House of Commons Hansard #30 of the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was sentence.

Topics

2 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken

As is our practice on Wednesday we will now sing O Canada, and we will be led by the hon. member for Sackville--Eastern Shore.

[Members sang the national anthem]

Alberta EconomyStatements By Members

2:05 p.m.

Conservative

Ken Epp Conservative Edmonton—Sherwood Park, AB

Mr. Speaker, Albertans are very grateful for the energy boom that we are experiencing. We are happy to share the benefits with our fellow Canadians. While some individuals, even some in this House, are clamouring for more, I would like to point out how magnificently all Canadians are benefiting.

All Canadians through the federal government are the largest benefactors. Just think of the truckloads of money that go to Ottawa every payday for EI and CP premiums. Just think of the train loads of money which go to Ottawa as a result of the income tax deductions from thousands of workers and professionals. Add to that the huge amount of tax that is paid by businesses and corporations. I estimate that Ottawa gets between two and three times as much as Alberta.

Besides that, the spinoffs for businesses right across the country are huge. For example, the demand that is generated for vehicles and other manufactured goods coming from Ontario, Quebec and the other provinces goes well into the billions.

Let us celebrate Alberta's success together. Let us all be grateful for the economic prosperity it generates for our country.

Government PoliciesStatements By Members

2:05 p.m.

Liberal

Ken Boshcoff Liberal Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to mark the first 100 days of the new government and to demonstrate the broken promises or the “harpocracy” of the government. The list is long.

Number one, appointing a Conservative organizer to the Senate.

Number two, enticing a Liberal to cross the floor to his cabinet and recite the “harpocratic” oath.

Number three, muzzling the media by trying to hand pick who will ask questions.

Number four, disrespecting the Ethics Commissioner by refusing to cooperate.

Number five, creating an accountability bill that will make government less accountable.

Number six, standing idly by while his Conservative friends register as government lobbyists.

Number seven, recruiting lobbyists to his government.

Number eight, appointing his cabinet co-chair to the Privy Council.

Number nine, nominating a key Conservative fundraiser to chair the public appointments commission.

Number 10, scrapping the public appointments commission when he does not get his way with the nomination.

One hundred days of “harpocracy”. One hundred days of shame.

Pierre Le Moyne d'IbervilleStatements By Members

May 31st, 2006 / 2:05 p.m.

Bloc

Marcel Lussier Bloc Brossard—La Prairie, QC

Mr. Speaker, I wish to pay tribute today to the memory of Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville.

Next July 2 to 15, the University of Havana in Cuba, in collaboration with the Université du Québec à Montréal, will be organizing festivities in Havana to mark the 300th anniversary of the death of Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville.

He was the great hero of New France—adventurer, shipmaster, privateer and first governor of Louisiana—who died in Havana on July 9, 1706.

Few people know about the tragic end and mysterious death of this hero in Cuba. The city of Havana remembers. It has honoured the visit of this hero with a major monument and numerous commemorative plaques in its museums and its cathedral.

July 9, 2006, 300 years! I remember.

World No Tobacco DayStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

NDP

Penny Priddy NDP Surrey North, BC

Mr. Speaker, today is World No Tobacco Day 2006. This is a significant time to remember a Canadian leader in the fight against tobacco.

Heather Crowe worked as a server in the hospitality industry for over 40 years. In 2002 she was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer caused by the second-hand smoke she was exposed to at work. She never smoked a day in her life.

Like many hospitality workers, Heather did not know that second-hand smoke was putting her health at risk. When she discovered the cause of her cancer, she dedicated enormous strength and energy to protecting others. Despite her illness, Heather lobbied politicians, spoke to schools and communities across the country, and appeared in a Health Canada advertisement to raise awareness about the dangers of second-hand smoke.

Heather lost her fight against cancer last Monday. She once said that her goal was to be the last person to die from second-hand smoke. Thanks to her, thousands of hospitality workers across the country now have a safer workplace.

I ask all members to join me in remembering her tireless advocacy and activism.

Government PoliciesStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

Liberal

Larry Bagnell Liberal Yukon, YT

Mr. Speaker, more of the 100 days of shameful hypocrisy.

Number 11, dismissing the Kelowna accord.

Number 12, stalling progress on aboriginal issues by snubbing the aboriginal affairs committee.

Number 13, stalling the implementation of the residential schools agreement.

Number 14, reneging on his election promise to include the Métis in the residential schools agreement.

Number 15, undermining the procurement strategy for aboriginal business by allowing non-native companies to bid on contracts.

Number 16, refusing to uphold $400 million in extra funding for water treatment on reserves.

Number 17, announcing its own first nations water strategy with not one dollar attached to it.

