House of Commons Hansard #85 of the 38th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was health.

Topics

International CooperationOral Question Period

2:50 p.m.

The Speaker

The hon. member for Halifax.

International CooperationOral Question Period

2:50 p.m.

NDP

Alexa McDonough NDP Halifax, NS

Mr. Speaker, I cannot imagine the embarrassment of the CIDA minister in trying to explain why Canada has said that it wants to be a leader in meeting its 0.7% commitment to overseas development assistance. In the absence of an implementation plan, in the absence of timetables and targets from the Prime Minister, Canada may reach its commitment to 0.7% by the year 2035.

How can the minister defend the broken promises on this--

International CooperationOral Question Period

2:50 p.m.

The Speaker

The hon. Minister of International Cooperation.

International CooperationOral Question Period

2:50 p.m.

Barrie Ontario

Liberal

Aileen Carroll LiberalMinister of International Cooperation

Mr. Speaker, this year alone saw our budget in the international assistance envelope go to $3.7 billion. In five years we will be at more than $5 billion.

What this government and this team know is that aid is far more than just volume. It has a great deal to do with aid effectiveness. What has been announced today gives us five sector priorities and gives us 25 countries with which we will have a very strong development relationship. That is about aid effectiveness.

Government ContractsOral Question Period

April 19th, 2005 / 2:50 p.m.

Conservative

Monte Solberg Conservative Medicine Hat, AB

Mr. Speaker, apparently the Prime Minister has entered the witness protection program, so let us try a question for the finance minister.

In 1995 David Dingwall wrote the following to the current finance minister when he was the agriculture minister:

In addition, three projects have been funded through “contributions”. I'm concerned this method of funding could become a means to avoid the normal procedures for public opinion research.

My Department has made efforts to inform Agriculture and Agri-food Canada officials of the policies. It would be helpful if you could reinforce these efforts along with the concern about contribution arrangements for public opinion research.

How can the finance minister stand up and say--

Government ContractsOral Question Period

2:50 p.m.

The Speaker

The hon. Minister of Finance.

Government ContractsOral Question Period

2:50 p.m.

Wascana Saskatchewan

Liberal

Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Finance

Mr. Speaker, the issues raised by the then minister of public works were referred properly and immediately to the deputy minister of agriculture. The deputy minister of agriculture made sure that within the Department of Agriculture all the procedures were properly followed.

Government ContractsOral Question Period

2:50 p.m.

Conservative

Monte Solberg Conservative Medicine Hat, AB

Mr. Speaker, it must be pretty embarrassing to get chastened by somebody like David Dingwall.

This was exactly the same thing that was happening in the Department of Finance as has happened in the sponsorship program. Money went from the Department of Finance to Earnscliffe back to the Prime Minister's leadership campaign. How can anyone believe that the Prime Minister, who said he would leave no stone unturned, will actually look at all, given that he is doing exactly the same thing?

Government ContractsOral Question Period

2:50 p.m.

Wascana Saskatchewan

Liberal

Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Finance

Mr. Speaker, the hon. gentleman is drawing his crayon on the paper but he is not connecting the dots. The fact of the matter is that all the evidence on the record indicates that the Prime Minister and his staff sought to increase competition, not to decrease competition. That is verified by at least two reports of two auditors: Ernst &Young externally and the Auditor General of Canada internally.

Natural ResourcesOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Conservative

Gerald Keddy Conservative South Shore—St. Margaret's, NS

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government has buried Nova Scotia and Newfoundland's offshore moneys in the implementation bill. Then, for no apparent reason, it took the implementation bill off the order paper, adding another delay to what has already been too long a process. Apparently the implementation bill is back on the order paper, confirming that the Liberal government is playing games with the accord and treating Atlantic Canadians with disdain.

Will the Prime Minister split the offshore accord from the budget and pass it today?

Natural ResourcesOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Hamilton East—Stoney Creek Ontario

Liberal

Tony Valeri LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, the budget implementation bill is on the order paper. I offered to the House on a previous occasion and I will offer it to the House again: I will ask for unanimous consent to move all three stages of the budget implementation bill, have it passed and send it off to the Senate. Atlantic Canadians would have the Atlantic accord. The money for the new deal for cities and communities would flow to the communities. The child care program would be in place and $700 million would go to provinces for child care.

The hon. member should not suggest that we are not proposing this. What the hon. member needs to do is convince the rest of his colleagues to pass the budget implementation bill.

Natural ResourcesOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Conservative

Loyola Hearn Conservative St. John's South, NL

Mr. Speaker, they would love to see--

Natural ResourcesOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

Natural ResourcesOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

The Speaker

Order, please. The hon. member for St. John's South—Mount Pearl has the floor.

