Debates of May 12th, 2006

Health Partners International

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Mississauga—Brampton South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I recently had the opportunity to present recognition certificates to over 50 volunteers from Health Partners International.

Since its inception in 1990, Health Partners International has donated over $180 million in medicines, vaccines and medical supplies to help improve the health of adults and children in over 100 countries.

Health Partners International transcends all ethnic and religious boundaries. It has shipped medical products to regions all over the world. It was there for Pakistanis, following their horrendous earthquake. It was in Southeast Asia, following the devastating tsunami in 2004. It was in Guyana after it suffered major flooding.

Filling Pierre Elliott Trudeau's dream to provide Cuba with much needed medical products, Health Partners International has also established a program that brings medical supplies to Cubans.

On behalf of the residents of Mississauga—Brampton South, I would like to thank Health Partners International for helping heal a hurting world.

Buffet of Nations in Sherbrooke

[Serge Cardin, Bloc, Sherbrooke, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Sherbrooke help centre for new Canadians held its 35th Buffet of Nations on May 6.

The Sherbrooke help centre for new Canadians opened its doors more than 50 years ago, its purpose to welcome new arrivals to the region by easing their integration into the community's social, economic and cultural life.

The Buffet of Nations showcased the cuisine of 36 countries, and over 700 guests took part in this round-the-world gastronomical tour. There is nothing quite like it in Quebec or in Canada.

I would like to congratulate the staff of the Sherbrooke help centre for new Canadians and the volunteer members of the Buffet of Nations organizing committee.

Immigration

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the residents in my riding of Ottawa Centre are fortunate to live in a city that celebrates its diversity. Every year, we welcome thousands of newcomers to Ottawa.

We are also fortunate to have two organizations, the Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization and the Catholic Immigration Centre, which help those who have recently arrived in Canada to participate fully in our community and ensure that newcomers are given the resources they require to successfully settle in the city.

This benefits all of us. Immigration increases our cultural and economic productivity.

However, the inequities between provinces in settlement and language training funding for new immigrants must be addressed. New measures must be taken to ensure Canada is able to support the talents, skills and experience that new Canadians can bring to our country so that we, as a country, can surely flourish.

The Budget

[Gary Schellenberger, Conservative, Perth—Wellington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is a great honour for me to rise today on the third anniversary of my first election as a member of Parliament.

I want to take this opportunity to thank the people of Perth--Middlesex who first gave me the honour of being their representative in the byelection and, now, the people of Perth-Wellington who have twice sent me back.

Never have I been so proud to be a member of Parliament as I have been these past couple of weeks. The recent budget reminded me why I am a Conservative. The budget contained items that are important to me, important to the people of my riding and to the people of Canada.

It will help hard-working post-secondary students pay for their education. Our municipalities will benefit from the billions of dollars that have been earmarked for infrastructure. Our farmers are the best in the world. Finally, the budget saw a great investment in our agriculture communities.

This is a budget for Canadians, and I am very proud to support it.

The United Way

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

Mr. Speaker, Dr. Carl “Bucky” Buchanan has recently chaired the United Way's campaign on Cape Breton Island in an effort to raise funds for much needed programs.

This campaign has surpassed the expectation of a half million dollars. It raised over $600,000 to improve the lives of many Cape Bretoners through the sister agencies that work with the United Way.

In addition to the commitment made by Carl “Bucky” Buchanan, many individuals have donated not only money but their time and effort to make this campaign a tremendous success.

As member of Parliament for Sydney—Victoria, I congratulate Dr. Carl “Bucky” Buchanan and the United Way for the success of their campaign and wish them every success in future fundraising activities.

We do support the United Way because we live there and we care.

Child Care

[Mike Allen, Conservative, Tobique—Mactaquac, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today in support of government's universal child care plan that will start flowing to parents in July. One of the elements of this plan is Canada's universal child care benefit. This benefit will provide all parents with $100 per month for each child under six, even those who do not or could ever hope to benefit from a nine to five daycare setting.

The benefit will help Canadian parents choose the kind of care that is best for their children because moms and dads are the real experts. Only they know what is right for the unique needs of their kids and their families. In contrast to the previous government's plan, which offered nothing in direct support to parents, our universal benefit will help all Canadian families in a real tangible way.

In my riding of Tobique—Mactaquac our program provides real help to shift workers and farmers as well as young professionals.

On January 23 Canadians voted change for parents. We offered it, they voted for it and we will deliver.

Émilie Aganier

[Claude DeBellefeuille, Bloc, Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to congratulate Émilie Aganier, a proud representative of the Beauharnois figure skating club, on her wonderful performance.

Émilie won a bronze medal at the National STARSkate Championships held here in Ottawa last April.

