Debates of May 26th, 2009

Employment Insurance

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order, order. The hon. member for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine has the floor. We will have a little order. Some minister is going to want to hear the question.

The hon. member for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine.

[Marlene Jennings, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it was a Liberal government that cleaned up the Conservative deficit mess and then brought in seven surplus budgets.

Since October, the number of Canadians depending on employment insurance has grown by 36%. Even worse, Calgary, Vancouver, London, Kitchener have more than doubled their EI recipients in just one year. Thousands of Canadians are left out of EI because of eligibility rules that pick winners and losers by Canadian regions.

When will the government stop pitting Canadians against each other, establish--

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order. The hon. Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development.

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development]

Mr. Speaker, we are working hard to make sure those who are unfortunate enough to lose their jobs get the benefits they need and deserve, including extra training for those people who have been working for a long time and now see their jobs gone forever. We are helping them get the training with up to two years of EI benefits. While they invest in their own future, we are helping them.

It is interesting to note that some Liberals actually agree with us. Let me quote, “It's my view that if you get rid of the regional rates and there are changes forced on the EI system because of the economic circumstances, those in the high unemployment regions will be hurt disproportionately.”

Who said it--

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. member for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine.

[Marlene Jennings, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we have heard it all before. Some 40% more Montrealers are collecting employment insurance compared to this time last year. As if that were not bad enough, Montrealers need hundreds more hours of work to be entitled to employment insurance than many other Canadians. Thousands of families in Montreal were counting on employment insurance, but the government has been turning them down.

What are the Conservatives doing to eliminate regional disparities? When will they do something? When will they come up with a—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development.

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development]

Mr. Speaker, when will they quit flip-flopping?

This is what one Liberal member said:

“It's my view that if you get rid of the regional rates and there are changes forced on the EI system because of the economic circumstances, those in the high unemployment regions will be hurt disproportionately.”

Who said that, Mr. Speaker? The Liberal EI expert, the member for Dartmouth—Cole Harbour.

Infrastructure

[Keith Martin, Liberal, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to correct the Prime Minister. It is the government that is sitting on infrastructure money that this Parliament passed four months ago. Also, the Conservatives said to communities that their projects have to be completed by March 2011. They cannot, because the government cannot get the money out the door. They are saying no to Victoria's Johnson Street Bridge and Esquimalt's Archie Browning Sports Centre.

Municipalities are caught in a mess due to the government's incompetence. Will the government simply extend the March 2011 deadline by at least a year? Tell the House how it is going to streamline the process.

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, in recent months we have made commitments for more than 1,000 projects in every corner of this country. This program is getting set up faster than any program the Liberal government ever had.

I would ask the member for Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca to listen to this: “We voted on a budget that contains a very substantial injection of stimulus into the economy. We voted for it in April. It is not coherent intellectually or economically for me to come out in May and say put another $30 million in. I am perfectly willing to come back in September and October.”

Does he know who said that? His own leader.

[Keith Martin, Liberal, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Mr. Speaker, if there is one thing this minister is good at, it is making false promises.

I think he should listen to this. The government asked for shovel-ready projects and Vancouver Island answered the call: sewer extensions in Sooke and work road extensions in Langford. However, they have received zip. They cannot get their projects going until the government gets the money out the door.

I will ask the minister a simple question, for all Canadians. When is he going to say yes to Sooke, Langford and the other communities that are pleading with the government for the money they need to service their constituencies—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities. Order.

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I can say that the very first stimulus projects we announced anywhere in the country were in the province of British Columbia. I can also say that I know one member from Vancouver Island who has worked very hard to deliver infrastructure projects to his riding. I am talking about the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands.

I will make one promise to the member. If he were to phone the Liberal leader in British Columbia, Premier Gordon Campbell, and ask him if he is pleased with the speed with which this government has moved on infrastructure, he would get a very supportive answer.

