House of Commons Hansard #87 of the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was quebeckers.
Bev Oda ConservativeMinister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women
Mr. Speaker, the government believes in accountability and transparency. That is why we will allow the CRTC to do its job. That is why we wanted a proper appointments process, which the opposition parties did not support. We will, in an accountable manner, appoint a qualified CRTC chair as well as monitor the CRTC.
Belinda Stronach Liberal Newmarket—Aurora, ON
Mr. Speaker, Canada has world-class scientific research facilities, but the key federal program that has made that possible, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, runs out of cash today.
Since 1997 the CFI has leveraged more than $11 billion in research. There was nothing in the budget, nothing in the economic update, and the minister has even dropped the word “innovate” from the department.
Does the minister have a plan to continue the Canada Foundation for Innovation?
Maxime Bernier ConservativeMinister of Industry
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that my opposition colleague asked about that because it gives us the opportunity to say loud and clear in this House that this government believes in competitiveness. It believes in the mission of the organization she just mentioned. That is why we decided to conduct real consultations and, in the next budget, we will be allocating the necessary funds.
Belinda Stronach Liberal Newmarket—Aurora, ON
Mr. Speaker, that did not answer my question. It is not just the CFI that is at risk, but so is the community access program, a program that gives Internet access to the most remote communities in Canada.
Does the minister not know that if one does not have Internet access one is just out of the game? Research, innovation, education and Internet access, does the minister not understand the importance of these investments or does he just lack the clout at the cabinet table?
Maxime Bernier ConservativeMinister of Industry
Mr. Speaker, we believe in the community access program and that is why we have funding until the end of next year. That is a good program and we are able to defend this decision to achieve our goal.
Raymond Simard Liberal Saint Boniface, MB
Mr. Speaker, the government has to do more than consult. The previous Liberal government took pride in being Canada's leader in innovation, information and learning. We made investments every year to expand research at our colleges and universities like Western and Fanshawe, and improve access to learning for all Canadians. However, that has all stopped now thanks to the government.
Why did the government kick the research community in the stomach by letting the Canada Foundation for Innovation starve to death?
Maxime Bernier ConservativeMinister of Industry
Again, Mr. Speaker, it is all false. It is not true what my colleague is telling the House today. We believe in competitiveness. We believe in the right funding and we are going to act like that. That is why we are having consultations with the university community and the research community. We will have a program that will adapt to their needs.
Raymond Simard Liberal Saint Boniface, MB
Mr. Speaker, it seems that if you do not fit the Prime Minister's definition of a voter, he could not care less about you.
Take, for example, the community access program, which is very popular across the country. This program makes modern means of communication accessible to Canadians, particularly those living in rural areas.
The government has already disappointed Canadians with mean-spirited cuts to research and literacy. Will it once again attack thousands of Canadians by cutting the community access program?
Maxime Bernier ConservativeMinister of Industry
Mr. Speaker, it is strange that my opposition colleague should ask the question now, given that the program ended in September. The previous government decided to abolish this program. We brought it back, ensuring that it would be available for Canadians in the future.
Christiane Gagnon Bloc Québec, QC
Mr. Speaker, in a Zone Libre report on natural health products aired last Friday on Radio-Canada, Julia Hill, a director at Health Canada, reacted to journalist Luc Chartrand's revelations by saying, “I would need details to be able to launch an investigation immediately”.
Does the Minister of Health not understand that it is high time to present Health Canada with its responsibilities and to demand that the department do its job with respect to controlling the health products market, given that public health is at stake?
Tony Clement ConservativeMinister of Health and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario
Yes, Mr. Speaker.
Christiane Gagnon Bloc Québec, QC
Mr. Speaker, in addition, a B.C. company successfully fooled Health Canada into granting it a licence for a simple amateur radio set equipped with an argon lamp, which is supposed to treat illnesses such as hepatitis C, the Gulf War syndrome and cancer.
How can the minister justify Health Canada's decision to authorize, without any prior testing, the sale of a device under a commercial licence? Again, does that not pose a concern where public health is concerned?
Tony Clement ConservativeMinister of Health and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario
Mr. Speaker, protecting the health of all Canadians is a priority for our government, and I can assure the members of this House that I am looking into the specific situation raised by the hon. member. I would also like to give the assurance that I will take effective action, as required, if there turns out to be a problem.
