House of Commons Hansard #60 of the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was c-10.

Topics

7:15 p.m.

Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry Ontario

Conservative

Guy Lauzon ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario

Mr. Speaker, this Conservative government is committed to supporting our beef and pork producers.

As all members of this House are well aware, this Conservative government puts farmers first. That bedrock principle governs everything that the Minister of Agriculture and our department does. I am proud to serve as the parliamentary secretary to a minister who is so committed to putting farmers first.

After 13 years in which the Liberal Party chose not to act, and 18 years in which our friends the Bloc could never act and still can never act, Canadian farmers are thrilled with the strong action being taken by our Conservative government.

As many members of this House well know, Canada's livestock sector has been through some very difficult times in the last few months. That is why this Conservative government has acted to provide relief for this sector.

Let me review what we have delivered for Canadian farmers.

First, the assistance payments for 2006 are under way.

Second, all producers can obtain a form to apply for an interim payment from the AgriStability program for 2007.

Third, targeted advances are being offered to pork producers in Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan.

Fourth, financial assistance to kick-start the AgriInvest program is now available.

We have also made $3.3 billion available to farmers in the form of loans. Furthermore, just last week the minister provided additional relief to our livestock sector.

In only a few days, the Minister of Agriculture passed legislation through the House and through the Senate. That legislation provided hog producers with a $50 million program to help rationalize the hog population in Canada. It also made changes to the Agricultural Marketing Products Act that made it easier for producers to access the funding that we have made available.

Those changes highlight another key principle of the Conservative government, which is the importance of consultation with farmers.

Unlike previous Liberal governments that think they know best when it comes to designing farm programs, we sat down with farmers and designed programs based on their needs and their concerns.

The recent changes made to AMPA were requested by industry and delivered by this Conservative government.

The $50 million hog program will be delivered by the Canadian Pork Council.

Talk about a strong working relationship with industry.

The member opposite will stand over there and continue his political grandstanding no doubt. Unfortunately for the member opposite, that is all that he can do these days. Some may say that is all he ever did while his party was in government.

Canadian farmers are not fooled by his talk because they see the action that is happening over here. After 13 years of Liberal neglect and 18 years of Bloc irrelevance, Canadian agriculture is back on the map.

Let me tell the House what happens when a government understands agriculture.

In just two short years, we have delivered $4.5 billion for program payments in 2006; $600 million for the AgriInvest Kickstart program; $400 million to cover farmers' increased input costs; $76 million to help farmers combat hog disease; $130 million to help with the disposal of SRM; $50 million to rationalize the hog population in Canada; and $3.3 billion available in loans. What an accomplishment in just two short years.

Canadian farmers appreciate our action on agriculture. Whenever the member opposite decides to show up and vote, then he will find out first-hand.

7:20 p.m.

Liberal

Wayne Easter Liberal Malpeque, PE

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about program spending.

In 2005, program spending by the Government of Canada for agriculture in Prince Edward Island was $45.9 million. In 2007, it was down to $30.6 million, a loss of $15.3 million to Prince Edward Island farmers over two years. That is not putting farmers first.

Providing less support for farmers is not putting farmers first. Introducing a bill in the House that would take power away from western grain producers and an elected board of farm directors and turning control over to the multinational grain sector is not putting farmers first.

The Conservative government is a disaster for agriculture producers in this country. It fails to act. It provides false messaging but the facts are clear. By their own department program, spending is less.

7:20 p.m.

Conservative

Guy Lauzon Conservative Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON

Mr. Speaker, let us compare records: 13 years of broken promises and 2 years of loud talk and fury compared with $4.5 billion for program payments in 2006; $600 million for agri-invest kickstart; $400 million to cover farmers' increased input costs; $76 million to help farmers combat hog disease; $130 million to help the disposal of SRM; $50 million to rationalize the hog population in Canada; $3.3 billion available in loans.

That is our record and it is one we are very proud of.

7:20 p.m.

NDP

Brian Masse NDP Windsor West, ON

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to raise another aspect regarding the border. There seemed to be a blood pressure competition in the previous exchange, but I will start by laying out some of the facts and hopefully, encourage the government to take some action on a very serious issue.

In the past there were arrangements with emergency service providers in many communities on the Canada-U.S. border. Before 9/11 there was often the exchange of patients to hospitals, as well as fire and rescue services that helped each other out on the other side of the border. The city of Windsor, for example, was prevented from burning because Detroit firefighters came over to help. We have reciprocated as well during various emergencies.

There was a troubling incident on November 12 when Mr. Rick Laporte was being transported to an American hospital for heart surgery. It was a very delicate matter and he was detained for five minutes because of border procedures. An automatic system triggered which stopped him from proceeding, which was very dangerous because of Mr. Laporte's condition. Fortunately, he has recovered and is doing well. We wish him and his family the best.

What prompted my question to the minister was the pattern of behaviour that we have seen. The week before the incident with Mr. Laporte, firefighters from Quebec who were going to assist in a fire at the Anchorage Inn in New York were detained for 15 minutes and the inn burned to the ground.

We have been trying to get the government to establish a formal protocol and policy with the United States. The minister has refused, which is very perplexing.

Many mayors across the country have asked for support. In particular, Mayor Bradley from Sarnia has been doing a very good job of pushing this issue because there are protocol arrangements with firefighters in Port Huron. The minister wrote back to the mayor.

