Debates of Feb. 1st, 2008

35th Sports-Québec Gala

[Luc Malo, Bloc, Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the 35th annual Sports-Québec gala, which was held in December, recognizes the extraordinary accomplishments of athletes and other people involved in sports in Quebec. This year, in honour of the 35th anniversary of this important celebration, many people who have contributed to the history of amateur sports in Quebec attended the event. To emphasize the sense of continuity, special tribute was paid to Pierre and Alex Harvey, a father and son duo who are passionate about cycling and cross-country skiing and who are both exceptional athletes. In fact, this year, Alex Harvey himself received one of the awards.

I would also like to single out a few of the many nominees and award recipients, such as Karine Sergerie and Benoît Huot, international athletes of the year, and Francis Millien and Edgard Théorêt, who have made significant, long-standing contributions to sport.

I would like to congratulate all of the athletes, coaches, officials, organizers and volunteers as once again, the Sports-Québec gala has put the incredible talent, dynamism and vitality of amateur sport in Quebec in the spotlight.

Official Languages Act

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I had a chance to speak about the Official Languages Act this week. The Bloc Québécois shifted the debate to the Quebec nation because the notion of official languages in Canada scares them.

I would like to point out that the Quebec nation is important to sovereigntists and federalists alike. On November 22, 2006, our Prime Minister, who is from Calgary, rose in this House and recognized that it is possible to be a nationalist without being a separatist, a shocking notion for the Bloc.

Instead of playing petty politics, the Bloc should explain its hypocrisy and inconsistency in this file, given that on Wednesday, they were against it, while Thursday, they put forward some amendments and Friday, wow, they finally saw the light.

The Bloc Québécois can continue to behave like armchair separatists, but we will continue to support official languages across Canada and continue to build a strong Quebec within a strong Canada—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. member for Cape Breton—Canso.

Skills Development

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I am convinced that 2007 will be remembered by front line Service Canada employees as the absolute worst year of their public service careers.

All Canadians remember the mess that was last year's Canada summer jobs program. The cuts and changes made by the Conservative government cost valuable jobs for many students and opportunities for not for profit organizations and small businesses. Combine that travesty with the more recent changes in training assistance through the skills development program and people will get the picture.

Young men and women, many of whom had already enrolled in courses, were later notified that they would receive no training assistance from the government and their lives were thrown into chaos. Single mothers who had enrolled in courses to improve their lot in life with a sincere desire to make a greater contribution to their communities had the rug pulled out from under them.

We understand that the government has responded to some of the advice made by the official opposition with regard to the Canada summer jobs program. We would hope only that the government would see the wisdom and the merit in doing the same for the skills development program.

Justice

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the government's tackling violent crime act, Bill C-2, will make Canadians safer. From allowing police to charge those suspected of being drugged up while behind the wheel to protecting children from sexual predators, Bill C-2 is the most comprehensive crime legislation to pass the House of Commons in recent memory.

However, sadly, after passing this chamber, whose members are elected and have to report back to their constituents, the unaccountable, unelected Liberal dominated Senate is putting Canadians at risk by stalling this important legislation.

We all know the Liberals are soft on crime and that their position changes on a daily basis. However, I, along with millions of Canadians, am sick and tired of Liberal games. Enough is enough.

On behalf of all Canadians, I call upon the Leader of the Opposition to stop flip-flopping, stop putting lives at risk and demand that his Liberal senators pass the bill immediately.

Jordan's Principle

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

Mr. Speaker, Jordan's principle has been developed to ensure that all first nations children are cared for appropriately and in a timely manner where jurisdictional disputes exist among governments.

Last week, Premier Gordon Campbell publicly supported Jordan's principle. He went on to say that he hoped that British Columbia would be the first province to implement this child-first principle. The NDP government in Manitoba has asked for meetings with its federal counterparts to discuss implementing Jordan's principle, but its request has been denied.

Why are provinces leading the way, even though it is the constitutional responsibility of the government to ensure aboriginal children ensure the same standard of care as all other Canadians?

On December 12, 2007, the House voted unanimously to endorse Jordan's principle. When will the Conservative government meet with its provincial counterparts to ensure no first nations child is left behind?

Holocaust Remembrance

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this week we commemorate the International Day of Holocaust Remembrance, the 63rd anniversary of the liberation of the death camps, of the liberation of the surviving remnants of “Planet Auschwitz”, the most horrific laboratory of mass murder in history, reminding us of the dangers of state-sanctioned cultures of hate, of incitement to genocide, of the dangers of indifference and silence in the face of radical evil.

