House of Commons Hansard #109 of the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was detainees.
Lucienne Robillard Liberal Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC
Mr. Speaker, the minister and the CRTC have finally woken up, but it is too little, too late. Yesterday, Quebecor announced that it could not waste any more time and that it would invest in its own fund from now on, which will have a negative impact on the leverage of government contributions. The minister refused to comment again this morning.
Does the minister realize that her lack of leadership is jeopardizing Canadian broadcasting policy?
Maxime Bernier ConservativeMinister of Industry
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Canadian Heritage spoke this morning in committee and her message was clear. The minister said that all stakeholders must obey the law, comply with legislation and make their monthly payments.
This side of the House feels that the protection of Canadian content in television programing is important. We are committed to this and we are asking the CRTC to do its job in this file.
Lucienne Robillard Liberal Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Canadian cultural community is certainly not reassured to see that the Minister of Industry is following in the tracks of the Minister of Canadian Heritage with his laissez-faire approach to the free market in Canada. The minister still needs to be reminded of her responsibilities.
Why does she want to dismantle the Canadian Television Fund on the sly? Why is she allowing two private companies to dictate Canadian cultural policy?
What next? Does she want to abolish the CBC too?
Maxime Bernier ConservativeMinister of Industry
Mr. Speaker, one would think we were in the middle of an election campaign. The opposition is trying to scare Canadians. The opposition is distorting the minister's remarks. It is important to bear in mind that businesses must respect their obligations and we must ensure that they do so. This is very important to the members on this side of the House and I hope to have the support of the opposition in ensuring that Shaw, Vidéotron and all other Canadian businesses respect their legal obligations.
Richard Nadeau Bloc Gatineau, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Commissioner of Official Languages has stated that he was not consulted when the Canadian Forces' new bilingualism policy was being developed.
How could the minister responsible for official languages defend the Canadian Forces' policy last week without hesitation, when even the Commissioner of Official Languages was not consulted?
Gordon O'Connor ConservativeMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, the previous commissioner of official languages reviewed the military's plan for languages and found it to be quite satisfactory.
Richard Nadeau Bloc Gatineau, QC
Mr. Speaker, the commissioner has also criticized the late date of 2012 and said, “I don't want to wait until 2012 to see whether this approach works better than others”.
How can a minister from Quebec who is responsible for defending la Francophonie abdicate her responsibilities and let the commissioner of official languages express serious concerns that she should have had in the first place?
Gordon O'Connor ConservativeMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday, the previous plan was declared a failure year after year by the language commissioner. The military revised the plan and we will now work toward meeting all the requirements of the Official Languages Act.
Denis Coderre Liberal Bourassa, QC
Mr. Speaker, it has been more than a week since the Minister of National Defence avoided our question on detainee abuse in Afghanistan.
Even the chairman of the Military Police Complaints Commission has said:
--the relevant military authorities have already had considerable opportunity to initiate internal processes, but have waited until this public complaint to do so.
Could the minister explain to the House why he failed to act sooner? Why the cover-up?
Gordon O'Connor ConservativeMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, I completely reject any idea of a cover-up in our department.
Three investigations are going on right now: the military investigation service, a board of inquiry and now the Military Police Complaints Commission. They are all unfettered as they carry on with their investigations. Whatever results they find will be published and the public will be aware of them.
Ron Cannan Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country, BC
Mr. Speaker, the United Nations General Assembly recently adopted the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which is the result of negotiations that concluded on December 13, 2006.
Given Canada's continued engagement in this important issue, could the Minister of Foreign Affairs tell the House what Canada's plans are with respect to the signing and ratification of this convention?
Peter MacKay ConservativeMinister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Mr. Speaker, Canada was very proud to have participated in this important negotiation on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The recently finalized convention promises to be an important tool for the protection and promotion of human rights of persons with disabilities. The convention, of course, is an essential part which will need to be consulted with the provinces and territories as they will be responsible for implementing these changes in relation to the education, health and employment of persons with disabilities.
We are looking forward to working actively and expeditiously with the provinces to see that we bring this matter forward in a positive way. I know all members will want to do the same.
Paul Dewar NDP Ottawa Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, partisan appointments were supposed to be a thing of the past with this so-called new government but today we learned that the wife of a long time assistant to the former minister of justice has been appointed to the Parole Board.
While this appointee is a qualified parole officer who no doubt deserves consideration, the appearance of patronage taints the appointment.
Will the government accept that transparency is what ordinary Canadians want in the public appointments process?
