Debates of April 27th, 2007

Status of Women

[The Deputy Speaker, NDP, Bill Blaikie]

Order. The hon. member for Glengarry—Prescott—Russell.

The Environment

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when I studied the environmental plan tabled by the Minister of the Environment this week, I saw that it will not only get the job done for the environment but it will do so by involving all sectors of our economy.

We have a concrete and achievable plan that will stop the rise in greenhouse gases and then begin to reduce them. However, the opposition members are saying that they must be reduced immediately.

We have a comprehensive plan, one of the most stringent ever seen, but the Liberals are saying that we are headed for disaster because the objectives are below those set in a protocol that they signed, but that they never even tried to respect.

What we have had from the Liberals are words, arm waving, broken promises and inaction. What we have from our Conservative government is a concrete plan and action. We are getting the job done where the Liberals did nothing.

Community Involvement Award

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Laval's Chamber of Commerce and Industry held its 26th Dunamis gala on March 22. During the awards ceremony, Jean-Guy Girard, the founding president of Fondation La Belle-Aide, received the community involvement award.

This organization, which he has been leading for 14 years, improves quality of life for people in assisted living environments. Mr. Girard has done outstanding work through fundraising campaigns to offer special activities, such as concerts, lectures, summer camps and cultural outings, and purchase special equipment for people who are ill.

Initially, the foundation worked mostly with the Chomedey residence. Since then, it has worked with the Idola St-Jean and Ste-Dorothée CHSLDs. It looks as though all Laval area CHSLDs will be able to take advantage of the foundation's programs within a few years.

Congratulations to Mr. Girard, who is a philanthropic role model for the entire community. Thanks to his involvement, many seniors now enjoy a better quality of life.

Workplace Health and Safety

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Mr. Speaker, April 28 is the National Day of Mourning. It is a day during which Canadians and people from 80 other countries take time to remember those who have been injured or who have lost their lives in the workplace.

The statistics are worrisome. In Canada, three people die in workplace accidents every day and even more workers die of work-related illnesses. We must lower the incidence of illness and death and protect our fellow citizens' health and lives. We must make an effort every day to make our workplaces safer.

The National Day of Mourning recognizes the urgent need to improve health and safety standards in the workplace.

On this day, I ask all members of Parliament to join me in calling on the government to take workplace safety more seriously and see to a better enforcement of the Canada Labour Code.

National Defence

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre, SK]

Mr. Speaker, in a disgraceful display of partisan arrogance, the Liberal defence critic is at an international gathering in Brussels today, not to promote Canada as the greatest country in the world, but rather to soil our nation's reputation.

Liberals are using baseless allegations to smear not only the great name of Canada, but the integrity of the men and women in the Canadian Forces.

The member, along with the entire Liberal Party, should apologize to all Canadians for attempting to diminish our country's standing among the international community.

Unfortunately the Liberals are not above smearing our nation's reputation in an attempt to gain a political advantage. We all remember the derogatory remarks made by Carolyn Parrish about our neighbours to the south.

Simply put, Liberal MPs have a history of undermining the Canadian identity for partisan gains. Unlike the reckless Liberal defence critic and his opposition cohorts, we believe in defending our country.

Stand up for Canada was not just a campaign slogan. It is what this Conservative government does every day both at home and abroad for our citizens and soldiers.

On this side of the House, we are proud to be--

[The Deputy Speaker, NDP, Bill Blaikie]

The hon. member for Victoria.

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

[Denise Savoie, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Mr. Speaker, a Health Canada report estimates the incidence of FASD to be approximately one in 100 births. In May 2004 an American research paper estimated the lifetime financial cost of caring for and supporting a person with FASD to be $2.9 million U.S..

On financial grounds alone, Canadian taxpayers cannot afford to ignore this highly prevalent and invisible health and social issue that is having a profound effect on our communities and nation.

My NDP colleagues and I call upon the government to allocate the necessary resources to implement a national strategic FASD plan, including labelling. This plan must address the substantial lifetime needs of people with FASD together with their families and caregivers.

Saskatchewan Flood

[Gary Merasty, Liberal, Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK]

Mr. Speaker, during the past two weeks many communities in northeast Saskatchewan have declared a state of emergency due to rising flood waters in our lakes and rivers. In some places the water is at its highest level in decades.

On Wednesday morning, most of the 700 people from the Red Earth Cree Nation began to return to their homes after being evacuated six days prior. Last year, evacuees from this community had to endure a 12 day absence from their homes. This year's improvement is a direct result of the preparation, determination and hard work of a dedicated group of officials and volunteers.

