Debates of May 28th, 2009

Italian-Canadian Recognition and Restitution Act

[Joe Volpe, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I hope you will forgive me in anticipation of some errors that I might make in the course of my presentation. I feel so passionate about this that I know I will lapse into my mother tongue. I do not mean any disrespect to parliamentarians who may be listening or, indeed, the translators, but I hope everyone will forgive me in anticipation thereof.

I would like to begin in French, because I wish to thank some of the members who spoke before me, particularly, the hon. member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, a Bloc member. He talked about this bill a few weeks ago. He said it was the fair thing to do and that this bill needed the support of all members of this House. How incredible that a member of the Bloc, a self-described sovereignist party, and some might say one that is less Canadian—although I would disagree—but someone who defines his Canadian identity by the fact that he lives in Quebec. He defines himself as a Quebecker, and he believes that this bill should be supported by all Quebeckers and all Canadians from coast to coast to coast.

Why? Because Canada wronged its citizens, not others, but its own citizens. One needs to read the bill in French in order to grasp what the hon. member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie was trying to get across. My colleague from Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel deserves congratulations from all hon. members for introducing this bill. In English, we talk about Italian Canadians having been victims of the War Measures Act, while references to this in French make it clear that the Canadian government of the day felt that Italian Canadians should be treated as enemy aliens. They were Canadians. What does it mean to be Canadian? To be considered as subjects of another country, an enemy country? They had been here for over a hundred years, they were here as Canadians, as subjects of Canada.

My colleague from Oak Ridges—Markham spoke of wrongs that need to be forgotten. I know all about forgetting and putting things aside, but we need to keep in mind the rights that individuals acquired by birth or residence, their identity as Canadians. They were British subjects, they were Canadians.

[Paul Calandra, Conservative, Oak Ridges—Markham, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I think it is important to note that at no time in my speech did I say that we needed to forget what happened to Italian Canadians. What I did say was that we apologized to Italian Canadians in 1990. The Conservative prime minister—

[The Acting Speaker, Barry Devolin]

I appreciate the intervention but I am not sure it is a point of order. It is possibly a point of clarification but I will return the floor to the member for Eglinton—Lawrence.

[Joe Volpe, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I spoke in French and I may have made some mistakes, but I said nothing that was seriously wrong. I spoke of the wrongs done by the Canadian government to its citizens, not citizens of another country, but its own citizens.

They are citizens. One becomes a Canadian to become a Canadian. One is either born here, like many of my cousins and aunts and uncles, or they acquire citizenship by virtue of their residence, their responsibility and their civic duty toward this country. That is how one becomes a Canadian. One does not then become a subject of an enemy nation.

When my colleague from Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel proposes this legislation, my compliments go to him. My compliments also go to my colleague from Vancouver Kingsway who also stood on behalf of the NDP and said that he and his party supported the legislation because they understood the basic concept behind it and that they applaud the initiative of the member from Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel”.

I had the privilege of being around the cabinet table when this proposal, enunciated in Bill C-302, was put on the table. What the member for Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel says is that the Government of Canada should honour the commitment that it made to the four representative institutions of the Italian Canadian community in the country. There was the Canadian Italian Business and Professional Association and the Congress of Italian Canadians.

There was also the Italian-Canadian Community Foundation in Quebec.

Finally, there was the Order Sons of Italy. All four organizations negotiated for the better part of 10 months in order to come up with what is called the ACE program.

The Government of Canada fell in 2006 and the current government took up this and said that it would not give them what they signed on to. It was not going to respect the contract the Government of Canada signed with the representatives of the community, the contract that called for a sum that was considerably higher than what has been proposed by the government, and, by the way, it would flow through this organization in order to establish a foundation to achieve the educational objectives, to achieve the commemorative programs and to gauge awareness for all of the country.

However, it did not close the door to individual considerations by the estates of the 632 individuals who were unjustly interned. They were never charged and no laws were broken. They were never given any indication as to why they were there except that they were citizens of an enemy nation. They were Canadian citizens.

I ask to be forgiven if I get excited about this but it is because we are talking about the human rights and the citizenship rights of everyone.

