Debates of June 6th, 2008

400th Anniversary of Quebec City

[Meili Faille, Bloc, Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC]

Mr. Speaker, with their plans for July 1, the anniversary of Confederation in 1867, the Conservatives are once again trying to hijack the 400th anniversary of Quebec City. The slogan for July 1 is “The founding of the Canadian state 400 years ago; from Champlain to today”.

Both the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities and the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Status of Women and Official Languages, two Quebeckers, are denying the history of Quebec as a nation for federalist propaganda purposes.

Is it not true that when Quebeckers become Conservative ministers, they have to deny their roots and forget their history in order to contribute to Canadian nation building?

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, we on this side of the House are proud to represent Quebec. We are proud to promote Quebec across Canada. The Government of Canada has given $120 million to the Quebec City region for the 400th anniversary celebrations. That is a significant contribution. The Bloc Québécois will never have a cent to give.

Automotive Industry

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the finance minister told business not to invest in Ontario. General Motors listened and closed its Oshawa plant. The Prime Minister has actually dismissed the plant closure saying that times have changed and people do not buy those kinds of vehicles anymore.

Why will the government not partner with General Motors and other manufacturers to help them garner the investment they need to green their operations, to build the kinds of green products that the international community really wants today?

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

Mr. Speaker, as the member of Parliament for Oshawa, I want everyone in this House to know that our hearts really go out to the families that are affected by this closure. They are my friends. They are my neighbours. I have actually worked in that plant. I know what they are going through right now.

I have been working all week on this. I have been on the phone with General Motors. We are actually working to partner with General Motors to see if we can get a new car mandate, a new investment into Oshawa. One of the things we will not do though is to put on a carbon tax. I would like the member to stand and let us know if he supports his leader's carbon tax which it is said will be the nail in the coffin for the auto industry. Is he supporting his leader's carbon tax, yes or no?

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the government's--

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Peter Milliken]

Order. We will have some order. The member for Kings—Hants has the floor. We have to be able to hear the question.

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the government's reputation as an environmental dinosaur is helping to make Canadian manufacturing jobs extinct. When manufacturers want to go green, the government sends the message that Canada is no place to invest.

The government's lack of leadership on the environment is hurting Canada's brand internationally and is killing Canadian jobs.

Does the government not realize that its bad environmental policy is bad for business?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for that question, because it gives me the opportunity to let him know that it was the CAW leader, Buzz Hargrove, who said that the radical Liberal environmental plan would kill manufacturing and it would be suicidal for the auto industry.

On everything that this government has brought forward, including our automotive innovation fund for new innovative automobiles, the member has not stood up in this House to support any of them. On everything we bring forward for the manufacturing sector, he either sits on his hands or votes against it. It is a shameful display. We are fighting for auto jobs in Oshawa and in Canada and he should stand and let the people know where he stands on the carbon tax.

The Economy

[Martha Hall Findlay, Liberal, Willowdale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we would like to give the finance minister a little bit of an economic lesson. Canada just experienced the worst quarter in the G-7. Consumer confidence has plummetted and we are halfway to the first recession we have had in 16 years. The minister keeps patting Canadians on the head pretending everything is okay, but it is not. How on earth can we trust the finance minister with Canada's finances?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, once again, our economic fundamentals remain solid. The financial position of households and businesses is sound. Our budget is balanced. Debt is going down. We are focused on controlling government spending. Our labour market remains strong. More than 130,000 new jobs have been created in the first four months of this year. We are getting the job done.

[Martha Hall Findlay, Liberal, Willowdale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, clearly, this government continues to hope that Canadians do not understand. Our first quarter economic performance was the worst of all G-7 countries. Consumer confidence continues to plunge. We are halfway to our first recession in 16 years. Yet the Minister of Finance continues to hope that Canadians do not understand.

Why do the Minister of Finance and this government take Canadians for fools?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, basically, Canada is faced with two different scenarios: the scenario we are proposing and the devastating scenario of economic instability proposed by the Liberals. The Liberals of course want to raise taxes, as we all know, through a carbon tax. They also want to raise the GST, which was just lowered.

No, anyone who knows what they are talking about when it comes to the Canadian economy and the global economy knows that we are on the right track.

[Dean Allison, Conservative, Niagara West—Glanbrook, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the opposition's constant trashing of the Canadian economy continues daily. Liberal MPs are advocating a regressive national carbon tax and want to run massive debts that would certainly disadvantage Canadian businesses.