I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the men and women of the Saskatchewan Public Safety Department, the Prince Albert Grand Council, the Saskatchewan Watershed Authority, and especially the Red Earth Cree Nation people themselves, and all the other volunteers, emergency workers and businesses in Prince Albert and Saskatoon who helped make this ordeal a little more manageable for the people affected.

I invite all my colleagues in the House to join me in praising these organizations and individuals for their efforts.

Maude Briand-Lemay and Pénélope Robinson

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate two outstanding young scientists, Maude Briand-Lemay and Pénélope Robinson, of the École Polyvalente Nicolas-Gatineau. Since September, they have won awards at a number of science fairs for their project called “one mirror, two suns”. They first won at their own school, then within the Des Draveurs school board, and went on to win first prize at the Expo-sciences Bell in the Outaouais, and the Hydro-Québec award at the Université de Sherbrooke. Maude and Pénélope will represent Quebec at the Canada-Wide Science Fair to be held in Nova Scotia in May.

The genius of their original invention doubles energy production by maximizing available space. “One mirror, two suns” causes solar radiation to reflect onto a surface that does not directly benefit from this energy. The radiation is captured by solar panels and produces enough heat and electricity for a home.

The Bloc Québécois would like to congratulate Maude and Pénélope, each a modern day Marie Curie. Long live science and way to go, girls!

Volunteerism

[Raymond Simard, Liberal, Saint Boniface, MB]

Mr. Speaker, on April 18 the volunteers of a group in my riding, Bishop Grandin Greenway Inc., were recognized for their incredible contribution and relentless work by being awarded the Mayor's Volunteer Service Award for Environment by Volunteer Manitoba. The award was presented at the 24th annual volunteer awards dinner and coincided with National Volunteer Week.

These volunteers were recognized for “transforming the barren scar of land along Bishop Grandin Boulevard between the Seine and Red rivers into a network of accessible nature areas and public pathways linking and supporting both human and wildlife communities”.

This group of dedicated people, led by their president, Mike Balshaw, have raised an impressive amount of money, created partnerships with both the public and private sectors, and spent countless personal hours to get the job done.

The Bishop Grandin Greenway will provide a safe, healthy transportation corridor and green space for all Winnipeggers.

I offer these volunteers my sincerest congratulations. I ask members of the House to join me in acknowledging the amazing work of these outstanding citizens.

Liberal Party Candidate

[Gary Goodyear, Conservative, Cambridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have had a hard time finding candidates, but it is really slim pickings in Edmonton--Mill Woods--Beaumont where the Liberals have nominated the opposition leader's Edmonton campaign manager, Farhan Mujahid Chak.

For those who do not know Chak, today's National Post is pretty interesting. He accuses Israel of rape and murder. He has outlandish conspiracy theories about terrorist attacks in France. He says Canada's new government is trying to destabilize Poland.

He will not say if he is the same Farhan Mujahid Chak who the National Post reports was charged in 1993 with the use of a firearm during the commission of an offence, and possession of an illegal weapon.

Canadians deserve the truth. Will the Liberal leader ask Chak if he was in fact charged with weapons offences? Does the Leader of the Opposition think, as his campaign manager does, that we should be more sympathetic toward suicide bombers?

Justice

[Rick Norlock, Conservative, Northumberland—Quinte West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the member for York West rose in this House yesterday and accused the Government of Canada of being soft on criminals and not caring for the victims of crime.

Let me set the record straight.

We recently established the Office of the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime.

We have dedicated $52 million to give victims of crime greater support and a more effective voice in the federal corrections and justice system.

We have hired a victim services officer to respond to the needs of victims.

The National Parole Board will strengthen communication with victims and ensure better quality in service delivery and parole hearings.

The government supports victims of crime. We have acted to toughen the Criminal Code by tackling everything from reverse onus at bail hearings to mandatory minimum sentences.

I know the member for York West will be eager to convince her leader to support these measures because they do what she says she wants. In 2005 she said:

What's wrong is there's too much plea-bargaining with the Crown and judges are not passing down tougher sentences like they could.

Afghanistan

[Michael Ignatieff, Liberal, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Prime Minister demonstrated yet again his contempt for this House. He repeatedly rose to say that access to prisons in Afghanistan has not been denied. This bluster was contradicted right away by the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, which confirmed yet again that access has been denied for some time.

When the Prime Minister got it so wrong, was he relying on the Minister of Public Safety's false information about the activities of Correctional Service Canada? Was he relying on advice from his incompetent Minister of National Defence? Or was he making it up as he went along?

