House of Commons Hansard #31 of the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was loans.
Christian Paradis ConservativeSecretary of State (Agriculture)
Mr. Speaker, I want to remind the hon. member that an announcement was made almost two weeks ago, whereby $600 million would be allocated to help the livestock sector, both hog and beef production. We are putting words into action.
Furthermore, discussions are ongoing with the industry, as my colleague knows. Instead of falsely saying that nothing is being done, she should acknowledge the good news we announce here. I am talking about a $600 million allocation with the new program.
Ève-Mary Thaï Thi Lac Bloc Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC
Mr. Speaker, in five years, U.S. meat imports into Canada have soared and the Conservative government is maintaining stricter standards for our producers, making them less competitive.
Will the government stop harming our producers and will it demand the same standards of the United States and the other countries that it is imposing on producers here?
Christian Paradis ConservativeSecretary of State (Agriculture)
Mr. Speaker, it is fascinating to see how the Bloc Québécois can twist the questions.
Our government keeps its promises.
We recently heard that the U.S. standards were stricter and that the system was not working. The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food went to Washington and got concrete results. Now that we have a solution, the Bloc is trying to create problems.
For once, there was mention of supply management in the Speech from the Throne. What did they do? They voted against it. Let those who voted against supply management tell that to the producers.
Hedy Fry Liberal Vancouver Centre, BC
Mr. Speaker, in spite of ample warning, the government put no contingency plan in place before the nuclear reactor at Chalk River shut down. This reactor provides radioisotopes to hundreds of thousands of patients for clinical cancer treatment and MRI testing. Now hospitals and labs across the country are having to turn away these patients.
What is the Minister of Health doing for these critically ill patients? What is his plan to get emergency supplies of radioisotopes?
Tony Clement ConservativeMinister of Health and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario
Mr. Speaker, indeed, there were contingency plans in place. Of course, as a result of the arm's length decisions of some arm's length agencies, we are in a bit of a situation that we did not anticipate. As the hon. member knows, we cannot have too much of a contingency plan because the half-life of these isotopes is just three days.
We are working with industry right now. We are getting emergency supplies for emergency procedures and that will continue. My colleague, the Minister of Natural Resources, is working in his portfolio in order to protect the best interests of Canadians as well.
Gord Brown Conservative Leeds—Grenville, ON
Mr. Speaker, like many Canadians, I was surprised to hear media reports that the government of Iran has told Canada's ambassador in Tehran to leave that country. Canada continues to be concerned by the Iranian government's actions on various fronts.
Can the Minister of Foreign Affairs please provide the House with some insight regarding these reports?
Maxime Bernier ConservativeMinister of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Speaker, we regret Iran's decision to order our ambassador to leave Tehran, which is entirely unjustified. We stand behind our ambassador, who performs his duties with professionalism. Yes, we tried to come to an agreement with Tehran about the exchange of ambassadors for some time, but we did not succeed.
I can assure the House that in the future we will promote human rights, the rule of law, and democracy in Iran and across the globe.
Pat Martin NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB
Mr. Speaker, the President of the Treasury Board has never implemented the new regulations to the Lobbyists Registration Act. Why not? Because the head of the organization representing lobbyists, Mulroney-era Manitoba MP Leo Duguay, says it would be too onerous to disclose who they were lobbying and when.
The government said it would clean up government. Why will it not implement the sections of the Federal Accountability Act that would force these big money corporate lobbyists out of the shadows and into the light of day?
Vic Toews ConservativePresident of the Treasury Board
Mr. Speaker, I am very proud of what our government has done in terms of the Federal Accountability Act. It has prevented the type of lobbying and the type of money movement that was very commonplace under the prior government.
The pre-publication under the lobbyist regulation will take place in January. We are hoping to see implementation next year, perhaps in the middle of the year.
Thomas Mulcair NDP Outremont, QC
Mr. Speaker, yesterday we learned that , once again, former Liberal minister Marc Lalonde has paid $100,000 in bail for Karlheinz Schreiber. Today, in the Halifax Chronicle Herald, there is a fascinating article by Stephen Maher explaining that Mr. Lalonde, a former Liberal minister, failed to register as a lobbyist for Bear Head Industries Limited, Karlheinz Schreiber's company.
Our question is very simple. What is the use of having a lobbyist law if it is not implemented and if the Bart Simpson defence can be used, “I didn't do it. Nobody saw me do it. You can't prove anything”?
Peter Van Loan ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform
Mr. Speaker, this happened at another time under another government. In fact, I believe that happened in a case under the Liberal government.
Right now we have changed the laws regarding lobbying, toughening them up considerably, and the obligation is of course upon the lobbyists to respect those laws. There are serious consequences if they do not because we wanted to cleanup Ottawa. We wanted to cleanup lobbying. We have acted and we have done that.
Tina Keeper Liberal Churchill, MB
Mr. Speaker, women are far more likely than men to experience extended periods of low income and greater depths of poverty. Poverty means isolation and exclusion. It has devastating impacts for women and their children.
When is the government going to respond to the real needs of Canadian women and come up with real action to reduce poverty in Canada?
Monte Solberg ConservativeMinister of Human Resources and Social Development
Mr. Speaker, as I told the member yesterday, thankfully because the economy is hot, we are seeing decreasing levels of poverty in all kinds of groups, including women.
We want to take advantage of that hot job market, which is why we are investing more in training today than any government ever has. We are putting more into affordable housing than any government ever has. We are providing more support for child care than any government in history.
That is a terrific record. What is shameful is the fact that the Liberal leader wants to take away support for Canadian families, the universal child care benefit, and that will hurt--
Patricia Davidson Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON
Mr. Speaker, today the Liberals continue to demonstrate that they are all talk and no action when it comes to women.
The Liberals claim they listen to women, but the actions of the Liberal leader say otherwise, when he has demoted a number of women in his caucus and replaced them with men. Our government is taking meaningful action on issues that matter to women.
Can the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Status of Women provide some examples of what we are doing?
Josée Verner ConservativeMinister of Canadian Heritage
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for providing the opportunity to point out the facts.
It was under our government that the budget for the women's program rose by 42% to a record high of $15.3 million.
We are the first government in Canadian history to have appointed a Parliamentary Secretary for Status of Women.
We are the party that has provided significant support for women and that is making a difference.
The opposition parties should put more effort into directly helping the most vulnerable women rather than putting all their efforts into unfounded statements—
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
Order.
This concludes oral question period for today.
The chief government whip on a point of order.
Jay Hill ConservativeSecretary of State and Chief Government Whip
Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among all parties and with the approval of the sponsor, I think you would find unanimous consent to move immediately to the taking of the deferred recorded division on private members Motion No. 315, standing in the name of the member for Niagara West—Glanbrook, and that the bells summoning members be dispensed with.
The House resumed from December 4 consideration of the motion.
(The House divided on the motion, which was negatived on the following division:)
Jay Hill Conservative Prince George—Peace River, BC
Mr. Speaker, since we have all members in attendance and in the interest of efficiency, I think you might find unanimous consent to put the question immediately on the Ways and Means Motion No. 5 listed on today's order paper.