Debates of March 1st, 2007

Government Programs

[Lucienne Robillard, Liberal, Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government is trying to impose its ideology on the lives of every Canadian. The government's actions are based on the belief that everyone in our society must fend for themselves. Nothing is further from the truth. Consider, for example, someone with a disability, someone forced to sleep in the street or someone who does not know how to read or write.

Why did the Prime Minister decide to slash services to the most vulnerable members of our society, while swimming in a surplus? Why will he not help all Canadians succeed in life?

[Monte Solberg, Conservative, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development]

Mr. Speaker, the member is simply wrong. The Prime Minister and this government have delivered all kinds of services for people who are at the low end of the income scale. The universal child care benefit is one example. A cheque goes every month to 1.4 million families, benefiting 1.9 million children. In addition to that, we have cut the GST. We have provided a textbook tax credit for students. We have done a lot more. We are acting, where the previous government failed to get the job done.

[Lucienne Robillard, Liberal, Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the neo-conservative ideology that guides this government does nothing to help many Canadians in need. It is a fallacy to believe that everyone has the ability to thrive without help from the community.

Why cut support to volunteer initiatives, access to affordable housing and the court challenges program? Why make these systematic cuts to social programs that create equal opportunity for all? Why does the Prime Minister not understand that the government has a role to play in the lives of Canadians?

[Monte Solberg, Conservative, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development]

Mr. Speaker, that is a bit rich coming from the member across the way. After all, it was the previous government that targeted the most vulnerable people in society when the Liberals introduced their spending reductions, $25 billion out of the social safety net. At the same time, the Liberals preserved the funding for subsidies and grants that went to their friends. That was the source of funding that led to the sponsorship scandal. The member should be ashamed for asking that question.

Children

[Bonnie Brown, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the government's right-wing ideology is again targeting children. Some $3.5 billion for early learning and child care has already been cut. Now we hear that the health department is preparing to axe the two programs that serve Canada's most vulnerable preschool children, that is, aboriginal head start and the community action program for children.

How can a government that inherited a booming economy and billion dollar surpluses justify targeting children for health program cuts?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Minister of Health and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, I can certainly assure the House that the hon. member's facts, figures and assertions are completely incorrect. We support our funding for children. We support, in particular, the children at risk in aboriginal and Inuit communities.

All I can say is that after $25 billion of social service cuts by the previous Liberal government, provinces found it more difficult to deal with social services issues. First nations communities found it more difficult. That is the Liberal record. Our record is considerably brighter for the future of Canadians.

[Bonnie Brown, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, those cuts were in response to the $42 billion deficit that the Conservative Party left us.

We know that the finance minister has a history of cutting social programs. He did it happily in Ontario. How will he explain to parents who take their children to one of the 590 locations that provide these programs for vulnerable preschoolers that they no longer exist?

Instead of taking away from children yet again, why does he not do an about-face and do something out of character and actually invest in children in the next budget?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Minister of Health and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, the question is premised on a complete fiction. This government is supporting kids' services. We have done it in terms of our tax policy. We have done it in terms of our social spending. We have done it in terms of our first nations and Inuit policy. That is the record of this government.

The Liberals' record is a record of cuts, a record of making sure that their friends were covered, but when it came to the delivery of social services for the average Canadian or for the at risk Canadian, they did not deliver. That is their record.

Citizenship and Immigration

[Meili Faille, Bloc, Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Nick Summers, one of the members of the advisory panel for appointments of immigration board members who has resigned, stated:

We were told by people in the government that the Minister did not like the makeup of our panel and that we were not submitting the names to him that he wanted to see.

How can the government explain its desire to go back to appointing people who think like it rather than basing those appointments on competence alone?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians elected us to put an end to the culture of entitlement. That is exactly what we are going to do.

I am therefore announcing today the appointment of Brian Goodman as the non-partisan interim Chair of the IRB. I am looking forward to working with him to ensure that all future appointments are based on merit and that the system is still transparent and is more accountable.

[Meili Faille, Bloc, Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government can keep on saying that it does not want to appoint people who share its ideology to be immigration board members, but the numbers speak for themselves.

