Debates of Nov. 27th, 2007

Quebec Nation

[Pauline Picard, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, one year after this House recognized us as a nation, we are still waiting to see some action.

As we speak, thousands of Quebeckers have no assurance of being able to work in French, because the Canada Labour Code does not recognize French as the common language of Quebeckers.

The Quebec government, my national government, cannot enter into any international agreement, even in areas that fall under its jurisdiction. The Conservative government lets it speak only if it is repeating the same thing that Canada has already said. Even worse, the Conservatives are now trying to place limits on Quebec by decreasing its political weight in this House.

One year later, Quebeckers can legitimately wonder whether the Conservative government was mocking them last year, when it recognized Quebec as a nation.

United Nations

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Mr. Speaker, once again in the annual ritual of UN General Assembly resolutions, one member state, Israel, is being singled out for differential and discriminatory treatment.

There are currently some twenty resolutions condemning Israel, more than all the resolutions adopted against all other states, while the major violators enjoy exculpatory immunity.

Tragically, this is not only prejudicial to one member state, but it undermines the integrity of the UN, under whose protective cover it occurs, and erodes the authority of international law in whose name these resolutions are adopted.

The time has come for the Canadian government to say no to discrimination and the denial of international due process, and yes to a principled and fair-minded UN process that holds all states equally accountable before the law.

Initiative to Save a Million Lives

[Lee Richardson, Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, while attending the recent 38th annual world lung health conference, I witnessed the growing tuberculosis epidemic in the developing world and travelled to South Africa to see at first hand the magnitude of the devastation inflicted by AIDS, tuberculosis and other preventable diseases.

I was also able to witness the efforts of Results Canada, a national network of volunteers committed to creating the political will to end hunger and poverty in Canada and around the world.

With this experience in mind, I am delighted by the Prime Minister's announcement that Canada, in partnership with others, is leading an ambitious initiative to improve health care for impoverished mothers and children in Africa and Asia. The Initiative to Save a Million Lives will strengthen health systems by training front line health workers and delivering affordable health care services directly to local communities. Once fully implemented, the initiative will save the lives of over 500 children every day.

I praise these efforts that are getting real results, including lower rates of tuberculosis, HIV-AIDS and malaria, increased peace and security, stronger economic growth, and better governance.

Airbus

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, a committee of the House issued a summons to call Karlheinz Schreiber to appear before it this Thursday.

Today, the justice minister told the committee that he would not take any steps to enforce the summons, even though Mr. Schreiber is in federal custody, but the justice minister has the power to enforce the summons.

Why is the justice minister obstructing the committee's ability to hear from this vital witness?

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

Mr. Speaker, I received a request on Thursday of last week indicating that the committee wanted to invite an individual to testify this Thursday. I indicated that I would not stand in the way of that. The committee can proceed to issue a summons or a warrant.

I should point out that the individual is being held in a provincial correctional institution.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[An hon. member]

Everybody knows that is a sham, Rob.

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order, please. I would urge hon. members who want to carry on a discourse with others to do it outside. We need to proceed with question period. The Leader of the Opposition has the floor and we will have a little order.

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, according to the Law Clerk and Parliamentary counsel, the minister has all the authority required to enforce the summons. I will therefore repeat the question.

Will the Minister of Justice stop obstructing the committee and the House? Will he enforce the summons?

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

Mr. Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth. Under the Extradition Act there is authority to delay the surrender of an individual who has been convicted and is serving a sentence in Canada. However, that is not the case here. The individual is being held in a provincial correctional institute.

I do not make suggestions to committees as they are the masters of their own business, but if they have a summons or a warrant, they can present it to the facility and the facility will deal with it accordingly.

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the time has come for the justice minister to stop hiding behind excuses. His refusal to allow a committee to do its duty shows contempt for this House. He is putting the Conservative Party's interests ahead of his duties as Minister of Justice.

