Debates of Feb. 27th, 2009

Poultry Rejection Program

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, I have the honour of tabling correspondence and documents regarding the poultry rejection program.

These documents prove that despite what the member for Malpeque has repeatedly stated in the House, the poultry rejection program did indeed begin under the previous Liberal government in 2004.

The documents include a letter to the chicken farmers of Canada, dated May 17, 2004, that discusses the origins of the project, a letter to the provincial veterinarian association--

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order, please. The hon. parliamentary secretary is rising on tabling of documents, not statements. He is making a statement. I can see he has documents, but he is supposed to table them, not make a statement. This is what I am trying to suggest to the parliamentary secretary, so perhaps he would get on with the tabling promptly.

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I was just about to list the other documents contained here. I will take me but a moment.

There is a letter on the CFIA letterhead, which is dated April 5, 2005, and an internal CFIA memo, dated April 11, 2005, which refers to the next steps forward for the project. I am also tabling three recent internal reports on the project, as well as a timeline summarizing the poultry rejection projection program.

It is all right here, Mr. Speaker.

Controlled Drugs and Substances Act

[Jay Hill, Conservative, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-15, An Act to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act

[Dick Harris, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-329, An Act to change the name of the electoral district of Cariboo--Prince George.

Mr. Speaker, my riding of Cariboo--Prince George is located in the beautiful central interior British Columbia. The current riding name, Cariboo--Prince George, reflects the vibrant city of Prince George, which holds a growing population of 72,000 and is the hub for trade and travel in all four directions outward from that city.

Mentioned in my riding name also is the Cariboo region. The Cariboo region, once called the land of dreams and instant riches because of the famed gold rush days, has an unmatched rugged beauty. It hosts towering coastal mountains, valleys, ranges and pristine rivers that attract tourists of all stripes from all around the globe to its unique splendour.

Still, there is something missing. There is a vital part of my riding that the current name fails to recognize, and that is the Nechako Valley, with the mighty Nechako River running through it, which has shaped much of riding. The Nechako Valley indeed has been there longer than the communities--

[The Acting Speaker, NDP, Denise Savoie]

The introduction is simply meant to be an introduction to the bill.

I would ask that we now move on.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[Dick Harris, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. If the House gives its consent, following the introduction of my bill to change the name of my riding, I would like to move that notwithstanding any standing order or usual practice of the House that Bill C-329, An Act to change the name of the electoral district of Cariboo--Prince George be deemed read a second time and referred to a committee of the whole, deemed considered in committee of the whole, deemed reported without amendment, deemed concurred at the report stage and deemed read a third time and passed.

[The Acting Speaker, NDP, Denise Savoie]

Does the hon. member have unanimous consent?

[Some hon. members]

No.

Animal Cruelty

[Alex Atamanenko, NDP, British Columbia Southern Interior, BC]

Madam Speaker, I present a petition. There is a scientific consensus and public acknowledgment that animals can feel pain and that all efforts should be made to prevent animal cruelty. A billion people around the world rely on animals for their livelihood. Animals are significantly affected by natural disasters and yet are seldom considered during relief efforts and emergency planning. 0ver 100 folks in my riding have signed this petition to ask the Government of Canada to support the universal declaration on animal welfare.

Employment Insurance

[Todd Russell, Liberal, Labrador, NL]

Madam Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, and as certified by the Clerk of Petitions, I have two petitions to table.

First, I rise to present a petition calling for changes to employment insurance, including the elimination of the two-week waiting period and an increase in benefits to 50 weeks. This petition is signed by a large number of my constituents in Port Hope Simpson, Charlottetown and Pinsent's Arm on the south coast of Labrador.

These individuals understand that the EI changes are necessary to help them and their families cope with the economic downturn and the lack of employment opportunities. They petition the government for this help.

Atlantic Groundfish Licence Retirement Program

[Todd Russell, Liberal, Labrador, NL]

Madam Speaker, I have here a petition signed by a large number of my constituents from Red Bay and Forteau in the Labrador Straits and from Charlottetown on the south coast. Their petition concerns the unfair differential tax treatment of those taxpayers who received lump sum payments under the Atlantic groundfish licence retirement program. This is a long-standing issue, and the petitioners call for a full review by the Minister of National Revenue, with a view toward ensuring fair and equitable treatment for all those affected by this tax interpretation mistake.

This petition affects some 800 fishers in Newfoundland and Labrador and 50 in Quebec and, sadly, some of them have passed away.

Coalition Government

[Ted Menzies, Conservative, Macleod, AB]

Madam Speaker, I rise today to present a petition on behalf of my constituents of Macleod. The petition states that Canadians voted on October 14, 2008, which resulted in a strengthened mandate for a Conservative minority government. However, the unelected Liberal-NDP-separatist coalition would like to overturn the results of that democratic vote and choose their own prime minister through an unseemly and undemocratic backroom deal.

