House of Commons Hansard #111 of the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was aboriginal.
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
Order, please. The Leader of the Opposition has the floor to pose his next question. Order, please.
Stéphane Dion Liberal Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC
Mr. Speaker, our party has the utmost respect for the Canadian police force, but it also has great respect for the independence of judges. That is what is at issue.
The Prime Minister's admission caused an outcry across Canada.
All the experts condemn his ideological leaning: former Chief Justice Claire L'Heureux-Dubé; Stéphane Rivard, president of the Quebec Bar; Parker MacCarthy from the Canadian Bar Association, the Canadian Judicial Council, and so on.
Will the Prime Minister stop imposing his ideological choices? Will he restore the independence of the judicial advisory committees?
Stephen Harper ConservativePrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, if the leader of the Liberal Party respected and trusted the police, he would support the decisions of this government to have the police perspective within our independent committees to provide advice on judicial appointments. On the contrary, the leader of the Liberal Party is opposed to that.
That is not the only criminal justice reform he opposes. The leader of the Liberal Party has teamed up with the Bloc to fight against mandatory prison sentences for gun crimes. He has teamed up with the Bloc to oppose legislation to crack down on dangerous offenders. His soft on crime policies are wrong for this country.
Stéphane Dion LiberalLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, while the Prime Minister is busy rigging the courts, thousands of jobs are being lost in our auto and manufacturing sectors. His government is doing absolutely nothing to help Canadian workers.
If the Prime Minister does not share his industry minister's appalling indifference and laissez-faire, where is his plan to help our auto workers?
Stephen Harper ConservativePrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, of course now the leader of the Liberal Party, having raised the subject of crime, would like to change the subject. I am not surprised that he would like to change the subject because he is not just soft on crime.
For the first time in history we have a leader of the opposition who is soft on terrorism. He is refusing to take the advice of Bob Rae, John Manley and Anne McLellan, and to back the anti-terrorism provisions that his own government put in place.
Michael Ignatieff Liberal Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON
Mr. Speaker, instead of posturing on the subject of crime, this side of the House would like to be smart on crime.
The government has displayed astonishing arrogance toward the institutions of our country. Its attempt to change the rules for appointing judges demonstrates a lack of respect for the judiciary. As for Parliament, last night the Minister of the Environment called a bill passed by the House a joke. The court system should not be manipulated and no bill passed by the House of Commons is ever a joke.
When will this arrogance stop? When will the Prime Minister begin to show respect for the institutions--
Stephen Harper ConservativePrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, the deputy leader of the Liberal Party would like to claim that the policies of the previous government that saw such a rise in gun, gang and drug crime were somehow smart on crime.
I would like to know how he explains today the report that under his government the National Parole Board awarded more than 100,000 pardons over the past six years, including two for murder convictions.
That is not smart on crime.
Michael Ignatieff Liberal Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON
Mr. Speaker, we are trying to have a serious debate on crime. We do not want demagoguery and manipulation of the facts.
This government has no plan for the environment. It has no plan for the economy and it has no plan to help less fortunate workers. Furthermore, it has no plan to address crime.
Why is its only plan to ignore the Constitution and consolidate the powers of the Prime Minister?
Rob Nicholson ConservativeMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals mumbled something about being smart. I will tell members what is not smart, it is their constant criticism over the last week with respect to police officers being on a judicial advisory committee.
I want to know what they have against police officers, and I want them to not just say it here. Go back to your riding and tell police officers why you do not want them to be part of the process. Go ahead.
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
I remind the Minister of Justice that he must address his remarks to the Chair.
The hon. member for Laurier—Sainte-Marie.
Gilles Duceppe Bloc Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC
Mr. Speaker, in the last election campaign, the Prime Minister told voters that they had nothing to fear from a Conservative government because there will always be, and I quote, "a Liberal Senate, a Liberal civil service, and courts that have been appointed by the Liberals", that would prevent him from exercising absolute power. And then yesterday, the Prime Minister confirmed, in this House, that he was now going to be interfering in the process of appointing judges so that he could have a judiciary that shares his values.
Will the Prime Minister admit that what he really wants is for his supposedly new government to appoint judges who think as he does?
Stephen Harper ConservativePrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, I have stated that the objective of this party is to make our communities and our streets safer and more secure for our children.
To that end, the government has created independent committees to provide advice about the appointment of judges. The committees will, for the first time, include the police perspective. It is important to have different perspectives. That is an important perspective.
I understand that the Bloc Québécois does not support attacking crime, but I think that Quebeckers and other Canadians support that policy.
