Debates of June 15th, 2005

Canada-U.S. Border

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, obviously the hon. member knows that in relation to the situation to which he has just referred, this is a matter before the courts. The parties are in discussions around this matter and it would be inappropriate for me to comment further.

However, as it relates to Windsor-Detroit, both on our side and on the American side, we are very aware of just how critically important this crossing is to the economic lifeblood of this nation. This is why my colleague, the secretary responsible for homeland security and myself, as well as the state of Michigan, the province of Ontario and my colleague, the Minister of Transport, are all working together to ensure we have--

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Simcoe—Grey.

China

[Helena Guergis, Conservative, Simcoe—Grey, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last week I asked the government why it was giving aid to China, given the country's record of operating a spy network in Canada, but I received no clear answer.

Canada has no reason to be giving aid to China. First, its human rights record is abysmal and, second, it does not need the money. It is buying up Canadian companies. Today it has been confirmed that China has a thousand spies operating in Canada.

When will the government stop giving one red cent to communist China?

[Aileen Carroll, Liberal, Minister of International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, as I have advised the House in the past, and I repeat again, the Government of Canada does not give any money directly to the government of China.

Instead, we are engaging the government of China, helping it to build its human rights legislation and to grow its capacity. In that regard we are working with Simon Fraser University, the Alberta Research Council and the Canadian Bar Association setting up legal aid clinics for women in the poorest of the poor areas.

[Helena Guergis, Conservative, Simcoe—Grey, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the article today in the Globe in Mail mentions the systematic use of torture, so I suggest to you that your plan is not working.

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Simcoe—Grey knows it is not my plan and I think she will want to phrase her question in a way that indicates she is addressing the Chair, not the minister.

[Helena Guergis, Conservative, Simcoe—Grey, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, but I will suggest to the government that its plan is not working.

I will help the minister with some more facts from her website. The CIDA website lists a project entitled, China Feed Industry Centre. Her own website says that it is giving money to the Chinese government's ministry of agriculture.

Why are the Liberals giving tax dollars to the Chinese government, a government that is violating Canadian sovereignty and security by operating a massive spy network here in Canada?

[Aileen Carroll, Liberal, Minister of International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, last week in question period the hon. member, the new critic, tabled a statistical report on official development assistance from my agency.

While well-meaning, she mistook the figure of approximately $38 million as moneys being directed directly to the government of China. What that figure represents is the sum total of all of the development programs taking place in China but those are carried out by agencies such as Simon Fraser University and the Canadian Bar Association.

The term represents the total of bilateral aid and that, as opposed to multilateral, means between two countries.

Sponsorship Program

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Calgary Southeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, on May 23, Judge Gomery said that government officials had “leaked” misleading information about the cost of his commission. He said:

--it's an exaggeration and it's twisting reality.

He further said:

What they did was...put together the fees of everyone in the Justice Department that worked on the file, the photocopies...and God knows what other expenses that were totally beyond the commission's control.

Will the public works minister confirm that it was his communications director who phoned the media with this misleading information to discredit Judge Gomery?

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

Mr. Speaker, to the contrary. I have responded to this question in the House in the past and I have explained that part of the costs are those directly applicable to the direct work of Justice Gomery. The rest of those costs involve a wide range of government departments that are cooperating fully with Justice Gomery and providing the levels of vast information and cooperation that is required.

Furthermore, some of those costs involve legal representation for parties before the Gomery commission, including the Conservative Party of Canada and the Bloc, because we are interested in showing fairness and that Canadians have the truth. We support the work of Justice Gomery.

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Calgary Southeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, that is some way of supporting him. The judge himself says that what the minister just represented is “an exaggeration and a twisting of reality”.

What I would like to know is why the minister dispatched his communications director to spread what is, according to the commissioner, misleading and false information about the cost of his commission. Why did he use his communications director to undermine the commissioner and why is the commissioner so upset with the government for having done so?

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

Mr. Speaker, the only cardiovascular exercise that hon. member is getting is his huffing and puffing on the floor of the House of Commons, which is of no benefit to Canadians.

These figures were covered thoroughly in the government estimates. It is there for everybody to see. Beyond that, it is clear that we support the work of Justice Gomery. It is important that we provide him with the financial resources he needs to get the job done, and we are ensuring he has those resources, that full cooperation and that support so Canadians can have the truth.

