Debates of Dec. 11th, 2007

The Environment

[Gary Lunn, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, we were very pleased today to announce a new software program developed by Natural Resources Canada called RETScreen. This software tool will allow businesses, homeowners, industries and institutions to assess energy projects on their economic viability and on how much greenhouse gases they will reduce. This project is being used around the world. It is available in 20 languages and is becoming the industry standard.

This is one more example of Canadians leading the world in technology development to reduce greenhouse gases and we should all be proud of those people who are doing it.

Securities

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Toronto and Montreal stock exchanges recently decided to merge. Credible people such as Henri-Paul Rousseau are seriously questioning the viability of establishing the commodities and derivatives market in Montreal.

The Prime Minister can take concrete action to ensure that Montreal remains a metropolis in Quebec while keeping its financial role in Canada. Can he guarantee that the carbon exchange will be established in Montreal?

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the arrangements between the Montreal Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange are matters that they negotiated themselves.

I understand, from speaking to the principals, that the idea has been that the derivatives exchange would remain in Montreal. It has been very successful in Montreal, as the equities exchange has been very successful in Toronto. The merger works well for Canada.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, can the Prime Minister understand that the merger of the two stock exchanges is not simply a private business deal? There may be an impact on Montreal's position as an economic capital, and Montreal has already been through enough with a number of separatist governments in the past 30 years.

The question is simple. Will the Conservative government support the establishment of a carbon exchange in Montreal, yes or no?

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, those are matters that the principals involved in the two exchanges will discuss.

I would think that the hon. member would be pleased to see the success and the strength of the Montreal Exchange in the derivatives market. It is a success story in capital markets in Canada. He should celebrate it instead of putting it down.

Child Care

[Ken Dryden, Liberal, York Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I was recently in Napanee, Ontario, a small town in a rural area, where I asked child care providers how things had changed with the taxable allowance now available to their parents. When I asked them how many more spaces there were, they said “none”. When I asked them how many spaces there were with better facilities, they said “none”. When I asked them how many spaces had better access to those who need help the most, they said “none”.

I asked them again, “You say it's much worse than before so you say 'none' when you really mean 'not many'?” “No”, they said, “none”. Zero.

Who is telling the truth, the minister or the people of Napanee?

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend for his story but I recall reading the newspaper not long ago where the former deputy leader of the Liberal Party was talking about that member's child care plan. Do members know how many spaces she said that his child care plan created? She said “none”.

[Ken Dryden, Liberal, York Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, is the minister saying that the child care providers of Napanee are not telling the truth?

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

Mr. Speaker, here is the truth. The truth is that this government is investing three times as much in child care as the previous government did.

The truth is that we are offering choice to parents, something that is extraordinarily popular with parents.

The truth is that the leader of the Liberal Party says that he would take away the universal child care benefit, which would be extraordinarily damaging to parents. That is the truth.

Correctional Service Canada

[Karen Redman, Liberal, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians expect our country's prisons to provide care and to rehabilitate inmates.

If a person is in prison and has a heart attack, we assume and expect that individual will receive the same kind of medical attention that is granted every citizen in this country.

Why then are inmates with mental health issues shackled and segregated instead of receiving medical attention?

Would the minister responsible for Correctional Service Canada commit to this House that he will implement and fund a mental health strategy for Canada's prisons?

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, very soon people will be seeing recommendations of a committee that has been looking at various ways to address issues in the corrections system. We also receive good advice from the investigator at Correctional Service Canada.

I am pleased that in this last budget we were able to commit an extra $240 million over the next two years, which is above and beyond what we are already spending, to ensure these types of issues are addressed.

[Karen Redman, Liberal, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I do commend the minister. There is money but I have heard from people at Correctional Services that it is probably not enough. I would point out that the money is so inmates can be reintegrated into society.

What is truly lacking is the kind of assessment and treatment within the prison system so that young women, young offenders, like Ashley Smith, do not end up taking their own life after spending five years, the bulk of which was in segregation by themselves, not even integrated into the rest of the community.

I implore the minister to look at the big picture and look at ways to reform the Canadian prison system so we do not have more Ashley Smiths.

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, the situation related to Ashley Smith is one of extreme heartbreak and tragedy in terms of what unfolded there. I am sure the member is aware that there are a number of ongoing investigations and some charges have been brought, which is why we must let that process unfold.

Virtually from the moment that happened I insisted that the entire process of protocols and what happens in situations like that be reviewed, updated and monitored. We are very concerned about that and any similar type of situation that could happen.

Manufacturing Industry

[Guy André, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Shermag, a furniture manufacturer, has announced the closure of four plants, including two in Quebec, with the loss of 320 jobs. Meanwhile, the government has a surplus of over $11.6 billion, but is doing nothing to help manufacturers, who are going through a serious crisis. Yet the Bloc Québécois has suggested real assistance measures tailored to the needs of the furniture industry.

