Debates of Feb. 14th, 2007

Air Transportation

[Serge Ménard, Bloc, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government is preparing to compile a no-fly list. A similar list put together by the United States included some surprises: Senator Edward Kennedy, the singer Yusuf Islam—formerly known as Cat Stevens—and a number of peace activists and environmentalists. Maher Arar's name is still on the list, along with his wife's and those of his young children.

Can the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities tell us what he plans to do to ensure that such errors do not occur in Canada?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for his question.

As he knows, draft regulations concerning inclusion criteria have already been published for consultation. He must also be aware that individuals will have the opportunity to dispute the inclusion of their names on the list. I would emphasize that the critical purpose of developing this list is to ensure that people who travel by air—passengers—can do so securely.

[Serge Ménard, Bloc, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I know that the minister is also planning to use a committee. A committee is all well and good, but even if the committee members are competent beyond reproach and completely unbiased, even if they are the most objective and best informed people in the world, I think it would be impossible to make up such a list without making numerous errors.

How does the minister plan to compensate the victims of such errors? What exactly will he do to prevent racial profiling?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, that is exactly why we undertook consultations. I should add that as part of the consultations, we met with all organizations, intermediary bodies and individuals with a vested interest in this matter and gave their comments due consideration.

Afghanistan

[Caroline St-Hilaire, Bloc, Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the release this morning of a study on Afghan hospitals by the Senlis Council again underscores the imbalance between the military side of the mission in Afghanistan and the humanitarian side. We need to remember that in Bosnia, $325 per inhabitant was spent annually on humanitarian development, whereas in Afghanistan, less than $50 per inhabitant is being spent.

How many reports like this one will have to be issued before this government decides to rebalance Canada's mission in Afghanistan?

[Josée Verner, Conservative, Minister of International Cooperation and Minister for la Francophonie and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, the first thing we did when we took power was to increase the budget for development in Afghanistan. In this way, we made sure we could do what we had set out to do in Afghanistan.

[Caroline St-Hilaire, Bloc, Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the minister.

The disgraceful condition of the hospital in Kandahar, as described in this report, dramatically illustrates the weakness of the humanitarian side of the mission. We are talking about a place of death, not a hospital.

Given that the Taliban could launch an offensive in the spring, does the government not believe that investing in medical infrastructure would send a strong message that Canada is there to help the Afghan people?

[Josée Verner, Conservative, Minister of International Cooperation and Minister for la Francophonie and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc member does not seem to understand yet that Canada is there to provide Afghanistan with development assistance. We are closely monitoring the situation at the Kandahar hospital.

As you know, we are working with our partners in the field. As soon as needs are identified, we allocate funds so that projects can be carried out.

Automobile Industry

[Mario Silva, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's auto industry has a reputation for being among the best in the world. The previous Liberal government invested billions of dollars to keep it at the front of the global pack. However, in only one short year, Canadians are already seeing the effects of a careless attitude toward the auto sector, one that lacks a vision for economic development. As a result, Canadians are losing jobs, 2,000 of them today at Chrysler.

When will the government wake up and address the urgent need of Canada's manufacturing sector?

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to inform my hon. colleague that, over the past 24 months, GM has invested $2.5 billion in the Canadian auto industry, Ford has invested $1.2 billion, and Toyota, $1.6 billion.

The auto industry is meeting the global challenges it faces. It will meet these challenges and, when necessary, it has the support of this government.

[Mario Silva, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's auto industry became, for the first time, a net importer in 2006. International competition is racing ahead of us, and the government is content to sit idly by. Every day we see new headlines of job losses, but no plan, not even a response, from the government.

Where is the support for thousands of workers who are losing manufacturing jobs under the government?

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, we are in constant dialogue with the auto industry. Last week, I spoke with the Canadian Auto Workers union in order to ensure the smoothest possible transition to allow this industry to remain competitive. Unlike our Liberal opposition colleagues, we do more than talk; we act.

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Mississauga—Brampton South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague said, today Chrysler announced 2,000 job cuts in Canada, and this is just another example of a disturbing trend since the Conservatives took power. Under the Conservative government's watch, Statistics Canada reported a $1.2 billion trade deficit in the auto industry, the first such deficit in 18 years.

Why does the government have no plan to address the massive job losses in the auto sector?

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know where the member opposite was when we tabled our budget last year. The plan is there and it is very clear what we will do.

