House of Commons Hansard #10 of the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was forward.
Jim Flaherty ConservativeMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, there was indeed reference to the competitiveness of the Canadian Economic Union in the Speech from the Throne and there will be more references on Tuesday next when the budget is delivered.
I would ask the member to kindly be patient and wait until next Tuesday to see the initiatives in the budget.
Maurizio Bevilacqua Liberal Vaughan, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have a feeling that we will be waiting forever for an economic plan to make sense.
In a G-7 country in the 21st century, faced with obvious challenges of an aging society and global competition, how can we ignore the most pressing issues like productivity, research and development and competitiveness?
Will the Prime Minister expand on his timid five-point plan and focus on securing the long term prosperity interests of our country?
Jim Flaherty ConservativeMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, I have had the opportunity to speak to some members of other parties in consultation and preparation for the budget. Certainly, the issues he raises, concerning competitiveness and productivity and the Economic Union in Canada, are important to all Canadians.
I thank him for the work he has done on those subjects over the years, and I invite him to wait for Tuesday to see the initiatives in the budget.
Michael Savage Liberal Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS
Mr. Speaker, increasing Canada's productivity was a priority of the former Liberal government. Canada now leads the G-7 in publicly funded research, and the fall economic update introduced measures that would drastically increase student accessibility, skills upgrading and literacy.
The Speech from the Throne did not even mention education, not a word. That is frightening.
What will the government do to maintain our strong record of research and what will it do to assist Canadian students to access higher education? How long will students have to wait?
Jim Flaherty ConservativeMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, if these issues were so important to the members opposite in the Liberal Party, what were they doing for 13 years?
We have a lot to do, and the initiatives--
Jim Flaherty Conservative Whitby—Oshawa, ON
The Liberals published reports and they published papers. They had all kinds of ideas and there was all kinds of verbiage. They had lots of issues surrounded, but they did not take the steps to get the job done.
We will get going on getting the job done on Tuesday.
Michael Savage Liberal Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS
Mr. Speaker, I recognize that the finance minister was not a member of the House in the last session, but he could have read a couple of newspapers and learned a few things
We know that education is not a priority for the government. The Conservatives have told us that. However, it is for Canadian families and it is certainly important for the future of our country. Our plan, which could have been adopted by the House, went way beyond Bill C-48. In fact, we committed $9.5 billion to student access, infrastructure, skills upgrading and other initiatives.
Will the minister commit today in the House to at least match that impressive record?
Michael Chong ConservativePresident of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada currently provides significant financial support for post-secondary education and training. The Canada social transfer provides $16 billion a year in transfers for post-secondary education, $8.5 billion in cash and $7.5 billion in tax transfers. In addition, our government currently provides $5 billion in direct support for students and their families through direct grants and tax credits.
Our government is committed to working with the provinces and territories to ensure that this kind of strategy continues.
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
Order, please. It is clear that when a minister, who is as popular as the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, gets up to answer a question, it would be helpful if hon. members could constrain themselves so we could hear the answer.
The hon. member for Haute-Gaspésie—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia.
Jean-Yves Roy Bloc Haute-Gaspésie—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC
Mr. Speaker, while there is an oversupply of shrimp on global markets, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans could not come up with anything better than to allow a 7,000 tonne increase in quota to the shrimp fishers of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Will the minister admit that he is in conflict of interest because in taking this decision he wanted to please the voters in his province to the detriment of the entire industry, which outside of Newfoundland and Labrador recommended a freeze on the quotas?
Fisheries and OceansOral Questions
St. John's South—Mount Pearl Newfoundland & Labrador
Conservative
Loyola Hearn ConservativeMinister of Fisheries and Oceans
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows a lot better than that. The shrimp allocations this year were given directly to the fishermen to ensure we could save an industry that is in severe trouble.
Nobody knows better than the member the state of the shrimp industry in Quebec. That industry is in the same state in New Brunswick and in Newfoundland and Labrador. Consequently, our quotas this year went where they should go, to the people who participate in the industry.
Jean-Yves Roy Bloc Haute-Gaspésie—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Quebec minister of agriculture, fisheries and food, Yvon Vallières, denounced the minister's decision. He said it was not the time to increase the catch when the oversupply has already dropped prices.
How can the government support such an unacceptable decision by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, made at the expense of the entire shrimp industry, including that of Quebec, just for the sake of his own popularity at home in Newfoundland and Labrador?
Fisheries and OceansOral Questions
St. John's South—Mount Pearl Newfoundland & Labrador
Conservative
Loyola Hearn ConservativeMinister of Fisheries and Oceans
Mr. Speaker, again, the member knows it has absolutely nothing to do with geography. We have a 20% tariff on shrimp going into the European market on which we are working. He also realizes that the ministers from Quebec, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador all have talked to us about this. They agreed that fish quotas should go to the fishermen. Without the extra shrimp this year, they would not survive in the industry, and that is what is most important to us.
