Debates of Nov. 28th, 2007

Airbus

[Robert Thibault, Liberal, West Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, let us now consider subsection 40(3) of the Extradition Act that gives the minister the complete authority to make the extradition subject to “any conditions that the Minister considers appropriate”.

Why does the minister not consider it appropriate to make the surrender of Karlheinz Schreiber specifically conditional upon his remaining physically present in Canada for as long as it takes to testify under oath at a public inquiry and parliamentary committee? Or will it be necessary for Parliament to again trump the minister to keep Schreiber from being silenced by that Mulroney infested government?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Party has—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Peter Milliken]

Order, please. We are wasting a lot of time today. The hon. Minister of Justice has the floor to respond to the question that was asked. We do not need a chorus of questions.

The hon. Minister of Justice.

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Party has demonstrated over the last couple of days why it is inappropriate and unfruitful to discuss matters like this and negotiate matters of law on the floor of the House of Commons.

I indicated that we will follow all the rules, all the laws. We have indicated our cooperation, but it has become obvious that the Liberals will never be happy.

Victims of Crime

[Yves Lessard, Bloc, Chambly—Borduas, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Quebec's National Assembly considered a bill to give salaried individuals the right to take unpaid leave for up to two years if they, their spouse or their child become victims of crime.

Given that a salaried person who exercises this right would have no income for two years, will the federal government make it possible for that person to be eligible for employment insurance?

[Monte Solberg, Conservative, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development]

Mr. Speaker, I think all parliamentarians have deep compassion for those who have been the victims of crime and their families. We are prepared to meet with this group, and we will meet with it in the next week.

However, if the Bloc is so concerned about this, maybe it should stop filibustering the victims of violent crime bill so we can actually prevent the types of crimes about which the member claims to be concerned.

[Yves Lessard, Bloc, Chambly—Borduas, QC]

Mr. Speaker, putting off decisions has become this government's trademark. They have consistently put off anything urgent. How bizarre. When it comes to seniors, farmers, fishers, the unemployed and victims of crime, this government always finds a reason to delay. This government is heartless.

Does one's name have to be Shell, Imperial Oil or Petro-Canada for the government to take an interest?

[Monte Solberg, Conservative, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development]

Mr. Speaker, I simply must point out that it is the Bloc that is filibustering. It is the Bloc that cannot make a decision on the victims of violent crime bill, which blocks justice for thousands of Canadians who do not want to be victimized by criminals.

I must point out that the entire time Bloc members have been here they have never made a decision that has benefited Canadians. They cannot. They are forever in opposition.

Hog and Beef Industries

[André Bellavance, Bloc, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we know that the rising dollar is creating a crisis in the manufacturing sector, but it is also affecting all exporters, such as hog and beef producers. The crisis highlights the shortcomings of the federal government's aid programs.

Does the government plan on doing absolutely nothing, as it has with the manufacturing sector, or will it take responsibility and implement the measures called for by hog and beef producers?

[Gerry Ritz, Conservative, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, we have had excellent discussions with the hog industry across this great country and it has come forward with some proposals. I have taken them to my department officials who will be getting back to me by the end of this week.

We are working with all the provinces and with the industry to come up with solutions that the Bloc never could.

Fishing Industry

[Raynald Blais, Bloc, Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the rising dollar is also affecting the revenues of manufacturers and fishermen, and this industry has been hard hit. The minister raised a lot of hopes when he promised the world at his big show at the Forum québécois des partenaires des pêches at the end of 2006.

We are nearing the end of 2007. What is he waiting for to present a strategy to the Quebec fishing industry, which is facing the additional problem of the rising dollar? What is the minister waiting for to present the aid plan he promised over a year ago?

[Loyola Hearn, Conservative, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, we had a tremendous meeting in Quebec several months ago. A report on that meeting has been presented to the minister in Quebec. I met with the minister last week. We are working very closely together, as we are with other fisheries ministers, to ensure we look after the people for whom we are responsible, and that includes the fishermen in Quebec.

Manufacturing Industry

[Maurizio Bevilacqua, Liberal, Vaughan, ON]

Mr. Speaker, by now the government should have realized that Canada is facing a manufacturing crisis. As a result, thousands of jobs have been lost as countless plants have been forced to close their doors and yet the government does not seem to care about the impact this is having on Canadian workers, businesses and families in communities and regions throughout our country. I say this because no plan has been laid out and no strategy has been put forward.

Why is the government giving up on such an important sector of the Canadian economy?

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

It is unfortunate, Mr. Speaker, that the member opposite has not read advantage Canada, which is the economic plan for Canada. He has failed to note the accelerated capital cost allowance that we did in March this year, the $1.3 billion to assist manufacturers and the historic tax reductions that we did on October 30. Now we do need tax reductions but we need them in Ontario.

As Jack Mintz said yesterday from the Rotman School of Management:

Ontario has one of the highest effective tax rates on capital not just in Canada but around the (industrialized) world.

The [Ontario] government has not understood that its policies have hurt capital--

[The Speaker, Peter Milliken]

The hon. member for Vaughan.

[Maurizio Bevilacqua, Liberal, Vaughan, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am quite aware of the disadvantage that workers and businesses in the manufacturing sectors have obtained as a result of the Conservative government. All over the country people are losing their jobs and it is not right to keep repeating that employment rates are high when, in the manufacturing sector, they are falling. It is not right to declare that the government is achieving positive results when more plants will be closing and more jobs will be lost.

Is the minister telling Canadian workers, businesses and families that they should give up--

[The Speaker, Peter Milliken]

The hon. Minister of Finance.

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Not at all, Mr. Speaker. What we are saying, of course, is that the Government of Canada has taken dramatic steps to reduce the taxation burden on business in Canada: the accelerated capital cost allowance and the elimination of the federal capital tax which the provinces of Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba have not done yet. Those are important steps--

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

There's not a tax that can fix every problem, Jim.

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Whitby—Oshawa, ON]

--relax, relax for a while, Ralph. These are important steps that need to be taken in order to reduce the tax burden on businesses so they can reinvest and prosper in Canada.

[The Speaker, Peter Milliken]

Order, please. I wish more hon. members would relax but using names is unnecessary.

The hon. member for Honoré-Mercier.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the manufacturing sector, particularly in Quebec, is facing the worst crisis it has seen in the last decade, while the government just idly sits back and does nothing. This sector plays an important structural role within our economy, but this means nothing to them. Hundreds of thousands of jobs are at stake, directly and indirectly; this also means nothing to them. They are completely washing their hands of the situation.

The Government of Quebec has just announced real measures, concrete measures. Why is the federal government hesitating to cooperate with it?

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know what the hon. member bases his facts on. In fact, since this government was elected, 655,000 new jobs have been created in Canada, 345,000 jobs this year alone.

In Quebec, in particular, job creation has been thriving. The unemployment rate is as low as it has been since December 1974.

To quote the Leader of the Opposition, “the Canadian economy is doing very well”.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, they should go tell that to unemployed workers and their families.

The Government of Quebec has grasped the seriousness of the crisis rocking the manufacturing sector. It is doing its job. It is taking concrete action to help that sector. Yesterday, the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs announced somewhat hastily that she was going to try to organize a meeting with some tea and a few cookies in January, but that is too little, too late. The Conservative government must also provide concrete, significant support as soon as possible, before more jobs are lost.

Where is the Conservative government when Quebec needs it?