Debates of Sept. 28th, 2005

Income Trusts

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I would hope the hon. gentleman would make it clear, even in some of the hyperbole in the media, that the quotation he is referring to did not come from me. In fact, I take the concerns and interests of all investors in this country seriously. I am anxious to make sure that the laws of this country, including the tax laws, treat them all in a fair and appropriate manner while at the same time contributing to growth and productivity.

[Monte Solberg, Conservative, Medicine Hat, AB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the finance minister had the nerve to claim that 75% of Canadians like it when the Liberals savage their retirement nest eggs. Here is what one person had to say in his e-mail to me the other day, “I am shocked and feel cheapened by the casual dismissal that Liberals made of myself and hundreds of others yesterday...”.

When will the government quit making political calculations and give their unequivocal commitment to maintaining income trusts?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, apart from the extremes and the exaggerations that we sometimes hear in the House, if one listens carefully to Canadians, concerns have been expressed. Concerns have been expressed not just by me but by people in the business community and provincial governments about revenues, about fairness and about growth and productivity.

The opposition can heckle and babble but the Government of Canada is anxious to get the policy right, which is why we are consulting with Canadians.

Royal Canadian Mint

[Odina Desrochers, Bloc, Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, once again we are watching a sorry tale unfold involving Liberal cronies appointed by Liberals to head crown corporations behaving like they own the government.

In light of Mr. Dingwall's resignation, what is the government waiting for to hold to account every Liberal crony at the head of a crown corporation earning $300,000 a year and unashamedly abusing public funds?

[Reg Alcock, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, I would simply ask the member to speak to his colleagues who worked with the committee on the report on crown corporations. In fact, as I have said before, every single expense Mr. Dingwall undertook has been reported, verified by the senior financial officer and reported to the board.

[Odina Desrochers, Bloc, Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, David Dingwall is a former Liberal cabinet minister who was appointed by Jean Chrétien. His former boss, Chairman of the Board Emmanuel Triassi, was appointed by another Liberal, Alfonso Gagliano. Once again we have Liberals abusing public funds and Liberals in charge of supervising other Liberals.

What is the government waiting for to put a stop to this by tightening the rules and demanding that these Liberal cronies behave as responsible managers of public funds?

[Reg Alcock, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, the member's question allows me to highlight the fact that we should be very proud of the people who are running the Canadian Mint. They have turned it around and it now generates a profit. They have raised its income to $184 million in offshore revenue. They are increasing the hiring based on the work that they are generating from offshore. We should be enormously proud of the people who run the Mint.

Foreign Affairs

[Rahim Jaffer, Conservative, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, just when Canadians were digesting the immigration minister's buffet of expenses, the foreign minister has some explaining to do about his chauffeur's European vacation. As if $8,200 is not bad enough to see the Eiffel Tower, his chauffeur then spent an additional $1,800 to go sunbathing in South America.

When most Canadians can barely afford to go on vacation, how can the minister justify this blatant abuse of taxpayer dollars?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I will tell the House that during my official visits I have always brought two staff members with me. This is quite reasonable compared to any other foreign minister who travels.

I can assure all members that there is plenty of work with the long hours we keep. We make sure we keep in contact with Ottawa all the time and do the work that is necessary.

[Rahim Jaffer, Conservative, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

One has to apply that suntan lotion sparingly, Mr. Speaker.

The Challenger logs show that, when he travels abroad, the Minister of Foreign Affairs is usually accompanied by an RCMP security detail. On two occasions, however, he took his chauffeur along as a “personal security advisor”.

Why did the minister rely on the RCMP for certain trips, but take his chauffeur/security expert on these two trips?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I can explain it very easily. Anytime I travel on official business, I take two members of my staff with me. This is our practice. There are never more than two staff members. There is plenty of work for two staff members during official visits, to make sure we keep in contact with Ottawa all the time.

I can assure the hon. members that the staff members I take along fulfill their duties very well and very professionally.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

[Don Boudria, Liberal, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Labour and Housing.

CBC employees have been locked out since August 15. Since that date, the only thing francophones outside Quebec are hearing about on CBC is traffic jams on highway 40 in Montreal. We are tired of hearing about highway 40.

When will the government be able to tell us that we can hear about Canada again on CBC airwaves and that we francophones outside Quebec can get our local news? We are paying $1 billion a year and getting nothing in return.

[Joe Fontana, Liberal, Minister of Labour and Housing]

Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that Canadians want their CBC back. For over 55 hours both parties have been locked up working toward an agreement. We are hopeful that they are progressing. Progress is slow. Both parties are determined to arrive at a resolution.

