Debates of Feb. 16th, 2007

Veterans Affairs

[Albina Guarnieri, Liberal, Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it has been over a year since the Prime Minister was chasing widows of second world war veterans with a promise to immediately deliver VIP benefits to all. It has also been a year since he vowed to “stand up for full compensation for persons exposed to defoliant spraying from 1956 to 1984”. Some 150,000 veterans now feel that they have been stood up.

Why has the Prime Minister become a fugitive from his own promise and deserted Canada's veterans?

[Betty Hinton, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows that the statement she has made is very far from the truth. In fact, we have been working diligently during the last year to improve everything that we promised we would improve.

The member, who sits on the committee as well, will know that we are about to get into the health care review which is part and parcel of what we promised we would do for our veterans in this country.

The Environment

[Dean Allison, Conservative, Niagara West—Glanbrook, ON]

Mr. Speaker, only moments after voting to support the Kyoto accord Wednesday night, Mr. Dithers, the former defeated Liberal prime minister, had his limo idling for two hours while he dined at the Rideau Club. Does this not smack of hypocrisy taken to a new level?

In contrast, our government is taking clear and decisive action on the environment. Just this week we announced various ecotransport initiatives for clean transportation.

Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities please tell the House how these initiatives will benefit Canadians?

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, that is right. Real results on the environment and for the health of Canadians are this government's priority, with $10 million to cut urban passenger transportation emissions announced this week, $36 million to encourage consumers to buy fuel efficient vehicles, and $61 million to reduce emissions from freight transportation.

We are getting real results. The Bloc can never get results. The Liberals did not deliver results. As for the results from the NDP, we just do not want them.

We want real results for Canadians' health and environment and we are going to get them.

Child Poverty

[France Bonsant, Bloc, Compton—Stanstead, QC]

Mr. Speaker, a UNICEF report ranks Canada 12th among the OECD countries with regard to the quality of children's lives.

This is unacceptable, given Canada's resources, as demonstrated by the $13 billion surplus. The government claims to be helping families by lowering taxes. Poor families do not pay taxes, however.

Consequently, what is the government waiting for to transfer the funds needed to improve our children's lives to Quebec and the provinces, which have the expertise?

[Lynne Yelich, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development]

Mr. Speaker, of course we are very concerned about child poverty. That is why we have addressed child poverty through some of the measures we have taken, most importantly the universal child care benefit. Every child under the age of six receives $100 per month, which equals $1,200 a year. We did that in the first half of our mandate and that includes every child under six in the member's riding. It does not matter which wage bracket they are in, and we are working for the poor.

Natural Resources

[Dennis Bevington, NDP, Western Arctic, NT]

Mr. Speaker, last week the Northwest Territories brought down its budget. In his speech, the NWT finance minister put the government on notice that we want progress and ownership of our natural resources through devolution. Like so many northerners, the NWT's finance minister said he is growing impatient with the lack of real progress on an issue so vital to the future of our territory.

The Prime Minister has personally promised quick action on these issues, but just like it was with the Liberals, there is no progress. All we have seen is the appointment of a former Mulroney cabinet minister, who says we have to start all over again.

This is unacceptable. When are northerners finally going to see some action?

[Rod Bruinooge, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Indian Affairs has been in discussions with Premier Handley on this important file, and of course we have appointed a negotiator to come to an agreement in principle, as we see devolution in the Northwest Territories as essential not only to Canada but to the future of the NWT.

Foreign Affairs

[Bryon Wilfert, Liberal, Richmond Hill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the international conference on cluster bombs will be held in Oslo next week. Canada is attending, but with little enthusiasm. Past Liberal governments have shown real leadership since the Ottawa convention, which reflected traditional Canadian values.

I realize that foreign affairs is foreign to the government, but will the government go to Oslo with concrete proposals and show real leadership or just be a Hollywood backdrop?

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

Mr. Speaker, as the member knows, Canada has a proud history of taking the lead on these important issues. We will in fact participate in the Norwegian meeting aimed at preventing the use and transfer of those cluster munitions, which have a significant humanitarian and development impact on civilians.

Government Response to Petitions

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8) I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to 17 petitions.

Procedure and House Affairs

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present the 34th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs regarding the membership of House committees.

