Debates of Oct. 26th, 2009

Health

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, probably the greatest confusion is with regard to the situation of pregnant women. They are told the unadjuvanted form of the vaccine is best but that if that form is unavailable, if the infection rate is rising in their community, and if the pregnancy is over 20 weeks, then the adjuvanted form will be okay. It is no wonder they are worried.

When are women going to get sufficient reassurance? Why is there not enough of the right vaccine for all pregnant women in Canada right now, not next week, not next month, but right now?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, while the opposition was busy fearmongering in preparation for today's question period, our health minister was announcing to Canadians, and to pregnant women in particular, that they will have access to that vaccine, that it will be available because of the extraordinary efforts that she and her department have made.

That is what we are doing. We are not fearmongering. We are acting to protect the health and safety of Canadians.

Government advertising

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives' propaganda campaign has cost at least $100 million in borrowed money. That $100 million could have paid for 50 MRI machines, 34,000 hip, knee or cataract surgeries, and 14,200 insulin pumps for children with diabetes.

With such long waiting lists, how can the Prime Minister justify this incredible waste?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, we have shown responsibility as mandated by the House to report back to Canadians on our economic action plan, and we are doing just that.

When it came to health care we had a choice. We could have followed the example of the previous Liberal government and cut health care by $25 billion, which led to hospital closures and substantial reductions in services, or we could take a different path, the path that the Prime Minister has taken, showing an unprecedented commitment to public health care, something that was absent in the previous Liberal government.

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

So says the minister, Mr. Speaker, who fired 8,500 nurses in Ontario. That is a bit rich.

What is most obscene is that the $100 million propaganda campaign is being paid for with borrowed money. Let us continue: $100 million buys 1,000 affordable housing units; salaries for 1,700 public health nurses to fight H1N1 for a year; 50,000 doses of chemotherapy drugs at a time when Canadians with cancer are suffering while they are on waiting lists.

In the face of so many needs, why is the Prime Minister obsessed with self-promotion? Why is greed put before need and politics before people?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I regret the tone of the member opposite.

We are working tremendously hard on creating jobs and opportunities. We are working hard on tax reductions. We are working hard on putting credit into families and small businesses in every corner of the country. We are working hard with the government of Ontario and provinces from coast to coast to coast to ensure that infrastructure projects are rolled out. We are focused on jobs. We are focused on the economy.

All we have seen from our friends in the Liberal Party has been the push for an early and unnecessary election in September and now more political games. That is regrettable.

Federal Bridge Corporation

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister declared that Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated was independent. Yet, it is the government that appoints the members of the board of directors of the Federal Bridge Corporation who, in turn, appoint the directors of Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated which, in turn, awards contracts to BPR, a corporation that employed Senator Housakos.

Can the Prime Minister explain how Jacques Cartier and the Champlain Bridges Incorporated is truly independent?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, as is the case with many boards of directors, they are autonomous. They operate autonomously. More to the point, if the Leader of the Bloc Québécois would like to make a formal complaint, he knows exactly what he must do and where he should go.

I would like to point out in the meantime that Senator Housakos has asked the Senate Ethics Officer to shed light on this issue. If the Leader of the Bloc has anything to say or to reveal, I invite him to do so.

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Raymond Brunet, the owner of a construction company and a generous contributor to the party, is a director of the Federal Bridge Corporation. Serge Martel, who has had ties to the Conservative Party and the Canadian Alliance since 2001, is on the board of directors of Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated. Paul Kefalas is also a member of that board and, together with Mr. Martel, attended the fundraising cocktail party organized by Senator Housakos.

Does this not prove that there is a system that appoints friends to key positions so they can award contracts to companies such as BPR, where Senator Housakos worked?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, once again, we have the desperate Bloc Québécois leader constantly making unfounded accusations. He is attacking the reputation of certain people.

Did these people comply with legal provisions pertaining to political party funding? You will remember that this side of the House has put in place the strictest measures ever implemented by a government. Once again I invite the Bloc to file a formal complaint if it has one.

[Mario Laframboise, Bloc, Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we will see who ends up looking desperate.

If we dig a little, we discover that not only was one of the directors, Raymond Brunet, a construction company owner, appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, but he also contributed to the minister's election fund. Neutral and impartial? I think not.

Does the minister acknowledge that Raymond Brunet's appointment to the board of the Federal Bridge Corporation was not mere happenstance and that it proves a system exists to reward Conservative cronies?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, if the member had taken a moment to look at Mr. Brunet's resumé, he would know that Mr. Brunet is a past president of Engineers Canada. He brings tremendous knowledge and extensive professional experience to the position and carries out his responsibilities honestly and ethically. Once again, if the Bloc members wish to lay accusations, let them reveal their information.

