House of Commons Hansard #4 of the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was afghanistan.
Canada Account Annual ReportRoutine Proceedings
October 19th, 2007 / 12:05 p.m.
Simcoe—Grey Ontario
Conservative
Helena Guergis ConservativeSecretary of State (Foreign Affairs and International Trade) (Sport)
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, on behalf of the Minister of International Trade, the Canada Account Annual Report for 2005-06, prepared by Export Development Canada.
Peter Van Loan ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform
Mr. Speaker, in response to some unfounded comments that were made yesterday by the member for Mississauga South in this chamber, I wish to table, in both official languages, copies of a letter from the office of the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to all parliamentarians concerning requests for intervention in urgent immigration cases.
Mario Silva Liberal Davenport, ON
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-463, An Act to establish Pierre Elliott Trudeau Day.
Mr. Speaker, I am honoured and privileged to introduce my private member's bill that would designate October 18 each year Pierre Elliott Trudeau day. October 18 was the late prime minister's birthday.
Pierre Trudeau's innovation, dedication to Canada and truly progressive approach to public policy inspired me and countless other Canadians to become involved in the political process. This is my humble way of giving something back to him.
Generations to come will recall his name long after most of us here are forgotten, for he transformed our country, challenged us to think differently and encouraged us as people to take our place in the world.
I invite all members to join me in supporting the bill to declare October 18 Pierre Elliott Trudeau day.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Paul Szabo Liberal Mississauga South, ON
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition on the income trust broken promise. The Prime Minister boasted about his commitment to accountability when he said that the greatest fraud was a promise not kept.
The petitioners remind the Prime Minister that he had promised never to tax income trusts, but he broke that promise by imposing a 31.5% punitive tax, which permanently wiped out over $25 billion of hard-earned retirement savings of over two million Canadians, particularly seniors.
The petitioners therefore call upon the Conservative minority government to: first, admit that the decision to tax income trusts was based on flawed methodology and incorrect assumptions; second, to apologize to those who have been unfairly harmed by this broken promise; and finally, to repeal the punitive 31.5% tax on income trusts.
Rick Casson Conservative Lethbridge, AB
Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to table a petition today signed by many citizens throughout southern Alberta and Lethbridge.
The petitioners call upon the government to protect our children by, among other things, ensuring that repeat offenders be designated as dangerous offenders, that compulsory public notification of movements of convicted pedophiles be offered and that it proceed with changes to the justice system and legislation which would result in harsher penalties for convicted pedophiles.
Pat Martin NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB
Mr. Speaker, I would like to table a petition with literally thousands of names, Canadians right from Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador to Burnaby, British Columbia.
The petitioners remind the government that asbestos is the greatest industrial killer that the world has ever known, yet Canada continues to be one of the largest producers and exporters of asbestos in the world.
They call upon Canada to ban asbestos in all its forms, to institute a just transition program for asbestos workers in the communities in which they live, to end all government subsidies of asbestos in both Canada and abroad and to stop blocking international health and safety conventions designed to protect workers from asbestos, such as the Rotterdam convention.
Joy Smith Conservative Kildonan—St. Paul, MB
Mr. Speaker, today I would like to present petitions to the government from petitioners in Burlington, Oakville and Trois-Rivières on the subject of human trafficking.
The petitioners are asking the government to continue its good work to combat the trafficking of persons. This is a growing crime here in Canada. There are many signatures on these petitions.
Denise Savoie NDP Victoria, BC
Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to present a petition today that is particularly appropriate at this time when we hear the Minister of the Environment speaking about Canada's leadership around environmental matters.
This petition is signed by thousands of people who are asking the government to ban asbestos in all its forms and institute a just transition program. Canada continues to be one of the largest producers and exporters as my colleague said earlier.
We must end all government subsidies that continue to this day for asbestos and stop blocking the international health and safety conventions designed to protect workers from asbestos such as the Rotterdam convention.
Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings
Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre Saskatchewan
Conservative
Tom Lukiwski ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform
Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.
Ralph Goodale Liberal Wascana, SK
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a small procedural matter out of question period.
Today the record will again show that during the course of question period the Secretary of State (Multiculturalism) read from an explicit piece of paper that purported to be a greeting card of some kind. He did not identify who that document was sent to or aimed toward. It is important for the House to know exactly what piece of paper he was quoting from. I would ask the Secretary of State (Multiculturalism) to table that greeting card for all members of Parliament to see.
The Deputy Speaker NDP Bill Blaikie
The Chair will take that point of order under advisement at the moment. We look forward to an opportunity for the Secretary of State (Multiculturalism) to respond.
The House resumed consideration of the motion for an address to Her Excellency the Governor General in reply to her speech at the opening of the session, and of the amendment.
The Deputy Speaker NDP Bill Blaikie
At the time when we last departed from orders of the day the member for Dartmouth--Cole Harbour had one minute and 30 seconds left in his speech, which I invite him to complete at this time.
Michael Savage Liberal Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS
Mr. Speaker, I was speaking about what was not in the Speech from the Throne.
My point, very simply, is that Canada is a wealthy country, possibly now more wealthy than ever. This is not the time to abandon the social infrastructure of which Canadians are proud. We should be enhancing that social infrastructure.
Yesterday, the YWCA, hardly a political hotbed of radicalism, said that the Speech from the Throne virtually ignores the legitimate concerns of Canadian women and their families. It said that women were all but shut out of the government's plans and that there were no concrete provisions in it to deal with women and children living in poverty.
