Debates of Nov. 19th, 2007

Paillé Report

[Michel Guimond, Bloc, Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, David Johnston has been given far too much time to define the parameters for the future public inquiry on the Mulroney-Schreiber affair. This government is clearly not comfortable with tight deadlines. An example of this is when it hired Daniel Paillé to investigate polls.

More than seven months after he was appointed, we have yet to see his report. The report was promised for September. Then we were told the end of October, beginning of November. When will we see that report?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I think I understood the hon. member correctly. He said, “When will we see the report?” It seems to me that we have to prepare the report first. That would be the first step in this process.

Again, Professor Johnston has been given a mandate by the Prime Minister to set the parameters for a public inquiry. That should take its course before the hon. member worries about what is in the report.

[Michel Guimond, Bloc, Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am talking about Daniel Paillé's report on polls. It makes sense that we did not get an answer, since the Minister of Public Works sits in the Senate, not this House.

Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works tell us when we will receive a copy of Daniel Paillé's report?

[James Moore, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services and for the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics]

Soon, Mr. Speaker.

The Environment

[Bernard Bigras, Bloc, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on Saturday, the International Panel on Climate Change reminded politicians that the climate is warming at an accelerated rate, which will have significant impact on northern countries such as Canada. The UN Secretary General declared that the impact was, and I quote: “so severe and so sweeping that only urgent, global action will do”.

On the eve of the Bali conference, where work will begin on a follow-up to Kyoto, what position will the government take after abandoning the Kyoto targets to please its oil friends?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, the government will take the same position as this report, which was the inspiration for real action by the Government of Canada, all countries of the world and the United Nations. This report stated that we must take action. That was something that never happened over the course of 13 long years when the Liberal Party formed the government and while the Bloc Québécois did nothing for the environment or for Canada.

[Bernard Bigras, Bloc, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, had the government listened to us in those 13 years, we would be further along in the fight against climate change.

The IPCC says that we can stabilize greenhouse gas emissions by 2015 if vigorous political action is taken very quickly by all countries. The minister's plan in no way addresses the fears of these experts.

Does the minister realize that his empty rhetoric is not enough to reverse the situation and that it will take much more to convince his counterparts in Bali on December 3?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, we are taking action with real measures. That is what this government has vigorously supported. We do not just carry out studies and attend international conferences; we take real action in Canada. For the first time in Canada's history, we have taken action, we are regulating large companies. That never happened in 13 long years with the previous government, supported by the Bloc Québécois.

Afghanistan

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Mr. Speaker, because of this pathetic cover-up by the Conservative cabinet, Canada is in knowing violation of the Geneva Convention.

The Prime Minister and his puppets tried to hide specific reports of torture. We know for a fact now that there is torture in Afghanistan.

If that was not enough, documents show also that Canada might have transferred child soldiers. Did we transfer juveniles to the Sarpoza prison? Did we send child soldiers to the former warden pedophile Muhammad Nadir?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am a bit surprised to hear the member for Bourassa state definitively that we knew there was torture. There are ongoing investigations about these allegations.

With respect to the comment about juvenile transfers, we have a strict policy in place. Canadian Forces in Afghanistan have clear instructions on what to do, how to treat juvenile detainees with particular care. For example, any juvenile detained by the Canadian Forces is held separately from any detained adult who may be on site at the time.

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this is about article 31. Our soldiers must not only transfer detainees promptly to Afghan authorities, they must also ensure that the system is working.

We have to take this seriously. This is about complying with international conventions, about Canada's reputation in the world, about the very safety of our troops in Afghanistan and on other missions. The Conservatives tried to hide the truth, but now we know that detainees were tortured. They are the only ones who think that nobody was tortured. The whole world knows people were.

When will we stop transferring detainees and ask NATO to show some leadership in dealing with prisoners of war in Afghanistan? When?

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

What is pathetic, Mr. Speaker, is the absolute fixation and this feigned moral indignation from the member opposite about the transfer of Taliban prisoners.

