Debates of May 13th, 2009

The Environment

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, although those are very pretty words, the reality is that the greatest threat--

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order, please. The Minister of Natural Resources has the floor.

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Halton, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Contrary to what the Liberals like to think on the other side of the House, the reality is the greatest threat to Canada's ability to be clean and green in the future is the fact that for 10 years they did nothing.

The Economy

[Jean-Yves Laforest, Bloc, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Mr. Speaker, international banks promised to buy back the non-bank commercial paper they had issued, in the event of a general market disruption. Fernand Perreault, former president and CEO of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, said that his organization had asked the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions repeatedly to declare such a disruption in order to force banks to respect their commitments, but to no avail.

How can the Minister of Finance explain that the Superintendent of Financial Institutions sat back and did nothing to help that organization recover the $13 billion invested in commercial paper?

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure of the facts of the situation that the member opposite is describing. If he is referring to the fact that the Caisse de dépôt in Quebec had some unfortunate investments in asset-backed commercial paper, that is regrettable and it is taking the loss that followed on those investments.

[Jean-Yves Laforest, Bloc, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we are simply saying that the superintendent should have responded to the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, which he did not do.

Furthermore, in October 2007, the former Quebec finance minister, Monique Jérôme-Forget, denounced Ottawa's failure to act. Unlike other countries, Canada refused to intervene to force banks to respect their commitments.

Did Ottawa refuse to intervene because the problem appeared to be limited to Quebec?

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, absolutely not. The Superintendent of Financial Institutions deals in an even-handed way with our financial system in Canada with respect to the regulation of that system. Some institutions made some investments that were unwise. That is not the responsibility of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions. That is the responsibility of those who made the decisions to make the investments and they must live with their decisions.

Forestry Industry

[Paule Brunelle, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last week it was Fraser Papers in Thurso, and now Kruger has announced the closure of three mills in Mauricie. That means another 750 jobs lost in Quebec's forestry industry this week in addition to the 25,000 jobs lost since 2005.

In light of this tragic situation, how can the government keep refusing to come up with a proper support plan that includes measures encouraging the use of wood in the construction of federal buildings, as the Bloc Québécois has proposed?

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of State (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec)]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her question.

We all know that the forestry industry across the country and in Quebec has been going through very hard times. That is why, together with my colleague, the Minister of Natural Resources, we set up the Canada-Quebec task team, which has been on the job for a number of weeks now and will submit its results to us.

I am sure that we will find solutions to get forestry-related economic activity up and running again.

[Paule Brunelle, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have wasted too much time already, and they must act now to keep things from getting even worse. The auto industry will be getting over $5 billion, and the Bloc Québécois has proposed that the government provide a similar amount to create credit options for the forestry industry immediately.

Will the government do that, or does it think that a job lost in Quebec is not as important as a job lost in Ontario?

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of State (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec)]

Mr. Speaker, once again, they are only talking about what they want to talk about. For years, this country did not have a softwood lumber agreement with our American partners. Then our government got back $4.5 billion, which was redistributed to the forestry industry. Quebec got $1 billion of that money, which went to forestry companies.

This is a market issue, and it is really unfortunate for all forestry workers. We are implementing measures to deal with the problem.

With 12,300 employees in Quebec, the auto industry is a major employer there. We have to compare apples to apples.

Aboriginal Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, the Native Women's Association recently released the latest edition of its Sisters in Spirit initiative. Sisters in Spirit has uncovered 520 cases of missing or murdered aboriginal women and girls in Canada. The United Nations has chastised Canada for its shameful lack of response. Their plight has been ignored long enough. It is time.

When will the government launch an independent, public, competent investigation into these missing or murdered aboriginal women and girls?

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

Mr. Speaker, the member is fully aware that through Status of Women Canada and under this government's leadership, we have been funding Sisters in Spirit at $5 million, $1 million a year, that will end in 2010.

This program is focused on looking for the root causes of racialized and sexualized violence against aboriginal women. In fact, the number of women who have been identified as being lost is a direct result of the funding and the research that has been done by the Native Women's Association. I have met with Bev Jacobs on a regular basis. We are committed to developing Sisters in Spirit, too.