[Member spoke in Italian]

[English]

The Government of Canada has made excuses to others and has apologized. It is not a novel thing. We are not leaving ourselves open to any kind of legal liabilities by making an apology.

[Member spoke in Italian]

If a person is a Canadian citizen, it is of little importance where one came from or what political party one belongs to. One is a citizen, and that is all. So if apologies have already been given to other citizens, there is a need to apologize to the Italians as well. Why?

We should think about this for a moment. Six hundred and thirty-two families were disrupted during the war because the political situation in the world at the time dictated a circumstance that nobody here wanted, and yet the people of Italian origin who were here were automatically put on guard as subjects of an enemy nation.

A cousin of mine was in the Royal Navy and yet the entire family was under police surveillance for the duration of the war.

A former member of this House, whom we know well, had a brother enlisted in the RCAF and a family under police surveillance.

Nobody said, “Sorry, we made an error”. Nobody said that we were enemies of Canada. Nobody ever said that the Italian community committed an injustice toward the people, the country and the Government of Canada but they were interned and jobs were lost.

[Member spoke in Italian]

[English]

It is right that this legislation calls, at the very least, on the Government of Canada to respect the agreement signed by the Government of Canada in 2005 with the four institutions that represent the Italian community in Canada. That is the starting point. It is not the closing point.

I compliment the member for Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel for having brought this legislation to this point in the House. He deserves compliments and he deserves support, not negative criticism.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak to this bill with great pride. I consider myself to be one of the most fortunate people in the whole world. I am very fortunate because of my ancestry. I am very fortunate to have come from such a strong family that taught me everything that I believe makes me successful today.

I want to talk about a number of people during my speech. I am going to make this very personal, because I do believe that this is a personal issue. I am going to go way back. I am going to go back to 1927, the year a young man named Arcangelo arrived at the port in Halifax from Italy. He came here with no money, but he came to a land of hope where he believed things would be better and where he could build a better life.

Over the years he sent money back to Italy. He brought his family over. He brought his sister and brother. His father came. They built a life and they built families. He landed in northern Ontario at a place called Britt, close to Parry Sound. He worked for the Canadian Pacific Railway. He married a woman named Marguerite. They had a family of nine children.

The War Measures Act came into place in 1939. They had been living in Canada for 12 years at that point. It had been 12 years of working, 12 years of building, 12 years of serving and 12 years of being a Canadian, but at that point, they became enemies of the state. It was a sad time in our history and it never should have happened. What did that cause? What came from that? They were under police surveillance. The people who lived in those neighbourhoods in that small town all knew that they were the Italian family. That was the Italian family and they were to be hated because they were enemies of the state. I will talk about the effects of it.

A young man was born on September 28, 1942. His name was Enrico Giuseppe. He grew up in that small town. He went to those small schools, where people knew that he was of the Italian family. They were the Italians. One did not want to be Italian in Canada then because of what had happened, because we shamed them, because we made them feel like they were lesser Canadians who should not be respected.

Arcangelo was my grandfather. Enrico Giuseppe was my father. He changed his name to Henry. He is one of the proudest Canadians I have ever known and he taught me to be proud of this country. He did not harbour any ill will, because the Italians of this country overcame that incident. They overcame that travesty and injustice that was committed against them by demonstrating a work ethic, a commitment and a love for this country that is to be celebrated by all Canadians.

What is disgraceful about this legislation is that it divides people. It tries to conjure up old wounds to make them look like they will never heal. Italians forgave. My family forgave. They went through a horrible situation. My father's family were beaten up. They were in fights. They had a tough childhood. They went through difficulty. It was hard getting jobs because of what they were, not who they were. They suffered discrimination the likes of which is similar to what one would hear for any other race or group living in Canada or anywhere else. It was because of this travesty that was committed against them.

My grandfather, Arcangelo, worked almost 50 years for the Canadian Pacific Railway. He was so proud. In the late 1950s, he learned to speak English. He had to teach himself. My grandmother spoke five languages, as a matter of fact. He learned to speak English. People always ask me why I cannot speak Italian, given that my grandmother could speak five languages. In the 1940s the last thing people wanted their kids to be was an Italian in Canada, so they hid it.

