House of Commons Hansard #94 of the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was nations.
Anita Neville Liberal Winnipeg South Centre, MB
Mr. Speaker, that was not the answer to the question. We do not like leaks. The Prime Minister disingenuously began his investigation by insisting it was not his chief of staff, Ian Brodie, who leaked information to reporters. It is now widely acknowledged that Mr. Brodie did leak sensitive details.
Is that why there has been no action on this scandal, to protect the Prime Minister's chief of staff?
Peter Van Loan ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform
Mr. Speaker, as I indicated, the internal security investigation is ongoing, it is nearing completion and all the necessary resources are being provided. We are not jumping to any conclusions. I know those members are happy to jump to conclusions. They do it all the time. We prefer to act on facts, and we are getting those facts.
Ken Dryden Liberal York Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, the in and out scheme is about campaign spending limits. The Supreme Court said that in a democracy these limits are critical to level the playing field. So there are national and local limits and neither can be used to exceed the limits to the other.
Elections Canada says that the Conservatives broke the law by more than $1 million because the money the national party sent to local campaigns had to be sent right back, no option, no choice, so it was never out of national control, never local.
When will the Prime Minister acknowledge this is why the RCMP raided the Conservatives and no other party?
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board
Mr. Speaker, on July 9, 2004, the Liberal Party made a transfer to the member for Don Valley West's local campaign for $5,000. One week later, the member for Don Valley West's local campaign made a transfer to the Liberal Party for $5,000: $5,000 in and $5,000 out. In, out, where is Elections Canada?
Ken Dryden Liberal York Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, if the Prime Minister's version is right, a party could send all 308 ridings their local limit, $70,000 or more, get back the same amount, doubling what is available to the national campaign, doubling their legal spending limit, making what is national local simply by laundering back and forth. It makes no sense. The result is a raid which brought the RCMP in, in, so taxpayers would not be fraudulently out, out, more than $1 million. In, out, that is the real in and out is it not?
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board
Mr. Speaker, I guess that imitation is the highest form of flattery. On July 14, 2004, the Liberal Party made two transfers to the Rick Limoges local campaign for $4,000 and $5,000. One day later, the local campaign of Rick Limoges made two transfers back to the Liberal Party for $4,000 and then $5,000. It looks like the goalie has been pulled out and the puck has gone in the net.
Paule Brunelle Bloc Trois-Rivières, QC
Mr. Speaker, the price of gas at the pump continues to climb. Meanwhile—
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
Order, please. We are moving on to a new question.
The member for Trois-Rivières.
Paule Brunelle Bloc Trois-Rivières, QC
Mr. Speaker, the price of gas at the pump continues to rise. Meanwhile, independent distributors are not making money and the big oil companies are showing record profits. Consumers are paying more and more to line the pockets of the Conservatives' friends, the big oil companies.
Can the Minister of Industry explain why the independent companies are not turning a profit and the rich oil companies are making more and more, if it is not that they are profiting at the extraction and refining stage?
Gary Lunn ConservativeMinister of Natural Resources
Mr. Speaker, one thing we do know for sure is the leader of the Liberal Party wants to impose a carbon tax on the price of gasoline and drive the price of gasoline north of $2.25 and higher. That is going to hurt working class Canadians. That is going to hurt hard-working people who are trying to get to work.
That is not our policy. We would not stand for that.
Paule Brunelle Bloc Trois-Rivières, QC
Mr. Speaker, in order for it to go into effect by summer vacation, the Bloc's Bill C-454, which seeks to strengthen the Competition Act and expand the powers of the Commissioner in order to keep oil companies in line, must be adopted quickly.
Does the Minister of Industry agree that Bill C-454 should go into effect before the summer?
Jim Prentice ConservativeMinister of Industry
Mr. Speaker, Bill C-454 is in front of committee. That is what the hon. member, who had proposed the bill, had requested. It is being studied by committee.
We will take the measures that we took yesterday with respect to Measurement Canada to ensure there is honesty at the gas pump.
In addition, one thing we will never do is succumb to the sort of Liberal leader's gasoline tax being proposed by the party opposite.
Lloyd St. Amand Liberal Brant, ON
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister. Where is the leadership, the intervention, on native land claims not covered by Bill C-30?
Native protests in Caledonia and Brantford continue. Development is halted. The Conservative government stays completely silent. My community is now directly soliciting the Prime Minister's intervention, looking to him for leadership. What does he intend to do?
