Debates of March 30th, 2009

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

[Todd Russell, Liberal, Labrador, NL]

Mr. Speaker, under the Mulroney Conservatives, places like Goose Bay lost their local CBC television stations. This year we see dramatic cutbacks to the CBC in Labrador and in regions across Canada. Labrador has taken a 40% cut.

Just like 19 years ago, a Conservative government has failed to support the public broadcaster and recognize the important work of CBC in rural and northern communities and it has failed to support regions that need this mirror to themselves and to other Canadians.

Why is the Conservative government letting the CBC die from a thousand cuts?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal member has elected to go back in time, so let us do that. Let us take a walk back through time.

Let us go back to 1993 and the Liberal red book where the Liberals promised they would make no cuts to the CBC and that they would commit to stable funding. Now let us look at what they did over the next four years: $414 million in cuts made by the Liberal Party to the CBC and 4,000 jobs lost.

Remarkably, it was during a similar period of time that they were running the sponsorship program. Almost the same amount of money that was cut from the CBC they took for themselves, a remarkable strategy.

International Trade

[Johanne Deschamps, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of International Trade has completely ignored the strictest recommendations found in the report on the national roundtables on corporate social responsibility in the extractive sector, namely, the establishment of mandatory standards and an ombudsman office to deal with complaints against offending firms.

How can the minister believe that he will be taken seriously when he has announced that he will introduce very strict measures but that their implementation will be voluntary?

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway]

Mr. Speaker, we take this matter seriously. That is why I announced concrete measures for companies in the foreign extractive sector last week. We have created the office of extractive sector corporate social responsibility counsellor. We will support a centre of excellence as well as provide assistance to countries deciding on the future of their mining sector.

Public Safety

[Bill Siksay, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Transportation Safety Board has reported on the pipeline accident that occurred in Burnaby in July 2007. A construction project severed a pipeline releasing hundreds of cubic metres of crude oil over homes and into Burrard Inlet. The TSB found that the key causes of this accident were that 52-year-old pipeline location maps were inaccurate and that project communications were inadequate.

How will public safety be ensured? Will a new survey of the pipeline location in Burnaby be required and then updated regularly?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I know all members of the House were very concerned with the rupture of the pipeline. I had the opportunity to tour with the member the devastation that was caused to a small part of Burnaby and into Burrard Inlet. We will take a look at everything in the TSB's report to ensure we can act in the public interest, whether that involves any number of departments within our government.

Oral Questions

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we have been noticing a new trend from the Conservatives and that is when they do not have the answer to a question that is put to them in the House they launch into a personal attack.

Today, in question period, the Minister of Industry, in reply to a question from the leader of the NDP, the member for Toronto—Danforth, stated that the member had somehow in the past called for the banning of cars in Toronto. This is not true. The member for Toronto—Danforth has never advocated that position. Moreover, that minister has, on previous occasions, raised the same issue and brought forward information in the House that was completely not true.

I would ask the Minister of Industry to acknowledge that this was not based on any information but that it was a personal attack. I would ask him to withdraw his comment and apologize to the member for Toronto—Danforth for bringing forward completely erroneous information.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

I have no doubt that the hon. member for Vancouver East is raising a point of debate. Sometimes it does happen that members misrepresent the statements of other hon. members in this House. Today would not have been the first time that happened. It does sometimes happen.

Sometimes it is genuine misquoting because somebody has printed something that is inaccurate and the member who is stating the other member's position is relying on this document which is inaccurate. There are all kinds of explanations that could be tendered.

I am sure the Minister of Industry will look at the statement the hon. member for Vancouver East has raised but in my view it is a matter of debate rather than a point of order.

As hon. members are aware, the Speaker does not really adjudicate on whether statements are accurate or not. We try to ensure statements are parliamentary and arguments about facts are not normally unparliamentary unless the language that is used is personally offensive to the other hon. member. I am not sure anything I heard today on that point was offensive. There may have been some other comments but I will not go into those now.

We will see if hear from the Minister of Industry but otherwise I think this is a matter of debate.

