Debates of May 9th, 2006

Fisheries and Oceans

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

Mr. Speaker, let me say that with the former government, the former prime minister in particular, whenever there was an issue, whenever the squeeze came on, the logical thing was thrown out and they would convene a conference to deflect attention from the real issue.

I have no problem with spending money when we get results but we saw a lot of smoke and mirrors. Any time we get a benefit, the money is well spent. I offer my guarantee to the member and the people of Canada that we are not spending my money or the member's money. We are spending taxpayer money and we will get value for every cent we spend.

Public Works and Government Services

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have obtained documents that show that Public Works originally signed an agreement for the new RCMP headquarters with the building's original owners but did not support the final acquisition. The property was then sold to a private developer for $30 million. The government has now turned around and signed another agreement for the very same property for 20 times the cost.

Could the minister explain how this deal, hatched by the Liberals and signed by the Conservatives, is good value?

[James Moore, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics]

Mr. Speaker, no determination has yet been made on this project. When a determination is made, the details of that will be made public.

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it really is outrageous. The government will spend over $620 million for this property by the time it finally owns it, 20 times more than the original purchase price. Is this the minister's notion of a good deal for taxpayers? If that is the case, he has really spent way too much time in the Senate.

Could the parliamentary secretary tell us how many more of these great deals Canadian taxpayers can look forward to?

[James Moore, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics]

Mr. Speaker, for many years the Liberals dropped the ball on this file and still no deal has been signed. Once a deal has been signed the details will be known and we will have a full debate on the issue.

Natural Resources

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, a few months ago while in opposition the Conservatives supported the EnerGuide program. Within weeks of forming the government the Conservatives killed the program. The EnerGuide program helped low income Canadians cut their energy bills and at the same time reduce their emissions.

Which Conservative government priority did this cut address? Was it the priority to hurt the poor or was it the priority to help damage the environment?

[Gary Lunn, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, I want to remind the hon. member that the Canadian people elected a new Conservative government not to take cues from the old tired Liberal Party that is known for its billion dollar programs.

The facts on this file are that almost 50¢ of every $1 is spent on administration or inspections. That is not efficient nor is it effective and that is not how this government intends to do business.

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about the facts. According to Environment Canada's own facts, the EnerGuide program was one hundred times more efficient and effective than the Conservative's bus tax credit system.

Why did the Conservative government put the EnerGuide program on the back of the bus for a program that just does not work and is not as efficient as the EnerGuide program? Is that why the deputy minister was fired? Was Samy Watson fired because he would not carry the ball for the government's environmental programs?

[Gary Lunn, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, we know what was not working. It was the old Liberal government, which is why the Canadian people in every corner of the country gave the new Conservative government a mandate to govern.

I can confirm that the Minister of Agriculture and myself have been working very closely with the Minister of the Environment to develop new programs. We are working on a new ethanol program. This will develop real results which will impact all Canadians.

Canadians can take that to the bank.

The Environment

[Francis Scarpaleggia, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, a coalition of environmental groups is fed up with seeing the Conservatives renege on Canada's international commitments and cancel conservation programs that were customized for Canada, such as the EnerGuide program for low income households. Such groups are ready to boycott Canada on an international scale.

Why does the Minister of the Environment not reverse these decisions before Canada loses its international credibility?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, we are being honest and transparent with Canadians about the targets that the Liberals set under the Kyoto protocol. What the Liberals should have done years ago was to be honest with Canadians about this unreachable target. We will not reach our Kyoto target. The only way we can reach our Kyoto target is to, first, shut down the Canadian economy or, second, ship billions of dollars overseas.

I would like to ask the hon. member which one he would prefer.

[Francis Scarpaleggia, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is humiliating for Canada to be attacked by the most respected and most influential environmental groups in the world, especially when our Minister of the Environment is chairing the conference of the parties to the Kyoto protocol. We are setting ourselves up to be regarded as hypocrites.

To redeem itself and take a step in the right direction, will the government bring back the EnerGuide program for low income households?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, I reiterate again that we are not the only country on the international scene facing these challenges. Many countries are having difficulty and will not reach their Kyoto target.

One of the reasons that we are engaging in the discussions in Bonn on the open dialogue on Kyoto targets and future participation by Canada is to see where we can go from here to participate in the global challenge of climate change.