The signatories of this petition clearly oppose any political arrangement that would replace the democratically elected Conservative government without first consulting Canadians in an open and democratic election. On behalf of my constituents, I am honoured to present this petition.

Asbestos

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Madam Speaker, I have a petition here signed by literally thousands of Canadians who call the attention of the House of Commons to the fact that asbestos is the greatest industrial killer that the world has ever known, that more Canadians die from asbestos than all other industrial causes combined, and yet Canada continues to be the second or third largest producer and exporter of asbestos in the world.

Therefore, these many thousands of Canadians are calling upon Parliament to ban asbestos in all of its forms, institute a just transition program for the asbestos workers, and end all government subsidies of asbestos in both Canada and abroad. They call it corporate welfare for corporate serial killers and they are opposed to it. They are calling on us to stop blocking international health and safety conventions, such as the Rotterdam convention, that are designed to protect workers from asbestos.

Coalition Government

[Earl Dreeshen, Conservative, Red Deer, AB]

Madam Speaker, I rise today to present a petition signed by 190 people of my riding of Red Deer, Alberta. The petitioners believe that, with the recent federal election results, Canadians provided the present government with a clear and strengthened mandate. They also believe that Canadians have the democratic right to choose who will govern them. Therefore, the petitioners call upon Parliament to oppose any political arrangement that would replace Her Majesty's democratically elected government.

Income Trusts

[Paul Szabo, Liberal, Mississauga South, ON]

Madam Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36 and as certified by the clerk of petitions, I am pleased to present, yet another, what I think is about the 100th petition related to the broken income trust promise. It was forwarded to me by a Mr. Armstrong from Peterborough, Ontario, who remembers the Prime Minister boasting about his apparent commitment to accountability when he said that the greatest fraud is a promise not kept.

The petitioners remind the Prime Minister that he promised never to tax income trusts. He recklessly broke that promise and imposed a 31.5% punitive tax, which permanently wiped out over $25 billion of the hard-earned retirement savings of over 2 million Canadians, particularly seniors.

Therefore, the petitioners call upon the Conservative minority government to admit that the decision to tax income trusts was based on flawed methodology and incorrect assumptions; second, to apologize to those who were unfairly harmed by this broken promise; and finally, to repeal the punitive 31.5% tax on income trusts.

Human Trafficking

[Joy Smith, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Madam Speaker, today I would like to present to the House seven petitions that have come from all across our nation, signed by people who are asking Parliament to be very vigilant and stop the human trafficking crime that is occurring here on our Canadian soil.

Questions on the Order Paper

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Madam Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.

[The Acting Speaker, NDP, Denise Savoie]

Is it agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

The House resumed consideration of Bill C-10, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on January 27, 2009 and related fiscal measures, as reported (without amendment) from the committee, and of the motions in Group No. 1.

Budget Implementation Act, 2009

[The Acting Speaker, NDP, Denise Savoie]

We are on questions and comments, the hon. member for Scarborough—Guildwood.

[John McKay, Liberal, Scarborough—Guildwood, ON]

Madam Speaker, I would be interested in the hon. member's comments with respect to the curious spectacle of the Prime Minister yesterday responding to reporters by saying that unless the opposition gives him $3 billion to play with as he sees fit, without parliamentary scrutiny, we will all go to an election.

That was preceded the previous day by an equally curious comment by the Minister of Finance to the effect that the government is going to make some mistakes, it is likely that a few million dollars might go missing here or there, and that we should not expect too high a standard of the government in getting this stimulus package out.

I would be interested in the hon. member's comments, given those two statements in sequence, and the juxtaposition of those statements as to whether he thinks that the government has actually learned anything about a minority government in the last few weeks and months.

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his very good question. I would like to answer it with a focus on the Prime Minister's alleged reputation as a strategic genius.

I think all members of the House would agree that that reputation took a huge hit last November with his ill-fated November statement. I think that yesterday too, with the super-aggressive behaviour, it took another hit.

I would not ask colleagues to believe me, necessarily. I will just read a very brief comment by Strategic Counsel pollster Peter Donolo in The Globe and Mail today. He says:

I don't think you should be threatening an election when you're dropping in the polls. It's difficult for a combative politician to always mind his Ps and Qs...[but] sometimes they can't help themselves.

That is an independent pollster on our brilliant tactician, our Prime Minister. That is a good message for the government.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Madam Speaker, is this, by chance, the same Peter Donolo, key Liberal strategist, pollster and communications genius who, just last week, released a poll showing that the Green Party sits at 26% in Quebec? Is it that same Peter Donolo?