Debates of May 2nd, 2005

Margaret Hassan

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

Madam Speaker, Margaret Hassan, the tireless humanitarian worker in Saddam Hussein's Iraq and director of Care International in that country for 12 years, was kidnapped on October 19 in Baghdad, and presumably killed in cold blood about one month after her abduction.

Her abductors, who were arrested on the weekend, admitted to being involved in the kidnapping and killing of the 59 year old British national, who had married an Iraqi and spent over 25 years alleviating the suffering of the Iraqi people, both during Saddam Hussein's reign and after.

The Bloc Québécois adds its voice to that of the numerous Iraqis who expressed horror and sadness in the face of such a senseless murder. We condemn terrorism, which is even more despicable when it targets a person like Margaret Hassan, who was working to ensure that justice be done to the Iraqi people.

The Bloc Québécois pays tribute to the courage and perseverance of this woman, and of those women and men who are continuing her work. Our thoughts are with the spouse and family of Margaret Hassan.

Early Learning and Child Care

[Anita Neville, Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Madam Speaker, Friday was indeed a historic day in Canada. The Prime Minister and the Minister of Social Development signed bilateral agreements on early learning and child care with the provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

The government has been committed to developing early learning and child care across Canada from the outset. On Friday, Canadians witnessed delivery on this promise. The government knows how important it is that our nation's children have the best possible start in life. Putting these early learning and child care agreements in principle in place with the provinces and territories will ensure our children have access to quality child care that prepares them to enter school healthy, happy and ready to learn.

I was present at the signing ceremony in Manitoba, where those assembled spontaneously began singing our national anthem as the agreement was signed. What a proud moment for all of us there and for all of Canada.

The Prime Minister and the hon. minister are to be congratulated for their vision for Canada's future and for this momentous achievement.

Access to Information Act

[Maurice Vellacott, Conservative, Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, SK]

Madam Speaker, if the justice minister's recent Access to Information Act discussion paper was the government's best pre-election effort, then the Prime Minister's Liberals have blown any credibility they may have had in transparency on this file.

The justice minister's access to information discussion paper is heavily slanted on the secrecy side. It was done without any public input but had plenty of special interest inside help. Not one of the numerous existing exemptions and exclusions in the access act are proposed to be dropped. The access act would be left with a general clause for continually adding statutory confidential provisions from other acts that would override it. In addition, dozens of other new secrecy rules are suggested.

Why are the Liberals giving an immense boost to the existing culture of secrecy which is so prevalent in Ottawa already? What have the Liberals got to hide?

Award for Bravery

[Roy Cullen, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay respect to a young hero from my riding of Etobicoke North.

On December 15, 2003 six-year-old Pierce Dundys was tobogganing with his grandfather, Peter Wood, in a local park when Mr. Wood was injured in a fall. As they were in an isolated area, Mr. Wood was forced to send young Pierce for help. This was made more serious because of deteriorating weather conditions.

As a direct result of Pierce's actions, Mr. Wood was rescued and has made a complete recovery. Pierce's remarkable demonstration of bravery has been recognized by local media.

On Sunday, May 15 Pierce Dundys will receive a citation from Toronto Police Services for his bravery.

I would also like to congratulate Pierce on receiving this citation from Toronto police, and commend him on his bravery. Good job, Pierce.

Agriculture

[Denise Poirier-Rivard, Bloc, Châteauguay—Saint-Constant, QC]

Madam Speaker, on April 29, Quebec's dairy producers gave 25 kilos of milk powder to each Quebec federal member of Parliament to condemn the Liberal government's inaction regarding imports of modified milk products and butter oil.

The import of such products results in annual losses estimated at $175 million for dairy producers in Canada, including $70 million in Quebec alone. Moreover, these imports, which are highly subsidized by certain foreign governments, are contributing to the deterioration of the quality of Canadian and Quebec dairy products.

The Bloc Québécois strongly supports this action and urges the federal government to act quickly to stop the silent erosion of the supply management system, by imposing tariff quotas on imports of modified milk products and butter oil, under article XXVIII of the GATT.

Liberation of the Netherlands

[Anthony Rota, Liberal, Nipissing—Timiskaming, ON]

Madam Speaker, the largest official delegation of Canadian veterans ever, representatives of veterans organizations, youth, and War Amps Operation Legacy are in the Netherlands from May 1 to May 10 to participate in events commemorating the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands.

Before leaving Canada, the delegation participated in a commemorative service at the National War Memorial to remember those who fought and died in the longest battle of the second world war, the Battle of the Atlantic.

In the Netherlands, Canadian veterans will once again have an opportunity to pay their respects to their fallen comrades, and at the same time renew a very special relationship with the Dutch people.