[Mario Laframboise, Bloc, Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have another example for the minister. Serge Martel, a Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated board member, donated $250 at a Conservative Party fundraising cocktail party. As it happens, he also worked on the merger between the Canadian Alliance and the Conservative Party.

Does the minister deny that all of these appointments are starting to look suspiciously like a system?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, if I understand the hon. member correctly, the individual in question donated $250, thus violating some rule somehow. I invite the member to review the political party financing legislation and then tell us whether or not these people complied with the provisions therein. These people obeyed the law to the letter.

Pensions

[Jack Layton, NDP, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to pensions, the government is now floating some trial balloons, but when we take a closer look at them, it turns out what it is proposing to do is to give pension fund managers more money to manage and more fees to earn. A public option would be better. Besides that, seniors actually need help right now, as the NDP has been proposing.

Of course, the government members would know that if they were not so busy watching Fox News and consulting with the financiers on Bay Street.

What about consulting with the workers and the pensioners? When will they be consulted in this process?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, we are actually consulting with the facts. Indeed, the hon. member should know that most pension plans are provincially regulated. Only 10% of them are federally regulated.

Having said that, my hon. colleague, the Minister of Finance, has been dealing with this with cross-Canada consultations, just as he demanded. They have been working to address these issues in our federally regulated areas, and indeed there will be a summit of federal, provincial and territorial ministers of finance.

[Jack Layton, NDP, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, you will have to excuse us, as I am sure you will, for being a little skeptical about the government's willingness to consult broadly, because it certainly has not happened to date.

Last week, pensioners from Nortel--

[Disturbance in gallery]

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order. We will start again with the second question of the hon. member for Toronto—Danforth.

[Jack Layton, NDP, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as I was saying, we have to be a little skeptical about this so-called consultation on pensions, because last week, pensioners from Nortel, including disabled employees and lots of people who are really suffering, were here on the Hill. I was there. The leader of the Bloc Québécois was there. The Liberals showed up on the pension issues a little late, but they were there nonetheless. I do not think a single Conservative member came down to meet or have a discussion with the Nortel pensioners.

Are the Conservatives so indifferent to the financial crisis being faced by so many seniors in our country today that they will not even meet with them, they will not even talk with them or have a public discussion with them?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Not at all, Mr. Speaker. Indeed, members on the government side have met with constituents who happen to be Nortel pensioners. Our chief government whip had similar meetings earlier last week and the week before.

Those very same people who have the right to dissent and to demonstrate here on Parliament Hill were, two weeks before that, on the lawn of Queen's Park in front of the Ontario legislature, which incidentally is a good place to be, because their pension is registered with the provincial government, as are 90% of the pensions in this country.

[Jack Layton, NDP, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP has done its homework on pensions. Our critic consulted and met with the key players. Our ideas are simple, effective, and can be quickly implemented.

Is the government prepared to increase the guaranteed income supplement, strengthen public pension systems to double benefits, create a facility that can adopt orphaned pension plans, and create a pension insurance? These are all things that the federal government can and must do.

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, as I said, more than 90% of those pensions fall under provincial and territorial jurisdiction, but we have held consultations all over the country, and it is important that something be done in the future.

However, his own member, the member for Sackville—Eastern Shore, just yesterday was saying that he gave the parliamentary secretary and the Minister of Finance credit that he has gone across the country to talk about the issue. That is what the member for Sackville—Eastern Shore said. We agree with him. We have done that. More than that, we will act.

Government Advertising

[Martha Hall Findlay, Liberal, Willowdale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, three weeks ago I wrote a letter on behalf of all Canadians to the members of the Treasury Board noting that the government's advertising is breaking several laws: the Financial Administration Act; the Conflict of Interest Act, which is part of the Federal Accountability Act; the Conflict of Interest Code; and the party financing provisions of Elections Canada.

Three weeks ago I asked them to stop. I have had no response, no acknowledgement. When can Canadians expect an answer?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, we have been working very hard on rolling out the economic action plan. We have an important responsibility to Canadians to report back. That was spoken of by the member opposite.

I like the member for Willowdale. I enjoy her interventions in this place. I wanted to ask her a question. Would she tell me whether it would be appropriate or inappropriate for a certain Liberal leadership candidate to use her MP office to raise funds for her leadership campaign? Would she think that would be appropriate?

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!