Debates of June 9th, 2006

Transport

[Mario Laframboise, Bloc, Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in 2005 alone, there were 195 derailments on major rail lines, 47% more than the yearly average for 2000 to 2004.

The federal government is letting rail infrastructure deteriorate, even though rail transport is a logical tool to use in the fight against increased greenhouse gas emissions.

Will the government finally wake up to this reality and assume its responsibilities for rail safety in order to reduce the risk of derailments, which are increasing at an alarming rate?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, obviously we take this seriously, and we are looking at these issues, which are extremely important, as the hon. member stated.

Safety is always extremely important. We take the necessary action after incidents occur.

During the most recent parliamentary commission, we had the opportunity to answer these questions. Transport Canada acts to ensure the safety not only of the public, but obviously of the ambient environment as well.

[Mario Laframboise, Bloc, Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in Europe, the maintenance and modernization of rail lines have made derailments rare occurrences and have resulted in safe, reliable rail service. Safe rail lines form the foundation for developing passenger and freight transport.

If the government wants environmental credibility, what is it waiting for to make sure rail infrastructure will be rehabilitated? It would be a step in the right direction.

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, obviously, our departmental authorities have already analyzed the suggestions made by my hon. colleague. Programs are in place. Although we are still very concerned, we are continuing to fund and do what needs to be done under the circumstances.

National Defence

[David Christopherson, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday at defence committee, Conservative members pulled the chairs out from under an expert panel on Afghanistan. The Polaris Institute, CARE Canada and the Canadian Council for International Co-operation, all internationally respected for the important work they do, were silenced as Conservative members voted to shut down the committee, clearly a policy of cut and run.

What information was the government trying to hide from? Is it this government's policy to just silence people it does not agree with?

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

No, it is not, Mr. Speaker, but I will tell members what the NDP policy is. It is to shut down the operation of our diplomats, our aid workers and our men and women in uniform in Afghanistan who are there to combat terrorism and to ensure that the Taliban does not come back into power and push women back into that kind of terrible situation with respect to human rights.

I think the NDP, which pretends to be a champion of human rights, should answer as to why it wants to abandon the people of Afghanistan and abandon our men and women who are in the field fighting the good fight for this country.

[David Christopherson, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am not at all surprised that the hon. member wants to talk about something different, because it was the most disgraceful thing I have seen in 20 years of public life. These were Canadians and Canadian groups invited by this Parliament through a House of Commons standing committee and it was the government members who voted to shut them down, to silence them.

The Liberals have nothing to say here. If they had been in their seats at that committee, we could have overruled the government.

When is the government going to do the honourable thing and offer an apology to these respected Canadian groups?

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

Mr. Speaker, let me tell members something. The 2,300 Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan, the hundreds of Canadian aid workers and the dozens of Canadian diplomats risking their lives to build a stable and democratic society in Afghanistan do not really care about the proceedings of a committee.

What they care about is knowing that the people and Parliament of Canada stand behind their courageous efforts. This government does. We want to know why the NDP is willing to abandon the women and children of Afghanistan and allow the Taliban to recreate its reign of terrorism.

Employment

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Beauséjour, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government's contempt for the people of Atlantic Canada and Quebec continues. The absurd comments made by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, to the effect that unemployed workers should simply move away from their regions, demonstrate the true regional development policy of the Conservative Party.

Will the government put this member, with his Jurassic Park mentality, back in his place immediately and reassure workers that they do not have to buy a bus ticket in order to provide for their families?

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

Mr. Speaker, those people can twist and turn comments any way they like. The truth of the matter is that Canadians move right across this country. In Atlantic Canada we welcomed people from the west who brought expertise to work in our oil field. They welcome us to go out there and find good jobs. People can even move back and forth, work for a few weeks, then come home for a few weeks, and keep their families where they live.

This is a good policy of moving around our country. In order to build this country, we should build it with Canadians. We do not discriminate against Canadians because of which coast they live on.

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Beauséjour, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans is talking about voluntary mobility of the labour force. The issue here is a forced program to ask unemployed people to move from one part of the country to the other. The parliamentary secretary wants to provide one-way bus tickets for unemployed Atlantic Canadians. It was not a slip of the tongue. He said it very clearly in committee. We believe that R. B. Bennett may be alive and well in that caucus.

Will the government realize that economic development is about regional investment and not about forced one-way bus tickets to move people from one region to another?

[Greg Thompson, Conservative, Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, that is the kind of fearmongering that member and his party have engaged in for years.