We remember and we pledge, and this must not be a matter of rhetoric but a commitment to action, that never again will we be indifferent to incitement and hate; that never again will we be silent in the face of evil; that never again will we indulge racism and anti-Semitism; that never again will we ignore the plight of the vulnerable; that never again will we be indifferent in the face of mass atrocity and impunity.

We will speak and we will act against racism, against hate, against anti-Semitism, against mass atrocity, against injustice and against the crime of crimes, whose name we should even shudder to mention, genocide, and always, against indifference, against being bystanders to injustice. For in our day, more than ever, qui s'excuse s'accuse, whoever remains indifferent indicts himself or herself.

Hog and Beef Industries

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

Mr. Speaker, this week we were treated to some responses that were upsetting, to say the least, from the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and his parliamentary secretary about the crisis in the hog and beef industries. The minister's recycled announcements and the parliamentary secretary's trip to Paris are not the solutions that Quebec hog and beef producers are looking for.

The President of the Fédération des producteurs de porcs du Québec, Jean-Guy Vincent, has publicly criticized Ottawa for remaining silent, and added that if the federal government does not respond soon, the producers will protest on the Hill. Is the minister trying to push the producers to the limit before he takes action?

The president of the Fédération des producteurs de bovins du Québec, Michel Dessureault, is calling on the government to act quickly on the solutions proposed by producers. The minister must respond to this urgent request and implement transitional measures to give hog and beef producers the money they need.

Official Development Assistance Accountability Act

[John McKay, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it has been almost a year since Parliament passed Bill C-293, the better aid bill, with the support of all members in the House, all parties in the House, with the exception of the Conservatives.

Since then, however, Bill C-293 languishes in the Senate because the Conservative senators have used tactics of delay, misinformation and diversion. They have done so in spite of the will of this Parliament. In spite of thousands of petitions that have been presented here, in spite of rallies and in spite of emails, they continue to delay the bill.

It is time for the Conservatives to stop filibustering Bill C-293. The Prime Minister himself supported this bill when in opposition and it was part of a Conservative platform. The problem, however, is that the Conservatives talk an accountability and transparency game and they practise exactly the opposite.

The poor of this world deserve better from the government.

Afghanistan

[Joe Preston, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

Mr. Speaker, our government has broadly accepted the recommendations in the Manley report. We believe it provides Canadians with a balanced, thoughtful and comprehensive overview of the Afghanistan mission.

We have been making strong efforts to facilitate debate, to start discussions and to build consensus on how to proceed. Joint committee meetings were seen as an opportunity for parliamentarians to play a vital role. Frank, open discussion is what is needed, and I dare say it is what Canadians expect.

The Liberal opposition continues to show the leadership vacuum that exists. The Liberals have grown so used to not making decisions on legislation that now even open, thoughtful discussion at committee is not possible for them.

The so-called Leader of the Opposition and indeed the members under his direction feel that if they close their minds and do not talk about it and if they pretend it is not happening, it will go away.

Canada and Canadians expect better.

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, for months Canadians have received disturbing reports about the torture of Afghan detainees. From the very beginning, the government has bungled the issue, trying to brush it aside, even stooping to accuse its critics of supporting the Taliban.

Now, no less than the governor of Kandahar, Asadullah Khalid, is accused of beatings and electrocutions. What is worse, the government knew about it. It has known since April of last year and it covered it up.

Does the government really think it can credibly fight this war in secret?

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

Mr. Speaker, the member knows that simply is not true.

A more important issue for us is the future of the mission in Afghanistan. Yesterday, the Liberal Party blocked a parliamentary study into the Manley report on the future of the Afghan mission. Our government is seeking to have a broad discussion based on what is a serious and responsible report and to work together with others in Parliament to try to find a reasonable agreement on how to move forward in Canada's interest.

I would like to hear from the Liberal House leader how it is serving the interests of Canadians, on a broad debate on the future of the Afghan mission, to shut down debate the way the Liberal Party did yesterday.

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the House does not need a dog and pony show. It needs the truth.

No amount of bluster and obfuscation can hide the fact that the government covered up the most heinous allegations, the spectre of the governor of Kandahar torturing detainees. The Government of Canada, the Prime Minister of Canada, knew about it for almost a year and kept it secret. Surely, barbaric behaviour is not a matter of operational security.

Does the government expect to earn the confidence of Canadians in the absence of basic transparency?

