House of Commons Hansard #109 of the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was farmers.
Dick Harris Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals cannot seem to get their stories straight on their massive new carbon tax. Yesterday the member for Halton confessed that the Liberal plan was--
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
Order. I can hardly hear the hon. member despite his proximity to the Chair. There is too much noise. The hon. member for Cariboo—Prince George has the floor.
Dick Harris Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC
Mr. Speaker, those members are touchy about this one.
The member for Halton confessed yesterday that, yes, there is a carbon tax, and yet minutes later the member for Richmond Hill said no, there is no carbon tax here. We know how bad it is when even the Liberal environment critic's own brother, the premier of Ontario, will not buy into that massive tax. Can the government--
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
Order. It is only Tuesday. We will have a little order, please. The hon. secretary of state has the floor. There is too much noise.
Jason Kenney Conservative Calgary Southeast, AB
Mr. Speaker, that is a very good question, because we first heard from the leader of the Liberal Party that he was opposed to a carbon tax. Now he is in favour of a carbon tax. Some members of his caucus say there will be no tax. Others say there is a carbon tax. Some call it a green shift. Others call it a carbon shift. Some claim it will be revenue neutral, like we never heard that fat one before.
Canadians will not be fooled with all those political weasel words. When they hear Liberals talking about new taxes they know it is time to hold onto their wallets because the Liberals intend to tax them more.
Dawn Black NDP New Westminster—Coquitlam, BC
Mr. Speaker, the government has proven yet again that there is no problem in procuring equipment for the war in Afghanistan, but it is a totally different story for the needs here in Canada: frigate replacement program, stalled; Sea King replacements, stalled; Buffalo search and rescue, stalled; navy support ships, stalled; and second-hand submarines that do not even work, stalled.
Why is the minister building a Kandahar first military program rather than a Canada first defence strategy?
Peter MacKay ConservativeMinister of National Defence and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
NDP support on anything other than the military, Mr. Speaker, stalled.
With respect to the procurements that are taking place in this country, this government has embarked on an unprecedented effort to give the men and women of the armed forces the necessary equipment they need to do the important work in Afghanistan that allows us to do reconstruction and development.
We are not going to get pulled into the way of the previous government, which rusted out and hollowed out the Canadian Forces. We are behind the forces 100% and we are getting the job done.
Dawn Black NDP New Westminster—Coquitlam, BC
Mr. Speaker, I really would like to believe the minister, but I find it very difficult. Countless ministers of defence have told countless numbers of the Canadian military that the newest equipment is right around the corner. This procurement is around the corner malarkey has to stop.
Will the minister admit that DND's procurement system is out of date, is open to manipulation and is wasting billions in unnecessary tenders, unfinished work and incomplete offers? The Canadian Forces has world class training and world class soldiers. Why not world class procurement?
Peter MacKay ConservativeMinister of National Defence and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Mr. Speaker, these are all good questions, which begs the real question: why does the NDP not support our military?
We are going full bore ahead with procurement of ships and important land craft and aircraft. While the previous government starved our armed forces of necessary procurement, we are going full bore to get the forces this gear.
When it comes to supporting our military procurement and our men and women in uniform and their families, the NDP consistently has voted against every step this government has taken to get that important support for our men and women.
Susan Kadis Liberal Thornhill, ON
Mr. Speaker, the bizarre press conference the parliamentary secretary for public works held last week on the Cadman tape has been mercilessly mocked by the media.
One fact has not gotten the attention it deserves. Dona Cadman has now sworn an affidavit that two Conservative operatives made a financial offer to her husband on May 17, 2005, but the parliamentary secretary will not even admit that a meeting took place at all. Now, with a sworn affidavit, is the parliamentary secretary suggesting that Dona Cadman committed perjury?
James Moore ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services and for the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics
Mr. Speaker, I would give my colleague a bit of advice on her supplementary, which is to slow down her tape a little. She is a little quick.
My colleague may want to ignore the facts in this case, but in fact the Liberals wrote to the RCMP and asked the RCMP to look into this matter. RCMP Chief Superintendent Therriault wrote back and said there is “no evidence to support a charge under the Criminal Code or under the Parliament of Canada Act”.
