Debates of Jan. 29th, 2008

Manufacturing and Forestry Industries

[Paul Crête, Bloc, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, during his announcement, the Prime Minister made unacceptable links between that announcement and the budget vote.

Does he now reject that position? Will he have more sympathy from now on for the tens of thousands of workers in the regions hardest hit by the crises in the manufacturing and forestry sectors? Will he introduce this improved assistance plan proposed by the Bloc Québécois without further delay? The government must not wait until budget time to free up the money that the regions need immediately.

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, quite simply, the Bloc Québécois was asking for this assistance for this sector. The government fulfilled its obligations set out in the throne speech to provide this assistance.

The only decision still left up to the Bloc is whether to support or oppose this assistance. I hope it will support it.

Employment Insurance

[Yves Lessard, Bloc, Chambly—Borduas, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today Statistics Canada reported that manufacturers themselves plan to cut back their production and increase layoffs in the next three months. The crisis is worsening and thousands of workers will lose their jobs.

The government has a number of options, including modernizing the employment insurance program and creating a special $1.5 billion reserve to counter the anticipated recession.

Does the government intend to follow up on these suggestions and improve the existing employment insurance scheme?

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

Mr. Speaker, I think every member in the House is concerned for the well-being of workers who are facing layoffs around this country, but the good news is that overwhelmingly the economy is extraordinarily strong. Jobs are being created.

That said, we did commit in the budget to improving the governance and management of the EI account. I point out that last year we spent $4.4 billion through employment insurance in Quebec. We have supplemented that with all kinds of new training arrangements, with $3 billion in new training arrangements across the country and $800 million a year more in support for post-secondary education so people can get skills.

Older Workers

[Yves Lessard, Bloc, Chambly—Borduas, QC]

There is a problem that education and retraining will never be able to handle: the case of older workers, with little education and for whom existing programs are of no use. In recent months, the tabling of a report has been delayed at least twice. These older workers have been waiting long enough.

Will the minister take responsibility and establish a real income support program for older workers, commonly known as POWA?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am shocked at how little faith the member has in the people of Quebec. The truth is that these training arrangements are put in place so that people who do not necessarily have the skills can get the skills and step into other jobs or other sectors.

The good news is that this is exactly what they are doing. In Quebec they are enjoying extraordinary success. Older workers made up more than 50% of all the successful job applicants in the last year. I say to the member that he should have some faith in the people of Quebec. This government does.

Chalk River Nuclear Facilities

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government has the AECL fiasco backward. The Conservatives fired the nuclear safety regulator for doing her job and protected the minister for failing to do his job.

Now the Minister of Natural Resources wants the nuclear safety regulator to have the commercial success of the companies he or she is regulating trump nuclear safety, so I have a question for the minister. In his fantasyland, who is responsible for nuclear safety: is it the minister, or is it the Prime Minister?

[Gary Lunn, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, I want to stress that all of my actions were completely within my authority, in concert with officials in my department, to resolve this issue. The facts are that the former president did not want to use her executive powers to resolve this, and ultimately put people's lives at risk.

Ultimately we had to bring a bill before Parliament, which every single member in the House supported, to ensure that Canadians did not need to die. That was not something the government was prepared to accept.

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are still waiting for that minister to drop his rehearsed line and answer the serious questions.

Last night on television, Brian McGee, who is a senior official at AECL, said, “I'm accountable and responsible for this”. It is a breath of fresh air that the minister can learn from.

Now AECL is admitting responsibility. The minister himself said that in a phone conversation with the regulator on December 5. When will the government practise true accountability rather than seek scapegoats?

[Gary Lunn, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Again, Mr. Speaker, the facts are very clear in this situation. We had to act. The former president had a number of options available to her to resolve this issue. She chose not to act. Those facts were clear.

This matter was brought before Parliament and ultimately it took this Parliament, every party and every single member, to support Bill C-38 so that the reactor could resume operations and Canadians' lives did not need to be put at risk unnecessarily. This government acted and did what it had to do.

Government Appointments

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Beauséjour, NB]

Mr. Speaker, there is a chilling pattern developing in this Conservative government: the nuclear safety president, fired; the president of the Canadian Wheat Board, fired; the ambassador for the environment, fired; the Law Commission president, fired; and the ethics commissioner, fired.

What do all these people have in common? They were fired by the Conservatives for applying the law. My question for the Prime Minister is very simple: who is next?

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

Really, Mr. Speaker, there was a higher authority making the decisions two years ago in January: the Liberal Party was fired.

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Beauséjour, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the list is getting longer. The former Chief Electoral Officer was fired. The Ombudsman of the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces, the Information Commissioner, and the Chairman of the Immigration and Refugee Board were all forced to resign.

