House of Commons Hansard #139 of the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was environment.
Gordon O'Connor ConservativeMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, the strategic advisory team in Kabul advised the government on organization. It has explained to the various departments how it gets projects accomplished, how it achieves goals.
Denis Coderre Liberal Bourassa, QC
Mr. Speaker, we will come back to that.
There is more evidence that the defence minister is incompetent. We had to learn about the treatment of 30 detainees through the media and not through the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, as the minister assured us we would.
I again look the minister straight in the eyes. Will the minister admit that he learned about allegations of torture through the media and that his arrangement with the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission is a sham? When will the Minister of National Defence realize that the only way to protect our reputation in the world is to resign?
Gordon O'Connor ConservativeMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, as I have said, the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission is in regular contact with our people. If it needs any assistance, we will provide that assistance. To date, it has not asked for any assistance.
Karen Redman Liberal Kitchener Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, for nearly a year, the Minister of National Defence has misled this House about the role of the Red Cross, insisting that it was responsible for supervising the treatment of detainees transferred to the Afghan authorities.
When the international Red Cross publicly corrected the minister, he was forced to apologize to this House.
Could the minister tell Canadians what immediate steps he is taking to verify that detainees captured by Canadian Forces in Afghanistan and transferred to Afghan authorities are being properly treated?
Gordon O'Connor ConservativeMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, our government has asked a number of officials to contact the various elements of the Afghan government that have to do with detainees to confirm whether there is any truth to the rumours and allegations that are in the media and they will report back to us. If there is any foundation for this, we will be dealing with the Afghan government to ensure that they are corrected.
Karen Redman Liberal Kitchener Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, the minister has repeatedly said that the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, which has publicly admitted to only having seven staff members and no capacity to monitor prisoner abuse in Afghanistan, is looking after things.
Once again, the defence minister is either greatly misinformed or is simply misleading this House. The minister was not aware of the role of the Red Cross. He was not aware of the inability of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission to do its job. Now he says that he is unable to answer questions about the abuse of detainees.
Does the Minister of National Defence still have the confidence of the Prime Minister?
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
Order, please. The hon. the Minister of National Defence now has the floor to answer the question he was asked. We will have a little order so the member for Kitchener Centre at least can hear the answer.
Gordon O'Connor ConservativeMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, both the leaders of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission in Kabul and in Kandahar have confirmed that they can do what we have asked them to do. Our people are in constant contact with them and they have not asked for any help. They are on sort of a regular basis meeting with them but they have not asked for any help because they believe they can do what they have been tasked to do.
Bernard Bigras Bloc Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, in Montreal, the Quebec business community was bitterly disappointed by the Minister of the Environment, who refused to allow our industries to have access to European or Asian carbon exchanges.
Does the minister realize that his refusal is not only a threat to the environment, but also to Quebec's economy, because it prevents our businesses from having access to a market that could exceed $70 billion, and it also prevents them from selling their excess credits on those markets?
John Baird ConservativeMinister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, we made it very clear that we support the mechanisms included in the Kyoto protocol. The Bloc Québécois members who supported the protocol are saying that it is acceptable to send public money to Europe and to countries such as Russia and Ukraine, without real reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. However, that is not acceptable to this government, to Quebeckers and to Canadians.
Bernard Bigras Bloc Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC
Mr. Speaker, it is disappointing to see that a minister still does not understand the real issues relating to carbon exchange. In Quebec, whether it is the business community, environmentalists or the National Assembly, everyone agrees that we need absolute greenhouse gas reduction targets.
Why does the minister stubbornly keep talking about intensity-based targets, when he knows full well that, by reducing the intensity of their emissions by 15%, tar sands operators in Alberta will be able to freely increase them by 179% in absolute terms? Why support oil companies at the expense of the environment and of Quebec?
John Baird ConservativeMinister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, we have been very clear on this issue. We have wanted real greenhouse gas reductions for a long time. What is not an option is not doing anything. For 13 long years, the former Liberal government, with the presence of the Bloc Québécois in this House, did absolutely nothing for the environment. This government is taking action. This team from Quebec and Canada is taking action to improve and to help our environment.
Claude DeBellefeuille Bloc Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of the Environment would have us believe that by setting intensity targets, he is dealing with greenhouse gas reductions in a meaningful way. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Can the minister explain how he plans to reduce pollution by reducing the amount of pollution per barrel while quadrupling oil sands production between now and 2015?
John Baird ConservativeMinister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, clearly the Bloc Québécois does not support economic growth. We have a good, balanced plan that will help our environment and our economy. That is very important.
The previous government did nothing for 10 years. It had bad environmental policies, and now it wants to replace them with bad policies for our environment. That is unacceptable.
We are taking action and we will continue to take real action for our environment.
Claude DeBellefeuille Bloc Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC
Mr. Speaker, the minister's apocalyptic study indicates that the cost of thermal electricity production will rise by 60%. That conclusion totally disregards the reality of energy production in Quebec.
Is the minister using this catastrophic scenario to please the Alberta oil companies while asking Quebec to pay for other people's pollution?
John Baird ConservativeMinister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, these amounts are national figures based on averages.
It is all too clear that the Bloc Québécois supported the Liberal Party and its bill without knowing the economic costs.
I have a good question for the Bloc Québécois. Will it release its economic costs and the consequences of its actions to the House of Commons? This House is waiting, Quebeckers are waiting, and Canadians are waiting.
Diane Marleau Liberal Sudbury, ON
Mr. Speaker, the defence minister has been careless with the facts and incompetent when it comes to defending the government's murky foreign policy positions and responding to Canadians' concerns.
Whether it is the treatment of detainees or the scope and length of Canada's current Afghan mission, in terms of clarity, the government continues to mislead Canadians.
Last summer, Parliament voted to extend the combat mission to February 2009. Will the Prime Minister respect the results of today's upcoming vote--
Gordon O'Connor ConservativeMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, our military commitment is to the end of February 2009.
Diane Marleau Liberal Sudbury, ON
Mr. Speaker, Canadians want straight answers to questions about Canada's international reputation and our troops' involvement in southern Afghanistan.
When will Canadians finally see a clear plan to end the combat mission?
Does the Prime Minister plan to wait until it is too late to withdraw our troops from southern Afghanistan before making a decision?
Gordon O'Connor ConservativeMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, I will be as clear as I can. Our military commitment at the moment is to the end of February 2009.
Ujjal Dosanjh Liberal Vancouver South, BC
Mr. Speaker, less than a year ago, the government pressed Parliament into extending the Afghan mission to February 2009. Our motion before the House simply confirms that commitment. However, we know that the government is getting ready to vote against the motion today.
Why is the government refusing to provide clarity to Canadians and to our troops on an end date for the combat role in Afghanistan?
Gordon O'Connor ConservativeMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, we are providing clarity. We support our troops and we support them in their mission and we will provide whatever they need to accomplish their mission.
Again, the military mission at the moment is committed to the end of February 2009.
Ujjal Dosanjh Liberal Vancouver South, BC
Mr. Speaker, among other things, the Minister of National Defence keeps insisting that the government will pull our troops out in February 2009.
If this is true, when does he plan on informing our NATO allies that this is the case so they have the time they may need to prepare for the end of our combat role in Afghanistan?