House of Commons Hansard #57 of the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was airbus.
Garth Turner Liberal Halton, ON
Mr. Speaker, when I was a Conservative member of Parliament, I heard the Prime Minister call Chuck Cadman a poor MP. The Prime Minister said Mr. Cadman was more concerned with ethics and with the country than he was with political organization.
I have always wondered why the Prime Minister was so angry at the late Chuck Cadman, but now we know a lot more. Was it simply because he could not be bribed?
James Moore ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services and for the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics
Mr. Speaker, how dare he? The member for Halton never served with Chuck Cadman. He did not know Chuck Cadman.
Chuck Cadman supported the Prime Minister when he was leader of the opposition and supported him in his leadership races. The Prime Minister wanted him to rejoin the Conservative Party.
Chuck Cadman was a dear friend of mine from a neighbouring riding and we always supported Chuck Cadman. He was a fantastic human being, a great member of Parliament and a dear friend.
The member has no proof. He has no evidence that the Prime Minister ever said that about Chuck Cadman. That is outrageous. We honour Chuck Cadman's memory. He was a dear friend. The member for Halton should withdraw that ridiculous question and those statements.
Garth Turner Liberal Halton, ON
Mr. Speaker, if that is how they treat their dear friends, I am glad I am not on that side of the aisle any more.
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
Order. The hon. member for Halton has the floor for a question. We had better get on with the question.
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
Order. I urge the hon. member for Halton to proceed immediately with his question. We had better get on with it.
Garth Turner Liberal Halton, ON
Mr. Speaker, when a journalist at the time, in 2005, taped the Prime Minister in asking him about this incident, the Prime Minister said, “I don't know the details, I know there were discussions”.
My question is for the right hon. Prime Minister. Was he deceiving the journalist then or was he shamming the House yesterday?
James Moore ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services and for the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics
Mr. Speaker, the issue on this is very clear. Chuck Cadman himself said there was no deal.
We remember well when the member for Halton was a member of the Conservative caucus and our government has never been more on track, more focused and more effective than when we kicked him out and threw him back into the Liberal Party where he belongs. He can stay over there and the Liberals can have him all he wants.
When we threw him out of the Conservative Party, he said in national interviews,“Why are they throwing me out? I don't get it”. He wanted to stay in the Conservative caucus. With questions like that, he knows clearly why we want nothing to do with that member.
Carole Freeman Bloc Châteauguay—Saint-Constant, QC
Mr. Speaker, this morning, the media reported that Canada had resumed transferring detainees to Afghan authorities in Kandahar. According to Lieutenant-Colonel Dane of the Canadian Forces, each transfer is to be assessed on a case by case basis.
What assurances has the Minister of National Defence received from the Afghan authorities that the transferred detainees will not be tortured?
Laurie Hawn ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, as I said previously, for the last four months or so since November, we have been working hard with the Afghans in this area. We have put over a million dollars into improvements for the prisons. We have been training Afghan guards and the Afghan national police force. We have had more visits by Canadian representatives over there.
We are continuing to work with our Afghan allies to ensure that the system works as it has been doing more recently. We will continue to do that.
Carole Freeman Bloc Châteauguay—Saint-Constant, QC
Mr. Speaker, does the fact that transfers are to be determined on a case by case basis not prove that there are no guarantees on the part of the Afghan authorities and that decisions will be made at the whim of the Canadian Forces, which may or may not decide to comply with Canada's obligations under the Geneva convention?
Laurie Hawn ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, the fact is that the Canadian Forces take all their obligations very seriously. The forces evaluate them on a case by case basis because they do take this so seriously.
They want to make sure that each Taliban prisoner is treated in accordance with the obligations, in accordance with the rule of law, in accordance with the procedures and the agreement that we have in place with the Afghan authorities, and in accordance with all the improvements that we have made recently in the system, which will make the system work a lot better. The hon. member should be happy with that.
Irwin Cotler Liberal Mount Royal, QC
Mr. Speaker, the transfer of detainees was suspended because of serious allegations of torture and abuse. The Federal Court expressed serious concerns about these transfers.
Now that the transfers have resumed, what new measures, other than those mentioned today, have been taken to address the Federal Court's concerns and to ensure that transfers are taking place according to international law?