I especially want to congratulate her for the discipline and perseverance she must have shown to win this medal during a Canada-wide competition against eleven other provincial champions.

I believe I speak on behalf of her coach and the other members of the Beauharnois figure skating club when I say, Émilie, your performance was wonderful and we are proud of you.

Prince George—Peace River

[Jay Hill, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, as this is my first formal opportunity in this 39th Parliament, I would like to thank the residents of Prince George—Peace River for entrusting me with the honour and the privilege of representing them for the fifth consecutive time.

More has been accomplished in the last 13 weeks under our Conservative government than in nearly 13 years under the former Liberals.

For the residents and businesses in my constituency, this means substantive tax relief. Because, as we all know, what is a surplus to a Liberal is overtaxtion to a Conservative.

The forest industry in my riding has seen our government take swift action to resolve the long-standing softwood lumber dispute with the United States. We have also committed $400 million over the next two years to address the disastrous mountain pine beetle infestation.

Farmers throughout my riding will also benefit from an additional $1.5 billion in federal agricultural support this year.

My constituents also welcome a government that finally intends to hold criminals accountable for their actions.

I am proud to continue my work of representing the hard-working people of Prince George—Peace River.

George Hull Centre

[Borys Wrzesnewskyj, Liberal, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, more than six million, or one in five Canadians, is affected by mental illness. It is even more devastating when the person affected is a child.

The George Hull Centre for Children and Families in my riding of Etobicoke Centre has earned a distinguished reputation for its exemplary spectrum of children's mental health services and support systems for their families for the past 20 years.

Affiliated with the University of Toronto, the centre's multidisciplinary team has attracted advanced practitioners from around the world. This caring facility would not function without the dedicated volunteer board of directors, chaired by Brigid Murphy, and the excellent work done by executive director, Elizabeth Ridgley.

On behalf of the House of Commons, I commend the George Hull Centre for Children and Families for its caring and compassionate work with some of our most vulnerable young Canadians, those fighting and winning the battle with mental illness.

Liberal Party of Canada

[Guy Lauzon, Conservative, Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Liberals say the darndest things. According to the Liberal leadership wannabe from Kings—Hants, questioning the terms of the Liberal Kyoto agreement indicates a lack of credibility on environmental issues, but not long ago the very same member told the House that:

The job losses from Kyoto ratification will affect all regions of Canada.

He said the Liberal government's Kyoto plan:

--was basically written on the back of an airplane napkin on the way to Kyoto. There was no long term planning. There was no real negotiation...In fact it was a last minute, hastily drafted agreement.

He even said that the Liberal government:

--could not organize a two car funeral, let alone implement a Kyoto agreement.

Then the member for Kings—Hants stood in the House and voted against the Kyoto accord.

Since the member for Kings—Hants equates questioning Kyoto with a lack of commitment to the environment, I look forward to his resignation as the Liberal environment critic. I also cannot help wondering which face he is going to show on the Liberal leadership campaign posters he has in mind.

Child Care

[Olivia Chow, NDP, Trinity—Spadina, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when the so-called $1,200 choice in child care scheme was announced, the NDP proved it was bogus, so in the budget it received a fancy new name, the universal child care benefit, and a few improvements. But it is still not $1,200, it is still not child care, and it is not universal, not even close.

The government is still taxing the benefit and eliminating the $249 young child supplement. Working families will see very little at the end of the day, not as much as a lot of wealthy Canadians, according to the latest from the Caledon Institute.

In fact, single working parents will get the least. They may see about $500 or $600. These people need child care the most. They need to earn a living to feed their families, but wealthy stay at home spouses of high income earners will see the highest benefit of all at $971. They need child care the least, but will see the most.

This is not a universal benefit. It is a universal con game and a cruel joke for working families and single parents.

Conservative Party of Canada

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax—Pickering, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on Wednesday the member for Saskatoon—Wanuskewin resigned as chair of the aboriginal affairs committee after making ill-considered comments about the independence of the judiciary.

Who did the Prime Minister pick to replace him? None other than the member for Okanagan—Shuswap, the member who called--

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order, please. The hon. member for Ajax—Pickering has the floor.

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax—Pickering, ON]

Mr. Speaker, perhaps those members will cheer the fact that this is the same member who called for reporters to be hauled off to jail. No doubt the member is going to have interesting ideas on aboriginal justice after suggesting that reporters should go to jail.

How many more Conservative MPs have these wild, eccentric ideas? Perhaps the member for Wild Rose who suggests they should be shot instead, or the member for Halton, who launched personal attacks on Canada's chief justice? Or is it the Prime Minister, who talks about accountability for everyone but himself?

