Debates of Oct. 30th, 2007

Afghanistan

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is Conservative incompetence that is responsible for this confusion. Those ministers are jeopardizing the efforts of our soldiers on the ground in Afghanistan.

This is about accountability. The government is perceived to be complicit in torture allegations because it keeps denying first-hand information from its own foreign affairs department.

When will the government learn? Why will it not stop these transfers until we receive a real assurance that the Geneva Convention will be respected?

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, again, my hon. colleague needs to know that the facts are misleading. The reality is that we are talking about a newspaper article that is quoting unnamed sources.

As soon as we have allegations, we take them very seriously. We have a process. This process is in the agreement we signed and it is a model international agreement. Not only are we saying so, but Amnesty International and the entire community are saying so.

[Lucienne Robillard, Liberal, Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on one hand, the Department of Foreign Affairs is confirming reports of torture in Afghanistan and on the other hand, the government House leader is denying everything and calling it propaganda.

On one hand, the Prime Minister claims to want to extend the mission until 2011 but General Hillier says “our troops should not leave before 2017”. The two are not the same.

Why can we not get one clear answer about that mission from the government?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of National Defence and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear, as we have been clear time and time again. The mission has an expiry date of February 2009, as per the vote that was taken in the House of Commons in the spring. We have spoken in the throne speech of the Afghanistan Compact, which runs until 2011.

We have committed to having a vote in the House of Commons again were there to be an extension. The member knows that. She is the one who is trying to confuse Canadians.

[Lucienne Robillard, Liberal, Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we learned this morning that representatives of the Canadian government cannot visit the Mirwais hospital in Afghanistan.

The government has invested $3 million in this hospital through the Red Cross. The government has no way of knowing what is going on in Afghan hospitals.

How can the government justify the fact that it did not guarantee itself right of access to verify how aid is being used?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I am told that these reports are not true and that representatives of the Canadian government visit that hospital every month.

[Caroline St-Hilaire, Bloc, Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this government prides itself on being transparent, but nothing could be further from the truth. It sends millions of dollars for a hospital in Kandahar, but we know absolutely nothing about how it is all administered and managed. The minister wanted a specific example yesterday and here it is.

Will the minister finally acknowledge that she is unable to monitor how taxpayers' money going to Mirwais hospital in Kandahar is being spent?

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Minister of International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, that is totally incorrect, as the Prime Minister has said. CIDA officials have visited the hospital. CIDA representatives in fact go to the hospital once a month to monitor progress and we will continue to do so.

[Caroline St-Hilaire, Bloc, Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I will rephrase the question I asked yesterday in this House.

Will the government table, in this House, a detailed report on how the money is used and the results in terms of humanitarian aid in Afghanistan?

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Minister of International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated, when we get a request for information on any specific project, we would be pleased to provide the information. We have a website that makes information available and we do make reports to the House in the department's annual performance review.

Nuclear Energy

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

Mr. Speaker, a month ago, the Minister of Natural Resources said there would be an open discussion concerning the growing use of nuclear energy to extract the oil from the oil sands. However, the Prime Minister ordered his ministers not to say anything on the matter. Some transparency.

Can the government deny that it is currently attending secret meetings with the United States as part of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership?

[Gary Lunn, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, that is absolute nonsense. Any decision for nuclear energy is a decision of the province and the province alone, so if any province in this country wants to pursue new energy with respect to nuclear, we would respect their jurisdiction on that.

There are absolutely no discussions going on at this time with me or my officials.

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

Mr. Speaker, as the minister knows very well, the security, safety and management of waste falls under federal jurisdiction.

While these meetings continue behind closed doors, the Minister of Natural Resources candidly admits that he does not yet know where to bury nuclear waste.

Before rushing into all manner of nuclear development behind closed doors, will the Prime Minister stop muzzling his ministers on this issue and put on the table the debate that must be held on Canada's management of the world's nuclear waste?