How does the government explain that it is refusing to appoint new board members, despite the fact that the selection board has given her dozens of recommendations and that 52 out of the 156 positions are still vacant?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, this government does not intend to keep using a flawed process. The new merit-based appointment process will be more effective, more efficient, more transparent and more accountable.

What does the opposition have against an appointment process based on merit and greater accountability?

Health

[Christiane Gagnon, Bloc, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the ideology behind the change of direction the government wants us to take is starting to take shape. Judicial appointment committees are being stacked, the immigration board member appointment process is being changed, and efforts are being made to control Assisted Human Reproduction Canada, among other things by appointing to it known opponents of the right to abortion.

How can the Minister of Health explain that there is no embryonic stem cell research and fertility treatment specialist at Assisted Human Reproduction Canada, but there are avowed pro-lifers?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Minister of Health and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, as far as the composition of this commission is concerned, what is clear is the importance of having a diversity of opinions to represent Canadians. The people have a variety of skills in order to address complex issues. The agency can consult whomever it wishes for assistance with its research and responsibilities.

[Christiane Gagnon, Bloc, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, how does theMinister of Health think the members of Assisted Human Reproduction Canada will be able to perform their duties if their appointments are based primarily on their anti-abortion stand rather than their expertise in assisted reproduction? Once again, the government is surrounding itself with like-minded people.

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Minister of Health and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, that is totally incorrect. I have confidence in the competence of all AHRC members. I can state that they represent a wide variety of opinions. I can also say that there is, of course, far more going on there than there was under the former government. There is now more direction and more protection for women in this context.

National Defence

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

Mr. Speaker, in a recent article in FrontLine magazine, Ken Rowe, CEO of IMP Aerospace, said that the Canadian industrial sector is being jeopardized with the government's defence procurement strategy. He said that this is not only a threat to thousands of Canadian jobs but it also increases the sovereignty and security risk to Canada.

The point of defence investment is to strengthen our sovereignty. Why is the government's defence procurement strategy actually weakening Canadian sovereignty?

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, I am a bit surprised that the Liberal Party is attacking us on defence procurement.

In December 2000, when the previous Liberal government signed a contract with Boeing for the CF-18, it asked for only 17% show of benefits. We are asking for 100% show of benefits for Canadian industry.

Once again, the Liberals failed. We are delivering on a job that the Liberals did not get done.

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

Mr. Speaker, the in-service support for that contract was provided by Canadians, unlike this new contract with Boeing which is going to be provided by Americans.

The American ITAR law dictates that Canadians with dual citizenship with any of 25 ITAR listed countries are banned from working on the Boeing contract. There are Chinese Canadians who need not apply, Haitian Canadians who need not apply, Sudanese, Rwandan and Vietnamese Canadians who need not apply.

Will the government explain to these Canadians why their tax dollars are being used to buy planes that they are not allowed to work on?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is very interesting to see the member standing up for his region.

When it comes to the subject of ITAR, we have acted with the greatest dispatch. We have taken this issue to the highest levels of the American government. We continue to have negotiations, including a working group that was set up here in Ottawa.

However, when the member speaks of protecting his own region, I would remind him of his own words when he said, “I'm an Atlantic Canadian MP who had the guts to say ACOA isn't working for Atlantic Canada”.

Getting rid of it and replacing it with dramatic tax reform for Atlantic Canada, scrapping ACOA, getting rid of regional development, is what that member is about, no credibility in that party or when he was in this one.

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Mr. Speaker, speaking of no credibility, they do nothing for ITAR. That is for sure.

It seems—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Peter Milliken]

Order. We have moved on to the next question. There seems to be a general disturbance in the House today that does not seem to quell itself. We would like a little less noise.

The hon. member for Bourassa has a good voice, but we need a bit of silence in the House so that everyone can hear him. He now has the floor.

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it seems increasingly obvious that the Minister of Industry, employee of the month at Boeing, interprets his job description in many ways.

He brags about not getting involved in these files because he considers that to be patronage and political interference, so, can he explain the coincidence between the contract that CAE will receive for training the crews of the future Hercules and Chinooks, and Derek Burney, Brian Mulroney's former chief of staff, CEO of CAE from 1999 to 2004 and head of the transition committee for the current Prime Minister—

[The Speaker, Peter Milliken]

The hon. Minister of Industry.