Debates of April 3rd, 2009

Arts and Culture

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, at a time when the cultural community faces an uncertain future, Robert Lepage expressed his disappointment yesterday at the Rideau Hall ceremony where he received the Governor General's Performing Arts Award. He said, “I assume that I am receiving this honour because my work has been seen internationally. This is a perfect time to make such a gesture, because the government is jeopardizing assistance for artists who want to tour internationally.”

Once more, artists are condemning this government's lack of vision. Will the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages restore funding for artists who tour abroad, or will he continue to ignore them?

[Shelly Glover, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary for Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the opposition member.

I am surprised to hear that question from the Bloc Québécois. Look at the Bloc Québécois members. Their voting says it all. They voted against an 8% increase in arts and culture funding. They also recently voted against our 2009 budget, which contained a further 10% increase. Our government is standing up for artists, the arts and culture, and we will continue to do so at home and abroad.

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this morning we learned that Accent, the part-time language assistant program, has been abolished. This program helped people in minority communities learn and improve their knowledge of French. Just last year, 390 young people became part-time assistants. This program was working well, was appreciated by both the young people and parents, and had the advantage of costing just $2.6 million.

Why is this government making these cuts on the sly, with no transparency?

[Shelly Glover, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary for Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to explain that there has been no decrease in funding for education. The Council of Ministers of Education, Canada is adjusting these language exchange programs to maximize results. In the past five years, applications for Accent, the part-time language assistant program, have dropped by 35%. However, Odyssey, the full-time language assistant program, will be maintained.

Our government is firm. Our commitment to official languages is firm.

Aboriginal Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, today the new Australian government reversed the old Howard government's position and adopted the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Shamefully, Canada remains only one of three countries who oppose this declaration. While Australia continues to improve its relations with its aboriginal peoples, the Conservative government continues to undermine them.

When will the government follow Australia's lead and endorse the UN declaration?

[John Duncan, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, the government takes our international commitments seriously and we are not prepared to sign on to this non-binding document because it is inconsistent with our Constitution, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the National Defence Act, Supreme Court rulings, policies under which we negotiate treaties, and does not account for third party interests.

This declaration does not balance the rights of all Canadians. Canada is a world leader on this issue and one of the few nations which provides for constitutionally entrenched aboriginal rights.

This government believes in delivering real results.

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

Mr. Speaker, dozens of human rights experts around the country disagree with the government, yet it continues to flaunt it.

The government purports to stand for the rights of indigenous peoples. However, the Conservatives continue to impose their own agenda on them.

If the Conservatives choose to consult, they refuse to listen. If they did listen, they would know that aboriginal groups are against their matrimonial real property legislation.

When will they listen? When will they hear? When will the Conservative government respond to the unanimous call of Canada's indigenous peoples and endorse this UN declaration?

[John Duncan, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, advocates like that say that the declaration is straightforward and unambiguous. It is clearly not. Four nations initially voted against it, 11 more refused to support it, and 35 states were absent from the vote. I might add that the Liberal administration before ours refused to sign the document as well.

There are more than 50 countries that share our concerns. The declaration in its current form lends itself to many different interpretations. We will stick to delivering--

[The Speaker, Peter Milliken]

The hon. member for Sault Ste. Marie.

Service Canada

[Tony Martin, NDP, Sault Ste. Marie, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in Sault Ste. Marie people are waiting in long lineups to get assistance from Service Canada and it is only going to get worse. On June 1 passports will be necessary to enter the United States and Sault Ste. Marie is a border community. In Sault Ste. Marie, Service Canada is the passport office.

With the recession settling in and hundreds of people losing their jobs in my community, when is the government going to hire more people for its Sault Ste. Marie Service Canada office?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to assure my hon. colleague that Passport Canada has opened a new processing plant. It has expanded regional offices and I assume his office as well. It has nearly doubled the size of its workforce since 2006 and expanded its network to 230 points of service, compared with only 30 under the previous Liberal government.

Industry

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Xstrata and Vale Inco signed agreements with the government when Inco took over Falconbridge. Under those agreements, jobs were guaranteed for several more months, but the workers were laid off anyway.

The Minister of Industry had said he would review the agreements, but the workers are still waiting. On February 23, 2009, we asked for access to that agreement, but our request was denied.

What is the minister trying to hide? Why is he abandoning the workers?

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

Mr. Speaker, of course the hon. member knows that under section 36 of the Investment Canada Act, the minister is not at liberty to go into further detail regarding that issue.

The member might not know that before the budget was voted on in this house, a member of his own party said “Every single important piece that people in the community were looking for is mentioned”. It was the NDP member for Hamilton Mountain who said that.

I would ask the hon. member why would he vote against a budget that contained every single important piece that people in the community were looking for?

