Debates of Oct. 26th, 2006

The Environment

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, I agree with the Government of Quebec's declaration. However, the measures in Quebec's plan will not reduce air pollution enough.

We need a strict national regulatory framework that goes beyond Kyoto targets. The clean air act will enable us, for the first time, to implement integrated regulation of air pollution and greenhouse gases.

[Bernard Bigras, Bloc, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, unlike Ottawa, Quebec is ready to respect the Kyoto targets and has a plan to do just that. All it needs is the $328 million promised by the federal government.

What happened to the $328 million Quebec was promised to help it meet the Kyoto targets? Can the minister commit to handing that money over to Quebec immediately?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, I respect the Kyoto protocol and I recognize its importance to Quebec. That is why, earlier this week, I invited Minister Béchard to go with me to the next Kyoto protocol meeting in Kenya so that together, we can represent the interests of Quebec and Canada. We discussed it today, and I hope he will accept my invitation.

Health

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I accuse the Minister of Health of acting irresponsibly toward women. He recently authorized silicone breast implants again, basing his decision on evaluations carried out by experts connected with the companies that want to capture the market, no less.

Can he name me a single expert who is not connected somehow to the companies that sell implants? I would like him to name me just one expert. His department was unable to do so.

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Minister of Health and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday, there are a number of scientific experts, more than 2,500 scientific articles and over 65,000 pages of documents. If the hon. member wants to read these documents, she is welcome to do so. I do not mind. I encourage the hon. member to read the scientific evidence.

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, he cannot name even one expert.

This minister, who has let himself be fooled by the breast implant lobby, is endangering women's health.

Does the minister realize that he is taking responsibility for what will happen to women in 10 or 15 years, on the basis of opinions from experts who are connected to the companies that sell implants?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Minister of Health and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday, there are very strict conditions for marketing this breast implant. Certainly, there are many opportunities to study this situation. Now there is scientific evidence and there are strict conditions. In the event of a problem, it is the hon. member's responsibility to bring that problem to the attention of the House, but there is no problem now.

Travel and Hospitality Expenses

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax—Pickering, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the President of the Treasury Board said the Prime Minister's chief of staff Brodie and senior adviser Burney paid their “own freight” for a stealth trip to Washington they tried to hide. Not true. Today we learned these PMO hacks took a one day, round trip, private government jet joyride, every cent at the cost of Canadian taxpayers, and every cent outside the rules.

Why did the minister mislead the House? Why did the government try to hide this meeting? What other expenses is the government trying to bury?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, that is called leading with your chin. It turns out that member took a trip with the minister to California last year for four days and did not declare any hotel expenses. Maybe he was staying at a homeless shelter.

Members of the PMO staff who had important meetings with the U.S. administration flew down and back on the Challenger and did not claim the cost of the Challenger, which was a long-standing practice of the previous government. One meal was picked up at the personal expense of the chief of staff to the Prime Minister.

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax—Pickering, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the member should be very careful about what he said. I reported every cent of that trip.

This gets a lot worse. Treasury Board rules for Challenger aircraft state that the government must report the dates and locations of the trip, the passengers and the purpose, and must be approved by the PM and the defence minister. That March trip violated every one of those rules to keep it secret. Further, a minister must be present on these flights. There was no minister present on this PMO joyride. Every rule was broken; nothing was reported.

How can this House have any confidence when the minister misleads the House and the Prime Minister's office--

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister.

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, all the rules were followed with respect to the trip of senior government personnel to meet their interlocutors in Washington to discuss critical bilateral issues, which in part helped in the return of nearly $5 billion to the Canadian economy.

The member who just asked that question said he filed his returns. Funnily enough, I have it right in front of me, sir, and I would be happy to table it. It indicates he was there in California from the 16th to the 20th of January, accommodation, zero.

Ministerial Expenses

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Mr. Speaker—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order please. The hon. member for Bourassa has the floor.

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after learning yesterday that the Minister of Labour and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec spent $70,000 on his trip around Quebec in his plane from Thunder Bay, with his “Conservative blue” displays that will only be used once, we learn today that it pays to work for the minister.

The minister approved a $24,075 contract that was given to Normand Forest Communication Conseil between March 7 and 31, 2006. Twenty-four days at $1,000 a day.

Can the Minister of Labour and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec confirm for me that we are talking about the same person when we talk about Normand Forest Communication Conseil and the senior advisor in his office?

[Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Conservative, Minister of Labour and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec]

Mr. Speaker, this is the first time I have heard about this, so I will check into it and I will give you a more specific answer at the first opportunity.

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when he checks the Quebec enterprise register and sees the address of the senior advisor in his office, the minister will notice that both of them live in Lavaltrie. It is the same person. Apparently someone thought he was getting a bonus before a contract was signed. We are starting to understand why the minister is taking his time filing his expense account.

Can the minister tell us why he thought it was a good idea to give his advisor a contract before hiring him? Specifically, can the minister tell us what Mr. Forest did for 24 days at a cost of $1,000 a day?

[Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Conservative, Minister of Labour and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec]

Mr. Speaker, is the member for Bourassa telling me that the contract was given to this person before he was hired by my department?

Justice

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the constituents of Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke do not want U.S. pedophiles freely walking Canadian streets. Yesterday the Minister of Public Safety told the House that despite the weak Liberal laws on the books he is committed to using every legal instrument possible to have this individual detained and declared dangerous and inadmissible.

Can the minister bring us up to date on what is being done so far to protect Canadian families?

[Dave MacKenzie, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, that is an excellent question from the member for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke. I can also say that constituents not only in her riding but in ridings across Canada have those concerns.

I can tell the House today that CBSA has deemed this individual a risk and has detained him for removal. He has the right to appeal.

National Defence

[Alexa McDonough, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, last week the defence minister denied receiving a transition memo stating that 1,200 personnel were available for missions other than Afghanistan, and the Chief of the Defence Staff denied ever sending that memo. Yesterday they sang the same tune at the foreign affairs committee, but I have that transition book, addressed to the minister, signed by General Hillier and dated February 2006.

I cannot actually believe I am asking this question, but is the minister telling us that he never read his ministerial transition book upon taking office?

[Gordon O'Connor, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I will say again that I have never seen the memo and I have never read the memo, but it is quite incidental. What the member is talking about is whether the army has the ability to engage in a second large operation. I have been subject to many briefings from the day I joined the department until now, and continuously I have been told the army does not have the ability to send a large number of troops to any other location.

[Alexa McDonough, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, denying things that actually happened is becoming the government's trademark.

If the minister did not read his briefing book, does that mean he did not read the memos on procurement, on national security policy, on NATO policy, on infrastructure and on environmental issues? The list goes on.

If the minister will not give straight answers on the simple matter of a transition book, how can Canadians trust him on the life and death decisions that put our soldiers' lives at risk each and every day?

[Gordon O'Connor, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I have been extensively briefed on all the issues within the defence department. If the hon. member wants to sit down somewhere with me and contest who knows what in the defence department, I am prepared to do that.