Debates of June 20th, 2007

Softwood Lumber

[Blair Wilson, Liberal, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the government brags about its softwood lumber sellout, but only seven months into the deal the U.S. has started attacking our programs, increasing the 10.8% duty to a 15% tax. Now we learn it is getting set to impose a new 50% penalty tax, while at the same time starting new lawsuits against us using our very own money which the Conservatives surrendered in the first place.

Canadians deserve answers. It is time to tell the truth. When will the government stop caving in to the White House and the U.S. lumber lobby?

[David Emerson, Conservative, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics]

Mr. Speaker, I think the truth of the matter is it is time the hon. member, members opposite, members of the NDP and the others who oppose the softwood lumber agreement faced up to the fact that without the softwood lumber agreement, we would be facing new chapter 19 lawsuits, new actions. We would be facing duties of 30% or 40%. And we would not have put over $5 billion back into the pockets of Canadians.

Automobile Industry

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Mississauga—Brampton South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, our auto industry is very concerned that the Conservative government is currently negotiating a free trade agreement with South Korea. Based on the government's track record on the softwood sellout, the industry has every right to be concerned. There are numerous reports which indicate that thousands of auto sector jobs will be lost.

Canadians deserve answers, and it is time the government told the truth.

Will the government ensure that any agreement with South Korea will not sell out our auto industry?

[David Emerson, Conservative, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics]

Mr. Speaker, it amazes me. I guess when the Liberals lose some critical members from the other side, they start to take their economic lessons from the NDP. Even the language is NDP language.

We will not enter into free trade agreements that are not in the best interests of all Canadians and all affected industries.

Government Policies

[Ken Dryden, Liberal, York Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians deserve answers, but the government has never felt the need to give them, not to ordinary people through the media or question period; not to members of Parliament in committees, the unbelievable dirty tricks manual; not to groups that have made the environment, literacy, women, you name it, Mr. Speaker, their life's work. We can ask them. They cannot even get a meeting.

Canada works because with more potential differences than any other country, we talk, we listen, we do not purposely strategically divide. The current Prime Minister is different. He is the great divider.

When will the Prime Minister begin offering Canadians real answers?

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

Mr. Speaker, our Canada is the Canada that my grandmother, a refugee from communism, told me about when she said it was a country of freedom, hope and opportunity. She told me one did not have to be from the elite. It did not matter if one's father was a professor, a politician, a businessman or a diplomat. It did not matter. One could succeed simply by working hard and doing one's best.

That is the Canada that Conservatives believe in. That is the kind of Canada that this government is trying to build.

[Ken Dryden, Liberal, York Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when one does not give answers for a while, people might still assume one has them, then months pass and they wonder.

It has been the last few weeks, having governed to campaign, suddenly with no campaign, the Conservative government has shown clearly that it has no purpose, no direction, no idea of what to do. In 17 months it has gone from decisive to decisively wrong to decisively decisive. There is nothing else there. The government became so old, so fast.

When will the Prime Minister understand what the public already knows? For the Conservative government the problem is not just not giving answers, it is not having them.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order, please. The hon. government House leader.

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

Mr. Speaker, Canadians can see today a choice, a choice between the pessimism of people who are desperate to hang onto power, who wish they were in the government on this side, which is delivering results.

We are not just delivering answers, we are delivering the things we committed to Canadians, such as lower taxes. We are delivering balanced budgets. We are correcting a fiscal imbalance. We are delivering legislation that is making our streets and communities safer by getting tough on crime. We are delivering democratic reform legislation. We are trying to get our Senate cleaned up. We are trying to make our country a better place.

Who is in the way every step of the way? One group of people, the Liberal Party.

Expenses of the Former Lieutenant Governor of Quebec

[Jean-Yves Laforest, Bloc, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this week at the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, the federalist parties demonstrated their deep attachment to the monarchy by refusing to ask Quebec's former lieutenant governor to appear and testify about her excesses and expenses. A Conservative and an NDP member even want to hear from legal and constitutional experts before making the simple decision to ask her to appear.

Lise Thibault is no longer the lieutenant governor and as she has returned to private life, what would be the reason for not wanting her to testify about how she spent taxpayers' money?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, let us be clear. The government acted decisively. First and foremost, this government asked the Auditor General to investigate, and she did. This government asked the RCMP to investigate, and it is doing so at present. This government recognizes and respects the authority and the independence of parliamentary committees to invite whomever they wish to appear. That is the government's position.

[Vivian Barbot, Bloc, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the federalist parties are placing their affection for the monarchy ahead of the interests of taxpayers.

Does the federal government intend to follow Quebec's lead and henceforth require future lieutenant governors and the Governor General to appear before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage to justify their expenses? Expert legal opinions are not needed for that.

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the honourable member seems to be forgetting something. This government, when it took power, tabled a bill on accountability, which is now law. That is our trademark.

We do not tolerate secrecy. We do not tolerate corruption. We are transparent, we are accountable and we are serious about protecting the rights of Canadian taxpayers. That is our trademark.

