House of Commons Hansard #123 of the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was seniors.
Dominic LeBlanc Liberal Beauséjour, NB
Mr. Speaker, the minister is a former brigadier general with 30 years' experience and knowledge of both the Geneva Conventions--
Dominic LeBlanc Liberal Beauséjour, NB
Mr. Speaker, they were not applauding this morning when the minister had to admit he misled the House.
It is not credible that the minister did not know what he was talking about when he made those statements.
No one believes the Minister when he says that he did not know what he was talking about.
Why did the minister think he would get away with misleading Canadians about the role of the International Committee of the Red Cross?
Gordon O'Connor ConservativeMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier today, my understanding of the activities of the Red Cross with the handling of detainees was incorrect. When I made those statements it was in good faith.
Caroline St-Hilaire Bloc Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher, QC
Mr. Speaker, since July 2006, the young Maxim Charbonneau, a Canadian citizen, has been imprisoned in Haiti without any credible charges against him. Despite pressure by his family and Ambassador Claude Boucher, there has been no progress. Maxim is being held in atrocious conditions, is currently rotting in a Haitian prison and has to rely on his parents' help in order to be fed.
After eight months of inaction, what is the Minister of Foreign Affairs waiting for to personally intervene with the Haitian government to get Maxim Charbonneau out of prison?
Peter MacKay ConservativeMinister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Mr. Speaker, let me acknowledge that there are clearly still many challenges within the Haitian justice system. We have taken this matter directly to the highest levels of the Haitian government, including the Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice.
We continue to provide consular assistance and access through our officials in Haiti on the ground. We will continue of course to do all we can to move this case forward and to provide assistance to Mr. Charbonneau and his family. This is clearly a matter of great concern to many and I appreciate the hon. member raising this issue here.
Caroline St-Hilaire Bloc Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher, QC
Mr. Speaker, despite what the Minister of Foreign Affairs is saying, the fact remains that Maxim is still in prison after eight months.
I would like to remind the Minister of Foreign Affairs that no charges have been laid against Maxim Charbonneau and that last Friday, the judge was to present an indictment, but once again, this indictment was postponed.
What is the Minister of Foreign Affairs waiting for to shoulder his responsibilities and defend a Canadian citizen being held for no reason?
Peter MacKay ConservativeMinister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Mr. Speaker, I remind the hon. member that these are issues certainly within the Haitian justice system. There is no question that that is not the standard that we would expect of many countries. It is certainly not a standard here in our own country.
This particular individual, as I mentioned, has received consular visits. The Canadian government has made interventions on his behalf, and on behalf of the family, with the highest levels. We will continue to pressure and work with the Haitian government to see that this case results in a fair trial.
I can assure the hon. member that we will continue to work on behalf of Mr. Charbonneau to see that he is treated fairly.
Paul Szabo Liberal Mississauga South, ON
Mr. Speaker, last week a Conservative government staff member was caught spying on the leader of the official opposition. This employee, who is paid by the Canadian taxpayer, was gathering film and photos of the opposition leader for election use by the Conservative Party.
This is a blatant and unauthorized use of public funds, and contrary to Treasury Board guidelines.
Will the government immediately demonstrate accountability, apologize to Canadians, and repay the money on this most inappropriate activity?
Peter Van Loan ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform
Mr. Speaker, I think it is a well known fact that all political parties engage in an exercise called opposition research. They even have staffers that are captioned as that in their staff lists.
This is a totally normal practice done by everybody. Two things are amazing: first, that the Liberal Party is not delighted that somebody is actually interested in what its leader has to say; and second, that it is pleased to have company there at the events.
Garry Breitkreuz Conservative Yorkton—Melville, SK
Mr. Speaker, our farmers have been facing increasing pressures from rising input costs. This has really put a lot of people in a cost price squeeze. It is a major concern for them and their families.
During the last election we campaigned on a commitment to address cost of production issues, in addition to replacing CAIS, with programming that actually works for farmers.
Can the Minister of Agriculture update this House with what the government is doing to help farmers who are facing increasing production costs and what the government is doing to make farm income support programming better for them?
Chuck Strahl ConservativeMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board
Mr. Speaker, on March 9 the Prime Minister announced two programs totalling a billion dollars in new money that will be going to Canadian farmers.
To address the cost of production we are delivering an investment of $400 million. We said we also wanted to make progress more predictable and bankable. The farmers' savings account provides the flexibility they have been looking for and we are going to put another $600 million into that program.
Combine that with a new disaster relief framework, improved production insurance, better cash advances, and improved business risk management programming, we are now well on our way to replacing the old Liberal CAIS program. Every time, any day, we can replace a Liberal is a good day for Canadian farmers.
