Debates of June 21st, 2005

An Act to Authorize the Minister of Finance to Make Certain Payments

[Bev Desjarlais, NDP, Churchill, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I want to indicate to my colleague from Churchill River that I do not think there is anything more unconscionable than to hear in this House that any member of this House or any party would risk someone's life and play politics using someone's life. That was proven when an offer was made to pair, and that member should be ashamed that he would continue to do that.

I do not believe that any member in this House would do that and it is unacceptable. It is unacceptable to continue that kind of an indication to Canadians. It says very little for the humanity of each and every parliamentarian.

Let us put that one to rest right now. No one is going to allow that to happen. We might have partisan differences, but no one should risk someone's life for that, and to have it come about again in this House is not something that I am going to tolerate or sit and listen to and not address.

My colleague from across the way says there was nothing in that budget for Saskatchewan and nothing for his riding. What about affordable housing? I know the communities in his riding. I know there is a need for affordable housing. Why would the Conservatives not support Bill C-48 that has additional dollars? We have specifics for aboriginal housing, for areas with the greatest need. Why he would not support that is beyond me.

Are the Conservatives suggesting that somehow farmers and rural people in small and medium businesses will not benefit from the additional dollars for education for their families? The affordable housing dollars will mean construction in the communities throughout the country and everybody will benefit. It is unconscionable that the Conservatives would not support that, but they supported tax cuts for corporations. That is unconscionable.

[Jeremy Harrison, Conservative, Churchill River, SK]

Mr. Speaker, Tommy Douglas would be spinning in his grave if he saw the NDP crawling into bed with what is the most criminal and corrupt government in the history of this country.

I will tell members another thing that I find disgraceful. I know the riding that this hon. member represents, which is adjacent to my riding. She represents northern Manitoba; I represent northern Saskatchewan. People in northern Saskatchewan, and I am sure northern Manitoba, think that the gun registry is one of the biggest wastes of money in the history of this country. This hon. member voted for $55 million more for the gun registry.

If people in Flin Flon knew that the member was voting for more money for the gun registry, they would not be very happy. The member thinks that she can sneak this by them, that she can simply vote for more money for the gun registry and they will not notice. Well she has another thing coming because they will know that she voted for more money for the gun registry.

In northern Saskatchewan and northern Manitoba, people do not support Bill C-38, the government's attempt to ram same-sex marriage down the throats of Canadians. The hon. member repeatedly made statements about how she did not support it and her constituents did not support it. What happens? When push comes to shove, the member votes do destroy the traditional definition of marriage.

[Andrew Scheer, Conservative, Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I heard my hon. colleague mention how unpopular the gun registry was in western Canada, Saskatchewan in particular, but northern Manitoba as well. Most Canadians are adamantly opposed to more funding for that ridiculous excuse for a government program, a black hole that does nothing to address crime but has everything to do with wasting hard earned taxpayers' dollars.

What does the hon. member think about the New Democratic Party's plan to not just stop at registration but to move on to confiscation and take the guns out of the possession of ordinary, law abiding citizens. Could he speak to that?

[Jeremy Harrison, Conservative, Churchill River, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for Regina—Qu'Appelle is correct. The leader of the NDP, when he was a council member with the city of Toronto, put forward a bill that would have essentially confiscated every gun in the communities of that area.

If we want to talk about a radical extremist, we can look at the leader of the NDP. The NDP members voted for over $200 million more for the gun registry in Bill C-43 and at the same time the Liberal government is shutting down police stations in rural parts of Saskatchewan. The government shut down a police station in the community of Goodsoil in my riding in northern Saskatchewan. It is pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into the gun registry. It is madness. Where are the priorities?

[Larry Bagnell, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are probably very happy that they are going to be let out of this embarrassment which is related to the speech we just heard. It was not on the topic at all.

We saw member after member give a speech written by a researcher. I can recite the same words. They were in every speech. There were references to CIDA, the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, the Auditor General, the lack of a plan, and the insults of course.

The opposition did not talk about the bill at all. We can understand why. It would be very embarrassing for any party in the history of the House to speak against urban transit; clean air for Canadians; foreign aid; children, who cannot even get one meal a day; affordable housing for families; and post-secondary education.

Can we imagine the Conservatives in an election campaign going door to door and saying, “I am sorry but yes, I am here to tell you that we are against clean air. I am here to tell you we are against people in other countries. I am here to tell you we are against housing for people who cannot afford houses. I am here to tell you we are against post-secondary education for aboriginal people”.

Each member of the Conservative Party will have to do some soul searching in a few minutes. I see one potential member here now who is still in the progressive part of the party who would vote for things like clean air, foreign aid, housing and post-secondary education.

I want to make a prediction for the press on that party's political future. If there are no progressives there, this will be the beginning of the fading away of that party because it will be so far right, and as we know Canadians cannot support that. However, if there is actually some--

[The Acting Speaker (Mr. Marcel Proulx)]

Order, please. It being 7:00 p.m., pursuant to order made earlier today, the question to dispose of the amendment to Motion No. 1 is deemed put, and a recorded division deemed requested, which division will be held immediately.

Call in the members.

(The House divided on the amendment to Motion No. 1, which was negatived on the following division:)

[The Deputy Speaker]

I declare the amendment to Motion No. 1 defeated.

The next question is on Motion No. 1.

[Karen Redman, Liberal, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, if the House would agree I would propose that you seek unanimous consent that members who voted on the previous motion be recorded as having voted on the motion now before the House, with Liberals voting in favour.

[The Deputy Speaker]

Is there unanimous consent to proceed in this manner?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the members of the Conservative Party will be voting no.

[Michel Guimond, Bloc, Charlevoix—Montmorency, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the members of the Bloc Québécois will vote against this motion

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

Mr. Speaker, the members of the NDP will vote in favour of this motion, and I would like to add the hon. member for Sault Ste. Marie to the list.

[Carolyn Parrish, Independent, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am voting for the motion.

[David Kilgour, Independent, Edmonton—Beaumont, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I will be voting against.

[Pat O'Brien, Independent, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I vote no.

(The House divided on Motion No. 1, which was agreed to on the following division:)

[The Deputy Speaker]

I declare Motion No. 1 carried.

The next question is on the amendment to Motion No. 2.

[Karen Redman, Liberal, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, if the House would agree I would propose that you seek unanimous consent that members who voted on the previous motion be recorded as having voted on the amendment now before the House, with Liberals voting against.

[The Deputy Speaker]

Is there agreement to proceed in this way?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the members of the Conservative Party will be voting yes.

[Michel Guimond, Bloc, Charlevoix—Montmorency, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the members of the Bloc Québécois will vote against the amendment.

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

Mr. Speaker, the members of the NDP will be voting no.

[Carolyn Parrish, Independent, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am voting against.

[David Kilgour, Independent, Edmonton—Beaumont, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I vote in favour of the amendment.