House of Commons Hansard #143 of the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was rights.
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
Order, please. The hon. member for Ottawa South has the floor. We have to be able to hear the question.
David McGuinty Liberal Ottawa South, ON
Mr. Speaker, after saying that Canada needed a new clean air act, the Conservatives presented a plan that will allow emissions to continue to increase for the next 10 years. To do so, they decided to use the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, completely contradicting their claims that Bill C-30 was needed.
Will the minister finally put an end to his campaign of misinformation and nonsense, and will he bring Bill C-30 back before the House for a vote?
Maxime Bernier ConservativeMinister of Industry
Mr. Speaker, we are keeping Canadians informed about the situation. Under the previous Liberal government—and these are the facts—under the direction of the Leader of the Opposition, greenhouse gases increased by 35%. That is the reality. Canadians were deceived. What was the previous Liberal government doing? They held international conferences, and seminars and talks, but greenhouse gases were never reduced here in Canada. That is what we are doing, by 20% by the year—
Ken Dryden Liberal York Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, we have a Prime Minister who year after year opposed anything to do with the environment, who referred to Kyoto as “essentially a socialist scheme to suck money out of wealth-producing nations”.
We have an environment minister who had no known interests in the environment. The Prime Minister's change: no road to Damascus conversion; no realization he got the environment wrong. It was a realization he got the politics of the environment wrong, that people actually cared.
Now he says, “I must politically care”. That is what he has given us, some words and lots of selling and spinning, so not up to it.
When will the Prime Minister have a real conversion and care about something other than politics?
Mark Warawa ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, the only scheme was for the Liberal Party to suck money out of Canadians and not get the job done.
Sheila Copps is the person I was quoting. She went on to say on the environment, “the Liberals are not on solid ground”. I wholeheartedly agree.
If our plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2020 would have been implemented 10 years ago, in 1997, we would have reached our Kyoto targets. However, because of mismanagement, and it was abysmal, Liberals did not get it done. We will get it done.
Ken Dryden Liberal York Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, Al Gore has said that the Conservatives' platform is “a complete and total fraud”. David Suzuki described it as “all smoke and mirrors”.
The not new, the cynically old Conservative government is doing it again: just stuff, stuff to sell, stuff to spin. Like its entire budget, on the economy, aboriginals, child care, smoke and mirrors could apply to it all. In 5 years or 10 years, there will be no impact; so not up to a Government of Canada, not up to Canada.
When will we see a real plan for the environment? When will Mr. Smoke or Mr. Mirrors return Bill C-30 to the House?
Stephen Harper ConservativePrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, the member famously asked his party, “Why didn't we get the job done on the environment?” The reason Liberals did not get the job done was they went around the country making pie in the sky promises and not actually doing anything.
One has to balance environmental progress while preserving jobs. That is what the Minister of the Environment has done. He has taken the tough decisions that they did not have the guts to take on that side of the House.
Maka Kotto Bloc Saint-Lambert, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women, no doubt taking a page from the Liberals' book, consulted only the Conservative members, supposedly to make a list of fairs and festivals in their ridings, but when this was discovered, she changed tactics and decided to consult with opposition members as well.
What explanation can the minister offer, other than that she was preparing to take a page from the Liberals' book and create her own sponsorship program made to measure for Conservative members?
Bev Oda ConservativeMinister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women
Mr. Speaker, as I said last week, the program does not exist. We indicated an intent in our budget. The criteria have not been established.
We welcome all the input. I welcome the input from the Bloc, as well as all the parties. We want to ensure this program will meet the real needs of communities, increase participation and strengthen those communities.
Maka Kotto Bloc Saint-Lambert, QC
Mr. Speaker, we still do not know the criteria for the Conservative sponsorship program, which the minister is getting ready to launch.
How can the minister hold consultations that would be even remotely useful if the program's criteria are not known?
Is this not proof that the minister's approach is dangerously close to that of the Liberals, meaning it uses public money primarily for the benefit of Conservative members?
Bev Oda ConservativeMinister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women
Mr. Speaker, I disagree with my colleague. This is the most open way of consulting to enable us to hear from every member about the festivals and the appropriate criteria that will meet the needs of their communities as well. This is important to us and to all Canadian communities. We want to encourage participation and strengthen our communities through arts and heritage.
Karen Redman Liberal Kitchener Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, Al Gore and David Suzuki, not to mention every other credible environmentalist in the country, have unmasked the government's global warming plan for the fraud that it is. However, the environment minister still claims that it is a real plan to fight climate change even though it would allow greenhouse gas emissions in Canada to increase for another decade.
This Parliament has written a strong, aggressive plan that would get Canadians real results. When will the government stop thumbing its nose at the will of Parliament and bring back Bill C-30 before the House?
Gary Lunn ConservativeMinister of Natural Resources
Mr. Speaker, the only inconvenient truth is the absolute, deplorable record of the Liberal Party of Canada's record on the environment.
The Liberals did not get the job done. It would have been okay if they did merely nothing, but they actually allowed greenhouse gases to rise to 35%. It has to be embarrassing to stand in the House and ask questions on the environment with a record like that.
