Debates of April 4th, 2005

Employment Insurance

[Yves Lessard, Bloc, Chambly—Borduas, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this morning, groups concerned with defending the unemployed launched an “En marche” campaign to pressure the federal government to make significant improvements to the employment insurance system.

Considering the repeated demands of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills Development, Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, the Mouvement d'action-chômage, the sans-chemise, and the labour unions, including the Canadian Labour Congress, what is the Minister waiting for to make the real improvements to the employment insurance system called for by all key stakeholders?

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

Mr. Speaker, all the stakeholders are working first and foremost on creating jobs in our society.

Judging by the statistics across the country, we can take pride in the great decrease in unemployment rates.

That said, the employment insurance system is there to help our workers cope with crises that arise in a particular area. That is precisely what the system does. That is why, year after year, we have made improvements to better assist employers and employees.

[Yves Lessard, Bloc, Chambly—Borduas, QC]

That is the problem, Mr. Speaker. The minister does not know the true purpose of the employment insurance system.

Today we concluded the second hour of debate on Bill C-278 for improving the employment insurance system. This bill reflects the demands made by advocates for the unemployed. This morning the government voted against it.

How could the government oppose this bill to make the necessary improvements to the EI system that all the stakeholders have been asking for?

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

Mr. Speaker, in the last budget, our government did, in fact, make improvements to the EI program, especially in regions where, unfortunately, the unemployment rate is over 10%.

We introduced five different measures, including one to make it easier to enter the EI system, one increasing allowable earnings while receiving benefits, and a measure to have benefits calculated on the best 14 weeks of 52. These are all improvements to help employees.

The Environment

[Bob Mills, Conservative, Red Deer, AB]

Mr. Speaker, let me try the question again and maybe we will get an answer. We were promised the Kyoto plan first for February 16, the day that Kyoto came into force, then March 23, budget day, then it would be the next week. Now we understand that cabinet is meeting, approving the plan today and releasing it tomorrow.

Will the government be releasing it tomorrow or will there be more dithering and delay?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know who promised these dates, these deadlines to my colleague. We have never said that the plan would be released on a specific day and afterwards postponed it. It is completely untrue.

We have said that the plan will be released. It will be a great plan. It will strengthen the Canadian economy and it will very good everywhere in the country, including in the province of my hon. colleague.

[Bob Mills, Conservative, Red Deer, AB]

Mr. Speaker, we have been waiting eight years for that plan since we first signed on to Kyoto.

Project Green recommends that 102 million tonnes of foreign credits will have to be purchased every year. At today's price, that would mean $2.7 billion per year in foreign credits, increasing daily. None of this would help to reduce emissions in Canada.

Could the minister tell the House how much money he plans to spend on foreign credits each year to get to our Kyoto target?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, each of these credits will be greening credits. It will help decrease greenhouse gas emissions everywhere in the world because it will have the same impact everywhere in the world. It is a global problem.

Also, the numbers my colleague mentioned are completely untrue. He is using the numbers of the European Union allowance market, which is a closed market. Canadian companies do not have access to it.

The clean development mechanism market is $38 Canadian a tonne. It is very affordable. Canada will be part of this market and we will learn to be champions in the carbon markets

Health

[Steven Fletcher, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the House will soon debate the health committee's report telling the government for a second time to follow the Krever inquiries recommendation and compensate all those who contracted hepatitis C from tainted blood.

The government has had years to solve the problem. The health committee calls for compassion. The majority of the House will soon vote to support the health committee's recommendation.

Will the health minister follow the wishes of the committee and the House of Commons and compensate these victims immediately?

[Robert Thibault, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, as the minister has indicated in the House on many occasions, he agrees with what the committee has reported. The committee voted unanimously.

The question becomes who, how much, what are the needs and where do we do it. Discussions are going on now. With the representatives of the pre-1986 and post-1990, discussions are ongoing with a view to providing compensation.

These things take a little time, but the minister is acting immediately, has started the process and will see it through.

[Steven Fletcher, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal members on the committee voted against this motion.

The minister fails to realize that while he offers weak excuses victims continue to die. Legal justification may help him sleep at night, but to those who are already affected by this tragedy such excuses are a slap in the face. People need our help now. End the cruel suspense, end the financial uncertainty.

Will the minister act immediately to help those who desperately need the government's help or will the minister let more people die while he dithers?

[Robert Thibault, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the members of the committee voted unanimously to extend compensation. The minister agreed to that and began the process.

The member asking the question, in partisan political fashion, brought a motion to the committee that Liberals could not support for two reasons. First, the work was already begun to provide compensation forthwith as quickly as possible. Second, the motion is flawed where it speaks of a federal compensation fund.

