Debates of Oct. 27th, 2006

Aboriginal Affairs

[Roger Valley, Liberal, Kenora, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in my riding, as in the rest of Canada, first nations are waiting for action on water issues. We heard in the House this week from the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development that he was aware of the health problems with poor water and sewer facilities with the Pikangikum First Nation. Being aware is not good enough. We need action.

This community, since he is aware of it, is not even on his priority list. Yet the northwestern health unit categorized this as the worst it has seen in this region. It needs help. In fact, the grand chief for Treaty No. 9, Stan Beardy, has dozens of communities with health issues due to the inaction of the minister and the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.

Even yesterday we heard the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development talk about progress. Enough talk, we need some action. I urge the minister to take immediate action to provide safe, clean drinking water in every first nations community in Canada.

Canadian Food Inspection Agency

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today, I want to take time to recognize the importance of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Created in April 1997, the agency is mandated to protect the safety of Canada's food supply, animal health and the plants that go into safe, high-quality food products.

The agency has a proven track record. We have only to think of the discovery of the golden nematode in the Saint-Amable area, where the agency, working with its American counterpart, managed to reopen the border in just six weeks, allowing Quebec producers to export their excellent products.

Whereas the Bloc Québécois—a party with no decision-making authority—was powerless to lift the embargo, Canada's new government got real results for producers in Quebec, in the interests of all Quebeckers.

Résovi International Conference on Violence against Women

[Maria Mourani, Bloc, Ahuntsic, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today I salute the organizers of the Résovi international conference on violence against women held in Montreal, which came to a close on Wednesday. At this important event, the various forms of violence against women were discussed, namely spousal violence and sexual violence in various contexts, including trafficking of women. Various means of helping the victims of this violence were examined and courses of action against this scourge were established.

While in Quebec and throughout the world people are mobilizing to fight violence against women, the Prime Minister of this Conservative government is not even keeping the promises he made to women on January 18, 2006. He has cut funding to women's groups for their legal defence activities, he has refused to enact proactive legislation for pay equity at the federal level, and he announced a cut of more than 40% to the budget of Status of Women Canada. The Bloc Québécois will continue to denounce this situation.

Government Policies

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, in a minority, this Prime Minister says it is the government's obligation to take into account the priorities of the opposition, but he ignores his own advice. He raises taxes; slashes help for the vulnerable; kills the Kyoto plan; rips billions from child care, aboriginal people and training; undermines the Charter of Rights and Freedoms; and snuggles up to extreme republicans. This is all contrary to what Canadians want.

When will the Prime Minister curtail his belligerence to acknowledge that 65% of Canadians did not vote for him?

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

Mr. Speaker, under the heading of “cozying up to extreme republicans”, yesterday we learned about the visit of certain Liberals last year to Governor Schwarzenegger, “the gubernator”, in California.

I find this a bit peculiar coming from the opposition House leader who said in the Toronto Star on October 24 that his party was looking at using parliamentary tactics to slow Commons business.

This government is all about getting things done for Canadians by cutting taxes, fighting crime, and bringing back accountability to government. We are delivering on our commitments. We invite all the opposition parties to cooperate with us.

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, it is clear that the Prime Minister will bulldoze anyone not in his little ideological clique. He even shuts down parliamentary committees. Journalists call this attitude ham-fisted bloody mindedness. Then he complains when he cannot force his unilateral right-wing agenda down Parliament's throat.

Well, we all got elected to this place, not just the Conservatives. However, look who is filibustering, only the government itself. When will the Conservatives stop behaving like petulant bullies?

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, at the environment committee, for instance, the government was trying to proceed with the important review of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act and the opposition, instead, wanted to move the focus to an opposition private member's bill. That is all about politics, not about results. That is why Canadian voters decided to change government on January 23.

I want to know when the Liberals are going to bring back Bill C-9 to restore all of the offences they removed from that bill. Why is it that the Liberals, on eight criminal justice bills before this House, are so uncooperative in producing results to give us the tools to fight the--

[The Deputy Speaker, NDP, Bill Blaikie]

The hon. member for Wascana.

Justice

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, this minority Conservative government has no significant parliamentary agenda, but one standing committee, the justice committee, is overburdened by a string of ad hoc, one-off proposals designed to cause a logjam.

Liberals have a plan to get things moving. Of the 11 justice bills before Parliament today, we will pass six of them right now, today. That will save two months of parliamentary time and give the justice committee room to tackle all the others.

Will the government accept this proposal, or is it only interested in justice by fear and slogan?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday, we will pass any government bill, of course, in one day. We need the accord of all the opposition parties. We will not pass Bill C-9 today with the Liberal amendments which gutted that bill.

He says we have no legislative agenda. We have a bill to amend conditional sentencing, for a DNA data bank, to criminalize street racing, and to raise the age of protection. We have a payday loans bill, a bill to increase minimum sentencing, a bill to cut judicial compensation increases, and a bill to deal with dangerous offenders. Unlike the Liberals who talked about crime during the election, we are actually acting to fight crime.

The Environment

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, all sectors of Quebec society came together as one to call on the federal government to respect the Kyoto protocol. Quebec's environment minister, Claude Béchard, asked yet again that the Government of Canada give Quebec the $328 million it was promised. The response was: not one red cent for Quebec. Conversely, Ontario will receive the $540 million it was promised, and rightfully so.

