Debates of May 29th, 2007

Smart Regulation

[Bonnie Brown, Liberal, Oakville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I want to alert my colleagues to regulatory changes that are being made without parliamentary oversight.

Under the seemingly harmless name of “smart regulation”, rules and standards are being weakened in ways that could threaten the health and safety of Canadians.

Whether it is therapeutic products, food safety or transportation safety, there is an effort to make our regulations more friendly to business and more profitable for them.

All this is part of the security and prosperity partnership of North America and its subset, the council on competitiveness. This entire partnership is so profoundly undemocratic that to date 14 American states have passed resolutions demanding that the American Congress act to cease American involvement in it.

It is time that we in this House took action as well to ensure democratic oversight of this ongoing effort to more deeply integrate our nation with our neighbours to the south.

Canada Summer Jobs

[France Bonsant, Bloc, Compton—Stanstead, QC]

Mr. Speaker, over the past few weeks, the Conservatives have demonstrated their improvisation skills in areas under provincial jurisdiction.

In the Canada summer jobs file, youth, organizations in Quebec and the Bloc Québécois all warned the government about its questionable choices concerning the criteria and the assessment of funding requests.

When it realized that it had made a mistake, the government backpedalled and returned to the way things used to be. Thanks to the Bloc Québécois' work, young people in Quebec will have better job opportunities and our organizations will be able to keep making valuable contributions to their communities.

We hope that the government has now learned its lesson. Worker training programs do not fall under its jurisdiction. It must therefore transfer all such programs to Quebec without delay.

Manufacturing Industry

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the member for Windsor—Tecumseh and I marched with thousands of Windsor and Essex County residents in support of the need for provincial and federal action to protect the manufacturing heartland of this country.

The “Our Jobs, Our Communities, Our Future” rally demonstrated that Canadians are concerned about their jobs and the community consequences.

Consider the following facts. In four and a half years we have lost 250,000 manufacturing jobs in Canada. Over the past 10 years we now have a trade deficit of $16 billion. Manufacturing accounts for 17% of the Canadian economy and is the highest value added sector, and trade agreements have decimated workers. Despite these facts, Liberal and Conservative policies have jeopardized this valuable industry and our national security.

Canadians want to compete, but how can we when Canada has the most open market in the world, yet places no expectations on other countries who dump into our market, have tariff and non-tariff barriers, subsidize their products through poor labour and environmental policies, and we have a dollar and energy prices that compromise our competitiveness.

The New Democrats believe it is time to show action and vision. Consider a new auto pact, challenge nations that undercut fair competition with dollar manipulation, and enhance social programs and sectoral strategies.

Consider these alternatives for a brighter future, one that proudly says Canadians are the best in manufacturing, and want and will compete in the world market, but it is government that has to provide them the tools to do so.

Human Trafficking

[Joy Smith, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Mr. Speaker, this past April in Washington, D.C., the Fain Award was presented to Liliane Kohl and Peggy Sakow, chairpersons of the temple committee against human trafficking on behalf of Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom in Montreal. The Fain Award is an international award presented every two years to congregations whose work in the area of social justice is exemplary.

Beginning in 2005, under the leadership of Rabbi Lerner, Liliane Kohl, Peggy Sakow and the temple committee against human trafficking have worked tirelessly to bring together Christians, Jews and secular human rights groups, as well as two countries, to combat one of the most horrific crimes of our time, human trafficking.

It is my great honour today to congratulate Rabbi Lerner, Ms. Kohl, Ms. Sakow and Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom on receiving this auspicious award that recognizes the outstanding dedication and commitment they have shown in confronting human trafficking, the modern day slavery.

Millennium Scholarships Excellence Award

[Yasmin Ratansi, Liberal, Don Valley East, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the millennium excellence award program is one of Canada's most prestigious national scholarship initiatives.

Directed at Canadians preparing to enter college or university for the first time, the program's entrance award plays a crucial role in the recognition and encouragement of excellence in the classroom and beyond.

The millennium excellence award program seeks candidates with outstanding achievements in four key areas: academic performance, community service, leadership and innovation.

I am therefore very proud to announce that five students from my constituency of Don Valley East have earned this prestigious award: Heeba Abdullah, Ashley Booker, Safir Jamal, Naila Obaid and Arissa Sperou.

I ask all members of the House to join me in congratulating these outstanding students and future leaders of Canada.

Memorial Cup

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has a new Memorial Cup champion. This past Sunday the Vancouver Giants beat the Medicine Hat Tigers by a score of 3-1 to win the 89th MasterCard Memorial Cup Tournament. The game was not settled until Michael Repik scored the winning goal with less than five minutes to play.

The Giants won the top prize in major junior hockey by beating a Tiger team that had beaten Vancouver in its three most recent games. Giants winger Milan Lucic was named the tournament's most valuable player.

The Giants are now the major junior hockey champions of Canada for the first time in their short six year history. The last time a Lower Mainland team won the coveted cup was when the legendary Punch McLean and his New Westminster Bruins did it in 1978.

