Debates of Oct. 17th, 2006

Older Workers

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my honourable colleague for his question.

I just want to remind this House that this new government has today made public a new program, the targeted initiative for older workers, a cost-shared program with the provinces of over $70,000 million, to which the Canadian government will be contributing. This is a program of which we are very proud. It is a program of which the Bloc Québécois should also be proud, since the Bloc will never be able to bring in a program of this scope.

Afghanistan

[Dawn Black, NDP, New Westminster—Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, last week, in an attempt to sell their unbalanced mission in Afghanistan, the Conservatives hauled in reporters to brief them on so-called development programs.

An examination of the claims has uncovered that the government has inflated the numbers by as much as $16 million. It claimed that $16 million were going to Afghanistan and it simply is not.

Why did the minister wilfully mislead reporters? Did she inflate her numbers to try to sell this unbalanced mission, the war in Afghanistan?

[Josée Verner, Conservative, Minister of International Cooperation and Minister for la Francophonie and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, the operation in Afghanistan, and more specifically in Kandahar, is being conducted with the greatest transparency, including the technical briefings given by the officials in my department. We expect to have spent close to $15 million in Kandahar province by the end of the year.

For example, 2,000 wells will have been dug and 5,000 kilometres of rural roads built in Kandahar province. Our irrigation projects will include canals, bypasses for dams and drainage, water intakes and aqueducts, and I have—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. member for New Westminster—Coquitlam.

[Dawn Black, NDP, New Westminster—Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, transparent it is not. After my office went through the figures the government released last week, it shows that it claimed to have sent $13.5 million for Afghan development to the Aga Khan Foundation, but we know from CIDA's own website that only 8% of that money is going to Afghanistan.

The government claimed another $1.5 million were going to MEDA and yet only 6% of those funds will actually get to Afghanistan. That is only $90,000, not $1.5 million.

Why will the minister not stand in her place, admit the--

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. the Minister of International Cooperation.

[Josée Verner, Conservative, Minister of International Cooperation and Minister for la Francophonie and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, the work done by CIDA in Afghanistan, and specifically in Kandahar, is being accomplished in partnership with the NGOs on site and particularly with the local Afghan communities.

Our work consists in ensuring that the Afghans themselves make the decisions that will lead them toward a profitable future, while guaranteeing the safety of humanitarian workers.

Government Programs

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in the last election campaign, the Conservatives did not tell the truth. During that campaign, the Conservatives took a position toward the Canadian Museums Association by promising, and I quote: “—please be assured that funding for Canada’s arts and culture communities would be a priority for a Conservative government.” Instead, the Conservatives have cut $4.6 million from the museums assistance program.

Is this the Conservative idea of a new museum policy?

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, this government will fulfill the commitments it made in the election campaign.

In fact, when we took office our national museums, after 13 years of neglect, were and are in terrible shape. We must address that first.

We also made a commitment to local and regional museums. We know we need a policy and an approach that will be effective right across Canada.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Mr. Speaker, program evaluations are to be public documents.

Would the Minister of Canadian Heritage table in this House the museum assistance program evaluation that led her to conclude that the program was ineffective and wasteful and therefore to cut it instead of boosting it, as the Conservatives promised?

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, we believe that all public documents that should be made public will be made public. I will inform the House as to the intent regarding that request.

Status of Women

[Marlene Jennings, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minority Conservative government is once again failing to tell Canadian women the truth.

During the last federal election campaign, the Prime Minister hypocritically committed to supporting women's human rights and he agreed that Canada has more to do to meet its international obligations to women's equality.

Will the Prime Minister please stand, tell the truth and explain why equality has disappeared from the list of goals of Status of Women when he signed a declaration vowing to protect women's rights?

[Lynne Yelich, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development]

Mr. Speaker, this government is very committed to the full participation of women in Canadian society.

We have undertaken initiatives to improve women's economic well-being, including lowering taxes and putting more money in women's pockets; creating more child care spaces; protecting women and children from sexual exploitation, violence and abuse; and increasing the amount Canadians can earn without paying federal income taxes impacts on low income women and women living in poverty. We do believe in making a difference.

[Marlene Jennings, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the majority of women in Canada are poor, and the minority Conservative government has raised the personal exemption and increased the marginal tax rate. That affects poor women in Canada. How can this government claim that there is equality of the sexes? The Prime Minister owes some explanations to Canadian women. He should tell them the truth.

Why did the Prime Minister renege on his promise to women and has he given up on the objective of equality for 52%—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women.

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, I can attest that not only women in this government, but all members of this government, male and female, stand up for the rights of women.

Unlike the party opposite, we are not against matrimonial property rights for aboriginal women. It is a fundamental issue that we need to address because it has been neglected for too many years.

Government Programs

[Maka Kotto, Bloc, Saint-Lambert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, once again, this government has found the way to upset the cultural community. With the announcement of cuts worth $11.8 million from the public diplomacy fund, the dance and theatre communities are wondering whether this will affect funding for international tours.

Will the announced cuts put an end to funding for international tours by dance troupes from Quebec and Canada—yes or no?

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, we know that every artist and creator in Canada wants to perform not only nationally but on international stages. It benefits not only the creative community but all Canadians. We will ensure they have those opportunities.

[Maka Kotto, Bloc, Saint-Lambert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is clear and simple and it calls for a clear and simple answer.

Will the announced cuts put an end to funding for international tours by dance troupes from Quebec and Canada—yes or no? It is simple.

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women]

No, Mr. Speaker.

Government Policies

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, my colleagues have laid open the minority Conservative government's growing record of blatant contradictions: the promised aid and reconstruction not happening in Afghanistan; the Auditor General and Environment Canada finding the Minister of the Environment to be a stranger to the truth; and written commitments to provinces, to women, to aboriginal people and to museums. Promises broken, truth denied.

Well beyond climate change, why does the government find so many truths to be so inconvenient?

[John Baird, Conservative, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, the member for Wascana wants to talk about trust. When I hear the member for Wascana's name and trust it makes me think of the income trust scandal.

The real victims, because the then minister of finance would pontificate on the fly, costing pensioners, hard-working taxpayers trying to save for their retirement, literally millions of dollars. When it comes to trust, that member should apologize and that member should resign.

Justice

[Daniel Petit, Conservative, Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, during the election campaign, the Conservative Party made a firm promise to establish a presumption whereby anyone convicted for the third time of a violent crime or sexual assault is automatically considered a dangerous offender. Today, the Minister of Justice made good on that promise.

Could he elaborate on what this means?

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague is right. In our platform we promised to create a presumption of dangerous offender designation for anyone convicted of three violent or sexual offences. This morning we kept our word and tabled a bill that would do exactly that.

We now call upon the opposition to quit playing politics and start passing bills to make our streets and communities safe.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, despite some earlier exchanges, the fact remains that far too many first nations, Métis and Inuit peoples are in Canada's prisons and real answers are needed in the House.

Aboriginal people in Canada account for 3% of our population and yet 18% are inmates. Aboriginal men account for one-fifth of the prison population and aboriginal women make up a shameful one-third of prisoners.

Now that the minister has the cold, hard facts and a list of solid recommendations, when will we get a real plan to tackle this obvious discrimination?