Debates of June 1st, 2006

Aboriginal Affairs

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, for months the people of Kashechewan have tried to work with the government to implement the agreement for a new community on safe ground. They have supplied study after study and they have jumped through hoop after hoop. Yesterday they were told that there was no money, that there was no plan and that there was no political recognition of an agreement signed by the Government of Canada.

I have one question for the minister before a single refugee flies home to that rathole on the coast. Will he stand up in the House and tell the people of Canada that he respects an agreement that was signed by the Government of Canada and the people of Kashechewan First Nation?

[Jim Prentice, Conservative, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians]

Mr. Speaker, I have met with the hon. member and we have discussed this matter.

It saddens me to say to the House that this is yet another example of a broken Liberal promise. Despite promises made by the previous Liberal administration and the previous Liberal minister, no money was set aside in the budget for the relocation of Kashechewan. It is shameful that the previous Liberal government would have resorted to misleading the people of Kashechewan with empty promises and with no money set aside in the budget.

We will deal with this situation.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, he can blame anyone he wants. He has had ample opportunity to find the money and come up with a plan. He has done nothing.

I would like to read into the record today what the member said in the House. He said Canadians were “sickened by the squalor of Kashechewan...the third world squalor, filth and poverty...their children with scabies”.

The people of Kashechewan met with the Minister of Indian Affairs, they begged for his help and he did nothing. These are the man's words. These are the words by which he and his party will be judged.

[Jim Prentice, Conservative, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians]

Mr. Speaker, all Canadians have seen Kashechewan and all Canadians have been saddened by what they have seen.

I have met with the hon. member. I have met with the Chief of Kashechewan and representatives of the community. We have engaged in a discussion about a relocation of the community.

The point I simply wish the House to understand today is that the previous government promised to relocate the community and it included no money in the fiscal framework, not a dollar to relocate that community; more empty Liberal promises.

Foreign Affairs

[Mario Silva, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has yet to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture. The convention needs 20 countries to ratify it. We had hoped that Canada would be one of the first to do so.

In the recent election, the Conservative Party promised in its campaign that it would ratify the convention. When will the Conservatives live up to their promise and restore Canada's reputation on the international scene?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, like so many files, we are working very hard to re-establish Canada's position on the international scene. That means taking decisions at the United Nations, not acquiescing or staying neutral on a number of important cases.

We are following this issue very closely. We are working with international partners and we are forever taking positions where the previous Liberal government sat on the sidelines, carping and harping and doing nothing.

[Mario Silva, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, let us be clear: torture is unacceptable.

The government promised to ratify this protocol. Why is it now refusing to do so? Why is torture not a priority for the Prime Minister?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, it is obvious that torture is one of a number of important issues before the United Nations. A human rights council is being set up to deal specifically with issues like torture, to deal specifically with issues like small arms proliferation. These are exactly the types of examples where Canada will be taking strong positions and making representations when that body is fully functioning.

United Nations reform is another area where Canada is playing a significant role right now.

[Keith Martin, Liberal, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the government does not have a foreign policy. Questions on aid to Kandahar go unanswered. International treaties on the abolition of torture go unsigned. The lives of our troops are used as political pawns and cases of Canadians who have been killed overseas continue to grow and continue to be neglected.

When will the government add foreign policy to its five priorities and give Canada some direction of where the government is going on the international stage?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, it is amazing, coming from that member, to suggest that this government has no positions on foreign policy. The problem is that the members opposite have no foreign affairs critic, if this is the approach he is going to take. He is reminding us daily, and we have seen his political record, that if we do not like his principles, if we do not like his positions, stick around, he has others.

[Keith Martin, Liberal, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad we had such a clear answer to my question.

What have we heard on UN reform? What have we heard from the government on the international arms treaty that is taking place in the very near future? We have heard absolutely nothing.

The world is more than five priorities. My question for the government is simple. When will foreign policy be a part of the government's five priorities?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, let me give one firm example of where this government has taken a strong position. Unlike the member opposite, this government stands firmly behind the Canadian troops, working for the health, welfare and stability of people in Afghanistan, unlike that member.

Canada Post Corporation

[Christiane Gagnon, Bloc, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, at committee today, Canada Post's president told us that the decision to close down the postal sorting station in Quebec City was a business decision that did not take into account any regional equity factor.