Laurie Hawn ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, at the risk of repeating myself, we worked very hard in the last four months to make specific changes in terms of the facility, the infrastructure, the training given to the Afghan national police and the judicial system, and also the guard training program. There are more visits to the Afghan prisons by Canadian officials.
The Canadian Forces take all of their obligations very seriously. We rely on the forces to exercise judgment and I think we have put our reliance in good hands. Canadian Forces members are doing a great job and we should thank them for that.
Patricia Davidson Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON
Mr. Speaker, on February 26 the Minister of Finance tabled our Conservative government's third balanced budget. It is unfortunate that the opposition has not read it. On Wednesday, the member for London—Fanshawe showed her lack of understanding when she questioned whether the budget had anything for women.
Can the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Status of Women and Official Languages clarify for the member and the House what the budget has for the women of Canada?
Sylvie Boucher ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Status of Women
Mr. Speaker, not only did our government increase the budget for the women's program by 76%, the biggest increase ever, but I am also pleased to say that in Budget 2008, our government confirmed that it will go ahead with the initiative by developing the first Status of Women action plan to advance equality of women in Canada by improving their social and economic conditions and increasing their participation in democracy.
We believe that equality is not just a symbol; it is our reason for being.
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
Mr. Speaker, the environment simply is not part of the Conservative agenda, as was proven in this week's budget. There is nothing in the budget to take on the big polluters. As the Toronto Star said, the Liberals have turned themselves into a “doormat” in the process.
In fact, instead of reducing pollution, this budget is going to take hard-earned tax dollars from working families and give them to oil companies in more subsidies and more tax breaks. There is nothing to protect hard-working families. When will the government finally find the courage to stand up to its oil patch buddies?
Mark Warawa ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, it is ironic that the member is going to be voting against the budget, a budget that provides $500 million for modern public transit and will contribute to cleaner air and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The NDP is guilty of the sin of green-washing, with false bills and false proclamations that it cares about the environment, but when it has an opportunity to vote for a cleaner environment it is constantly voting against good environmental practices.
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
After that answer, Mr. Speaker, Canadians are going to have to take a shower.
The Conservative-Liberal budget will sink hundreds of millions of dollars into polluting and unsafe industries such as the tar sands and the nuclear industry. Not only is this action morally corrupt, but it is intellectually bankrupt.
New Democrats are ready to take on the big polluters and we have a plan. It is called the clean air and climate change act. When will the Conservatives abandon their pollution agenda, bring this critical bill back for a free vote in the House of Commons and finally do something about climate change?
Mark Warawa ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, the fact is that in the environment committee over the last month and a half, the NDP time and time again has heard from witnesses that its plan is all hot air, with no action, and it would not stand up to a constitutional challenge.
We now have a government that reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2020. It is real. Why is the NDP voting against real action on climate?
Irwin Cotler Liberal Mount Royal, QC
Mr. Speaker, in his reply to the question of transfer of detainees, the Minister of National Defence ignored numerous concerns expressed by the Federal Court, including: missing detainees, denial of effective access to detention facilities, dubious reliability of Afghan investigations of mistreatment, post-transfer monitoring techniques that are not effective and, in particular, a serious, systemic problem of detainee torture and abuse in Afghan prisons.
Is the resumption not premature in light of these concerns that the minister has not addressed in his reply, particularly the systemic question of pervasive detainee abuse and torture? Where is the conformity with international law?
Laurie Hawn ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, we are concerned about all of those issues. That is why we have an agreement in place with the Afghan government. It is why we have been working so hard for the last four months since those allegations surfaced to improve things in terms of training and monitoring.
The system is working. We are relying on the Canadian Forces in place. We are relying on the judgment of commanders. We think our reliance on their judgment is well placed. We trust the judgment of the Canadian Forces. The Canadian Forces have never let us down yet and they will not let us down in the future. I wish the hon. member would appreciate that.
Nina Grewal Conservative Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC
Mr. Speaker, after two long years of delay and obstruction by the Liberals in the House of Commons and Senate, our tackling violent crime legislation is finally law. Today families and communities across Canada can feel safer. Protecting the members of all society is a priority of this government, not an afterthought.
Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety tell us if there are any measures in the recent budget that can help protect the safety of Canadians?