What we are doing right now is lowering taxes for all enterprises, all corporations. Why? To ensure that they will have money to invest, to be productive and to continue to work in Canada and be prosperous.

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Mississauga—Brampton South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the government's rhetoric is as empty as the factories across Canada. It has no plan.

We all know that the Conservative government is aggressively pursuing trade negotiations with South Korea. While Canada imports thousands of vehicles from Asia every year, we lack the ability to export our cars to protected Asian markets.

Could the Minister of International Trade assure Canadian workers that he will pursue fair trade with South Korea and will fight to protect Canadian jobs?

[David Emerson, Conservative, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics]

Mr. Speaker, I recognize, and the hon. member I am sure recognizes, that it has been over five years since Canada entered into any bilateral free trade agreements.

The government is committed to opening up trade. The government is committed to negotiating better market access into Asian economies. We are having discussions with Korea. Those discussions have not ended and they will not end until we are confident we have an agreement that is in the best interests of Canada.

Terrorism

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, an online message posted by al-Qaeda declares:

—we should strike petroleum interests in all areas which supply the United States...like Canada...

That same organization was behind the thwarted February 2006 suicide attack on the world's largest oil processing facility in Saudi Arabia.

My question is for the Prime Minister. Are Canadians better prepared to defend ourselves against these types of terrorist attacks with or without the anti-terrorism measure that the Liberals are so determined to let expire?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, this news today should remind us of why the government is trying to renew the provisions of the Anti-terrorism Act, designed to protect the safety and security of Canadians.

The act was passed originally with bipartisan support. Former deputy prime minister John Manley said today in supporting these measures:

The most important responsibility of government is the preservation of order and the protection of its citizens.

I urge all members not to play partisan politics with national security. I understand the leader of the Liberal Party may have difficulty supporting our measures, but at least he maybe can rally the strength of leadership to support his own legislation.

Status of Women

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today is Valentine's Day, but women are seeking more than just flowers or chocolates. What the women of Canada want is equality.

Under the Liberals, we watched women fall further and further behind because of inaction. The Conservative government has made it worse. Over $5 million has been cut from women's programs, and women today still make 30% less than men.

Could the Prime Minister tell us how much further women will fall behind before his government takes action on women's equality?

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

Mr. Speaker, as the House knows, we have committed $5 million to serve women directly in their communities.

Women will work ahead because in every community across the country there are organizations that are now applying for support so they can help their neighbours, their neighbours' families and their neighbours' children.

[Irene Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the government does not support women and it does not have any intention of promoting equality.

The government took $5 million from Status of Women Canada. In 1989, 14 women were murdered in Montreal. Since then, 65 women have gone missing in Vancouver and hundreds of Canadian women in between.

We will not stay quiet. We will not tolerate violence. We will not rest until we have equality, pay equity and real child care. When can Canadian women finally achieve real equality in our country?

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

Mr. Speaker, the women in Canada know that they will achieve full participation in Canadian society when they continue to support the government.

This government is a government that does not just talk about equality. It is offering opportunity for women to realize their equality in every aspect of Canadian life. Women in Canada realize this. That is why this party is the government now and will be for a long time to come.

Passports

[Yasmin Ratansi, Liberal, Don Valley East, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in January the foreign affairs minister denied that the Conservative government's incompetence had left thousands of Canadians without a passport.

Now the Auditor General confirms what angry Canadians already know; that the Conservatives have no plan to deal with the surge of applications predicted last summer by the government.

While the foreign affairs minister junkets overseas on his diplomatic passport, why has his government's incompetence stranded thousands of Canadians unable to get a passport?

[Helena Guergis, Conservative, Secretary of State (Foreign Affairs and International Trade) (Sport)]

Mr. Speaker, it is a sad fact that the previous Liberal government did very little about the observations made by the Auditor General in 2005. We have made significant progress. I would like to quote the Auditor General, who has said:

I am pleased with the progress Passport Canada has made in the relatively short time since our 2005 audit.

[Yasmin Ratansi, Liberal, Don Valley East, ON]

Mr. Speaker, that is a totally ridiculous answer from an incompetent government. The Auditor General specifically has singled out the Conservatives because they have no plan. One Vancouver newspaper said that the lack of action on the part of the government is:

—absolutely unforgivable...a sign of sheer incompetence on the parts of both [the] Public Security Minister...and [the] Foreign Affairs Minister...

When will the minister provide Canadians with a wait time guarantee on their passport application?