Gilles Duceppe Bloc Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC
Mr. Speaker, the antigang bill was proposed by the Bloc, while the Conservatives had nothing to say. The reverse onus for property acquired through crime was proposed by the Bloc, and they had nothing to say. The new provisions to combat street gangs were proposed by the Bloc, and they had nothing to say.
Will he admit that while the Liberals were motivated by partisanship, they are motivated by ideology, and that they will lose public confidence? The public wants an independent judiciary, not George Bush-style control.
Stephen Harper ConservativePrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, it is the Bloc's ideology alone that is opposed to mandatory prison terms for crimes committed with firearms. It is the Bloc's ideology that is opposed to tackling repeat offenders and the most dangerous criminals in this country.
The Bloc Québécois is soft on crime. The Bloc's ideology is not a position that is supported by the people of Quebec.
Réal Ménard Bloc Hochelaga, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has just admitted that he wants to do judicial profiling. According to the Quebec bar, he will now be choosing judges based on criteria that should ordinarily disqualify them.
Does the Prime Minister not agree that by acting in this way, he is undermining the credibility of the legal system, which is based on judicial objectivity and impartiality? What meanspiritedness.
Rob Nicholson ConservativeMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, we have indicated that we have added police officers to the judicial advisory committees. These go in conjunction with representatives of the bar association, the judiciary, and representatives of attorneys general and the law societies. We think this is a positive addition.
If the member wants to talk about undermining, he is certainly undermining the police forces of this country and the wonderful job they do by continuously criticizing their addition to these committees.
Réal Ménard Bloc Hochelaga, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Bar Association says that if people do not believe that judges are impartial, they will lose confidence in the legal system.
How can the Prime Minister compromise the entire justice system for the sake of his ideology?
Rob Nicholson ConservativeMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, I really cannot believe that the member for the Bloc Québécois is making a statement like that. The members of our police forces across this country are absolutely committed to the best interests of our judicial system. They play an integral part in the safety of our communities. They should be respected and applauded for helping out in this particular area.
Jack Layton NDP Toronto—Danforth, ON
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada signed the Kyoto protocol 10 years ago. Parliament ratified it five years ago. Finally, yesterday, this Parliament adopted a bill requiring Canada to comply with the Kyoto protocol. This bill should have been adopted when the protocol was ratified, but because of the inaction of the Liberal Party, Canada has been very slow off the mark.
Why is the Prime Minister promising not to comply with a bill adopted by the majority of the people Canadians elected?
Stephen Harper ConservativePrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, this government is the first in Canada's history to promise to create a system to regulate greenhouse gases and air pollutants for all industries across the country.
As for yesterday's bill, I can only say that this bill is meaningless. There is no action plan and no authority to spend to achieve the targets.
Jack Layton NDP Toronto—Danforth, ON
Mr. Speaker, let me quote something for members:
I remind the House that the motion was nonetheless adopted and that the government is duty bound to respect the decisions made by the House of Commons.
Duty bound: that is what the current Prime Minister said in May 2005 when the Liberals refused to comply with the will of the House of Commons.
A majority of MPs expressed their will right here in the chamber yesterday and the Prime Minister is duty bound to respect it. Canada is a signatory to the Kyoto protocol and the Prime Minister is duty bound to respect it. Why will he not?
Stephen Harper ConservativePrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, this government has said it will bring in a national system of regulations for the control of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. At the same time, we will do so in a way that preserves jobs and the health of the Canadian economy.
As for the bill yesterday, of course if and when that becomes law the government would respect it. I would just point out that the bill has no plan of action in it. The bill gives the government no authority to spend any money to actually have a plan of action.
I guess this is what the leader of the Liberal Party has come to. He failed so badly on his own plan that he is now asking us to produce one for him.
Scott Brison Liberal Kings—Hants, NS
Mr. Speaker, the industry minister's think tank calls government investment in the auto sector an “ineffective subsidy program”.
The last industry minister, now the trade minister, knew how to help out the auto sector. He was part of a Liberal government that invested over $400 million in the auto sector because that was a Liberal government with a plan to help the auto sector. That plan was killed by the new Minister of Industry just as he is killing the auto sector in Canada.
Obviously the new industry minister does not know how to help the auto sector. Why does he not simply walk over and talk to the old industry minister?
Maxime Bernier ConservativeMinister of Industry
Mr. Speaker, after 13 long years those members did not produce any auto strategy. In fact, the Canadian auto industry is strong and better, and it is attracting mandates from the parent companies despite a worldwide restructuring situation.
Dennis DesRosiers of the automobile industry said in a recent study that Canadian auto assembly employment is up for the second year in a row, from 51,000 in 2004 to 52,000 in 2006.
It is a better investment climate in Canada. That is why employment is up.