Debates of Feb. 1st, 2007

Guantanamo Bay

[Bill Graham, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is important to recognize that respect for human rights is important for our own security and for the future of our countries and reaction around the world is telling us that actions like Guantanamo Bay are making the United States less secure and less able to fight extremism by promoting human rights.

We put it to members of the House that in failing to protest, the government makes Canadians complicit in this behaviour and, in the end, makes Canada less secure.

Will the Prime Minister now pick up the challenge and speak for Canadians and tell President Bush that we need to have that--

[The Speaker, Peter Milliken]

The hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs.

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, both this government and previous governments have always condemned torture and human rights violations. However, it is a bit rich now, the feigned indignation coming from the former foreign affairs minister, to stand and give us a lecture when we could easily turn the question back to him. This file did not just start when we took office. The member has as much to answer for as anyone in posing those questions.

The Environment

[Bernard Bigras, Bloc, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after his meeting with Claude Béchard yesterday, the Minister of the Environment refused to speak to the media. The previous day, he said that projects put forward would have to meet criteria that were acceptable to the federal government in order for Quebec to receive a proposed $328 million payment. In essence, the Minister of the Environment has reached the same point as his Liberal predecessor, who ruined everything with his interference and intransigence.

Should we see this as a sign that he plans to take the same approach and negative attitude toward Quebec as his predecessor?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, I had a very good meeting with my colleague, the environment minister of Quebec. I am absolutely certain that we can achieve better results by working with this minister than with Quebec's former environment minister, André Boisclair.

[Bernard Bigras, Bloc, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of the Environment says that he wants to know Quebec's greenhouse gas reduction targets before paying the promised $328 million.

How can the Minister of the Environment have the gall to demand reduction targets from others when his government is unable to announce any of its own, when Quebec unveiled its plan some time ago and when this plan is recognized as the best in Canada?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, I will tell my Bloc colleague that I never said there were conditions, because we never gave an answer. I was at the meeting yesterday to find out what Quebec needs, and I understood the importance of the environment and actions to reduce greenhouse gases. I am very impressed. The minister gave me a great deal of information about the work that has been done in Quebec. I am quite willing to work and to continue to work with him to reduce greenhouse gases.

Government Appointments

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, for years the Conservatives criticized the Liberals for their partisan appointments. It seems like the Conservatives have caught the same bug because they have appointed the Conservative candidate for the riding of Mississauga—Streetsville, Mr. Gill, to the Citizenship Court, leaving the way clear for the Prime Minister's special advisor on the Middle East, the most recent defector to the Conservative Party.

How can the Prime Minister explain that after vehemently denouncing the partisan appointments of the Liberals, he is using the same method to compensate this defeated candidate for services rendered?

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform]

Mr. Speaker, this government is committed to appointing only qualified people to positions like citizenship judges. In terms of the citizenship judges, the process that was put in place by the previous Liberal government was for a former Liberal staffer to do the vetting.

Obviously that is not a transparent and accountable process. We will be bringing in a new process that will actually serve the interests of Canadians and ensure that citizenship judges are qualified and accountable.

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in this context, we see that the Federal Accountability Act was nothing but smoke and mirrors and hypocrisy.

Will the Prime Minister admit that this partisan appointment flies in the face of the Federal Accountability Act because at the first opportunity he has used the same approach he criticized the Liberals of using by appointing cronies to sort out his party's problems?

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform]

Mr. Speaker, the government makes no apologies for making very qualified appointments and that is the test that we make.

In the case in question, the senior judge from the citizenship court, who is responsible for that process, indicated that “the recent nominees were indeed qualified to do the job and trained to carry out their duties”.

We are proud to once again have appointed qualified people to serve Canada.

Aeronautics Industry

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

Mr. Speaker, since the Minister of Public Works and Government Services still does not have the courage to appear in this House, he was questioned in the other chamber about the economic benefits associated with the purchase of C-17 aircraft from Boeing. We were told that this was a matter of regional economic development, and that the Minister of Public Works and Government Services was therefore not responsible for the issue. He therefore did not answer. He has no answer here and he has no answer there.

Can we at least know who is responsible for this untendered contract? Is it the unelected Minister of Public Works and Government Services or one of his colleagues?

