Debates of Sept. 25th, 2006

Canadian Wheat Board

[Chuck Strahl, Conservative, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, this is an exciting time for prairie farmers who know they have a government on this side of the House that finally believes they should maximize their returns and maximize their choice.

We are moving ahead, as promised during the election campaign. We are moving ahead with consultations with farmers. I appointed a task force last week that will give us some of the technical details on what a voluntary but strong Wheat Board will look like going forward. I look forward to the report in a month or so.

We will continue to make changes to ensure that farmers get the most they can from their production.

[Alex Atamanenko, NDP, British Columbia Southern Interior, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP has uncovered documents that prove this so-called support is nothing more than professional spin doctors from the disgraced Devine government posing as farmers.

In this email, from Charlton Communications to three anti-Wheat Board lobby groups, it says that having farmers sign letters they write would “get us into the propaganda game”. The email was also copied to a current member of the minister's Wheat Board killing task force.

Is the minister aware of this campaign? Is his department paying for it? What is he going to do to stop it?

[Chuck Strahl, Conservative, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, I do not have the faintest idea what the hon. member is talking about. It is not the first time that I do not have the faintest idea what members of the NDP are talking about. However, in this case, I really do not know to which campaign the hon. member is referring.

I do know that farmers from coast to coast, particularly on the prairies on this issue, have said that they want to receive more value from their farms and they want to have more choice.

Maximizing the choice and maximizing return for farmers comes about in part by having a voluntary marketing choice Wheat Board, something that farmers can choose to use, but are not compelled to use.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Anita Neville, Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, first the government scrapped the Kelowna accord. Then it refused to support the United Nations draft declaration on the rights of indigenous people. Now first nations across Ontario are finding out that the government will no longer fund their band elections.

In keeping with the government's practice, there was no advance warning, no consultation and no explanation. The government's record of accountability to Canada's first nations is shameful.

Could the Prime Minister explain why his government is cutting funding to band elections?

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

Mr. Speaker, virtually every respected commentator who has looked at the record of the former Liberal government with respect to the aboriginal policy and the treatment of aboriginal Canadians has called its record shameful.

This government has been proceeding in an orderly way with some $9 billion that the Government of Canada spends on aboriginal programs and services. We are working with our aboriginal partners, and we will continue to do so.

Afghanistan

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai, addressed Parliament last Friday, he noted improvements in his country in the past five years, including the repatriation of over 4.5 million Afghans, the 6 million boys and girls now attending school and a growing economy.

In addition to other developmental efforts, could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Cooperation tell the House what the government is doing to help economic development in Afghanistan?

[Ted Menzies, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, the new Conservative government is deeply committed to rebuilding Afghanistan's economy.

Last Saturday the Minister of International Cooperation announced that CIDA would provide another $12 million to Afghanistan's national micro-credit program. This program is so successful that over $70 million in loans have been disbursed across 18 province, with the repaying rate of 98%.

Presence in Gallery

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

I draw the attention of hon. members to the presence in the gallery of His Excellency Sheikh Dr. Muhammad Sabah al-Salem al-Sabah, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Kuwait.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

I also draw the attention of hon. members to the presence in the gallery of Her Excellency Maria Consuelo Araujo Castro, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Colombia.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

Notice of Motion

[Carol Skelton, Conservative, Minister of National Revenue and Minister of Western Economic Diversification]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 83(1) I wish to table a notice of ways and means motion to amend the Excise Tax Act.

I ask that an order of the day be designated for consideration of the motion.

Oral Questions

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, today in question period, when I was responding to a reply about our border officers, the men and women who serve our country at the nation's frontiers, a member of the Liberal Party, the member for Scarborough—Rouge River, was shouting out and referring to our brave men and women as wimps.

We tried to ask him informally to cease doing that.

[An hon. member]

Fifteen times.

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Okanagan—Coquihalla, BC]

It was recorded at least another 10 to 15 times. He continued to refer to our border officers as wimps.

