Debates of May 18th, 2006

Firearms Registry

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister's plan to eviscerate the gun registry is irresponsible and is not only an affront to the pillars of the rule of law, but an abuse of the parliamentary process.

Two-thirds of Canadians want this registry to be upheld. The police on the front line and the provinces of Quebec and Ontario have already asked the government not to pursue this initiative.

Why would the government want to dismantle a firearm control system that ensures the safety of Canadians and saves lives in Canada?

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, among other people, it was the Auditor General who indicated that the data from the long gun registry, and we are just talking about the long gun registry, is not reliable. She quoted police officers not having full confidence in that particular data.

As far as the method that we have taken with the amnesty, the member across has criticized the government. He may have to address those remarks to the former Minister of Justice and Solicitor General because the first time there was a firearm amnesty was in 1998 by the previous Liberal government and it modified it or extended it eight times.

[The Deputy Speaker, NDP, Bill Blaikie]

The hon. member for Mount Royal on a supplementary.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Deputy Speaker, NDP, Bill Blaikie]

The hon. member for Mount Royal has the floor. Members to my right, control yourselves.

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government cannot appear to distinguish between an amnesty to get people to stop breaking the law and an amnesty which invites people to break the law, which is what the government is doing.

Now, the essential point is that the government may not agree with the law. That is its prerogative, but how can the government announce an amnesty and suspend the rule of law? How can it tell prosecutors not to enforce the law?

In fact, I would ask the minister, has he asked the Canada Firearms Centre or asked federal police not to lay charges and not to enforce the law?

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, as I have indicated, we are taking our lead on the amnesty from the previous government which allowed time for people to register because the government had not put in place a system that could allow people to comply fully with the law.

We are keeping the handgun registry, keeping all the provisions for safety, keeping the registry for prohibitive and restrictive weapons, and individuals must still follow the regulations on storing firearms and also on taking the safety course. In terms of support for the long gun registry, I like what one federal Liberal MP said when he was a cabinet minister, he said--

[The Deputy Speaker, NDP, Bill Blaikie]

We will have to catch that next time.

The hon. member for Miramichi.

[Charles Hubbard, Liberal, Miramichi, NB]

Mr. Speaker, a very important element of the national gun registry is located in my riding of Miramichi. It consists of nearly 200 highly skilled employees, mainly women, who serve Canadians in both official languages. Yesterday's announcement certainly causes great concern for the future of their employment with the Government of Canada.

Could the Minister of Public Safety please inform those people, and this House, of their future as employees with the Government of Canada.

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, we are transferring the firearms centre itself under the auspices of the RCMP. As we dismantle the long gun portion, which is the inefficient portion that has cost hundreds of millions of dollars, there will be some employees who may be affected. Anybody who is affected, who may in fact not still be at the firearms centre, will be offered other work.

For the benefit of members, because I did not attribute my quote, it was the member for Outremont who said:

The gun registry, it's a disaster, it's a living, breathing scandal, it has cost $1.2 billion...it's a mess, the system doesn't work.

We agree with the Liberals on that.

[Charles Hubbard, Liberal, Miramichi, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the minister for his recognition that there will be 200 continued jobs in the riding of Miramichi. At least two of his colleagues in the front row of this House had promised that during the last election.

We certainly look forward to what happens. I hope that those employees will continue to have employment. They are good people. They worked well. The report that was referred to in the House yesterday is certainly no reflection on their work.

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that and I share the sympathy that the member has for hard-working public servants. I know he is especially sensitive to this because he also voted against this long gun registry. I appreciate that as well.

Also, we are encouraged to know that a Liberal leadership candidate, the member for Kings—Hants, in his view on the long gun registry has stated that we should be getting rid of the long gun registry and added that the billion dollars would have been better spent on health care or strengthening the RCMP.

We are going to be doing both of those: health care and the RCMP.

Textile Industry

[Paul Crête, Bloc, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government is hiding behind the CANtex program and doing nothing for the textile industry. According to Mr. Marcel Thibault, president of Consoltex, the CANtex program cannot make up for the disappearance of markets by increasing clothing imports. The mill in Montmagny is the most recent known victim.