Humanitarian Aid to Palestine

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

Mr. Speaker, in reply to my question yesterday, the Minister of International Cooperation said that Canadian humanitarian aid money would not be going to Hamas. What we are talking about is a YWCA day care centre 65% funded by CIDA and sponsored by a Quebec organization, Aide médicale pour la Palestine. These are donations intended for children, not Hamas.

How can the Minister say that the money is going to Hamas when in fact it is an Israeli bank that is refusing to transfer money intended for little children in a day care centre? It is hard to confuse that with Hamas.

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

Mr. Speaker, Canada continues to respond to the humanitarian needs of the Palestinians through multilateral organizations and other partners that are not associated with Hamas.

Future funding will depend on the commitment demonstrated by the Government of Palestine to non-violence, the recognition of Israel and the peace accords that have already been signed.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would remind the Minister that on March 29, she and her colleague the Minister of Foreign Affairs stated that “—Canada will continue to support and respond to the humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people”.

In the Minister’s view, does aid intended to provide playground equipment for children in a daycare centre not come within the definition of humanitarian aid?

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

Mr. Speaker, Canada has suspended four projects involving direct aid to the Palestinian Authority and is in the process of restructuring eight projects to ensure that they will not benefit the Palestinian Authority.

Research and Development

[Michael Ignatieff, Liberal, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last week's budget gave the three federal councils that fund university research their smallest annual increase since 1993, only $100 million in new spending. Under the Liberal government Canada led the G-7 in such investment.

Given the crucial role that federal investment in R and D plays in Canada's future prosperity, how can the government's paltry commitment to research and development ensure that Canada remains a world leader in learning and innovation?

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question.

I would point out that the Canadian government has invested $100 million more in research this year. If he had read the budget carefully, my colleague could have seen this very clearly. We are committed to university research, basic research, and research and development in Canada. This is important for Canadian business and for Canadians.

We will continue to do this.

Forestry Industry

[Dick Harris, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Mr. Speaker, for years we asked the former Liberal government to acknowledge B.C.'s pine beetle crisis and for years it clearly demonstrated that it just did not care, but our new Prime Minister does care, and the Conservative government cares and the Minister of Natural Resources cares. The Conservative budget dedicated $400 million to forestry and pine beetle issues.

I would like to ask the Minister of Natural Resources just what benefits British Columbia is going to see from this fantastic pine beetle funding.

[Gary Lunn, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, first I would like to acknowledge the great work the member for Cariboo—Prince George has done on this file.

The Conservative Party recognizes the enormous damage that the pine beetle infestation has caused in the forests in British Columbia. We are doing every single thing we can to mitigate the damage.

It has been a great week for forestry in all of Canada. Under the incredible leadership of the Prime Minister, the Conservatives have solved the softwood lumber deal, they have made a commitment to deliver on forestry and they have made all of those commitments. The forestry industry is very pleased with this government.

The Environment

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, climate change has a direct and growing impact on Canada's economy. This past winter alone, transport trucks with food and fuel for the people in the north were held up because the ice roads had melted, a thing that was inconceivable just 10 years ago but now is a reality. The government yet still finds a way to funnel $1.5 billion into the oil and gas sector every year. What kind of financial support is it offering to the people of the north?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to working with the hon. member as we move forward. Speaking of the economy, as I said earlier, we are being honest and transparent with Canadians about the impact of the Kyoto protocol on our economy. As I stated earlier, we have two options if we would like to try and meet that target: one is to shut down the entire economy, and that includes the economy in the north; or two, send billions of dollars in taxpayer money overseas, money we could invest in the north. I would encourage the hon. member to work with us on doing neither of those.

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the only thing that needs to be shut down is the rhetoric that we have been hearing from the government day in and day out.

We need a plan that works for Canadians, not a plan that was made in the oil patch. This is no different from the 13 years Canadians witnessed under the Liberal government.

We need something that works for Canadians. The environment minister does not have a plan nor a vision. The only thing green about it is the green light that the government is showing to the oil and gas sector year in and year out.

Again to the minister, when Inuit elders stand and talk about the grave crisis facing their communities, does she think they are wrong, or is she just not willing to listen?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, I will acknowledge that the oil and gas sector along with the transportation sector are two industry sectors that will be a big part of reducing emissions here in Canada.