Debates of Oct. 20th, 2006

Older Workers

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

Mr. Speaker, the government's so-called worker assistance program leaves behind a large number of workers, including textile and garment industry workers in badly affected regions.

If the government really wants to protect the interests of textile and garment industry workers, like those in Huntingdon, why did it not negotiate safeguards, as the United States and the European Union did?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, once again, it seems the hon. members of the Bloc Québécois have forgotten that there is a problem in Quebec and in Canada. We have addressed it.

In my riding, Pontiac, the forest industry has fallen victim to difficulties brought on not only by the global economy, but also by the Liberals, who left very little behind. I would invite my colleague to visit my riding to explain why my constituents should not get this money.

International Trade

[Robert Vincent, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we will be losing more jobs. They do not even know what they are negotiating. Recently, the Minister of International Trade's chief negotiator appeared before the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology to present a study of the effects the free trade agreement currently being negotiated between the Canadian and South Korean governments would have on the automobile industry. Mr. Burney emphasized that the effects of such an agreement on other industrial sectors had not been analyzed.

How can the Minister of International Trade negotiate an international agreement without studying—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade.

[Helena Guergis, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I remind the hon. member that we of course are in negotiations with Korea on a free trade agreement, but we are nowhere near any finalization. When we are, he can trust us in that we will ensure that our auto industry in fact will continue to be consulted, as it has all along.

The Environment

[Karen Redman, Liberal, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, government members never hesitate to quote headlines when they think it will help them. It is funny that we have not heard much of that today.

Let me give the government some of its reviews: “Critics blast Ottawa's 'shameful' green plan”, said the Globe and Mail; “Shameful delays in the clean air act”, said the Toronto Star; “Proposed legislation just 'smog and mirrors'...”, said the Vancouver Sun; and “Quebec surprised and disappointed by federal environmental plan”, said NTR.

Why has the government completely failed Canadians on the environment?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to say that this government does not govern on headlines. Let me talk about the content of our clean air bill.

This will be the first time in Canadian history that the Government of Canada will actually regulate every industry sector across this country for air pollution and greenhouse gases.

It will be the first time in Canadian history that we set national air quality health objectives.

It will be the first time that we regulate the auto sector for fuel efficiency standards.

It will be the first time that we will be accountable to Canadians through an annual report on air quality and accountable to regulate products that create emissions, such wood stoves that pollute our environment.

I would like to ask the hon. member, does--

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. member for Kitchener Centre.

[Karen Redman, Liberal, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there seems to be an emerging pattern by the government, in which it makes things up when it does not feel that its legislation can stand the test of time.

Yesterday the parliamentary secretary showed that he did not let facts get in the way of his slanderous campaign against Liberals. Despite the fact that he knew the Conservative plan has a base year that is 13 years out of date, he proceeded to slander all Liberals.

Will the parliamentary secretary once again retract his remarks and once again apologize to the House for misleading it?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, it is too bad that the member is against clean air for Canadians, because what Canadians want to hear is what the executive director of the Clean Air Foundation said, which was, “I am pleased that the clean air act will permit for the first time the regulation of products and appliances that have significant impacts on indoor and outdoor air quality”.

How about what the Canadian Medical Association said? It was that “the government appears to be on the right track” by “recognizing and targeting the role of clean air” to ensure good health.

How about the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association? It said that this “is a vital step” toward fulfilling our commitment to renewable content--

[Bonnie Brown, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the environment minister again misled Canadians, as she has done regularly with absurd statistics she makes up to discredit Canada's ability to meet Kyoto targets, but this time it was off to fantasyland when she said that the Conservatives' costly and ineffective transit credit has taken 56,000 cars off the road every day. Even those who track these kinds of statistics are scratching their heads today.

Can the minister point to a single authority that backs up this outrageous claim?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, I have here the statistics used by experts in my department, based on the Canadian Urban Transit Association estimates, based on taking 1.6 billion urban transit rides a year. It is very complicated. It is related to megatonnes, tonnes of GHGs per car ride.

