Debates of Oct. 17th, 2006

Forestry Industry

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, my reply will be short.

I share the opinion of the companies in the forestry industry. Ninety per cent of them said that this agreement was very good for them. It is what they want, and it is what we have delivered. This agreement was delivered in six months, unlike the 13 long years that the Liberal government spent doing nothing about this issue.

[Paul Crête, Bloc, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, one thing is certain. There is confusion in the government concerning the softwood lumber crisis. On one hand, the Prime Minister announces that there will be support for softwood lumber. On the other hand, the Minister of Industry announces that there will not be any. The Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec claims that the environment is the problem. In short, at a time when the regions are suffering through a terrible economic and social crisis, the government doesn’t know where it is going.

Are we to understand that the only project the government has to propose is a caricature of POWA, which does not in any way respond to the needs of older workers?

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, the forest industry is undergoing major changes and we are aware of that. That is the reason why we are acting. It is easy for my colleague in the Bloc Québécois to propose any kind of measure because they will never have to implement it.

I would like to remind him that Guy Chevrette, in an interview on Radio-Canada, said he would prefer one sawmill that is working well rather than two that are not profitable.

[Paul Crête, Bloc, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in the automobile sector, the government quickly announced an emergency assistance plan of $500 million. The oil companies, friends of the government, benefit from tax benefits of several billion dollars. In the case of the forest industry, which is in crisis, we are still waiting.

Why is the government in no hurry at all to announce an emergency plan for the forest industry? When will the government and the Minister of Industry respond to the needs of Quebeckers in all regions of Quebec?

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, we were elected to defend the interest of Quebeckers and all Canadians. That is why we negotiated an agreement that puts $5 billion dollars into the pockets of the industry. The Bloc Québécois could never have down that because they are out in the corridors and will always be there.

[Claude DeBellefeuille, Bloc, Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC]

Mr. Speaker, there are countless supplementary measures that could be implemented to support and stimulate the forest industry, including biomass energy production.

Implementing incentives for using wood by-products in bioenergy production would benefit us in three ways: the industry would have access to clean energy; it would protect the environment; and, last but not least, it would show the Minister of Labour that the two are not mutually exclusive.

What is keeping the government from acting?

[Gary Lunn, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to let the member know that I have said many times in the past that renewable energy is a very important form of energy, something that will play an important role in Canada's energy future mix. Members should stay tuned for more announcements as we unveil our environmental plan, which is made in Canada and will deliver results for Canadians right across the country.

[Claude DeBellefeuille, Bloc, Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC]

The Minister of Labour claims that protecting the environment hurts forestry. One of the Bloc Québécois' many proposals demonstrates that that is not so.

Will the Minister of Natural Resources admit that a refundable tax credit for improving green technology in the forestry sector would have a definite positive effect on both the forest industry and the environment?

[Gary Lunn, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, what will have a positive effect is finally, after 13 years of doing nothing, getting the softwood lumber agreement resolved so we can move forward in restructuring the forest industry.

This government has done more for the forest industry in six months than the previous government did in 13 years. It committed $400 million in the previous budget and the forest industry will succeed because of the actions of this government.

Aboriginal Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, the minority Conservative government may have trouble with the truth on aboriginal policy, but numbers do not lie.

Now the numbers show that aboriginal Canadians are overrepresented in our prison system. Aboriginals are seven times more likely to end up in jail than non-aboriginals, yet despite the statistical evidence, the Minister of Public Safety rejects this.

Does the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development agree with his colleague? Will he apologize to Canadians for failing to acknowledge the truth contained in the report?

[Jim Prentice, Conservative, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians]

Mr. Speaker, there will be no apologies from this side of the House.

It is the hon. member who should be apologizing because in the past week she announced to the world that she no longer supports matrimonial property rights for Indian women. She has been slammed in her own city by a major Canadian newspaper that had this to say, “It may be decades of legal disputes and years of study are not enough for Ms. Neville”. Aboriginal people “have been waiting for such a law for too long”--

[Some hon. members]

Order, order.

