Debates of March 5th, 2008

Ethics

[Ken Dryden, Liberal, York Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we know that Mr. Cadman told his wife, his daughter and son-in-law that he was offered a $1 million life insurance policy.

We know that for the Prime Minister's version of events to be correct, either Mr. Cadman lied to his wife, his daughter and son-in-law, or his wife, his daughter and son-in-law are lying now.

The Prime Minister has had lots of time now to think of his answer. I would like to give him another opportunity.

Can the Prime Minister tell us who is lying, Mr. Cadman or his family?

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

Option C, the Liberals, Mr. Speaker.

Global Television again had an interview with Chuck Cadman. All I ask is for the Liberals to believe the words of Chuck Cadman. He was asked, “You had a meeting with the prime minister prior to the vote, did he ever offer you a deal?” “No, absolutely nothing. There was never any deal offered, nothing asked for”. “And the same with Harper?” “Yeah, the same with Harper”.

[Ken Dryden, Liberal, York Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we know that on Mr. Zytaruk's tape, to the question, “There was an insurance policy for a million dollars, do you know anything about that?”, the Prime Minister replied, “I don't know the details. I know that there were discussions...”.

What we do not know and only the Prime Minister can answer is that if he did not know anything about “an insurance policy for a million dollars” why did he not say “Insurance policy, what insurance policy? I do not know anything about an insurance policy”.

The Prime Minister now has had lots of time to think of an answer. I would like to give him another opportunity. Mr.--

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works.

[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, there was no offer of a million dollar life insurance policy. To make the argument and to say that is entirely not credible. Chuck Cadman had terminal cancer. He passed away a couple of months later. The idea that such an insurance policy could be gotten is in fact ridiculous. No offer of that kind was made at all. The only offer made to Chuck Cadman was our desire to have him rejoin the Conservative caucus, run as a Conservative candidate and that is the simple fact of the case.

The member for York Centre can try to spin and deflect, but unfortunately, he is operating without any of the facts. We are operating on the word of Chuck Cadman and we know that is as solid as gold.

Finance

[John McKay, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we are told that we can tell whether the Prime Minister is telling the truth or not by looking into his eyes. Canadians want to believe that when a Prime Minister makes a promise, he will keep it.

Will the Prime Minister look into the eyes of two million hard-working Canadians and explain his betrayal of the income trust promise?

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

Mr. Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to once again remind the Liberals that the tax fairness plan that this government put in place was actually supported by a good number of Canadians. In fact, it was even supported by some Liberals who actually wrote to the Auditor General.

The comment of the member for Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel is, and I quote, “fair assumption that there are going to be challenges to the treatment of income trusts”.

I quote the member for Scarborough—Guildwood, “That made it clear that Liberals had been planning to announce the tax on income trusts”.

[John McKay, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when commenting on the TSX decline in public offerings, the CEO of the TSX said, “The federal government knee-capped the income trust industry and it hurt our reputation abroad”.

We now have a finance minister running around the country saying to invest anywhere but Ontario. The Prime Minister has broken his word on income trusts, on the Atlantic accord, on equalization, on capital gains taxes and he trash talks the people of Ontario. Why should Canadians believe--

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance.

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

Mr. Speaker, thank you for allowing me once again the opportunity to remind hon. members that the finance minister actually did his duty to Canadians, stood in this House and voted in favour of the budget. The Liberals de facto supported it.

Let us not forget all of the things that were in this budget. It was to provide impetus to Canadians to regain employment, to maintain a strong economy. The finance minister and the Prime Minister have this country on track.

Marine Transportation

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the government announced that it was giving its approval to the Rabaska project. Yet on November 14, the Bloc Québécois spoke to the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities about serious concerns the public has about the impact of building this liquefied natural gas terminal.

Can the minister tell us whether he has had or intends to have a study done on the anticipated effects of climate change on the level of the river and consequently on navigation by liquefied natural gas tankers, as the Bloc Québécois and the concerned citizens requested?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, in the course of the joint assessment by the Government of Quebec and the Government of Canada, we examined the issues raised with respect to navigation and marine safety. Once the TERMPOL process had been completed, 76 recommendations were made, and the parties promised to follow those 76 recommendations. The recommendations are posted on the Internet site that was created for everyone to consult. I invite my colleague to look up this information.

