Debates of June 6th, 2008

Regional Economic Development

[Francis Scarpaleggia, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Labour and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec does not seem too sure of his response.

Minister Bachand has said that the decision to cut funding to non-profit organizations was based on ideology and that it represents a step back in time to the days of Duplessis.

The Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec says that it was not his decision, but a decision made by all members of Cabinet.

If the minister is not making his own decisions about how to run his department, then what good is he?

[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, perhaps my colleague from Lac-Saint-Louis is mistaken this morning. When the opposition was in power, it tried to pick fights with the Government of Quebec. Now the Liberals are trying to hurt the federal government. There is a certain colour typically associated with shame, and that colour is red.

Bill C-10

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the mayors of Toronto and Montreal, David Miller and Gérald Tremblay, strongly criticized Bill C-10, which would enable the government to deny funding to films or television shows that are deemed contrary to public policy. According to the mayor of Montreal, this bill could kill an industry that employs 35,000 people in Quebec, and that brings in some $1.3 billion in economic spinoffs.

Will the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Status of Women and Official Languages remove the provisions in this bill that promote Conservative censorship?

[Jim Abbott, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary for Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I made note of the comments by the mayor of Montreal relative to this question and I find it rather curious because the exact same wording that is contained in Bill C-10 is the exact same wording under which the film industry in the province of Quebec works with provincial legislation. I do not really understand why the mayor would have made the comments that he made. Clearly, there must be some other motive for him to be doing that.

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

Mr. Speaker, artists, producers and the entire film and television industry have criticized this bill, which goes against the principle of freedom of expression and could make the search for funding very difficult. In response to the parliamentary secretary, no one is fooled; we can all recognize the conservative, right-wing ideology that seeks to censor and control the industry.

Will the minister finally listen to reason and remove the censorship provisions from Bill C-10?

[Jim Abbott, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary for Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I totally reject the characterization the member has made about the bill. The fact is that the industry that is now making these kinds of comments actually approved the exact same wording under the Liberal government four years ago.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Roger Valley, Liberal, Kenora, ON]

Mr. Speaker, aboriginal and survivor organizations are frustrated with the government's secrecy around the draft apology statement.

Given the significance of the apology, it is inconceivable the government would expect survivors and aboriginal people just to accept what it dishes out.

Will the minister tell the House why he has not involved Phil Fontaine and the AFN, will he commit to an open discussion about the text of the apology and will he allow survivors to be right here on the floor of the House of Commons with us so they can face the Prime Minister when he tries to deliver this apology?

[Rod Bruinooge, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians]

Mr. Speaker, our government is looking forward to next week, June 11, when we are able to deliver this very important apology. It has been a long time coming and I look back to the previous era where there was no apology on this matter.

The member likes to make the point that there was no consultation. Of course, that is not true. In fact, that is absolutely incorrect. We have been consulting with aboriginal leaders across the country and we look forward to next week.

Canadian Wheat Board

[Rob Anders, Conservative, Calgary West, AB]

Mr. Speaker, this time I want the Liberals to listen. Farmers in Alberta are continually saying that they need and demand marketing freedom.

Yesterday, the chairman of the Canadian Wheat Board, Larry Hill, admitted that the Canadian Wheat Board's own poll, conducted by a Liberal insider, stated that the barley market question was answered: 57% would prefer an open market.

Could the Parliamentary Secretary for the Canadian Wheat Board confirm these numbers?

[David Anderson, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Calgary West for his hard work on this file, as so many other Conservative MPs have done.

The Canadian Wheat Board has been unwilling to release this survey even though it was done by David Herle, a prominent Liberal.

However, let me help set the record straight.

Mr. Hill said yesterday that 57% of western barley farmers want freedom. What the survey actually shows is that 57% of farmers want freedom for wheat. The number of farmers asking for marketing choice for barley is nearly 70%, as I said before. This is great news for farmers.

However, what farmers really want to know is when the Liberals will admit they are wrong and start supporting marketing freedom.

The Environment

[Dennis Bevington, NDP, Western Arctic, NT]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are fast-tracking the Kearl tar sands project. The government assessment regime will not consider other ongoing or upcoming projects. Imperial Oil is expecting its water permit today and yet there are no measures to address the impact on the health of first nations and northerners, no cap on absolute gas emissions and no protection of threatened wildlife species.

Will the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans refuse to issue this final permit until these conditions are met?