Despite Liberal negativity in a time of global economic uncertainty, Canadian fundamentals remain strong. Why? It is because this government took aggressive and pre-emptive action: $200 billion in tax cuts, key investments in Canadians and debt reduction.

Could the Minister of Transport update this House on our government's record of job creation?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, despite the global economic turbulence, Canada's employment picture remains strong. Pre-emptive tax cuts are helping shield Canada from economic turbulence.

In May, 8,400 net new jobs were created with strong gains in the Ontario and Quebec manufacturing sectors. Three-quarters of a million net new jobs were created since we came to office. Unemployment is near a 33 year low. It is time for the Liberal Party to show confidence in our accomplishments.

Supreme Court

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Status of Women and Official Languages refuses to take a stand on bilingualism for Supreme Court justices. The Minister of Justice does not mention bilingualism as a condition for the appointment of the next justice. However, there is a growing consensus in this regard. The member for Bourassa introduced a bill that did not solve the problem and I therefore introduced a bill to remedy the situation.

Does the government support the principle of my bill that Supreme Court justices be bilingual?

[Rob Moore, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, over the next month, the Minister of Justice will be seeking the input of attorneys general of the four Atlantic provinces, as well as leading members of the legal community.

Also, empowering parliamentarians early in the selection process will promote greater transparency and confidence in the process for selecting a new Supreme Court of Canada judge. Of course, linguistic ability is an important factor that will be given serious consideration.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Mr. Speaker, although the government does not wish to listen, anglophone and francophone communities in Canada, the Canadian Bar Association, the Commissioner of Official Languages, the National Assembly of Quebec and the three opposition parties in Ottawa have all said that understanding both official languages must be a condition for the appointment of a justice to the Supreme Court. Translation and interpretation are not the same as comprehension. It is not fair.

Will the Conservatives stop trying to have their own way and appoint bilingual justices to the Supreme court once and for all?

[Rob Moore, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, our government is proud of the 165 judicial appointments we have made so far. We made them based on legal excellence and competence. Our next 165 appointments will be guided by those principles.

Our government is committed to ensuring that merit will remain the central and overriding principle for these important appointments.

Canadian Wheat Board

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Minister of Agriculture, in a set up question, attempted to mislead Canadians on the results of a Canadian Wheat Board survey that was not officially released until today. In fact, the pollster determined that farmers were evenly split on the marketing options but the minister attempted to portray otherwise.

However, farmers were clear. Seventy-seven per cent said that the elected board of directors, not the government, should determine their future.

How many times do western Canadian farmers need to tell the government that farmers themselves should decide their future?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am very surprised that the member would get up today and ask a Wheat Board question because the big news in western Canada is that Canadian Wheat Board producers survey.

Yesterday Mr. Hill, the chair, said that 57% of producers supported barley freedom. He actually meant wheat freedom. The numbers for barley are 70%. Three-quarters of western Canadian farmers are asking for freedom.

That survey was done by David Herle, a friend of the member for Wascana and a former Liberal campaign manager.

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, the big news in western Canada and the big news in this city is the minister's spin, which is why he came out yesterday with his statements before the official survey was released. I have it right here and the actual involved farmers are split 50:50.

Why does the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and for the Canadian Wheat Board continue to try and mislead Canadians on where farmers really stand relative to the Canadian Wheat Board? It is time the parliamentary secretary was honest in the House on this survey.

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

Mr. Speaker, there is a reason that the member for Wascana has been so quiet the last few months on this issue. He knows better than the member for Malpeque that western Canadian farmers want freedom.

I will give the House the numbers. On barley, 25% want a completely open market and 45% want choice. That adds up to 70%, does it not? On wheat, 44% want a dual market and another 12% want a completely open market. That adds up to 56%.

We need freedom for western Canadian farmers and we need it now.

Regional Economic Development

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

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec was subjected to some pretty harsh criticism from his provincial counterpart about his decision to stop supporting non-profit organizations, but he chose to wash his hands of the whole matter.

As he put it: “I did not make that decision. Cabinet decided to cut funding to those organizations”.

Can the Prime Minister's political lieutenant for Quebec explain to us why the government as a whole made such a bad 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, I understand my colleague's tendency to resist change. That is typical of opposition parties. We will focus our efforts on providing direct assistance to Quebec businesses.