Debates of Nov. 24th, 2008

RESUMPTION OF DEBATE ON ADDRESS IN REPLY

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Madam Speaker, the member for Ajax—Pickering was spinning us a tale, a tale that forgot about the history of our economy going back to the 1980s. The member may not remember this because he would have been quite young at the time, but in the early 1980s we also suffered a recession in Canada. It was a recession that was caused by the Liberal Party which had an ideology that did not serve the best interests of Canadians. We were left in serious straits which we only came out of when a new Conservative government was elected in 1984.

It is interesting that the recession of that day was driven by high taxes, high deficits and a very high national debt. What is different today? We have an international economic meltdown and yet Canada is still the best placed nation with the strongest economic fundamentals. Unlike the 1980s when the Liberals through their ideology caused such a terrible recession with high taxes and high deficits, today we have paid down $40 billion worth of debt, we have reduced taxes and our national mortgage is down. We can look forward with great optimism to the future.

How is it that the member has forgotten the lessons of history and is again talking about spending money to get us out of this recession? How is it that he is now taking an approach that is similar to the failed approach of the early 1980s? Why does he not recognize that the approach by the Prime Minister is one that is based in fact?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax—Pickering, ON]

Madam Speaker, I would start by directing the member to his own leader, the Prime Minister, who has actually said that we need to spend. It is he who said that we have to spend into deficit and that a deficit is now something that is needed and something that we are returning to for the first time since the mid-1990s.

The member talked about lessons in history. There are many reasons I got involved in politics, and the first election in which I was involved in a major way was the election in 1993. I remember reading an article in the Wall Street Journal which said that Canada was considered in the eyes of the Wall Street Journal to be an honorary member of the third world because of its unmanageable debt and deficit. At that point in time we were running a $43 billion a year deficit. We were at the bottom of the G-7 across almost every single economic indicator. The outlook for Canada could not have been more bleak. We were weaker against our peers than perhaps at any other time.

Yet we can look at the transformation we were able to undertake as a nation. In international circles it was called the Canadian miracle, to be able to go from that terrible spot we were left in the last time the Conservatives were in power to a position where we led the G-7 across almost every indicator, where our deficit was turned into the opportunity to pay down debt to the point where we were spending $3 billion each and every year less in interest, where we had a contingency fund, where we were properly managing the finances of the country.

That is the type of fiscal management that I expect. But what mattered most at that time was honesty. It was a finance minister who told us where our nation was, a finance minister who set targets year over year and met them.

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Madam Speaker, I have a question for the member for Ajax—Pickering but before I ask it, let me congratulate you, Madam Speaker, on your first day in the chair in the House. We are very honoured by your presence. On behalf of the NDP and I am sure all members of the House, it is very good to see a woman in chair. I would point out there has not been a woman in the position of Speaker, Deputy Speaker, or Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole since 1997. This is long overdue. I hope it will restore some of the gender balance in the House. We are delighted to see you there and congratulate you on your appointment.

In listening to the member for Ajax—Pickering and the whole debate around deficits, the member went back into history with some pride about what his government did in those days in coming out of those deficits. However, let us be very clear that one of the reasons we have a housing crisis in this country is when those cuts were made, it was basically on the backs of poor people. Housing programs were cut.

I wonder if the member would comment on that in terms of history and the fact that we are still suffering from that because we do not have the housing programs that are so desperately needed in Canada.

[The Acting Speaker, NDP, Denise Savoie]

The member for Vancouver East took much time to compliment me, so the member has 30 seconds to respond.

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax—Pickering, ON]

Madam Speaker, the compliments are well deserved.

Poverty is something we have to work on and be serious about. We must set firm targets. If we are to take a historical lesson, it is that we need to set those targets in definitive form so that each and every year we have something against which to measure. That is what we did with the deficit. It is what we need to do with poverty.

I for one certainly intend to speak wherever I can about the need for the House to take action on those that are being most negatively impacted by the harshness of these economic conditions.

[The Acting Speaker, NDP, Denise Savoie]

Resuming debate.

The hon. member for Nanaimo—Alberni.

[James Lunney, Conservative, Nanaimo—Alberni, BC]

Madam Speaker, since you are presiding this evening, let me offer my congratulations to you on joining the Speaker's team and being appointed to assist members of the House not just in this important debate but in managing our House affairs. It is great to see members from Vancouver Island playing a bigger role in the House.

It is a great privilege to take part in the debate in response to the Speech from the Throne, the first debate in Canada's 40th Parliament.

I begin by thanking the voters of the great riding of Nanaimo—Alberni for returning me as their MP for the fourth consecutive term. I am very mindful of the great honour and of the great responsibility that I have to them and so I would begin by thanking them.

I would like to acknowledge my supporters and campaign team who put a lot of effort into our re-election effort. I acknowledge the leadership of my campaign manager, Paula Peterson, who co-ordinated a great effort and ensured that we had a great time working together, and my financial agent, John Ward, who ensured we not only got the job done but given the complexities of financial obligations, that we did it right.

