Debates of March 4th, 2008

Ethics

[James Moore, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services and for the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics]

Mr. Speaker, the only case made to Chuck Cadman was our case. We recognized that he was a fantastic member of Parliament. We wanted him to present himself as a Conservative candidate in a subsequent campaign. We asked him to rejoin the Conservative caucus. We said that we would give him assistance in a subsequent election campaign, that we were proud to have him as a colleague and that we wanted him to continue as a Conservative.

That is the only offer. That was the only thing put on the table. Doug Finley has said so. Tom Flanagan has said so. In fact, Chuck Cadman himself said so. My colleague does not have to take my word, but I hope he believes the word of Chuck Cadman.

[Don Bell, Liberal, North Vancouver, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's own words, caught on tape, show that he knew a lot more about this affair than his initial statement, which claimed that he had “looked into the matter and could find no confirmation”.

Just how seriously did the Prime Minister look into this two and a half years ago? Could he produce any documentation to prove that the matter was ever investigated?

[James Moore, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services and for the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics]

Mr. Speaker, what matters here are the facts, again. The facts are that there was the one meeting and there was the one offer to Chuck Cadman for him to present himself as a Conservative candidate.

I wish the Liberals would embrace the facts, instead of running away from it like Superman from kryptonite, and recognize that there are some basic facts here. The facts are we made the one offer to Chuck Cadman to present himself as a Conservative, to rejoin our caucus and get re-elected as a Conservative. He was a good man, and we believe his word when he said that no other offer was made. Tom Flanagan and Doug Finley have corroborated that as well. This is the simple case of the fact of the matter.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Patricia Davidson, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, most Canadians would be surprised to learn that if a relationship between a couple breaks down on a first nations reserve, one of the partners could quite literally end up on the street. Off reserve, provincial and territorial laws provide for at least some assurance of a right to equal distribution of assets. On reserve, even if people have been in a relationship for a long time, they could end up with nothing. In particular, this situation hits women and children very hard. This is unacceptable, and aboriginal and human rights groups agree.

My question is for the Minister of Indian Affairs. What is the government doing to correct this?

[Chuck Strahl, Conservative, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians]

Mr. Speaker, our government agrees this is inexcusable. That is why I tabled Bill C-47 this morning. I was joined by the Minister of Canadian Heritage later to publicly announce action to remedy this problem.

Our bill is called the family homes on reserves and matrimonial interests or rights act. This is about correcting a clear inequality. It is about protecting the vulnerable, most notably aboriginal women who do not have the protection every other Canadian woman can get and expects. This is something for which aboriginal women's groups have been asking. This is something the government is prepared to do. We are going to act. It is time to give rights to Canadian women now.

The Economy

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, by lowering its key interest rate, the Bank of Canada has just sent a message that it believes the economic slowdown in the United States is going to have a strong negative impact on the Canadian economy. Unfortunately, the Conservative budget does nothing for the manufacturing sector, nothing for forestry workers and nothing for the middle class.

How is it that the Governor of the Bank of Canada understands the scope of the coming economic slowdown, but our Minister of Finance understands nothing?

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member says that the budget did nothing for manufacturing. He could not be more wrong. There are $1 billion in accelerated capital cost allowances. Add that to the $1.3 billion last year. There are $2.3 billion for manufacturers alone with respect to acquiring machinery and equipment and writing it off over a five year period, exactly what was recommended unanimously by the industry committee of the House. This is a stimulus to manufacturers and it is working. We are seeing more acquisition of—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. member for Outremont.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, try telling that to the 130,000 people who lost their jobs last year in manufacturing.

Statistics released just yesterday show that economic output contracted 0.7% in December, a major decrease in fourth quarter exports caused by a drastic 2.7% decrease in international shipment of goods. Manufacturing activity was down 3.2%, the lowest level since 2001. Motor vehicle production shrank 27%, the largest drop since 1990. All these declines amount to one thing: ordinary Canadians losing their jobs.