Quote, quote.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Members are yelling “quote”, but you cannot do indirectly what you cannot do directly. If members are going to read a quote, they have to read the member's title and not the name. Hon. members know this. This is not a new rule. I know the hon. Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, like all other hon. members, will want to comply with the rules in every respect. Is his answer now finished?

[Jim Prentice, Conservative, Calgary Centre-North, AB]

I apologize for that transgression, Mr. Speaker. The quote says that the member for Winnipeg South Centre “had nine years to provide to native people the same rights in family law enjoyed by all other Canadians, and chose not to right that wrong. Mr. Harper should”--

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. minister will want to get his quotations correct the next time. The hon. member for Winnipeg South Centre.

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

Mr. Speaker, if he had implemented the Kelowna accord, he would not have time to read all those papers.

The Correctional Investigator found that first nations, Métis and Inuit inmates are routinely classified as higher security risks than non-native inmates. Aboriginal offenders are released later in their sentences and are more likely to have their conditional releases revoked.

Instead of addressing these issues, the government proposes to yet increase the overrepresentation. Will the Minister of Public Safety acknowledge the findings of the Correctional Investigator?

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I did acknowledge those findings yesterday. We respect the work that has been done by the Correctional Investigator. We do not accept that there is systemic discrimination within the corrections system. There are a number of programs that highlight issues and concerns related to the aboriginal population. I have visited with many of these individuals in the actual institutions and they have told me directly about the programs that are benefiting them. We will continue to look at the report.

Equalization Program

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when the Prime Minister says that no province will be adversely affected by changes to equalization, it appears that he may be straying from the truth. In fact, the premier of Newfoundland and Labrador has revealed that his province might be the big loser in this new formula.

Why this change? Does it mean that the Conservative members of Parliament from Newfoundland and Labrador are utterly useless when it comes to defending their province?

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, in budget 2006 and in the papers that were issued with the budget, we set out a process to be followed, and that process is being followed.

We have received reports from various sources, from the municipalities, from the provinces and territories, from their councils, and the report from Mr. O'Brien that the previous government commissioned. Ministers have been consulting with their provincial and territorial counterparts. I anticipate that the finance ministers will meet again before the end of the year. All of this was planned. All of this is the process. Decisions have not been taken yet. The difference is that we have a principled approach on this side of the House, unlike the previous government's ad hoc approach.

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the very simple principle is that there was an election promise that no province will be made off. That is the principle at play.

Fairness forces me to acknowledge that the president of the higher income tax club may be beginning to see the Liberal light now that he seems to be adopting the Liberal plan to cut income tax. But that does not justify a long line of broken agreements, tearing up Kelowna, the child care agreements, and the Canada-Ontario accord. No wonder Danny Williams is nervous.

Will the minister just promise to Danny Williams that Newfoundland and Labrador--

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. Minister of Finance.

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, it is remarkable to hear the member opposite and the party opposite getting along so well with the premier of Newfoundland and Labrador. That is something new, which I appreciate.

Liberals love taxes. I know the member opposite does not agree that we should reduce all taxes for Canadians. I know members opposite voted against our budget to reduce the GST by 1%. I know they voted against the reduction of income tax on average for every category of income tax paying Canadian. They even voted against our proposal to remove 655,000 low income--

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. member for Lévis--Bellechasse.

Older Workers

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Lévis—Bellechasse, QC]

Mr. Speaker, for too long the forestry companies of Canada, including those in Quebec, have had to face challenges that arose because of the inaction of the previous Liberal government and Bloc critics who could produce no results. More recently, some softwood lumber companies have had to make the difficult decision to lay off many employees, a great many of them older workers.

Can the Minister of Industry, my honourable colleague the member for Beauce, tell us more about what our new government, the Government of Canada, intends to do to mitigate the impact—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon.Minister of Industry.