ALS Society of Canada

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

Madam Speaker, the ALS Society of Canada is the national voluntary health organization dedicated solely to the fight against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. The ALS Society works to fund ALS research and to improve the quality of life for affected Canadians.

Imagine not being able to walk, talk, write, smile, eat, or sometimes breathe on one's own, and yet the mind usually remains intact and senses remain unaffected. Three thousand Canadians live with the disease. Two to three Canadians a day die from ALS. There is no known treatment and no known cure, yet.

The ALS Society fundraises through events, including Walk for ALS, Hike for ALS and the Concert of Hope.

I urge Canadians to participate with their ALS Society to turn the dream of finding a cure into a reality.

National Forest Week

[Larry Bagnell, Liberal, Yukon, YT]

Madam Speaker, this week, May 1 to May 7, we are celebrating National Forest Week, a time to reflect on the vital role forests play in our daily lives. This year's slogan is “The Boreal Forest: A Global Legacy”.

We depend on our forests for the economic, environmental and cultural benefits we enjoy from them. Our forests' health depends on us.

As a northerner representing the riding of Yukon, I am aware that the boreal forest is important to our local economy and Canada's national economy as a source of forest products. It also fulfills important environmental functions by acting as a filter for much of our water, a habitat for wildlife and plants, and a major buffer against greenhouse gases through its role in the carbon cycle.

The boreal forest is home to many communities in Canada, including the vast majority of our aboriginal communities.

This week we should take some time to think about the ways in which we as Canadians can protect our forests' health to ensure a lasting legacy for future generations.

Janet Greene-Potomski

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Madam Speaker, I rise today with great sadness in my heart. Last Tuesday, Janet Greene-Potomski, a dedicated and tireless advocate for underprivileged and disadvantaged women, died after a long battle with breast cancer.

Janet moved to Windsor from Dearborn, Michigan about 20 years ago to live with her husband. She immediately became involved with the Women's Incentive Centre which provides support, counselling and job training for women.

Janet worked to turn this centre into the important community asset it is today, where hundreds of women have been provided with job training to get and keep better jobs. Janet was the executive director of the WIC and worked for others even in her final hours.

To Stan and her son David, I thank them for sharing their wife and mother with our community. She will be missed, but her contributions and work in our community will remind us always of this dedicated, passionate and tireless advocate. Thanks, Janet, and God bless.

Sikh Community

[Gurmant Grewal, Conservative, Newton—North Delta, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the mudslinging has begun as the Liberals try to change the channel on stories of their own corruption emerging from the Gomery commission.

The Liberal member for Brampton—Springdale joined the fray last week, falsely claiming that the leader of the Conservative Party had never attended Khalsa Day celebrations before and that it was the Liberal Party that had ensured that Sikhs in the RCMP were allowed to wear turbans.

The member should know that the leader of the official opposition attended the Khalsa Day celebrations in the rain last year, while the Prime Minister was nowhere to be seen.

This year the Ontario Sikh societies refused to invite the Prime Minister and his MPs who are against the traditional definition of marriage.

As for turbans in the RCMP, it was the previous Conservative government in 1990 that removed the ban. My party supported the recognition of the five Ks, the removal of the head tax and the recognition of international credentials. The Liberals defeated all of those motions and now are in damage control.

Canadians will not be fooled by the Liberal campaigns of misinformation.

The next time before speaking, the member for Brampton—Springdale should get her facts straight.

Canada Labour Code

[Carole Lavallée, Bloc, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois has always defended the rights of workers. Among other things, it has repeatedly introduced a bill to include a ban on the use of strikebreakers in the Canada Labour Code.

Earlier in April, we thought we would finally be able to put an end to the discrimination against workers governed by the Canada Labour Code, but seven ministers from Quebec opposed our bill, which was defeated as a result. Each one of them should be held responsible.

The Bloc Québécois is not defeated, though; it will try again, because determination, tenacity and perseverance are the foundation of worker solidarity. Without these essentials, the fights led by Quebeckers of decades past would not have resulted in gains for future generations.

Liberal Party of Canada

[Rahim Jaffer, Conservative, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Prime Minister Scrub Brush, Mr. Moral Authority himself, says he is cleaning out the Liberal Party and he is starting by selling out the Fonzie. What does the Prime Minister really think of Alfonso Gagliano? In a birthday tribute to his great friend, he said:

“In Quebec, Alfonso is our leader in cabinet. He is one of the ministers everyone listens to. He is my friend; he is someone I deeply admire and respect”.

In another video he said:

“Alfonso Gagliano. Who would not be impressed by his commitment to serving our party—”

That sounds very much like an endorsement of Mr. Gagliano.

It is springtime and many Canadians are thinking about cleaning up the mess in Ottawa. It makes us wonder why there never is a good scrub brush around when we need one.

