Debates of June 13th, 2008

Regional Economic Development

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

Mr. Speaker, today, the Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec is the most unpopular man in Quebec. Because of his thoughtless actions and ideological cuts, he has created uncertainty in all the regions of Quebec.

Today we learned that the National Optics Institute, a centre of excellence, must abandon a number of projects and give up on expected jobs because of the minister. The crisis is getting worse, but the minister is adding fuel to the fire. His last line of defence is that he did not make the decision alone; it was cabinet that made the decision.

Can he tell us today whether it was cabinet that made the decision?

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Labour and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec]

Mr. Speaker, from his response to an answer to a question the minister was asked this week, the hon. member for Honoré-Mercier apparently still thinks he is nine years old. He talked about handing out goodies, but it is still a long time until Halloween.

However, I am not surprised that he is so familiar with goodies, since the sponsorship scandal gave out so many goodies it emptied the pockets of Canadians. And Canadians have a big toothache because of the Liberals.

Gasoline Prices

[David Sweet, Conservative, Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, recent charges and guilty pleas in a price-fixing case involving the retail gasoline industry in Quebec have generated a lot of media interest and prompted questions regarding whether the Competition Bureau will be conducting an ongoing probe.

Yesterday the Competition Bureau announced that charges have been laid against companies and individuals in four markets in Quebec.

Can the government shed light on the news out of Quebec about charges and guilty pleas in a price-fixing case involving the retail gasoline industry? Is the probe continuing?

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, the Competition Bureau has laid charges against 13 individuals and 11 companies accused of fixing the price of gasoline at the pump in four Quebec markets. Three companies and an individual have pleaded guilty for their part in criminal conspiracies to fix gasoline prices. The court has imposed fines totalling over $2 million against the companies so far. The individual was fined $50,000.

The Competition Bureau has investigations under way in all other regions of the country. I am confident the Commissioner of Competition will take appropriate action where it is warranted.

Seniors

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I hosted an Internet summit so that our leader could listen to the needs of seniors from coast to coast.

Seniors were clear. There is a pressing need for affordable housing in this country, but the Conservative government is not listening. It has made zero investments in affordable housing for seniors. In fact, in 2006 the Conservatives cut $200 million that had been allocated by the Liberals.

Why does the Prime Minister not listen? Why is he denying Canadian seniors the right to live with dignity?

[Lynne Yelich, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development]

Mr. Speaker, our government takes seniors issues very seriously. We have created a seniors secretariat. We have also established a seniors council.

We have invested in 630,000 housing units for social housing. We have invested a billion dollars in housing trusts, unlike the Liberals who would add a carbon tax which would drive housing and electricity costs to unaffordable limits for seniors.

Omar Khadr

[France Bonsant, Bloc, Compton—Stanstead, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the United States Supreme Court's decision represents the court's third decision clearly ruling that human rights must be respected. It is clear that Omar Khadr's rights were not respected in Guantanamo. They arrested a 15-year-old child soldier. Omar Khadr should face Canadian justice and not an illegal process in the United States.

We have heard enough of the parliamentary secretary's broken-record response. We want an answer. When will the Prime Minister repatriate Omar Khadr so that he can face justice here?

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

Mr. Speaker, we do not comment about the judicial system of another country.

If the member does not agree with what I have been saying, she should listen to what the member for Pickering—Scarborough East said in 2005, when he said that charges against Omar Khadr are very serious.

In light of that situation, any questions regarding whether Canada plans to ask for Mr. Omar Khadr's return are premature and speculative at this time.

Garment Industry

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the garment industry in Winnipeg Centre is in crisis. We are hemorrhaging jobs, good union jobs with pensions and benefits that offered a good start to generations of new Canadians.

Now the duty remission orders that offered some relief to unfair global competition are set to expire. It is another nail in the coffin of this struggling industry.

Will the government commit today that it will extend the duty remission orders so our struggling garment industry in Winnipeg has at least a fighting chance to survive?

[Gerald Keddy, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and to the Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, we cannot help but admire the tenacity of the NDP members, because they are off on every issue in the country. They really do not want to talk about the issues that are before Parliament.

There are some serious issues facing the garment industry in Canada and we understand that. We recognize the challenges that it faces. The Government of Canada has looked at ways of assisting the industry.

Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Pursuant to Standing Order 90(1)(b) of the Parliament of Canada Act, it is my duty to present to the House the annual report of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2008.

House of Commons

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

I have the honour to lay upon the table the “House of Commons Report to Canadians 2008”.

Government Response to Petitions

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to two petitions.

Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act

[Diane Ablonczy, Conservative, Secretary of State (Small Business and Tourism)]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-62, An Act respecting not-for-profit corporations and certain other corporations.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Health

[Luc Malo, Bloc, Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today I am tabling, in both official languages, the sixth report of the Standing Committee on Health. The committee has completed its statutory parliamentary review of progress made toward implementing the 10 year plan to strengthen health care, and it wishes to share its conclusions and recommendations.

Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.

First Nations Children's Health Protection Act

[Tina Keeper, Liberal, Churchill, MB]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-563, An Act to ensure that appropriate health care services are provided to First Nations children in a timely manner.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to introduce this piece of legislation, an act to ensure that appropriate health care services are provided to first nations children in a timely manner. This bill was inspired by the very short life of a boy named Jordan Anderson from the Norway House Cree Nation in my riding of Churchill and the courageous battle waged by his family and the community.

Jordan's principle is to ensure a child's health is prioritized and appropriate services are provided. This enactment implements Jordan's principle to provide that if the Government of Canada has an obligation to pay for health care services for a first nations child whose ordinary residence is on a reserve, the first department of that government requested to pay shall do so in a timely manner. With this legislation, the aim is that Canada will provide first nations children the same health care services in a comparable timeframe as all other Canadian children receive.

I encourage all members of the House to work together to ensure no child in our country is left behind when it comes to health care.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Student Loans

[Todd Russell, Liberal, Labrador, NL]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition on behalf of many constituents in Labrador West, which is part of my riding. They are post-secondary students and lament the burden that high student debt places on individuals and families. These students are petitioning the government to establish a system of needs based grants through the Canada student loans program for students at universities and colleges.

Sponsorship Program

[David Anderson, Conservative, Cypress Hills—Grasslands, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I present a petition in which the petitioners remind us that Parliament has a duty to be accountable and to protect the taxes that are collected from Canadian citizens. They petition that Parliament continue to investigate the location and possible allocation of the $40 million of taxpayers' money which mysteriously vanished under the Liberal Party of Canada during the sponsorship scandal.

Charter of the French Language

[Carole Lavallée, Bloc, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Bill C-482 was introduced in the House and defeated, but I am still receiving petitions signed by hundreds of people demanding that Bill 101, which makes French the official language of the Quebec nation, be respected by the federal government in Quebec.

I have the honour to present two such petitions.

Unborn Victims of Crime

[Ken Epp, Conservative, Edmonton—Sherwood Park, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have another 598 signatures of petitioners mostly from Quebec.

The petitioners trust that the wording of the bill is accurate when it says that it specifically does not apply to elective abortion and that it is meant totally and entirely to protect a pregnant woman and the child that she was wants from an assailant, a third party, who would come with a knife or a gun and would attack her and take away both her choice and the life of the child she wants.

The petitioners are pleading with Parliament to pass Bill C-484.

Income Trusts

[Massimo Pacetti, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I present this income trust broken promise petition on behalf of many Albertans and British Columbians who remember the Prime Minister boasting about his apparent commitment to accountability when he said that the greatest fraud was a promise not kept.

The petitioners want to remind the Prime Minister that he promised never to tax income trusts but that he recklessly broke that promise by imposing a 31.5% punitive tax which permanently wiped out over $25 billion of the hard-earned retirement savings of over 2 million Canadians, particularly seniors.

The petitioners, therefore, call upon the Conservative minority government to admit that the decision to tax income trusts was based on: first, flawed methodology and incorrect assumptions; second, to apologize to those who were unfairly harmed by this broken promise; and, finally, to repeal the punitive 31.5% tax on income trusts.

Security and Prosperity Partnership

[Bill Siksay, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table a petition signed by many residents of Calgary and Winnipeg who call on the Government of Canada to stop further implementation of the security and prosperity partnership of North American agreement with the United States and Mexico until there is a democratic mandate from the people of Canada, some viable parliamentary oversight and a consideration of the profound consequences of such an agreement on Canada's national sovereignty and its ability to adopt autonomous, sustainable, economic, social and environmental policies.

The petitioners urge the government to undertake a transparent public accountability process and to ensure a full debate and vote in Parliament on the provisions of the SPP.

Tax Credit for New Graduates Working in Designated Regions

[Robert Bouchard, Bloc, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today I have the honour to present a third petition about Bill C-207, which provides an $8,000 maximum tax credit over several years for new graduates working in designated regions.

As we all know, this bill was passed yesterday at third reading and is now before the Senate. This petition supports the bill, and it is my honour to present it.

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform]

Mr. Speaker, if Question No. 264 could be made an order for return, this return would be tabled immediately.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Is it agreed that Question No. 264 be made an order for return?