The reason we asked the department to put it into terminology that Canadians can understand, which is taking cars off the road, is because it is a difficult thing to communicate when we are talking about megatonnes, but this is accurate. I would be happy to table it and share it with the hon. member.

[Bonnie Brown, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Urban Transit Association has denied having anything to do with that particular claim, so it shows the minister continues to make things up.

First it was her false claim that the transit tax credit will reduce greenhouse gases despite contrary opinions she received from her own department. Then it was the bogus accusation that the previous government spent $100 million on carbon credits.

Will the minister stop making baseless claims in areas of her portfolio? Will she please get a briefing on global warming from her department? And will she finally get serious about global warming, like all Canadians, and bring forward--

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. Minister of the Environment.

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Again, Mr. Speaker, I would be happy to share this detailed information with the hon. member, and it is based on the statistics that are used by the Canadian Urban Transit Association.

Also, I would be happy to share with her details about the over $100 million spent on programs overseas by the former government. We have said repeatedly that is not the way we think money should be spent. We think it should be spent here in Canada, which is why we introduced a piece of Canadian legislation to reduce greenhouse gases. That is the most serious way that we can show Canadians we care about the environment.

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake, MB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the environment minister tabled the clean air act. The opposition, which did absolutely nothing for 13 years on the environment, is now saying that the government will not take any action on clean air for another three years.

Can the Minister of the Environment dismiss these allegations?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have waited long enough. They do not have to wait any more, because in the coming weeks and months we will reduce air pollution from snowmobiles and ATVs. We are introducing new regulations on heavy trucks, buses and forklifts. We are introducing new regulations to reduce pollution from consumer products, such as household cleaning items, cosmetics and paints, and new regulations to reduce pollution from the rail, shipping and aviation industry.

But the clean air act will take us further. For the first time, we will be able to tackle the important issue of indoor air quality. For the first time, we will have the power to set fuel efficiency standards in the auto--

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. member for Winnipeg Centre.

Justice

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, journalist Juliet O'Neill is a national hero for reminding Canadians that freedom of the press and freedom of information are fundamental cornerstones of our western democracy.

From day one, the NDP has denounced the Liberal secrecy act as cutting a swath through those very fundamental rights and freedoms by which we define ourselves as a country.

My question is simple. Will the Conservative government honour the court ruling on the Juliet O'Neill case? Will it live up to that? Will it protect our rights and freedoms and will it commit that it will not appeal that--

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. parliamentary secretary.

[Rob Moore, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, obviously this decision is an important one. One of the options that the government has is further court proceedings. It would be inappropriate for us to comment at this time in light of that option.

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP has been all alone right from day one in saying that our fundamental rights and freedoms have been jeopardized by this Liberal secrecy act.

The government today does not really even have to comment on the court case. Will it commit that it will amend the Liberal secrecy act so that it reflects Canadian values instead of violating them? Will it simply amend that act?

[Rob Moore, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, currently, this section is under review and the Security of Information Act is being examined by a parliamentary review. The final reports of the Senate and House of Commons subcommittee are scheduled to be released December 22.

The government is committed to ensuring that its legislation protects the security of Canadians while at the same time provides public accountability and protects fundamental freedoms.

The Environment

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities confirmed yesterday that Quebec would not receive any of the $328 million it had asked for to help finance its action plan on climate change. He then indicated that, instead, the Conservatives were going to hand over $240 million for public transit. Minister Claude Béchard challenged this, saying that this had already been announced in 2005 by the previous government and it was therefore not a new announcement, but one that had been around for several years.

Why is the minister trying to deceive Quebeckers this way?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question. This provides the perfect opportunity to remind the House of the previous government's failure to act on climate change. That government went to Quebec City, loudly proclaiming that it was going to negotiate an agreement with the Quebec government. Of course, there was no agreement. Nothing was ever signed, nothing was done. We are going to do something.