My father never said his name was Enrico. It was Henry. In fact, everybody knew him as Hank, because if he said his name was Enrico, and Enrico Giuseppe especially, he probably would not have much of a future. His father never even spoke to him in Italian, and my grandfather could barely speak English. My grandfather's English was so bad that when my wife first met him, she thought he was speaking Italian to her, but he was speaking English.

My grandfather and grandmother raised their nine children as Canadians, proud Canadians. They spoke English. They worked hard. They built lives. They contributed to this society and they are one of many families who did. There are millions of Canadians of Italian origin living in this country. The overwhelming majority of them have forgiven for this. They do not want to go back. They are proud Canadians.

When the Prime Minister speaks I think a lot of people listen. I know I listen when the Prime Minister speaks.

In 1990 Prime Minister Mulroney did something that nobody had done before. I think even my Liberal colleagues across the floor who have brought forward this legislation, which is very divisive, would acknowledge that when they were in power in the 1940s, when the Liberals were in power in the 1950s, in the 1960s, in the 1970s, in the 1980s, in the 1990s, when the Liberals were in power in the current millennium, they did not do this. Now there is a private member's bill on the issue. Where were they for the almost 70 years that occurred? Where were they?

In 1990 Brian Mulroney said, “On behalf of the government and the people of Canada, I offer a full and unqualified apology for the wrongs done to our fellow Canadians of Italian origin during World War II”. That was a full acknowledgement that what had been done was wrong, that what had been done should never have happened, and frankly, what that meant to the Italians who lived in this country, who called this country home, what that meant to them in their lives from the years that extended beyond that.

When my father met my mother, my mother was forbidden to see my father because he was an Italian. That is awful, but that was the reality. That was the situation.

What is wrong with this bill? Why will I not support it? My name is about as Italian as it gets, and when a person runs for office with an Italian name in a city like Peterborough, it is quite an accomplishment to get elected. It would not have happened back in the 1940s. Why will I not support this bill? Because it takes the country backward, not forward. It does not represent the Italian community of Canada. This comes down to money. The Liberals are trying to boil this down to making an issue of, “The Government of Canada says it will give us $5 million. We want $12.5 million”. That is nonsensical.

I started out by saying that I feel that I am the most fortunate person in the world. My grandfather felt he was the most fortunate person in the world. My father felt that he was the most fortunate person in the world. His brothers and sisters felt that they were the most fortunate people in the world because this country was their home and they were proud this country was their home.

They do not like this because they are Canadians. They are not Italian Canadians. They are not Canadians from Italy. People do not say that I am from Italy. I am from Peterborough. I was born in St. Joseph's Hospital. I am as Canadian as it gets. They do not want to be broken down and divided into chunks by someone saying they are Italian Canadian, they were discriminated against and they should get $12.5 million. They do not want it.

This is a disgraceful piece of legislation. It divides Canadians at a time when we need to pull together, fight together and combat everything that is coming toward us, whether it is the economic crisis we are going through or all the other uncertainties in the world. Canadians of all cultural backgrounds need to pull together. This bill divides them.

[Joe Volpe, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, this is a very serious topic and when I spoke on it I never made one reference to a partisan affiliation. It is important to keep in mind that the legislation calls on the government to honour what a previous government signed in a contractual arrangement. It is important to keep that in mind even though people get emotional.

[Glenn Thibeault, NDP, Sudbury, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the hon. member for Peterborough for a very passionate and a great speech tonight. I may disagree with some of the opinions on what this bill would do, but I truly appreciated what he had to say.

I am glad to have the opportunity to speak tonight to Bill C-302, An Act to recognize the injustice that was done to persons of Italian origin through their “enemy alien” designation and internment during the Second World War, and to provide for restitution and promote education on Italian-Canadian history. The New Democrats and I are pleased to support this bill and to assist with its movement through Parliament.

Let me begin my speech this evening by telling the story of an Italian born Sudburian who was the victim of the government's internment policy.