[Gary Lunn, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, the member is very ill-informed and obviously is not paying attention to what is going on. In fact, this government accepted the decision of the Nuclear Waste Management Organization, which made a recommendation to the government.

We accepted its recommendation in full. It was done after very thorough consideration by a number of experts, so they will begin that process. It will take literally years and years, which will begin with an exhaustive consultation process in dealing with this issue.

Again, this was stated in the House. I am not sure where the member has been but maybe she should pay a little more attention.

The Environment

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

Mr. Speaker, the governments of 15 countries, 13 U.S. states, British Columbia and Manitoba met yesterday in Lisbon, Portugal, to expand their fight against climate change.

Thirty governments have signed the International Carbon Action Partnership, which allows big industries to reduce greenhouse gases cheaply by allowing them to trade emission credits, but Canadians living outside of British Columbia and Manitoba are not being represented because the government took a pass on this meeting.

Why did the Conservative government not even bother to show up?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada was represented at the meeting by our ambassador in Lisbon.

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

With the power to negotiate, Mr. Speaker?

It is sad to see Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger devoting all his efforts to the fight against climate change, while our Prime Minister only pretends to care about the environment.

The climate change crisis will not be resolved until all governments around the world join forces and get to work.

Why did the Conservative government shirk its responsibilities to Canadians and refuse to attend this important meeting?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, we sent a senior representative of the Government of Canada, the most senior representative in the country, to be part of these meetings. I look forward to meeting with Premier Campbell tomorrow to learn more about these exciting things.

To hear the Liberals go on about climate change and global warming is shameless. Nothing embarrasses the Liberals because they do not know the meaning of shame. They are without shame. They are shameless. Do we know who said that? It was Bob Rae.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order, please. That question and answer are now finished. The member for Don Valley East has the floor.

[Yasmin Ratansi, Liberal, Don Valley East, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government is cheating Canadians when it claims to be working with international partners to fight climate change. The only international partnerships the government joins are ones that have absolutely no targets, no timelines, no consequences and no power.

The minister supports APEC's position because it is only “aspirational”. That is two rungs below voluntary. Climate change is a global crisis requiring global effort. Why will the government not sign on with the rest of the international community and commit to solid goals?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, we will go anywhere, anytime and any place to work with other countries to tackle the important issue of global warming.

We were pleased to have representatives in Lisbon. The Prime Minister provided real leadership at APEC. We have met with the Commission on Environmental Cooperation, with large emitters in Washington, and with the United Nations under the leadership of the Prime Minister in New York.

We are committed to working on real global action on global warming, something that would see countries like the United States, China and India take action, but something that also would see Canada finally begin to take action, something that member's government did not do for 13 long years.

[Yasmin Ratansi, Liberal, Don Valley East, ON]

Mr. Speaker, governments that actually care about climate change are in Lisbon, but our environment minister just sits over there with his rusty old plan.

British Columbia and Manitoba have decided to bypass the government and take real action on their own. There can be no Canadian plan when the Prime Minister refuses to work with the provinces and leaves premiers to show international leadership.

When will the Prime Minister finally call a first ministers meeting and work with the provinces instead of against them?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to get a question from the Liberal Party. I have not received one on the environment since June, by the way. We are committed to real action on the environment.

I sent a copy of Canada's plan on fighting global warming to someone, who said:

The approach you've taken, looking at the twin benefits of reducing emission of greenhouse gases and air pollutants, is exactly what we need to do on a wider scale...Congratulations once again for putting Canada in the ranks of those countries moving aggressively to reduce...greenhouse gases.

Do we know who said that? It was said by the executive director of the United Nations environment program.

Health

[Judy Wasylycia-Leis, NDP, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Competition Bureau says that today's families are paying too much for generic prescription drugs. Canada spends more on prescription drugs than on doctors. The Conservatives are moving in the wrong direction: they do not have a plan for cheaper prescription drugs.

When will they decide to support bulk purchases of prescription drugs? When will they help families save money at the pharmacy?