I know the families of every member here make a sacrifice so that we can come from our ridings across this great diverse country to participate in this House. I certainly have to acknowledge the great encouragement, and constant never ending support above and beyond the call that my wife Helen makes in order to make it possible for me to serve as the member for Nanaimo—Alberni.

The Speaker, the member for Kingston and the Islands, has done a remarkable job of not only being re-elected but for the fourth time being elected as the Speaker of the House. I certainly want to extend my congratulations to him. I think one of our members made reference to this today. It is certainly a historic event, being elected as Speaker for the fourth time and with the different sides of the House it is quite a remarkable achievement that is worthy of recognition.

It falls to each and every member, to our respective parties, to our leaders, to participate in this 40th Parliament at a time when our country is facing the challenges of a very troubled world economy and uncertainties unprecedented in modern times.

My riding is one of the most beautiful in the country. It covers both the east and west coasts of mid-Vancouver Island. From the rugged majestic heights of Mount Moriarty or Mount Arrowsmith in the Beaufort Range, one can look down across the oceanside communities to the east with their shallow, sandy warm water beaches, or west to Port Alberni and beyond to the world renowned Pacific Rim National Park with its famous Long Beach, favoured by surfers, and surf and storm watchers. This majestic place we call home is recognized by being the only federal riding to encompass not one but two federally recognized and UNESCO recognized biospheres, the Clayoquot Sound reserve on the west and Mount Arrowsmith biosphere reserve on the east, where we live.

That said, like other regions, the west coast is caught in a time of transition that has engulfed the forest sector, the fishing industry and greatly impacted our resource based economy.

The Speech from the Throne delivered in this chamber just a few days ago, on November 19, is very different from any I have heard or debated in the past four parliaments. The government has laid out its intentions to manage the economy in this challenging time.

The Speech from the Throne is entitled, “Protecting Canada's Future”. The government is committed to ensuring Canada's continued economic success at this time of global economic instability. Under the leadership of the Prime Minister, the Government of Canada has laid out a five-pronged plan to protect Canada's economic security. I shall briefly summarize those points.

First, there is reform of global finance by working with our allies and trading partners to re-examine and renew the rules that underpin the global financial system. This process has already begun with Canada's participation in the G-20 meetings on November 15 and the recently concluded APEC meetings in Lima, Peru.

It is probably appropriate at this time to mention that the World Economic Forum rated Canada's banking system as the best in the world.

I hear someone applauding. That is worthy of note and applause. I appreciate that enthusiastic response.

However, at a time when the world itself is reeling, it is good to know that while we face challenges we have some strong attributes to bring into these unstable times.

Measures taken to allow the Bank of Canada greater latitude in responding to world shifts and economic shifts allowed the Bank of Canada to respond quickly with nearly $20 billion to improve liquidity at a time when the credit crunch was having a devastating effect elsewhere and certainly challenging our economy here at home.

Further measures to protect our mortgage system, with shorter terms and mandatory down payments, helped to prevent the type of meltdown that precipitated the current U.S. and worldwide financial crises.

We want to ensure sound budgeting so that Canada does not return to ongoing unsustainable structural deficits while putting all federal expenditures under the microscope of responsible spending.

I think the operative word there is “all” government spending. It is a time when we need to examine how we are spending. As any family would when times get tough, we need to look at how we are managing our finances and determine that we are making the best investments and strategic investments at a time when times are leaner.

We need to secure jobs for families and communities by encouraging the skilled trades and apprenticeships, supporting workers facing transition and providing further support to the automotive and aerospace industries.

On that point, I was asked to respond to criticisms from the forestry CEOs in my own community objecting to this commitment. Of course they are facing a crisis of their own with an industry in transition. I will return to this point shortly to address their concerns.

Further, we need to expand investment in trade by modernizing investment, competition and copyright laws while working with the United States to address shared challenges and pursing trade agreements in Europe, Asia and the Americas.

Canada just recently signed a trade agreement with Colombia that will need to be ratified. Negotiations continue with other countries in Europe, Asia and the Americas, but we must expand our markets beyond our dependence on one large market south of the border. About 85% of our trade is currently going south and, as we know, at a time when our largest trading partner is in big trouble. It is a good time to be looking to other markets to diversify, stabilize and share our financial opportunities with other nations and to reduce our dependence on one factor. It seems a very appropriate thing to do and I think it is absolutely essential that we do this.

Further, we need to make government more effective by reducing red tape, fixing procurement, improving program and service delivery and improving the management of federal agencies, boards, commissions and crown corporations.

Again, I think “efficiency” is the key word in tough economic times. It will be appropriate for all levels of the Canadian economy to examine their efficiency in delivering services and ensure we are doing so without waste.

Returning to the issue of assistance to industry, I think it is fair to say that while details of any assistance to the auto and aerospace sectors are in the process of being worked out, it is important to mention that many steps have already been taken to help all sectors of industry and business. It is a very competitive and challenging time, which is why, in addition to measures to help all taxpayers, measures were brought in to help students, seniors and, indeed, to lower taxes for every Canadian.

However, the government acted in the previous budget and in the previous economic update to lower small business and corporate taxes.

