Debates of April 14th, 2008

Heritage Buildings

[Christiane Gagnon, Bloc, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the mayor of Quebec City, Régis Labeaume, asked the Prime Minister once again yesterday to make a clear commitment to the reconstruction of the Quebec City Armoury. He said that it is not enough for the government to state its intentions and that he wants a firm commitment. Mayor Labeaume believes that the actions of the federal government are the responsibility of the Prime Minister and not of its officials or its ministers.

Will the Prime Minister make a firm and straightforward commitment to rebuilding the armoury?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of National Defence and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency]

Mr. Speaker, we have made a firm commitment. The Prime Minister responded 72 hours after the fire. Departmental experts are investigating the causes of the fire. It is too early to discuss the details of the investigation. It is clear that the government has committed to working with the other levels of government, provincial and municipal, to deal with the armoury.

[Christiane Gagnon, Bloc, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, citizens and organizers of celebrations to mark the 400th anniversary of Quebec City need to know what the government is going to do with the site this summer.

How does the government plan to ensure that fitting celebrations take place at the site? The question is clear.

[Josée Verner, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, the departmental officials and all organizations involved are working with the Société du 400e anniversaire de Québec. They will ensure that the site is properly cleared and that the celebrations take place as planned.

Securities

[Paul Crête, Bloc, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance said the commercial paper crisis was only further proof of the need for a single securities regulator. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance went even further. It is sheer hypocrisy, considering that the banks, which are responsible for this crisis, are already under his responsibility and that of the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions.

Instead of seeking false pretenses for his plans, which no one except Ontario wants, should the minister not admit that he and his Superintendent of Financial Institutions are the ones who abdicated their responsibilities in the commercial paper crisis?

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, Ontario is de facto regulating securities in Canada, since over 80% of all transactions take place there.

We believe that the constitutional jurisdictions of each level of government must be respected. We are aiming to establish a common securities regulator that will work with the provinces and territories, not a federal agency.

[Paul Crête, Bloc, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, instead of blaming the securities commissions in Quebec and the provinces, the Minister of Finance would be better off to clean up his own backyard. He is the one responsible for banks, yet he is doing nothing about the situation at this time.

How can the Minister of Finance explain that neither he nor the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions have taken any action with the banks to prevent the commercial paper crisis and therefore protect investors? Why did he decide to leave them to fend for themselves?

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

The member opposite is mistaken, Mr. Speaker. Most of the entities who were selling the non-bank, asset-backed commercial paper were under the jurisdiction of the provincial securities regulators. This is a serious problem. It is a gap in dealing with this issue and the solution has to come from the Government of Canada and the Bank of Canada. It is we who had to create the Montreal table, create a forum to resolve this issue, and hopefully it will be resolved. The provinces were not there.

World Food Program

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

Mr. Speaker, people in developing countries are struggling to deal with much higher food costs. Swelling global population, soaring energy prices and increased competition for scarce supplies have raised the possibility of food riots in some countries.

Without harming the farmers, as it is not their fault, what is the government doing to ensure that the world supply of food grains is not out of reach for people in developing nations, particularly the bottom billion?

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Minister of International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, I find it ironic to hear this from the opposition, since we know that my colleague from Calgary East proposed that we study this issue, and they were opposed to it.

We are number two in our support of the world food program of all the countries in the world. We will maintain our level of support. We will ensure that we study this crisis and work with our partners to address the issue.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am glad other people are raising it.

Under the UN Food Aid Convention, Canada says that it will supply 420,000 ton of food aid this year. CIDA has estimated that current prices for food grains will soar by 20% or more. This will necessitate a substantial budget increase.

Will the Minister of International Cooperation confirm that she has obtained the necessary budget increase so that the volumes shipped to the poorest of the poor will go up, not down?

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Minister of International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, as I said, I wonder where he was when we were debating this in committee. Now, because the Liberals have no policy, they want to raise it in question period.

As I said, Canada is the second highest supporter of food aid in the world. We will continue to ensure that the demands that are needed will be supported.

I find it ironic that the opposition consistently makes commitments. I was just in Washington. I was in Tokyo with my colleagues. I indicated that when Canada and this government make commitments--

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. member for Nunavut.

The Environment

[Nancy Karetak-Lindell, Liberal, Nunavut, NU]

Mr. Speaker, global warming continues to harm Canada's north at alarming rates. The largest ice shelf in Canada has split into three pieces. The Arctic ice is melting faster than anyone's prediction but the government refuses to take the advice of its scientists and set aggressive targets for greenhouse gas emission reductions.