Number 18, insulting aboriginal groups by ignoring their work at creating an independent first nations auditor general.

Number 19, scrapping $1.8 billion for aboriginal education programs.

Number 20, completely ignoring Canada's north by neglecting to implement the Liberals' northern strategy, and breaking the Conservatives' own promise to the north by cancelling icebreakers in deep water ports.

One hundred days of shameful hypocrisy.

World No Tobacco DayStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

Conservative

Steven Fletcher Conservative Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia, MB

Mr. Speaker, World No Tobacco Day was created by the World Health Organization. It aims to draw global attention to the negative health effects of tobacco use. This year's theme is “Tobacco: Deadly in any form or disguise”.

I am proud to say that Canada has always been a world leader in tobacco control. Over the past 40 years, the percentage of Canadian smokers has been reduced to 20%, its lowest point in 50 years.

Provincial governments continue to enact smoke-free legislation. World No Tobacco Day marks the addition of Ontario and Quebec to the growing number of provinces and territories that are restricting smoking in public places.

Despite the great progress we have made this year, smoking continues to be the number one preventable cause of disease and premature death in Canada, responsible for more than 37,000 premature deaths annually.

For more information on Health Canada's tobacco control program or for tools to help quit smoking, I ask Canadians to please visit www.gosmokefree.ca.

World No-Tobacco DayStatements By Members

2:10 p.m.

Bloc

Christiane Gagnon Bloc Québec, QC

Mr. Speaker, today is World No-Tobacco Day 2006, sponsored by the World Health Organization. The purpose of this day is to encourage governments to move toward stricter regulation of tobacco products.

Smoking is a global epidemic which is claiming more and more lives all over the world, particularly in developing countries. It is said that tobacco is still the only legal product that kills, when consumed as intended by the manufacturer.

Everything possible must be done to put a stop to this scourge which is the cause of some 13,000 deaths per year in Quebec alone.

This year, World No-Tobacco Day is of particular significance in Quebec for it coincides with the coming into force of certain amendments to the Tobacco Act. As of today, smoking is prohibited in the great majority of public places in Quebec, including all bars and restaurants. These measures will protect the population from smoking and from exposure to second-hand smoke.

Crystal MethStatements By Members

2:15 p.m.

Conservative

Rob Merrifield Conservative Yellowhead, AB

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to convey my great appreciation for the citizens of Yellowhead in the battle against crystal meth.

When crystal meth first appeared in Alberta, Drayton Valley was one of the communities hardest hit, but instead of sitting by and letting the drug destroy lives, the people of Drayton Valley took action. In a coordinated effort, social services, education providers, local politicians and enforcement officers joined with concerned citizens to provide solutions.

Law enforcement officers were added. The community's officers were brought into a partnership with community mobilizers to conduct prevention programs in schools and in the community. It took a couple of years and a lot of hard work, but Drayton Valley's struggle has become a success story, with Drayton Valley having experienced a marked drop in crystal meth addictions and related crimes.

Its success was so notable that the mayor of Drayton Valley, Diana McQueen, was asked to join the premier's task force on crystal meth. Drayton Valley's success can now be duplicated around the province and across the country. I would like to say good job, Diana, and great job, Drayton Valley.

Conservative GovernmentStatements By Members

2:15 p.m.

Liberal

Robert Thibault Liberal West Nova, NS

Mr. Speaker, over 100 days of Harpocrisy!

Number 21: keep ministers and caucus members quiet.

Number 22: suggest imprisoning journalists.

Number 23: quash the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act.

Number 24: have committee chairs selected by Prime Minister.

Number 25: keep cabinet meetings secret.

Number 26: use favouritism in allocating funding for infrastructure.

Number 27: get rid of Public Appointments Commission if our friend is not elected chair.

Number 28: appoint a former unilingual Conservative minister to the highest bureaucratic position in Prince Edward Island.

Number 29: allow the Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency to threaten members from Atlantic Canada.

Number 30: only allow participants of a round table in Calgary to be heard if they received permission beforehand.

It has been 100 days in the life of a shrub, a little bush.

Child CareStatements By Members

2:15 p.m.

Conservative

Helena Guergis Conservative Simcoe—Grey, ON

Mr. Speaker, parents of young children in my riding of Simcoe—Grey want our government's universal child care plan. They want it because our plan recognizes that parents need real and meaningful choices in care for their preschool children.

It is true that day care centres provide a valuable service for many working parents. That is why our plan will provide incentives to encourage business, community and non-profit organizations to create more flexible child care spaces, but parents need other alternatives as well.

In Simcoe—Grey we have a lot of farmers and families who work shift work at Honda and the many other parts plants that serve Honda. Whether parents choose to raise their children at home or get assistance from a relative or another trusted caregiver, our universal child care benefit of $1,200 for every child under six will broaden the options for all Canadian parents.

