Debates of May 7th, 2008

Heritage Buildings

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

Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday, this file is very important. The member must understand that this decision has not yet been made. A very strong team is working on this file. No decision can be made until the investigation is complete. It is a priority for this government. We have a minister, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, who is working on this situation. When the decision is made, we will inform the people of Quebec.

[Christiane Gagnon, Bloc, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, could the Minister of National Defence give us a clear answer to a very simple question? Will the site be restored in time for the start of the celebrations in two months, yes or no?

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

No, Mr. Speaker.

Montreal International

[Réal Ménard, Bloc, Hochelaga, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada refused to meet on February 28, 2008, with six very important partners in the economic development of Montreal, including the Quebec federation of chambers of commerce and the Quebec Aerospace Association. The purpose of this meeting would have been to explain to the minister how important these organizations are to the development of companies in Quebec and Montreal.

How can the minister, who has decided to drain the lifeblood from Montreal International, push his arrogance and contempt so far as to refuse to meet the people who are most important to the economic development of Montreal?

[Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Conservative, Minister of Labour and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec]

Mr. Speaker, a great many organizations and companies have attractive projects and want to do business with Canada Economic Development. However, if Canada Economic Development starts to pay the recurring operating expenses of a variety of organizations, its budget gets all tied up, especially as there are so many of them. We made a decision, therefore, to go with specific projects, and we think that an organization’s legitimacy can be measured first and foremost by the fact that its stakeholders are willing to contribute to its operating expenses.

[Réal Ménard, Bloc, Hochelaga, QC]

Mr. Speaker, will the minister soon tell the House that he is also going to cut off the economic and community development corporations that are essential if Montreal is to thrive, just as he cut off Montreal International? Is that the economic development strategy for Montreal that will be on offer? We are fed up with a minister who understands nothing and has nothing but contempt for Montreal’s economy.

[Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Conservative, Minister of Labour and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec]

Mr. Speaker, since we came to power, the Economic Development Agency of Canada has supported 256 projects in the greater Montreal area with investments totalling $101 million, which have generated a grand total of $327 million in investment and saved 4,700 jobs.

As I said, all the essential agencies that provide us with a transition plan will be given two years to learn to get by on their own. I think that everybody listening to us would find it very reasonable that they should be expected to operate on their own some day.

Burma

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the Minister of Foreign Affairs about the tragic situation that is unfolding in Burma.

It is clear that the politics of the situation is keeping aid out. They are keeping aid workers out. They are keeping the international community out. We now know that there are over 20,000 people dead and there could be as many as 20,000 more missing.

I would like to ask the minister, could he please tell the House what political discussions has he had with his counterparts? What discussions has he had with the United Nations to make sure that in fact aid is getting to the people in need in Burma?

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I can tell the House that we are calling on the military junta to work in its people's best interest and open the doors to international aid, to the UN, to non-governmental organizations and to other countries. We are ready to help them. We are just waiting for an answer from them. If they open their doors to international aid, Canada will be there to help.

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the problem is that the minister did not answer my question. I asked the minister a very specific question. With whom in the UN, and with which of his international colleagues did the minister speak to ensure that we are working together as nations to persuade Burma to open its doors to humanitarian aid?

[Maxime Bernier, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we are discussing this matter directly with the UN. My colleague, the Minister of International Cooperation, is also in contact with her colleagues. Like all Canadians, we want aid to reach Burma, and we are in contact at the highest levels to ensure that it does. We urge the Burmese government to open its doors to international aid and to work in the best interest of its people. That is what we are doing.

Economic Development

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

#Mr. Speaker, 10 new businesses, $181 million in investments, 2,100 jobs created and preserved; that is what Pôle Québec Chaudière-Appalaches did in 2007. Those are tangible, measurable results.

But just as in the case of Montreal International, the Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec has got out his axe and is cutting assistance to the Pôle economic development agency.

While businesses like Crocs and AGC are closing down, and job losses are piling up, the Minister slashes the budget.

How can he justify this stupid and baseless decision?

[Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Conservative, Minister of Labour and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec]

Mr. Speaker, why was the budget envelope for Economic Development Canada almost entirely used up at the beginning of the year on a group of economic development organizations? Because the party that came before us did not realize that what it was doing was draining our budget envelope.