[Todd Russell, Liberal, Labrador, NL]

Mr. Speaker, Lisa Marie Young, Shannon Alexander, Maisy Odjick, Lisa Sheepskin, and Claudette Osborne, these are 5 of the over 500 missing or murdered aboriginal women or girls. There are issues of race, class and sexual prejudice. There are questions the families want answered and that all Canadians need answered.

I ask again, will the government launch a full, public and independent investigation?

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

Mr. Speaker, I do thank the hon. member for his very important question. Our condolences do go to the families. Again, I have met with Bev Jacobs, who is the president of the Native Women's Association, to discuss the next steps in Sisters in Spirit. I do want to commend her and all those for their courage in being a voice for those spirits who have been lost.

Infrastructure

[Lise Zarac, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the construction season is well under way. Infrastructure funding has been approved for months, but nothing is happening. The Minister of National Revenue wants to put the blame for the delay on the Government of Quebec. Quebec urgently needs to create employment.

Will the Conservatives acknowledge that they are the ones dragging their feet as far as infrastructure is concerned?

[Rob Merrifield, Conservative, Minister of State (Transport)]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to say that we are accelerating the infrastructure project and working with provinces and municipalities right across this country to make sure that happens.

We have actually reduced the application form to one page. That is how committed we are to making sure that we get these projects out. We are not going to miss the construction season.

We are getting the job done, no thanks to my hon. colleague. That individual did not help us along the way by voting for it. She voted against it, unfortunately.

[Lise Zarac, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard, QC]

I think not, Mr. Speaker.

The Minister of National Revenue has said, “The delay is not our fault. We are in a position to start tomorrow morning. Quebec just has to pick its projects so that we can move ahead together all over our province”.

Is the Minister of National Revenue accusing the Government of Quebec, in the midst of an economic crisis, of not wanting to create work by launching infrastructure projects?

[Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Conservative, Minister of National Revenue and Minister of State (Agriculture)]

Mr. Speaker, in our economic action plan we put in place some $12 billion to support infrastructure projects just about everywhere in the country. What we want to see this spring is the whole country turning into a construction project. Agreements have been worked out with each province, Quebec included, and positive discussions continue with a view to seeing work start very soon. Some projects, moreover, are already under way.

Goods and Services Tax

[LaVar Payne, Conservative, Medicine Hat, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal leader has finally come up with a plan to help Canadians during this global recession: federal taxes must go up, we have to raise taxes. The Liberal leader believes Canadians are not paying enough taxes, and families and seniors should be forced to send more of their hard-earned money to him in Ottawa.

What is the first tax he will hike? The GST. To quote him, “I'm not going to take a GST hike off the table”.

Could the government please comment on the Liberal leader's dated, discredited and dangerous tax plan hike?

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the tax increase advocated by the Liberal leader would target the poorest in our society, and families and seniors. It would be the worst thing one could do in a global recession. Cutting the GST benefited all Canadians, even the one-third with incomes too low to pay income tax.

Lower taxes of course leave money in taxpayers' pockets, where it belongs. Investment helps small and large businesses. It would even make it cheaper for the member for Markham—Unionville to acquire that North American car—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. member for Sackville—Eastern Shore.

Lobster Industry

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS]

Mr. Speaker, Atlantic lobster fishermen and their families are suffering through a perfect storm with a crisis in the lobster industry. Instead of solutions, instead of assistance, they get rhetoric from the government. The Atlantic premiers, the Quebec premier, and the Atlantic lobster fishermen and their organizations are asking the minister to stand in the House today and come up with a short-term solution to get them through this summer break.

Will she, today, announce that these fishermen and their families will have access to employment insurance based on their 2008 catches, yes or no?

[Gail Shea, Conservative, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, the lower market demand, of course, is setting the price. It is not something that is within the government's control.

However, I can say that we have addressed the issue of access to credit, which is something that was identified when we carried out consultations prior to the budget. We have established a community adjustment fund, which would address industries and communities in need, and we have invested in a marketing program to promote Atlantic lobster.

We are supporting the lobster industry and we will be convening a meeting of all the stakeholders, but the member voted against the budget that was very beneficial to the industry.