House of Commons Hansard #169 of the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was million.
Stockwell Day ConservativeMinister of Public Safety
Mr. Speaker, on the issue of public trust, I was interested to see a poll three days ago about the RCMP. It indicated that over 80% of Canadians have very high confidence in the RCMP.
On the issue of the report, my colleague opposite stated that the report is due on June 15 and members have not seen it yet, but it is not June 15 yet. June 15 is coming. I have said all along that the report would be public and of course that report will be totally public.
Sue Barnes Liberal London West, ON
Mr. Speaker, this is just not a good day for Conservative promises, so I hope that happens on Friday.
Even if this report is made public, the fact remains that new allegations continue to surface. There are many problems within the RCMP that need to be addressed.
We are in the last two weeks of the sitting of this Parliament. We know that Commissioner Busson will retire in just a few days. Will the minister guarantee to Canadians that a new RCMP commissioner will be named and on the job without any interruption?
Stockwell Day ConservativeMinister of Public Safety
First of all, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Commissioner Busson. As the first female commissioner of the RCMP, she has done a tremendous job in the role. She will continue in that role until a new commissioner is named. That will be happening fairly soon. I cannot say the exact date, but it is going to be happening soon, and I think Canadians will be pleased with that.
I think Canadians are also going to be pleased with the results of the Brown report. We are taking an approach that gets us some answers in a relatively short period of time in order to deal with issues that are of concern to men and women in uniform and to Canadians. We want that done in a short period of time. We do not want to take up years and millions of dollars as the Liberals have done.
Ujjal Dosanjh Liberal Vancouver South, BC
Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Foreign Affairs told us that his government is “working closely” with the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission and the Red Cross regarding allegations of torture.
Under the detainee agreement, the Red Cross has no obligation to monitor detainees. The human rights commission is a paper tiger with no power to compel production of evidence. How can the Minister of Foreign Affairs expect an independent investigation by the Afghan government in a country full of corruption?
Stockwell Day ConservativeMinister of Public Safety
Mr. Speaker, it is disappointing to hear what a short term and narrow view the Liberals are taking in terms of the accomplishments being made in Afghanistan when we consider that for decades or perhaps centuries it has been a feudal society with successive regimes that have had little or no respect for human rights.
Now, in a period of a few short years, largely because of the work of Canadians and others, there is actually an Afghanistan human rights commission. It is opening its prison facilities there, with wide open access to us and to other individuals coming in there, and with registries for the prisoners. There is huge progress being made. It is not perfect, but he should acknowledge progress.
Ujjal Dosanjh Liberal Vancouver South, BC
Mr. Speaker, for over two months the official opposition has been asking questions in the House regarding the allegations of torture by the Afghan detainees. Yesterday, of course, the government came full circle in its stories with the Minister of Foreign Affairs suggesting that the Red Cross is involved in the investigation. It is not and the Red Cross said so the last time.
With the allegations of torture to be investigated by a system that is rife with corruption, will the minister guarantee a full, fair and independent investigation of the serious allegations of torture?
Stockwell Day ConservativeMinister of Public Safety
Mr. Speaker, we are committed to that whole process. Again, I would encourage members opposite to acknowledge every now and then, just occasionally, what positive things are happening.
At the committee meeting last week, we were there for two hours and those members continued to try to split hairs and talk about some problem with the facts. In terms of detainees who have expressed concerns about allegations of torture, the foreign affairs minister said that two plus four equals six. I said that four plus two equals six. All they could say was that we were not saying the same thing.
Why do we not start acknowledging the great progress that is being made in Afghanistan and acknowledge our troops--
Marc Lemay Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
Mr. Speaker, Amnesty International has denounced Canada's systematic opposition to negotiations of the rights of indigenous peoples at the United Nations. Of the 47 member countries of the Human Rights Council, only Russia and Canada voted against the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples last June.
Why has the government, and particularly the Prime Minister's office, been using all its political and diplomatic artillery to undermine the rights of aboriginal peoples this past year?
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. If the Bloc members say they are in favour of human rights, they should support Bill C-44 dealing with the rights of women and children. We still have not heard from the hon. member on this matter.
Marc Lemay Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
Mr. Speaker, the minister should stop trying to use blackmail. The government has systematically ignored the repeated recommendations of the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, as well as the many aboriginal organizations that have asked it to adopt the UN declaration.
What is the reason for this change in international aboriginal policy?
Jim Prentice ConservativeMinister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians
Mr. Speaker, it is important that the record of the House be clear on this. The government has not changed the policy of the Government of Canada relative to the UN declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples. This government continues to maintain the position that has been held by governments in the past, namely, that we have not yet arrived at a text that is acceptable to the Government of Canada.
We have not yet arrived at a text that provides appropriate recognition of the Canadian charter, the many treaties that have been signed, and other statutes and policies of the Government of Canada, and we continue to work with our aboriginal partners to try to achieve such a text.
Garth Turner Conservative Halton, ON
Mr. Speaker, the member for Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley was thrown out of the Conservative caucus for doing what an MP should do and that is to represent his constituents.