Do the minister responsible for Canada Post and Conservative members from the Quebec City area agree with Canada Post's president, who confirmed this morning that she could not care less about regional equity?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, as we know, Canada Post is responsible for delivering mail to Canadians. Equity is not the issue here. What is expected of Canada Post is timely delivery. It is expected to be an efficient organization which plays a role in the community and is, of course, sensitive to its needs, while fundamentally giving Canadians the assurance that it is doing its job.

[Christiane Gagnon, Bloc, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Canada Post's president also confirmed to us that she did not have any rationalization plan. She was unable to tell us whether or not impact analyses had been conducted, regarding the Quebec City area in particular, before closing down the sorting station in Quebec City.

Unless he has given up on this issue, could the minister responsible for Canada Post at least make sure that a moratorium is imposed while such analyses are carried out?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I find it strange that, this morning, the member have every opportunity to ask questions of Canada Post's management; yet, knowing full well that she could not get answers to these questions, she is coming here seeking other answers. The answers she is looking for rest with the people at Canada Post.

Federal Accountability Act

[Stephen Owen, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Justice knows that he has the responsibility to ensure that all legislation put before this House by the government is constitutional. He also knows that the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel has tabled a legal opinion that certain sections of Bill C-2, the accountability act, are unconstitutional. Some accountability.

Will the Minister of Justice please assure this House that he has a legal opinion that all sections of the accountability act are constitutional, and in particular, do not encroach upon the constitutional autonomy of this House and its members, and will he be accountable by tabling that opinion?

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

Mr. Speaker, I understand that the Law Clerk will appear as a witness before a committee. We believe it is important that the Law Clerk provide testimony to explain the issues that he has raised in his submissions. If members have serious concerns about those issues, they are fully within their rights to bring forward amendments at committee to deal with such issues.

Public Safety

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Lévis—Bellechasse, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last Tuesday torrential rain caused landslides near La Tuque, Quebec. A roadway sank and a state of emergency was declared. Fortunately, things are returning to normal.

Can the Minister of Public Safety tell us what our government intends to do and if aid will be allocated?

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague's concern for his fellow citizens and the difficulties in the La Tuque area. We have a response and recovery program under the Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements. Thus, if the government of Quebec requests federal financial assistance and program criteria are met, the federal and Quebec governments will share the costs.

Poverty

[Tony Martin, NDP, Sault Ste. Marie, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the United Nations has recently condemned Canada for neglecting its poor. In its report it blames the previous Liberal government for the growing gap between the rich and the poor.

Aboriginals, young people, single mothers, new Canadians, people with disabilities and women are all at risk of falling below the poverty line.

How much longer will the government tolerate this international shame before it does something to reverse this trend that sees more and more Canadian people falling deeper and deeper into poverty?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, I agree with my hon. friend's opening assessment of where the blame lies.

This government in 100-plus days has already taken important steps to assist Canadians with the everyday struggles they face. Certainly having more money in their pockets and making more decisions for themselves, whether it be in the area of child care, whether it be in the area of spending in their own communities, are steps that are going to help address the important issues that stem from poverty.

Trying to eradicate poverty clearly is going to be an effort in which we are all engaged within this government. We are working very hard in that area. I can assure members that the Prime Minister is taking important steps in that direction.

[Tony Martin, NDP, Sault Ste. Marie, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as one of the richest countries, it is nothing short of shameful that the federal government can find billions of dollars to subsidize the profitable oil industry, but it cannot find a penny to eradicate poverty.

Reports out of Sault Ste. Marie and Toronto state that over one-third of low wage earners are now living in poverty. When will the government table a plan to address these scathing reports, or does the minister believe that making poverty history in Canada can just wait another generation?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, I would suggest that the government has already in a very short time demonstrated compassion and a commitment toward eradicating poverty. We have taken important steps to put money back into people's pockets and in their communities with programs aimed specifically at helping people with the struggles that they face in their day to day lives.

Giving people back their own money is an approach the Conservatives believe very strongly will help those in this country. We will continue to move in this direction.

Bill C-2

[Brian Murphy, Liberal, Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Justice must warrant that every government bill is constitutional. The law clerks of the House of Commons deem that Bill C-2 is not. It is not important to have his opinion of the opinion provided by the law clerks of the House of Commons.

If the minister has done his job properly, why does he refuse to submit to this House the legal opinion which leads him to state that the bill is constitutional?