We acted earlier to resolve the softwood lumber dispute with the U.S., bringing more than $4 billion back to Canadian forest companies. I think it is a very good thing we did that. Given the challenge that we face now with the U.S. caught up in its own challenges, it is a very good thing that we had that resolved when we did. Even though it is not perfect and there are still challenges for sectors in transition, the fact that we made those provisions beforehand was very helpful to the current economic status of those industries going through transition.

We provided a billion dollar community development trust to help communities with economies in transition and incentives for companies to purchase new machinery and to upgrade equipment.

For the mining industry, the government will extend the mineral exploration tax credit. Further, for the forest and fishing sectors the government has o acted to extend support for international marketing efforts and to provide incentives for creating energy from biomass.

I can assure persons concerned from the coast, particularly those in the forest industry, that there will be no blank cheque to any industrial sector. I am sure that any support offered by taxpayers through the government to the aerospace or the auto sector will only come after all stakeholders also contribute in the transition to a sustainable future. I think an example of that might be the $82 million commitment to Ford to develop an energy efficient engine.

This is not about helping industries that are not producing something that will be of value in a competitive and changing market. It is about creating sustainable opportunities for the future and creating a sustainable auto industry.

An example in my own riding of a company that has made heroic efforts in transition to a cost effective and sustainable future is the Nanaimo Forest Products Ltd. that took over the Harmac pulp mill in south Nanaimo. This company bid on a court ordered sale of the mill. It as an ownership structure that is quite unique in the industry. It has 200-plus employees, each of whom made significant personal investments in the mill to the tune of $25,000 each for a 25% stake in the business, partnering with other business interests. Pioneer Log Homes is a tremendous corporate citizen. Totzauer Holdings and the Sampson Group are successful private companies. They each took 25% shares in the company.

With both employees and management having a stake in the success of the business has led to a very collaborative approach to labour relations. No labour contracts will need to be renegotiated until well into the future.

This mill is in a great location. It has a deep sea port, water resources and water treatment facilities. It has the potential to diversify into energy production. I use this as an example of all the stakeholders collaborating in a tough competitive market to make something happen and to sustain an industry that was in big trouble. We might have lost the mill. I think the community is extremely proud of its effort and we certainly want to see heroic efforts like these rewarded with success.

In a time of transition, we do need to collaborate and work together to ensure opportunities for success emerge from challenging times.

The Speech from the Throne addresses a whole range of other issues. We have a commitment to Canada's environment. We will continue with our process to reduce greenhouse emissions 20% by 2020. I am pleased to see that we are working toward continuing with alternative energy incentives to develop alternative energies.

We will be recommitting the ban on bulk water exports, which I know is an important issue to many people in my riding, and I am glad to see that mentioned in the Speech from the Throne.

Further, our government will be helping all Canadians participate by improving the universal child care benefit, increasing access to maternity and parental benefits under employment insurance and helping Canadians who care for loved ones with disabilities. That is a very important step the government can make, even in difficult times, to help those families who are working with a disabled child or a disabled adult at home and who are giving up other economic opportunities to look after a loved one in challenging circumstances.

We will be continuing to work on keeping Canadians safe by strengthening the sentences for serious criminal offences. We will be putting in place new rules for food and product safety and we will be introducing a new national security statement. We are also continuing to contribute to global security.

I will come back and talk about food and product safety in just a moment but perhaps I will go on to talk a little bit about sovereignty in the Arctic.

I am personally very pleased to see Canada's commitment to the Arctic moving ahead. It is a time when there are unprecedented not only changes in the Arctic but also challenges to our sovereignty and to the wealth and economic opportunities that northern Canada represents.

I am glad to see the commitment to assert our jurisdiction over lands and waters in the Arctic archipelago under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and to further expand our jurisdiction over the region under the Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act requiring mandatory notification of any foreign vessels entering Canadian territorial waters. That will be asserting our control over a 200 mile limit into the Arctic.

I am glad to see that we are also proceeding with a new polar class icebreaker named in honour of the late great Prime Minister John G. Diefenbaker.

I have already mentioned the bulk water exports and that is important.

I will now return to efficiencies. It will be important for us to visit every sector of the economy to ensure we are actually producing the best product in the most efficient manner. One of my big concerns is in the area of health care. If we look back to the 1990s, British Columbia's budget for health was about 30% of its expenditures. When I first ran for office it was 40% of the provincial budget. It is currently about 44% or 45% of the provincial budget. Even though we are spending more and more of the provincial budgets on health care, it seems the demand is unceasing and the perception is that somehow the government is not delivering on health care.

We have been encouraging innovation in every sector but health care has been slow to embrace innovation. About 30% of our health care is already delivered outside of the public system. I am not talking necessarily about parallel systems. I am talking about efficiencies. I am talking about services that are currently available but perhaps underutilized and not funded by provincial plans under section 2 of the Canada Health Act, extended services.

There are tremendous opportunities. However, in our zeal to regulate I hope we do not become overzealous to the point where we take opportunities away from advancing health care opportunities for Canadians. I would suggest that perhaps status quo forces have been slow to pick up advances in low cost alternatives like vitamins, minerals, amino acids and the way we regulate our natural health products. I think we need to take a very good look at that.