The current Chief Electoral Officer and the Commissioner of Official Languages have taken the Conservative government to court. Will they be next to be blackballed by the Conservatives?

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

Mr. Speaker, Jean Pelletier was fired. Chuck Guité was fired. Alfonso Gagliano was fired. All of them were fired.

Public Safety

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

Mr. Speaker, as we can see, the Liberals talk a good talk, but they do not walk a good walk when it comes to fighting crime in our country. As for the Bloc Québécois, it is going around empty handed of course and unable to do anything, because it will forever sit on opposition benches.

By contrast, our Conservative government is working in the best interests of Quebeckers and all Canadians. It is showing leadership and it is taking concrete measures to prevent criminal acts.

Could my colleague, the Minister of Public Safety, explain the concrete measures that the Canadian government is taking to prevent criminal acts in our communities?

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, our government is indeed taking concrete measures to ensure that our communities are safe. The measures announced today target people who are at risk, particularly young people.

We are going to give our support to 5,000 young people who are at risk, so that they can make the right choices, the choices that will prevent them from engaging in criminal activities.

Chalk River Nuclear Facilities

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

Mr. Speaker, a world-renowned academic who studies supply management of nuclear products has told the NDP that several reactors were able and willing to supply Canadian doctors with the isotopes they needed.

Dr. Alan Kuperman at the University of Texas says that a reactor in Belgium was operating at only 40% capacity and that South Africa also had additional capacity to produce the isotopes the minister claimed were nowhere to be found.

When was the minister aware additional capacity to create medical isotopes was available to Canada and why did he not tell the House during committee of the whole?

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

In fairness, Mr. Speaker, just as I answered her question at committee just a few minutes ago, in fact we were in contact with all the additional suppliers of radioisotopes.

The problem was that the European suppliers could only add 10% to 15% more to supply and then only at the end of December. We had to act in early December. We had to pass this legislation in mid-December to protect the lives and safety of Canadians. We did the right thing.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate that the government did not act sooner.

Dr. Kuperman is senior policy analyst for the Nuclear Control Institute in Washington. He and other sources say the facts are clear: at least two reactors, one in South Africa and one in Belgium, could have prevented a critical shortage of medical isotopes. In fact, both reactors stepped up production due to the Chalk River shutdown.

When was the government aware of the available isotopes? Why did it not purchase a supply? Why was the fact that Belgium and South Africa were ready to help not presented to the House of Commons?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I said during committee, we did contact the Belgians. It was in fact clear. We contacted them on December 7 and December 10. We had a conference call with all of the European suppliers. It became clear that they could not supply Canada with the radioisotopes in the quantities we needed. The hon. member mentioned South Africa. South Africa's reactor was closed during this crisis.

We left no stone unturned to protect the health and safety of Canadians. It became clear that the only way to react, the only way to save the lives of Canadians, was to restart the NRU reactor. We acted. We showed leadership. We did it for the health and safety of Canadians.

Forestry Industry

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, for two years the Conservative government did nothing to help the forestry sector despite closures, layoffs and crises. The only action it took was to scrap the Liberal forestry fund, only to replace it two years later with a smaller fund aimed at covering all industries.

Will the government immediately reinstate the $1.5 billion Liberal forestry fund to help give real hope to forestry workers and their communities?

[Jim Prentice, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, it is not correct to say that the government has taken no action. That is simply not the case. This government, from the time that it has come to office, has been in action with respect to Canada's fiscal framework and with respect to our competitiveness.

We have lowered personal income taxes. We have lowered corporate income taxes. We have lowered punitive income taxes on investment. We have lowered consumption taxes. We have reduced government debt. In particular, the targeted initiative for older workers has special application, with $72.5 million for the forestry sector. We appreciate the difficulties of individuals in the forestry sector and we are taking action.

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Minister of Industry said that it was not his responsibility to help workers who lose their jobs.

According to the minister, it is merely a matter of “structural adjustments”. What arrogance. What ruthlessness.

Will the minister apologize for his arrogance to the millions of workers in the manufacturing and forestry sectors who have lost their jobs?

[Jim Prentice, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, we announced a $1 billion community development trust fund.

We continue to work on all of the issues that affect the forestry sector. The softwood lumber agreement in particular has provided a framework to get on with developing the lumber industry. We continue to work on all of the other areas I have spoken about. This industry will be strong in the future of our country.

Industry

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government's plan for troubled industries is pathetic. Workers will not receive any assistance until they are permanently laid off. This is a brutal failure of leadership. The Conservatives are simply giving up on industries and killing off communities.

Will the government set out a clear strategy to renew industries such as forestry, fishing, livestock and manufacturing? Or will it just continue with its laissez-faire attitude of “I don't care”?