Peter Van Loan ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform
Mr. Speaker, I welcome the opportunity to discuss the quality of the appointments we are making.
The individual in question, Patricia Haasbeek, has incredible qualifications to be on the Parole Board: a certificate in criminology, a correctional officer's certificate from Manitoba justice, applied counselling with the University of Manitoba and chemical dependency intervention. In fact, she worked in corrections and domestic violence for almost three decades.
Ms. Haasbeek is someone who is eminently qualified, typical of the kind of people we are putting forward, in contrast to the kind of people that used to be put forward by the Liberals for the board, like Robert Besner, a former Liberal candidate in 2004 in British Columbia.
Paul Dewar NDP Ottawa Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, he forgot one thing: a long time Conservative.
Had the government simply adhered to the NDP amendments to the Accountability Act, this appointment would be above reproach. To be clear, the Conservatives had a choice. They could have chosen the quick establishment of the public appointments commission but they chose patronage as usual.
Will the government do the right thing, stop its dithering and set up the NDP proposed public appointments commission immediately?
Peter Van Loan ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform
Mr. Speaker, we did the right thing again in appointing a very highly qualified individual to the Parole Board. We did try to put in place an appointments commission but, as the member will recall, it was the NDP, together with the other opposition parties, that led the charge to discredit a highly qualified individual.
Had we had that process in place, this question would be academic. We wish the opposition members had supported it, instead of dragging people's names through the mud as they like to do.
Denis Coderre Liberal Bourassa, QC
Mr. Speaker, on the issue of the abuse that some Afghan detainees have suffered, the behaviour of the Minister of National Defence is cause for concern. He is in the know, he has received documents. There is proof that he receives reports every time detainees are transferred. Now, he is refusing to answer, because he is hiding behind the investigations.
Given that he knows more than he is letting on, how will he respond to these investigations? Is he willing to testify? Is he willing to release the documents? Is he willing to tell us what he knows, or will he stick his head in the sand as usual?
Gordon O'Connor ConservativeMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, I can assure this House that at no time was I aware of any abuse of prisoners, period.
I will remind this House that three investigative activities are going on right now: the National Investigation Service, the Board of Inquiry and the Military Police Complaints Commission. They will get to the bottom of it.
Laurie Hawn Conservative Edmonton Centre, AB
Mr. Speaker, the rules requiring all air travellers to present acceptable documentation for travel to the United States are now in effect. For most Canadians, a passport will be the document of choice but for frequent travellers to the U.S. there is an alternative in the NEXUS program.
Could the Minister of Public Safety please tell this House how a membership in the NEXUS program can expedite border clearance?
Stockwell Day ConservativeMinister of Public Safety
Mr. Speaker, I was pleased to be in Toronto yesterday at Pearson International Airport where we announced the extension of the NEXUS program. It has been successfully piloted in Vancouver. Thousands of Canadians now enjoy the program.
Any Canadian citizen or permanent resident can apply for the program with a background check. Once they receive the card they will be able to cross the border at any of the airports. It eventually will be extended across Canada. With the card, people only need to look into an iris screener, touch the screen for quick access to the questions and then they can immediately cross the border. Children 18 years and younger can also apply for the program free of charge.
Ralph Goodale Liberal Wascana, SK
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Agriculture and it concerns the barley vote that is just beginning.
Could the minister explain to barley producers why he has put a proposition before farmers, which is in fact a nullity and an impossibility to achieve? In fact, his own task force told him that the middle option, purporting to have one's cake and eat it too, is a physical impossibility. Why has he tainted the whole vote by including that nullity in his question?
Chuck Strahl ConservativeMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board
Mr. Speaker, it is not confusing to farmers, I can tell the member that. However, it may be confusing to Liberals.
Yesterday I met with about 40 or 50 farmers in Saskatoon. It was a typical farmer meeting held in a coffee shop and where both sides of the issue were represented. The farmers were very clear on what exactly we were talking about.
We can have either on the ballot. We can have the status quo, which is the monopoly that the Wheat Board has, or we can get rid of the Wheat Board. That is not our position but it is a position that somebody might take. Some people may want to market their own barley. Some people may choose the Wheat Board while others may not. I hope a lot of farmers choose that second option because it is a good one.
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
I would like to draw to the attention of hon. members the presence in the gallery of the Honourable Mary Anne Chambers, Minister Responsible for Children and Youth Services for Ontario.
The House resumed consideration of the motion that Bill C-35, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (reverse onus in bail hearings for firearm-related offences), be read the second time and referred to a committee.