No.
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.
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.
Jacques Gourde Conservative Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC
In its 17 years in Ottawa, did the Bloc put in place one measure to help farmers?
Jacques Gourde Conservative Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC
In its 17 years in Ottawa, did the Bloc reduce taxes for corporations, workers and seniors?
Jacques Gourde Conservative Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC
Is it of any use to have 49 Bloc members in Ottawa?
Jacques Gourde Conservative Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC
Recognizing the Quebec nation in Ottawa means having Conservative members with the means to put words into action.
Status of WomenOral Questions
December 5th, 2007 / 2:20 p.m.
Saint-Laurent—Cartierville Québec
Liberal
Stéphane Dion LiberalLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government ignores the issues facing women today.
Women still face discrimination and violence every day in Canada and yet the Conservative government went so far as to delete the word “equality” from the mandate of Status of Women Canada.
The only question is, why? Why would the government delete equality as a goal for Canadian women?
Stephen Harper ConservativePrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth.
I read that the Liberal Party has released a new book on women's issues but I read in the wire story here that the leader of the Liberal Party would not commit to putting these recommendations in his electoral platform.
I guess, having read that the leader of the Liberal Party has adopted the strategy of General Kutuzov, I wonder if this is just another example of him retreating from his own positions.
Stéphane Dion LiberalLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, wait until the Prime Minister sees the Liberal platform in the next election.
Look at what his government has done to women. It abolished the court challenges program. It closed 12 regional Status of Women offices. It abolished federal-provincial child care agreements, robbing women and thousands of parents of thousands and thousands of child care spaces.
Why is this government so indifferent to the serious difficulties facing women?
Stephen Harper ConservativePrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, the leader of the Liberal Party retreated from his own position twice on the first day of his new policy.
This government has replaced funding for bureaucracies with funding that goes directly to women's programs. This government has replaced funding for child care bureaucracies with payments that go directly to women and their families.
The Leader of the Liberal Party has promised to eliminate these benefits and that is just bad policy. This party is going to maintain these benefits for Canadian women.
Stéphane Dion LiberalLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is very nervous about the progress his platform will have in the next campaign for women in Canada.
Women in Canada continue to suffer discrimination. They continue to suffer abuse and violence. They continue to struggle for basic equality and, on all of this, the government's track record is abysmal.
Why should Canadian women trust anything the government says?
Stephen Harper ConservativePrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, this government has brought in new laws to protect women from violence. Members of that party have said that their government would repeal those laws.
This government has brought in new benefits for women and for children and their families directly to those families. The leader of the Liberal Party says that he would take those things away.
This government has taken programs that used to spend money on offices and bureaucracy and has spent it directly on Canadian women and the Liberal Party is opposed to that. That is why men and women will vote against that party and re-elect this government.
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
Order, please. I know it is Wednesday and there is plenty of enthusiasm but we have to be able to hear the member who has the floor.
The hon. member for Newmarket—Aurora now has the floor. We will have some order.
Belinda Stronach Liberal Newmarket—Aurora, ON
Mr. Speaker, many women in Canada cannot access legal aid for family law matters, even when they are leaving abusive relationships. The Liberal government was working with the provinces to develop a new agreement to give these women better legal access.
For the sake of these women and for their children, when will the government develop an agreement with the provinces?
Rob Nicholson ConservativeMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, it is very interesting. The Liberals say that they were working on it. In fact, the whole question of civil legal aid was cut by that group of people in 1995. It was their own action that did it.
That being said, we are committed to the family violence initiative. I am pleased the Department of Justice is involved with that. We help individual groups that address domestic violence. It is an important issue and a serious one for Canadians.
I continue to work with federal-provincial counterparts. We have done a lot and we will do more.
Belinda Stronach Liberal Newmarket—Aurora, ON
Mr. Speaker, in October the minister threatened that the organizations that criticized the government may lose their funding. She said, “I am surprised that certain organizations that receive our financial support criticize our support for the cause of women”.
These organizations defend women's rights and try to improve the quality of life for Canadian families. Why is the minister threatening these groups?
Josée Verner ConservativeMinister of Canadian Heritage
Mr. Speaker, I would simply like to correct what the hon. member just said. Perhaps since her French is not very good, she misinterpreted what she read in the newspaper.
This is what our government is doing for women. Among other things, we have increased by over 42% the budget for Status of Women Canada programs. In the first group of projects that have been announced, 34 projects are for fighting—
Gilles Duceppe Bloc Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC
Mr. Speaker, when questioned yesterday by the Bloc Québécois about the lack of an assistance plan for the manufacturing sector, the Minister of Industry had the gall to reply: “I am pleased to see that the Quebec government finally decided to put a plan into action”. I would like to remind the minister that Canada has a budget surplus of $11.6 billion for 2007-08 and that the federal government still has not introduced a plan to help the manufacturing industry.
Will the Prime Minister do his part for the manufacturing sector and its workers and introduce a plan to help the entire sector now?
Stephen Harper ConservativePrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, in the 2007 budget, this government introduced incentives for the manufacturing sector. The sector welcomed this government's budget, and we are already seeing the results. We are seeing new investment in machinery and equipment for this sector. In the throne speech, this government recognized the need to do more, and we will take action.
Gilles Duceppe Bloc Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC
Mr. Speaker, the crisis in manufacturing and forestry is far from over. Mr. Béchard, the minister from Quebec, has said as much. Jean-Luc Trahan of the Quebec association of manufacturers and exporters has called on the federal government to do something in the short term to help manufacturers.
Why did the Prime Minister choose to make tax cuts that will mainly benefit the oil companies, when he could have used his economic statement to announce measures to help the manufacturing and forestry sectors?