I know a lot of concerns have been expressed in the House not only in the last Parliament but going back to the 37th Parliament when I introduced Bill C-420 addressing issues on how we regulate natural health products. Those concerns were discussed early in the 38th Parliament with the aid of the member for Oshawa and I know there were lots of discussions in the last Parliament under Bill C-51 about how we regulate these products.

I am concerned that opportunities for Canadians to purchase low cost, low risk, non-patentable products are currently being restricted by regulatory practices. I imagine legislation will be coming forward to address a whole range of health product safety issues. I hope that in this Parliament, when we review these issues, that we will get this right and that we will deliver an outcome that will ensure Canadians have access to low cost, low risk and non-patentable forms of medicines that promote wellness and address the prevention of illness and disease in the first place.

Those are some of my concerns and they are in the Speech from the Throne. I know members have been debating issues for several days now and a lot of ideas have come forward. I am pleased with the Speech from the Throne. It gives us the opportunity to move ahead on a whole range of issues that are of concern to Canadians. We will have efficient spending in our government. We will be addressing safety concerns and crime issues. We want ensure we create safe communities so Canadians can live safely.

[John Rafferty, NDP, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

Madam Speaker, it is wonderful to see you in the big green chair. I say that for people who are watching this on their black and white televisions today.

I was very pleased to hear the hon. member say that the softwood lumber deal was not perfect. He is absolutely right. In fact, on Saturday, I was speaking in Fort Frances with Kendall Lundy, who is the owner of a small business called Nickel Lake Lumber, with 16 employees.

He deals with red and white pine. He sells mostly to the United States and they are all value added products, but he is in trouble. When we were chatting, he specifically mentioned to me that some of the billions of dollars that were left in the U.S. with the softwood lumber deal needed to come back to lumber and mill owners across Canada. He was talking about himself in northern Ontario, but also across Canada.

Will the hon. member work with me and the NDP to ensure that money returns to Canada, returns to the hard-working business owners and the hard-working families across Canada and northern Ontario?

[James Lunney, Conservative, Nanaimo—Alberni, BC]

Madam Speaker, I know the hon. member for Thunder Bay—Rainy River shares the concerns. I congratulate him on his election and joining us in the House. Coming from a forest and resourced based community as I do, he has the needs and concerns of his community at heart.

With regard to the softwood lumber agreement, I do not think when that conflict arose, that anybody imagined it would go on for six years. Just to remind members, we were facing punishing duties of 27% between the countervail and the anti-dumping duties, a 27% barrier for our products to jump over.

In the last Parliament when the Conservative government was formed, we made it a priority to address this issue. It took a lot of political capital to get any agreement there. If members think this was the biggest issue burning in Washington, many would be disappointed. Washington was not seized with solving this problem. In fact, the American industry was winning every day that process was under way.

What we were able to accomplish was not a perfect arrangement, but it did bring $4 billion back to our industry. I do not know when that money would ever have come back, the roughly $5 billion that had been invested by Canadian companies in duties with the U.S. commerce department. However, that money has come back to our industry.

I know there were members who thought we were on the verge of winning, but it was naive to think that the most litigious country in the world was ready to roll over on this for our benefit. We were facing another round on softwood lumber. The Americans simple renewed the challenge, changed the figures and away we would go for another round. It is very uncertain where we would have been if we had not come up with that solution.

The member has concerns about the company he mentioned. We have a very competitive challenge around the world. Where I come from, we have hundreds of years old Douglas fir prime timber. I know there is fine timber in Ontario as well. We have some of the best timber in the world, but it is facing tough competition from inferior wood products that are glued together with laminates and resins today and are structurally just as sound as our best fir products.

We need to develop more value added products. We need to gain access to markets. One thing the softwood lumber agreement has done is make greater access to U.S. markets, tragically at a time when the U.S. market itself is in great trouble and demand for any products is reduced because of its housing crisis and so on.

It is a complicated issue. I am sure we will all be interested in working together to see the forest sector come out of this stronger than before.

[Larry Bagnell, Liberal, Yukon, YT]

Madam Speaker, I have a great deal of respect for the member. We came into the House together.

I want to ask him about credit cards, but before it is unfortunate that the PMO had him make a speech on the north when none of the points he mentioned were in the throne speech. There was one feeble reference to the north in it, but it was not the one he raised.

In fact, the points he did raise are a bit of a problem for the government. It talked about extending environmental control, but it did not retract the announcement from a couple of years ago about dumping waste in the Arctic. The Prime Minister promised three icebreakers and after our pushing and pushing, he finally came up with one. Therefore, that is a broken promise.

On my question about credit cards. I hope the member will help us with the onslaught of potential increase in credit card prices for both consumers and merchants. I brought this up in the House before. The retailers are very upset about the escalating and hidden credit card fees. They are upset with the government suggestion that having Visa and Mastercard in all the banks would help the situation. The merchants are very upset that their fees may go up and that they have no control over this. Individuals, if they miss a payment, their fees go up. All of this is in a time of economic uncertainty when businesses and Canadians are having enough trouble.

