Debates of Feb. 25th, 2009

Automotive Industry

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, we tend to be accountable to this Parliament and to the people of Canada, and that does not change.

I would note for the hon. member that the industry committee met two weeks ago. I met with them for two hours. I received 18 questions from the Liberal MPs on that committee and only one question was on the auto sector.

It appears that the Liberal plan is money for nothing, no terms, no accountability and no conditions. We all know that money for nothing leads to dire straits.

[Mario Silva, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, 2009 is already turning out to be a record and none of them good.

January saw the biggest decline in sales in over 15 years, two-thirds of this in the auto sector, and 100,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost.

In communities across Ontario, auto parts suppliers are closing their doors for good and jobs are being lost.

The new U.S. administration has taken decisive action but the government refuses to act. When will the government speak up for our Canadian workers, show leadership and act now?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, well before the current president was inaugurated, our Prime Minister, along with Dalton McGuinty, the Ontario premier, announced our plans to work with the auto sector in Canada.

In conjunction with the U.S. government, we are working on those plans. We are making sure that our terms and conditions are met because we do not believe in money for nothing, unlike the party on the other side.

National Battlefields Commission

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

Mr. Speaker, on its website, the National Battlefields Commission offers the opportunity, under the guise of an educational activity, for primary school students to enlist as a member of the militia, play war and participate in thrilling military manoeuvres.

Can the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages tell us why the National Battlefields Commission is conducting educational activities in schools, activities which clearly fall under Quebec's jurisdiction?

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

Mr. Speaker, what we want, as everyone does, is for all events surrounding the 250th anniversary to be educational and respectful.

My colleague knows that this afternoon, in about one hour, the President of the National Battlefields Commission will appear before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. My colleague can ask him these questions.

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

Mr. Speaker, in light of the National Battlefield Commission's lack of judgment, would it not be advisable for the minister to remind him that its mandate does not include using children to re-enact wars and the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, as proposed on its website?

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

Mr. Speaker, I will simply repeat that it is important to us that the events commemorating the 250th anniversary be respectful and educational.

André Juneau, chairman of the National Battlefields Commission, will appear before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage this afternoon and my colleague can address his questions to him.

Pay Equity

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in committee, the Canadian Labour Congress came out strongly against the government's approach to pay equity. Far from solving the problem, the proposed program is evidence that the government is trying to rein in the unions rather than help women.

Can the Conservative government at last admit that it is on the wrong track with this? What is it waiting for before passing real, proactive legislation on pay equity as proposed in the report of the pay equity task force?

[Vic Toews, Conservative, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, the first proactive pay equity legislation was introduced in Manitoba in 1986. It was followed by Ontario and Quebec. The member for Toronto Centre had a great deal to do with the implementation of that legislation in Ontario.

We are simply following the recommendations of the Liberal task force in 2004 that said proactive pay equity legislation was needed. Women should not have to wait for 15 or 20 years in order to have their complaints resolved.

We are getting the job done.

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the proposed system includes threatening unions with a fine of $50,000 if they encourage people to file a complaint. As well, it bans individual and class grievances and makes the fundamental right to fair pay negotiable. In short, it is a real mess.

Will the government admit that the bill is aimed far more at weakening unions than at helping women?

[Vic Toews, Conservative, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, employers have a responsibility to ensure that pay equity is implemented in the workforce. Unions have a responsibility. That will be done in a proactive way with two parties cooperating to ensure that women achieve pay equity in the workforce.

This is not just an issue of women's rights. This is an issue of family rights to ensure that families have appropriate income and that people are taken care of properly.

Justice

[Ujjal Dosanjh, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, on the Conservative government's watch, Vancouver has had 18 murders in the last 30 days. The government has not provided the police officers or the prosecutors that it promised, nor has it paid much attention to planned prevention.

Canadians feel less safe today than they did three years ago. Canadians are legitimately angry at the government for not providing them with protection and for not making Canada safer. Why should they not be angry?

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

Mr. Speaker, what the Liberal Party fails to realize is that fighting crime is not a sometime thing, a flavour of the week issue. It is something that needs to be done all the time.

It is like in the recent election when the Liberals spent about two minutes talking about fighting crime. I said then and I will say it again that we need help fighting crime between elections and we never get that from the Liberal Party.

We will be holding the Liberals accountable in the House when we bring in justice legislation and, more important, we will make sure Canadians hold them accountable.

[Hedy Fry, Liberal, Vancouver Centre, BC]

Mr. Speaker, this is not a flavour of the week. For three years the Conservatives have been promising to stop violent gun crime and increase the number of police in metro Vancouver. They failed to do it.