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

Mr. Speaker, I do not know what confidence Canadians would have in a Liberal Party that considers John Manley and Pamela Wallin to be a dog and pony show. We think what they produced was a serious report.

Every day we hear the Liberal Party raising questions about Taliban prisoners. Yet it is the same party that yesterday blocked any serious debate or discussion by a parliamentary committee on how to move forward on the Manley report.

The time has come for a serious discussion of those matters. The Liberal Party is blocking those discussions. It does not think that matters; it does not matter what Canada does in Afghanistan; all that matters is Taliban prisoners. The Liberals are happy to talk about that all the time.

Could the Liberal Party explain why that—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. member for Wascana.

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the government House leader should simply start with the truth. The government's failure to come clean has drained its already tenuous credibility.

Since last April, the government knew about credible allegations that Governor Khalid had been involved in torture, but the Minister of National Defence continued to deal with him. Senior Canadian commanders and diplomats still deal with him.

Has the government even bothered to investigate the allegations against Mr. Khalid, as specifically required under Canada's detainee transfer agreement? Why the cover-up?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of National Defence and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, cutting through the histrionics, hyperventilating and hyperbole coming from the member opposite, he would know, as a member of the previous government, that we have improved upon an agreement that was flawed under his government. We have made it much more possible to have eyes inside the Afghan prisons. This is exactly what we set out to do.

With respect to Governor Khalid, of course I would meet with an individual who is the governor of a province in which there are over 2,500 Canadians. I met with him, as I met with the president of Afghanistan and my counterpart, the minister of defence.

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, leadership is judged not only when things are going well but also when they are not going so well. At present, they are not going so well. An allegation has been made that the Governor of Kandahar was personally involved in the torture of detainees and the government hid this from Canadians for almost one year.

Why did Canada transfer detainees to a system controlled by such a regime?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of National Defence and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, as I just said moments ago, of course I met with the governor. I met with the president of Afghanistan. I met with the defence minister. In fact, I did so immediately upon hearing of these credible allegations. I sought assurances from them that there would be a full investigation, that they would look into these allegations and in fact the individual involved should be immediately suspended. There were assurances given that would happen.

Members would know as well that the operational decision then taken by the military was to suspend transfers. Everything that happened should have happened.

I know members opposite do not want to hear that. They want to hear that there was a flurry of press releases, but that did not happen.

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know why he kept all that secret until he got caught.

This government's cavalier attitude is disturbing. It is now clear that the Conservatives hid what they knew about the Governor of Kandahar and his involvement in cases of torture.

Was Mr. Manley informed of the governor's activities before the government briefed him about the mission? Mr. Manley and his panel have insisted on the importance of transparency. Where is the transparency in this matter?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of National Defence and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, if the members opposite were not so intent upon shutting down any further discussions at the committee level by Mr. Manley and members of the committee coming before a parliamentary committee to have a reasonable and rational discussion about this particular report, we could ask him that.

What I can say is that the process we have in place was improved upon from the previous government. It was done so specifically to deal with allegations of abuse, and that has happened. There has been no hiding of the truth. There have been operational decisions taken in the field as they should be taken.

Public Works and Government Services

[Pierre Paquette, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this week we found out about two cases of political interference involving the Office of the Prime Minister and his press secretary, Dimitri Soudas. What was the Prime Minister's reaction to these troubling revelations? He started a witch hunt to find those responsible for the leak.

Instead of waging an internal political vendetta, should the Prime Minister not realize that he must address the problem at the source and put an end to such wheeling and dealing, including in his office?

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

Mr. Speaker, I do not believe there is any problem. None of the parties involved received any special treatment. Only the Liberals think there is a scandal when a staff member looking into an issue does not hand out special treatment. Correction, the Bloc Québécois thinks there is a problem as well.

[Pierre Paquette, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the political interference and wheeling and dealing the Prime Minister's Office is being taken to task for occurred while the Prime Minister was boasting that his Accountability Act would protect whistleblowers in the public service. Today, he is looking for those who told the truth about these goings-on, and about those in his office in order to punish them.

Is that not a fine example of the window-dressing ethics, duplicity, and hypocrisy of this Prime Minister and this government?

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

Mr. Speaker, times have changed. Under the previous Liberal government, the handing out of political favours to friends was so regular that even the media tired of reporting those stories because it was just business as usual.

Under the Conservative government, the uproar from both the Liberals and the Bloc is all about cases where no undue interference occurred and no favours were handed out. It is a measure of how much things have changed under our government.