House of Commons Hansard #114 of the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was region.
Martha Hall Findlay Liberal Willowdale, ON
Mr. Speaker, Louise Arbour has spent the last 12 years prosecuting and working firsthand to combat abuses and indignities against the world's most disenfranchised. She is world renowned as one of the most courageous and accomplished women this country has ever produced.
However, the Human Rights Tribune states:
Sources close to Ottawa said that instructions came directly from the Prime Minister’s office to offer no praise for Arbour--
Is this true?
David Emerson ConservativeMinister of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member already asked this question and I think we did praise Louise Arbour. I congratulated her. We thanked her for the good work she has done.
I would just take this opportunity to reinforce the hard work that Canada is doing across a range of areas to promote and protect human rights in the world.
Harold Albrecht Conservative Kitchener—Conestoga, ON
Mr. Speaker, we know that the government is taking real action on climate change. Through our ecoAction program we have helped build green technology right here at home in Canada through projects that will provide real reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants.
Sadly, the Liberal candidate in the Guelph byelection, Frank Valeriote, does not agree. He says the government should not help industries invest in new technology.
While the Liberals may not agree that we need to invest in green technology, can the Minister of the Environment tell the House how the government has delivered for Canadians regarding the fight on climate change?
John Baird ConservativeMinister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, we have invested millions of dollars both through regulation of industry and in government funds to support the fight on climate change.
I am surprised at the candidate from Guelph with respect to his desire not to support these industries. What I am excited about is the honesty of one of the Liberal members opposite. He wrote:
Ultimately, this added cost [the carbon tax proposed by the Liberals] will find its way into oil and plastic, transportation and food. In fact, most corners of our lives.
I cannot name the Liberal member, but I found it on a website called www.garth.ca.
Bill Casey Independent Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley, NS
Mr. Speaker, prior to the March 2007 budget, Canada only had one equalization formula for all provinces. Now we have three unequal equalization formulas. Nova Scotia has the choice between the O'Brien formula and a new formula. It expires in 2020. Eight provinces have the O'Brien formula. They expire six years later. Newfoundland has the amended 2005 formula but no O'Brien formula.
At one point, the minister saw merit in having one principle-based equalization formula. Does he have any intention of reverting back to that and having one equalization formula for all provinces, instead of three?
Jim Flaherty ConservativeMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, we were able to, with the assistance of the O'Brien panel, move to a situation where we have fiscal balance based on certain principles. That solution has been accepted by most of the jurisdictions in Canada, including the province of Nova Scotia. As Premier MacDonald said:
We have the agreements in place...[Nova Scotia is] receiving the full benefits of the offshore (accord)...I hope that our MPs, especially some of our Liberal MPs...are going to stand up and be counted.
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
I would like to draw to the attention of hon. members the presence in the gallery of Mr. Bekele Geleta, newly appointed Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Oral QuestionsPoints of OrderOral Questions
Calgary Southwest Alberta
Conservative
Stephen Harper ConservativePrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, in response to a question from the leader of the New Democratic Party regarding the permit process for the Kearl oil sands project, I implied that the government had not taken a decision on that. In fact, the government has accepted all the recommendations of both the first and the second environmental review process on that particular project, although the permit process is still under way.
My apologies to the leader of the NDP for any misinformation I conveyed.
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
Order. The hon. member for Willowdale is rising on a point of order. We are going to hear it.
Martha Hall Findlay Liberal Willowdale, ON
Mr. Speaker, I would suggest to the members opposite that my concern is actually no laughing matter.
When I was referring in my question regarding Louise Arbour, the President of the Treasury Board very loudly yelled out, “She's a disgrace”. I would ask if the member opposite would in fact do the dignified thing and withdraw his comments.
Vic Toews ConservativePresident of the Treasury Board
Mr. Speaker, this gives me an opportunity to clarify my comments.
The comments that Louise Arbour has made in respect of the state of Israel and the people of Israel are in fact a disgrace, and I stand by those words.
Pierre Lemieux Conservative Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON
Mr. Speaker, based on discussions that I have had with my colleagues, I think that you will find, should you seek it, unanimous consent to return to presenting reports from committees so that I, as the chair of the Special Committee on the Canadian Mission in Afghanistan, may table the special committee's first report.
Oral QuestionsPoints of OrderOral Questions
Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière Québec
Conservative
Jacques Gourde ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Labour and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec
Mr. Speaker, I seek the unanimous consent of the House to table a petition in memory of Karine Méthot.
Jacques Gourde Conservative Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC
Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I present this petition today on behalf of the Karine Méthot family.
Wayne Easter Liberal Malpeque, PE
Mr. Speaker, a member opposite, in statements by members prior to question period, made a statement that a number of us had voted with the government as if we were against the carbon tax.
The fact of the matter is that the Prime Minister's Office put out misinformation in a media release on the motion that was passed by committee. The motion passed by committee is for a study on the carbon issue.
Statements by MembersPoints of OrderRoutine Proceedings
Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry Ontario
Conservative
Guy Lauzon ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario
Mr. Speaker, I do not think there is any question that this is a point of debate and not a point of order.
I might just quote this:
That the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food study the effects of a carbon tax and any other broad based environmental tax and ensure that Canadian farmers are not saddled with a carbon tax which would further increase their input costs and hurt their competitiveness.
That is what the member opposite voted for.
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
There is another point of order. Members seem to have gotten into the rule books today in a very substantial way. The hon. member for Honoré-Mercier.
Pablo Rodriguez Liberal Honoré-Mercier, QC
Mr. Speaker, I will be brief. During question period, in reply to a question from my colleague for Hochelaga, the Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec cited a number of projects from a list. I would like him to table this list pursuant to the Standing Orders.