House of Commons Hansard #68 of the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was finance.
Helena Guergis ConservativeSecretary of State (Foreign Affairs and International Trade) (Sport)
Mr. Speaker, I have informed the House, on several occasions, that we have received assurances that Mr. Khadr is receiving consular services. His human rights are being met at this point. I can assure the member that we will continue to monitor this case.
It is important to remember that Omar Khadr is facing the very serious charge of murder.
Francine Lalonde Bloc La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC
Mr. Speaker, the information we have suggests more and more that this accusation could have been falsely made. The Conservative government's position on the Khadr affair is a clear violation of the United Nations convention concerning child soldiers.
Is the government aware that, by doing nothing, it is tarnishing Canada's reputation as a promoter and defender of human rights, and especially children's rights?
Helena Guergis ConservativeSecretary of State (Foreign Affairs and International Trade) (Sport)
Mr. Speaker, again, I have assured the House that Mr. Khadr is being treated humanely. I will point out that many of the questions the member has raised are definitely arguments that would be heard in a courtroom.
Joyce Murray Liberal Vancouver Quadra, BC
Mr. Speaker, after five weeks, why can the Prime Minister not give a straight answer about the tape on which he confirms a financial offer was made to Chuck Cadman? His chief of staff, Ian Brodie, was the party executive director at the time. John Reynolds was campaign co-chair.
Could the Prime Minister categorically deny that either of them was involved in the financial offer that Dona Cadman says the Conservatives made to her husband?
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, first, I congratulate the new member for Vancouver Quadra on her election to the House. She is replacing Stephen Owen who was a great member of Parliament. I know she will do her best to continue his legacy as a great member of Parliament.
On the question, the truth is that nothing has changed on this file. We have made the facts of this case very clear. There was no financial offer made to Chuck Cadman. There was no offer of a million dollar life insurance policy. All that was offered was that he return to our caucus, present himself as a Conservative candidate and get re-elected as a Conservative member of Parliament. This is all that was offered.
Joyce Murray Liberal Vancouver Quadra, BC
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are appalled that a Prime Minister would hide behind lawsuits and a libel chill to avoid being accountable for his own role in this sordid affair. My constituents want to know why Conservatives are unable to categorically deny outside the House that financial assistance was offered to Mr. Cadman.
Could the Prime Minister confirm whether anyone in his government or his party has been contacted by the RCMP regarding this issue?
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, as we have said a number of times, no financial offer was made to Chuck Cadman.
The Liberals have said that the Prime Minister was involved in a crime and they have suggested this is some kind of a libel chill. This is not true. The Prime Minister has every right to defend himself from false criminal accusations by the Liberals in the House of Commons and outside the House of Commons. He is availing himself of the right to protect himself.
We have been clear and consistent on this issue and we have been straightforward. There was no financial offer made to Chuck Cadman. The offer that was made was the one I described.
I hope my new colleague from Vancouver Quadra will recognize that her constituents expect her to come to the House of Commons and talk about real issues and not smear people with false accusations.
Ken Dryden Liberal York Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, more than two weeks have now passed since we were in session. In those two weeks the Prime Minister had the chance to explain to Canadians what he meant by his words, his own words on the Zytaruk tape, but he chose not to.
Since the tape became known more than a month ago, there has been plenty of time for the Prime Minister and his army of spinners to come up with an answer to Mr. Zytaruk's question about a million dollar insurance policy, the Prime Minister's own words, “I don't know the details. I know that there were discussions”.
My question is for the Prime Minister: Tell us what those words mean.
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 truth is that on this matter, it does not frankly matter what we say. The Liberals will continue to ignore the facts. They are ignoring the facts that are on the table. They are ignoring the facts of what Chuck Cadman himself said about what was offered to him. All that was offered to him by Doug Finley and Tom Flanagan on the 17th was an offer to rejoin the Conservative caucus and to run for us in the subsequent campaign.
I understand, again, if the member for York Centre does not want to believe me. That is in fact what Chuck Cadman said. It is his word. He was a man who lived by his word. The member opposite should accept Chuck Cadman's word because it is the truth.
Ken Dryden Liberal York Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, again, no answer from the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister had more than two weeks before the break to explain. He has had more than two weeks until now, still no answer.
This is as serious as it gets because if the Cadman family is right, and why would it lie, if the Prime Minister's own words say what they seem to say, that he knew about a million dollar insurance policy, this is about buying a vote to bring down a government.
Again, I ask the Prime Minister to explain.
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 Liberal accusations on this matter are false. The Liberals have been changing their story and changing their attack on this. They have been ignoring the facts. There is a simple fact to this case and that is the fact that I put before, that there was no million dollar life insurance offer made to Chuck Cadman.
The Liberals have made the accusation. The Liberals are wrong. The Liberals will regret that they made that accusation outside the House of Commons.
It is not appropriate in this day and age. When we are trying to attract good people to run for public office, we do not do that by falsely smearing people and attacking them and accusing them of crimes. That is what the Liberals have done, and they should be ashamed of themselves.
James Bezan Conservative Selkirk—Interlake, MB
Mr. Speaker, Zimbabwe held elections for all levels of government on Saturday, March 29. Based on preliminary results, the Zimbabwe opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, has claimed victory.
Could the Minister of Foreign Affairs say what Canada's reaction is to the elections in Zimbabwe?
