Debates of Feb. 24th, 2009

Arts and Culture

[Carole Lavallée, Bloc, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, eliminating the PromArt and Trade Routes assistance programs has really hurt artists who tour abroad. Had it not been for the support of an Italian producer, the La La La Human Steps dance company would not have been able to travel to Italy. Broadcasters abroad are very concerned that our artists may no longer be able to fulfill their commitments, because the Conservative government cut its funding.

Will the minister realize that artists have an urgent need for these programs, and will he restore funding?

[James Moore, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, this Conservative government is spending more money on arts and culture than any government in Canadian history, and we are doing so proudly. This year we are spending $22 million to help artists present their excellence on the international scene, more money than any government before in Canadian history.

Of course, the Bloc Québécois has voted against us. What those members want us to do is to re-establish a very specific program called Trade Routes. This was a program that had a $7 million budget, but it cost $5 million to deliver two million dollars' worth of benefits. That is a level of ineffectiveness and inefficiency that is not tolerable to Canadian taxpayers. We support our artists and we support them on the international scene, but we do not support waste.

International Cooperation

[Glen Pearson, Liberal, London North Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, since yesterday, many of our international development partners have expressed confusion and a bit of surprise at the announcement by the government about the re-prioritizing of foreign aid recipients. The announcement came with no explanation or debate of the criteria by which these countries were either added or dropped. Countries such as Sri Lanka and East Congo were not on that list.

My question is a sincere one. I ask the Minister of International Cooperation, how could she bring about a decision that could have such a profound effect on the bottom billion in the world, without including many of the diplomatic groups and foreign aid groups that are meant to--

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. Minister of International Cooperation.

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Minister of International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated, our responsibility is to meet the greatest needs around the world and to do it in the most effective way. Consequently, our bilateral programs will be focused. As the Liberal foreign affairs critic, the member for Toronto Centre, has indicated, the idea of focus is always good.

The other needs are being met through multilateral organizations and our support for NGOs, and we will continue to do that.

Focusing our bilateral programs means that we will deliver more value and have--

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. member for Laval—Les Îles.

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of International Cooperation chose to abandon Francophonie countries, most of which are in Africa.

Why did the Minister for La Francophonie not intervene to continue to provide assistance to Burkina Faso, for example, which, according to Human Development Reports, ranks amongst the last countries in the world in terms of human development?

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Minister of International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, Canada hosted the most recent Sommet de la Francophonie, where our government reiterated its commitment to support the economic, social and cultural development of the Francophonie. At present, 20% of CIDA's aid budget goes to the Francophonie.

Public Safety

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, no one should be afraid to walk in our cities and live in our communities, but this is the case today in too many Lower Mainland neighbourhoods. While police last night taped off another Vancouver street, Conservatives continued to play politics instead of introducing effective measures.

New Democrats are willing to get to work on a comprehensive anti-gang plan that diverts high risk youth away from gangs, invests in witness protection programs and ensures that prosecutors have the tools they need to put criminals behind bars.

When are we going to see a comprehensive plan from the government to combat gang violence?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I am really pleased to see interest finally from the opposition benches on fighting crime in this country. I guess this is proof that miracles can happen. I certainly welcome any input from the individual. We will be coming forward, as we have in the past, with our tough on crime agenda.

I hope to get the cooperation of the NDP members. It does not mean that we will get into a coalition with them, but I certainly look forward to their support.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, again we see the minister use this tragic issue to make partisan attacks, and his facts are incorrect.

Let me quote what the minister said on March 22, 2007. The minister said, “Mandatory minimum sentences is something that was supported by ourselves and the NDP”.

We do not need more false accusations. We need action and leadership. What is in place now is not keeping our communities safe.

Will the minister put aside his partisan talking points, work with us and table a coherent and comprehensive anti-gang strategy?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, the individual is new to this issue and he is certainly new to the House and I can appreciate that.

We had little enough cooperation across a whole host of tough on crime agenda items in the last Parliament. I accept the hon. member's offer if the NDP members will keep an open mind and help us to get our legislative agenda passed. We certainly look forward to that and I hope to certainly get more cooperation and support than we have in the past.

Canadian Arab Federation

[Jeff Watson, Conservative, Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Arab Federation recently circulated videos from banned terrorist organizations, such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad, called Israel a “racist state”, and attacked a member of the House because of his wife's involvement in the Jewish community.

The Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism has said that extreme groups like CAF should not expect to receive taxpayer subsidies, but the Liberal Party appears to disagree. The Liberal member of Parliament for Willowdale has said that taxpayers should fund extreme groups like CAF.

What is the government's position on whether such groups should receive taxpayer support?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Minister of Citizenship]

Mr. Speaker, it is disturbing to see groups like that promote intolerance, hatred and extremism.

We are of the view that the Government of Canada should take a zero tolerance approach to organizations that make excuses for terrorism, for violence, for hatred and for anti-Semitism. I very much regret to have seen two Liberal MPs defend government funding for organizations like this.

From our point of view, these groups do not deserve and have no right to taxpayers' dollars to promote their kind of extremism.

Status of Women

[Anita Neville, Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, when the Minister of State for the Status of Women appeared before the committee, she was unable to answer the urgent questions of concern to women today. On employment insurance, she indicated she was not the lead minister; on pay equity, again she was not the lead minister; on child care, once again she was not the lead minister.

Other than carrying what she calls “a little big stick”, can she tell the women of Canada and the House if she is indeed the lead on any issue of concern to the women of this country?

[Helena Guergis, Conservative, Minister of State (Status of Women)]

Mr. Speaker, let me say that this government takes equality very seriously. Not only have we increased the amount of funding for Status of Women Canada by 42%, but we also have seen an increase in the number of organizations across the country by 69% that are now receiving funding. Forty-one per cent in fact are new organizations.

What one recipient recently had to say about the positive changes this government has made for women was that its project had been pending for nearly a decade and without the financial support from the current government, “the project would still be sitting on my desk”.

Shawinigan Tax Centre

[Jean-Yves Laforest, Bloc, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Mr. Speaker, a year ago, I asked the Minister of National Revenue a question about the employees at the Shawinigan tax centre, who were having incredible delays with their pay.

Since compensation services were centralized in Ottawa 15 months ago, close to 1,000 Quebec employees of Revenue Canada are still having problems, according to the union representative.

Will the minister finally admit that the decision to centralize these services was not only inefficient but led to job losses in a region already suffering high unemployment?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question.

The Canada Revenue Agency is working with community stakeholders to resolve this problem.

Mining Industry

[Glenn Thibeault, NDP, Sudbury, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Xstrata and its workers have come to an agreement that will get them through the next 16 weeks. While this is encouraging news for mining families in Sudbury, it still falls seven weeks short of the three year deal that the Conservative government signed with Xstrata. The minister said yesterday that he has already done all he can do. No, he has not.

Has the minister given up on the people of Sudbury, or will he live up to his own obligations and provide support for the seven week gap for Xstrata workers?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, we are as disappointed in these layoffs as the member is.

We know that Xstrata obviously is facing some tough times. We worked with Xstrata rather than take it to court, which is what the NDP would love to do. We worked with the company and got an extra $290 million of investment in the legal books for Sudbury. We are working on behalf of Sudbury and the workers in the future. Three hundred jobs were saved by that.

I am proud of our record. I am going to keep working for Sudbury, even though the member is interested in paying off lawyers.

Infrastructure

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last week our Prime Minister and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty made a historic announcement in the greater Toronto area.

Could the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities tell the House how this investment will help the people in Mississauga and the greater Toronto area?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, every day more than 200,000 Canadians rely on the important services provided by GO Transit to get to work. Last week our Prime Minister, together with my good friend Premier Dalton McGuinty, announced that we will upgrade and revitalize GO Transit infrastructure.

Supporting public transit is good for our economy. It is good for the environment. And it is so good in these difficult times that our Prime Minister is providing great leadership working in cooperation with my premier.

Coast Guard

[Gerry Byrne, Liberal, Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte, NL]

Mr. Speaker, to the officers and crew of the Leonard J. Cowley who bravely and professionally saved 22 lives on a Spanish fishing vessel 300 miles at sea, the pride of our nation is with them today.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

[Gerry Byrne, Liberal, Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte, NL]

Before the applause subsides and the support no longer is there, could the government please explain why it broke its promise and cancelled the building of 12 new Coast Guard patrol vessels, so essential to the men and women who serve? The Auditor General, the Coast Guard itself, and the Canadian maritime industry say that safety is being compromised. Why were these 12 vessels cancelled?