The member for Wellington—Halton Hills left the Conservative cabinet because he is a man of principle and he could no longer follow the Prime Minister.
The member for South Shore—St. Margaret's is struggling to stand up for his voters against relentless pressure from the PMO.
My question for the Prime Minister is this: what does he have against honest MPs doing their jobs?
Peter Van Loan ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform
Mr. Speaker, we very much believe that a government should keep its promises and members of Parliament should keep their promises. That has been a big theme for the Liberals today and we respect that theme.
I respect the member for Halton and I would like to respect the promise he made when he said that anyone who crosses the floor should go back to the people for ratification. I invite him to respect those words as much as we respect his words.
Dean Del Mastro Conservative Peterborough, ON
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister recently returned from the G-8 with a major international agreement to fight climate change. This agreement brings the largest emitters to the table, countries such as China, India and the United States.
It is interesting that the Liberal leader, the president of the did not get it done club, has not had anything to say about Canada's great success on the world stage even though last week he was misleading Canadians about our position on climate change.
Could the Minister of the Environment tell this House and all Canadians how important this agreement is in the global fight against climate change?
John Baird ConservativeMinister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, the member for Peterborough will be very interested in reading a press release from the World Wildlife Fund, which states, “The support by the [European Union], Japan and Canada to cut carbon pollution 50 per cent by 2050 means we are a step closer to taking real action” on climate change. It states, “The fact that the [United States] has signed up to this agreement is significant”.
Let us listen to Mary Simon, an Inuit leader in Canada, who said, “I am encouraged by the work of our Canadian Prime Minister...and German Chancellor Merkel for their efforts to shoot for absolute CO2 reduction”. She said, “The Canadian government has recently shown some positive movement on this issue of climate change, and we welcome that”.
Olivia Chow NDP Trinity—Spadina, ON
Mr. Speaker, Jordan Manners was shot dead in his school. I have here a question from his uncle Greg, who says: “A lot of people are quick to jump out and say, 'Let's stop the violence!'. But when the time comes to act, a lot of people just jump out. If it were your loved ones that got taken from this world, what would you do? Do you love them enough to take action while they're still here and alive to appreciate?”
Will the Prime Minister treat Jordan like one of his own children, take immediate action, stop the violence, and support our youth?
Stockwell Day ConservativeMinister of Public Safety
Mr. Speaker, it is one thing to have passionate debate about a variety of issues like this one, but to start to transmit this into a reflection on who loves whose loved ones the most I just do not think is appropriate. We all have loved ones. We have kids. We have grandkids. We want them to be safe and secure in this country.
That is why this government has put in significantly more resources to have officers on the street, to go after gun smuggling, and to have legislation that will require mandatory jail terms for people who are committing crimes with firearms. These are among the things that we are doing to see crime, and specifically crime with firearms, reduced in Canada.
Olivia Chow NDP Trinity—Spadina, ON
Mr. Speaker, that question did not come from me. The question came from the uncle of the child who was shot dead in his school.
Young people have said that they are afraid to come forward after witnessing major crimes. They need protection.
The Association of Chiefs of Police, the mayor, the Toronto Police Services Board have all asked for increased federal money for witness protection. Applications are on the rise, but the government is sitting on its hands.
When will the government get serious on crime, beef up the witness protection program and get criminals off our streets?
Stockwell Day ConservativeMinister of Public Safety
Mr. Speaker, a number of different agencies and police forces offer witness protection programs. The number who are involved in the witness protection program that is handled through the RCMP is quite significant. That program has to be carefully monitored. As you, Mr. Speaker, and others have been reading, sometimes there are problems with that. However, we are doing a number of things and taking a number of initiatives.
I congratulate the police in the city of Toronto. They have been very aggressive when it comes to gun crime, more officers on the street, going after smuggling and after criminals. In fact, in spite of those two recent tragedies, gun crime in Toronto has been reduced because of their approach to this in the last year.
Marcel Proulx Liberal Hull—Aylmer, QC
Mr. Speaker, during question period, immediately following the Minister of the Environment's answer to the second question, his colleague, the member for Langley, gave us the finger.
I would appreciate your asking the member for Langley to apologize for his unacceptable conduct.
Mark Warawa ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, the gesture I made was pointing to the minister, congratulating him for the good work he did. Then I pointed to the Liberal leader and said “he didn't get it done”.
I am sorry they take offence at that, but it is the truth. They did not get it done.
Marcel Proulx Liberal Hull—Aylmer, QC
Mr. Speaker, I find the member for Langley's attitude deplorable. He was caught behaving arrogantly and he does not want to admit it.
I will leave it in your hands, Mr. Speaker. We have already judged him, and the people of Canada will judge him too.
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
I did not see anything to contradict the hon. member for Langley's explanation. However, the Chair might watch the House debates video recorded during the hon. minister's response. If there is a problem, I will bring a ruling to the House after having taken all of this into consideration.
The House resumed consideration of the motion that Bill C-52, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on March 19, 2007, be read the third time and passed, and of the motion that this question be now put.