This government is the first government in Canadian history to start regulating both greenhouse gases and air pollution. We will get the job done, unlike the old Liberals.
Joy Smith Conservative Kildonan—St. Paul, MB
Mr. Speaker, during the 2006 federal election, the government, the NDP and the Liberal Party all promised to get tough on gun crimes. In fact, the Liberal platform promised to double mandatory minimum sentences for serious gun related crimes. However, the Liberals broke that promise by gutting nearly every clause of Bill C-10 at committee.
Despite this flip-flop from the Liberals, could the Minister of Justice explain what our government is doing to fulfill this campaign promise to Canadians?
Rob Nicholson ConservativeMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her support of the government's crime fighting initiative.
In the last election, candidates from all parties promised to get tough on crimes, particularly crimes committed with guns. That is why the government introduced Bill C-10, which would have a five year minimum sentence for people who committed serious crimes with guns. Unfortunately, the Liberals and the Bloc got together to gut that bill at committee.
However, I am pleased to say that with the support of the member for Windsor—Tecumseh, we are going to restore the intent of that bill.
Unlike the Liberals and the Bloc, we will fulfill our commitment to Canadians to fight crime.
David Christopherson NDP Hamilton Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, at last week's public accounts hearing into the RCMP pension scandal, I asked the acting commissioner how any investigator deprived of the power to subpoena witnesses could give a fulsome report if they had not been able to meet with both sides of any issue. The commissioner said, “it would be difficult to assure yourself you had the whole case, if people didn't cooperate”.
We already know somebody is lying. How can the minister claim that an informal backroom investigation, without subpoena powers, could possibly get to the truth?
Stockwell Day ConservativeMinister of Public Safety
Mr. Speaker, one after another, we keep seeing the uncovering of Liberal ineptitude when it comes to serious situations. Just several days ago we heard the previous minister of public safety say that when officers came to her suggesting inappropriate things had taken place, she did not even ask the commissioner about that.
We take action on these things. We are cleaning up the messes that the Liberals ignored, and we are going to continue to do that. We are going to get answers on this file.
David Christopherson NDP Hamilton Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, we cannot get to the truth if we cannot get to the facts. This is about the minister and his refusal to call a public inquiry that is absolutely necessary.
Every day that is wasted by this backroom investigation, the RCMP's reputation drips away, Canadians' faith in their national police service drips away and we are still no closer to the truth.
Why does the minister have so little respect for the RCMP that he will not stand in his place and call for the needed public inquiry and save our RCMP?
Stockwell Day ConservativeMinister of Public Safety
Mr. Speaker, maybe the member who raised the question thinks we can wait two or three or more years for a public inquiry.
We would like to get answers within a couple of months. We think that is possible. We have also said that if it is not possible, then let us open it up and let us do this.
As far as standing up for the RCMP is concerned, time and again I send out press releases about the many successful operations the RCMP is completing on a daily, if not weekly, basis, such as busting drug operations and busting Mafia operations. Opposition members never raise those issues. We talk about the good things the RCMP is doing also.
Marcel Proulx Liberal Hull—Aylmer, QC
Mr. Speaker, on April 20, I asked the Secretary of State for Sport if she had demanded an explanation from Hockey Canada, a government subsidized organization, about the decision to include Shane Doan on the Canada team. There is evidence that this hockey player made racist remarks about the Montreal Canadiens on December 13, 2005. Last Friday, Hockey Canada named Shane Doan captain of the team.
I will ask the question again: did the Secretary of State for Sport question Hockey Canada and did she consult her francophone colleagues?
Helena Guergis ConservativeSecretary of State (Foreign Affairs and International Trade) (Sport)
Mr. Speaker, as I have advised another colleague in the House, this is a decision that is made by Hockey Canada, not by the Government of Canada.
With respect to Mr. Doan, given that the judicial process is under way regarding the issue, it would be inappropriate for me to make any further comments.
Brian Storseth Conservative Westlock—St. Paul, AB
Mr. Speaker, children make up one of the most vulnerable sectors of our society. The welfare and well-being of all children is important to this government.
Alberta's child and family services recently introduced an innovative approach to child welfare that resulted in a decrease of 22% in the number of children in care.
Can the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development tell the House what the government is doing specifically for aboriginal children?
Jim Prentice ConservativeMinister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians
Mr. Speaker,on Friday I announced a partnership between this government, the government of Alberta and all of the first nations in Alberta to implement the Alberta early response model with all first nations across the province.
This is a historic step. It is a structural change. It focuses on the well-being of children while they are in the home. The model is one that identifies a family's needs early on, before it is necessary to remove the child from the family home.
Every single first nation in Alberta has bought into this model. This innovative approach is one that will be implemented across Canada as other provinces and other first nations are ready, willing and able.
John McCallum Liberal Markham—Unionville, ON
Mr. Speaker, the finance minister's Advantage Canada becomes disadvantage Canada because of its disastrous deductibility policy. His more tax revenue from income trusts becomes less revenue from income trusts, because they are all being taken over by entities that pay no tax. His tax fairness is tax unfairness unless one is a fat cat private equity company.
Why does everything the minister touches turn into such an unmitigated disaster?