Debates of Oct. 16th, 2007

Procedure and House Affairs

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The House has heard the terms of the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

(Motion agreed to)

The House proceeded to the consideration of the speech delivered by Her Excellency the Governor General at the opening of the session.

Address in Reply

[Fabian Manning, Conservative, Avalon, NL]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking Her Excellency the Governor General for graciously reading the Speech from the Throne. Her delivery once again was superb.

On a personal note, I would like to thank my family: my wife, Sandra, and our three children, Fabian Jr., Mark, and Heather. Their continued love and support during almost 15 years of political life is a never-ending source of strength for me.

I would also like to thank my constituents in the riding of Avalon, in the wonderful province of Newfoundland and Labrador, for giving me their confidence and trust. It is my great honour and privilege to represent them in this honourable House.

Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to the Prime Minister for having asked me to move the government's motion in support of the Speech from the Throne.

It is a visionary document that sets out our agenda not just for the upcoming session of Parliament but for the long term future of Canada. Our agenda is focused on building a stronger, safer, better Canada that works for all of us.

In the first session of Parliament, we delivered on the following commitments, which we made to Canadians in the last federal election.

We passed the Federal Accountability Act, the toughest anti-corruption legislation in Canadian history.

We cut taxes right across the board, including the GST.

We started cracking down on gun, gang and drug crime.

We provided direct benefits to families with the universal child care benefit.

We worked with the provinces and territories to develop patient wait time guarantees.

We took concrete action to protect and improve the environment.

We restored fiscal balance by increasing equalization payments and funding the large social transfers on an equal per capita cash basis.

We revived Canada's traditional leadership role on the international stage.

I think members would agree that this is an impressive list of accomplishments for a minority government, but as today's Speech from the Throne demonstrates, we have only just begin to build a better, safer Canada.

Our government will focus on five core priorities in the upcoming session of Parliament. These priorities will build on the successes we have achieved so far.

First, our government will continue to strengthen Canada's sovereignty and security. Gone are the days of neglecting the Canadian Forces. Gone are the days of ignoring challenges to our sovereignty and of pursuing a weak and indecisive foreign policy.

I have had the privilege of talking to many of our men and women in uniform, especially those from my native Newfoundland and Labrador. I have heard them relate their experiences of how they are indeed making a positive difference throughout the world in places less fortunate than Canada, such as Afghanistan. They are assured of our government's continued support for their efforts to make our world a safer place, for ours is a government that takes these responsibilities seriously.

That is why we will do more to assert and defend our sovereignty in the Arctic, and to ensure that Canada's foreign policy defends our interests and projects the values we hold dear: democracy, freedom, human rights, and the rule of law.

Second, our government will continue to strengthen our federation. Canada, I am pleased to report, is more united today than it has been in four decades, but we need to do more to undo the damage done to federalism by our predecessors.

Our government will work to place formal limits on the use of federal spending for new shared cost programs in areas of exclusive provincial jurisdiction. We will also push ahead with democratizing the Senate by reintroducing legislation that would lower Senate terms from 45 years to 8 years. We will give Canadians a voice in selecting their representatives in the upper chamber.

Third, our government will continue to provide effective economic leadership. Building upon our tax cutting success from the first session, we will bring forward a long term plan of further broad-based tax relief for individuals, businesses and families.

We will also continue supporting Canadian workers in troubled sectors like manufacturing, forestry, agriculture, tourism and fisheries as their industries adjust to evolving international economic conditions.

Fourth, we will continue tackling an issue rankling Canadians from coast to coast to coast: crime. In addition to reintroducing our anti-violent crime measures that were blocked by the opposition in the last session, our government will undertake new initiatives aimed at cracking down on young offenders and property crime.

We will also take action to ensure Canadians are protected from terrorism, the bane of democratic free societies in our modern age.

As the Governor General rightly noted, peace, order and good government are the principles upon which Canada was founded. Our government is going to work hard to ensure that they prevail over those who would wreak havoc in our communities.

Last, but certainly not least, we will continue protecting and improving Canada's most important natural resource, our environment. Canadians have made it clear. They are fed up with lofty words masking inaction. They want policies that make real measurable improvements to the environment. Our government has heard this call and we are acting.

In addition to taking a leading role in the global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, our government will bring forward the first ever national air pollution regulations. We will strengthen enforcement to punish those who pollute our water and land.

Our government is intent on building a better Canada through strong leadership. In the weeks and months ahead we are going to continue delivering on the issues that matter most to ordinary Canadians. We urge the opposition parties to support our efforts. Of course, as we are all aware, it is their prerogative not to, but they should consider their choice very carefully. Canadians do not want an election. They want us to govern this country. They want strong leadership and a better, safer Canada.

