Debates of Jan. 27th, 2009

The Budget

[Ted Menzies, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, our minds are made up that Canadians expect this government to lead. That is what this government will do.

It is very important that we take a very serious and hard look at this budget. Many members in the House of Commons spent the entire Christmas season out talking to their constituents. I recognize the importance of the Christmas season. A lot of members gave up their Christmases to consult with Canadians. At least they deserve the respect to take a serious look at the budget. We would ask for their support in passing this budget.

Foreign Affairs

[Paul Crête, Bloc, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this government's lack of respect for the rights of young Omar Khadr, who is being held in Guantanamo, is despicable. The Prime Minister's statement that in order to be a child soldier you have to be in a real army is not only ludicrous, but it is also contrary to international law.

Will the government finally bring Omar Khadr ack to Canada, as numerous organizations such as Amnesty International and the Canadian Bar Association are asking?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

The Government of Canada has not changed its position. We have heard about and are well aware of the decisions that the new American president has made. We will continue to closely monitor any progress. We will not speculate on all of the aspects of the decisions that could be made by the American government as it continues its review. We are awaiting the Americans' decision.

[Paul Crête, Bloc, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the new President of the United States, Barack Obama, is going to close Guantanamo. Young Omar Khadr is the only western national being held in that prison. What is more, Canada has ratified the protocol on the rights of children involved in armed conflict. This government is losing credibility and continuing to say that the trial has to run its course, but the proceedings have been suspended.

Omar Khadr must be brought back quickly. What is the government waiting for to bring this young man back to Canada?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Khadr was and is still charged with very serious crimes, including murder, attempted murder, spying and terrorism. The American authorities will be reviewing his case. Clearly, the wisest course of action is to wait for those authorities to make their decision.

Ottawa Transit Strike

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow marks the 50th day of the public transit strike in the city of Ottawa. Students are dropping out of school, cancer patients cannot get to their treatments, and seniors cannot get out to buy their groceries. This is under the authority of the federal government. Ottawa's economy has been badly hit, with almost half a billion dollars in lost economic activity, jobs lost, and businesses closing.

The federal government chose to intervene by forcing a union vote. Do the Conservatives actually have anything further planned to help the parties settle their dispute and bring an end to this transit crisis?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of Labour]

Mr. Speaker, I share the frustrations of the hon. member. I know he is from the Ottawa area and I can assure him that I have heard from his constituents as well. This strike has hurt the people of Ottawa, especially those most vulnerable, such as seniors, students and people who use public transit.

I can assure him that we have been working very closely with both of the parties, urging them to show some compromise and flexibility. We will continue to work through our mediators to try and find a negotiated settlement as quickly as possible.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the government employs tens of thousands of public servants in Ottawa and Gatineau, and these employees are being affected by the OC Transpo strike.

Can the President of the Treasury Board state that he has done everything in his power to mitigate the impact of the strike on these employees? Has he created new, flexible hours of work? Has he authorized more work at home? Has he provided all the additional parking spaces needed, and is he open to other measures if, unfortunately, the strike should continue?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of Labour]

Mr. Speaker, this strike is a very great hardship for the people of the Ottawa area. In particular, I know that the public service and the federal government have allowed people to work from home. I know people are carpooling. People are sharing. In this area people have gone to great lengths to help their neighbours.

I continue to urge both parties to come to a negotiated settlement. I urge them to make sure they show flexibility and compromise in this situation in order to get back to a negotiated settlement as quickly as possible so that we can get buses back on the streets.

The Economy

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised mayors infrastructure money but did not deliver. He promised child care spaces but did not come through. He promised to make fuel-efficient cars more affordable and then reneged. He promised police officers a raise and then took it away. He said he would protect consumers from ATM fees but buckled from pressure from the banks.

When it comes to standing up for people, why should any Canadian have confidence in the government now?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, this is the Prime Minister who promised to bring real accountability and who brought in the Federal Accountability Act. This is the Prime Minister who promised to cut the GST and delivered. This is the Prime Minister who promised choice in child care and delivered. This is the Prime Minister who promised to stand up and protect health care and promised to stand with ordinary Canadians. This is the Prime Minister who is providing leadership to this great country at this time of greatest need.

What we need is for the NDP to read the budget and support our great plans to provide hope to Canada.

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have not forgotten that just nine weeks ago the government was blaming the economic downturn on women seeking pay equity, on civil servants who had the right to strike, and on political financing. It was a partisan and mean-spirited approach and it has been the hallmark of that Prime Minister and his government.

