Debates of March 6th, 2009

Softwood Lumber

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Mr. Speaker, another softwood lumber decision requires Canada to pay $68 million. Canada's hands are tied by the anti-circumvention clause of this bad agreement. What forest company in Quebec or any other province is going to be able to export its products with a 10% surtax? The Bloc Québécois and the Liberal Party realize now that they made a huge mistake in supporting this agreement, which is a sellout.

Will the government also come to that realization and pay the forest industry $68 million for its mistake?

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas)]

Mr. Speaker, we are still in favour of the softwood lumber agreement, which put an end to a longstanding dispute. The agreement provides stable conditions for the forest industry.

It has allowed the reimbursement $4.5 billion to the softwood forest industry.

This agreement has the support of the provinces and of Canadian industry.

[John Rafferty, NDP, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

Mr. Speaker, that response is just the latest disappointment for the hundreds of thousands of working families dependent on the forestry industry.

Forestry has been in a 10 year downturn. It has seen 45,000 job losses in every province of the country. Five hundred more layoffs were announced just this week in Nova Scotia.

The Conservative government is overseeing the slow death of the forestry industry in Canada.

My question is simple and spoken most respectfully. Will the minister convene a national forestry summit to help our forest industries and forestry-dependent communities build a more secure future?

[David Anderson, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, there is not a family or an individual who has lost a job with whom we do not sympathize.

The measures we have taken support ordinary people across the country. The forestry sector measures are targeted toward those ordinary folks and toward the communities that are hard hit by the downturn.

That is one reason why we put in place a $1 billion community adjustment fund to try to deal with some of those pressures.

Mining Industry

[Tilly O'Neill-Gordon, Conservative, Miramichi, NB]

Mr. Speaker, mining companies from around the world are gathered in Toronto this week to discuss the state of the global mining industry and how companies can continue to remain competitive in this period of global economic uncertainty.

In the lead-up to the budget, Canadian mining companies asked the government for a competitive investment climate and access to credit.

Could the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources tell us what steps our government has taken to support Canada's mining industry to ensure that Canada remains the world leader in mining and mineral exploration?

[David Anderson, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Miramichi for her hard work on the mining file. It is a critical industry, especially in my province of Saskatchewan, which has now become the mining leader in Canada.

In Canada's economic action plan our government extended the mineral exploration tax credit. This week The Province newspaper reported:

Canada remains the world's most popular headquarters for junior miners, thanks to incentives such as flow-through shares that let tax deductions for exploration be passed on to the investor.

It is due to the hard work of this government and the member for Miramichi that Canada will remain a global mining giant.

Status of Women

[Ruby Dhalla, Liberal, Brampton—Springdale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as the country celebrates International Women's Day, the women of Canada do not have much to celebrate. This week when I spoke at the U.N. conference, women were asking why Canada had been silent on the issues that matter to women: equality, the court challenges program, child care and international aid. Even Canadian Grandmothers for Africa are here today demanding results.

Why have the Conservatives failed to show leadership and take action on the priorities that are important to the women of Canada?

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary for Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, to appreciate our government's commitment to women, members need look no further than our caucus. This government has demonstrated its commitment to elect more women to Parliament. In recent elections, Canadians have elected many more women from all parties. In addition, 69% of the members of cabinet are women, the highest percentage ever. We also have a minister who has specific responsibility for the status of women and enjoys the respect of our Conservative caucus.

University Research

[Nicolas Dufour, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government attacked artists in the last election campaign. Now, it is going after researchers by giving funding priority to research in the area of business and thus neglecting all other social sciences.

Does the government realize that students, professors, and university presidents are joined by the entire sector in opposing the Conservatives who are throwing a cloak of darkness over university research?

[Mike Lake, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, I answered almost this exact same question last week. Our government has increased funding for scholarships at the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council by 50%, $75 million.

During the budget consultations, stakeholders said that they wanted more scholarships, and we delivered more scholarships. One of the areas that they mentioned was underrepresented was in the area scholarships for business students, and we have done that.

Canada graduate scholarships will continue to fund social science and humanities studies and will also support business and finance research.

Airline Industry

[Jim Maloway, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, Ryanair president, Michael O'Leary wants passengers to pay for the right to use bathrooms aboard his planes. He is asking Boeing to reconfigure its fleet to install a mechanism for a credit card reader.

We know these are tough economic times, but to charge people to use a washroom during a flight is just ridiculous. Are airlines not gouging passengers enough with fuel surcharges and airport taxes? What about those thousands of passengers who do not have credit cards? Are they supposed to wear diapers? Could this issue become a health risk?

Will the government support a passengers' bill of rights to ensure that this kind of nonsense does not happen here?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, that would depend.