We offered it. Canadians chose it. We will deliver it.

The EnvironmentStatements By Members

2:15 p.m.

NDP

Catherine Bell NDP Vancouver Island North, BC

Mr. Speaker, many people in my riding are very unhappy with the government's actions on climate change and Canada's commitment to the Kyoto protocol.

Daniel Greene of Comox wrote:

I now think of this [Conservative] government as The Great Leap Backward....There is no excuse to walk away from Kyoto and the rest of humanity, instead valuing greed and ignorance.

This is not Canada and by any polls not what Canadians want to see.

Curtis Scoville of Black Creek e-mailed:

This kind of outdated thinking is unacceptable to me personally and is shameful to me as a Canadian citizen in the global effort to promote energy solutions that are safe for the environment and for human health.

Canadians want a government that is willing to protect the environment with real measures, not a fantasy solution and a tax credit. In my riding and across this country, Canadians are more than willing to do their part. I am willing to work with them and my NDP colleagues to propose concrete solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and honour our Kyoto commitments.

Conservative GovernmentStatements By Members

2:15 p.m.

Liberal

Raymonde Folco Liberal Laval—Les Îles, QC

Mr. Speaker, over 100 days of Harpocrisy!

Number 31: reject the Kyoto protocol.

Number 32: attempt to undermine the Kyoto protocol by asking Canadian officials to block any consensus on the next phase.

Number 33: drop Project Green.

Number 34: announce late one statutory holiday that 15 programs on climate change will be cancelled.

Number 35: promise $2 billion to fight climate change without any budgetary measure.

Number 36: attempt to join the Asia-Pacific Partnership despite the absence of penalties or rules for greenhouse gas emissions.

Number 37: intend to be part of the Asia-Pacific Partnership when the U.S. Congress has pulled out all its funding.

Number 38: eliminate a made-in-Canada solution that would have resolved 80% of the problem.

Number 39: reject popular programs such as the one tonne challenge and EnerGuide.

Number 40: discourage the production of renewable and wind energy by cancelling support for such production.

One hundred days of Harpocrisy!

Jacques ParizeauStatements By Members

2:20 p.m.

Bloc

Pierre Paquette Bloc Joliette, QC

Mr. Speaker, on May 22, during the Souper des Patriotes, Jacques Parizeau was awarded the Louis Joseph Papineau prize, which honours a member of Quebec's National Assembly for political action in support of Quebec sovereignty.

Former Quebec premier and a minister many times over, he helped create the quiet revolution and modern-day Quebec. A learned man, he dedicated his talent to one single passion: Quebec.

With uncommon determination and intelligence, he has worked tirelessly to this day to give Quebeckers the only tool that will enable them to express themselves and reach their full potential as a people: national independence.

He constantly reminded us that we must not merely repeat the message, we must renew it. He once said that we should re-examine every premise of the argument. Some ideas will prove more useful, others must be reanalyzed, and many new ideas must be introduced to convince a changing society.

The Bloc Québécois salutes Jacques Parizeau, a great patriot and a great sovereignist.

Government PoliciesStatements By Members

2:20 p.m.

Liberal

Tina Keeper Liberal Churchill, MB

Mr. Speaker, we have more of the 100 days of “harpocracy”.

Number 41, increased the lowest tax rate from 15% to 15.5%.

Number 42, added 200,000 low income Canadians to the tax rolls.

Number 43, GST cut for the wealthy from the pockets of the lowest income Canadians.

Number 44, knowingly raised the personal income taxes of Canadians and tried to pass it off as a tax cut.

Number 45, promised to cut capital gains tax but did not do a thing in the budget.

Number 46, pitted province against province in the equalization debate.

Number 47, misled Canadians by saying their income taxes are being lowered.

Number 48, promised to fix the fiscal imbalance and did nothing in the budget.

Number 49, replaced billions of dollars in post-secondary assistance with a single $80 textbook credit.

Number 50, gave tax credits to hockey parents but not music parents.

It has been 100 days of “harpocracy”.

Atlantic Canada Opportunities AgencyStatements By Members

2:20 p.m.

Conservative

Gerald Keddy Conservative South Shore—St. Margaret's, NS

Mr. Speaker, I have spoken on several occasions about the apparent spread of amnesia through the Liberal caucus. I have since talked to several experts in the field. They have concluded that it is not amnesia. It is hypocrisy.

This is made clear with the hon. member for Dartmouth—Cole Harbour serving as the Liberal critic for ACOA. That member likes to give the impression that he is a defender of ACOA. However, in the race for Stornoway, and members did hear me say Stornoway, he is supporting the member for Kings—Hants, yet that very member wants to scrap ACOA.