If the House gives its consent, I move that the 34th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs concerning the membership of committees of the House presented to the House this day now be concurred in.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Does the hon. member for Hull—Aylmer have the unanimous consent of the House to introduce the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The House has heard the terms of the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

(Motion agreed to)

The Environment

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions to present.

The first petition is on behalf of many citizens from Duncan, who are requesting that the Government of Canada become part of the solution by renewing Canada's responsible commitment to the Kyoto treaty.

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is signed by people from across many parts of Canada. They are requesting that the government legislate programs consistent with meteorological reality and act immediately to reduce the climate change crisis by diminishing fossil fuel dependencies while sponsoring initiatives and incentives to promote less harmful technologies.

Genetic Use Restriction Technologies

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the final petition asks the government to legislate a permanent national ban on terminator technologies to ensure that these are never planted, field tested, patented or commercialized in Canada.

Human Trafficking

[Joy Smith, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Mr. Speaker, today I am presenting petitions from people all across Canada who are requesting that the government continue its work to combat the trafficking of persons worldwide and here in Canada.

Questions on the Order Paper

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform]

Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

Bill C-293--Development Assistance Accountability Act

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform]

Mr. Speaker, on May 13, 2006, you included Bill C-293 in a list of private members' items with possible royal recommendation issues. Following interventions in the House, on September 19, 2006, you ruled that the bill, as it was introduced, requires a royal recommendation.

You found that the creation of an advisory committee and new reporting requirements for ministers:

--require the authorization of spending for a new and distinct purpose.

As such, clause 6 and clauses 7 to 10 cause the bill as a whole in its current form to require a royal recommendation.

On February 1, the bill was reported from committee with numerous amendments.

Without commenting on the merits of this bill, I would appreciate your consideration of whether this bill still requires a royal recommendation under Standing Order 79, for two reasons.

First, while the committee deleted clauses 6 to 8, the bill as amended continues to include clause 9, and the provisions that had been in clause 10 have been substantially incorporated into clause 9. Given that your previous ruling concluded that clauses 9 and 10 required a royal recommendation, I would welcome your ruling on whether the bill still requires a royal recommendation.

A second aspect of the bill that may require a royal recommendation is that the bill would establish new conditions and criteria respecting the provision of official development assistance beyond those in the initial bill.

The committee amended clause 3 of the bill to provide for a definition of “official development assistance”, which includes that it be “concessional in character”, that it “conveys a grant element of at least 25%”, and that it “meets the requirements set out in section 4” of the bill.

Clause 4 of the bill places restrictions on the provision of official development assistance. Clause 4 was amended in committee to change the wording in subclause 4(2), obliging the minister to “consult with governments, international agencies and Canadian civil society organizations” before spending official development assistance. Clause 4 was also amended to provide a new subclause 4(3), which places a new condition on the calculation of official development assistance.

Authority for official development assistance is currently provided in subsection 10(3) of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Act, which provides the Minister of Foreign Affairs with authority to develop and carry out programs in relation to the minister's powers, including for the provision of assistance to developing countries.

You did not consider clauses 3 and 4 in your initial ruling on Bill C-293 on September 19, 2006. However, there have been new developments since that time.

In your ruling on Bill C-303 on November 6, 2006, you found that adding new conditions and criteria to an otherwise authorized expenditure requires a royal recommendation and that the clauses of Bill C-303:

--which relate to the making of transfer payments according to the specified criteria and conditions, require a royal recommendation.

This principle should apply to Bill C-293 as well, which would impose new conditions on government spending.

Other precedents make clear that adding new conditions to an otherwise authorized expenditure require a royal recommendation. For example, on April 23, 1990, Speaker Fraser ruled that a royal recommendation was appropriate because the bill in question would:

--change the conditions and qualifications that were attached to the original legislation recommended by the Governor General.

This is exactly what clauses 3 and 4 of Bill C-293 would do, by imposing new conditions on development assistance.

Therefore, due to the committee's amendments and in light of your ruling on Bill C-303, the government believes that Bill C-293 continues to require a royal recommendation.

I would respectfully welcome your ruling on this matter.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

I thank the hon. parliamentary secretary for his usual vigilance and diligence in preparing for points of order on these situations. I will certainly review his comments and review the bill as amended by the committee, and I will get back to the House with due dispatch.