I am hoping the member will be onside with me in trying to help address the problem of potential credit card fee increases.

[James Lunney, Conservative, Nanaimo—Alberni, BC]

Madam Speaker, I welcome my hon. colleague from the Yukon back to the House. Perhaps I will begin by reminiscing. Like many members here who are just getting to know their colleagues, we had an interesting experience going through orientation some eight years ago. It was at least two weeks before we realized we were not in the same party.

I know the member carries the concerns of the Yukon in his heart. With regard to the comments about Canada's commitment to the north, if he did not catch it in the Speech from the Throne, as all speeches from the throne are, of necessity, somewhat vague or at least general, there were items alluded to in there.

If my hon. colleague paid attention to the Prime Minister's address in the House the other day, these things were detailed in his speech. I am sure he will see us follow through on those commitments.

With regard to the changes now happening economically all across the country, and which are showing up in terms of banks revisiting a whole range of services, we have truly done everything we can to ease up credit, improve liquidity and make more credit available to businesses.

The Government of Canada does not tell the banks how to do everything they do. In terms of managing the fees, I am sure that is something at which we will be looking. We have new measures on competitiveness that are also addressed as part the government commitment to ensure there are tough measures in place to promote competitiveness and to punish anti-competitive behaviour.

I am sure the issues of the credit card fees are ones that will be discussed by the Minister of Industry and members of the industry committee.

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Madam Speaker, my question for my colleague, and again I would welcome him back, is hopefully an issue that is near and dear to both of our hearts. The commercial fishing fleet on B.C.'s coast has gone through a decimating number of years, one after another, watching hundreds of fishermen choose not to return to the industry.

We have been attempting a small but significant measure with the government. It involves waiving some of the fees that fishing fleets have to pay to the federal government every year. They can add up to some hundreds if not thousands of dollars on boats that are not making any money. As a result, boats have not been kept up to all the safety requirements needed. We have watched the actual fatalities increase over the last number of years in the fishing fleet as fishermen no longer have the money to spend on the extra pieces.

The comments in the Speech from the Throne to the larger fishing community were very few and not even vague, just disappointing. Exactly what will he be looking for in the fiscal update that will give the fishing community some sense of hope for the future after so many years of near ruinous fishing seasons?

[James Lunney, Conservative, Nanaimo—Alberni, BC]

Madam Speaker, this is not only a tough question, it is a tough situation for people in the commercial fishing sector. On the question with regard to licences, I understand the Department of Fisheries and Oceans currently has a review underway regarding the whole question of fees and licences. I am sure that in due course there will be some response.

In relation to commercial fisheries, I know it has been a terribly devastating time not only in his riding, but in all coastal communities. It is a difficult thing to manage. Climate change has affected fisheries, stocks are down, competition is up. We need to toughen up on some international measures to protect stocks. I know the department is working very hard and with new international agreements to manage many of those tough questions.

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

Thank you, Madam Speaker. First, I would like to congratulate you on your appointment. I am sure you will do well and that you will have the cooperation of all the MPs in this chamber. Before I begin, I would also like to advise you that I will be sharing my time with the member for Laurentides—Labelle.

First, I would like to thank the citizens of my riding of Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, who elected me for a third time as their representative here in Ottawa.

The Speech from the Throne is an important exercise for the Canadian parliamentary system. It lays out the path that the government will take in the following months and it identifies its priorities.

Yet, there was nothing in the throne speech about various issues that are a priority for a good number of Quebeckers. Even worse, the Conservative government tabled an ideological throne speech, without giving a thought to the fact that it is in a minority position.

On October 14, Quebeckers sent a clear message to the Conservatives by electing a strong majority of Bloc Québécois members. Quebeckers asked us to continue our work and to represent their interests and values in Ottawa.

Citizens have much to be concerned about in the throne speech given the situation uppermost in the minds of the residents of Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean. The Conservative government has completely missed the boat. The throne speech does not address the needs that Quebec considers to have priority.

There is no commitment to improving the employment insurance plan or establishing a support program for older workers. Above all, there is nothing new in the way of assistance to the forestry sector, which has been in crisis for a few years.

I would like to take this opportunity to give a brief overview of the situation in the forestry sector in Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean and in my riding of Chicoutimi—Le Fjord. Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean is one of the largest forested areas in Quebec. It covers 85,688 km², which represents 17% of Quebec's forests. In this region, 23 of 49 municipalities are dependent on the forestry economy and are deemed to be one-industry towns. Essentially, more than one-third of jobs in the manufacturing sector are related to forestry.

For the past few months, the sawmills in Saint-Fulgence and Laterrière in my riding are only operating in order to produce wood chips for paper mills. Meanwhile, another sawmill in my riding, in Petit-Saguenay, is down to one shift. A number of sawmills in the riding of the new Minister of State (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec), the member for Roberval—Lac-Saint-Jean, have also halted production. That is the case for Louisiana-Pacifique Canada Ltée in Chambord, which closed its doors for two years. And the Arbec sawmill, which closed. And the sawmill in Girardville, which is down to one shift.

