Debates of Nov. 3rd, 2006

Public Safety

[Sue Barnes, Liberal, London West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is becoming increasingly clear that during the last election the Conservative Party was willing to say anything to anyone to get a vote.

Yesterday, before the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security, department officials exposed the minister by admitting that it will cost $1 billion to follow through on his plan to arm border guards.

Will the minister admit that he made a mistake during the campaign and take the advice of the RCMP Commissioner who said that arming border guards was “not the optimum answer”?

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, a numbers game is being played here by the Liberals. The fact is that in the budget that was tabled, we committed $1.4 billion to safety and security for Canadians, including making our borders stronger.

In that whole figure, the Liberals took a swipe at less than 10% of it and said that was $100 million and that if it is taken over 10 years it is $1 billion. If we take it over 100 years, I guess it would be $10 billion.

The fact is that we respond when our men and women on the front lines ask for the equipment, the tools and the training they need to do the job. We stand up for them. The Liberals desert them.

[Sue Barnes, Liberal, London West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, apparently being a Conservative means never having to say, “I am sorry”.

First the government told us that arming border guards would cost $100 million. Now the department is telling us that it will cost $1 billion to fund this poorly conceived campaign promise.

Could the minister tell the House who has their facts wrong, the minister himself or his departmental officials?

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I think I have already explained the numbers game that is going on here but here are the facts.

For years the border officers asked the Liberals for more officers so they would not have a situation where a man or woman was alone at night at a border point in a remote area of the country, but the Liberals said no, that they had to be there alone. When the border guards asked for other protection, the Liberals said no. We said yes.

What do the Liberals call the border officers who stand up for our protection and our security? They call them wimps.

That is where we need an apology from the Liberals. Those men and women are not wimps. They are dedicated professionals. They are securing our borders and we are proud to be helping them do that.

Fiji

[Nina Grewal, Conservative, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

Mr. Speaker, very recently in Fiji there have been threats of possible action against the democratically elected government by some elements of the Fijian armed forces. This action could result in political instability in that region.

Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs please share the government's reaction to this news?

[Deepak Obhrai, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, Canada is very concerned about the threats made against the democratically elected government of Fiji by the commander of the military forces.

Canada believes in freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. It is critical that the armed forces in Fiji respect these principles. In addition, although the situation remains calm, the government is urging all Canadians to maintain a high level of personal security awareness, monitor news reports and follow the advice of local authorities.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, aboriginal leaders across the country were shocked to hear that the Minister of Indian Affairs did not think Canada was responsible for resolving the land dispute at Caledonia because it predated Confederation.

Many of the treaties in this country were signed pre-Confederation. The Conservative government is trying to duck its responsibility to settle land claims.

When will the minister take responsibility, stop bickering with the province and solve the crisis?

[Rod Bruinooge, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's position is that pre-Confederation specific claims are a shared responsibility and the best way to solve these claims is through cooperation with the province and first nations.

We will continue to do so but, unfortunately, the Government of Ontario has been political grandstanding on this issue. We want to return to prudent, responsible negotiations.

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the world is paying attention to how poorly the government is treating first nations. This week, Iran, notorious for its human rights abuses, called Canada to task for its treatment of aboriginal peoples.

It is shameful that the government has decided to abandon 20 years of work and vote against the UN declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples.

Will the government commit to supporting the declaration and resolving the situation in Caledonia so that Canada can hold its head up at the United Nations instead of lowering it with shame?

[Rod Bruinooge, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians]

Mr. Speaker, our government will take absolutely no lectures from the government of Iran on the rights of aboriginals in our country.

We are moving forward for aboriginal Canadians and for families that have not seen matrimonial real property. We are moving forward with a plan that will bring forward human rights where they have not been before.

We are very proud of the action being taken by the minister.

Fisheries and Oceans

[Jean-Claude D'Amours, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Speaker, despite the fact that fish and shellfish stocks are declining all over the world, the minority Conservative government is refusing to take the measures necessary to protect the Atlantic coast fishery. Last month, the federal government decided not to support an international moratorium on bottom trawling.

Now that we have irrefutable proof that the planet's marine life is in serious danger, will the government change its mind and ban bottom trawling?

[Loyola Hearn, Conservative, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, this is a very legitimate concern. It is something we have been aware of for quite some time. That is why we completely revamped NAFO. That is why we are taking a leadership role at the United Nations. We have to preserve and regrow our stocks. We have to preserve our habitat. We have to protect the ecosystem. If not, we could end up in such a disastrous situation.

[Jean-Claude D'Amours, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Speaker, consultations have gone on long enough. We must act now if we want to save the industry. The Worm and Myers report was very clear. Fish and shellfish stocks are declining daily. These stocks are the Atlantic region's bread and butter. The only way to protect the fishery is to act immediately, which is what the rest of the international community is doing.