Conservative Party of Canada

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

Mr. Speaker, recently Preston Manning and Mike Harris called upon Ottawa to cut the heart out of Canada's health care system by scrapping the Canada Health Act and opening wide the door to privatization. The Leader of the Opposition tried to distance himself from the report claiming, “It's not my position. It's the position of an independent think tank”.

In October 2004 the Leader of the Opposition was a keynote speaker at the Fraser Institute's 30th anniversary celebration. Mr. Speaker, who do you think the other three keynote speakers were? They were none other than Preston Manning, Mike Harris and Ralph Klein.

The Leader of the Opposition is due to deliver a lecture given annually by an individual who “shares the vision and supports the mission of the Fraser Institute”. It makes me wonder why the Conservatives had a convention at all when they could have had the Fraser Institute write their policy for them.

The Budget

[Monte Solberg, Conservative, Medicine Hat, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have to note that the Prime Minister sure likes his own private clinic.

Last week, willing to do anything to keep his job, the Prime Minister struck a deal with the NDP. The leader of the NDP said that he had received an explicit promise in writing that student tuition fees would be reduced. The Prime Minister said, “No, we didn't say that”.

Who is telling the truth? The Prime Minister or the new finance minister, the leader of the NDP?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, it is true that we have come to an arrangement with the NDP and we did so in order to further the issues that Canadians are focused on.

Better we did that, than to do what the opposition did, which is to come to a deal with the Bloc to force an election that Canadians do not want.

[Monte Solberg, Conservative, Medicine Hat, AB]

Mr. Speaker, that is pretty rich, coming from a Prime Minister who is sitting right beside a former founder of the Bloc Québécois, somebody who was trying to block the Atlantic accord.

The Prime Minister will say anything to anyone. He promised to remove tax cuts and then puts them back. He promised new spending and then said it may not happen at all.

His own finance minister said of the deal, “Well I would prefer not to have to make these changes. Because I think the configuration that was originally there was the right configuration and the best configuration”.

Why did the Prime Minister completely disregard his own finance minister and his finance minister's configuration?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Prime Minister]

First of all, Mr. Speaker, the finance minister formed a very important part of the discussions.

However, let me simply ask the pseudo leader of the opposition this. Post-secondary education, housing, foreign aid or the environment, which of those does the opposition not agree with?

[Monte Solberg, Conservative, Medicine Hat, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I think the real question is this. Why is the Prime Minister willing to sacrifice 340,000 jobs?

The finance minister was blindsided by his own Prime Minister. Here is what the finance minister said three weeks ago:

You can’t go on stripping away piece by piece by piece of the budget. You can’t, after the fact, begin to cherry pick...If you engage in that exercise, it is an absolute, sure formula for the creation of a deficit.

It sounds like the Prime Minister is willing to risk a deficit to save his own hide.

Having obviously lost the confidence of the Prime Minister, when will the finance minister resign?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, there is no risk of deficit. The budget of February 23 was moving very well through this House of Commons until 11 days ago.

Eleven days ago the Leader of the Opposition indicated that he was withdrawing his support for the government and for the budget. He was joining hands with the Bloc Québécois to defeat the government and to defeat the budget.

This government wanted to make Parliament work. Canadians elected a minority Parliament. We were determined to make it work and therefore we formed an arrangement which will respect the fiscal fundamentals and advance the priorities of Canadians.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

[The Speaker]

Order, please. We are now ready to move on to the next question. Perhaps we could have a little order so everyone will be able to hear because I anticipate we will not be able to hear a sound with the noise. Hon. members can perhaps restrain themselves a little and dampen their enthusiasm.

The hon. member for Edmonton—Spruce Grove now has the floor.

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Edmonton—Spruce Grove, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Don Drummond, the chief economist for the TD Bank and the Prime Minister's own former deputy minister of finance said today that the $4.6 billion in new spending will make it harder for Ottawa to offer personal income tax breaks over the next five years.

The finance minister himself has admitted tax cuts mean future jobs for Canadians.

Why are the finance minister and the Prime Minister jeopardizing the economic future for my generation?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we are not jeopardizing the job creation record of the government. I am very pleased to tell the hon. member that we have in fact the best job creation record of any country in the G-7. That is because of the fiscal policies of the government and that is the record we are going to maintain.

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Edmonton—Spruce Grove, AB]

Mr. Speaker, all the expenditures associated with this new deal between the Liberal Party and the NDP have to do with areas of provincial jurisdiction. Yet no one asked the provinces what their priorities were.

Why is the Minister of Finance making empty election promises, instead of giving the money back to the provinces, thereby eliminating the fiscal imbalance?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, in the areas of new or reprofiled spending in relation to learning, the environment, housing, foreign aid, all of those have been identified as priorities of this government either in the budget, the throne speech or in the campaign platform. We will make those investments consistent with our own jurisdiction.