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

Mr. Speaker, we are well aware of the TERMPOL study, but an independent study was not conducted. The St. Lawrence River plays a major role in transporting goods, especially considering the environmental and economic benefits of marine transportation.

Can the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities tell us whether the approval he gave to the liquefied natural gas terminal project in Lévis is based on studies of the impact Rabaska will have on the desired increase in marine traffic?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, once again, there is no more rigorous or exhaustive process in the world than TERMPOL for assessing this sort of project.

I therefore want to reassure the member and his party that everything has been done to ensure that the project is safe and secure.

Canada-U.S. Relations

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister must be pleased that he was able to help his beloved Republicans. It seems his plan to interfere in the American presidential primaries has paid off. The Price? Damaging Canada-U.S. relations.

What about the leaks? The last time we had a leak in Ottawa, the government had an Environment Canada employee hauled off in handcuffs.

Can the Prime Minister tell the House who in the PMO is being investigated and why is Ian Brodie not one of them?

[Deepak Obhrai, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has just answered this question and said very clearly that the government is very concerned about this leak.

The Clerk of the Privy Council, with the department, is fully investigating this leak. When the results are made, with legal advice, appropriate action will be taken, if required.

Fisheries

[James Lunney, Conservative, Nanaimo—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is no secret to members of the House that the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans has shown strong leadership for Newfoundland and for Atlantic Canada with his actions over the last few months, combating illegal foreign overfishing in the North Atlantic.

Fishermen and stakeholders are thankful the government does not sit on its hands when it comes to making important decisions to defend Canada's interests and protect our stocks.

Being from British Columbia, I know west coast fishermen specifically are waiting to see that the same tough resolve will be applied to concerns about illegal and unregulated fishing off the Pacific coast.

[Loyola Hearn, Conservative, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his assistance and support in relation to dealing with foreign overfishing.

In relation to the west coast, let me also assure him we are taking the same action over there. Just recently, during our Operation Driftnet patrol, six Chinese vessels were sighted using illegal driftnets. After reporting them to the U.S. coast guard, six were apprehended.

The Chinese government has confiscated each vessel, sold five of them, and the owners have had their international fishing licences cancelled. Heavy fines were also imposed.

Infrastructure

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada recently approved the construction of the Rabaska liquefied natural gas terminal across from the provincial capital, Quebec City, at a very narrow spot along the St. Lawrence Seaway.

Last summer—or rather, at the beginning of September—our new Minister of Foreign Affairs spoke out publicly against a similar project on the coast of Maine in the United States because, he said, he wanted “to protect the people and the environment”.

Why does our minister, the member for Beauce, care more about the Americans and their environment than about Quebeckers and theirs?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, once again, I believe the member knows a lot about this project because he was Quebec's minister of the environment when the subject was being discussed. He knows that all of the procedures were followed with respect to the Bureau d'audiences publiques and public consultation.

The Government of Quebec supports the project. All of the procedures have been followed to the letter. This is good for the greater Quebec City area and for Canada.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when I was the minister, I told the government that it was so dangerous, I would not even consider it.

The government recently approved another project called Keystone that will send 100 million litres of Canadian oil per day to the United States. Just as in the Rabaska situation, NAFTA requires us to keep exporting, and we cannot stop this from happening.

Rabaska is for the U.S. market. Instead of protecting American economic interests, why not spend more time working for the right of future generations in Canada to energy security? Why not keep our resources here at home? Why endanger—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities.

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, once again, this is a very important project for the greater Quebec City area. All of the conditions were have been met.

I realize that my hon. colleague is trying to compare this project to others, but each project is examined on its own merits. He should know that, having been Quebec's minister of the environment. He is very well aware of that.

This is a very important project for the whole region. We in the government are very happy about it.

Canada-U.S. Relations

[Susan Kadis, Liberal, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there were two leaks. Why is the Prime Minister's Office not investigating the one that came out of the PMO?

The Conservatives are masters of parsing words for their own benefit. Unfortunately, the first victim is often the truth.

Therefore, let me ask a very clear question. Did the Prime Minister's chief of staff leak information to CTV News about confidential diplomatic conversations concerning Senator Obama's position on NAFTA, yes or no?

[Deepak Obhrai, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I just answered this question. I will answer this question again.

We take this leak very seriously. The Clerk of the Privy Council has been asked to investigate it with the department. When the results come through, if needed, appropriate action will be taken.

I would like to thank the Liberal Party for voting for the budget yesterday.