Debates of Nov. 27th, 2008

Credit Card Interchange Fees

[Diane Ablonczy, Conservative, Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism)]

Mr. Speaker, the member raises an issue of real importance to small business. As he knows, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business has been speaking with the players about this issue. The fact of the matter is that the banks in this country are competitive. They are free to put forward products to all of the customers they have, including small business.

The Minister of Finance has written to the banks about this issue asking them to deal with it. We are awaiting their responses momentarily, and we believe we can work on it together.

Health

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, natural health products are under attack. The Conservatives have made a mess of the approval process with unreachable deadlines to regulate a massive number of critical health products.

Canada has over 10,000 natural health stores, with over 25,000 people employed directly. Countless families rely on these products. The approval process is hopelessly backlogged and there is fear Bill C-51 is coming back. Small businesses will fail and consumers will suffer.

When will the government work with, and not against, the natural health community?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, this government is committed to bringing forward new legislation on that. We hope to introduce it sometime in the new year. We are committed to protecting the health and safety of Canadians. We will be putting forward our plan in the next few days.

Research and Development

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canada leads the G7 nations and is second among OECD member countries when it comes to supporting university research.

Last year the Prime Minister launched our country's science and technology strategy. The government has made important new investments to attract the best researchers, equip them with the best facilities and make sure that Canadians get the economic benefit from our innovations.

Can the Minister of State for Science and Technology update the House on new developments?

[Gary Goodyear, Conservative, Minister of State (Science and Technology)]

Mr. Speaker, earlier this week I had the pleasure of opening our 11th centre of excellence for the commercialization of our technology, to move it from the laboratory to the marketplace.

Today I am thrilled to announce to the House that the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics at the University of Waterloo has appointed an internationally respected scientist and theorist, Dr. Stephen Hawking, as its distinguished research chair.

This is a very proud day for Canada. It is great news for our science and technology community. I look forward to seeing more good things from this government's initiative.

Government Spending

[Todd Russell, Liberal, Labrador, NL]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's new Conservative deficit is the result of irresponsible and fiscal mismanagement and Canadian families and workers are getting burned.

Yet the Conservatives have racked up tens of thousands of dollars in extra travel and hospitality fees, limo rentals, charter jets, millions in sole source contracts for their buddies, and excessive ministerial budgets and staff.

If the Conservatives really want to cut down on the fat, maybe they will get their heads out of the pork barrel.

[Jay Hill, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the member talks about the size of our cabinet, so let us talk about some facts.

At the end of Jean Chrétien's time in government, he had 39 members in cabinet, as did Paul Martin, this with only 133 Liberal members of Parliament in the House. Statistically that was the largest cabinet in Canadian history. His cabinet was almost 30% of his caucus.

The member might also be interested to know that the cost of our cabinet today is still millions of dollars less than when the Liberals were last in office.

Meat Processing Industry

[André Bellavance, Bloc, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the difficulties that are affecting the slaughter industry and that are forcing a company like Levinoff-Colbex to ask the federal government for urgent assistance are a direct result of the federal government's mismanagement of the BSE and cull cattle file. It is not just the survival of this company that is at stake. The entire slaughter industry is at risk.

Of the amount promised during the election campaign for the slaughter industry, how much has the minister set aside specifically for Levinoff-Colbex? I am looking for a specific dollar amount.

[Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Conservative, Minister of National Revenue and Minister of State (Agriculture)]

Mr. Speaker, the slaughterhouse issue is not just of interest to the company that the member mentioned. It is also of interest to other regions of Quebec and Canada. During the election campaign we said we would do something. The amount of $50 million was mentioned, but we will have to wait for the budget to see about that.

Fisheries and Oceans

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the B.C. Treaty Commission reported that treaty negotiations are being stalled because it must wait for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to finish a review of the west coast salmon.

Seven communities are close to a deal, yet without a discussion of salmon, nothing can be finalized.

Will the fisheries minister tell the House and the aboriginal communities who are stuck in limbo when the salmon review will be finished and when the federal negotiators will get a mandate to conclude the treaty negotiations?

[Gail Shea, Conservative, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, DFO is firmly committed to seeking fishery treaty arrangements with the first nations which are mutually agreeable, broadly supported and implementable. Recent conservation concerns require that arrangements be fair and integrated with other fisheries. Also, they must be sustainable. While we do not want to delay the treaty process, we must ensure that the fish are there for future generations.

Presence in Gallery

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

I would like to draw the attention of hon. members to the presence in the gallery of His Excellency Raúl de la Nuez Ramírez, Minister of Foreign Trade of the Republic of Cuba.

Business of the House

[Marlene Jennings, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the government what its plan is regarding the business of the House for the time remaining until we recess on December 12.

I would also like to know when the government intends to introduce its ways and means motion.

Finally, I would like to know, if the government has not already officially designated the opposition days between now and the adjournment on December 12, when it intends to officially designate those opposition days.

[Jay Hill, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to focus on one week at a time if that is all right.

Today, we will wrap up the debate on the address in reply to the Speech from the Throne. In addition and pursuant to an order made Tuesday of this week, at 4 p.m. today regular proceedings will be interrupted for the Minister of Finance to deliver his fiscal economic update.

