Debates of Sept. 21st, 2006

Maher Arar Inquiry

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. Minister of Public Safety.

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I met with the commissioner yesterday and received assurances that a number of the recommendations of the Arar report were already being implemented. It was very clearly agreed that all the recommendations would be followed through.

When it comes to dealing with security risks, where were the Liberals when we were demanding that Hezbollah, a security risk for sure, should be banned? Where were they when we were asking that they take steps to deal with security risks and terrorist risks? Where were they when their former prime minister shook hands with Sheik Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah? Where were they on those questions?

Status of Women

[Maria Mourani, Bloc, Ahuntsic, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I asked the Minister of Canadian Heritage about funding for women's groups, and I reminded her that September 26 is the deadline for renewing the Women's Program. The minister said that there were some doubts about actions undertaken by these women's groups and that she was looking for greater efficiency.

Can the minister tell us which of these women's groups are so inefficient they deserve to have their funding cut off ?

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, for years under a previous Liberal government, Canada was on a watch list for human trafficking. The UN pointed out that Canada was not doing enough about violence against aboriginal women. We have a level of child poverty, and a child in poverty is a family in poverty.

In a few short months the new Conservative government has provided safety in communities by putting more law enforcement officers on the street. We have provided $1.4 billion in affordable housing. We introduced legislation and movement on human trafficking. Canadians want a government that--

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. member for Saint-Lambert.

Department of Canadian Heritage

[Maka Kotto, Bloc, Saint-Lambert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, in response to a number of cultural groups who have waited eight long months for her to act, the best the Minister of Canadian Heritage could do was accuse them of waste and mismanagement.

Rather than make unfounded accusations to justify her failure to act, can the minister tell the House which programs she thinks are responsible for this waste and mismanagement?

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, as the House can appreciate, I have heard from many organizations and women over the past few weeks. In fact, they are quoting studies, surveys and consultations. We have the information. We understand what the issues are. We are a government that will act and will take dramatic steps.

Employment Insurance

[Yves Lessard, Bloc, Chambly—Borduas, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in its February 2005 report, the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities recommended an overhaul of the employment insurance program. In response to those recommendations, the Bloc Québécois introduced Bill C-269, which will be reviewed today in this House, in order to improve the employment insurance system.

The minister must realize that passing this bill would provide a permanent solution for real reform of the employment insurance system. Will she support the bill?

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

Mr. Speaker, as a government, we are committed to ensuring that the EI program continues to serve Canadians who have been moved out of their jobs involuntarily. That is why we have brought in new programs and new improvements to EI, including expanding the definition of compassionate care benefits and launching a pilot project to extend weeks of eligibility in particularly vulnerable areas.

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

Mr. Speaker, on October 7, transitory provisions in place to protect seasonal workers in eastern Quebec, Montmagny, Islet and the North Shore, will expire. These workers could lose up to eight weeks of employment insurance benefits.

Will the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development extend the transitory provisions, which prevent seasonal workers from suffering the spring gap?

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

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member is probably aware, there is a mandated review of all the boundaries for EI regions. As we approach that, we will look forward to the data from StatsCan to ensure that we make advised decisions on the new boundaries.

The Environment

[John Godfrey, Liberal, Don Valley West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last February the Minister of the Environment skipped out of a two week Kyoto meeting, which she was supposed to chair in Bonn, after a single day. Then a few weeks later she failed to appear at all at a conference on smog in Toronto. Now we find out that when the ministers of the environment for all Kyoto signatories met last week in Switzerland, she could not be bothered to show up at all.

She was the chair of the meeting and again her chair sat empty. What is more, Canada did not file its progress reports for the meeting that were due September 1.

Why did the minister not show up at the meeting and, as importantly, why did the minister not table the program--

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. Minister of the Environment.

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

In fact, Mr. Speaker, I take my international obligations very seriously.

I chaired the meeting in Switzerland, so the member has wrong information. I have also chaired four international Kyoto conferences in my role as chair, representing over 160 countries worldwide.

We are also participating in the G-8 talks on climate change, the Asia-Pacific partnership. We are also engaging eight United States on their RGGI climate change system. We are also in talks with California about its new legislation.