Will the government take action now instead of constantly saying that it will act when it brings down its next budget? These workers need help now.

[Jim Prentice, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, we disagree. Unlike the Bloc members, I have every hope that the manufacturing sector in Quebec will recover. As was mentioned yesterday, many of these sectors are growing.

What is more, Canadian Business magazine has said that five of the ten best places in Canada to set up a business are in Quebec: Sherbrooke ranks in first place; Saguenay, third; Laval, fifth; Trois-Rivières, sixth; and Longueuil, tenth.

[Jean-Yves Laforest, Bloc, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to talk about Shawinigan. While hundreds of workers at the Belgo plant are losing their jobs and trying to stay hopeful, the government has not announced any income support program for older workers. These 270 older workers need to know now, not when the next budget is brought down, what to expect after this plant closes for good.

What is this government waiting for to put in place a real income support program for older workers? How many plants will have to close and how many people will have to lose their jobs before the Conservatives do something?

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

Mr. Speaker, every time a plant closes down it is very difficult for the workers involved. Service Canada immediately meets with the plant, with the union and certainly with the workers and lays out the options in terms of benefits, training and new job opportunities.

I think the most important way to support workers is to give them the skills they need to take advantage of the extraordinarily hot job market. In fact, Quebec is just behind Alberta in the creation of new jobs this year, which is at 2.9%. That is extraordinarily good news. It is the highest employment rate it has had in its history. We want to help workers transition into work.

[Jean-Claude D'Amours, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, Shermag announced that it was closing four plants, including two in my riding in New Brunswick. The Conservative government has done nothing since the manufacturing and forestry crisis began. The communities, the companies, the workers and their families need ACOA to put in place an economic fund immediately so that they can face their future.

Is the minister prepared to put this survival fund in place? How many more families will have to suffer before the Conservative government really does something? How many more families will have to suffer?

[Jim Prentice, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, it is always difficult when a plant closes and those kinds of decisions affect people's lives. The government understands that and we are sympathetic to that.

There has been a softening of demand and the restructuring of some industries. However, the Canadian economy continues to create jobs at an unprecedented rate with 388,000 jobs created this year to date.

The place in Canada where job creation is the highest is in New Brunswick at a 4.2% increase year over year. The employment rate in New Brunswick right now is the highest it has been in recent times.

Agriculture

[Kevin Sorenson, Conservative, Crowfoot, AB]

Mr. Speaker, recently the member for Winnipeg Centre outrageously claimed that this government spent $1 million on an “ideological crusade”.

Perhaps the Minister of Agriculture could enlighten the member for Winnipeg Centre, who described himself as being stunned. Did this government spend $1.2 million on a democratic exercise to give voice to thousands of western Canadian farmers?

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

The member for Crowfoot certainly did not shock anybody with that stunned statement, Mr. Speaker.

As the hon. member knows, we held a plebiscite on barley to find out what western farmers wanted. Sixty-two per cent want to have choice in marketing barley. I know that number is even higher today.

It might come as a shock to the member for Winnipeg Centre, but we spent money to inform farmers in the Wheat Board area. The government ads included only information on voter eligibility, toll-free numbers, websites and, of course, the results.

The NDP never appreciates democracy, but this government is always ready to support farmers' rights and freedoms.

I would be happy to table those ad materials, Mr. Speaker. I have them right here.

Homelessness

[Tony Martin, NDP, Sault Ste. Marie, ON]

Mr. Speaker, since 1998 the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee has been declaring homelessness a national disaster and 400 agencies from across the country agree.

The Liberal solution was to cut the funding for housing and the Conservatives have chosen huge corporate tax cuts instead of reinvesting in housing.

In Edmonton alone, 41 homeless people died last year. A homeless person died this past weekend in Montreal. This is a totally unnecessary disaster.

When will the government establish a national housing strategy? When will it take these deaths seriously?

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

Mr. Speaker, the strategy of the government is to take steps that make a difference in the lives of people, which is why, when we came to office, one of the first things we did was to invest heavily in affordable housing. There is $1.4 billion in the housing trust today.

This government is investing more in affordable housing than any government in history. We have also put in place the homelessness partnering strategy. We believe that a roof over a person's head is the place to start to give people a hand. There is $270 million for that.

We understand how important it is to make sure that people who are living in poverty get a--

[The Speaker, Peter Milliken]

The hon. member for Sault Ste. Marie.

[Tony Martin, NDP, Sault Ste. Marie, ON]

Let us be clear, Mr. Speaker, that that money came from the NDP budget, when we forced the Liberals to cancel their corporate tax cuts.

St. Michael's Hospital says that homeless people die at a rate 10 times higher than people living in homes.

Meanwhile, all of the programs, federal homelessness, federal housing rehab and affordable housing are set to expire in a few months. The minister should visit the streets, talk to homeless people and get a dose of reality, because winter is here. Where is the plan?