Debates of Feb. 13th, 2009

The Environment

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. I know it is Friday but we need to hear the hon. member. The hon. parliamentary secretary to the Minister of the Environment.

[Mark Warawa, Conservative, Langley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the fact is, now we have turned the corner and those dark years are over. We have the toughest targets in Canadian history: 20% absolute reductions by 2020.

However, the question still rings within this Parliament, the question from the leader of the Liberal Party, which is why did they not get it done.

Culture

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the $25 million earmarked in the budget for the Canada prizes for the arts merely serves to satisfy friends of the minister who, without consulting anyone, tried to suggest that they had a project of which the artistic community unanimously approved. However, we now know that this project is neither desired by nor desirable for the cultural community.

Will the minister do the only sensible, intelligent thing given the number of objections and abandon this project once and for all?

[Dean Del Mastro, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's economic action plan, budget 2009, established record funding for the arts. One of the things we really wanted to do was to create an award that would recognize excellence in the arts, like the awards we created for health and sciences.

This will be an outstanding celebration of arts and culture right here in Canada. It will be a tremendous legacy coming out of this particular economic action plan.

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this government does not respect the cultural community. What is needed are real programs that meet artists' needs and can help them promote our culture abroad. That is what all stakeholders in the cultural community are asking for.

The question is simple: will he finally listen to reason and create real programs to promote our culture abroad?

[Dean Del Mastro, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I am not quite sure who the Bloc member is listening to but I do know that the Bloc voted against $530 million worth of investment into arts and culture through the economic action plan.

I will read what The Globe and Mail had to say about the new awards. It stated:

It's a visionary notion.

To seed such an enterprise in the midst of a worldwide recession is so bold as to be virtually unheard-of.

This is about giving a jolt of entrepreneurial energy to the arts, about putting young artists in a borderless world on centre stage, and with them, Canada, as a country that is open to world culture, and cares about the arts and artists.

Artists should be thrilled. This is their moment.

International Trade

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

Mr. Speaker, even though the U.S. Senate toned down the Buy American Act to bring it into line with the trade agreements that are in place, this is not enough. It will still be possible to exclude steel from Quebec and Canada from nearly all the infrastructure projects supported by the Obama administration.

Will the government take advantage of President Obama's visit to Canada next week to obtain the assurance that the steel industry in Quebec and Canada will not be hit with any prohibitions?

[Gerald Keddy, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, we have been in very close contact with our American colleagues over the buy American act. We are very satisfied with the changes that have been made to it. We will continue to monitor this very closely to ensure we end up with an act that does not discriminate against Canada.

Foreign Affairs

[Jean Dorion, Bloc, Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions took effect on March 18, 2007. Pressed by Quebec, Canada signed this convention, along with 95 other countries.

Since the United States still has not signed the convention, will the Prime Minister put this item on the agenda for his meeting with President Obama, in order to convince him to sign this convention?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I am always interested in the questions the Bloc asks about language, culture and the promotion and expression of Canadian culture. I would like to remind my hon. colleague, however, that it was this government that gave Quebec a seat at UNESCO.

Arts and Culture

[Lise Zarac, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when asked yesterday about the Canada Prizes for the Arts and Creativity, the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages said, “in this budget we will create prizes for Canadian artists”.

That is quite a flip-flop. We had understood that these prizes were meant for foreign artists. Just to be perfectly clear, are the Conservatives saying that the Canada Prizes for the Arts and Creativity will be awarded to Canadian artists?

[Dean Del Mastro, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, what we seek to do is create an international competition that awards excellence. It will create a centre of excellence right here in Canada. The world will be watching and we will be promoting artists from right here in Canada on the brightest stage in the world, created by this measure that is spun out of this economic action plan. It is a great victory for arts and culture in Canada. We are very proud of it.

[Lise Zarac, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian prizes for the arts were created on page 175 of the budget, which reads:

The Canada Prizes for the Arts...will bring the world’s best new artists...to Canada....

Nowhere is it mentioned that these prizes will be awarded to Canadian artists. Did the minister change his mind? Will those prizes reward Canadian artists or foreign artists, or has the minister misled the House?