Forestry Industry

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

Mr. Speaker, driven to desperation by this government's inaction, forestry workers have been reduced to occupying ministers' offices in order to be heard. The many committee consultations by the Conservatives only mask their inaction. Instead of ramping up the empty rhetoric, the government should implement solutions proposed by industry stakeholders, such as a program of loan guarantees for the forestry industry.

What is the government waiting for to set in motion a real plan to save the forestry industry?

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

Mr. Speaker, I will give a proper answer to an empty question that is pure falsehood.

In 2008, Export Development Canada provided 226 forestry companies in Quebec with $9 billion in financial services, including loan guarantees. The opposition should stop making false statements.

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

Mr. Speaker, the crisis in the forestry industry is getting worse because the government is doing nothing. It lacks both the vision and the will to act. Ingenious solutions have been proposed, but the government has turned a deaf ear. For example, the president of the Fédération Québécoise des Municipalités, Bernard Généreux, is recommending using more wood in constructing government buildings.

Does the Minister of Natural Resources not think this is an avenue her government should explore?

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

Mr. Speaker, as people in the House of Commons are aware, we have set up a Canada-Quebec committee that has been working for several weeks to suggest ways of helping the forestry industry in Quebec. We know that the situation is very difficult. We recently announced $200 million in partnership with the Government of Quebec for silviculture and forest management projects and other areas.

The committee is continuing its work and will submit other recommendations to the government. Announcements will be made at a later date.

Official Languages

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Commissioner of Official Languages believes that, unless major changes are made, the Vancouver and Toronto airports will be unable to adequately serve visitors in both official languages. In light of the upcoming 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver, the authorities must work closely with their partners, including Air Canada and Canada Border Services Agency.

Can the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages explain what he intends to do to correct the situation?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, we very much appreciate the excellent work done by the commissioner over the past year. He has examined the areas of concern and has advised this government. I met with the commissioner a few weeks ago and I am ready to take action. He gave me the figures concerning those two major Canadian airports, I am prepared to take action to ensure that all Canadians will receive quality service in the official language of their choice.

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we learn from the report that official language minority communities are being poorly served by the Roadmap for Canada's Linguistic Duality. It was announced a year ago, and a comprehensive implementation plan still does not exist.

Can the minister tell us what he is waiting for to unveil the details of that plan and allow all affected stakeholders to continue their work?

[James Moore, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, we have kept our promise. I have here the report from the Commissioner of Official Languages. It states, “The progress that has been made is impressive on many levels.” And with respect to official language minorities, it says “the Commissioner mentions that the future of official language communities is very promising”.

We are making clear, effective and significant investments. We have increased official languages expenditures by 20%, to $1.1 billion over 5 years. Much progress has been made.

Medical Isotopes

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, here is what we know about the situation at Chalk River.

There have been three unplanned and extended shutdowns in 17 months and at least four radioactive leaks. The NRU licence was renewed with AECL in July 2006 without ensuring all safety requirements were met. A new 40 year isotope supply agreement was signed with MDS Nordion with no backup plan and now it is the subject of a $1.6 billion lawsuit.

With 5,000 daily tests and treatments for Canadians now at risk, when will this end?

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, this government has taken great action with respect to the isotope file. In December of last year, we set out a five point plan in which we indicated we understood the difficulty in the supply chain regarding medical isotopes and that we would take action toward it.

We have taken action and the Minister of Health is working with the provinces and territories to deal with the shortage of supply, My officials, along with myself, are reaching out to the other isotope producing countries in order to increase the supply in the world.

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this is a Conservative made in Canada crisis now described by nuclear medicine experts as a catastrophe.

There is no plan B, there is no one left to blame and there is no one left to fire. The last natural resources minister argued that “a continued shortage of isotopes for just one week”, he said, was the difference between “life or death for some patients”.

As we are now facing an indefinite shutdown again, with 5,000 daily tests and treatments for Canadians at risk, how could the minister possibly have allowed this situation to occur?