It is an honour, therefore, to move, seconded by the hon. member for Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, that the following address be presented to Her Excellency the Governor General of Canada.

To Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Chancellor and Principal Companion of the Order of Canada, Chancellor and Commander of the Order of Military Merit, Chancellor and Commander of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada.

May it please Your Excellency:

We, Her Majesty's most loyal and dutiful subjects, the House of Commons of Canada in Parliament assembled, beg leave to offer our humble thanks to Your Excellency for the gracious speech which Your Excellency has addressed to both Houses of Parliament.

[Larry Bagnell, Liberal, Yukon, YT]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to National Poverty and Homelessness Week, it is very sad that there is nothing in the throne speech to address the most vulnerable in our society.

Will the hon. member please let us know what the government will do to help people with low incomes, people who are ailing with diseases and on long waiting lists and people who are disabled? What will it do to help the homeless, the most vulnerable in our society?

[Fabian Manning, Conservative, Avalon, NL]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure the hon. member has witnessed in the past 18 months that this government has done more for families in Canada than the previous government did in 14 years.

Families have been a priority for the government. Ordinary Canadians have been a priority for the government. I assure the Canadian public tonight that the efforts we have put forward in the last 18 months will continue now as we start this session of the House of Commons.

[Gary Goodyear, Conservative, Cambridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, for 13 years the previous government did absolutely nothing on the environment. Could the hon. member comment on what the government intends to do about the environment, once and for all?

[Fabian Manning, Conservative, Avalon, NL]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians listened for 13 years to nothing.

In the past 18 months we have put forward a plan to address the concerns of our environment, ensuring at the same time that jobs in Canada are protected. That is our priority because we cannot clean up the environment unless we have a good, solid economy to do so.

We look forward to bringing forth legislation in the House. More than that, we look forward, and the Canadian public looks forward, to having the support of the crowd on that side of the House in our effort to straighten it up.

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question for my hon. colleague also has to do with climate change and greenhouse gas emissions. I note that the government is suggesting that there would be a 60% or perhaps a 70% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2050, despite the fact that international experts--

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order, please. The hon. member for London—Fanshawe has the floor.

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is a 60% reduction, despite the fact that international experts have been very clear that there must be a reduction of 80% by 2050. Further, the government is talking about reductions by the year 2020. That is 13 years from now.

Does the government intend to wait 13 long years before it acts, despite the fact that we must act immediately? Is the government trying to rival the record that the Liberals set by doing nothing for 13 years?

[Fabian Manning, Conservative, Avalon, NL]

Mr. Speaker, that is the kind of unnecessary talk that Canadians are sick of. What Canadians are interested in is a plan. It is a plan that the government will be putting forward after 13 years of inaction.

If the government aims for 70% and people are upset because we do not reach 80%, then I say to all hon. members that our plan is in place. Our plan will ask for the support of the House to be put in place. The government will aim for 70% and we will aim for 80%. I say stay tuned.

[Réal Ménard, Bloc, Hochelaga, QC]

Mr. Speaker, according to the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association, funding for affordable housing has declined by $700 million. In large urban centres all over Quebec and elsewhere, people are having a hard time finding places to live. They are paying a great deal of money for affordable housing.

Why has the government not said anything about people who need help with affordable housing? Is that not utterly shameful?

[Fabian Manning, Conservative, Avalon, NL]

Mr. Speaker, we have assisted people with housing throughout Canada. I said earlier that we have put families first. The government has invested millions of dollars ensuring that families are protected, that families receive housing, and children have a clean and safe place in which to live and go to school. Those efforts will continue.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL]

Mr. Speaker, I find this absolutely rich that here we have the member for Avalon who so dishonoured his own constituents in Newfoundland and Labrador that his reply to the Speech from the Throne is absolutely ludicrous.

We have a government that says it is strengthening the union, but at the same time it tries to set up an agreement with one province to the dismay of another. All that government is trying to do is to divide one province and setting one province against another.

I challenge the member for Avalon, who is now looking to be so bad in his own riding, to actually stand up and say yes to the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador and yes to the people of Canada, that the government will actually do something for the province and not sit back and make enemies of them all.

[Fabian Manning, Conservative, Avalon, NL]

Mr. Speaker, I listened with great interest to the comments from the member opposite. Over the past couple of months I watched as the members for South Shore—St. Margaret's and Central Nova from Nova Scotia worked with the provincial government in trying to reach an agreement to satisfy the people of Nova Scotia.

