckled by his own members. Only this leader would be this out of touch with what--

[The Deputy Speaker]

Oral questions.

Sponsorship Program

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Central Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, that was pathetic.

The Elections Canada database shows that a top Liberal organizer and Mr. Chrétien's golfing buddy and his wife donated over $10,000 to the former Prime Minister's 2000 election campaign and also contributed to the Liberal Party of Canada.

Let us see how this works. Corriveau prints all the signs and pamphlets for the Liberal Party for the 1997 election, has trouble getting paid by the party but somehow out of the blue lands a lucrative sponsorship program for millions of taxpayers' dollars. Then Corriveau donates money back to the Liberal Party. What a sweet deal. This damning information should have been before the Canadian public before the election.

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, once again, Canadians want Justice Gomery to continue to work and do his inquiry. What they do not want is a parallel inquiry on the floor of the House of Commons, rehashing the same information but without the sage wisdom and management of a respected jurist like Justice Gomery. We know that the party opposite and the members opposite do not understand the laws of the land, so if they do not understand the laws of the land, why are they trying to conduct a judicial inquiry here on the floor of the House of Commons?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Central Nova, NS]

Heaven forbid, Mr. Speaker, that a question be answered in question period.

The Prime Minister promised Canadians that they would have enough information about the sponsorship scandal to make a judgment call about the rot and corruption in the Liberal Party before the election. Instead, the government shut down the public inquiry at the public accounts committee when things were getting hot.

Now information is coming out daily about how taxpayers' money was being funnelled through the sponsorship program to top Liberal Party organizers and the Liberal Party, donations going back to the Liberal Party from the public trust. Why was this information withheld from the public accounts committee?

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that the government has cooperated fully with the public accounts committee and with the Gomery commission, in fact providing cabinet confidences back to 1993.

The fact is that the reason the hon. member can irresponsibly comment on the daily testimony before the Gomery commission is that there is a Gomery commission because of the courage and vision of our leader, the Prime Minister of Canada, who has actually done the right thing and has set up the Gomery commission to get to the truth, which is what Canadians want to happen.

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Central Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, imagine the courage of calling an inquiry into the corruption of one's own party. That is pretty brave.

Jacques Corriveau, an important Liberal organizer, had trouble getting paid by the Liberal Party for his work on the campaign. However, he had no problem getting millions of dollars for contracts, via the sponsorship program. Just 24 hours ago, the leader of the opposition asked the Prime Minister if he had demanded that Mr. Corriveau pay back this tainted money.

Was this money returned—

[The Deputy Speaker]

The Minister of Public Works and Government Services.

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, it would best to avoid prejudging the work of Justice Gomery. We must wait for his report, which I look forward to reading. However, it is inappropriate to prejudge his work, daily here in the House of Commons.

[Jay Hill, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, once upon a time this Prime Minister told Canadians that he wanted to get to the bottom of ad scam. Thanks to Alfonso Gagliano's testimony at the Gomery inquiry it is now obvious to everyone, to all Canadians, that the ethics of the Liberal Party of Canada and this government have indeed hit rock bottom.

Now that the truth is finally getting out, why will the Prime Minister not keep his promise to Canadians and repay the public money used to finance Liberal Party campaign expenses?

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, once again they are commenting on daily testimony. They are slow learners over there when it comes to the laws of the land and the independence of a judicial inquiry. We have set up the Gomery commission to get to the bottom of this issue because that is what Canadians want to hear.

The fact is that Canadians also want to hear us in the House discussing important issues before the country, issues like health care, like child care, like the investments in Canadian communities, and they know that the reason why that party refuses to discuss those issues is that the Government of Canada and the Prime Minister of Canada are addressing those issues full square and doing the right things on behalf of--

[The Deputy Speaker]

The hon. member for Prince George--Peace River.

[Jay Hill, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the government and the minister are the slow learners. Canadians want some answers to these questions.

Yes, we agree, the Gomery inquiry is doing its job and getting to the bottom of the dirty facts about the sponsorship program. More backroom Liberal Party deals are being unearthed daily.

The Prime Minister promised Canadians he would punish those found responsible. Will the Prime Minister now keep that promise and rout out the shady characters in his government who allowed this type of corruption to fester in the first place?

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, Justice Gomery is doing his work, and all Canadians will benefit from his work. We would be doing our work if we were to actually focus on the issues facing Canadians on a day-to-day basis, like agriculture, health care, our foreign policy issues, instead of talking about Justice Gomery's work on a daily basis.

They have no legal expertise over there. They do not understand the law of the land. Why are they trying to conduct a judicial inquiry here on the floor of the House of Commons?

Parental Leave

[Monique Guay, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, Quebec minister Claude Béchard denounced the federal government, saying that it was asking Quebec families to contribute twice.

Instead of trying to save money on the backs of Quebec families, what is the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development waiting for to make good on her 1997 promise by giving Quebec full funding for the first year of the parental leave program?

[Jean Lapierre, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, a while ago I spoke to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development. She is still in negotiation with her Quebec counterpart. The negotiations are moving forward. We hope to come to a resolution. There is already a generous offer of $850 million on the table for the first year, which represents a considerable sum for Quebec families.

[Monique Guay, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the first year funding is short $275 million. That is the reality. In 1997, the federal government promised to fully fund the first year of the parental leave program. It is the minister's refusal that has Minister Béchard saying that the current government is treating Quebec families worse than the previous government did.

How can the minister justify being so stingy with Quebec families? What is she waiting for to change her mind and give Quebec full funding for parental leave with no strings attached?