While we understand fully the need to uphold international obligations, while we understand fully the need to help bolster Afghan capacity with respect to these transferred prisoners, what is absolutely abhorrent is the member's fixation, knowing that the blood of Canadian soldiers and innocent Afghans are on the hands of the Taliban.

[Bryon Wilfert, Liberal, Richmond Hill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, we do not have to take any lessons from that side of the House in support of our troops.

This government--

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order, please. The hon. member for Richmond Hill has the floor.

[Bryon Wilfert, Liberal, Richmond Hill, ON]

This government has covered up reports of detainee abuse for almost a year. It told the House there is absolutely no basis for our questions.

We have seen the reports from the Department of Foreign Affairs. We have seen the reports from Amnesty International. They confirm the allegations of abuse.

Will the minister tell the House what evidence, if any, he relies on to justify his claim that there is no abuse? The onus of proof is--

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. Minister of National Defence.

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

Mr. Speaker, the reality is the Liberals could take some lessons. When we came to office, the Canadian Forces had been hollowed out. The morale was probably at an all time low. They sent our soldiers into Afghanistan ill-equipped. There was a flawed process that had to be improved upon with respect to the transfer of detainees.

All of those things are the reality that members of the party opposite refuse to accept. They stand up and cast these aspersions on the mission and the process that is in place that they left that was flawed in the first instance.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order, please. We will have a little more order. I can hardly hear the questions or the answers.

The hon. member for Richmond Hill.

[Bryon Wilfert, Liberal, Richmond Hill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Chief of the Defence Staff contradicts the minister, which is not unusual. Maybe he should talk to the Chief of the Defence Staff.

These are human lives that we are talking about. All that the government can do is repeat the same pathetic talking points, when clearly the facts show that human rights are being abused.

What will it take for the government to act? When will the Conservative government stop transferring detainees and find a permanent NATO-wide solution to the problem?

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

Mr. Speaker, for the edification of the member opposite, I spoke with the Chief of the Defence Staff this morning. We are in fairly regular contact.

With respect to his allegations, it is exactly human rights that we are in Afghanistan to protect. The fact is that young girls were not allowed to go to school, women were not allowed to vote, let alone participate in the democratic process. These rights are exactly the reason we are in Afghanistan today.

Thanks to the incredible work of the men and women in uniform and those of our NATO allies, those human rights have improved tenfold.

Canada-U.S. Border

[Jeff Watson, Conservative, Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, for decades communities on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border have depended on each other in times of emergency. Canada and U.S. border officials have traditionally respected this arrangement.

Recently though, emergency responders have been delayed by U.S. border officials. In my region, a respected community activist twice revived after a heart attack, was held up in transit to emergency services in a Detroit hospital. The actions of U.S. officials have gone too far and it has to stop.

Can the Minister of Public Safety tell the House what the government is doing to ensure that emergency responders will not face this kind of unnecessary delay in the future?

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague is quite right in reflecting on the historic relationship between Canadians and Americans in times of crisis and times of need. They have been able to move quickly across borders and assist one another in those particular times.

We have raised a number of issues related to the western hemisphere travel initiative which is a U.S. law that has had some unintended consequences in terms of how it is interpreted at the border. I have communicated with the secretary of state on this particular issue and the department of homeland security.

We have registered our concern. We do not want to see this continue. It has to come to an end.

Airbus

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the terms of the defamation settlement with Brian Mulroney have been breached by the government House leader and by the 18th Prime Minister himself. Canadians want their $2.1 million back, although they may be willing to accept a little less if it is in cash. We do not want to wait for a public inquiry that may never happen for this.

Has the government started proceedings to recoup our money, or at the very least an investigation into the breach of the terms of settlement with Brian Mulroney?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, last week NDP members were calling for a public inquiry. Now they say they cannot wait for a public inquiry. The government readily agreed to having a public inquiry with the terms set by Dr. Johnston. I think we should have a look at what he recommends.