Dennis Bevington NDP Western Arctic, NT
Mr. Speaker, last week Imperial Oil announced that the Mackenzie Valley pipeline project will be further delayed and that the costs of the project have more than doubled.
I am sure the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development has heard from his friends in the Petroleum Club that the government needs to hand over more taxpayer dollars to get this project moving. This same oil company also announced that it has posted the largest profit in its history.
I ask the minister, instead of just handing over billions of dollars from ordinary Canadians to these rich oil companies, will he use these dollars to build roads, schools and community infrastructure to support sustainable development in the north?
Rod Bruinooge ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians
Mr. Speaker, clearly the Mackenzie gas project is an important economic benefit to the north. Our government is going to support the private sector in seeing that come through to fruition.
This is something that I think the private sector is going to be heavily involved with. The Government of Canada is going to let the private sector deliver it.
Dennis Bevington NDP Western Arctic, NT
Mr. Speaker, that is not much of an answer for the people of the north.
The economic development of Canada's north is more than just helping rich oil companies reap larger profits. It is about a planned approach which protects the northern environment, provides a decent standard of living for ordinary northerners, and ensures an orderly development of the north's resources.
Will the minister use this delay to create an industrial strategy for the Mackenzie Valley that really helps the north?
Rod Bruinooge ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians
Mr. Speaker, we have been very active throughout the north. Both the Prime Minister and the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development have been throughout the north assisting northern communities not only with economic development but the housing sector as well. We are going to continue to keep the north in our focus.
Scott Simms Liberal Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL
Mr. Speaker, James Murray is indeed a senior researcher for the Conservatives fully funded by the taxpayers.
Mr. Murray was sent on the road last week with his little digital camera getting footage of the Liberal leader to be used for election purposes. It seems these people cannot tell the difference between what is right and what is wrong.
Will the Prime Minister do the right thing and repay the money to compensate the Inspector Gadget that was used in this particular exercise, and repay that money because it was used and will be used for election purposes?
Peter Van Loan ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform
Mr. Speaker, it used to be just the New Democratic Party that participated in the conspiracy business, but now they have developed a clairvoyancy over on the Liberal benches. They know what is going to be done with this stuff.
I simply put it to the House that it is a difficult and challenging thing to keep up with the changing positions of the Liberal leader. This is now his fifth position on the environment. We need to have somebody there to watch what those positions are so we can answer the questions properly from him.
Patrick Brown Conservative Barrie, ON
Mr. Speaker, for years victims advocates have been calling for victims to have a more effective voice in the criminal justice system.
In our platform we promised the establishment of a federal ombudsman for victims of crime to help ease the burden for victims of crime and to give them greater access to enhanced programs and services.
Can the Minister of Justice update the House on how our government intends to keep this promise?
Rob Nicholson ConservativeMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, the government is committed to giving victims a larger role and a more important role within the criminal justice system.
That is why I was very pleased to announce on Friday that $52 million over the next four years will be spent on victims and victims' services. In addition, for the first time, we will establish the office of the federal ombudsman for victims of crime, an individual whose sole responsibility will be to take the concerns of victims seriously.
This was a commitment in the last federal election and I am very proud to be part of a government that has delivered on that commitment.
Anita Neville Liberal Winnipeg South Centre, MB
Mr. Speaker, this past week the people of Kashechewan learned that a promise from the Conservative government is meaningless.
On numerous occasions the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, committed to the people of Kashechewan that they would determine their own fate.
Given the minister's negative reaction to the community's decision, how can he claim to have done anything other than mislead the House when he said on November 9, 2006 that it will be their choice?
Rod Bruinooge ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians
Mr. Speaker, the minister met with the chief and the community just recently and we are going to continue to discuss the options that they would like to see happen in Kashechewan. Of course though, we cannot forget that it was in fact the Liberal Party that left this community without a dime or a plan.
Bernard Bigras Bloc Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC
Mr. Speaker, last week we learned that the government dismantled Environment Canada's climate change policy directorate, a section responsible for coordinating efforts in implementing new policies and analyzing their potential impact.
How does the Prime Minister expect us to take his recent climate change initiatives seriously when he is abolishing the unit responsible for monitoring and tracking such initiatives?
John Baird ConservativeMinister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, in fact, we did no such things. There were no people moving from climate change capacity. They did do some internal reorganizations. They were done at the level of the public service.
We have an exceptionally strong group of men and women in the public service helping the government and helping Canadians to combat climate change.
The one thing those respected public servants now have is, after 13 long years, a government that is finally taking the issue of climate change, pollution and smog seriously.
