House of Commons Hansard #155 of the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was chair.
Monte Solberg ConservativeMinister of Human Resources and Social Development
Mr. Speaker, I guess the question is why the previous government routinely shut out thousands of groups every year that it did not fund.
The member speaks of autism. I want to point out that the Autism Resource Centre in Moncton will receive $29,000 this year from this government. Previously it got only $9,000.
This government is stepping up to the plate, helping groups that need the help and, more important, making sure students get the work experience that they need to succeed.
Maria Minna Liberal Beaches—East York, ON
Mr. Speaker, Community Centre 55, a charity based organization in my riding that provides services to the underprivileged, was denied funding for the first time in 30 years. Its summer employment program is based entirely on funding from the federal government.
The minister has politicized the summer employment programs by saying that these may not be “clean” programs.
Can he explain to my constituents why programs such as day care and summer camp will be cancelled?
Specifically, what is wrong with Community Centre 55? Everyone in Beaches—East York knows its work. Why did the minister rule it out?
Monte Solberg ConservativeMinister of Human Resources and Social Development
Mr. Speaker, this will be a foreign concept to the member, but the minister did not make decisions on these groups, unlike the previous program where the Liberals intervened and directed the funding to their friends.
The member speaks of groups getting funded. I want to talk about the Flemingdon Park--
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
Order. I cannot hear a word the minister is saying. We must have some order. I am sure the hon. member for Beaches—East York is having difficulty as well and she asked the question. We must have some order.
The hon. Minister of Human Resources and Social Development has the floor.
Monte Solberg Conservative Medicine Hat, AB
Yes, Mr. Speaker, no more money for Wal-Mart and Safeway, but we are sending money to the Flemingdon Park Parent Association. Twenty coaches will be hired to help with students this year. That is first time funding. It is funding that was never given under the Liberal plan.
We are helping these groups. Most important, we are helping students.
Rodger Cuzner Liberal Cape Breton—Canso, NS
Mr. Speaker, the good people of Cape Breton--Canso have been victimized by what must have been an administrative error, because somewhere somebody has lost a zero.
Last summer we had a thousand summer students working. This year it is a hundred. That is a drop of 90%.
These jobs were not Wal-Mart jobs. They were community jobs in museums, theatres and recreation programs.
The actions of the government have hurt students and they have hurt communities. When will the minister restore the funding? When will he act like a hero and give us back our zero?
Monte Solberg ConservativeMinister of Human Resources and Social Development
Mr. Speaker, apparently his riding has a zero.
I want to talk about his riding. We are providing funding to the St. Anne Community and Nursing Care Centre, the Port Hastings Historical Society, the Al MacInnis Sports Centre, Camp Rankin 4-H, and the Eastern Counties Regional Library. The list goes on and on.
We are helping students and we are helping those not for profit groups.
Nicole Demers Bloc Laval, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Quebec Native Women's Association has denounced the federal government's underfunding of shelters located in aboriginal communities. The federal government allocates approximately $150,000 annually per shelter, while the Quebec government gives nearly $487,000. These shelters are vital to many aboriginal women and their children.
Why should aboriginal women receive three times less funding when, according to Statistics Canada, they are three times more likely to be victims of violence than other women?
Jim Prentice ConservativeMinister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the hon. member's question. We have already said that we must protect the interests of aboriginals, youth and women. However, here is the real question. Why does the Bloc Québécois refuse to support Bill C-44?
Jean-Yves Roy Bloc Haute-Gaspésie—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons will not stop repeating that the travel expenses of the Minister of Labour and the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities fully respect all points of the administrative regulations and that everything is in order.
We would like to believe the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, but let him stop covering up and tell us how much money each minister has spent. Let him make that public, on a sheet of paper. Then we can judge for ourselves.
Can the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons do that?
Peter Van Loan ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform
Mr. Speaker, as I have said many times, the travel expenses of the ministers are fully disclosed. That is clear. The difference is that the Liberals spent more than the Conservatives.
Brian Murphy Liberal Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB
Mr. Speaker, this government does not care about medium-sized cities. From Abbotsford to Charlottetown, airports like the Moncton Airport, important economic generators to their communities, are cancelling new flights. Why? Because the Minister of Public Safety neglects to rein in the rogue president of the Canada Border Services Agency and refuses to hire the needed customs officers.