Will the minister not wait to be ruled in contempt of Parliament and do the right thing now?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition can yell all he wants but the fact is that the committee has issued a summons for an individual. It is considering a warrant. When that is presented to a provincial correctional institute, that institute will deal with it accordingly. I do not see what the problem is.

[Michael Ignatieff, Liberal, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the justice minister is defying the will of Parliament. He refuses to produce a witness and he refuses to delay extradition claiming that he has no such authority. However, he is wrong. The minister has the power to choose the date Canada surrenders Schreiber to Germany. It is section 42 of the Extradition Act if he needs a little help.

Will the minister guarantee to this House that Karlheinz Schreiber will be able to testify at committee in person, or will he continue to hold the institutions of this country in contempt?

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

Mr. Speaker, that is not just insulting but the individual is wrong about this.

The Extradition Act is clear. When an individual has been convicted and is being held in a Canadian prison there can be a delay of an extradition order.

I indicated to the committee that I would not stand in the way of this individual or any individual testifying before a committee of the House of Commons. If the committee is issuing a summons and a warrant, it should present it to a provincial correctional institute and it will deal with it accordingly.

[Michael Ignatieff, Liberal, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

Mr. Speaker, will the Minister of Justice respect the institutions of Parliament and produce the witness being called for by a committee of Parliament? Or will he continue to show disdain for our democracy and our parliamentary system?

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

Mr. Speaker, this is not an academic exercise. This is the application of federal statutes and the interaction between the committee of the House of Commons and an officer of Parliament.

If there is a warrant or a summons presented to a provincial correctional institute, the institute will deal with it accordingly. What is the big problem?

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in a letter addressed to the House of Commons ethics committee, the Minister of Justice writes that he does not have the necessary authority to delay extradition of businessman Karlheinz Schreiber, which is scheduled for December 1. Nothing could be further from the truth. According to the House of Commons legal counsel, section 42 of the Extradition Act stipulates that the Minister of Justice has discretionary power to delay such an extradition.

Will the Minister of Justice admit that his government is doing everything it can to rid itself of an embarrassing witness in a case that might end up discrediting his party?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated to the committee, I will not stand in the way of anything that it wants to do to get someone here before committee on Thursday of this week.

As I have pointed out to members, the Extradition Act does not say that. It applies to an individual convicted of an offence. We have an individual here who was not convicted of an offence. He is being held pursuant to a court order in a provincial correctional institute.

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Justice is dodging the question. I am telling him that he has the power, under section 42, to delay an extradition, to defer it until a later date. He claims, in a letter, that he does not have that power. The committee legal counsel says that he does.

Will he admit, in this House, that he does indeed have that power? We want a straight answer to this very simple question. Will he tell us that he has that power, or will he continue to deny that fact?

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

Mr. Speaker, in general, under the Extradition Act the Minister of Justice has the authority to delay the surrender of an individual beyond the 45 day period if the person has been convicted and is serving a sentence in Canada.

What is so impossible for him to understand about that?

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am telling him that he does have the power to delay the extradition. We want Karlheinz Schreiber to appear now. Will he understand that he does have the power to delay this extradition so that this man can appear?

Will he do this, or will he not? I want to know what he plans to do. Let him tell us in plain words.

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

Mr. Speaker, I know the hon. member and his party have a hard time understanding federal powers, federal jurisdiction and federal legislation but again, the committee is the master of its own business and it should proceed accordingly.

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have been here quite long enough to understand how federalism works and I understand particularly well just how some federalist parties operate.

I also understand how this minister operates. When a problem crops up, he puts a process in place, and when he cannot answer a question, he sidesteps the question. He has the power. If he does not exercise that power, it is because he is protecting someone who might do some harm to him, and to some of his colleagues.

Is that not the reason?

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

Mr. Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth. It was this government that set in place a procedure with respect to Dr. Johnston. He will be advising the government with respect to a public inquiry.

With respect to the extradition matter, that matter will be before the courts on Friday so it would be inappropriate to comment further on that.