[Dean Del Mastro, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I will speak a little slower. The awards will recognize excellence in the arts. It will be a very bright stage on which Canadian artists will have the opportunity to compete against the best in the world. We will create a centre of excellence right here in Canada.

It is a huge victory for arts and culture in Canada, a celebration of arts and culture in a borderless world where our artists want the opportunity to compete and to share their talent with the rest of the world. This is a great story.

Public Safety

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax—Pickering, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in June 2008, the public safety committee called for tighter restrictions on the use of tasers. For eight months, the government and the commissioner ignored the recommendations saying that “tasers are here to stay”.

Yesterday, we saw an about face. Suddenly, not only is there a new policy, but we were told that it was there all along and that they had just kept it a secret. This came as a shock, not just to the public but to RCMP officers themselves. Last night, they denied any changes were made.

How could the minister allow such confusion and mismanage a matter this critical to public safety?

[Dave MacKenzie, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, the member was present when the commissioner explained that the policy had changed as a result of the standing committee's recommendations. I do not know what the surprise to him is that he would think that it would only change because he asked the question.

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax—Pickering, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there is a disconnect between what the commissioner said and what RCMP officers, who actually hold the tasers and make the decision, said.

Further, yesterday in committee the commissioner said that tasers can take lives, that there have been 11 deaths related to tasers in Canada. Later in the day he said not so.

Yesterday the minister and commissioner said there is a new policy that was secretly implemented. Then later the same day the rank and file officers say that no real changes were made. The staggering mismanagement of the government puts civilian and RCMP lives at risk.

When will the government implement the committee's recommendations and get on with the work?

[Dave MacKenzie, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, when the member opposite uses half-truths and tries to indicate that they are the truth, he should really go back and review the evidence that was presented before the committee and what the commissioner had to say. He indicated that the tasers had been used a number of times, there had been deaths, but they have never been attributed to the taser.

Public Opinion Research

[Dave Van Kesteren, Conservative, Chatham-Kent—Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, our Conservative government has always been committed to the responsible use of taxpayers' money while ensuring that we meet the needs of the constituents that we serve.

On Tuesday, the Minister of Public Works and Government Services released an annual report on public opinion research. While the government has a duty to better understand the needs, priorities and expectations of Canadians, there was a clear need to control spending in this area.

Could the parliamentary secretary inform the House on the POR spending?

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services and to the Minister of National Revenue]

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

This government made a commitment to spend wisely and according to the priorities of Canadians. This also speaks to our commitment to ensure openness and transparency.

In February 2008, our government announced the implementation of spending controls. I am pleased to inform the House that the value of public opinion research contracts awarded in 2007-08 was $6.6 million lower than the preceding year, a 21% reduction.

Once again, we are keeping our promise to manage public funds responsibly.

Ethics

[Joe Comartin, NDP, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last week Canadians were surprised to learn that the lawsuit involving serious allegations of bribery offers to the late MP, Chuck Cadman, had been suddenly withdrawn with no answer.

According to an expert hired by the Conservatives, journalist Tom Zytaruk was falsely accused of tampering with the audiotape record of his interview with the Prime Minister. Despite this, the government continues to claim Mr. Zytaruk tampered with the tape.

Would the government today either provide evidence that Mr. Zytaruk doctored the tape or apologize to him immediately?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we need not provide that evidence because it was already provided in court. It was proven that the tape was doctored, but happily the issue has been resolved now. There has been a settlement and we are very pleased with that settlement.

[Joe Comartin, NDP, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

It is not over for Mr. Zytaruk. The member just maligned him again, Mr. Speaker.

I am going to suggest to the parliamentary secretary that he leave the House after question period and repeat that statement, so Mr. Zytaruk can sue him for maligning his reputation.

Will he do that or not?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I have said before and will say again that the matter is settled.

Air Canada

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

Mr. Speaker, the dismantling of ACE Aviation, the parent company of Air Canada and Aveos, does not respect the spirit of the Air Canada Public Participation Act regarding maintaining overhaul centres in Montreal, Winnipeg and Toronto.

What will the government do to ensure that ACE and its corporations comply with this act?