Just over an hour from now our fans will be celebrating the Giants victory at Vancouver City Hall. Mayor Sam Sullivan will be declaring today, May 29, Vancouver Giants Day.

Congratulations to Coach Don Hay and the whole Giants organization for a job well done. Go Giants Go.

First Nations Schools

[Marc Lemay, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, nobody in 2007 can deny that education is a priority. Nevertheless, even today, the government is asking first nations schools that provide primary and secondary education to do things the same way they did 20 years ago. It is unacceptable that a school subsidized by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada cannot offer the same quality of education as those located off reserve.

Twenty years ago, nobody was talking about technology in schools. Now it is part of our everyday lives. Why should things be any different in aboriginal communities? Why do these communities not have 21st century technology like non-aboriginal schools?

Why have first nations budgets been limited to a 2% per year increase since 1996 even though the cost of living has risen faster than that?

The Bloc Québécois is asking the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development to make education a priority. Every citizen should have access to the same quality of education.

Hepatitis Awareness Month

[Steven Fletcher, Conservative, Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia, MB]

Mr. Speaker, May is Hepatitis Awareness Month. This serves as an opportunity to promote awareness and understanding of the impact of hepatitis on Canadians affected by and living with this disease.

We can reduce the risk of hepatitis A by proper handwashing before preparing and eating food. Hepatitis B and C can be spread through direct contact with infected blood and the risk can be reduced by not sharing items that may be contaminated.

In July 2006, the Prime Minister demonstrated leadership and compassion when he announced compensation for the forgotten victims of hepatitis C. The forgotten victims are individuals who were infected through the blood system before 1986 and after 1990, and were denied compensation by the previous Liberal government.

The government also supports the long term funding of the hepatitis C prevention, support and research program and we have been investing $10.6 million per year toward this effort. We look forward to continued collaboration with all stakeholders in the area of hepatitis C.

Manufacturing Industry

[Sukh Dhaliwal, Liberal, Newton—North Delta, BC]

Mr. Speaker, workers in manufacturing have been losing their jobs across Canada and the Conservative government has done nothing to help stem the tide. It has also done nothing to help working families with support programs.

In the greater Vancouver area, including my riding, over 800 jobs are gone as a result of Air Canada's decision to take operations elsewhere. All this, while the federal government is scaling back or cancelling programs to support workers and their families.

I call upon the government to take action urgently to ensure the security of workers' pensions and ensure access to all the employment related benefits.

The government also has to work with provincial governments to develop an economic plan to enhance the manufacturing sector in Canada.

Komagata Maru

[Nina Grewal, Conservative, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

Mr. Speaker, last week marked the 93rd anniversary of a sad chapter in Canadian history, the Komagata Maru incident.

In May 1914, Canadian authorities forced out to sea a ship carrying 376 Indian migrants. While the passengers were citizens of the Commonwealth, they were unwelcome on Canadian shores.

Our Prime Minister is the first prime minister to acknowledge this tragedy. Last summer, in a speech in Surrey, B.C., he announced that our government would consult with the Indo-Canadian community to determine how best to commemorate this event.

We are now reviewing the report and its recommendations. We are finalizing details for appropriate redress, including a fitting memorial to the Komagata Maru and the events surrounding it.

For 13 years, the previous Liberal government refused to acknowledge the Komagata Maru tragedy and took no steps to observe the event. It is clear that while the Liberals and NDP pay lip service to Canada's cultural communities, our government achieves results.

Manufacturing Industry

[David Christopherson, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last week, in my hometown of Hamilton, workers rallied to protest the Conservatives' lack of action over our disappearing jobs and that list is still growing.

Stelco's hot strip mill closed on May 10, taking 350 jobs with it. Hamilton Specialty Bar will shut down too, sending another 360 skilled workers to the unemployment line.

Twenty years ago, over 14,000 men and women worked for Stelco in Hamilton and now there are fewer than 2,000.

What has been the Conservatives' response? They look the other way, just as the Liberals did.

The Canadian Labour Congress is here today in Ottawa to offer a practical five point plan to reverse this downward spiral, including a call for a national action plan on manufacturing.

Silence is not saving Canada's manufacturing heartland. It is time for Parliament to do its job so Canadians can keep their jobs.

Wall of Peace

[Albina Guarnieri, Liberal, Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last Sunday, more than 400 people of various religious denominations gathered at the Canadian Museum of Hindu Civilization for the inauguration ceremony of the Wall of Peace.

This new and unique monument contrasts a chronology of war and conflict with those who stood apart by striving for justice without violence.

The Wall of Peace is the vision of Dr. Budhendra Doobay and Navin Chandaria.

These individuals have inspired a fleet of supporters, including leading business and community leader Michael Lee-Chin and peace advocate Dr. Deepak Chopra who spoke at the opening.