My neighbours are now afraid to leave their homes because of gun violence by gangs in Vancouver. In three years the situation has worsened. Greater Vancouver is in a state of crisis with 18 murders in the last month.

Why did the government fail to protect the people of Vancouver?

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

Mr. Speaker, I hope the hon. member will indicate to her constituents that she and her colleagues voted against our mandatory jail terms for people who commit serious gun crimes.

I am pleased to be in the presence of those born again crime fighters. We will be introducing legislation and we will see if their new-found enthusiasm holds up. I know, according to the Liberal record, that will be very difficult.

I do not think we have any choice but to place the Liberals on probation on this issue.

La Francophonie

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister for La Francophonie may be asleep at the switch once again. Her colleague, the Minister of International Cooperation, has cut off funding for a number of African countries who are our partners within the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie.

What explanation is the Minister for La Francophonie going to give to our colleagues in Rwanda, Niger, Burkina Faso, Benin and all the other countries now excluded from priority bilateral aid from Canada?

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Minister of International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, as I have indicated, we have in fact increased our support for the Francophonie. The Francophonie receives 20% of all of CIDA's aid.

Also, for the African countries, we are doubling our aid to Africa. In fact, at this particular time 62% of our food aid goes to African countries, almost 45% of our total aid budget goes to African countries, and 55% of our agricultural support goes to African countries.

We are responding to the needs of Africa and the Francophonie.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, what we want to know is what role the Minister for La Francophonie played? Was she consulted when those four countries were struck from the list? Did she give her blessing to the abandonment of all those African countries with which we have a special relationship through La Francophonie?

I would hate to think she was asleep at the switch while her colleague was giving the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie a slap in the face. Where was the minister?

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Minister of International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, a responsible government takes into consideration all of the responsibilities that the Government of Canada has. We took into consideration our responsibilities not only to those in need but our responsibilities to the Francophonie, to Commonwealth countries, and to other donor partners that we have around the world. We work as one voice and one government.

Status of Women

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar, SK]

Mr. Speaker, this government has consistently demonstrated its commitment to women. The Prime Minister appointed the largest percentage of women to cabinet in the history of Canada. He appointed the first minister of state solely responsible for the Status of Women.

This morning the Minister of State for the Status of Women made an exciting announcement. Could the minister please tell the House about the work she is continuing to do for women?

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for her work on this important file.

Next week is International Women's Week, culminating in International Women's Day on March 8. This year's poster theme, which we unveiled today, is “Strong Leadership. Strong Women. Strong World: Equality”. It clearly underscores our government's record on supporting and protecting women.

With Status of Women funding at its highest level, support for Sisters in Spirit, an end to house arrest for violent sexual crimes, our government is committed to the full participation of women in the economic, social and democratic life of Canada.

I encourage all members to come together to celebrate and recognize the enormous contributions of all women.

Industry

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, a Belgian brewer sold Labatt's U.S. division to an American buyer. As part of the deal, Labatt will not be allowed to export its Canadian-made beer to the United States, which represents 20% of the company's market.

Labatt was once a jewel in our economic crown. Now this takeover by foreign interests will end in the loss of Canadian jobs.

Considering how little respect some foreign owners have for jobs here in Canada, why did the Conservatives use their budget to make this kind of takeover easier?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, we always review these kinds of requests for takeover with a net benefit to Canada test. I would be happy to look into the matter. I was not in charge at that particular moment, but I can tell the hon. member that through the changes we are pursuing via the budget implementation act, we will continue to make sure that Canada's national security and national interests are well protected.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Labatt is already speaking job cuts and plant closures, a direct result of a foreign takeover. Another example is Xstrata in Sudbury, where despite a government agreement to keep jobs for three years, 700 families are now out of work.

In the Conservative budget bill, thanks to the support of the spineless Liberals, the Conservatives have made it even easier for foreign companies to take over Canadian gems and export jobs, because they are weakening the Canadian Investment Act.

If the Canadian government does not care about our own workers and will not lift a finger to protect their jobs, why should a foreign owner?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, as I said, there are protections that are contained in the budget implementation bill that are still there for us to review certain transactions and to defend national security, but I want to make a larger point.

The larger point is that we on this side of the House believe that Canada, in order to survive and thrive, must be open for investment, must be open for new jobs and new opportunities, not only from indigenous businesses but also the ones from overseas who want to invest in Canada, invest in jobs, and invest in opportunity.

That is why we are the government for investment, for the fact that we can grow jobs and opportunity, and why those members sit in the opposition.