When will the government start taking global warming seriously and implement stricter targets?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, inaction is not an option. That has been the Canadian policy for 10 long years.

We are taking aggressive action to respond to global warming. It will require real action to take on the big polluters, something that was absent in the recent regime. It will also be expanding support to the province to help in the construction of a hydrogen highway in British Columbia and to help with adaptation initiatives up north.

We are working hard for an absolute 20% reduction in our greenhouse gas emissions. We are committed, we are acting and we are getting the job done.

[Nancy Karetak-Lindell, Liberal, Nunavut, NU]

Mr. Speaker, every scientist, environmentalist and economist who has studied the government's plan has said that it is too weak and doomed to fail.

Why does the government refuse to listen to them? When will it actually care?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, global warming will be a top challenge for a generation of Parliaments. We are taking real action. We will be judged by our action just as the previous Liberal government will be judged harshly by its inaction.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Rob Clarke, Conservative, Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, SK]

Mr. Speaker, Bill C-21 is our government's commitment to deliver protection under the Canadian Human Rights Act to first nations people living on reserve.

The Liberals should be ashamed that their reaction to the bill was to stall and delay it for a year.

On first nations, many Canadians do not realize that first nations people living on reserve do not have the same protection as other Canadians and that the same issue has been studied for 30 years.

Attempting to change the channel on their internal problems and horrible record on aboriginal issues, the Liberals say that we may not move forward on Bill C-21.

Could the Minister of Indian Affairs set the record straight.

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

Mr. Speaker, our government believes that first nations deserve the same protection that all other Canadians enjoy on a daily basis, which is why we introduced the bill to cover first nations under the Canadian Human Rights Act.

First nations should have received this protection years ago. The Liberals did nothing on this for 13 years. They have stalled, amended and done everything they can to stop it ever since.

The Liberal member for Winnipeg South Centre said:

If we've waited 30 years, what difference does a number of months more make... Six months, ten months, a year, I don't see what the difference is....

First nations deserve coverage under the Canadian Human Rights Act. They deserve it soon and we will get it for them.

The Senate

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, once again the unelected and unaccountable Senate shows breathtaking audacity in its willingness to burn through taxpayer dollars. We are learning now about $3 million in travel and hospitality for what has become a perpetual road show.

We have single source contracts to high priced consultants, hotel rooms at $450 a night and a $60,000 promotional budget to sell the boondoggle back to the taxpayers.

When will the government show some sober second thought and turn off the taps on Senator Kenny and his high-flying, unaccountable gang?

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform]

Mr. Speaker, the government agrees entirely with the comments of the member for Timmins—James Bay.

We are very concerned about the waste of taxpayer dollars and the lack of respect over there by some of them, but that is why we are proposing changes to make the Senate more accountable, by giving Canadians a say in who they would have representing them in the Senate and reducing senators' terms from the current 45 years to 8 years. Both of those would be strong improvements to help democratize our Parliament.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the unfortunate thing, when it comes to the democratic reform of the Senate, is that the Conservative Party has left out the democratic and is sticking the taxpayer with a lot of cost for the reform rhetoric.

What we are seeing is that Elections Canada has been scathing in its denunciation of the selection Senate bill. One hundred and fifty million dollars will be spent on this farce, which, at the end of the day, the Prime Minister would not even obligated to accept the democratic will of the Canadian people.

When will the government get really serious about the democratic reform of the Senate and put the question to the Canadian people about abolishing this high priced, political fossil?

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform]

Mr. Speaker, we are not yet convinced that abolition is the appropriate solution. We would prefer to see if it is possible to reform the Senate. However, we will acknowledge that if the Liberal dominated Senate and the Liberals in the House prove so resistant to not allow any reasonable propositions for reform to come forward, that day may one day come.

Infrastructure

[Martha Hall Findlay, Liberal, Willowdale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we Liberals tried to persuade the finance minister to allocate $7 billion to much needed infrastructure but he did not. Instead, the finance minister is trying to buy himself a multi-million dollar train through his riding without any costing or due diligence. He just recently announced a $45 million disability fund, the criteria for which only an entity in his riding can meet.

When will the finance minister stop dishing from the pork barrel and start spending Canadians' money where it is really needed?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, we Conservatives have put $33 billion on the table. We are getting the job done.