We support Justice Gomery. The Conservatives are trying to misrepresent Justice Gomery.

International Aid

[Diane Bourgeois, Bloc, Terrebonne—Blainville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade presented its report to the House on Monday. One of the recommendations in the report, which was unanimously adopted, reiterates the UN objective and calls for Canada to commit immediately, through a plan, to increase its aid budget by 12% to 15% annually to achieve an aid level of 0.5% of GNP by 2010 and 0.7% by 2015.

Can the government tell us if it intends to follow the committee's recommendations and will it table such a plan?

[Aileen Carroll, Liberal, Minister of International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada is committed to increasing its aid budget by a minimum of 8% per year and we are committed to doing that well out in excess of 2010. In fact, the increase last year was 30% and that shows the commitment of the government to continue to assign to development assistance a higher percentage than to any other department of government.

We keep in mind our international reputation of always fulfilling our commitments but we will not make one unless we can.

[Diane Bourgeois, Bloc, Terrebonne—Blainville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, that is not what I am asking. Even with the $500 million set out in Bill C-48, Canada will achieve 0.7% of GNP only in 2028, at best, if those are recurring funds. Otherwise, that objective will not be reached until 2035.

Does the government understand that if it wants to achieve 0.7% in a realistic timeframe, that is, by 2015, it must implement the committee's recommendations?

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[Diane Bourgeois, Bloc, Terrebonne—Blainville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I can yell louder than they can.

[Aileen Carroll, Liberal, Minister of International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, I am at an utter loss because it was that party, that critic and that member who all joined together to vote against the $500,000 that would come to my budget as a result of Bill C-48. If that is their point of departure I can add very little wisdom to the whole issue.

The Environment

[Bob Mills, Conservative, Red Deer, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Ontario Medical Association says that 6,000 people will die prematurely in Ontario this year due to smog and the government is doing nothing about it. During Clean Air Day, all the environment minister did was announce the formation of a new website.

We can imagine the disappointment people in Toronto felt when they realized just how little the government was doing. What does the minister plan to do to clean up our dirty air?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, we have introduced Bill C-49, which that party is opposing because that party has never requested a penny for the environment since the beginning of the budgetary process.

Canada is now implementing the toughest targets regarding clean air in order to decrease smog. Smog emissions are decreasing by 90% because of our 10-year clean air agenda. We are now at mid-term and we will continue with our agenda. We need those things to be stopped by the Conservative Party that does not care at all about the environment.

[Bob Mills, Conservative, Red Deer, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the minister does not even know the bill number. There is no Bill C-49. That is how much he knows and is doing about the environment. Just ask the parents who have just had their child diagnosed with chronic asthma what they think of answers like that.

Greenhouse gases are increasing every year. The OECD now ranks us 28th out of 29 in terms of environmental integrity. The minister sets up a website in order to accomplish this.

When will the minister put the health of Canadians ahead of his own environmental drivel?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, 30 environmental groups wrote to all the leaders of this House calling on all parties to put aside their differences long enough to ensure that the measures that are necessary for the implementation of the Kyoto protocol introduced in the February budget were approved by Parliament without delay. If those members have a little sense of responsibility they will vote for Bill C-49.

Health

[Michael John Savage, Liberal, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are becoming increasingly concerned about making informed decisions regarding their health, especially when it comes to medications to treat disease and illness.

Canadians need to be sure that the medicines they are taking have been tested and approved through a strict and effective clinical trial process.

Would the Minister of Health please inform the House about the steps that the government is taking to address the issue of registration and disclosure of clinical trial information?

[Ujjal Dosanjh, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, on June 8, I announced the first phase of consultations on the registration and full disclosure of clinical trial information. That is in keeping with the issue around transparency, accountability and openness in my department. The consultations follow the commitment I made since becoming Minister of Health. Today in Ottawa, the first public workshop will be held and others will follow in Halifax and Vancouver next week.

We are moving in this direction, while taking into account personal privacy and commercial confidentiality.

Whistleblower Legislation

[Guy Lauzon, Conservative, Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON]

Mr. Speaker, for two years this government has dragged its feet on the need to protect public servants who expose corruption.

Bill C-11 is bogged down in committee because it ignores the recommendations of every expert and stakeholder. They all agree that an independent commissioner is an essential part of effective whistleblower legislation.

Will the minister commit here and now to creating a truly independent commissioner to investigate disclosures of corruption?