Debates of May 10th, 2006

The Environment

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we knew she did not know her stuff. Now we see that she does not know how to count. It is pathetic.

Canada is about to become the laughing stock of the international community because of this government and its Minister of the Environment. The world's most influential and most credible environmental groups are threatening to boycott Canadian products if the Minister of the Environment persists in refusing to honour Canada's commitments. What is more, they are on the verge of demanding that Canada resign as president of the conference of parties.

That is what they are saying.

Does the Prime Minister agree with Steven Guilbault of Greenpeace, who says that if that were to happen, his Minister of the Environment would be nothing but a figurehead?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, our government is being honest and transparent with Canadians about the mess the Liberals left us when it comes to our Kyoto targets. Today we will release Canada's greenhouse gas inventory and it will show that Canada now is 35% higher than the Kyoto targets that the Liberals set.

To put this into perspective, it would mean that today we would have to take every train, plane and automobile off the streets in Canada. That is not realistic. Is that the kind of solution the hon. member thinks is a good idea?

National Defence

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who is currently on a trip to Afghanistan, suggested yesterday that Canada might continue its mission there beyond February 2007, the date on which Canada’s present commitment in Afghanistan is to end.

Can the Prime Minister make a commitment that any extension of the Canadian mission in Afghanistan will be conditional on a debate and a vote being held here, in this House?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the leader of the Bloc knows, as everyone knows, that during the federal election campaign we committed ourselves to holding votes on new commitments. We are already in Afghanistan.

Obviously, I prefer to have the support of all parties in this House for this important mission. I hope that the Bloc Québécois will support us and support our troops in the future as it has in the past.

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would have liked to hear an answer about holding a debate and a vote, but I will move on.

Last November, the Minister of National Defence, who was at that time his party’s official critic for national defence, asked a number of questions in the House regarding the mission in Afghanistan. More specifically, he said that some elements such as the criteria for the mission’s success, how long the mission will take, the condition of the troops and equipment, should be discussed here in this House to see whether we genuinely have the resources to achieve success in Afghanistan while continuing to meet our responsibilities on the international scene.

Would the Prime Minister agree to the Standing Committee on National Defence putting consideration of this entire question on its agenda, in the days, weeks or months to come, so that it can report to the House before a debate and vote are held here, in this House?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I can only answer that the committees are capable of making their own decisions about their agendas. However, I would note that this government has already held a take note debate in the House on this subject.

What is more important is not debates and votes, but the support of this House for our troops who are engaged in a military campaign. I hope that the Bloc will state clearly that it will continue to support our troops in Afghanistan.

Humanitarian aid for Palestine

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, humanitarian aid is another way to restore democracy. In the case of Palestine, members of the Middle East quartet, including the UN and the United States, said that they are ready to undertake the establishment of a temporary international mechanism to send aid to the people of Palestine.

Does the government support this international strategy? Does it plan to adopt the same approach to send Canadian aid to Palestine?

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we have looked, with great interest, at the announcement by the Quartet on the question of humanitarian aid to Palestine and to the Palestinians and how that could be maintained. We will be examining whether that represents an option for us.

The fundamental position of the government on the question of Hamas and how these aid problems could best be resolved would be if the Palestinian authority would commit to renouncing violence, to recognizing Israel and to ensuring that agreements of the road map were actually followed to establish long term peace.

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, during her recent meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs on April 24, 2006, Ms. Achraoui, a prominent Palestinian and negotiator of the Oslo accords, suggested that Canada should take the initiative to restart the peace process in Palestine by sponsoring an international conference. Apparently the minister was open to the suggestion.

Does Canada intend to ensure and assume this leadership role?

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, this government did assume leadership when it led the world in a statement on Hamas after the elections in the Palestinian lands.

In terms of openness to the approach being followed, we are looking forward to the development of a mechanism by the European Union and we will see if that represents the potential avenue for dealing with the humanitarian issues there, with which we are very concerned.

Darfur

[Jack Layton, NDP, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP proudly supports our troops. Try as the Prime Minister may to denigrate our important questions, these remain important questions. A vote should be held in this House on whether or not our troops should be deployed. There are questions about our role in Afghanistan, and there should be a vote on this, as we have been requesting for weeks.

There are questions about the government's lack of commitment vis-à-vis Darfur. Why does the government not take a leadership role in launching a UN peacekeeping mission in Darfur?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, this government is not the one that sent these troops to Afghanistan, but they have been there for a long while, with the support of the vast majority of the members in this House.

The NDP cannot say that it supports the troops while opposing their mission, as they face danger in the course of a military campaign. One has to support the mission to support the troops.