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform]

Mr. Speaker, the confusion and disappointment on the opposition benches is desperation at the loss of their issue. They were wrong. They said that the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission did not have access to detention facilities. It does. They said that Canada did not have access to detention facilities. We do.

The fact is they keep restating false accusations again and again, and they are doing it today, after they have been proven wrong again and again. Would they please apologize to Canadians, to the troops, and stop repeating falsehoods?

[Michael Ignatieff, Liberal, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Public Safety added a new chapter to this evolving tale of incompetence, disinformation and cover-up. He said that two Correctional Service Canada officers have had access all along to monitor the condition of detainees in Kandahar prison. Then the minister's own spokesperson contradicted him, and the ambassador of Afghanistan contradicted him, making it clear that before yesterday Canadians did not have the right to visit Afghan detainees.

Is there anyone in the Conservative government prepared to stand up and tell the truth about this matter?

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform]

Mr. Speaker, the opposition continues to restate falsehoods, although the record has been made clear.

The reality is that the previous Liberal government, which had sent our troops into Afghanistan, had for almost the entire period it was in government no policy whatsoever on detainees. Only at the eleventh hour did it enter into an arrangement which allowed the International Committee of the Red Cross access, an arrangement that the Liberals later attacked as inadequate, their own arrangement that they entered into.

We have since made arrangements with the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission to have access to detention facilities and now we are confirming the arrangement that we have with--

[The Deputy Speaker, NDP, Bill Blaikie]

The hon. member for Etobicoke--Lakeshore.

[Michael Ignatieff, Liberal, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

Mr. Speaker, once again, these answers are disappointing.

The top Correctional Service Canada officer on the ground in Afghanistan said that she “was not naive enough to believe” that there is no torture in Afghan prisons. It seems that the only people naive enough to believe this are the members of the Conservative government.

For the sake of the mission, for the sake of our brave soldiers and for the sake of Canada's reputation, will the Prime Minister put an end to this circus and immediately dismiss this incompetent Minister of National Defence?

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform]

Mr. Speaker, the opposition members should really stop inventing stories to help the Taliban. If they have any proof, they should put it on the table, and they should put it on the table now instead of repeating falsehoods.

I will quote this authority:

Therefore, it was not imprudent on the part of the government, in the context of our fight against terrorism, to side with a nation that was attacked and not become the defenders of terrorists, as the [opposition] has.

Do they know who said that? It was Jean Chrétien.

[Ruby Dhalla, Liberal, Brampton—Springdale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this has been a week of chaos, confusion and cover-up for the Conservatives, a political gong show at the expense of our international reputation and the Canadian military.

The Prime Minister and his ministers have all stated that Afghan detainees were not abused. The international community has stated otherwise. Evidence of torture is undeniable.

The government is in utter disarray. When will the Prime Minister stop misleading Canadians, tell the truth, do the right thing, and fire his Minister of National Defence?

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform]

Mr. Speaker, I am stunned that the opposition continues to repeat false accusations and undermine our troops.

I reference the following CBC report. Responding to news that Canadians have a new arrangement to inspect detention facilities, Dutch Major General Ton van Loon said he has not heard of any specific cases of abuse in the six months he has been in charge of NATO troops. “'I have not been given any reason to think that they would take place,' van Loon said”. He and his officials talk regularly with Afghan police and the country's intelligence service, and with a name like van Loon, I have to respect him.

[Ruby Dhalla, Liberal, Brampton—Springdale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the government must realize that it is in complete chaos. It is a disgrace.

The Conservatives do not know how many detainees have been turned over to the Afghans. They do not know where they are. They do not know who is holding them. They do not even know what prisons they are in. How can they claim that these detainees were not abused?

When will the Prime Minister show some leadership, take some action, and fire Canada's version of Donald Rumsfeld?

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, in the Sarpoza prison facility just west of Kandahar city there are 838 detainees, alleged terrorists, and 138 of them are kept in what is called the national security component of that particular facility.

There are 40 alleged terrorists and other suspects in the national directory security facility, which is a separate one, and in the third facility, which is run by the Afghan police, there are 35. We have had access to those three facilities.

The opposition should cease making these false allegations and should cease carrying these allegations that are brought forward by Taliban suspects because they are hurting our troops.

The Environment

[Monique Guay, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of the Environment would have us believe Canada is turning the corner, in fact his plan does not respect the Kyoto targets because instead of achieving these targets between 2008 and 2012, it will reach the target 15 years later, in 2025.

The minister knows perfectly well that we can still achieve the Kyoto targets on time. What is he waiting for to change course?

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has to make a U-turn because it is going in the wrong direction. Since the Liberals promised to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in 1997, emissions have not stopped increasing. We are going to change that.