Todd Russell Liberal Labrador, NL
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of National Defence.
We learned this week that the Conservatives have killed their election promise to build an Arctic deep-water port. In the past few weeks the minister has openly contemplated that he would transfer 5 Wing Goose Bay out of his department's jurisdiction, and is about to strike another blow to the community by seizing the Goose Bay Airport Corporation's landing fees. It only took a couple of months, but people are losing their jobs now.
Could we be assured that the government will stop back-sliding on its northern commitments, and when will we see some action on 5 Wing Goose Bay?
Gordon O'Connor ConservativeMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, the government is not back-tracking on any commitments to the north. We will fulfill all of them.
Specifically on Goose Bay, we will deploy a rapid reaction battalion in Goose Bay and we will put a UAV squadron in Goose Bay. We have also said that Goose Bay will remain as a vital face within the defence department and it will continue so all the employees continue to have jobs.
Jeff Watson Conservative Essex, ON
Mr. Speaker, our international bridges and tunnels are vital links with our best friend and largest trading partner, the United States. Businesses and communities across Essex-Windsor and Canada rely on these lifelines to move billions of dollars in trade.
In 13 years the Liberals failed to obtain powers to oversee our crossings and their security effectively.
Could the transport minister tell the House and the people of Essex how this government will get the job done right?
Lawrence Cannon ConservativeMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, the act will ensure that the Government of Canada has the necessary powers to grant approval to build new international bridges and to impose the necessary terms and conditions to protect public interest.
Also, the legislation will help to ensure that our bridges are safe and that the federal government has the ability to ensure national security and to protect the vital trade links on which our economy is based.
Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON
Mr. Speaker, yesterday I toured the Kashechewan nurses station, which is knee-deep in raw sewage. I met nurses who were scrambling to thumb flights out of Kashechewan because Health Canada had made no provisions for their safety.
I learned today that the Weeneebayko Health Authority is having to lay off staff in the region because of a fuel deficit because Health Canada pays services at 1996 levels for fuel. My God, this is a fourth world condition at Kashechewan.
Will the health minister stand up and say today that there will be adequate funding for health services in the James Bay region?
Jim Prentice ConservativeMinister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians
Mr. Speaker, if the member has just returned from Kashechewan, he knows full well that we are dealing with the greatest flooding there in a generation. Departmental officials from my department met yesterday with the chief and deputy chief of the Kashechewan First Nation. He will also know that meetings have been set up for next week in Ottawa between myself and the chief. He will also be aware that the Emergency Measures Act and a 1992 agreement between Canada and Ontario requires Ontario to be responsible for the evacuation.
Notwithstanding that, we have officials on the ground and the situation is under control.
Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. minister for his answer, but I had asked the health minister if Health Canada was going to step up to the plate, and I have not heard that.
However, last week we buried 4-year-old Trianna Martin in Kashechewan. Twenty-one people lived in that home. There was not a single fire emergency service anywhere nearby.
I ask the Minister of Indian Affairs to stand again. The people of Kashechewan need a message of hope. They need to know that the minister will be there as a friend, as a leader and as a colleague to work with us to rebuild that community on safe and higher ground, for a hopeful community tomorrow. I need to hear that message.
Jim Prentice ConservativeMinister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians
Mr. Speaker, the member and I have discussed the very difficult circumstances of Kashechewan, the sadness that we have seen there over the last many years and the unfortunate flooding that happened this year.
In terms of the fire situation, he and I have spoken about that and he knows measures will be taken to ensure that there is some fire coverage in the community on a very short basis, as soon as the flooding situation has been dealt with.
Again, there are meetings scheduled between myself and the chief to discuss the long term options for the community.
Lloyd St. Amand Liberal Brant, ON
Mr. Speaker, last year in the budget $150 million was allocated to brownfield remediation. In addition, last fall the Liberal government committed $12 million for the cleanup of the Mohawk-Greenwich site in my riding of Brant.
On January 6, while campaigning in my riding, the Prime Minister said, “we will clean up the brownfields in this riding”.
Will the $12 million that has already been booked be delivered, or is this just another pledge to add to the growing list of Conservative flip-flops?
Gary Lunn ConservativeMinister of Natural Resources
Mr. Speaker, again I would like to remind the hon. member that after 13 years, and they may want to look at their record, the Liberals were absolutely unable to clean up one site.
This government made a pledge this campaign. It made a commitment. We will fulfill our commitments, unlike the previous old government that did absolutely nothing for its record on the environment. It was abysmal.