Will the minister finally recognize that we have to ban bottom trawling once and for all?

[Loyola Hearn, Conservative, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, there are a couple of things. Number one, Canada has taken the leadership in approaching this crisis. By using the precautionary principle not only ourselves but in encouraging other countries around the world, we have taken the leadership.

The member might be talking about bottom trawling, one subset of a major problem base. We are not the only country, by ourselves, and all the fishing nations in the world support Canada's stand, because that is only one part of the problem. We have to deal with the full problem or we are going to be in trouble.

Veterans Affairs

[Gary Merasty, Liberal, Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK]

Mr. Speaker, hot on the heels of the broken income trust promise, here is another example of the Conservatives failing to honour campaign promises. As we now know, the Conservatives' election platform was apparently a farce. Nevertheless, they promised real compensation for first nations, Métis and Inuit veterans. The Prime Minister even repeated as much in a radio campaign in my riding.

It is now clear, after 10 months, that the promise of immediate action has been broken. There is no sign of any action whatsoever. Why is the government refusing to keep its promise to aboriginal veterans?

[Greg Thompson, Conservative, Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, this year our government is spending $352 million more than the previous government on all veterans, including aboriginal veterans.

We will continue to talk to veterans groups, including aboriginal veterans, which I have done. We are committed to making the lives of all veterans better, and they can count on the government continuing to do that.

[Gary Merasty, Liberal, Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK]

Mr. Speaker, as we approach Remembrance Day, they deserve to be honoured.

Action needs to be taken immediately, but all they get are hollow excuses. These veterans gave up more than their security when they signed up. First nations veterans gave up their treaty rights. Métis veterans were not allowed to identify as Métis, yet they signed on to fight for this country in unprecedented numbers.

The Conservatives and the Prime Minister made a sacred promise when they pledged immediate action to compensate aboriginal veterans. Why did they break this promise?

[Greg Thompson, Conservative, Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, there is much that I agree with in the member's preamble in terms of the dedication of our aboriginal veterans and their commitment to Canada, but I want to remind him that he is a member of a party and a government that was in power for 13 years and ignored aboriginal veterans, ignored all veterans and ignored our defence spending and our men and women in uniform. That is the Liberals' sad record after 13 years.

We are not going to do that. We are going to work on every one of these issues, issue by issue. We are going to work through them. We are going to be there to support those aboriginal--

[The Deputy Speaker, NDP, Bill Blaikie]

The hon. member for Richmond—Arthabaska.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[André Bellavance, Bloc, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, according to the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, existing programs can help farm producers suffering unforseeable income losses, such as the producers in Saint-Amable who have had problems with the golden nematode. But according to the president of the Union des producteurs agricoles du Québec, existing programs are inadequate.

When will the government face facts and come to the aid of producers in Saint-Amable by introducing a program specifically for them?

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, I would point out to my colleague that this government worked quickly to limit the crisis that hit all of Quebec to just one region, allowing trade worth several million dollars to the province to resume. The government is looking at the issue of financial support above and beyond the programs that are already available to producers in the area under restriction.

[André Bellavance, Bloc, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, that is not what the parliamentary secretary said in the press release he issued yesterday. He said that the existing programs are enough. He is creating false hope.

This morning, I spoke to the president of the Fédération des producteurs de pommes de terre du Québec, Pierre Chouinard, who told me that the CAIS program was not working. On October 6, the minister announced that he planned to set up a new disaster assistance program.

Given that, under the Health of Animals Act, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency compensates producers who are forced to destroy their animals, does the minister intend to do the same for producers in Saint-Amable and provide them with immediate compensation under the Plant Protection Act?

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, I am inclined to believe that producers have seen just how quickly this government can do things. The minister has asked his officials to keep working closely with officials in Quebec on financial assistance above and beyond the existing programs.

Unlike the Bloc Québécois, we do not just talk, we can act.

Foreign Affairs

[Keith Martin, Liberal, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Mr. Speaker, last Wednesday the Minister of Foreign Affairs compared the evacuation of Canadians from Lebanon to “the same kind of chaos at a shopping mall at Christmas near closing time or in an airport during a snowstorm”. This is another callous, highly insensitive remark from our top diplomat, and the international community is noticing.

Will the Minister of Foreign Affairs apologize for likening tens of thousands of Canadians caught in a war zone and fearing for their lives to this? Will he apologize to those Canadians?

[Deepak Obhrai, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, this was one of the most successful evacuations Canada has ever undertaken. All the diplomats and everybody, all of the Canadian people, worked together to bring Canadians out of a war zone. We are very proud of the record of the Government of Canada on this file.