Following the statement, each opposition party will be given an opportunity to respond to that statement. After the responses, the House will resume consideration of the address in reply to the Speech from the Throne.

Tomorrow, we will be debating the substance of the economic fiscal update.

I would like to designate Monday, December 1 as an allotted day pursuant to the order I mentioned earlier. Following the consideration of the opposition motion on Monday, we will propose to the House a ways and means motion, which the member mentioned, relating to the economic fiscal update. A bill will then be tabled that is based on that ways and means motion. That bill, which will have the designation as C-2, will be debated for the remainder of next week.

Oral Questions

[Dan McTeague, Liberal, Pickering—Scarborough East, ON]

Mr. Speaker, during oral question period, the Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism) alluded to something.

The Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism, in reply to a question by the member for Thunder Bay—Superior North, made reference to a letter.

Mr. Speaker, you can appreciate that from my position here I cannot see that far down, although I probably need an adjustment to my glasses. However, the minister made reference to a letter that was apparently given by the Minister of Finance to the various banking institutions and credit card companies. I am wondering if that minister will now table the letter to which she made reference.

[Jay Hill, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. minister has left the chamber, but I will certainly approach her and make sure that we are able to provide that.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

There was no suggestion that the minister read from the letter. Tabling is not required unless the letter is read in reference to some document, as the hon. member for Mississauga South points out so ably.

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, in earlier answers to questions from both the NDP and Liberals, the parliamentary secretary denied, as his office officials admitted, that he used the voters list as the source of mailings. Will he deny that his office confirmed that he used that information and did so illegally?

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

I am afraid the hon. member for Malpeque knows that supplementary questions cannot be asked on points of order after question period. I would suggest he restrain himself until tomorrow when he can ask questions in question period again.

The House resumed consideration of the motion for an address to Her Excellency the Governor General in reply to her speech at the opening of the session.

Resumption of debate on Address in Reply

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Before question period, the hon. member for Wild Rose had the floor and he has three minutes remaining in the time allotted.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Wild Rose, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate you on your election to the Chair once again. I will resume where I left off prior to question period.

In addition to the priorities I spoke about previous to question period, there is one other issue that is near and dear to my heart, and that is showing our soldiers and our veterans the respect and admiration they deserve.

Every day, as I walk down to the Parliament buildings, I pass by the National War Memorial and every day I pause to reflect on the bravery and sacrifice of our Canadian soldiers, both past and present, both here in Canada and abroad. I think particularly about those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice, laying down their lives to ensure that we in Canada would continue to enjoy the democratic country in which we live. Without their courage and conviction, we would not be here in this place to debate the issues of the day or enjoy this great country that we are so fortunate to call home.

The people of Wild Rose expect a government that does more than talk about supporting our troops. They expect a government that gets things done. The Conservative government will deliver with the necessary equipment that our soldiers need to do the great work that they perform.

In last month's general election, Canadians voiced their trust in the government by voting to renew and strengthen our mandate. They did so knowing that this is the best team to guide Canada through the looming economic storm. That storm is now here and we are already starting to see the effects of the global downturn around the world.

During this challenging time, the government is mindful of the privilege and responsibility with which it has been entrusted.

I am truly humbled by the opportunity the people of Wild Rose have given me to be their member of Parliament. There is difficult work ahead but the people of Wild Rose have my commitment that I will work relentlessly and tirelessly to address the challenges that we must face together, both now and in the future, to ensure that Canada remains the true north strong and free.

[Shawn Murphy, Liberal, Charlottetown, PE]

Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate the member for his election to the House. The previous member from Wild Rose was a colourful character, and the member has big shoes and a big hat to fill. I do want to welcome him to this chamber.

I want to remind the member that when the last Conservative government was in power, we did have a $23 billion deficit, unemployment was over 10% and interest rates were over 11%. It did get straightened out, but now we have another Conservative government here. According to all the projecting agencies, it would appear that we are right back in the very same boat and on the same path that Canadians soundly rejected before, and the deficit again is somewhere between $20 billion and $50 billion.

It appears to me that I have seen this movie before and it does not end well for working-class families, and that is both in the technical sense and in the real sense.

In the last election, the Prime Minister went to every province and every city and he gave us a steady dose of pablum that there would be no recession and no deficit and that anyone who suggested otherwise was ridiculous.

Days after the election was over he changed his tune and said that not only was a deficit essential but that people who did not support a deficit were being overly simplistic in their thinking.

Obviously the Prime Minister knew this--

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. I must cut off the hon. member there to give the hon. member for Wild Rose a chance to respond.

[Blake Richards, Conservative, Wild Rose, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I will remind the member that we are in a time of unprecedented global economic instability that is rapidly changing at the present time.

Our government foresaw that and we put a lot of measures in place to ensure our economy would remain one of the strongest through this time. That is why groups, such as the World Economic Forum, have indicated that our financial system is the strongest in the world, and that is because of the actions of this government.

We will continue to take strong and bold action to ensure our country comes out of this time of economic instability as strong as ever.