I say here tonight that I, as the member for Avalon from the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and my two colleagues are ready, willing and able to work with the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, the government of Newfoundland and Labrador and the premier of Newfoundland and Labrador to assist in any way we can to find an agreement between the Government of Canada and the government of Newfoundland and Labrador. We are more than willing to do so.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, for the past five years Canadian manufacturers have lost over 250,000 jobs. The Canadian dollar has increased. There are issues around the lack of sectoral strategies. The previous Liberal administration promised an auto policy but it did not deliver. In fact, one of its members, the minister of industry at that time, flip-flopped and crossed the floor to the Conservatives in order to pursue an aggressive strategy to sign a deal with Korea that will cost the manufacturers and auto jobs in Ontario.

Why has the government abandoned a unanimous report from the industry committee that included 22 recommendations that were agreed to by all parties, including his party. Where are those recommendations? Where are the supports for the manufacturers across this country? Why is there no auto policy? Why are the Conservatives continuing to move toward trade deals that would cost Canadians their jobs?

[Fabian Manning, Conservative, Avalon, NL]

Mr. Speaker, I find it amazing. Canada is enjoying the lowest employment rate in 33 years. We are working with manufacturers across the country. We are working with the people in agriculture, in the forest industry and in the fishing industry. It was addressed today in the throne speech and it will be addressed by the government over the next number of months. We will continue to work with Canadians to ensure jobs are created throughout Canada from coast to coast to coast. The answer is in the numbers and the answer is that we are enjoying the lowest unemployment rate in 33 years.

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary for Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to rise here tonight in the House of Commons, to second the motion for the address in reply to the Speech from the Throne.

I would like to thank my wife Audrey and each of my children, my four daughters and my son, for all their support in my work as an MP. I also thank the good people of Glengarry--Prescott--Russell for the confidence they have placed in me. It is an honour to represent them here in the House and in government.

I compliment the Governor General for her excellent delivery of the Speech from the Throne and I thank the Prime Minister for once again granting me and my riding of Glengarry--Prescott--Russell the great honour of replying to the Speech from the Throne.

The first speech I made in the House was to move the motion for our government's maiden throne speech which was aptly titled “Turning a New Leaf”. When Canadians went to the polls in January, almost two years ago, they did so with a singular purpose: to demand change.

Disgusted with all the scandals, fed up with wasteful spending and weak leadership and demoralized by Canada's diminished role on the international stage, men and women from across our great country stood up and said enough. They demanded clean, accountable government, lower taxes, new laws cracking down on crime, choice in child care, better access to health care and strong decisive leadership at home and abroad.

In the last session of Parliament we delivered real results on all of those fronts.

Last spring we delivered a budget that restored fiscal balance and once again we kept spending focused on results and reduced taxes for working Canadians and their families.

Among the accomplishments of our Conservative budget: the marriage penalty, out of the tax system; income splitting for seniors, a truly great initiative; the lifetime capital gains exemption for farmers and small business owners, up; and taxes for families with children, down.

Tax freedom day is the day that Canadians stop working to pay taxes and start working for themselves and their families. Because of our budgets, tax freedom day arrived four days earlier this year and it will be earlier again next year.

Recently our government released an update on the health of the Canadian economy. The good news contained in its pages far outstripped our expectations. Indeed, thanks to our government's sound fiscal management, we were able to announce one of the largest debt reductions in history: $14.2 billion and that is on top of the $13.2 billion we paid down last year. Less debt means less interest.

Whereas the Liberals think these savings belong in government coffers, Conservatives believe they belong in the pockets of hard-working Canadian taxpayers. Thanks to our government's tax back guarantee, that is exactly where they will go, $725 million in fact in the form of personal income tax cuts.

It may be a minority Parliament where the Liberals, NDP and Bloc hold most of the seats, but this Parliament's accomplishments have been thoroughly Conservative: a lower GST; tax relief for commuters, students, trades people, seniors; kids' sports; tax relief for parents with children; a child care plan that focuses money on families directly instead of on a day care bureaucracy.

A national plan to preserve ecologically sensitive lands, a regulatory regime which, for the first time, reduces air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions are Conservative accomplishments.

Fixed dates for federal elections, tougher laws against crime and more support for victims are Conservative accomplishments.

More support for veterans, boosting the military to better defend our country at home and protect our interests abroad and refocusing Canada's foreign policy to promote freedom, democracy and human rights are Conservative accomplishments. The list goes on.

Today, through Her Excellency, the Governor General, our government laid out the five core priorities in our long term agenda to build the stronger, safer country Canadians deserve.