[Jack Layton, NDP, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we have heard that kind of language before, south of the border, when it comes to debating the role of our soldiers. We support our soldiers, and it is our responsibility to ensure that we thoroughly debate what we ask them to do.

The Prime Minister said yesterday that we had not had a formal request for involvement in Darfur. Give me a break. We have had a statement directly from the Secretary General saying that the country should be getting ready.

Why has the Prime Minister refused to take a proactive role to deal with a peacekeeping plan in Darfur? Is it because, as his minister said yesterday, Canada is too far involved in Operation Enduring Freedom to do peacekeeping in Darfur?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, if the hon. member wants to hear people who will passionately talk about the necessity of supporting our troops in the field, he needs only go to the field and talk to the troops themselves and hear that from any country in the world.

As I said before, the government stands ready and is in consultation with our friends in the international community to do whatever is necessary to advance the peace process in Darfur. If that involves sending troops, this will be an option that we consider.

However, I will say this. It is not an option of this government, or the NDP, or any party that wants to be responsible to change its mind on a military mission once the shooting starts.

Justice

[Sue Barnes, Liberal, London West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in a letter to the Prime Minister, the president of the Canadian Bar Association said that the views of the member for Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, “bring the administration of justice into disrepute and seriously threaten judicial independence”.

My question is for the Attorney General of Canada. Why did he remain silent on this vicious attack and why will he not take his responsibilities seriously and defend our well-respected Supreme Court justices and judicial independence?

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, the government has every respect for our judiciary, including the Supreme Court of Canada. We have demonstrated not only the respect for the Supreme Court of Canada, but we have demonstrated an openness to an appointments process for a Supreme Court of Canada judge, which that party would never support.

[Sue Barnes, Liberal, London West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, that was not to the point of the question. Canadians expect the Minister of Justice to show confidence in the judiciary and the administration of justice. He stayed glued to his seat and never jumped to the defence of the judiciary in this debacle. The minister must show leadership and condemn the remarks made by his colleague. Staying silent is simply not acceptable.

Why will the minister not defend our highest court and the independence of the judiciary?

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, it is obvious that the member has not been listening. I stated very clearly that our government supports the Supreme Court of Canada and the justices in Canada. We want to ensure that the justices remain independent. We are committed to that. We are also committed to reform to which that member is opposed.

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the member for Saskatoon—Wanuskewin attempted to intimidate the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada and violated judicial independence. Moreover, he has reserved for this evening a room in this very building, which he is making available to anti-women's rights groups, groups opposed to our rights.

How could the Prime Minister approve that appointment?

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I have made it very clear that our government supports the independence of the judiciary. We respect the judiciary. We work together with the judiciary in our country. We want to ensure that this independence and strength remains. Everyone will see that kind of continued support for the judiciary by this government.

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I did not get my answer. In Quebec, where I am from, women fought for these rights. Now, they are being taken away.

Will the Prime Minister admit that, by condoning his MP's actions, he is actually condoning that member's position and impairing women's rights? The Prime Minister did not answer my question. Women have a right to know whether or not he condones what the member has done?

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I can answer for the government, and the position of the government is clear. We respect the judiciary. We respect the equality of rights in our country, including the equality of rights of women.

I am proud to serve in a cabinet that respects those values and principles, and we will continue to do exactly that.

Humanitarian Aid to Palestine

[Caroline St-Hilaire, Bloc, Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher, QC]

Mr. Speaker, for two days now I have been asking the Minister of International Cooperation about humanitarian aid for children in Palestine. I have yet to receive a satisfactory response.

The minister should in fact be aware of the problem. She must have spoken with her deputy minister. My question is simple: what concrete action has Canada taken to facilitate a humanitarian donation being sent to children at a daycare in Palestine so that this donation arrives at its destination?

[Josée Verner, Conservative, Minister of International Cooperation and Minister for la Francophonie and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, I want to point out in this House to the hon. member that at this time, CIDA is not funding any Palestinian YWCA projects or any Medical Aid for Palestine projects in the West Bank or Gaza.

This case is about a private donation from a Canadian wanting to help Palestinian children. That said, the immediate problem of transferring funds has already been resolved by Medical Aid for Palestine. Furthermore, we are in contact with this agency to determine whether the Canadian government can help them and how it can do so.

[Caroline St-Hilaire, Bloc, Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is reassuring to see that the minister is better prepared today. One thing is clear: the money is not getting there. The Bloc wants to know how she will ensure that the money will get to the right place in the future and that humanitarian aid will be sent to the Palestinians.