[David Anderson, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, the minister answered this question yesterday. As he pointed out, every environmental process and every regulation is being followed. The toughest standards are being set. Our environment minister has set some of the toughest standards on this planet and those are going to be met.

I reassure the House that this project is going to meet every one of those standards and our government is committed to protecting the environment as this project goes ahead.

[Dennis Bevington, NDP, Western Arctic, NT]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are handing out a blank cheque to the executives at American-owned Exxon for a $500 billion resource grab.

We all know Exxon has such a clean and unimpeachable record on the environment. Kearl will spew the same gas emissions that 800,000 new cars would over 50 years. Giving Yankee companies a break at the expense of Canada's environment will not stop there.

Could the government confirm that it is green lighting new nuclear plants in Alberta to enable energy exports to the United States?

[David Anderson, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, the member is asking a number of questions there, but I will talk about the Kearl project.

There has been no final decision as to whether the Department of Fisheries and Oceans will issue Imperial Oil the authorization under the Fisheries Act for this project. Due process is being followed. It is not appropriate to speculate about that final decision, but the bottom line is that this project, like every other project, is going to have to meet the tough standards for the oil sands projects under our “Turning the corner” plan, which aims to reduce Canada's greenhouse gas emissions by an absolute 20% by 2020.

Automotive Industry

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I was in Oshawa talking to the workers on the picket line at General Motors. They said to me that while they were pleased that I was there to show support, why did a single Conservative member of Parliament not show up to support them?

My question is for the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry. Having just said that his heart goes out to these people, why could he not be bothered to show up and support them in their time of need?

We all know the finance minister has said that Ontario is the last place to invest, so therefore they are extremely angry at every Conservative.

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

Mr. Speaker, these are my friends. These are my neighbours. I see them every single week.

I am really disappointed in the member for Markham—Unionville for using somebody else's misfortune for political gain. Everything that we have done to keep jobs in Oshawa, our auto innovation fund, our investments in research and development at the local universities, he has voted against. He has voted against and he has not supported the auto industry.

I have been here working hard to make sure that we get a new mandate for Oshawa. That is what we want to do for the people of Oshawa. That is what I am doing to support them, not taking cheap photo ops like the member for Markham—Unionville.

Human Rights

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in 2001 the Liberal government lent Canada's good name to a world conference against racism in Durban, South Africa, that quickly degenerated into an anti-Semitic hatefest, complete with reported displays of Hitler glorification.

Fortunately, our Conservative government has taken a stand and announced that Canada will be boycotting the sequel to Durban. Now we learn that the New Democrats oppose the government's decision.

Would the Secretary of State for Canadian Identity remind Canadians in general, and the NDP in particular, why our government has taken the principled stand that it has taken?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Secretary of State (Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity)]

Mr. Speaker, after some initial confusion, the Liberal Party members came out in support of our government's decision to withdraw from the Durban process. I commend them for that.

Initially, the member for Outremont, on behalf of the NDP, also expressed support for this government's principled decision to remove ourselves from this very problematic and historically hateful process, but the NDP members now say that things have changed and they are supporting it. What has changed?

Iran, a country dedicated to the destruction of the only Jewish country in the world, is vice-chair. It recently denied observer status to a Canadian Jewish NGO. The organizers have re-invited all of the NGOs who participated in the most extreme and odious promotion of hatred at the last Durban conference.

I say to the NDP members, shame on them for supporting this terrible disgrace.

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 seven petitions.

National Defence Act

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

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-60, An Act to amend the National Defence Act (court martial) and to make a consequential amendment to another Act.

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

Interparliamentary Delegations

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Lévis—Bellechasse, QC]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34, I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian delegation of the Canada-France Inter-Parliamentary Association concerning the standing committee meeting held in Paris, France, from March 6 to 10, 2008.

Film Industry

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have the pleasure to present two petitions to the House. The first is a petition against Bill C-10, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act, which is signed by a great many people in the industry itself.

Animal Cruelty Legislation

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is with regard to animal transportation that is also signed by a number of people across Canada. They have asked me to present the petition to the House.

Firearms Registry

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my first petition comes largely from the Lanark part of my constituency. It is a petition calling for the long gun registry to be repealed, one of many petitions I have tabled on that subject over the years.

Marriage

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my second petition is a call for the government to be respectful of the traditional definition of the institution of marriage.