Supply Management

[Bernard Patry, Liberal, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, supply management is currently being viciously attacked at the WTO negotiations. Quebec's agriculture minister and the UPA have joined forces to implore the federal government to defend Quebec producers at the WTO. It is time for this government to tell the truth.

Is it true that our negotiators received strict orders from this government not to interfere in the process, meaning that they have an empty chair strategy? Will the government officially and firmly commit to supply-managed producers that they will not experience any tariff decreases in the short, medium and long terms?

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Secretary of State (Agriculture)]

Mr. Speaker, the instructions are clear. Our government will defend supply management. No, we will not touch quotas. No, we will not touch tariffs. This is what Canada's negotiator will say loud and clear—defending supply management as is.

Foreign Affairs

[Dave Batters, Conservative, Palliser, SK]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the United Nations Human Rights Council concluded its fifth regular session in Geneva.

Canada has always held that the council needs to live up to expectations to promote and protect human rights around the world through an objective and impartial body. So far, the council is failing to live up to these expectations, but our Conservative government has maintained a principled position.

The main emphasis of the fifth session was institution building, yet Canada did not agree with the final consensus document. Could the Minister of Foreign Affairs say why Canada did not agree with the conclusions reached by the human rights council?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, Canada was in fact disappointed with the human rights council, created to promote and protect human rights, which failed to respect its founding principles in the text that was adopted this week.

We cannot, for expedience, accept a permanent agenda item on the Palestinian territories, singling out one situation while at the same time eliminating a special human rights scrutiny of countries of concern, such as Cuba and Belarus. It is a contradiction.

If the human rights council is to be successful and avoid being discredited like its predecessor, the founding principles must be respected and upheld.

Canada, for its part, will continue to work for an effective and credible human rights body that is consistent in its principles and its actions.

Veterans Affairs

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS]

Mr. Speaker, by the end of the day, Canada will lose 120 World War II and Korean veterans and/or their spouses due to the aging process.

A widow from Cape Breton came to the House to make the Prime Minister keep his promise to extend the VIP immediately, but he told her it would be in the next budget. If that is to be true, and no one trusts the Prime Minister any more, that means 69,000 veterans and their spouses will die before they see the extension of this program.

Why did the Prime Minister break his trust with the widow of a veteran and is this the Canada that the House leader so envisions?

[Greg Thompson, Conservative, Minister of Veterans Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we are committed to enhancing that program. The member knows this. In fact, if he were being intellectually honest, he would tell the House that we brought 12,000 people, veterans and spouses, into that program in the last year alone.

When we do it, we want to do it in a way that is consistent with the department and consistent with the good delivery to veterans and widows. We are committed to doing it, and we will get it done.

Fisheries and Oceans

[Catherine Bell, NDP, Vancouver Island North, BC]

Mr. Speaker, my constituents are very concerned about the appalling lack of conservation for wild salmon and halibut. Numbers are down and fishermen cannot get their quota, yet DFO insists on extending their openings. The wild salmon policy is clear: conservation first.

Is the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans trying to eliminate the fishing on the west coast or will he commit to increasing funding and staffing for conservation measures to maintain sustainable fish stocks for west coast sport, commercial and native fishermen?

[Loyola Hearn, Conservative, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, let me assure the hon. member that this government has put more money into conserving fish on the west coast than any government before it. We have more boarding enforcement officers than ever before.

If the member wants to see what we will really do for the west coast, I suggest to her that she stay tuned.

Canada Summer Jobs

[Michael Savage, Liberal, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Mr. Speaker, let us review the summer jobs fiasco. Let me give the minister a few highlights.

He cancelled a program that worked; brought in one that does not with less money and a new criteria; organizations and students were thrown into disarray; scrambling ensued; and departmental officials admitted in committee that the program was botched. Now the minister refuses to come clean with details about funding.

I want to wish the minister a happy summer, a good guy, but we need to ensure that next year summer will be good for everyone else involved in this program.

When will the government start telling truth about the Canada summer jobs fiasco of 2007?

[Monte Solberg, Conservative, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development]

Mr. Speaker, the truth is students are getting the best jobs they have ever had under the new program. That is the truth.

For my friend, though, I do not care how many times he asks me, he is not young enough to qualify for a Canada summer job. He needs to get that into his head, but failing that, I hope he and his family have a terrific summer.

Health

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Mr. Speaker, heart and other related diseases affect thousands of Canadians every year. Earlier today the Minister of Health announced the government's response to the report by the trans fat task force.

Could the Minister of Health informed the members of the House what our government is doing to help Canadians make healthier food choices?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Minister of Health and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario]

Mr. Speaker, today I announced that we are accepting the recommendations of the task force to limit trans fats in our food supply at 2% for vegetable oils and 5% through the rest of the food supply.

We have given industry two years to use market forces, which they are doing. We have cut the trans fat supply in half over the last two years in our food supply because of the results of consumers and industries.

I hope that will make a difference. I think it will make a difference for our health, and I hope it will make a difference for some members of the House as well, because they need the help too.