Infrastructure

[Candice Bergen, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, this morning Canada's transport and infrastructure minister made a significant announcement that will provide additional assistance for municipal infrastructure in all corners of the country. Could the parliamentary secretary to Canada's transport minister please inform the chamber of this important announcement?

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hard-working member for the best question of the week. Indeed it is the best question because we have the best answer and the best news for Canadians.

This morning out on the front lawn on Parliament Hill, Canada's transport and infrastructure minister actually announced that as of Wednesday, April 1 this government doubled--that is right, it doubled--the federal gas tax transfer to municipalities from $1 billion to $2 billion. This money is going to Canadians. Also, we will be accelerating the payment schedule. We are moving up the first transfer from July to April this year. That is right, it will be three months earlier, in order to do a better job for Canadians.

Air Canada

[Francis Scarpaleggia, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when Air Canada restructured under credit protection in 2004, ACE Aviation Holdings was created to sell off Air Canada's business assets. To do their part, Air Canada employees agreed to allow the company to postpone repayment of its pension liabilities. Air Canada's pension plan is now nearly $4 billion in deficit, with funding obligations of $462 million for 2009.

Having sold off the profitable divisions of Air Canada, ACE is now looking to distribute over $400 million to shareholders, but it has no plans to shore up the Air Canada pension plan.

When is the government going to act to protect Air Canada pensioners and workers?

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the member is a little late because we are already working on this file very diligently. The government is very concerned about the recent Air Canada situation, and we are watching it very closely. In fact, one of the issues raised is the pension plan.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance, the member for Macleod, is working on this file. We should expect to hear something shortly, so pay attention. We will get the job done as we get every job done for Canadians.

International Cooperation

[Meili Faille, Bloc, Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the National Assembly of Quebec passed a unanimous motion yesterday in support of francophone Africa, calling for a review of the list of priority countries for CIDA’s bilateral aid, considering the privileged relations Quebec has with francophone Africa and the importance of the Francophonie in Quebec's international policy.

Given the consensus reached by the Quebec National Assembly, and considering the submissions made by the Government of Quebec to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, does the Minister of International Cooperation intend to review the decision and support francophone countries in Africa?

[Jim Abbott, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada believes that it is very important to focus our foreign aid, which is what we have done in this program. I have had the opportunity to speak to no less than nine of the countries that have been affected. I know the minister has also spoken to them. They understand what we are doing and why we are doing it, and every one of them is in support of what we are doing.

China

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the previous government consistently failed to raise human rights with China and placed almost exclusive priority on trade issues. The current government got off on the wrong foot by failing to establish a respectful and positive relationship with that important nation. Indeed, the Prime Minister has yet either to visit China or to invite President Hu to Canada.

We heard that the Minister of International Trade is set to travel to China imminently. Will he commit to raise the issue of respect for human rights in China, and work to establish a productive but principled relationship with that important country?

[Gerald Keddy, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, we always have a respectful relationship with our trading partners. It is also important to mention that we are in the process of opening six new trade offices in China, in six Chinese provinces, and expanded resources in other cities.

The hon. member would like to distort the facts. He would like to say that our international companies and corporations do not respect human rights or the environment. Nothing is further from the truth.

We also recognize that China is our third largest trading partner. We absolutely plan to continue to work in a respectful manner with it.

The Economy

[Dean Allison, Conservative, Niagara West—Glanbrook, ON]

Mr. Speaker, our government is taking action on the economy by working with the provinces to accelerate infrastructure spending to create jobs and to improve our communities. Just yesterday, a big announcement was made at the University of Manitoba.

Could the minister from Winnipeg please explain more about the investments our government is making, through the building Canada fund, at the University of Manitoba?

[Steven Fletcher, Conservative, Minister of State (Democratic Reform)]

Mr. Speaker, all Manitobans, including students, faculty, staff and athletes, will benefit from a major investment in the sports facilities at the University of Manitoba. This is a $35 million project with the province of Manitoba and this government to ensure there are necessary upgrades to sporting facilities and new sporting facilities at the university.

This is part of our $12 billion stimulus that will help all Canadians.

Toronto Port Authority

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

Mr. Speaker, it was revealed that the Minister of Natural Resources had some exaggerated expenses when she was CEO of the Toronto Port Authority. On top of her $200,000 annual salary and benefits, she spent another $80,000 in travel and hospitality. In response to these expenses, the port authority had to change and clarify its rules, but the Tory-appointed chairman of the port authority would not reveal how these rules were clarified.

This is a public institution. Why the secrecy? What is the government trying to hide?

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

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, this is very typical of the low and partisan attacks by the Liberal Party. It is well-known and well-documented that all expenses incurred by the former president of the Toronto Port Authority were well within hospitality guidelines. In fact, the board of the port authority had said that all the expenses followed correct procedures and guidelines. The audit committee said the same thing.

Quite frankly, I find it troubling that the members opposite would take an issue such as this to try and smear the reputation of a hard-working minister.