There is no evidence of wrongdoing because no wrongdoing took place. The Liberals will recognize that when we see them in court.
Susan Kadis Liberal Thornhill, ON
Mr. Speaker, Tom Zytaruk is adamant that the tape is unedited. He said he would swear an oath to that effect. The parliamentary secretary continues to deny that the Prime Minister's own words discuss financial considerations to Chuck Cadman even though Dona Cadman has sworn there was an offer.
Will the parliamentary secretary tell us who were the two operatives cited by Dona Cadman who made the offer on May 17 or has he even bothered to ask what really happened that day?
James Moore ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services and for the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics
Mr. Speaker, as we have said a number of times, there was one offer that was made on May 19 by Doug Finley and Tom Flanagan. We have been clear about that from the very beginning.
If the Liberals do not want to accept the truth, that is their problem. When we get to court, they will recognize the truth, which is that nothing inappropriate happened here. These false smears against the Prime Minister of this country, falsely saying that he committed a crime, are absolutely out of line in Canadian politics. We will see them in court and they will pay.
Raymond Simard Liberal Saint Boniface, MB
Mr. Speaker, there is a big judicial appointment coming to Manitoba this summer. Manitobans are not impressed by the idea of appointing the President of the Treasury Board as a judge in order to solve the Prime Minister's political problem.
When he was a justice minister, the future judge said that “the rule of law requires a robust and independent judiciary”. Given this statement, will the current justice minister respect his colleague's position and not appoint him to the bench against his will?
Rob Moore ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, I am glad the hon. member brought up this issue, because over the next month the Minister of Justice will be seeking input from the attorneys general in four Atlantic provinces on the appointment of our next Supreme Court of Canada justice. We are all very excited about that very important appointment that is coming up.
Raymond Simard Liberal Saint Boniface, MB
Mr. Speaker, surely the Minister of Justice recognizes the conflict of interest here.
The President of the Treasury Board named the judicial appointments committee that would be responsible for vetting his candidacy. He is the regional minister for Manitoba and would be making the recommendation to cabinet on his own appointment, and he is a member of the cabinet who would make the ultimate decision on that appointment.
Can the Conservative government not see that this is clearly unacceptable?
Rob Moore ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, our government has always been guided by the principles of merit and legal excellence in the selection and appointments of judges to Canada's superior and federal courts. Each and every one of our 165 judicial appointments have reflected those principles and the next 165 we make will be exactly the same.
Guy André Bloc Berthier—Maskinongé, QC
Mr. Speaker, the government announced that it has concluded a free trade agreement with Colombia. Yet that country has one of the worst records in terms of labour laws and human rights. No conditions in this regard appear in the agreement itself as a prerequisite to its signing and nothing seems to have been imposed on Colombia.
How can the Conservative government justify such an agreement knowing that Colombia does not honour its international obligations on these issues and that the Standing Committee on International Trade, which is currently holding hearings on the matter, has not tabled any reports?
Jean-Pierre Blackburn ConservativeMinister of Labour and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec
Mr. Speaker, as you know, we recently signed a free trade agreement and a parallel agreement with respect to workers' rights with Peru. Over the weekend, we also concluded an agreement with the Government of Colombia.
I would remind the House that Canada has never entered into an agreement that does so much to protect workers' rights in those two countries. We have a new generation of agreements that are much stronger than before and that include penalties if the government fails to honour its signature on the agreements reached. I think this is a very positive step for workers' rights in both countries.
Michel Guimond Bloc Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord, QC
Mr. Speaker, last Thursday, when I asked the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration a question, she asked me to provide specific instances where visas had been denied. Here is one. The International Eucharistic Congress of Quebec, which starts on June 15, sent out 1,300 invitations to people throughout the world. The delegates are clergy, members of religious orders and lay persons who were recommended by the bishop in their diocese.
Will the minister admit that her department acted zealously when we consider that more than 300 of the delegates will not be able to come to Quebec City because their visas were denied? The bishops—