To this end, in the next session of Parliament we will focus on strengthening Canada's sovereignty and security, modernizing the federation and our democratic institutions, providing effective economic leadership for a prosperous future, tackling crime and making our communities safer, and improving the environment and the health of Canadians.

While Her Excellency was thorough and clear in her explanation of the government's agenda, I would like to draw attention to a few aspects in particular. First and foremost, I am delighted that our government will continue in its drive to provide the military with the equipment and training it needs to do the job. I joined the military at the age of 17 and was honoured to serve our great country in uniform for 20 years. The dedication, professionalism and courage of our men and women of the Canadian Forces is a source of great pride for Canadians across the country. When I speak to my former military colleagues, I hear the same message time and time again, “We cannot remember when we have had a better ally in Ottawa”.

As the Prime Minister himself has said on many occasions, Canada is back. This is due in no small part to our reinvigorated Canadian Forces proudly and selflessly standing up for freedom, democracy and human rights around the world. As I have said previously in the House, our government is standing up for our military men and women because they bravely stand up for Canada each and every day.

As for modernizing our federation, everyone knows that federal-provincial relations suffered considerably under the previous government. Instead of working constructively with its provincial and territorial partners, the government tried to impose its will, thereby seriously undermining national unity.

I am proud to say that, thanks to our government's policy of open and flexible federalism, that sad chapter in the history of intergovernmental relations is drawing to a close.

The Speech from the Throne confirms our intention to strengthen national unity by placing formal limits on the use of the federal spending power. We will do away with the rigid, centralizing dogma of the previous government.

As a Franco-Ontarian myself, and a member representing a riding with more than 60,000 Franco-Ontarians, I am delighted that the government is reaffirming its support for Canada’s linguistic duality.

Developing a strategy for the next phase of the Action Plan for Official Languages will serve to strengthen both official languages and bilingualism in Canada, from coast to coast to coast.

I am the member of Parliament for the largely rural riding of Glengarry—Prescott—Russell and farmers are a key component of my riding's economy and way of life. I meet with farmers all the time and, as such, I know and understand the challenges facing our farmers. Under the previous government, their needs fell on deaf ears. Now they have a government in Ottawa that is not just listening but delivering real results.

Uncertainty for the future has been replaced by stable, predictable and bankable support for Canadian farm families. It is for all of those reasons and many more that I am pleased to support and second the motion proposed by my colleague from Avalon.

In the days ahead, I urge my opposition colleagues to support the throne speech. Canadians have been clear: They do not want an election. They want us to govern, to provide leadership and to make Canada better for all of us. It is up to the opposition, however, to determine whether Canadians will be heading back to the polls this fall.

I sincerely hope that the opposition members will respect the will of Canadians: let us govern, rather than simply posture, and help our government to make Canada the stronger, safer and better place that Canadians deserve.

[Réal Ménard, Bloc, Hochelaga, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Bloc Québécois members have repeatedly pointed out to the government in this House that many cities, and even smaller towns, are going through a process of industrial obsolescence. People who have held jobs for 5, 10 or 15 years in economic sectors such as the textile sector, where competition is stiff, are losing their jobs.

We in the Bloc, and particularly our colleague, the member for Chambly—Borduas, have called for an older worker assistance program, the sort of program formerly known as POWA. Labour congresses, employers and all those who stand with workers who have lost their jobs have called for an older worker assistance program.

Why has the government turned a deaf ear and remained insensitive to these workers who are losing their jobs? Why are there no concrete measures to help older workers?

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

First, let me comment on how positive the Speech from the Throne was. It was clear and unequivocal. In our Speech from the Throne in the first session of this Parliament, we identified five priorities and we delivered. Canadians are happy. The opposition is not. In this throne speech our government has identified five more priorities and we will deliver. Canadians are happy. The opposition is not.

Regarding our economy under the leadership of our Prime Minister and our government, our economy is strong, and it is growing. We have the lowest unemployment rate in 30 years.

[Garth Turner, Liberal, Halton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question for the member opposite is in the light that Canadians must be shaking their heads at one of the most tepid and vacuous speeches from the throne they have ever heard. It makes us wonder why in fact there was a Speech from the Throne when nothing but a regurgitated agenda has been put forward.

Both the member who seconded the motion and the member who put forward the motion said that the government does not want an election and if the opposition does not support the throne speech, there will be an election.

Could the member explain to the people of Canada why we cannot do our jobs as members of Parliament, as members of the opposition? Why can we not look at these pieces of legislation and make amendments where necessary, improve the legislation if necessary and oppose the legislation where necessary? It does not mean that Canadians have to go to an election. Are you trying to bully the House? Are you trying to bully Canadians?