Debates of June 16th, 2006

Leucan

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on June 11 Leucan held its third annual head shaving challenge. Participants put a price on their own head and agreed to have it shaved if people pledged that amount.

This fundraising and awareness-raising activity provides an opportunity to show our solidarity with children suffering from cancer. It takes the drama out of hair loss, makes it easier for the children to accept their treatments and helps them fit into their environment better.

As a survivor of this terrible disease, I know what these children and their parents are going through. This cause is dear to my heart, and that is why I asked for people's support.

I am very proud that they responded so generously. With their help, I was able to raise nearly $4,000 to improve the quality of life of children who are truly in need. Their solidarity touched me deeply. I thank them for their heartwarming response.

Canadian Forces

[Brian Storseth, Conservative, Westlock—St. Paul, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canada is committed to assisting in the development of a free, democratic and peaceful Afghanistan. We are helping the people of Afghanistan in many ways, but the work of our soldiers to bring stability to the countryside is a precondition for progress.

My constituents and I are grateful to our troops for their valour and dedication, to giving hope to the Afghan people.

The community of Redwater has decided to show their support by hosting a Support Your Troops Day on July 15. I invite everyone to attend this celebration and bring a donation for the troops. The event will include the dedication of a Memorial Wall, at the Legion, to the fallen soldiers of Afghanistan and the collection of personal items and treats to send to our soldiers.

Everyone in Redwater is excited about this event, which will include displays of military vehicles, personnel from CFB Edmonton as well as the Edmonton city Police Pipe Band.

Our soldiers are risking their lives for Canada and they deserve our full support.

National Public Service Week

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Mr. Speaker, National Public Service Week is coming to an end, and we must mark this event.

I want to express my sincere appreciation and my support for the people working in the public service of Canada.

The public service of Canada is a vital part of what makes Canadian society run smoothly. It is made up of qualified, skilled, conscientious, dedicated people who work to improve the welfare of Canadians and who implement the programs that reflect our core national values.

I think it is especially important to recognize the excellent work done by the men and women of this major public institution. Too often still, we hear derogatory comments about our public servants, when we should acknowledge and appreciate the value of their work.

I thank the employees of the public service of Canada, for their loyal service to Canadians.

Agnes Macphail

[Larry Miller, Conservative, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Agnes Macphail, who in 1921 was the first elected female MP in Canada. She was born in 1890 in Proton Station in my riding of Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound.

Agnes Macphail was a Conservative. She was a big supporter of agriculture and an active spokesperson for the United Farmers of Ontario. She fought for old age pensions, prison reform and farmers' co-operatives and she founded the Elizabeth Fry Society of Canada.

As people enter the village of Ceylon, a sign has already been erected that says, “You are now entering Agnes Macphail country”.

Next weekend a great group of women from Grey County, led by the Reverend Donna Mann, will dedicate a cairn in the name of Agnes Macphail.

Today I have the honour of working in the House with this great group of female MPs, some of whom will attend this dedication ceremony.

I am very proud to say that Agnes Macphail from Grey County helped to pave the way for these great present day women.

Citizenship and Immigration

[Dawn Black, NDP, New Westminster—Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, members may be aware that the World Peace Forum will take place in Vancouver later this month, with attendees coming from over 90 countries around the world to participate in this prestigious event.

Unfortunately, the forum will be missing one participant. Myrian Nahimana is a young woman from Burundi, who was invited to attend by the women's working group of the peace forum. She cannot attend because she has been refused a visa by the Canadian Embassy in Nairobi.

Myrian has so much to offer to the forum and to Canadians. Among other issues, she is due to speak about the impact of war and violence on women and girls in Burundi and the experience of young people living with HIV and AIDS. These are such important issues and ones which affect so many citizens, not just in Burundi but around the world.

The decision to deny a visa to this young woman will deny us the incredibly important contribution she has to make. I strongly urge the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to reconsider this decision and allow Myrian the chance to share with us her valuable insight and experience.

Canada Post

[Andy Scott, Liberal, Fredericton, NB]

Mr. Speaker, last week the House debated a motion directing Canada Post to restore traditional rural mail delivery. Members on all side of the House indicated their support for the motion by the member for Oak Ridges—Markham.