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, I think that my opposition colleague is a little upset because we are doing what his party never did for the last 13 years, that is, letting contracts that have benefits for Canadian society as a whole, at the best possible price.

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

Mr. Speaker, what we do not do is kneel down before the Americans.

What we know is that an unelected minister is responsible for signing a contract worth several billion dollars without inviting bids. Those billions of dollars belong to Canadians.

What we have is a minister who cannot answer for his actions here in the House. He does not want to answer in the place where he is. So much for transparency; so much for accountability.

Can we at least know whether the Minister required, before signing, that Boeing commit to making new investments in Canada? Have we been had a little or a lot?

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, over $13 billion in economic spinoffs will be invested in high quality technology for firms in the aeronautics industry and other industries. That is what the military purchases will secure for Canadian companies. I do not understand why my opposition colleague is opposed to benefits for all Canadian companies.

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, over the years, governments have all ensured that for every dollar spent to purchase military equipment there would be a dollar of economic benefits for Canada.

For the C-17 purchase, can the Minister of Industry assure us that the spinoffs for Canada will be 100% of the value of the contract?

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question and I congratulate him on his appointment. The answer to his question is yes.

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, reports indicate that Boeing will in fact not be required to invest 100% of its $3.4 billion contract value into direct industrial benefits here in Canada.

Why is the minister allowing Boeing to rewrite Canada's industrial and aerospace policies? Why is the Canadian Minister of Industry failing to fight for Canadian industry by ensuring that 100% of the benefits will be direct benefits here in Canada?

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, the government is committed to ensuring that we receive dollar for dollar in Canadian industrial benefits. It is most important for us and we will have that. There will be direct and indirect benefits for Canada.

Public Safety

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Lévis—Bellechasse, QC]

Mr. Speaker, one year ago, Canadians elected a Conservative government to bring responsible management back to Ottawa after 13 years of Liberal mismanagement.

Allegations concerning the misuse of public funds and the waste of Canadian taxpayers' money, firearms that remain unaccounted for and numerous financial irregularities have been reported with respect to funding for the Kanesatake Mohawk police.

Can the Minister of Public Safety tell us what he plans to do to expose yet another Liberal fiasco?

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, there are serious allegations of mismanagement concerning funding for the Kanesatake police service. Unlike the former government, our government does not tolerate mismanagement of Canadian taxpayers' funds. We want answers to our questions and we want to find out who is responsible. I have asked for a forensic audit. I intend to shed some light on yet another Liberal fiasco.

Canadian Television Fund

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have a confession to make. I had thought that the attack on the Canadian television fund and the outrageous spectacle of cable TV barons publicly defying their licence was a result of the fact that we have a minister who just cannot stand up and do her job. However, now I learn, from the details of her back room meeting with industry, a whole different picture. Industry says that the CTF is “dead, done, gone” and that it has the minister on its side.

Was the minister simply unable to stand up to the cable TV barons or was she in for the fix from the get-go?

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, again the member is over-exaggerating to say the least, misleading the House. Once again he proves he does not know this file, he does not know the industry and he does not know the responsibilities of a member of government.

One thing I will say is this government understands that we have a serious situation in hand. I have met with the participants and I will continue to meet with the participants. We will take the necessary steps to ensure that Canadians have a good Canadian production industry and a strong broadcasting system.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, let us be perfectly clear. The minister who is charged with defending the Canadian television fund has been an opponent of this concept from the beginning.

When she was the CRTC commissioner she was the dissenting voice against the creation of the cable production fund. She was opposed to making cable companies pay up and now she is in a position to oversee the killing of this fund.

I want to hear from her that she will stand up to the industry officials and defy what they said. When they say that this fund is now dead, done, gone, where is she taking her orders? Is she taking them from her pals in industry, or is she going to take them from this House of Parliament?

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, this government and I as the minister are committed to all Canadians.

Again I point out that misleading and deception do not serve Canadians at all. I have always stood up for Canadian productions, but I have also always stood up for cable subscribers. I have always stood up to ensure that the needed resources for any Canadian industry should be there and that responsibility should be shared fairly and equitably across the system.