Natural ResourcesOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Conservative

Loyola Hearn Conservative St. John's South, NL

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals would love to see the 24 clauses passed without scrutiny or due diligence because that is the way they operate.

First of all, the Prime Minister had to be pressured into promising the deal. Then it took months of more pressure from us and the provinces to get an agreement. The government refused to bring forth stand-alone legislation. Then the Liberals eliminated our opposition day when we could have debated this. Now they are playing around with Bill C-43. Why does the government not want to give the provinces their money?

Natural ResourcesOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Wascana Saskatchewan

Liberal

Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Finance

Mr. Speaker, the opposition has said it supports the Atlantic accord. Those opposition members have said that they support the provision of money to pensions. They say they will not stand in the way of the changes in RRSPs. They say they support national defence. They say they support the tax reductions. They are now even implying that maybe they are warming up on the issue of climate change.

It is all in the budget. It is all in the budget bill. Pass it.

Foreign AffairsOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Bloc

Francine Lalonde Bloc La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC

Mr. Speaker, the international policy statement released this morning trivializes the UN, opens the door to an unclear new multilateralism and makes possible the alignment of Canada's foreign policy with that of the United States.

Will the government acknowledge that its policy statement would suggest that it has decided to align its foreign policy with that of the United States?

Foreign AffairsOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Papineau Québec

Liberal

Pierre Pettigrew LiberalMinister of Foreign Affairs

Mr. Speaker, I greatly appreciate my colleague's interest in our international policy statement. I can certainly reassure her by stating that, on the contrary, it is intended to strongly commit Canadian diplomacy in favour of the reform of the United Nations.

We believe in multilateralism and it is precisely because we believe in it that we want to make it more effective. When it is not, that is when some countries choose not to respect this system which is of such importance to the international community. We do, of course, want a special relationship with the United States, but Canada is where—

Foreign AffairsOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

The Speaker

The hon. member for Terrebonne—Blainville.

International CooperationOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Bloc

Diane Bourgeois Bloc Terrebonne—Blainville, QC

Mr. Speaker, the government has expressed its agreement with the UN objective of having each country give 0.7% of its gross national product in international aid by 2005.

The Prime Minister had no hesitation appearing on stage with the singer Bono, where he made international aid commitments. With this new policy, he has shown today that he does not want to do anything, or not much, and that he does not keep his word. Why?

International CooperationOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Barrie Ontario

Liberal

Aileen Carroll LiberalMinister of International Cooperation

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's direction and the goals he has set are admirable. I am very proud to be a part of where he takes us in Canada's role in the world.

I think it is incredibly important to take a look at where we were and where we are. We have seen an increase of 21% in our aid in the last year. We have a commitment for 8% to continue until we double by the year 2010. This government has made a serious commitment. We are increasing and doing so in a very accelerated manner. His commitment is clear. This government is clear. This is an effective and good development team.

TerrorismOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Conservative

Stockwell Day Conservative Okanagan—Coquihalla, BC

Mr. Speaker, Canadian victims of terrorism are here today advocating for legislation which would force terrorist groups in Canada and the foreign governments which sponsor them to be held financially accountable for their actions. Unfortunately, the government has a history of dithering when it comes to officially banning terrorist groups in Canada.

I wonder if the government would abandon its go slow policy and send a signal today that it will move swiftly to ban terrorist groups so the victims can be compensated. Justice delayed is justice denied.

TerrorismOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Mount Royal Québec

Liberal

Irwin Cotler LiberalMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Mr. Speaker, we have listed a whole series of groups as prohibited terrorist organizations for fundraising purposes. I understand the member's representations with regard to giving a recourse to victims of terror and I have asked my officials to look into that situation. I should say that right now our position on state immunity is consistent with what is the practice of states, but we will be looking into it.

TerrorismOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Conservative

Stockwell Day Conservative Okanagan—Coquihalla, BC

Mr. Speaker, a number of states are moving on this. Today we heard from Canadians affected by the Air-India bombing, the 9/11 disaster and the homicide bombing of a Canadian in Jerusalem, but regretfully, representatives of Canada's Tamil community had to cancel their appearance here at the last minute. They had received threats to their safety because they were going to talk about the terrorist group, the Tamil Tigers.

The Tamil Tigers are only partially restricted in Canada but are fully banned in the United States and Great Britain. Why is our government content to just scold some groups like this instead of fully banning them so that victims can be fully compensated?

TerrorismOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Edmonton Centre Alberta

Liberal

Anne McLellan LiberalDeputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

Mr. Speaker, as I have said before in this House, we take the listing process very seriously. In fact we constantly review and update our list of listed entities under the Criminal Code, as I think the hon. member knows. Of course the organization to which he refers is listed under UN regulation and can be pursued in this country and elsewhere.