When will the Minister of Industry pay heed to Mr. Thibault's arguments, which indicate that the foreign manufacturing program proposed by the Bloc Québécois is an essential program that has the full support of the textile industry and that is desperately needed by the industry? Will the minister answer this, yes or no?

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for the question, which the minister will answer.

The Government of Canada is aware of the difficulties facing the textile industry. This is why, in the last budget, we reduced the tax burden for such businesses, cutting their taxes by $20 billion over two years.

Canadians voted for change and change is what they are currently witnessing, namely, a reduction in taxes for all businesses, particularly textile businesses.

Older Workers

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

Mr. Speaker, it is precisely because the government did nothing for the textile industry that businesses have had to close their doors completely, as Huntingdon was forced to do last year.

Given that the federal government is partially responsible for these closures that affect hundreds of workers in my riding, because it did nothing to help the industry, could it not at least immediately implement an income support program for older workers who face particular difficulties when businesses in our region, like Huntingdon, are forced to close?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development]

Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, we want to work with older workers. We want to get them to stay on the job. We want them to get new jobs. That, of course, is because they are what makes us competitive. They are what makes us productive.

We always have a program to assist with mass layoffs, as the hon. member should well know. We are invoking that and do that as a matter of routine. We will be working on a feasibility study and I thank the hon. member for her contributions to that study.

Firearms Registry

[Serge Ménard, Bloc, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the governments of Quebec and Ontario, the police, the health sector, and representatives of victims of crime all see many benefits to society from the registration of all firearms.

If offering free gun registration would bring hunters on board, why does the minister not take that route instead of depriving us of the many benefits to be derived from the gun registry?

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, from coast to coast there are victims of crime who support us in eliminating the registry for long guns only.

I can assure the people of Quebec that we understand their concerns. We will redirect funding to certain initiatives such as suicide prevention for young people, for—

[The Deputy Speaker, NDP, Bill Blaikie]

The hon. member for Marc-Aurèle-Fortin for a supplementary question.

[Serge Ménard, Bloc, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister should realize that the system is effective. According to the coalition against the abolition of the gun registry, since 1991, gun-related deaths have decreased by 43% and the number of women killed by guns has decreased by 67%. However, homicide without guns has decreased by only 31% and armed robbery by 57%. I could go on at great length.

Free registration would make the hunters happy. Why not keep such a useful registry and make registration free for hunters?

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, again, it was the Auditor General who said the system was not working. She was the one who said it was ineffective.

I will give just one example. In 2003, there were 549 murders in Canada, including two that were committed with registered long guns. That is why we want to reassign funding to support the victims and the people who need such programs.

Fisheries

[Bill Matthews, Liberal, Random—Burin—St. George's, NL]

Mr. Speaker, 1,000 fish plant workers on the south coast of Newfoundland and Labrador are facing an uncertain future because Fishery Products International plans to ship Canadian fish to China for processing. FPI's groundfish quotas are allocated by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans on an annual basis. It is the minister's decision to allocate or to take away.

Will the minister remove FPI's groundfish quotas and protect them for employees and communities affected?

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

Mr. Speaker, as the member well knows, there is a crisis in the fishery in Newfoundland and Labrador, particularly in his own region.

In relation to Fishery Products International, we are in discussions at present with the provincial government and the union. FPI has not indicated at all that it does not intend to continue business as usual. However, I will guarantee the member that it will not ship any fish to China or anywhere else outside this country by water. If it goes by land, it is then outside our hands.

[Bill Matthews, Liberal, Random—Burin—St. George's, NL]

Mr. Speaker, the minister knows that the fisheries resources in Canadian waters are a common property resource owned by the people of Canada. They are not owned by Fishery Products International or any other fish company.

What I want from the minister today is a clear determination. Will the minister impose a use it in Canada policy or lose it? It is the minister's decision. He has the full authority. I want a full assurance from him today that this fish will not go to China.

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

Mr. Speaker, the member has been reading my notes and speeches undoubtedly. The fish in our waters is a common property resource owned by the people of Canada and should be caught by Canadians and processed for the people of this country, not for the benefit of any other country. The companies that have quotas, or the individuals who have quotas, will catch it and use it for the benefit of our people or they will not catch it at all.