After the contempt he has shown for the poor, for the unemployed and for the most vulnerable in our society, why should any Canadian have confidence that he will help the very people he has spent his political career leaving behind?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, now is the time for all members of Parliament to focus on the economy and on the budget that the Minister of Finance will present in a few hours.

What we ask of the NDP is what we ask of every member of this House: we ask that they read the budget and that they look at the new measures we have put in place, the responsible measures to support employment growth, the responsible measures to encourage infrastructure spending, and the responsible measures to provide some hope that there are opportunities out there in the future.

We are prepared to build Canada. We would like the NDP to join us.

Human Resources and Skills Development

[Dick Harris, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadian workers across the country have been hit hard by job cuts and hiring freezes. Now very many of these Canadians need our help and our support to upgrade their skills so that they can compete in the job market and get the jobs back.

Can the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development please tell us what measures she expects the government to provide to help our Canadian workers?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development]

Mr. Speaker, later today in the budget I expect to see significant investments in skills retraining for those who are eligible for employment insurance and for those who are not. I expect to see targeted support for long-tenured workers and additional resources for apprentices in the skilled trades. I expect to see help for new Canadians so that they can get their credentials recognized and get to work here.

Our government will be there for Canadians who want to work and provide for their families.

Food Safety

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, the listeriosis outbreak had tragic consequences. Twenty people died and confidence in our food system has been undermined, yet the Prime Minister ordered nothing more than a whitewash instead of a comprehensive inquiry. The investigator has no power to compel witnesses to testify, no authority to order documents, and no authority to do an investigation into the minister's office or the PMO.

Why did the Prime Minister break his word? Why is there not a full judicial inquiry into this serious matter?

[Gerry Ritz, Conservative, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, I welcome the member for Malpeque back to the job in opposition as the agriculture critic. I wish him many happy years over there.

Food safety has been and continues to be a number one priority for this government. I know the member opposite puts a lot of credibility in the Toronto Star. Here is what it says:

And it's not clear to us that Canada needs another costly and lengthy forum for lawyers to cross-examine those involved in the outbreak. All indications are that the main players will co-operate.

That says it all.

Employment Insurance

[Yvon Lévesque, Bloc, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the 425 employees of the Domtar plant in Lebel-sur-Quévillon learned that they were losing their jobs and would receive no employment insurance benefits. First they were locked out, and then, finally, Domtar announced last December that the plant would close for good. The legislation does provide for exceptions to the qualifying period, particularly for inmates, but there are no exceptions for employees who are locked out. That is ridiculous.

Will the government support the bill that the Bloc Québécois will be tabling to remedy this situation and give many workers the right to employment insurance benefits?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development]

Mr. Speaker, we know that it is always difficult when someone loses their job. That is why I am expecting changes in the budget this afternoon. I am expecting that there will be increased employment insurance benefits in this budget.

I invite the member to wait for this afternoon's budget and to support us so that we can rebuild the economy together.

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

Mr. Speaker, while increasing numbers of workers are losing their jobs and applying for employment insurance—and in spite of repeated calls for the elimination of the two-week waiting period and improved eligibility and training opportunities—the only reform this government has made has been to steal billions of dollars from the employment insurance fund.

How can workers have any hope that this government will make the changes to employment insurance that are needed to protect the unemployed?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development]

Mr. Speaker, what we want is for everyone here in Canada to be able to work. We do not want workers to be unemployed; we want to help them return to work with new skills. I expect this budget to include help for teaching and for training so that they can work for a long time.

The Economy

[James Rajotte, Conservative, Edmonton—Leduc, AB]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday in the other place the Governor General delivered a focused Speech from the Throne.

I would like to ask the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance how the Speech from the Throne fits into Canada's economic action plan.

[Ted Menzies, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. friend from Edmonton—Leduc not only for all the hard work he has done on committee but also for all the pre-budget consultations he did within his riding and across this country.

Before I answer the question, I would like to clarify a statement that was not exactly correct. I was asked about the number of new jobs. In fact, there have been 807,000 new jobs since this government has been in place.

However, to answer the hon. member's question, the Speech from the Throne leads into an incredibly valuable budget that I would also encourage all members to--

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. member for Parkdale--High Park.

Infrastructure

[Gerard Kennedy, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in its first two years the government failed to deliver over $2 billion in national infrastructure projects that it had promised. The minister did not use it, so municipalities and provinces lost it for good.

Incredibly, the government has sat on billions more from last year's budget, money that is now set to disappear as well.

Can the minister explain this high level of dysfunction and why Canadians should believe anything he says on infrastructure funding, given this truly abysmal record today?