The compensation is not federal. It belongs to the people suffering from hepatitis C and is entrusted to them through the courts.

Agriculture

[Paul Steckle, Liberal, Huron—Bruce, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. The livestock industry has been devastated since the discovery of BSE in Canada in May 2003 when many countries around the world closed their borders to the Canadian beef and other ruminant industry.

Could the Minister of Agriculture today tell the House what progress he may have made when he was in Cuba last week?

[Andy Mitchell, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to inform the House that we were successful in entering into an agreement with Cuba, one based on science that will allow its borders to be reopened to live Canadian cattle, sheep and goats as well as to a range or beef products from cattle of any age.

This builds on success in many other countries and is part of our repositioning strategy for the cattle and beef industry so it can increase its capacity on one side and have additional markets on the other side, ensuring that it can be profitable with or without the U.S. border opening.

Justice

[Joe Comartin, NDP, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the Young Liberals of Canada forgot to send one of their pithy “It's the Charter, stupid” buttons to the justice minister because his department is continuing its wrong-headed fight against George Hislop's charter rights for pension equality for Canada's lesbian and gay community.

It is so typical of these Liberals. They say one thing and do another; promise made, promise broken.

Will the Prime Minister today say that this senseless and costly legal fight will end today?

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, this case is not about same sex marriage. It is not even about the issue of gay rights. The appeal is in order to seek clarification from the Supreme Court with respect to the impact on all programs and benefits of federal legislation and what is the time line with respect to when those benefits run.

I would think that the opposition member would also want to have a clarification of these matters in the interest of programs and benefits for all Canadians.

Human Resources'

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Mr. Speaker, we learned that the federal government approved the importation of 680 foreign trades people to work at Ledcor Industries in Alberta.

It is hard to believe that the government approved such demand when we have over 1,000 trade workers unemployed in New Brunswick, not counting the rest of the Atlantic provinces and the other provinces of the country, who are ready to go to work in Alberta.

It is clear that this company only wants to bring cheap labour into Canada under the approval of the minister.

My question is for the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. How can the government justify the approval of foreign workers for the oil sands when many skilled Canadians are unemployed and ready to go to work anywhere in the country?

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

Mr. Speaker, the foreign worker program was established in Canada after it was demonstrated that employers were not able to find Canadian manpower. The NDP member is getting worked up for no reason. No request relating to this issue was received by my department.

Elections Canada

[Brian Pallister, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, Paul Cochrane defrauded Canadians of millions of dollars which he diverted to the Virginia Fontaine Treatment Centre in exchange for bribes, gifts for family and friends, and dozens of lavish free trips.

Aline Dirks, who was his assistant and constant travelling companion, was fired by Health Canada for her role in the funding fiasco.

Now we have learned that she has spent the past seven months working for Elections Canada.

Would the government explain why it would hire someone who has been charged with fraud by the RCMP?

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Deputy Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, this matter deals with Elections Canada. It will be brought forward to Elections Canada for a report to the member in due course.

[Brian Pallister, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, this is wilful incompetence and that illustrates it.

Aline Dirks was complicit in Paul Cochrane's scheme to steal money from the treatment of addicted aboriginal children, yet after the Virginia Fontaine spending scandal was national news, she was hired by Public Works and Government Services which claimed it was unaware of her charges. And, even after the RCMP laid charges of fraud, she was hired by Elections Canada, which also claimed it was unaware.

Since there are so many charges being laid these days, will the government ask future job applicants if they are currently before the courts?

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Deputy Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, in the matter of Elections Canada, the members opposite know that Elections Canada is managed by an agent of Parliament who reports to the House through a committee of the House.

Having said that, the matter will be brought to the attention of the Chief Electoral Officer for a report to the House at the appropriate committee.

Softwood Lumber

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

Mr. Speaker, the government's failure to effectively manage Canada's relationship with the U.S. was clearly demonstrated at the recent summit meeting with President Bush.

The Prime Minister made absolutely no progress toward resolving the softwood lumber dispute. It is not even clear the issue was raised.

The Prime Minister says he raised the issue, yet the industry minister said that it was not really discussed. Who is telling the truth?

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade (Emerging Markets)]

Mr. Speaker, I have to commend the Prime Minister, President Fox and President Bush on a very successful meeting at the Crawford ranch.

We must commend those leaders for not only working on the security of North America but also on its prosperity. We are in a North American zone and we have to work on economics and prosperity. I commend the Prime Minister on a job well done.

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

Mr. Speaker, the softwood dispute should have been a top priority at the summit meeting and clearly it was not. The Prime Minister only pretends it was. The industry minister knows it was not and the industry knows it was not.

Why will the Prime Minister not be straight with Canadians and admit that he did not push the softwood file in Texas?