I commend the founders for raising this monument to those who scaled the walls of human conflict to rise above the centuries and become our icons of peace.

Congratulations to all.

Gilbert Fillion

[Robert Bouchard, Bloc, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we were very sad to learn about the death of Gilbert Fillion, former member of the Bloc Québécois, after a long battle with cancer.

A city councillor from 1981 to 1993 for the city of Chicoutimi, Gilbert was known for never giving up on those he represented and the issues that mattered to him.

As a staunch sovereignist, he was elected with the first team of the Bloc Québécois in the riding of Chicoutimi in 1993, and sat as a member in the House of Commons until 1997.

During his long battle with the disease, I had a few opportunities to speak with him. Even if his situation was not always easy, he always gave came across as a man who loved life and was prepared to put up a fight.

The Bloc Québécois would like to offer his wife, Louise, his family, his friends and his former colleagues its most sincere condolences during this difficult time.

Election in Prince Edward Island

[Shawn Murphy, Liberal, Charlottetown, PE]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to offer congratulations to premier-elect, Robert Ghiz, on his resounding victory yesterday in the Prince Edward Island general election. The Liberals took 23 of the 27 seats and received an astounding 53% of the popular vote.

Robert Ghiz and his Liberals offered Islanders a platform that aligned with the values, hopes, aspirations and dreams of all Islanders. They ran a great positive campaign. I want to assure everyone in the House that he will make a great premier.

I also want to thank and congratulate the outgoing premier, Pat Binns, for his service to the province during his reign as premier over the last ten and a half years.

Finally, I want to congratulate and offer my best wishes to all candidates, successful and unsuccessful, who stood for public office in yesterday's election. It is not an easy task. I wish them all success in their future endeavours.

Canada Summer Jobs

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Lévis—Bellechasse, QC]

Mr. Speaker, over the past few days, community organizations from Lévis, Bellechasse and Etchemins have contacted me to express their great satisfaction since being granted one, two or sometimes even several summer jobs, thereby contributing to the betterment of our communities.

Contrary to the Bloc Québécois' claims, the new Canada summer jobs program is providing generous funding this year to non-profit organizations throughout Quebec and Canada.

I was in Lévis yesterday to announce $37,000 in funding for Phars, an organization that provides care for people with disabilities. Thanks to that funding, 16 students, a record number, will be hired, thus giving them valuable work experience. This is in addition to the support given to Nouvel Essor in Lac-Etchemin, L'A-Droit de Chaudière-Appalaches in Lévis, the Société du Patrimoine de Sainte-Justine, Travail Jeunesse in Lévis, as well as jobs in Saint-Magloire and Sainte-Claire, to name only a few.

While the Bloc Québécois can only squawk on the opposition benches with no results, our government is taking action for our youth and our community organizations. We are keeping our word.

Rural Communities

[Louise Thibault, Bloc, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, apparently, the, not so new, Conservative government does not seem to understand the term “rural community”. Perhaps they think it means neglect, abandonment, isolation, and unending vastness.

For the people in my region and in those of many of my colleagues, living in a rural area means continuing to play an active role in the decisions that contribute to our own development, as well as being supported by the government.

We do not scorn urban areas, because we provide them with resources, but we simply want a fair share of the taxes we invest in collective development to be invested in our right to live in rural areas.

Centralized programs, confined by their inflexible framework, frustrate our desire to be at the heart of the world, like anyone else. It is time for the Conservative government to stop playing the new kid on the block who knows only how to improvise. It is time for the government to discover, understand and respect the rural reality.

The Environment

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, as in the case of Afghanistan, but this time it is the G-8, the government says one thing and then contradicts itself. This time the Minister of the Environment and the Prime Minister are at odds. The position of the Bush administration is quite clear. It is opposed to any reference in the final declaration to mandatory targets for greenhouse gas reductions.

Will the Prime Minister also be opposed? Will he continue to be part of the problem or will he finally be part of the solution?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday, for the first time in history, a prime minister of Canada will be at the G-8 meeting with a plan in place to reduce greenhouse gases. This is the position that we are promoting to the international community, including the United States, China and the other major emitters. The contradiction rests with the leader of the Liberal Party, whose record for greenhouse gas reductions is much worse than that of Mr. Bush.

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is misleading--

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

We will have a little order.

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is not because the Prime Minister repeats and repeats a fallacy that it becomes a truth. There was a plan, which was seven times better than his plan, and he killed it. This is the truth.

The target that we are speaking about is to decrease emissions worldwide by 50% by 2050, starting with the baseline of 1990, not 2006. The Bush administration opposed it. Will the Prime Minister support it?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again the Leader of the Opposition can repeat these falsehoods but the fact is that there was no plan in effect when this government took office. This government has put a plan in effect.

The fact is that the record of the Leader of the Opposition when he was in government was the worst in the world, worse than the United States and President Bush. He can repeat the contrary until he is blue in the face but that will not give him the Conservative environmental record.

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the last thing we want is--

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!