Here is their record for Atlantic Canada. They opposed free trade. They could not get a softwood lumber deal. They ignored productivity. They starved post-secondary education in this country for 14 years. They failed on an immigration policy. That is their record.

We have done more in four months than they did in four terms.

[Michael Savage, Liberal, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Mr. Speaker, once again the radical agenda of the government has been shown and the attitude for ACOA laid bare for all to see.

The minister stood in the House not 24 hours ago and flatly denied a federal proposal to use taxpayer dollars to ship Atlantic Canadians off to Alberta like a herd of unemployed cattle. His own colleague asked: “What are we doing to send [them], either temporarily or permanently, across the country...to get them into northern Alberta to keep the economy going...?”

I suppose this is the Conservative plan to defeat what they call the culture of defeat.

When will the minister apologize to all Atlantic Canadians for this radical policy?

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

Mr. Speaker, what I would like to know is when the hon. member will apologize to Canadians for misrepresenting the proceedings in that committee.

What he said is absolutely false and that is why not one of those members has had the nerve to quote from the record of yesterday's meeting. They know they do not have a leg to stand on.

[Michael Savage, Liberal, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Mr. Speaker, no one from Atlantic Canada could stand up on that side of the House to defend Atlantic Canada. The Liberal Party will stand up for Atlantic Canada all the time.

I know the ACOA minister may not have the ear of the Prime Minister, which may explain the refusal to condemn a ridiculous plan, but this is not acceptable to Atlantic Canadians or anyone else.

When will the government learn to respect the real needs of unemployed workers and not just offer them a state sponsored westbound ticket?

[Greg Thompson, Conservative, Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, this is again the type of fearmongering that member and that party are famous for with regard to Atlantic Canada.

I want to give an example of what we are doing in our first budget. We are reducing personal income taxes, business taxes, corporate taxes, breeding a climate for investment in Atlantic Canada which results in job creation.

The Liberal Party's record is a record of failure in terms of Atlantic Canada and job creation. We have done more in four months than the Liberals did in four terms. They should be ashamed of themselves.

Agri-Food

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Chair of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food tabled in this House the first report of the committee, which calls on the government to limit imports of milk protein concentrates through regulatory means, namely Article XXVIII of the GATT.

Can the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food simply answer this question: does he intend to respect the will of the committee and of the House, which voted unanimously to fully protect the supply management system, and take definitive action on this matter?

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question. We recognize the concerns of milk producers with regard to imports of milk ingredients not subject to the Customs Tariff.

We will defend supply management. It is an absolute priority. We are monitoring very closely the situation of milk proteins exceeding this level and, together with the industry, we will examine ways of solving the problem.

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

Mr. Speaker, this is a serious issue.

Just this week, the minister was defending supply management in this House. How can he claim to be working with this system while permitting the violation of one of its three basic principles, the protection of borders, by limiting the import of goods that are supply managed?

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, the solutions to these challenges must be developed jointly with Canadian milk producers and processors. I am pleased that producers and processors have accepted my invitation and that of the minister to work together to find solutions to the major challenges faced by the dairy industry. This working group is the best means of finding solutions that will be accepted by all parties.

Health

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, people infected with HIV-AIDS are fighting all the way to the Court of Appeal. Some are dying as a result of not getting drugs that are essential to their survival. In the meantime, surgeons, through the special access program, have no problem getting silicone implants to perform breast enhancement procedures.

How can the Minister of Health explain denied access to drugs that could save lives while there are no limitations on implants that could make thousands of women sick?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Minister of Health and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, these are two different programs.

There is an access program for breast implants. Obviously It is important to protect women's health. There is another program for drugs. As I was saying in committee, it is important to have a process, just as it is important to have access to these drugs.

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, let him explain that to the families of those who have died waiting for answers about their drugs.

Are we to understand that through its lack of control over the distribution of breast implants, Health Canada is much more interested in protecting the industry than in protecting women's health?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Minister of Health and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, I do not agree with the hon. member.

It is important to protect women and there is a process for accessing these implants. It is important to protect patients, and there is another process for access to drugs. Nonetheless, if there is a need, I will support it.

Employment

[Joe McGuire, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, at the human resources committee, the member for Fort McMurray--Athabasca, who has a massive number of Atlantic Canada voters in his riding, either knows nothing about his constituents or his country or else wants to transport everyone out of Atlantic Canada to work in his industries.

Instead of advocating the removal of families and the human infrastructure from Atlantic Canada, why is the government not doing more to provide support for the new and traditional industries in Atlantic Canada?