To act on this quickly, the minister responsible for Canada Post should instruct Canada Post to immediately resume rural delivery to residents.

Last week more than 400 people in greater Fredericton attended community meetings and offered thoughtful advice. Many residents have said that they are willing and able to move their mailboxes to safer locations immediately.

This situation has had a major impact on seniors, the sick and shut-ins and persons with disabilities. People have been reasonable and fair under the circumstances, however their patience is wearing thin. Some people still do not have community mailboxes and are driving 10 to 50 kilometres back and forth to see if they even have mail.

Parliament has spoken. It is time to end this disruption of mail to these Canadians.

L'Info Saint-Élie-d'Orford

[France Bonsant, Bloc, Compton—Stanstead, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this year marks the 20th year of operation for the community newspaper, L'Info Saint-Élie-d'Orford, and I am honoured to be a partner of this monthly paper which reflects the vitality of the people of Saint-Élie-d'Orford.

This newspaper was born in 1986, out of the will of citizens who were looking for more local information.

Despite its difficult beginnings, its valiant founders rolled up their shirt sleeves, and the once-small newspaper grew into one with a circulation of nearly 3,500 copies today.

As evidenced by the variety of columns, covering the environment, cooking, history, finance, language, outdoor recreation, municipal life and many more topics, L'Info Saint-Élie-d'Orford magnificently fulfills its information and communication mandate.

I thank the organizations, the partners, and especially the volunteers who operate the paper for such a captivating and informative newspaper. Long live this commendable initiative.

Saint Stephen Church

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

Mr. Speaker, on Sunday, June 11, I had the honour of attending a very special event in Lachine in my riding.

The parish of Saint Stephen celebrated a mass to commemorate the 175th anniversary of the Saint Stephen Church building and the 184th anniversary of the parish.

Saint Stephen is the oldest Anglican church on the island of Montreal. For so many years now, Saint Stephen has been a pillar of our community, a place of reflection and of spirituality. Saint Stephen's hymn proudly affirms:

God bless thee, dear Saint Stephen's!
Long may thine influence stand,
To light us on our pathway
Unto the promised land.

I, along with many other Montrealers, very much share this wish.

National Defence

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, with respect to new airlift capacity for the Canadian armed forces, the defence minister says that no deals have yet been made but the industry minister was out shopping yesterday in Washington.

Let me ask the defence minister about the principles that he will follow in pursuing this proposed purchase of airlift capacity.

Would the minister guarantee that any new airplanes will, first and foremost, meet the requirements of the Canadian military, in the order of priority as recommended by the military and undistorted by the political preferences of the minister?

[Gordon O'Connor, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, as I said previously and I will say again, no decision has been made on equipment.

When a decision is made, it will be in the interests of the military, of Canadians and of industry because there will be a lot of industrial benefits. I think that is all I need to say.

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the minister is fond of deprecating the record of the previous government but I would like to inform him that I am proud to have been the minister who provided our Canadian armed forces with its biggest budget increase in 20 years, bigger than anything done by the previous Mulroney Conservative government and 13 times bigger than anything done by the present government.

Will the minister guarantee that any new Canadian airplanes will be based here in Canada, maintained and repaired in a manner that maximizes Canadian investment technology and jobs, controlled by Canadian decision makers and not subject to a foreign veto.

Will the minister offer that guarantee?

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

Mr. Speaker, no final decisions have been made about procurement in the government's tremendous program to rebuild the military after 13 years of Liberal neglect, a program that yesterday was commended by the secretary general of NATO who travels throughout the world criticizing governments, like the previous Liberal government, for having underfunded the military.

We will give our fighting men and women in uniform the equipment they need to do the job. Unlike the Liberals, we will not rent foreign planes to get our soldiers to where they need to go. We will have Canadian equipment, owned by the Canadian government, to deliver our soldiers to where they need to be.

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, it is interesting that, in the presence of the Minister of National Defence, the parliamentary secretary intervenes to block the flow of information and conversation.

The former government put $13 billion into the Canadian military, the biggest increase in 20 years, bigger than anything the former Conservatives had done and 13 times bigger than the present government has done.

We have no guarantee of military priorities, no guarantee of sovereign control and no guarantee of Canadian jobs.