We are not strangers to bad news. A number of communities in my area and in my riding have already been hard hit by the forestry crisis in recent years.

The situation in my riding is no worse than elsewhere in Quebec, but it is representative of a number of ridings which are home to many seasonal workers from the agriculture and forestry industries, among others.

For example, the Speech from the Throne could have been an excellent opportunity for the Prime Minister to propose measures to improve employment insurance. The Bloc Québécois has long been proposing the elimination of the two-week waiting period before people can quality for employment insurance benefits. This would cost next to nothing.

Benefit rates need to be increased and the qualification period must be reduced to 360 hours. But unfortunately, the Speech from the Throne does nothing to improve the employment insurance system.

As for measures to help the forestry sector, the Bloc Québécois proposed concrete action, but the Conservatives decided once again to ignore those workers. When I heard the throne speech last Wednesday, I was very disappointed because it did not contain any measures to help the forestry sector. The logging crisis that is affecting my region, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, and many other regions in Quebec is far from being resolved. Many expect 2009 and the years to come to be even more difficult.

Given the growing supply of wood from China and the real estate crisis in the United States, many businesses have had to resort to massive layoffs or have shut down altogether. As a result, if the Conservative government does not do something about it, the situation will become even more devastating.

Since 2006, the Conservative government has left the forestry sector to fend for itself, thereby jeopardizing thousands of jobs. Yet the Bloc Québécois has proposed real solutions to help the industry.

First, the government has to bring back the fund to diversity forest economies. When the former Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec cut diversification funding for the regions hit by the forestry crisis by $50 million dollars, he caused a major setback for the industry. One of the things that program did was provide assistance to communities and workers affected by the crisis. It was a mistake to slash that kind of assistance. The government could have used the throne speech as an opportunity to announce that it would bring back such a program, but with even greater financial support.

Second, the Bloc Québécois has proposed that a loan and loan guarantee program be created to help finance investments in production equipment. This would provide support for businesses that wish to update their production equipment or simply enable their businesses to expand.

Third, the Bloc has suggested that taxes be reduced for businesses in the manufacturing and forestry sector to help them develop new technologies, or that tax credits be given to encourage hiring. Once again, the Speech from the Throne offers no such measures.

And fourth, the Bloc has for several years been calling for an income support program for older workers. These workers are in a state of despair because there has been no assistance for them. Entire communities are being affected by these lost earnings. The Government of Quebec has made efforts to help older workers, but those efforts will be inadequate as long as Ottawa does not do its part.

These four measures are aimed at helping the forest industry to make the transition toward secondary and tertiary processing and promoting the use of wood in commercial and public buildings. This transition will lead to high value added manufacturing, increase the demand for wood on the domestic market in Canada and Quebec and reduce wood exports.

In conclusion, I call on the two Conservative members from my region, the members for Jonquière—Alma and Roberval—Lac-Saint-Jean, to follow my lead, get involved and defend the forest industry in my region, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, which is bearing the full brunt of the forestry crisis, in order to make an improvement in the situation. It is their duty to convince the Prime Minister to take steps to help my region, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean.

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Madam Speaker, I listened carefully to my friend. He raised four strategies he would like our government to adopt to improve the situation in the forestry industry. I will certainly take those stategies under advisement. I appreciate his coming forward with some suggestions that we as a government can look at and process to see if they have the impact of improving our forestry sector.

However, he made one statement that was somewhat disingenuous. I do appreciate honesty in the House. He made the statement that the Conservative government, of which I am a member, had done absolutely nothing to address the forestry challenges we have in Canada. He knows that is not true.

I want to remind the hon. member that we have a $1 billion community development trust, which goes a long way toward addressing the concerns of challenged communities. The accelerated capital cost allowance program was implemented under our government. We have returned $4 billion to the forestry sector under the softwood lumber agreement. We have also introduced $1 billion of support for western Canada for the pine beetle-ravaged forests and communities that rely upon the pine and lumber industry in British Columbia.

Does the member accept the fact that we have done much to address the forestry challenges facing Canada?

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

First of all, Madam Speaker, it is very little. The member mentioned the trust fund created to help the manufacturing and forestry sectors. For Quebec, it represents $216 million over two years. That is very little and is for both the forestry and manufacturing sectors. Furthermore, the trust was not very fair with respect to the job losses experienced in Quebec. The member spoke about assistance through the fund, which represents $3,000 per job lost, compared to $25,000 per job lost in Alberta. This inequity can be seen in the forestry sector. The issue with pine trees concerns the west.

Since this announcement was made over a year ago, there has been one closure after another in my region. This shows that the assistance is not helping, because there are still regular closures being announced in my region and in other regions throughout Quebec.

[Dean Del Mastro, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Madam Speaker, I listened to the member's comments with great interest. It seems something is missing from the member's comments.

He is looking at things as though we were living in a vacuum, as though somehow the government could create a massive market that would somehow replace the U.S. housing downturn. Today I am sure we heard from the Liberal Party that apparently the government is somehow supposed to replace the seven million vehicle sales missing from the U.S. market this year.