Pôle Québec Chaudière-Appalaches has submitted a transition plan and we have approved it. It will therefore have funding for the next two years and after that it will be operating under its own steam.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the reality is that after smacking Ontario down, he is now smacking down Quebec. Montreal International and Pôle Québec Chaudière-Appalaches have proved themselves, but the Minister still thinks it is a good idea to cut them off. With the challenges we are now facing, everyone is on the same page: municipalities, the provincial government, the business community—everyone—except the Conservatives.

Why is the Minister so set against people who work to create jobs? Why has he tied his own hands by cutting $107 million from his own budget?

[Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Conservative, Minister of Labour and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec]

Mr. Speaker, the Montreal Grand Prix recently approached my department for support. It wanted $1.25 million to renovate facilities for the media and the Montreal Grand Prix. An economic development organization submitted the project to us, and we said yes. Why could we say yes? Because at Canada Economic Development we keep some room in our budgets so we can support one-time projects submitted by organizations that have a beginning, a middle and an end.

Canada Border Services Agency

[Gord Brown, Conservative, Leeds—Grenville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, our government takes the safety and security of Canadians very seriously. We have taken action to help protect Canadians against crime and dangerous criminals, against faulty products, and against pollution and harmful chemicals.

In her latest report the Auditor General commented on a number of people who may be in Canada illegally and on the process for monitoring their detention and removal.

Could the Minister of Public Safety update the House on the government's response to the Auditor General and how he plans on addressing her concerns?

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, we do share the concerns about that number of people deemed inadmissible and whose whereabouts may be in question. That amount is an amount we largely inherited from the previous regime, but we do not take that as an excuse. We want to see improvements.

The Auditor General made a number of comments about improvements that the CBSA has made already in terms of removals. She also remarked, and I will quote her specifically, “The agency has increased the number of inadmissible individuals it removes from Canada, from about 8,700 in 2002-03, to about 12,600 in 2006-07”. That is a 50% improvement. We want to do better.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General is condemning the Conservatives' sorry record on first nations children in foster care.

Government officials are taking children from reserves into care eight times more often than other Canadian children. She called the government's funding formula outdated and inappropriate, and said it does not take into account how many kids need help or what services they need.

Why under the Conservative government's watch are kids on reserve getting shortchanged when it comes to child welfare?

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

Mr. Speaker, we appreciate the Auditor General's report. We agree that the system that was in place, which we inherited from the Liberals, was a broken one. That is why we started to change it. We already have a tripartite agreement in Alberta that addresses the system itself which is designed under its current form, the one we inherited, to take kids from their homes and stick them in foster care as a form of child and family services.

We believe, as does the Auditor General, it is time to move to a prevention model and address the needs of the family to try to keep the family together so the kids do not have to leave home in the end.

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is the Conservative government that is continuing that legacy of doing damage to first nations children.

The Auditor General says it will cost 74% more to fully implement the Alberta model that the minister is so fond of. This is about resources, it is about children, and it is about being accountable.

Where is the timetable to implement this model program for the rest of the provinces? Where is the money to make sure this new model works better than the old one? When will the government fully fund child welfare services on reserve?

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

Mr. Speaker, does the member think we are spending too much money now in Alberta? I am not sure.

We approved in budget 2008, which she voted against of course, more money to extend the Alberta model across the country. We hope to do two or three more provinces this year alone. We are in negotiations with those provinces and with first nations. We actually believe it is important to work with first nations, their leadership, and their communities to make sure we design programs that work for first nations, not designed in Ottawa by a bunch of Liberals and Dippers.

Ethics

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister has five strikes against him. One, he has squandered a $13 billion inheritance risking a return to deficit. Two, he has broken promises, including on income trusts and the Atlantic accord. Three, he has trashed Ontario's business climate. Four is the plethora of ethical clouds hanging over his head. Five is the dumbest possible tax cut with negative effects on productivity.

Are five strikes not enough to be out in the Conservative government?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, the member should again be--

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order. The hon. member for Markham—Unionville has asked a question and he wants to hear an answer. The Minister of the Environment has risen and has been recognized to speak.