Yesterday on Parliament Hill we attended a service of commemoration for peace officers who have died in the line of duty. The men and women who serve us on our borders do so without side arms. In any given year many times they must apprehend suspects, seize drugs and there are times when they must attempt to seize illegal weapons. They have been asking for side arms and to be trained for such for 10 years but the Liberals refused to do that. We are moving ahead on that.

Regardless of that debate, it is unacceptable that courageous men and women who serve us every day and night in this country are referred to as wimps. We would like a full and complete apology for that.

[Derek Lee, Liberal, Scarborough—Rouge River, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would be delighted to recognize the strength, fortitude and courage of all of the people who man our borders. I am not referring to our police or to our military. I am talking of the people who man our borders. I commend the courage of all the people who man our borders if they stay on the job.

I was referring to those who walked off the job merely because apparently there was an American who had a firearm. There are over 200 million firearms south of the border. I admire our border service professionals who stay on the job, not those who walk off. We have never had armed border service professionals, not in the entire 138 years of this country. I admire those who stay on the job, not those who walk off.

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

Mr. Speaker, when the member for Windsor—Tecumseh was trying to ask questions about the safety situation facing our border guards, he was shouted down by the member for Scarborough—Rouge River again and again, to the point where I could not hear the question properly even though I was sitting so close to him.

I feel this is an important issue. It is not just the disrespect to the House or the disrespect to the men and women who are out in the field. This sends the message that there are some people in Parliament who show an absolute contempt for people who put their lives on the line. For those members to stand in the House today and have the nerve to tell us that they respect people who work but call people who stand up for their legal right to refuse unsafe conditions wimps is a disgrace.

I am speaking on a question of privilege because as a member of Parliament I feel ashamed that people like that would even stand in the House and--

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

I caution hon. members. We seem to have strayed a bit from the rules of the House in relation to order. This appears to be a disagreement about some name calling that may have happened during question period but no one has suggested that anything that was said was contrary to the rules of the House. They may have disagreed with what was said and that is a different thing from a point of order.

I hope that if the President of the Treasury Board is rising on the same point he will confine his remarks to whether there has been something said that was out of order, which is the only thing the Speaker can rule on. I am not prepared to say that a member should or should not have said something. That is not my role. It is my role to decide whether there has been a breach of the rules of the House, and I stress that. I have not yet heard anybody suggest that there has been.

[John Baird, Conservative, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, the long-standing parliamentary tradition has been for members on all sides of the House to recognize the contribution made by those men and women who work in our public service and who put their lives on the line every day. The very sad reality is that not one Liberal member, including the member for Ottawa South, is speaking up against this disgrace. It is an absolute disgrace.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

I think we have had enough debate on this. I would suggest that if hon. members want to continue the discussion, they meet in office of the member for Scarborough—Rouge River and have a very pleasant conversation over a cup of tea. However, this is not a matter of the breach of the rules of the House, which is what a point of order entails, and, therefore, there is no point of order.

Marriage

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

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table a petition in this House signed by petitioners asking Parliament to re-open the debate on marriage and to repeal or amend the Civil Marriage Act.

Taxation

[Borys Wrzesnewskyj, Liberal, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I have the pleasure to present a petition signed by over 150 people from my riding of Etobicoke Centre.

The petitioners urge the government to remedy the recent budget by making the physical activity tax credit fairer and more inclusive by including cultural activities such as dance and ballet. In many cases, dance and ballet are more physically demanding than some traditional sports.

Trans Fats

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition signed by literally thousands of Canadians from the three prairie provinces who call upon the federal government to ban the use of trans fats or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.

They point out the many negative medical details about using trans fats and that it would be a boon for prairie farmers if and when the government finally bans trans fats because prairie oilseed producers can put the alternate oils in a crop this year and begin to make Canadians generally healthier.

Age of Consent

[Guy Lauzon, Conservative, Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to present a petition on behalf of 128 of my constituents who are urging the Government of Canada to raise the age of consent from 14 years to 16 years of age.

[Merv Tweed, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition on behalf of over 300 people in my constituency praying that the government assembled in Parliament take all measures necessary to immediately raise the age of consent from 14 to 16 years of age.