House of Commons Hansard #5 of the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was parents.
Monique Guay Bloc Rivière-du-Nord, QC
Mr. Speaker, as president of the United Nations climate change conference, the environment minister has a special responsibility.
With such a contradictory attitude about the Kyoto protocol, what sort of credibility does the minister expect to establish among participants in the upcoming summit to be held in Bonn beginning on May 15, when she is to preside over negotiations for phase two of the Kyoto protocol?
Rona Ambrose ConservativeMinister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, I am acutely aware of the challenge that we are facing. As president of the conference of parties for the United Nations framework convention on climate change, I will be vigorously defending the taxpayers of Canada and Canada's position about approaching climate change from a realistic and effective plan.
I have had consultations with member countries and our international partners, and they are all finding themselves in the same position that we are in.
Pauline Picard Bloc Drummond, QC
Mr. Speaker, without consulting the opposition, this government decided to cut programs linked to climate change, while maintaining its commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
If the Prime Minister is sincere in his desire to be transparent and cooperative, why does he not impose a moratorium on program cuts until he is ready to table his own plan to implement the Kyoto protocol, which members of Parliament could then debate?
Gary Lunn ConservativeMinister of Natural Resources
Mr. Speaker, I know the hon. member wants to work with us to achieve results.
What has happened is there have been a number of programs initiated by the previous government. There was an independent review initiated by this government. There were a number of programs that were deemed to be ineffective and not working. I can assure the hon. member that we are going to implement this review which shows that these programs are not working and are not in the interest of taxpayers.
We will, however, develop programs that will actually reduce greenhouse gases, and I look forward to working with the hon. member to achieve those results.
Pauline Picard Bloc Drummond, QC
Mr. Speaker, if the Minister of the Environment wants to practise the open federalism her government preaches, what is she waiting for in order to reach a bilateral agreement with Quebec that would give Quebec control over attaining Kyoto protocol targets?
Rona Ambrose ConservativeMinister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, I do not think I need to point out to the hon. member that Quebec is a part of Canada, so Quebec will be very much a part of the made in Canada solution. I look forward to working with the minister of the environment in Quebec, Mr. Béchard, on a made in Canada solution for all Canadians.
Jack Layton NDP Toronto—Danforth, ON
Mr. Speaker, for 13 years the Liberals promised that they would protect public health care in this country. Then we saw provinces chipping away at our public health care system. One could think of Alberta. What did we get from the Liberals? We got a beating of the chest, we got the occasional letter, and we got ever decreasing fines being called upon. They did absolutely nothing to stop the growth of for profit medicine and the deterioration of medicine in this country.
Will the Prime Minister today give a clear indication that he is prepared to impose significant financial penalties when the Canada Health Act is broken?
Tony Clement ConservativeMinister of Health and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario
Mr. Speaker, as this is my first opportunity to rise in the House, I wish to thank the people of Parry Sound—Muskoka for this immense privilege.
I want to assure the hon. member opposite that the government is committed to universally accessible, publicly funded health care that respects the five principles of the Canada Health Act. As the hon. member noted, there was a lot of rhetoric when the members opposite in the Liberal Party were government but not a lot of action. In fact, wait times doubled in the 13 years of the previous Liberal regime.
Canadians voted for change. They will get greater accessibility--
Jack Layton NDP Toronto—Danforth, ON
Mr. Speaker, the Alberta plan would allow doctors to be both inside and outside of the health care system at the same time. In addition, there is a proposal to allow wealthy individuals to get their own health insurance and jump to the front of the line. This is what credit card medicine is all about. This is the beginning of the creation.
Jack Layton NDP Toronto—Danforth, ON
We are now hearing the return of the catcall approach from both parties this morning. I have to say it is quite disappointing. I cannot hear myself ask a question. Canadians want to know whether or not the government is going to put a stop to the two tier system which is unfolding in Alberta.
Tony Clement ConservativeMinister of Health and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario
Mr. Speaker, I am in agreement with the hon. member that in fact we have to have innovation in our health care system, but it has to be openly accessible and universally accessible within a publicly funded system. There is a lot of innovation that can occur within that mandate.
The letter that the Prime Minister sent to the Premier of Alberta makes it clear that our recommendation is that Alberta join other provinces in establishing wait time guarantees. That was our commitment to the people of Canada and there are many innovations that can occur within the Canada Health Act.
That is our commitment to the people of Canada. That is our commitment to Albertans who are also people of Canada and voted in the election for change. We represent that change and we will follow through on that change.
