Debates of Feb. 1st, 2008

Forestry and Manufacturing Industries

[Mario Laframboise, Bloc, Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, jobs are being lost in Conservative ministers' ridings. That is a fact. They are doing nothing about it. They are caving in to western Canada, which receives more money per capita than Quebec. While the forestry sector of Quebec is in crisis, the profits of the Conservatives' friends keep climbing; Imperial Oil $3.19 billion; Petro-Canada, $2.73 billion. The government must realize that its plan is basically helping the oil companies in Alberta by reducing their taxes.

Will this government table a bill immediately to help the forestry and manufacturing workers who truly need it?

[Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Conservative, Minister of Labour and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec]

Mr. Speaker, again, we have just announced $1 billion to support the forestry and manufacturing industries. Of this $1 billion, $217 million will go to the province of Quebec to help the workers and the regions.

Will the Bloc Québécois do its part for the workers and support this measure during the next budget? Yes or no? Will it support the workers and regions of Quebec by voting in favour of the $217 million earmarked for the province of Quebec?

Environment Canada

[John Maloney, Liberal, Welland, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the contempt that this Conservative government has for the public service is shocking. This morning we learned that scientists at every level at Environment Canada are being muzzled by the environment minister. Our scientists cannot even explain to a reporter what an endangered species is without first getting approved lines from the minister.

What is the government afraid of? Why does it insist on bullying and muzzling the best scientists in the world?

[Mark Warawa, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, the story is wrong and the member is absolutely wrong. There is no change in providing media access to the scientists or others.

This is a policy being implemented by the department officials at Environment Canada. It is also based on the government communications policy which members opposite would well know because it was brought in, in 2002, six years ago by the Liberal Party.

[John Maloney, Liberal, Welland, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the only person at Environment Canada that needs a muzzle is the minister, who keeps barking like a prime ministerial pit bull.

First the government gagged Environment Canada scientist Mark Tushingham for trying to talk about his new science fiction novel, then it eliminated the position of science adviser to the Prime Minister, and Arthur Carty resigned in disgust.

When will the government realize that fearless advice is the cornerstone of our public service, and that freedom of thought and speech are part of the bedrock of our society?

[Mark Warawa, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians want the truth and the truth is that in 13 long years that party caused emissions to go up 33%. It is huge. It caused an environmental disaster. The Liberals did not get it done.

We now have a government that is serious about reducing greenhouse gas emissions, 20% actual reductions by 2020. We are getting it done. Shame on them.

Nuclear Energy

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

Mr. Speaker, this government does not listen to any experts. Here is one more example.

We now know that engineering experts are telling us that this new MAPLE reactor will never be up and running because of major engineering flaws. Understandably, Canadians have no faith in this minister. They still have major questions about AECL and the government has yet to start the review it promised.

When will we get the truth about this boondoggle of nuclear proportions?

[David Anderson, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, the member is not one to talk about the truth. This issue, he knows, goes back more than a decade and he is well familiar with it.

I am sick and tired of opposition members misleading Canadians on this issue. They misled them on the issue of timelines regarding the medical isotopes. They misled people about the lack of connection between the Auditor General's report and the medical isotope issue. They misled Canadians about their position on December 11. They should be focusing on telling the truth.

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

Mr. Speaker, Canada used to have one of the most respected nuclear safety commissions in the world, but the Conservative government has chosen to join the Homer Simpson school of nuclear regulators.

It fired the national science adviser, the nuclear safety regulator, and what does it do? It is also muzzling every nuclear expert or science expert who dares to tell Canadians the truth.

The government says not to worry because the Prime Minister is personally responsible and there will not be any nuclear accident. How can Canadians trust someone who does not even believe in science?

[David Anderson, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about the facts.

In early December we had a national medical crisis in the country. The deputy leader of the Liberal Party called it a national medical crisis. He talked about the millions of lives that would be affected if we did not get the reactor up and running.

We had a session here in the House of Commons. We brought in the experts and the witnesses, and members had as much time as they wanted to ask questions of them.

At the end of that night, all members supported the government in its initiative to get the reactor up and running again. We made a good decision. We stand by that decision. The opposition should quit trying to rewrite history.

Afghanistan

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday opposition members on both the defence committee and the foreign affairs committee defeated a motion that would have allowed a joint committee of Parliament to debate the Manley report.

Conservative members had proposed a full month of meetings on this important issue. Canada's future role in Afghanistan is of great concern to Canadians, yet the opposition refused to allow Canadians to debate this critical issue.

Can the Minister of National Defence share his views on this shocking decision by the opposition parties to oppose public hearings on the Manley report?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is indeed unfortunate that we may miss this opportunity to have an impartial review, of an impartial independent panel quite frankly, on what is and I think has been appropriately characterized as perhaps the most important issue that we in this Parliament will ever deal with.