These downturns are cyclical. We have seen them before. They are not the fault of the government. The government cannot replace that market, but what has the government done? It has put massive amounts of stimulus into the economy.

Under the heading of imitation being the most sincere form of flattery, today we saw the British Labour government introduce some $30 billion in reductions to its value-added tax, the tax identical to the GST. We see the British now following Canada's lead. Today we heard president-elect Obama say that he is not only not going to increase taxes, but is going to further reduce taxes, once again following Canada's lead and following the lead of the Prime Minister and the finance minister. More than a year ago, they had the foresight to act to prepare Canada.

We see Canada outperforming these nations. I encourage the member to take a look at what we have done. We are on the right track.

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

Madam Speaker, if this government sincerely wanted to help the regions struggling with the forestry crisis, it would have reinstated the economic diversification program for the regions affected by the forestry crisis, which the government cut soon after it took power. One of our measures is to reinstate this program to help the regions.

Fifty million dollars is obviously not enough. Resources also need to be added. If we take Quebec as an example, since 2006, we have lost 21,000 jobs in the forestry sector, and in a small region like mine, 4,000 jobs have been lost. It is time to do something. The situation is urgent.

[Johanne Deschamps, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Madam Speaker, you will probably notice that my colleague from Chicoutimi—Le Fjord and I have something in common. My speech will touch on the same topics. I also live in a region that is particularly affected by the forestry crisis.

That said, first I would like to take this wonderful opportunity to sincerely thank the voters in my riding of Laurentides—Labelle, who have elected me for a third time. I am keenly aware that they have once again put their trust in me, and I will say once more that I am committed to fully representing them, to defending their interests and to being their loyal spokesperson. I would also like to congratulate each member for their victory in the latest election and, in particular, my Bloc Québécois colleagues. It is both reassuring and exciting to see another large delegation of Bloc Québécois members in this new Parliament. Quebeckers rejected the Conservative ideology when they made their choice. In addition, they chose to elect a majority of Bloc Québécois members because they, meaning Quebeckers, firmly believe that the Bloc are effective in Ottawa.

We keep our promises to the Quebec nation and we will oppose this Speech from the Throne because it reflects an ideology that was rejected by 78% of Quebeckers during the election and does not reflect the consensus in Quebec.

I would also like to talk about the people this visionless Speech from the Throne has forgotten, the same people that the Conservatives have abandoned since their first mandate in 2006 and the same people it seems they are going to continue neglecting. I am thinking about the unemployed, women, the manufacturing and forestry industries, the environment, the homeless, the provinces and, in particular, Quebec and its regions.

It is extremely disappointing to see that the Prime Minister has not learned a single lesson from the election results in Quebec. On the contrary, he has remained completely insensitive to the growing concerns and worries of Quebeckers. In his Speech from the Throne, the Prime Minister has not risen to the occasion and appears to be ready to ignore the situation as if everything were under control, even though things are far from being under control.

The situation is particularly disastrous in my region, which has been hit hard by the forestry crisis. In my region, residents of the RCM of Antoine-Labelle—a single-industry regional municipality—are very concerned about the Conservatives' inaction and neglect. They are concerned and uncertain because hundreds of people have lost their jobs over the past year. Hundreds of forestry industry workers have watched their mills and plants close one after the other. Many of them are too old to retrain and will have to choose between living on social assistance, or, worse still, leaving their region, their community, their town, their friends and their family. They will have to make the terrible choice to leave everything they worked so hard to acquire over the years. It is a shame that the government is bent on staying its disastrous course.

It will come as no surprise to you, Madam Speaker, to hear that during the most recent campaign in my riding, I saw no sign of the Conservative candidate on the ground. He hid out in his basement so that he would not have to answer for his government's irresponsible and inexcusable actions. He was too scared to face the disgruntled unemployed.

As always, the Bloc has taken responsible action in this area. We put forward concrete, intelligent solutions to this crisis. We asked the government to introduce a loan and loan guarantee program for the purchase of new production equipment for the forestry and manufacturing sectors; refundable tax credits for research and development; an income support program for older workers; and an enhanced employment insurance program. Unfortunately, the Prime Minister did not mention any of these things in his speech. At this point, I would like to quote my leader, who said the following in his reply to the Speech from the Throne:

It was the government's job to be clear about its desire to provide a workable plan to support businesses in the forestry and manufacturing sectors. That is a priority for Quebec and its regions. Instead, we got vague promises. Thousands of workers have already lost their jobs in the forestry sector, yet the government is bent on staying its disastrous course.

That sends a terrible message to thousands of workers, communities and regions that rely on the forestry industry: “You are on your own.” That is unacceptable.

What wonderful message of hope can the people in my region take from the throne speech? Nothing. They are being told to fend for themselves. This attitude is quite simply unacceptable. That terrible message has devastating consequences for the Upper Laurentians, and the people there have good reason to be angry with the federal government.

Showing drive and motivated by a strong desire to revive the economy in the Upper Laurentians, elected representatives and representatives of various socio-economic sectors rolled up their sleeves and set to work developing other niches, including tourism.