Health

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Mr. Speaker, this March is nutrition month. Nutrition in a balanced diet is a critical component to a healthy lifestyle. Proper nutrition aids in health promotion and illness prevention.

Would the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health share with the House what our Conservative government is doing to promote nutrition and healthy eating in Canada?

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for her commitment to a healthy and a balanced lifestyle. I am proud to say that our government is taking strong action when it comes to promoting nutrition and healthy living. Canada's food guide has been one of the most trusted sources of information for over 65 years. The guide is available in 12 languages and a tailored version was developed for first nations, Inuit and Métis.

In July 2008 we released the updated booklet and a web-based version of the nutrient value of some common foods. As well, Health Canada has shown leadership in improving the nutritional quality of foods through the trans fat task force, the trans fat monitoring program and the sodium working group.

Public Safety

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

Mr. Speaker, three years ago, Justice O'Connor made recommendations on the critical need for independent oversight of the RCMP in the wake of the Arar affair.

The government ignored these recommendations, even after being echoed by the RCMP Public Complaints Commissioner, the Senate anti-terrorism committee and in the RCMP pension scandal.

In committee yesterday, a Conservative MP broke a year of silence by calling those responsible for oversight “paper pushers”. After three years of inaction, after doing nothing, perhaps we finally have a reason why.

Are those charged with the oversight of our intelligence activities just paper pushers to the government?

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

Mr. Speaker, the committee has only begun to hear witnesses on this particular issue.

The government takes very seriously those recommendations, a number of which have been implemented, and we do respect and appreciate the work of all of those bodies.

Foreign Affairs

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, official documents indicate that because of CSIS' recommendation, a Canadian citizen went to prison in Sudan, a country known for torture and ill-treatment of its prisoners. Meanwhile, CSIS believes that it acted in a manner consistent with Canadian law and policy.

Could the government confirm if rendition of a Canadian citizen to Sudan is consistent with Canadian law?

This is not about a court case. This is about Canadian policy. Therefore, I do not want an answer from the parliamentary secretary about a court case.

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

Mr. Speaker, I presume my hon. colleague is talking about Mr. Abdelrazik.

We continue to provide Mr. Abdelrazik with counsel assistance. However, I would like to advise my hon. colleague that Mr. Abdelrazik is on the UN international no-fly list.

Canadian Forces

[Robert Bouchard, Bloc, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in 2006 the Prime Minister promised to establish four air expeditionary wings in Canada. Since then, several announcements have been made concerning additional military personnel, but nothing has materialized. One month ago, the minister responsible for Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean told Le Quotidien that, by the end of 2009, 125 soldiers would arrive in Bagotville.

Can the Minister of National Defence confirm that 125 new soldiers will really, this time, be assigned to the Bagotville base by the end of 2009?

[Laurie Hawn, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence]

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

Canada's armed forces are constantly looking at ways to enhance their ability to deliver the goods to Canada through bases, such as Bagotville, and through the use of the reserves in all parts of the country. We are continuing to evaluate that.

Any commitment made will be followed through on, and any announcement that is made will be in the best interests of the Canadian Forces and, ultimately, of the Canadian people who are the customers of the Canadian Forces.

Health

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last week, President Obama's budget signaled support to open up the cross-border medicine trade.

In the last session, the government refused to support my private member's bill, Bill C-378, to protect the Canadian pharmaceutical supply from being bulk exported south of the border.

What is the Minister of Health doing to protect Canada's drug supply to ensure that we do not become the U.S. discount drug store?

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, we continue to monitor the U.S. developments. I can advise the House that we are a long way from a successful U.S. drug import bill.

If future situations warrant action, I assure the hon. member that we will take a balanced approach to this issue to protect Canadians' health, while also respecting our international trade obligations.

Interparliamentary Delegations

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

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1) I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the following reports of the Canadian delegation of the Canada-United States interparliamentary group respecting its participation at the 32nd Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers held in Bar Harbor, Maine, September 15-17, 2008.

Procedure and House Affairs

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Orders 104 and 114 and pursuant to order made Wednesday, March 4, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the ninth report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs regarding the membership of committees in the House.

If the House gives its consent, I move that the ninth report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs be concurred in.

(Motion agreed to)

International Aid

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I stand today to table a petition from one of the most successful petition efforts in the history of this country.

The petition calls upon the government to do three important things: to immediately set a timetable by 2015 to meet its obligation to the 0.7% gross national income development goal; to contribute a fair share to the global fund for AIDS and TB; and to make legislative changes necessary for Canada's access to medicines regimes.

This is an effort of the grandmother project. I am delighted that representatives are here today in Ottawa. Members will see, from the petitions in my hand, their effort and Canadians to bring this message to our government. It is now incumbent upon our government to take this message and take action.