Chuck Strahl ConservativeMinister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians
Mr. Speaker, we continue to engage with the passage of Bill C-30. I thank all members in the House for passing the specific claims tribunal act, which has now gone to the Senate. That is a $2.5 billion commitment by this government on specific claims.
More important, we continue to make offers in the track, including some very specific ones, to put forward solutions. If there are justice issues or policing issues, those best be directed to the provincial government of Mr. McGuinty.
Joy Smith Conservative Kildonan—St. Paul, MB
Mr. Speaker, our government knows that a just and fair resolution of aboriginal issues is important to all Canadians. That is why we are following through on the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Just a couple of weeks ago the Minister of Indian Affairs announced the appointment of the chair of the commission, Justice Harry LaForme. In order for the commission to begin its work on June 1, the two remaining commissioners need to be appointed.
Could the minister update the House as to the status of the two remaining vacancies?
Chuck Strahl ConservativeMinister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to announce the appointment of the two remaining commissioners, Jane Brewin Morley and Claudette Dumont-Smith. The professional experience and considerable knowledge of these two appointees will be a true asset to the work of the commission, which will begin on June 1.
The chair and the commissioners were chosen from more than 300 submissions in response to a public call for nominations and were brought forward for consideration by a selection panel. These appointments represent a significant step forward as part of our government's commitment to delivering a fair and lasting resolution for former students of residential schools.
Penny Priddy NDP Surrey North, BC
Mr. Speaker, gang violence is on the rise across Canada. The problem is acute in British Columbia, with four recent gang related deaths. The gangs are getting bigger and they are getting more violent.
For all of the rhetoric on crime, the Conservative government has not moved to stop the free flow of guns across our border with the United States.
Will the government make real improvements at the border, arm the guards today, not 10 years from now, and stop illegal guns from being used on the streets of British Columbia?
Dave MacKenzie ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety
Mr. Speaker, this government has done a great deal with respect to that. We have put additional border guards in place. We have put additional police officers in place. As members know, laws have been passed in the House to help the police with those issues.
Penny Priddy NDP Surrey North, BC
Mr. Speaker, the gang problem is going to spiral out of control if we do not intervene in the lives of the youngest gang members. The police survey on youth gangs says that youth gang membership has doubled since 2002, from 7,000 to 14,000. Statistics Canada says that youth gun related crime has spiked 32% since 2002.
Guns have no place on our streets unless in the holster of a police officer. It is time to make neighbourhoods safer for working families.
Why did it take the government so long to approve the money for more police and where are these phantom officers?
Dave MacKenzie ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety
Mr. Speaker, it is rather ironic, coming from the NDP, which voted against the budget and voted against putting more police officers on the street. At the same time, I have to agree with the hon. member that the only place for handguns on the street is in the hands of police officers.
Roger Valley Liberal Kenora, ON
Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General's scathing report on the welfare of first nations children is alarming and requires immediate action from the government. The $5 billion the Liberal government committed under the Kelowna accord would have addressed this issue. However, the government cancelled it.
Last week the minister dismissed the Auditor General's report, claiming funding was not the issue. Will the minister guarantee the new prevention model he talks about will not come at the expense of other programs such as housing, health care and education?
Chuck Strahl ConservativeMinister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians
Mr. Speaker, we are moving ahead with changing the system that we inherited from the Liberal Party, which was an intervention system that took children out of their families, to a prevention system that helps families and children before the problems get that serious.
As for the Kelowna accord, the critic over there said yesterday that it was an actual, real accord. We just have to get the video tapes of the news agencies because something is in the records somewhere, if we can find it and it is really real.
Scott Reid Conservative Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington, ON
Mr. Speaker, the situation in Burma continues to deteriorate and Burma's military junta continues to block effective delivery of aid to those in need. For example, we have seen planes on the tarmac being unloaded by the junta, with no guarantees that this international assistance is getting to the people of Burma.
Many countries have offered assistance and are being denied, even as this denial drives up the death toll.
Could the Minister of International Cooperation update the House on what Canada is doing to help the Burmese people?
Bev Oda ConservativeMinister of International Cooperation
Mr. Speaker, we share the increasing international concern as each day passes. We have set aside $2 million, and $500,000 has been given to the Red Cross. Tomorrow we will be sending 2,000 emergency shelter kits to shelter 10,000 people. They will be accepted and directly distributed to the Burmese people by the Red Cross in Burma.
The Prime Minister has said that Canada will provide assistance through ourselves or the international community in a way that will assure it will reach the people directly. This is the responsible thing to do, and we are pursuing every possible avenue.