Mont Tremblant International Airport in La Macaza is one of the main sources of economic prosperity in my region. The government now has the duty to support the airport's plans to expand and upgrade its facilities and must settle once and for all the issue of imposing customs charges on regular flights.

All the elected representatives from the Laurentians region worked to have the airport considered on a par with the airports in Montreal and Quebec City. We all celebrated the unanimous adoption of a motion made by the Bloc Québécois. I myself led that fight in this House last June. Now, we want to take the next step. The government must reassure my community and allow the general manager of the airport to sign new commercial agreements without having to worry that customs charges will again be imposed.

We estimate that my region will lose $9 million in annual economic spinoffs if these new agreements are not signed. The government must act responsibly and take an open-minded approach to my region and all the regions of Quebec.

And it is not just the regions of Quebec that are suffering as a result of the Conservatives' ideological stubbornness. As the Bloc Québécois deputy critic for the status of women, I have to say, unfortunately, that women have been hit hard since the Conservatives came to power in January 2006. Judging by the content of the throne speech, things are not going to get much better.

Women have been hit hard these past two years with cuts to Status of Women and the women's program, the abolition of the court challenges program and the tabling of Bill C-484, which attempted to reopen the debate on criminalization of abortion. By the way, another similar bill is still on the Conservative horizon.

Yet, the Prime Minister promised in the 2006 election campaign and last October to not reopen the abortion debate. Women fought hard to have freedom of choice and there is a strong consensus in Quebec society that the issue has been debated and that it is no longer up for discussion.

What is disturbing is that there is no mention of this in the throne speech. What is even more striking is that the word “women” appears only a couple of times in this famous speech, and is used in a general context without making any commitment to them.

Even more disturbing about the Conservatives' intentions, is the adoption of a resolution concerning the status of the fetus at the recent Winnipeg convention. We cannot help but be very alarmed by this resolution because it comes from the militant grass roots of the Conservative Party.

My colleague from Laval and I demanded that the Prime Minister immediately lay to rest concerns raised by the adoption of such a proposal. Unfortunately, we have to face the fact that the government has no intention of doing so and the temptation is great within the Conservative caucus to reopen the debate.

What does the government plan on doing to clarify its intention of not reopening the debate on abortion? Nothing.

What does the government plan on doing to put a stop to violence against aboriginal women on reserves. Nothing.

What does the government plan on doing to end poverty, which affects twice as many women as it does men? Nothing.

The answer is clear: the Conservative government will do nothing for women, nothing for the unemployed, nothing for the manufacturing and forestry industries, nothing for culture, nothing for the environment and the homeless.

In closing, I would say that Quebec is still the most forgotten in the throne speech.

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

Madam Speaker, I listened carefully to the speech given by my hon. colleague, Labelle des Laurentides, and I must say her tone is completely understandable. Everything she said accurately represents what was said—or not said—in the Speech from the Throne.

I wonder if my hon. colleague would share her thoughts about the Conservative government's desire to abolish the gun registry.

[Johanne Deschamps, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague, who, like me, is the critic for the status of women. I would like to point out that she is doing an excellent job on behalf of women.

Again in connection with matters concerning women, and although I am not an expert on firearms, I can say that a majority of Quebeckers are against abolishing the gun registry and, more specifically, most women oppose abolishing it. If I remember correctly, Quebec is the province that consults the registry the most, and the Sûreté du Québec uses it every day, considering it a vital and truly important tool.

[Monique Guay, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Madam Speaker, I would also like to congratulate you on your appointment to such an important position in this House. I wish you every success.

I have a question for my hon. colleague, who also happens to be my neighbour. The riding of Rivière-du-Nord is right beside the riding of Laurentides—Labelle, and the two ridings share similar problems. I would like my colleague to elaborate a little on the bill the Conservatives want to bring back, one that is opposed in all areas of Quebec, namely, the bill concerning young offenders. I am sure that through her past experience and her experience as a member of Parliament, she has seen that sending our young children to crime school really is a very bad idea. I would like to hear her comments on this.

[Johanne Deschamps, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague and neighbour from Rivière-du-Nord. I would like to clarify something for my colleague from Laval, who called me “Labelle des Laurentides”. It is not yet winter festival time, nor is my riding known as "Labelle des Laurentides". It is actually Laurentides—Labelle.

I am not an expert on justice, but contrary to the rest of Canada, there is a consensus in Quebec when it comes to the Young Offenders Act: people are strongly opposed to it. When it comes to justice, Quebeckers have all of the tools they need to support reintegration or to rule on delinquency. Quebec has its own tools, but it also supports the reintegration of youth. Its approach is primarily preventive, and once again, Quebec stands apart from the rest of Canada because of its position as a society and a nation.

[The Acting Speaker, NDP, Denise Savoie]

It being 6:15 p.m., pursuant to order made Thursday, November 20, 2008, it is my duty to interrupt the proceedings and put forthwith all questions necessary to dispose of the amendment to the amendment now before the House.

The vote is on the amendment to the amendment. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the amendment to the amendment?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

No.