International Monetary Fund

[Deepak Obhrai, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, under the provisions of Standing Order 32(2) I have the pleasure to table, in both official languages, the treaty entitled, the “Proposed Amendment of the Articles of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund to Enhance Voice and Participation in the International Monetary Fund”, and the “Proposed Amendment of the Articles of the Agreement of the International Monetary Fund to Expand the Investment Authority of the International Monetary Fund”. An explanatory memorandum is included with the treaties.

Nuclear Energy Treaty

[Deepak Obhrai, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, under the provisions of Standing Order 32(2) I have the pleasure to table, in both official languages, the treaty entitled, the “Agreement Between the Government of Canada and the Government of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan for Co-operation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy”, done at Amman on February 17, 2009. An explanatory memorandum is included with the treaty.

Government Response to Petitions

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

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36.8 I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to one petition.

Interparliamentary Delegations

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake, MB]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian parliamentary delegation of the Canadian section of the Inter-Parliamentary Forum of the Americas, FIPA, respecting its participation to the congress towards a gender sensitive legislative agenda for development in the Americas held in Bogota, Colombia from November 19 to 22, 2008, and to the 18th meeting of the executive committee of the Inter-Parliamentary Forum of the Americas held in Miami, United States of America from December 17 to 19, 2008.

Terminator Seeds Ban Act

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

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-353, An Act to prohibit the release, sale, importation and use of seeds incorporating or altered by variety-genetic use restriction technologies (V-GURTs), also called “terminator technologies”, and to make a consequential amendment to another Act.

Mr. Speaker, this private member's bill is an act to prohibit the release, sale, importation and use of seeds incorporating what we call “terminator technology”. It is designed to protect the rights of Canadian farmers to save seeds by banning the release, sale, importation, and use of this variety-genetic use restriction technology.

It is time to make a commitment to our farmers and the international community that terminator seeds will not be allowed to take root in Canada.

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

Nowruz Day

[Bryon Wilfert, Liberal, Richmond Hill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties and I think you will find unanimous consent for the following motion. I move:

That, in the opinion of the House, each year, the vernal equinox (first day of spring) shall be designated as “Nowruz Day”.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Does the hon. member have the unanimous consent of the House to propose this motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The House has heard the terms of the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

(Motion agreed to)

Business of the House

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, simply a point of clarification to the government. With respect to the special debate that has been scheduled this evening having to do with a motion to concur in the fourth report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development with respect to the situation of the Baha'i in Iran, the motion that was adopted on Friday afternoon says that there will be no quorum calls, dilatory motions and request for unanimous consent during the course of that debate, which we all agree with, but for the sake of clarity, I take it that the motion would not preclude any member participating in the discussion in splitting their time with another member as long as they stay within the same overall time allotment.

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

Mr. Speaker, the hon. opposition House leader is quite correct. That was not clarified at the time, but we have no difficulty with any member splitting their time within the allotted 20 minute time period for each speech.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

I read the Journals this morning. I was not here when this happened on Friday, but I believe that at the very end of the motion adopted, at least the one in the Journals on Friday, it says something about members being able to split their time. That is my recollection of it, but I only read it an hour ago, I might have forgotten it.

Presentation of petitions, the hon. member for Mississauga South.

Income Trusts

[Paul Szabo, Liberal, Mississauga South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present another petition on income trusts. The petitioners remember 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, but he recklessly broke that promise by imposing a 31.5% punitive tax which permanently wiped out $25 billion of the hard-earned retirement savings of over two million Canadians, particularly seniors.

The petitioners call upon the government: first, 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 third, to repeal the punitive 31.5% tax on income trusts.

Animal Welfare

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, York West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table a petition today on behalf of the Canadian Coalition for Farm Animals. The petitioners feel that the regulations for animal transportation are outdated and they call on the government to strengthen animal transportation regulations contained in the Health of Animals Act.

Volunteerism

[Peter Braid, Conservative, Kitchener—Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present two petitions today on behalf of my constituents. Both have been certified by the clerk of petitions. They are both on the same subject and they propose to introduce a new volunteer service medal to be known as the “Governor General's Volunteer Medal” to acknowledge and recognize volunteerism by Canadian troops.