[John Godfrey, Liberal, Don Valley West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in January 2006, the Minister of the Environment and the Minister of Natural Resources were told by our officials that 6 million Canadians had reduced their energy consumption under the One Tonne Challenge program, that 125,000 homes had been renovated under the EnerGuide program and that these two programs were among the most effective we had for addressing climate change.

Why then did these two ministers decide to cut these two programs considered to be effective by their own officials?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, I can assure my colleague that our plan goes beyond Kyoto. Our government's priority is the health of all Quebeckers and all Canadians. Our plan also addresses atmospheric pollution as well as climate change.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government today realizes that it has missed the boat in terms of the environment. In a burst of panic, it is apparently now thinking of restoring the funding that the previous government had approved for the fight against climate change. If that is true, it is a good thing. Obviously, it is not done out of conviction but probably because the polls demand it.

That being said, can the Prime Minister confirm that funds will be provided to Quebec and that the other provinces will also receive funding, or do the polls tell him that is not necessary?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, this is something that I am discussing with my counterparts in all the provinces, as I am with Mr. Béchard in Quebec. I am very pleased that the Government of Quebec has an environmental plan concerning climate change. I am discussing that with my colleague, Mr. Béchard.

However, the priority for our government is the health of all Quebeckers and of all Canadians. Therefore, our plan will deal with air quality.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in terms of the environment, the Conservatives have been consistently inept from the beginning.

They began by rejecting the Kyoto protocol. Then, they tried to sabotage the Bonn conference. Along the way, they ruined Canada’s reputation. As if that was not enough, they made cuts in a multitude of environmental programs.

Is the government aiming for a perfect score, a big zero yesterday, today and tomorrow?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, the health of Canadians is suffering from air pollution, and what did the Liberal Party of Canada do? Just as an example, it spent $4 million in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan. Four million dollars could have retrofitted 3,000 school buses with anti-pollution technology to protect the health of Canadian children.

While the Liberals' priority was preening on the international stage, our priority is protecting the health of Canadian children.

Immigration

[Nina Grewal, Conservative, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

Mr. Speaker, under Canada's new government, economies across Canada are booming like never before. Today there are more Canadians who work than at any time in our country's history. However, the Urban Futures Institute, heads of chambers of commerce and others worry about the shortages we are already facing.

I know the new Conservative government has only had eight months to fix what the Liberals took 13 years to ruin. Would the immigration minister please tell the House what role immigration is playing to address labour shortages?

[Monte Solberg, Conservative, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, the truth is that Canada was built on immigration. We need more immigrants. We need them to be better off. That is why we have gone ahead with off-campus work permits for international students. That is why we have put $307 million into settlement funding to rectify something that the Liberals did in 1995, when they froze settlement funding.

In fact, our record is vastly superior to the that of the Liberals, to the point that one hon. member, a leadership contender, said that “we never did get it done in immigration”. That was the hon. member from Harvard.

Maher Arar

[Alexa McDonough, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are pleased that the House has issued an apology to Maher Arar and his family, but they are ashamed the Prime Minister did not do the right thing from the outset, and has yet to offer a formal apology.

By law, the United States was obligated to return Maher Arar to Canada, as he requested. As well, the U.S. should have informed Canadian officials of Arar's deportation. By doing neither, the U.S. broke its own laws.

What efforts has the government made to secure an apology from the American government for the unspeakable injustices inflicted on Maher Arar and his family?

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated a few moments ago, I have sent information to the Secretary of State for Homeland Security, indicating and pointing out that Justice O'Connor has found that there is no evidence related to Mr. Arar and any relation to terrorism. We have removed the Arar family name and that of his wife from any lookout list and passed that information on. Also, we have sent an indication that the United States may wish to do the same.

[Alexa McDonough, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, what a weak-kneed response. The government has a responsibility to stand up for all Canadian citizens, especially when they have been wronged by a foreign government.

At the Bush administration's insistence, Canadian airlines must use the U.S. no fly list as their own. Until the Arar family is removed from that list, the family still cannot travel freely, even in the family's own country.

In addition to seeking a formal apology from the Bush administration, will the government commit today to ensure the removal, not suggest the Americans might want to think about a removal, of Maher Arar, Monia Mazigh and their children from the U.S. no fly list?