Could the government at least assure us that the process will be transparent, with open competitive bidding?

[Gordon O'Connor, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I can assure members that the procurement process will be open, fair and transparent.

I would remind members that the previous government was famous for talking and talking. In the 13 years the Liberals delivered three major projects: used submarines, the famous Chrétien helicopters and light armoured vehicles.

All they ever did was talk, talk, talk. They never performed.

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this government says that it has not yet made a decision regarding the C-17s. The Minister of National Defence knows full well that this matter has gone through all the cabinet stages. They are just waiting for the House to adjourn and then will announce this project because they do not like answering embarrassing questions. Yet, experts agree that a call for tenders can save taxpayers between 10% and 30%.

Why does the government refuse to give taxpayers the benefit of a more intelligent procurement strategy? Is it because the Minister of National Defence knows that a bid by Airbus to provide aircraft would have him up to his neck in a conflict of interest?

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

Mr. Speaker, this is incredible and quite frankly disgraceful. The Liberal party is trying to give a lesson on procurement of military equipment when it was the Liberal government that created a crisis for the Department of National Defence. The Conservative government and its Prime Minister are solving the problem created by the Liberal government. That is why we are buying planes that work for our soldiers.

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we would like to have a minister who answers; we do not want the official in charge of the Titanic.

The Minister of National Defence takes us for idiots—he probably thinks Canadians are naive, as does the Prime Minister—and then tries to pull a fast one. The Minister of Industry was in Washington yesterday to secretly meet Jim Albaugh, president of Boeing Defense, and it certainly was not to have a beer.

He secretly went to Washington to make a deal. Not only are we giving our neighbours to the south a nice $4.5 billion gift but, in addition, they are told they need not go to any bother and that we will go there to report to them, just them and no public servants.

Can the Minister of National Defence tell us if the C-17 planes, like the Minister of Industry, have to go through Washington? Do the new rules for purchasing military planes have to go through Washington—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. Minister of National Defence.

[Gordon O'Connor, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, as I said before, no decision has been made with respect to procurement. When it is, it will be open, fair and transparent. The public will be aware. It will meet the needs of the military according to its requirements so everyone will be happy, including industry.

Kyoto Protocol

[Monique Guay, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Quebec has assumed its responsibilities. It acknowledged the Kyoto objectives and presented its plan to reduce greenhouse gases. This plan was lauded by a number of groups as a step in the right direction. However, the question remains whether the federal government will support this effort financially.

Can the Minister of the Environment promise today to grant the $328 million Quebec is asking for? It is a question of fairness, since according to the Premier of Quebec, Ontario has already received its share.

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

Mr. Speaker, the federal government welcomes any effort from the provinces to resolve environmental problems, including the reduction of greenhouse gases. We will work together with all the provinces. Nonetheless, if the provinces want to spend money on their own jurisdictions, then that is a provincial responsibility, not a federal one.

[Monique Guay, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when asked about the $328 million Quebec is seeking, the environment minister's press secretary said that the issue was closed.

Are we to understand from the environment minister's press secretary that she has totally given up on signing a bilateral agreement on the transfer of funds to Quebec for implementing the Kyoto protocol?

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

Mr. Speaker, all levels of government have to work together to address environmental issues. That is why, among other things, we introduced in our budget a tax credit for public transit users which will in fact benefit Quebeckers. If the Government of Quebec wants to invest in its own jurisdiction, we will respect that and we will not get involved.

Natural Resources

[Bernard Bigras, Bloc, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government's approach is inconsistent. On the one hand, the Minister of the Environment claims that her non-existent made-in-Canada plan justifies refusing financial support for Quebec's plan to reach the Kyoto targets. On the other hand, the Minister of Natural Resources has frozen the WPPI for wind energy and cancelled the EnerGuide program.

If this government really believes in Kyoto, it should show some consistency by reinstituting the EnerGuide program and the WPPI. What is it waiting for?

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, this is what the Department of Natural Resources is doing: it is providing Canadians with good management. A few months after coming to power, we are asked to move ahead blindly and launch a bunch of different programs. Canadians gave us a mandate to establish responsible government. That is what we will do. We are open to suggestions, but we will manage things responsibly.