We know the government does not care about the charter, literacy, women's issues, child care and summer jobs. Must we now add mid-sized airports and their communities to the not wanted list, to this culture of defeat?
Stockwell Day ConservativeMinister of Public Safety
Mr. Speaker, there is a core review going on right now to see how much extra is needed in terms of resources to have extra officers to correspond to increased economic growth in certain areas, just as we did in Newfoundland recently. We looked at an area where there was an increased amount of traffic because of a sudden movement upward in economic activity, and because we were able to move CBSA officers around, they were able to have extra flights into that area.
We have also met with people on the Moncton issue.
We are seeing what can be done. It is going to take some time, because there is a certain amount of resources across the country, but we are looking at it.
Joe Preston Conservative Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON
Mr. Speaker, last night the unaccountable, unelected Liberal Senate stooped to a new low when it used sleazy tactics to ram through its environmental plan. The Senate committee, in 43 seconds flat--
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
Order. The hon. member for Elgin--Middlesex--London has the floor. We are wasting time. I cannot hear a word he is saying. We will have some order.
Joe Preston Conservative Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON
Mr. Speaker, it rammed through its environmental plan in 43 seconds flat.
Canada's leading economist said this bill would cause a massive recession, including dramatic increases in the cost of gasoline, yet the Liberals passed it through the committee without one second of debate. Once again the Liberal Party has shown itself to be anti-democratic and dictatorial in its pursuit of power.
Could the Minister of the Environment tell this House how ramming through Bill C-288 in 43 seconds is undemocratic--
John Baird ConservativeMinister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, Canadians have become used to sleazy and underhanded tactics by the unelected Liberal senators, but we saw a new low last night. They booked two hours for a meeting but, wanting to sneak off, not do their jobs and go home early, they rammed through a bill in 43 seconds without one single second of debate.
It is time for these unelected members of the Liberal leader's dream team, senators like Tommy Banks, to go back to Alberta, resign, and let the people of Alberta elect real senators to do the job for them.
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
Order. Perhaps before the next question period hon. members may want to check the rules. There is a prohibition in the rules against speaking disrespectfully of the other place and we are getting awfully close to the line. I know it is a popular subject of discussion in the House, but there is a line.
The hon. member for Vancouver Island North.
Catherine Bell NDP Vancouver Island North, BC
Mr. Speaker, last week the Minister of International Trade said that the softwood deal was working just fine and there were no further talks with the U.S., but the Minister of Natural Resources claims that the government has proposed an export tax on logs to make them cheaper to mill in Canada. He says that the Minister of International Trade is looking at this.
If the softwood deal is working so well, why is the minister proposing this new tax? What table is he bringing it up at if none exists?
Gary Lunn ConservativeMinister of Natural Resources
Mr. Speaker, in fact the Minister of International Trade backed the softwood lumber industry in every corner of this country. We saw $5 billion returned to the industry in this country.
There is a clause with respect to whole log exports to the U.S. that allows for ongoing discussions with our counterparts in the U.S. This is something that the Minister of International Trade is pursuing.
We are providing certainties to this industry so it can move forward.
Catherine Bell NDP Vancouver Island North, BC
Mr. Speaker, thousands of jobs have been lost across the country. Mills are closing in B.C., Ontario and Quebec. The Minister of Natural Resources says that logs can only be exported if no one wants them, yet mill operators say they cannot get logs and they do not have access to fibre because of raw log exports.
I ask again, will the minister agree that the exporting of raw logs means the exporting of jobs? Does he agree it must be curtailed? Will he commit to help mills that are struggling and keep value added and manufacturing jobs in Canada where they belong?
Gary Lunn ConservativeMinister of Natural Resources
Mr. Speaker, there is not one log that is exported from Canada unless it has been given first to the Canadian operators and is deemed an excess log. Every time there is a hearing.
More important, this government has committed $400 million to help restructure the forest industry. It is very well received according to the president of the Forest Products Association of Canada, Avrim Lazar. The association is applauding our efforts and so is the industry.