It must be understood that this is not just about Sarnia, Windsor, Sault Ste. Marie or Fort Erie. There is a whole series of communities that have, or did have, these types of protocols in place and which are now endangered.

The government said that each municipality or service should negotiate its own agreement with the respective department in the United States. That is ridiculous. We need some leadership from the Minister of Public Safety on this issue. He needs to show some conviction and address this issue.

I was really concerned that the minister did not bring in Mr. Chertoff or Mr. Wilkins, the American ambassador, to discuss this issue at a high level, to get the political will from the Department of Homeland Security and other border service agencies in the United States to get their heads around this. We do not need municipal services in jurisdictions all across this country trying to do one off negotiated agreements. We need a strong set of rules in place because it is important for these services to interchange.

I live in a community on the border. Thousands of people traverse the border every single day, and I can see the heightened level of problems. For example, after we learned of Mr. Laporte's case, we discovered that in the last number of years 10 ambulances had been stopped. We know it is possible, for example, for Windsor to send information and so forth to the department to get the clearances but at the same time we do not need separate municipal agreements across this country with different services. It is not supportable.

I am asking the government to look at the situation and for the minister himself to show leadership and conviction on behalf of all municipalities to put these agreements in place.

7:25 p.m.

Oxford Ontario

Conservative

Dave MacKenzie ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety

Mr. Speaker, I rise to respond to the question put to the House by the member for Windsor West regarding the delay of Canada's first responders at the border.

I must point out that the hon. member and all of his caucus has voted against every budgetary item that has come before this House in the last three years to improve border crossings in Canada and the United States.

I would like to highlight that Canada and the United States have a longstanding tradition of helping one another in times of crises. This government takes any incident where lives are at risk very seriously and I share the hon. member's concerns about maintaining this proud tradition of cooperation.

The Canada Border Services Agency and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection both work with first responders to contribute to their procedures for emergency situations. This important, reciprocal commitment by our border agencies protects both Canadian and U.S. citizens living in our border communities.

As the hon. member knows, this collaboration is critical in border communities like his own. No one wishes any repeats of the ambulance service interruption that occurred last year. That is why our government took immediate action to ensure that further incidents involving emergency vehicles along our border are prevented.

The Minister of Public Safety wrote to the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, on this topic and spoke with him about the concern that Canada's first responders be able to provide fast, effective emergency services to communities on both sides of the Canada-United States border.

The Minister of Public Safety received a response from Secretary Chertoff who shares his concern over this situation. The secretary assured the minister that the U.S. CBP is disseminating additional guidance on this issue to prevent further incidents. The secretary also expressed his belief that the U.S. western hemisphere travel initiative will not affect the ability of emergency personnel to respond to emergencies in either Canada or the United States.

At the Minister of Public Safety's request, the Canada Border Services Agency engaged its counterparts locally with the U.S. on this issue and meetings have taken place at the headquarters and regional levels between the border agencies and local first responders. These ongoing discussions recognize that mutual assistance contribute to the safety of communities on both sides of the border and is a top priority for both countries.

Canada's government has taken decisive action to address the question of border delays that prevent our first responders from providing critical emergency services.

7:30 p.m.

NDP

Brian Masse NDP Windsor West, ON

Mr. Speaker, it is important to note that the minister himself has recently written to a number of different border operators, people in the community and so forth, one of them in particular being Mayor Bradley, and basically has said that it is up to them to figure it out for themselves.

That is unacceptable. We need to have at least some support from the minister to make sure that there is going to be the adherence of a policy for everything from emergency vehicles, as well as to fire and rescue and so forth. That reciprocal arrangement is very important from the leadership level because we have seen different departments in the United States basically run roughshod over the government.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has introduced new policies, and the American Department of Transportation and Homeland Security all at different times have introduced things without even consulting our government.

We need the Minister of Public Safety to live up to his words. He recently tabled a bill to amend the Customs Act and said, “Stopping illegal activity and protecting Canadians from threats to their health, safety and security is a key priority for this Government”.

If it is a key priority, why does the minister not show some leadership and make sure he is going to do it for all--

7:30 p.m.

NDP

The Deputy Speaker NDP Bill Blaikie

The hon. parliamentary secretary.

7:30 p.m.

Conservative

Dave MacKenzie Conservative Oxford, ON

Mr. Speaker, this government can reassure Canadians living in our border communities that their safety remains a top priority.

We have taken decisive action to ensure ease of movement for emergency personnel. This also extends to patients in medical emergency situations. Canada is working closely with the United States to maintain our proud tradition of cooperation during times of crisis.

The Minister of Public Safety and Secretary Chertoff have exchanged letters and spoken together directly on this subject and are taking action to ensure that any further incidents hindering first responders will be addressed.

In fact, Secretary Chertoff has assured the Canadian government that U.S. Customs and Border Protection is disseminating additional guidance on this issue. Secretary Chertoff and the Minister of Public Safety continue to maintain a strong working relationship on this issue.

Furthermore, the Canada Border Services Agency is working with its American counterparts to ensure that appropriate measures are in place that ensure the safety of communities in Canada and those of our neighbours in the United States.

I would welcome the member's support of the government's initiatives on improving Canadian border crossings.

7:30 p.m.

NDP

The Deputy Speaker NDP Bill Blaikie

The motion to adjourn the House is now deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly, this House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m., pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 7:34 p.m.)