House of Commons Hansard #107 of the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was vaccine.
Bernard Bigras Bloc Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of the Environment is continuing to hide his head in the sand by trying to defend the indefensible. Yet for the second time in as many days, Canada has received the “fossil of the day” award at the Barcelona conference on climate change for being the best country at blocking progress on negotiations.
How can the minister claim that his approach is best when 400 environmental groups are condemning Canada's role in sabotaging the Barcelona talks?
Jim Prentice ConservativeMinister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, Canada's position has been clear for a long time. Any international agreement on carbon emissions will have to apply to all the major emitters. To achieve that goal, Canada has invited some very well-known and highly respected negotiators to represent it at the table. We are not the opposition boy scouts. We are taking serious action.
Bernard Bigras Bloc Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC
Mr. Speaker, Canada trails behind all other western countries. That is a fact. According to the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Canada's foot-dragging could come at a high cost.
Is the minister aware that his inaction means additional costs not only for Canada, but also for Quebec, which has made an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?
Why is Quebec being made to pay a second time in order to give the oil companies in the west a break? Is this an equitable plan for Canada?
Jim Prentice ConservativeMinister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, the Copenhagen negotiations are the toughest international environmental negotiations that this country has ever been involved in. To protect Canada's interests, we have engaged negotiators who are able, who are tough at the table, and who are very capable.
If tough, able negotiators are going to win fossil awards, then so be it. However, I will tell members one thing this government will not do. We will not negotiate from a position of weakness the way the Liberals did. We will not be the boy scouts at the table.
Thierry St-Cyr Bloc Jeanne-Le Ber, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism has totally twisted the meaning of the letter from the Government of Quebec. In the letter, the Quebec government condemned the fact that the cost of last resort assistance offered by Quebec has doubled since 2006-07. In fact, the Government of Quebec has to help more refugees for a longer period of time because the federal system is inadequate.
As a result, Quebec is doubly penalized. Fewer tourists are coming to visit and supporting refugees costs more.
Will the minister admit that the Government of Quebec never demanded that visas be imposed, contrary to what he said yesterday?
Jason Kenney ConservativeMinister of Citizenship
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Quebec has asked me many times to act responsibly with respect to the increased requests for asylum in Quebec.
In 2008, Quebec received close to 6,000 asylum seekers from Mexico and 90% were bogus claims, according to the IRB. This is costing Quebeckers $171 million.
This government is taking action to defend the interests of Quebec taxpayers. Why does the Bloc not do the same?
Thierry St-Cyr Bloc Jeanne-Le Ber, QC
Mr. Speaker, you have to admit there is a difference between responsible action and extremist action.
Yesterday, the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism accused me of defending special interest groups. However, I was merely echoing the words of four Quebec ministers who, in a letter dated July 24, were complaining about the negative impact of the minister's decision on Quebec's tourism.
Why does the minister show so much contempt for the elected members of the Quebec nation by describing them as special interest groups?
Jason Kenney ConservativeMinister of Citizenship
Mr. Speaker, it is lunacy to have an hon. member here who claims to represent the interests of Quebec taxpayers, but wants to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on bogus asylum seekers, primarily from Mexico, who have settled in Quebec.
This government is taking action to protect the interests of Quebec taxpayers and the integrity of Canada's asylum and immigration system against the will of the Bloc Québécois.
Dominic LeBlanc Liberal Beauséjour, NB
Mr. Speaker, to be properly protected against H1N1, Canadians have to be vaccinated before the peak period of the pandemic arrives. That means this month.
However, the government says it will not have all the necessary vaccines until Christmas, and will even miss its own target by 40% next week. Canadians need the vaccine in their arms, not in their Christmas stockings.
Can anybody on the other side of the House credibly say that Canadians will be vaccinated before the peak period of this pandemic by the end of this month?
Leona Aglukkaq ConservativeMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, we are early in the rollout of the vaccine. Six million vaccines have been distributed. An additional 1.8 million vaccines and 225,000 unadjuvanted vaccines for pregnant women have all been rolled out to the provinces and territories.
The provinces and territories have been vaccinating their populations since October 26. They will continue to do that until every Canadian receives the vaccine. We are ahead of schedule, and we will continue to distribute the vaccines to the provinces and territories.
Dominic LeBlanc Liberal Beauséjour, NB
Mr. Speaker, for all Canadians to be vaccinated before the worst of the season hits, one million people a day will have to be vaccinated for three weeks.
Even if we follow the schedule to have all vaccinations completed by Christmas, we will have to vaccinate half a million Canadians every day.
Since delays are preventing many Canadians from getting vaccinated now, how can the government seriously claim that these two scenarios are even possible?
Leona Aglukkaq ConservativeMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, based on the Chief Public Health Officer of this country, the Government of Canada and the provinces and territories established a sequencing guideline for the H1N1 vaccine, recognizing the fact that in nine days it was impossible to vaccinate 33 million Canadians.
This is why both levels of government agreed to develop a sequencing guideline to be used to focus on the most vulnerable for the first week of the vaccine rollout. We will continue to work with the provinces and territories for the next few weeks and roll out the vaccine in the provinces as it is produced.