Let me say that the CBC belongs to the people. It does not belong to the unions and it does not belong to the management. The CBC belongs to the people. I tell them to stop posturing and get on with the negotiated settlement.

The Environment

[Greg Thompson, Conservative, St. Croix—Belleisle, NB]

Mr. Speaker, there are a number of proposals for the construction of an LNG terminal on the U.S. side of Passamaquoddy Bay. All of these proposals would require LNG tankers to pass through internal Canadian waters. Head Harbour Passage is the most dangerous waterway to navigate on the entire east coast.

Allowing passage of these tankers would expose our citizens, our environment and our economy to a high level of risk. Is the government prepared to say no to the transport of these LNG tankers through internal Canadian waters?

[Jean Lapierre, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, before saying anything to such a proposal, we would have to have a request. There has been no request coming from the U.S. at this time.

[Greg Thompson, Conservative, St. Croix—Belleisle, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the government is changing its argument and its position. For a year now the government has been saying it will only make a decision when there is a formal application to proceed with a terminal. That application is now there. The government has not made up its mind and continues to dither.

Maybe the man here who knows something about shipping should stand up and state his position. Is he prepared to allow those tankers through internal Canadian waters, yes or no?

[Jean Lapierre, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, it would be totally irresponsible on my part to make a decision before having a formal request made to the government. The member of Parliament is trying to make political hay with his question. There is no way we are going to get into this. We are going to look at the file when we have a formal application.

Public Works and Government Services Canada

[Louise Thibault, Bloc, Rimouski—Témiscouata, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Works and Government Services has just invited the bidders who were disadvantaged by the invitation to tender process to add the names of their firms to the list of Public Works' suppliers.

Are we to understand—I want to be clear—from the minister's statements that, following an investigation, he intends to treat the disadvantaged bidders in the same manner as the successful bidders, meaning that the disadvantaged bidders will be recognized as suppliers for the EnerGuide program?

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

Mr. Speaker, we have finished the review of this procurement. Based on our re-evaluation of the original 22 unsuccessful bids, we have concluded that six can now be added to the list because they qualify for the procurement package. In fact, we have addressed this problem.

We have resolved the situation and we comply with the Official Languages Act at all times.

Grants and Contributions

[Alan Tonks, Liberal, York South—Weston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the HRSD standing committee recently reviewed the impact of new directives put in place in the awarding of grants and contributions in the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development. The committee heard dramatic testimony expressed by the voluntary sector that was heavily affected by these changes.

Would the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development please tell the House what her department has done to address the concerns expressed by this most critical non-governmental sector?

[Belinda Stronach, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and Minister responsible for Democratic Renewal]

Mr. Speaker, we take the work that the voluntary sector does very seriously and we have put certain steps into place. We have put a task force in place that involves the deputy minister, the parliamentary secretary, the hon. member for Peterborough, and the voluntary sector to take a look at how we can streamline the process and make it fairer to the voluntary sector.

In addition to that we have put together an office for client satisfaction, and a fairness adviser to facilitate and strengthen the process, so that we have a stronger relationship with that voluntary sector.

[Tony Martin, NDP, Sault Ste. Marie, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the billion dollar boondoggle of HRSDC led to a bureaucratic nightmare for the voluntary sector with the new call for proposal process.

The government's response to our committee investigation acknowledges the flawed process. Vulnerable clients were harmed along with the agencies who served them, but the government is finalizing a hundred more contracts that will make matters worse. It will not offer transitional funding to the agencies it has already harmed. Even Exxon had to clean up its oil spill.

When will the minister suspend these CFPs and fix this mess?

[Belinda Stronach, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and Minister responsible for Democratic Renewal]

Mr. Speaker, a call for proposal was put in place for contracts over $500,000 because we are spending and investing taxpayers' money and we want to ensure that it is done wisely.

As I mentioned, we put a task force in place over and above the committee's recommendations to take a look at how we can streamline the administrative process and make it fairer to the voluntary sector.

Sponsorship Program

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Calgary Southeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to give another opportunity to the hon. Minister of Public Works to either confirm or deny that there was a visit at the offices of his ministry some two weeks ago by officers of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to seize documents related to the Liberal sponsorship scandal and that these documents had not been furnished to the Gomery inquiry nor to the public accounts inquiry of the House.

Will he confirm or deny that?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am informed that last week the RCMP contacted Public Works and in fact Public Works provided an invoice to the RCMP, an invoice that was provided twice to the Gomery inquiry previously.

This is part of over 10 million pages of documents that have been provided to the Gomery inquiry. Therefore, the hon. member, in his claim that this information was not provided to the Gomery inquiry, is in fact wrong. I would urge the hon. member to not play fast and loose with the truth here on the floor of the House of Commons.