Stephen Owen Liberal Vancouver Quadra, BC
Mr. Speaker, daily reports question how the defence minister, a long time defence industry lobbyist, could possibly be free from conflict of interest.
Would the Prime Minister please explain how a minister turned lobbyist, which we would all restrict, could possibly be in a greater conflict of interest than a long time defence industry lobbyist, now turned Minister of National Defence?
Gordon O'Connor ConservativeMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, to have a conflict one has to have an interest. I own no shares in defence companies. I get no remuneration from any defence company. I have no connections with any defence companies. Therefore, there is no conflict.
Stephen Owen Liberal Vancouver Quadra, BC
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Defence has a very narrow concept of the issue of conflict of interest, which of course also includes former colleagues and clients, all of which are lining up for defence industry contracts.
Given this ethical lapse, would the Prime Minister please at least commit to not appointing any further lobbyists as ministers with portfolios that are related to their lobbying colleagues and clients?
Jason Kenney ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister (Multiculturalism)
Mr. Speaker, we reject the premise of the question. There are no lobbyists in the government. There are members of Parliament elected by the people and appointed to this cabinet to deliver change. That is exactly what we are going to do beginning with the federal accountability act which will be the most sweeping reform of the system of lobbyists and party financing that this country has ever seen, something that the Liberal Party never dared do.
Denis Coderre Liberal Bourassa, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Conservative members from Quebec City, led by the Minister responsible for the Francophonie, have betrayed their constituents.
The Conservatives had promised the people of Quebec City that they would resolve the issue of the zoo, but instead they put their heads in the sand. The mayor of Quebec City and more than 65,000 people have since asked Ottawa to do something. Still nothing.
How will the Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec make up for the betrayal by his colleagues from Quebec, who, as Easter approaches, call to mind Pontius Pilate washing his hands? Will the minister also wash his hands of this issue?
Jean-Pierre Blackburn ConservativeMinister of Labour and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec
Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the voters in Jonquière—Alma for again allowing me to represent them in this House.
In response to my hon. colleague from Bourassa, I will say that as a government, we intervene when the proponent of a project, in this case the Government of Quebec, asks for our assistance. This has not happened. Since we were elected, the Government of Quebec has not asked for our government's help on the issue of the zoo in Quebec City.
Denis Coderre Liberal Bourassa, QC
Mr. Speaker, seeing how people work on the other side of this House, I think that the Prime Minister will have to appoint another senator as minister responsible for the Quebec City region.
Could the Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec—who does not place his trust in his officials and who has decided to personally look after all his files—be proactive, as he wishes to be in his region, and provide the $35 million that the entire population of Quebec is asking for in order to save this Quebec City institution?
Jean-Pierre Blackburn ConservativeMinister of Labour and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec
Mr. Speaker, the member went to Quebec City and rushed before the media to save the zoo. However, it is his government and the preceding minister who refused to provide Quebec City with this financial assistance.
This letter, dated June 10, 2005, and signed by the minister himself, states, “Regrettably, I must advise you that, in the present circumstances, Economic Development Canada cannot provide the funding requested”.
The honourable member should have intervened and done his work at the appropriate time.
Meili Faille Bloc Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC
Mr. Speaker, recent statements by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration about implementing a refugee appeal division have us deeply worried. Before deciding whether he will go ahead in this matter, the minister told us he wants to review the immigration system as a whole. At this rate, the appeal division is nowhere near becoming a reality.
Is this review not a just a ruse to mask the intentions of the minister, who does not want an appeal division?
Monte Solberg ConservativeMinister of Citizenship and Immigration
Mr. Speaker, obviously in Canada today, we have probably the most generous system in the world when it comes to accepting refugees. They have tremendous opportunity to appeal to the courts at every level and I argue that today they do have due process. Having said that, I appreciate the hon. member's intervention and we are continuing to investigate the issue of the refugee appeal division.
Meili Faille Bloc Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC
Mr. Speaker, not only did several United Nations bodies vote in favour of creating a refugee appeal division, but the House of Commons Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration voted unanimously in favour of creating an appeal division on December 14, 2004.
What more does the minister want before acting?
Monte Solberg ConservativeMinister of Citizenship and Immigration
Mr. Speaker, the truth is that in Canada today people who are applying for refugee status sometimes spend 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12 years working their way through a system. They have many avenues of appeal when it comes to determining whether or not they are refugees.
As I just said a moment ago, we will continue to investigate this, but we would never put something into legislation as the Liberals did four years ago with no intention of ever implementing it.