Why this double standard? The Government of Quebec wants to achieve its Kyoto objectives. Is that why the federal government wants to punish it in this way?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is odd that the Liberal members continue to ask questions about the Kyoto protocol when it was their government in 1997 that signed it, but totally failed in achieving its objectives. Greenhouse gas emissions increased by nearly 30% under the Liberal government.

However, the Conservative government took action to deliver concrete results as far as the environment is concerned, including the clean air bill.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, that is not action, it is nothing but hot air.

The government has shown that it hates democracy as much as it hates the Kyoto protocol. Yesterday morning, the Conservative members systematically blocked the work of the Standing Committee on the Environment and Sustainable Development. Shortly thereafter, the Minister of the Environment said that the government would stop these anti-democratic procedures if we agreed to vote in favour of its hot air bill on the environment.

It is blackmail and only the weak resort to blackmail. Those who use blackmail lack courage and a valid argument.

This House and Canadians are in favour of the Kyoto protocol and blackmail will not change that.

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

Mr. Speaker, if the Kyoto protocol is so important, why did that hon. member and his party, in 13 years of Liberal government, not take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?

Why did the Liberal leadership candidates, including the hon. member for Etobicoke—Lakeshore, say that reducing greenhouse gas emissions under the former Liberal government was a complete failure?

The current government recently established concrete targets and a tangible plan. We will continue to take action to improve air quality and our environment for the health of Canadians.

[Monique Guay, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the federal finance minister did an about-face yesterday and confirmed that he would pay the $538 million the previous government had promised to Ontario to reduce the number of coal-fired power plants.

Yet the Minister of the Environment has formally refused to pay Quebec the $328 million it needs to achieve the Kyoto protocol targets.

How can the government explain that it is not paying anything to Quebec, which has a plan to reduce greenhouse gases, when Ontario, which has no plan, will be receiving $538 million? How can the government explain this double standard?

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

Mr. Speaker, as part of our clean air regulatory agenda, we are working with the provinces, industry and other stakeholders on national regulations to reduce the greenhouse gases and pollutants that produce smog across the country.

The environment is an area of shared jurisdiction, and we encourage the provinces and territories to take steps to support these efforts. We have provided strong support, totalling $1.3 billion, for public transit infrastructure for all the provinces in the 2006 budget.

[Monique Guay, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like an answer to my question. I will therefore repeat the question, in the hope that someone is listening.

The Minister of the Environment is trying to create a diversion by claiming that the funding for Quebec is part of the discussions on the fiscal imbalance. Quebec wants to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and achieve the Kyoto protocol targets. Quebec has the will, Quebec has a plan. All Quebec lacks is the $328 million that was promised. What is the minister waiting for to pay up?

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

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is saying that a certain sum of money was promised by the Liberals. Many Canadians received empty promises from the Liberals.

This government has made firm commitments to work with the provinces, with industry and with all Canadians to improve the quality of the air we breathe. We will continue to work toward that goal, with good cooperation from the Government of Quebec and particularly Quebec's environment minister.

[Marcel Lussier, Bloc, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, while downplaying the greenhouse gas issue, the Minister of the Environment has stated that funding for the Quebec plan will be part of the discussions on the fiscal imbalance. Two envelopes are needed: one for the Kyoto protocol and another for the fiscal imbalance.

Does the minister intend to pay the $328 million promised to Quebec now so that it can reach the Kyoto protocol targets?

[Mark Warawa, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada is working with all provinces to deal with climate change, greenhouse gas emissions and pollution. We look forward to continuing to work with Quebec.

Actually, Minister Béchard has been invited to go to the next Kyoto protocol meeting in Kenya and the minister has been invited to be part of that.

[Marcel Lussier, Bloc, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the fiscal imbalance should not be used as a convenient catch-all so that the Minister of the Environment can avoid her responsibilities.

Will the government realize that what is really needed is $328 million for the Kyoto protocol now, and $3.9 billion annually for the fiscal imbalance in the next budget?

[Mark Warawa, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is talking about fiscal imbalance but what we are talking about is the environment for the health of all Canadians.

We have heard from the environment commissioner that the previous Liberal government announced $6 billion and spent $1.6 billion. Obviously there are a lot of broken promises and a lot of hot air. The Liberals did absolutely nothing for 13 years and I say shame on them.

Canada Post

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday in Vancouver, hard-working letter carriers took a courageous stand and refused to deliver anti-gay literature. The so-called literature amounts to a homophobic rant calling HIV-AIDS a homosexual plague comparing gays and lesbians to fleas on rats and blaming homosexuality for the global spread of this devastating disease.

Will the President of the Treasury Board tell Canada Post that it is totally unacceptable to spread misinformation and hate literature, and will he ensure that rules are in place to prevent this from happening again?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am unaware of the incident to which the member refers but we will take the matter under advisement.

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I would point out that this was not mail. It was advertising. Since Canada Post has refused to deliver advertising in the past for the Vancouver store called The Art of Loving, how can it justify approving advertising that is nothing more than hate against gays and lesbians?

This hate mail would never meet the standards of any newspaper, TV or radio station in Canada and yet Canada Post, I would point out, says that it meets its standards. Why does it have such low standards and why does it not have a policy against this?

Again I ask the parliamentary secretary to make it clear that he will instruct Canada Post to bring in rules that will ensure this kind of hate literature is not distributed through our postal system.