Is the Minister of Finance sure that ignoring it is going to make it go away?

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's economic fundamentals are very strong because we prepared for an economic slowdown in the United States. We acted early. We acted last year. We were prepared. The stimulus already entering the Canadian economy is $21 billion, which is 1.4% of GDP. We see the example already in the month of February, with record auto sales in Canada.

Trade

[Navdeep Bains, Liberal, Mississauga—Brampton South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians would not want American politicians interfering in our elections, so why is the Prime Minister's Office actively interfering in the American primaries? The Prime Minister's chief of staff, Ian Brodie, deliberately leaked false statements about Barack Obama. Trust has been breached. Damage has been done. Americans are enraged.

Things do not leak from the PMO by accident. Will the Prime Minister stand today, admit to deliberate meddling and ask his chief of staff to resign?

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, it is far from the truth. The Canadian embassy in Washington yesterday issued a statement about this.

What I can tell the House and the hon. member is that the American people will decide on their future and this government will not interfere in U.S. politics.

[Bernard Patry, Liberal, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, that is the kind of flagrant and pervasive political interference that the Prime Minister used to complain about. His chief of staff deliberately leaked the details of a confidential diplomatic conversation because he thought it would harm the Democrats and help his Republican friends.

Who will confide in any Canadian diplomat now, knowing that the information will be passed on according to the partisan political agenda of the Prime Minister and his chief of staff?

Is the American Republican cause so important that the Prime Minister is willing to sacrifice Canada's reputation internationally?

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, our embassies around the world submit reports to Ottawa on the political situation in various countries and we regret the fact that one of those reports found its way into the press. That was made clear. The Canadian ambassador to the United States issued a press release yesterday on this matter. The fact is, we have no intention of interfering in the campaign for the American presidency.

Taxation

[Diane Marleau, Liberal, Sudbury, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Ontario has adopted a balanced strategy by cutting corporate taxes and investing in skills and innovation. Ontarians do not agree with the Conservatives' strategy of simply cutting taxes. The distress of families with members that are losing their jobs in the manufacturing and forestry sectors is very real. Why is the Minister of Finance continuing to play politics with the lives of Ontarians?

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the problem in Ontario, as I am sure the member opposite knows, is it has the highest taxes on new business investments in Canada. Its own competitive board, appointed by the Government of Ontario, says that not only are they the highest business taxes in Canada, but they are the highest in North America and the highest among the major economies.

Those taxes are bad. If members do not believe me, listen to this: “A low corporate tax rate is not a right-wing policy or a left-wing policy. It is a sound policy”. Who said that? It was the Leader of the Opposition.

Arts and Culture

[Tina Keeper, Liberal, Churchill, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the heritage minister has obviously never heard the slogan “the show must go on”. Yesterday she was a no show at the Genie Awards honouring Canada's best in film. Prominent members of Canada's film industry voiced their disgust that the government—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order, please. The hon. member for Churchill has the floor to ask her question and I cannot hear a word.

The member for Churchill.

[Tina Keeper, Liberal, Churchill, MB]

Mr. Speaker, prominent members of Canada's film industry voiced their disgust that the government, under the influence of an ultra right-wing activist, has arbitrarily decided to censor Canadian cinema.

Why did the minister refuse to show up at the Genies? Was she too busy meeting with Charles McVety, a man who boasts he has the direct influence—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. Minister of Canadian Heritage.

[Josée Verner, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to remind the member that this is International Women's Week. The member should know that, in Canada, women fought for years before finally obtaining the right to vote. Yesterday, I exercised the right to vote for which my grandmothers fought; this was not the case on the other side of the House.

[Maria Mourani, Bloc, Ahuntsic, QC]

Mr. Speaker, to justify its desire for censorship, the government—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order, please.

We are now on to another question. The hon. member for Ahuntsic.