This process of working through a committee would allow for a more indepth study of an important substantive issue, that is the future of the mission in Afghanistan, looking at the detailed and laudatory report that was put in place by Mr. Manley and members of that panel.

I implore members of the opposition to reconsider this view and allow the committee to do this work.

Ethics

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have not cleaned up Ottawa. In the fine tradition of Roch LaSalle and Chuck Guité, PMO insiders are still trying to interfere with Public Works contracts and even when they are before the courts.

In a new twist, Montreal city councillor Marcel Tremblay denies that he ever asked Dimitri Soudas to intercede on behalf of the claimant in the lawsuit. There are gaping holes in this story.

If the government has any self-respect whatsoever, will the Prime Minister agree to relieve Dimitri Soudas of his duties until the Ethics Commissioner can determine the extent of his wrongdoing?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I said, there is no contradiction between what Mr. Tremblay has said and what the government has said, only now the NDP have taken this scandal one step further.

Before, there was no pressure; there was no favour dispensed. Now the scandal is: no favour was even asked for.

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I wonder what Justice Gomery is thinking as he watches this latest saga of the abuse of power unfold, especially as the dust gathers on the recommendations of the report that he tabled two years ago today.

There is still no Access to Information Act reform. There is still no public appointments commission. There is still no parliamentary budget officer and still no curbing of corporate lobbyists.

PMO insiders would not be able to run roughshod over fair contracting rules if Justice Gomery's recommendations were implemented when the Conservative government promised it would implement them. What is the holdup?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, the holdup is that this member was part of the committee that passed the Federal Accountability Act, the toughest anti-corruption law in Canadian history.

Among the recommendations that Judge Gomery made, this member did not put forward any amendments to add those recommendations into the bill, so if he was so excited about those recommendations, he had his chance.

We on this side promised the Federal Accountability Act. We passed the Federal Accountability Act, whistleblower protection and expanded access to information. We reined in the lobbyists and we are getting the job done.

Manufacturing Industry

[Karen Redman, Liberal, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the region of Waterloo is home to over 62,000 workers in the manufacturing sector and many of these work in the high tech sector. We depend on manufacturing and today it is in crisis.

NCR, ATS, MTD, Lear Corporation, Kitchener Frame, and the list of companies in crisis goes on. Yet, what is the government's response? “Laissez-faire, I don't care”.

When will the government introduce and implement a plan to deal with this crisis in manufacturing?

[Ted Menzies, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad the hon. member raises this question. It gives us one more opportunity to talk about what this government has done.

Let me remind the hon. member what the United Steelworkers said: “The crisis didn't just start when the Conservatives took office”. The Liberals had 12 years to deal with this stuff and they did nothing.

Let me also share what we have done in the immediate past. We have taken aggressive action, over $9 billion in support to the manufacturing industry.

[Karen Redman, Liberal, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, sadly this is an answer that I would have expected and it is insufficient. Canadians deserve better and my constituents in Kitchener Centre deserve better.

Does the parliamentary secretary understand the stress that families suffer when there is a job loss? Does he understand the loss of self-esteem? Does he understand the insecurity they go through? Does he understand the impact on secondary spin-off jobs in the retail and service sector? Or, does he just simply not care?

[Ted Menzies, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I will be very guarded in my response about what Kitchener Centre deserves as representation.

However, let me remind this House the importance of jobs in this country. Every one of us in this House realizes the seriousness of lost jobs, but we are seriously pleased with the number of better jobs, higher paying jobs that the initiatives of this government have brought.

Let me also remind the hon. member that the business that comes out of Ontario that goes to feed the oil and gas industry in Alberta--

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. member for Ottawa—Vanier.

Telefilm Canada

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the new chair of the Telefilm Canada board of directors, Mr. Roy, who was appointed by the Conservative government, yesterday told the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage that Telefilm Canada's funding is insufficient. The industry has been calling for an increase for two years.

When will the government increase the Telefilm Canada budget? When will it finally support Canada's English and French film industries?

[Jim Abbott, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary for Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, the member is well aware that we had the hearing for the new commissioner for Telefilm yesterday and it is from that hearing that his question arises. I believe if he were to reflect on the answer of the new commissioner, the new commissioner was not asking for increased funding.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

He just recognized, Mr. Speaker, that the funding was not adequate.

In December, I asked the minister why the Conservatives were cancelling the exhibit transportation services. The parliamentary secretary said that they were “continuing to work” on the matter. Some actually drew hope from that answer.

Yet in January, the minister's chief of staff wrote to the member for Charlottetown stating, “the only option was to discontinue the service”.

Who is telling the truth? Has the government really chosen to abandon the 100-plus museums and galleries that rely on this service? Why is the government promoting cultural isolation?

[Jim Abbott, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary for Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, the member will be well aware of the fact that we have taken steps that had to come in line as a result of a situation with respect to that organization. We are very well aware of it. We are not in any way isolating, as he suggested.