Do members see a pattern? Is this Liberal policy? Is this a trend to abandon regional development and an important organization like ACOA? Or is it just more blatant political partisanship on the road to Stornoway?

Canada-U.S. RelationsOral Questions

2:20 p.m.

Toronto Centre Ontario

Liberal

Bill Graham LiberalLeader of the Opposition

Mr. Speaker, the passport issue shows the point to which this government regularly and consistently gives in to American demands. After he met with President Bush, the Prime Minister told us that it is a fait accompli and so we should just accept it. Fortunately, the provinces do not give in as easily as the Prime Minister.

Will he listen to the provincial premiers or will he leave it up to the provinces to fly the Canadian flag and defend our rights against President Bush’s administration?

Canada-U.S. RelationsOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Calgary Southeast Alberta

Conservative

Jason Kenney ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister

Mr. Speaker, obviously we will be working together, with all the provinces, to meet this challenge.

I would remind the Leader of the Opposition that it was the Liberal government that failed to defend Canada’s interests on the passport issue with the Americans. The present Prime Minister and the Minister of Public Safety have made progress with the Americans. We are having success with the United States Congress in solving this problem as soon as possible.

Canada-U.S. RelationsOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Toronto Centre Ontario

Liberal

Bill Graham LiberalLeader of the Opposition

Mr. Speaker, as usual, the facts have nothing to do with the answer we have been given. The American ambassador was at least honest with Canadians: he does not think that the Prime Minister’s wishful thinking will become reality and that one way or another enforcement of this policy can be pushed back to the last minute. The western premiers have told us that the implementation of this unnecessary legislation will have a disastrous impact on trade and tourism.

Is there no one in this government who is prepared to defend Canada’s interests, or will it be left to the provinces to do that?

Canada-U.S. RelationsOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Calgary Southeast Alberta

Conservative

Jason Kenney ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister

Mr. Speaker, I am so glad to see that the Leader of the Opposition is concerned about this matter. When he was part of the previous government, he did nothing to solve the problem.

The Americans have passed the bill. They have brought these new regulations into effect, and that will cause problems for trade between our two countries. However, this Prime Minister, on behalf of the present government, is making progress in Washington in defending Canada’s interests.

Canada-U.S. RelationsOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Toronto Centre Ontario

Liberal

Bill Graham LiberalLeader of the Opposition

Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary secretary will have to face the embarrassing fact that the Ontario legislature recently endorsed a motion condemning the policy of his government and saying that this plan of the Americans will cause unnecessary damage to our economy. The hon. parliamentary secretary and his party might like to know that this motion was introduced by the leader of the Conservative Party.

Some members will recall the Prime Minister having turned his back on the premier of Ontario when he went to dine with him. Would the Prime Minister listen to the premiers, the tourism industry and his own Conservative colleague and stand up to the Americans on this issue? Or is going to he lead us to his own--

Canada-U.S. RelationsOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken

The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister.

Canada-U.S. RelationsOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Calgary Southeast Alberta

Conservative

Jason Kenney ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister

In fact, Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is en route right now to meet with the western premiers as well as American governors on this very important issue. The real question is, why is it that the previous Liberal government left us to inherit the problem of the western hemisphere travel initiative without having done anything to defend the interests of Canada?

Our public security minister is working through our embassy with American governors, with Canadian premiers and with the business sector on both sides of the border and, because of that, we have seen progress in the American Congress.

This government will stand and deliver, unlike the Liberals.

Canada-U.S. RelationsOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Liberal

Mark Holland Liberal Ajax—Pickering, ON

Mr. Speaker, I am glad the member opposite is staying in practice for opposition.

This question is for him and specifically relates to the passport issue. The reality is that the government has abandoned Canadians on this issue. Yesterday, four of the western premiers, along with the Ontario legislature, stated that the Prime Minister is not being aggressive in dealing with the United States on this issue.

It is becoming obvious that the vast flow of goods and people across the border is simply not one of the government's priorities. What is shameful is that the government is leaving it up to mayors and the premiers to do the work of the Prime Minister. When is the Prime Minister going to act on his responsibilities and stand up for Canada?

Canada-U.S. RelationsOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Calgary Southeast Alberta

Conservative

Jason Kenney ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister

Mr. Speaker, let us look at the record. The Liberals allowed that law to come into place. They effectively did nothing to combat it.

Within 100 days of this Prime Minister taking office, we managed, working with our partners in the United States, to secure a very important amendment through the United States Senate. Our diplomatic officials continue to work with the ministry of public security along with the department of homeland security in Washington.

After 13 years of failure in bilateral relations, we have 120 days of success in defending Canadian interests.