Maxime Bernier ConservativeMinister of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question.
It is very simple, since we have asked the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to release the election results as quickly as possible, which is what the people of Zimbabwe want.
We are also very concerned about the irregularities that arose during the pre-election period and we are deeply disappointed that we were not invited to supervise the election in Zimbabwe, as some other countries were invited. However, you can count on Canada. We support the people of Zimbabwe in their efforts to achieve greater freedom and democracy.
Thomas Mulcair NDP Outremont, QC
Mr. Speaker, cultural communities across Canada are worried. Without study or consultation, the Conservatives are sneakily trying to trample the rights of immigrants. Rather than giving more resources to our immigration offices abroad and trying to reduce the problems, they are creating a system based on arbitrary decisions. Some nationalities may be excluded outright.
Why is the government hiding such important issues as immigration in a budget bill?
Diane Finley ConservativeMinister of Citizenship and Immigration
Mr. Speaker, we are not hiding anything. It is obvious from the budget that we wish to advance the cause of immigrants in order to advance the cause of trade. We need immigrants and talent. We have to do something now or they will have to wait 10 years to come here, which is unacceptable and unfair.
Thomas Mulcair NDP Outremont, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have once again stolen a page from the American playbook. Hiding major legislation in a budget bill is not part of Canada's parliamentary tradition.
Yesterday, on CTV, the government House leader admitted it was a trick that relied on the weakness of the Liberals to sneak in these discriminatory immigration practices. There are dozens of members of the House of Commons who were born in other countries. The next generation of leaders might well be barred at the door.
Why not deport the American tactics instead and fix the system?
Diane Finley ConservativeMinister of Citizenship and Immigration
Mr. Speaker, the amendments we have proposed will do exactly that. They will bring common sense and good management skills to a very messed up immigration system.
However, having the NDP members stand up for immigrants is more than a little hypocritical because everything we have done for immigrants, they have voted against. They voted against $1.3 billion in settlement funding. They voted against the foreign credentials referrals office. They voted against cutting the head tax. Now they are voting against reducing waiting times.
Bob Rae Liberal Toronto Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, you will have to forgive me, but I am trying to remember how to do this. I want to ask the Minister of Foreign Affairs a question.
I am sure that much like me he spent the last couple of weeks studying the Remote Sensing Space Systems Act. He will know that under the act, he has very specific responsibilities with respect to our radar technology.
What is he going to do to protect the sovereignty of Canada? What is he going to do to protect our investment in technology?
Colin Carrie ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry
Mr. Speaker, I would like to correct the member. It is actually the Minister of Industry who is responsible for the Investment Canada Act.
The decision is going to be made in the best interests of Canada. The proposed acquisition of MDA by ATK is a transaction that must be approached with caution. There is a process in place and we are following that process.
Bob Rae Liberal Toronto Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, the reason I asked this question of the Minister of Foreign Affairs is the fact that he is the one who is responsible for this legislation, not the Minister of Industry.
This is a question that touches on the sovereignty of Canada. It touches on investments that the Canadian taxpayers have made to the tune of over $400 million with respect to this investment.
My question is for the minister. Why will he not do his job and simply answer a question in the House of Commons about a responsibility that clearly lies under him in this legislation? It is his responsibility.
Maxime Bernier ConservativeMinister of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate my hon. colleague on his election and welcome him to the House of Commons. I appreciate his questions of interest to Canadians and to all members of Parliament.
However, as my colleague stated earlier, the Minister of Industry, and Investment Canada are responsible for this matter. He may rest assured that, under this legislation, all appropriate action will be taken to protect Canada's sovereignty, as usual.
David McGuinty Liberal Ottawa South, ON
Mr. Speaker, the planet will suffer irreversible damage if we do not limit global warming to 2°. The UN knows it, scientists know it, economists know it, and the minister's own chief scientific adviser has been telling him that for over a year. But the only bright lights emanating from the government were the lights left on at 24 Sussex when the Prime Minister snubbed Earth Hour on Saturday.
After two years and no regulation, when will the government finally listen to the warnings and act with the determination shown by millions of Canadians on Saturday night?
John Baird ConservativeMinister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, this government is taking real action to fight global warming. We are cutting our emissions in Canada by an absolute 20% reduction and finally turning around the growing trend of rising emissions that was the hallmark of the previous Liberal regime. Liberals know no shame. That is not my quote. In reading the House of Commons Debates, I read a great quote that I would like to share with the House:
Nothing embarrasses the Liberals because they do not know the meaning of shame. They are without shame; they are shameless.
Do members know who said that? The member for Toronto Centre.
David McGuinty Liberal Ottawa South, ON
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of the Environment has known for more than one year that his so-called green plan will result in considerable, irreversible damage to our planet. He cannot deny it. His own science adviser warned him about it. Today, researchers, economists, environmentalists and even the department's own employees are sounding the alarm and the minister continues to ignore them.
When will the government abandon its strategy of denial, delay and trickery?
John Baird ConservativeMinister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, we are no longer talking about climate change and global warming: we are taking real action to reduce global emissions here in Canada and abroad. We are going to be regulating all large industry in Canada, including the oil sands and dirty coal. If the member opposite could do one thing, it would be to talk to his kid brother and get him to fulfill his campaign promises.
We are now in a post-Kyoto era and new climate change solutions are necessary: those are not my words but the words of the member for Vancouver Quadra.