We should be addressing poverty. In 1997, a much less affluent time in the history of this nation, we brought in the child tax benefit, which was a major innovation. That was a huge step forward for children, but we need to do more.
This Speech from the Throne is disappointing and it is disappointing for a number of reasons. It might even be frightening. It is short on specifics, not enough to prompt an election that Canadians do not want, but another signal that we are on the wrong track in this country and we are particularly on the wrong track for those who need help the most.
Harold Albrecht Conservative Kitchener—Conestoga, ON
Mr. Speaker, I noted with interest the comments made by the former speaker regarding the Youth Criminal Justice Act. I also noted his comment in the S.O. 31 that he gave today.
I can assure my colleague that in my riding well over 11,000 people have signed a petition asking for changes to this act. Parents who contact me, even parents whose own children have been in trouble with the law, are asking for changes.
I would like the member to clarify whether or not he agrees that as the throne speech outlines, our government is intent upon bringing some changes to this act that would denounce criminal behaviour on the part of young people and deter future young people from getting into those kinds of difficult circumstances.
Michael Savage Liberal Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS
Mr. Speaker, I think I was pretty clear. Let me be as clear as I can be.
I will support changes to the Youth Criminal Justice Act because I think they are necessary. I support the changes outlined by Justice Merlin Nunn in his document which came out last December. I reference it again for everybody: www.nunncommission.ca.
I will support changes because people in my community are concerned and afraid. I have talked to principals in high schools. I have talked to police on the streets. I have talked to lots of people who want changes. I have also talked to people promoting child care, people who are talking about the lack of mental health services and the infrastructure that helps to prevent crime.
Let us not just do a little bit of the job. Let us do the whole job. Let us fix the problem as it exists now. Let us fix the Youth Criminal Justice Act, which otherwise is a good piece of legislation, but not when it comes to repeat offenders. Let us not think that we have solved all the problems once we have done that.
Pat Martin NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB
Mr. Speaker, I agree with my colleague from Dartmouth that many aspects of the Speech from the Throne as we see it are frightening, I think is the term he used. However, my colleague probably knows that there is no business case, for instance, for abolishing the Canadian Wheat Board.
He might not be aware that my riding of Winnipeg Centre is the corporate headquarters of the Canadian Wheat Board. Those of us in Manitoba find this prospect in the Speech from the Throne that the Conservatives are going to abolish the Canadian Wheat Board absolutely frightening.
My colleague may or may not be aware of the 460 direct jobs, but 3,700 jobs support indirectly the administrative business operations of the Canadian Wheat Board. This is going to create an enormous black hole in the heart of my riding.
Not only does the Canadian Wheat Board get the best rate of return for Prairie farmers and minimize risk and provide a great service, this great Prairie institution if it goes down is going to create a vortex that is going to affect the entire agricultural sector in the province.
Is my colleague aware of this devastating impact and why then would his party vote for a Speech from the Throne and give tacit approval to abolishing the Canadian Wheat Board?
Michael Savage Liberal Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS
Mr. Speaker, I do not come from Winnipeg and I cannot feel that need quite as strongly as my colleague, but one could not be in the Liberal caucus with the member for Malpeque who has stood up for the Canadian Wheat Board from one end of this country to the other and has convinced us all of the need of that institution.
We believe in the Canadian Wheat Board. We support the Canadian Wheat Board. We think there is a role for the Canadian Wheat Board and it is wrong to try to abolish the Canadian Wheat Board by the tactics the government has used.
Myron Thompson Conservative Wild Rose, AB
Mr. Speaker, as I listened to the member's speech I remembered coming here in 1993 and the first thing that I heard in the throne speech that I strongly recall and found it rather surprising was that there were one million children living in poverty and the government was going to deal with it.
In 2004, Jean Chrétien was gone and the new member for LaSalle—Émard was the prime minister and the throne speech said the government was going to deal with child poverty which was 1.5 million. The number had gone up by half a million. In other words, from the throne speech in 1993 dealing with child poverty the Liberal government did not get it done.
When I look through the throne speeches over the past 10 years, every time the Liberals did not get it done. Dealing with child poverty, why did the member's government for 10 years, from 1993 to 2004, not get it done?
The Acting Speaker Conservative Royal Galipeau
The hon. member for Dartmouth—Cole Harbour has 40 seconds.
Michael Savage Liberal Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS
Mr. Speaker, I have shared with many people in my own riding concerns about child poverty, but we have to be realistic. When we took over in 1993, there was a huge deficit and spiralling debt. We had to make some changes. When we had the opportunity, we brought in the child tax benefit.
More recently, under the former minister of social development, the member for York Centre, we brought in child care, so that people who did not have the opportunity for child care would have it. We had taken positive steps with the Kelowna accord. We are going backward now. We are going in the wrong direction now and it is a concern particularly for those who need help.
Tabling of DocumentsPoints of OrderSpeech From The Throne
Calgary Southeast Alberta
Conservative
Jason Kenney ConservativeSecretary of State (Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity)
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. It is unrelated to the debate, but the opposition House leader was asking me to table a document which is the copy of the Rosh Hashanah greeting card from the member for Thornhill. I am quite pleased to table this document to satisfy the request of the opposition House leader.
The House resumed consideration of the motion for an address to Her Excellency the Governor General in reply to her speech at the opening of the session, and of the amendment.