Maria Minna Liberal Beaches—East York, ON
Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government continues to ignore the voices of Canadian women. It has refused to implement pay equity legislation. It has made multi-million dollar cuts to Status of Women and eliminated equality from its mandate. It cancelled a national early learning and child care program, slashing 25,000 spaces in Ontario alone, ensuring that Canada will lag behind other nations.
Why has the government not delivered a single space in child care?
Diane Finley ConservativeMinister of Human Resources and Social Development
Mr. Speaker, we had three parts to our universal child care plan. The first was delivering on the money that the previous government promised but never delivered. There was an amount of $650 million to help provinces create spaces. The second part was our delivery of the universal child care benefit. Canadians voted for that. The Liberals voted against it and now they are trying to take that away from Canadian families.
Patrick Brown Conservative Barrie, ON
Mr. Speaker, under the former Liberal government air policy agreements were done in a piecemeal fashion and kept Canadians from fully benefiting from more choices in air transportation. Earlier this morning the Minister of Transport announced the blue sky international air policy.
Could the minister inform the House how this will benefit the air transportation industry and all Canadians?
Rob Nicholson ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for that excellent question and he certainly raises some very good points. I will get back to the member as soon as possible.
David Christopherson NDP Hamilton Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, last Thursday the government announced in its economic update a requirement that provinces, territories and municipalities consider P3 options. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities said, “We are concerned that this new funding requirement may create unnecessary red tape and become a barrier to participation by municipalities”.
Why is the government creating unnecessary red tape and even more barriers to addressing our urgent infrastructure deficit?
Jim Flaherty ConservativeMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, so that the member is clear in what is being proposed, in projects of national economic significance the proponents will be asked to consider public private partnerships which have been done around the world and are being done now in British Columbia, Ontario and other places in Canada. This is an obligation to consider an option in the best interests of the best financing available for large public projects in Canada.
David Christopherson NDP Hamilton Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt it is being done around the world, but it is also failing around the world. The British Medical Journal found that P3 hospitals were up to 60% more expensive than public hospitals. The Australian state auditor found that its P3 hospitals cost twice as much. The New Brunswick auditor general found that a P3 school cost over $700,000 more than if the government had built it alone.
The world has learned that P3s do not work. Will the government learn that lesson and stop this disastrous policy before more Canadian tax dollars are wasted?
Jim Flaherty ConservativeMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, I regret the member's ideological opposition to public private partnerships, but they are a way of financing and a way of transferring risk that sometimes works well on large public projects. It has been done with respect to two hospitals in the province of Ontario by the Liberal government of the province of Ontario and they are being pursued with roads and bridges, and other initiatives by the Liberal government of the province of British Columbia.
Maria Minna Liberal Beaches—East York, ON
Mr. Speaker, after months of trying, we still cannot get any answers or even any understanding of women's issues from the government and this minister in particular.
I have a question for the chair of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women. Could she tell the House what plans the committee has on its upcoming agenda to address the issues of early learning and child care and income security reform as outlined in the Liberal women's caucus pink book released today?
Judy Sgro Liberal York West, ON
Mr. Speaker, as we all know, women make up a very significant part of our workforce and continue to face enormous roadblocks.
In light of these challenges, the Standing Committee on the Status of Women will be conducting a study on what measures we can take to improve their economic security. We are also well aware of the need to provide choices in many areas to reduce the hurdles, as is evident in the Liberal pink book that was released today.
I can assure all members that the committee will come forth with some very progressive recommendations as we move forward in a very positive exercise.
James Bezan Conservative Selkirk—Interlake, MB
Mr. Speaker, many farmers in my riding of Selkirk--Interlake and other farmers in Saskatchewan and Manitoba have suffered severe spring flooding over the past two years because of above average rainfall. Because of this, many cannot plant anything or even maintain their land.
Could the Minister of Agriculture update this House on what the government is doing to help these farmers restore their land and get back on their feet?
Chuck Strahl ConservativeMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board
Mr. Speaker, we recognize that there was extreme difficulty due to flooding in many ridings across the country. That is why on May 23 of this year we announced a $50 million cover crop program.
Over 10,000 farmers applied for that program. It has been a very successful program. On Friday, I announced another $40 million to go into that program. Every one of the farmers will get the money that is coming to them.