Joe Volpe Liberal Eglinton—Lawrence, ON
Mr. Speaker, 19.5 million Canadian tax dollars were allocated in September to renovate a dozen VIA Rail cars and to create 51 jobs in the process. Companies in Quebec and New Brunswick can do the work, but the contract went to Avalon Rail in Wisconsin, U.S.A. No Canadian economic stimulus, no Canadian jobs.
Will the Minister of Transport be hammering one of his billboards in front of the factory in Milwaukee and delivering the cheque himself, or does the Conservatives' giant cheque printer not make cheques in American dollars?
Rob Merrifield ConservativeMinister of State (Transport)
Mr. Speaker, when it comes to crown corporations, the government works at arm's-length from VIA Rail. As long as the rules are abided by, and that is the thing that we get concerned about, we make sure that everything is done above board and fair.
In this case, there were a multiple number of bidders on this contract and everything was done according to the rules, as long as they were clear and open. We are not a government that believes in protectionism. That is a road to disaster that is advocated by the opposition. It is not a road to success.
Marlene Jennings Liberal Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC
Mr. Speaker, Industrial Rail Services in Moncton, and CAD Railway Industries in Montreal also submitted bids to VIA Rail that were equally competitive. Avalon Rail has no plant in Canada, but VIA Rail, with a green light from the Conservatives, awarded it the $19.5 million contract.
Why will the money allocated to VIA Rail to create Canadian jobs be used instead to create 51 American jobs?
Rob Merrifield ConservativeMinister of State (Transport)
Mr. Speaker, that is pretty rich from a party which in government contracted out RCMP contracts to the United States to Disneyland. That is very rich.
Protectionism is not a recipe for success in the 21st century. We are a government that believes in open trade and freer trade in North America. That is what we are going to do. We are going to make sure that we secure jobs for Canadians as we have opportunities in other markets as well. That is where we need to go in this country.
Steven Blaney Conservative Lévis—Bellechasse, QC
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, Conservative members from Quebec rose to support employed and unemployed workers in Quebec. Not only did the Bloc members remain seated, but they also voted against the bill.
Why is the Bloc Québécois abandoning employed and unemployed workers in Quebec? Can the Minister of National Revenue explain the Bloc's ideological and doctrinaire behaviour when the time comes to help employed and unemployed workers in Quebec, and to deliver the goods?
Jean-Pierre Blackburn ConservativeMinister of National Revenue and Minister of State (Agriculture)
Mr. Speaker, in fact, if the Bloc leader and his party wanted to be positive in the House, instead of always criticizing, they would see that our government and the Conservatives are implementing good measures for unemployed workers, for those people who are losing their jobs.
Yesterday we voted, and fortunately, with the support of the NDP, we were able to pass the bill to help long-tenured workers by giving them an additional five to twenty weeks of benefits.
What is worse is that the member for Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, who comes from a region hit hard by unemployment, where the forestry industry is struggling, was not even able to support the unemployed. That is unbelievable.
Thomas Mulcair NDP Outremont, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives' hypocrisy has no bounds. They promised to make a clean sweep and to put an end to the practices that resulted in the Liberal sponsorship scandal. However, as reported yesterday in Le Devoir, they too are spending millions of taxpayers' dollars on partisan advertising. Today, ruefrontenac.com, the paper put out by the locked out workers of the Journal de Montréal, reported that they are actually forcing the provinces and municipalities to pay for this Conservative advertising.
When will they clean up their own mess rather than lecturing others?
John Baird ConservativeMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, during this global economic crisis, we have been working very well with the provinces, territories and municipalities in every part of Canada. It is our responsibility to be accountable and transparent with respect to our investments. That is why we must ensure that Canadians are aware of our investments. We work well, on a non-partisan basis, with every other level of government. We are very proud of that.
Thomas Mulcair NDP Outremont, QC
Mr. Speaker, four years ago today the Prime Minister promised that if elected, he would do things differently from the sleazy Liberals. No more patronage appointments—
Thomas Mulcair NDP Outremont, QC
Mr. Speaker, four years ago today the Prime Minister promised that if elected, he would do things differently than the sleazy Liberals. No more patronage appointments; the Conservatives have made over 1,000. A parliamentary budget officer; they are trying to starve him. No more cronyism; dozens of Conservative lobbyists, thousands of contracts. No more Senate stuffing; 1-800-Mike Duffy. All that they have changed is that we now have the Conservative logo on the same old Liberal sleaze.
When are they going to start cleaning up their own house instead of giving lessons to others?
John Baird ConservativeMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, some four years ago the Prime Minister promised to eliminate the influence of big money on politics. Done. The Prime Minister promised to eliminate corporate cash from the political process and political candidates. Done. The Prime Minister promised to eliminate the capacity of unions to fund political parties. Done. The Prime Minister promised the most significant overhaul of lobbyist reform ever in Canadian history. Done.
This Prime Minister and this government are providing one of the most ethical governments in our history. They have done more to reform the government than any government in our history and they are awfully proud of it.