The duct tape is slipping. Reformers are starting to emerge from their caves and people are now starting to see the true face of the party opposite.

Laval Association for Intellectual Disability

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Laval association for intellectual disability is an agency that enables persons with an intellectual disability and their families to live as normal a life as possible.

The association promotes and defends the interests of intellectually disabled persons so that they can be accepted and find a place in society. To facilitate the social integration of these individuals, the agency offers a full range of activities and services such as supportive care, workshops, physical activities, visual arts activities, cultural outings, parent support groups, respite care and an Internet café.

Recently, the association presented its annual “hats off” awards in recognition of those persons with intellectual disabilities in Laval who have made outstanding personal, academic, professional or cultural progress.

This year's five recipients are Élizabeth Comtois, Johanne Moreau, René Ascoli, Yves Guérard and Danny Beaulieu.

Congratulations to all of them.

The Environment

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I always thought that political action should be prompted by a firm desire to improve things in the world around one, a firm desire to make a better future for generations to come. The environment is certainly one area where we can act now to improve living conditions for future generations.

The Liberal government understood this, and that is why it introduced a host of programs to fight climate change. That is also why it always played a leading role in environmental issues on the international scene, earning recognition and praise around the world.

But all that is changing today. Why? Because the Conservatives have decided to abandon the Kyoto protocol. They have decided to abandon the fight against climate change. In fact, they have abandoned the environment.

This is a sad time in our history, because in abandoning all that, they are doing serious damage to Canada's image. More importantly, they are undermining future generations, and as long as there is hope—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. member for Burlington.

Sponsorship Program

[Mike Wallace, Conservative, Burlington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is apparent that the Liberals have their own special sense of reality.

We are all aware that the Gomery inquiry found that sponsorship money found its way to Liberal coffers. Just two weeks ago, a Liberal leadership contender, the member for Etobicoke—Lakeshore, admitted that there was still money lost. He said, “I am all for a full accounting of the money that was lost in that scandal...”.

However, by yesterday he had changed his mind. He was claiming to be shocked that anyone would suggest that dirty money was ever used by the Liberal Party.

What is shocking is the Liberal Party's flip-flops on this issue. Instead of defending the indefensible, the Liberal Party and its leadership contenders should start defending transparency and come clean with what happened to the missing sponsorship cash.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order, please. Hon. members making statements will want to bear in mind the guidelines respecting Standing Order 31 statements. I would hope that this would serve as a reminder. I think some of the statements came close to the line today. I will put in member's minds House of Commons Procedure and Practice at page 363, where it states:

--when the procedure for “Statements by Members” was first put in place, Speaker Sauvé stated that

Members may speak on any matter of concern and not necessarily on urgent matters only;

Personal attacks are not permitted;

Congratulatory messages, recitations of poetry and frivolous matters are out of order.

Then it adds:

These guidelines are still in place today, although Speakers tend to turn a blind eye to the latter restriction.

I stress that it is only the latter restriction to which we will turn a blind eye. Speakers do want to caution members against using Standing Order 31 statements for personal attacks.

We will turn to oral questions.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order, please. We must have some order, even if this is Friday.

The hon. member for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine.

Auditor General's Report

[Marlene Jennings, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, a disturbing pattern is beginning to emerge regarding the government's treatment of parliamentary officers, a pattern of absolute contempt.

The Prime Minister refuses to work with the Ethics Commissioner, dismisses the Information Commissioner and attempts to misrepresent the Official Languages Commissioner in the House. Now the government has deliberately leaked a copy of the Auditor General's report.

Will the Prime Minister tell us who in his government leaked their copy of the Auditor General's advance report?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we reject the premise of the hon. member's question. We share her concern about the apparent leak of this information. An internal investigation has been launched to see if this information was leaked from a government source. We certainly hope it was not, and if it was, anybody responsible will be held accountable because this is a government of accountability.

[Marlene Jennings, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General gave the government six numbered copies of her report. Everyone who receives these numbered copies has to sign for them and give their personal guarantee of confidentiality. Auditor Generals' reports have never been leaked in the past, and Ms. Fraser is very upset about this. The Auditor General says she has strong suspicions about the source of the leak, and it is not her office and it is not the printer. She plans to confront the source.

Will the Prime Minister name the perpetrator and fire the guilty party even if it turns out to be his own chief of staff?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, that is absolutely scurrilous. I can assure the hon. member that her completely baseless allegation is not true. I can further assure her that the government is investigating the matter and will hold accountable anybody who may be responsible.

On the subject of leaks, we had a Liberal government that for years leaked the entire budget before it was actually presented in the House.

This is a government respects confidential information and will hold accountable those who leak it.