Debates of May 29th, 2007

Manufacturing Industry

[Chris Charlton, NDP, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in less than 15 minutes American owned Hamilton Specialty Bar will be closing its doors for the final time. At the same time, the Hamilton port will receive and unload imported steel instead of Canadian steel being ready for export.

Liberal and Conservative governments have done nothing to save the over 11,000 manufacturing jobs lost in Hamilton or the over 250,000 jobs lost nationwide.

When will the government recognize that the crisis in the manufacturing sector is real and work with labour and business to develop a meaningful industrial strategy, protect jobs during foreign takeovers and create fair trade?

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, I have a press release in my hand from the Canadian Manufacturing Coalition. It said today that this government has acknowledged that manufacturing is the core driver of our economy with its commitment to follow up on practically every recommendation that the industry committee made.

The good news is that today I announced at a press conference that this government will follow all the recommendations that the industry committee gave us at the beginning of February.

[Chris Charlton, NDP, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Mr. Speaker, that answer is cold comfort to the men who have to go home to their families tonight and tell them that dad has lost his job.

Thousands of unemployed workers are facing uncertain futures. It is time to put these working families first. Will the minister begin by telling the workers of Hamilton Specialty Bar today that they will have adequate EI benefits and retraining? Will he tell them that bankruptcy laws will be changed so that wages and pensions are protected? Will he tell them that he will not accept the decline of decent paying jobs as simply being inevitable? Will he at least tell them that?

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, what we are doing is simple: we are putting money back in the pockets of Canadian entrepreneurs and manufacturing industries. We are also reducing taxes and making sure there is a competitive environment for these industries. We believe that manufacturers create jobs. That is what the Canadian manufacturers federation is telling us and what all Canadians are telling us.

The most important thing to remember is that we have policies that are producing real results. Why? Because the unemployment rate here in Canada is at its lowest level in 30 years.

Ministerial Expenses

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the manipulation by the Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec is not surprising. We knew he had neglected to declare $150,000 in travel expenditures. We learned that he had awarded a $24,000 contract to his riding assistant. In addition, the minister said yesterday that it was just to add to the employee's salary, which is strictly illegal.

Will he repay the money he spent illegally?

[Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Conservative, Minister of Labour and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec]

Mr. Speaker, first, the member said that $150,000 in expenditures were concealed, but this is not true, because they were posted in full on the Internet. He should take back what he said. I hope he will do the honourable thing, because all the expenditures were posted on the Internet, as required.

Second, I want to say that Mr. Giguère, who worked in my riding, divided his time between two types of work. He worked both for the riding office and for the cabinet, and he was paid out of the budget envelopes for those functions.

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the rule is clear. Treasury Board policies state that “ministers shall not enter into contracts for the services of individuals when the terms of the contract or the actual work situation would result in an employer-employee relationship”. The Standing Orders of the House of Commons also leave no room for doubt. They say that persons paid out of the consolidated revenue fund cannot provide members with contractual services.

Will the minister admit once and for all that the contract he awarded to his assistant violates the rules of Parliament?

[Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Conservative, Minister of Labour and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec]

Mr. Speaker, I repeat that this contract was duly approved by the department.

I would like the hon. member to respond to this: the member for Cardigan hired his official agent at a cost of $70,000, but the agent never produced the work for which the minister had hired him.

Mr. Giguère produced speeches and statements that I used, and he was paid for what he did. Why does the member for Cardigan have different standards, and why did he pay $70,000 for work that was never done?

[Diane Marleau, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we have a policy on the mandatory disclosure of travel expenses. The Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity told us that he had participated in over 100 meetings, events and celebrations with dozens of communities and organizations from coast to coast. Yet the Conservatives are still indulging in their shady practices. Where are these expenses disclosed?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Secretary of State (Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity)]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for once again highlighting my work with cultural communities to ensure that the government is aware of their concerns and priorities. That is why I travel alot to attend events.

I have asked my departmental staff to post my travel expenses online as soon as possible.

[Diane Marleau, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives say one thing but they do another. If the Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity has glad-handed at over 100 official meetings in the last five months, he is required by law to disclose all the costs. As of this morning, there was not one disclosure for any expenses for this period on the government website.

Instead of allowing his ministers to launder their expenses, when will the Prime Minister act accountably and force all ministers to fully disclose all their expenses as prescribed by law?

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order, please. It is clear that everybody wants to hear the government House leader's answer but we cannot if there is this much noise. He has the floor. Order, please.

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

Mr. Speaker, I love it when we get to talk about expenses of ministers because the contrast between the Liberals and the Conservatives is like day and night. When they were doing their heists it was during the day and they were spending extraordinary amounts of money.

The Secretary of State for Multiculturalism has said that he has instructed that those expenditures be disclosed. However, members will not find things like this: the Liberal ministers of health, 289% more spending than the Conservative ministers of health. It is just typical of how they spent on expenses.

Option Canada

[Pierre Paquette, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government is using as an excuse the fact that the events surrounding the Option Canada scandal happened 12 years ago. However, 23 years after the Air India disaster, a commission of inquiry was set up.

Let us now talk about excuses. Several decades went by before Chinese Canadians and Japanese Canadians received apologies from the federal government.

Why is this possible for others, but never for Quebeckers?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind this House that in order to restore confidence in our institutions, there was a commission of inquiry. The Gomery commission allowed this government to have the accountability act passed. This legislation can be summed up in two words: never again; no patronage ever again, no illegal contracts ever again. We have done our job. We are practising open federalism and we will continue to do our job.

[Pierre Paquette, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, with a response like that, the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities is condoning the behaviour of Gagliano and Jean Chrétien.

When he was the president of the National Citizens Coalition, the Prime Minister called for third parties to have the right to unlimited spending during election campaigns and for donors to have the right to remain anonymous, which were two of Option Canada's objectives.

Is the Prime Minister's refusal to go down the only path that is consistent with respecting the Quebec nation and its laws not evidence that he is still thinking along the same lines and that he is siding with Jean Chrétien?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, before responding to those incendiary remarks, I would like to say that in no way are the actions of this government similar to those of our predecessors.

I would remind our colleagues that Quebeckers said no twice. They are staying with Canada and forming a nation within Canada.

Will the Bloc Québécois recognize the decision of Quebeckers?

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order, please. The hon. member for Mount Royal.

Citizenship and Immigration

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as the minister of--

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order, please. The previous question was asked and the answer was given.

We will now move on to another question. The hon. member for Mount Royal.

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration is aware, a former Bangladesh diplomat with a Canadian connection is facing imminent deportation from the U.S. to Bangladesh where he will be executed after a political trial was held in absentia.

Given this humanitarian issue and that Mr. Mohiuddin Ahmed has immediate family in Canada, would the minister be prepared to review this case, to provide Mr. Ahmed with the protection this case would warrant and help secure the suspension of his deportation until this case can be reviewed?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, as the member knows very well, I cannot comment on any specific case due to privacy reasons.

However, I can assure the member that Canada has one of the most welcoming and fair immigration systems in the world. Each case, whether it is on a refugee immigrant or on a humanitarian basis, is reviewed on its own merits and on all the facts.