Dr. Luigi Filippo Pancaro arrived in Canada in the late 1920s after graduating with his medical degree from the University of Rome. During the early 1930s, Dr. Pancaro and his wife settled in Sudbury with the large Italian community and became a member of the staff at the Sudbury regional hospital. In addition to joining the hospital staff, Dr. Pancaro also opened a private practice and became the family doctor for many members of the Italian community. On June 11, 1940, Dr. Pancaro was suddenly and without reason pulled away from a patient he was seeing, placed in the back of a police van and transported to the Sudbury jail.

Dr. Pancaro's abduction occurred a day after Italy had declared war on Canada. The evening before he was taken away in a police van, Prime Minister Mackenzie King ordered the internment of hundreds of Italian Canadians identified by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as enemy aliens. Once Dr. Pancaro reached the Sudbury jail, he was locked in a cell with many other Italian born men, most of them his patients. Dr. Pancaro was part of a group of Italians that were sent to the internment camp in Petawawa, situated in the Ottawa Valley, where he remained for two years.

The roundup of Italian Canadians was virtually completed by October 1940. Most of them were sent to Camp Petawawa. It is difficult to establish exactly how many Italian Canadians were interned, although estimates range from 600 to 700.

After that bitter experience, Dr. Pancaro returned to Italy to practise medicine. He did ultimately return to Sudbury in 1956 where he continued his successful medical practice until 1981.

The facts are simple, that people of Italian origin like Dr. Pancaro were subject to internment at the hands of the government during World War II and that this act of persecution was carried out upon these people for no reason other than their Italian origins. The internment of Italians during World War II has been acknowledged but never redressed officially in the House of Commons. This bill provides an opportunity to do what should have been done long ago with dignity.

To be clear, there have been steps taken to make amends for the disgraceful treatment of Italian Canadians. In 1990, the National Congress of Italian Canadians outlined the injustices in a brief sent to then Prime Minister Mulroney. The brief outlined the desire for an acknowledgement of the injustice, compensation paid and an apology. The PM did indeed apologize in 1990. He mentioned repatriations, and former Prime Minister Paul Martin also promised repatriations. Sadly, many of the commitments were empty promises. Despite these words, money has never really flowed and although money was announced with great fanfare and media attention, successive governments did not follow up on honouring their pledges and ensuring that Italian Canadians could access these funds.

Though Italian Canadians had to endure tremendous hardships 70 years ago, they were not thwarted in their drive to incorporate themselves into Canadian communities across the country and to become leaders in their own right in the promotion of Italian heritage and culture.

I would like to take this opportunity to recognize some of the tremendous contributions that certain organizations and individuals have made in my riding of Sudbury toward the promotion of Italian heritage and culture.

Sudbury is lucky to host the Caruso Club, one of the largest Italian associations in all of Ontario. Formed in 1947, the Caruso Club is a not-for-profit organization with a goal to promote, enhance and preserve Italian culture and heritage within the Canadian multicultural mosaic, to render assistance to persons of Italian nationality in need and to establish and maintain a library and archives of Italian heritage.

I would like to offer thanks to the current board of directors: Sav Doni, John Santagapita, Egidio Manoni, Linda Zanatta-Beaudoin, Danilo Monticelli, Lina Sanchioni, Bob Armiento, Ugo Rocca and board president, Tony Nero for the club's continued contributions and support for the local community. Felix Santacapita, who passed away a few years ago, is another one of the many committed community members who gave countless hours at the Caruso Club.

One of the largest events the club organizes is the annual Italian festival. During this four day event, Sudburians have the opportunity of participating in a variety of events and presentations, including sporting events like cycling, soccer, and bocce tournaments and the Ms. Caruso pageant, an event my daughter Trinity is excited to take part in this year. She is able to do that, as my wife is from Italian ancestry.

A key organizer behind this event is Ms. Benita Dellece. Benita has played a tremendous role in increasing the community's awareness and appreciation of Sudbury's Italian community through her efforts in organizing this event. In addition to the Italian pageant, she has played a huge role in educating hundreds of Sudburians about the city's rich Italian heritage and culture.

Another important member of the Sudbury and Italian community is John Fera, who was recently re-elected as president of the United Steelworkers Local 6500. Mr. Fera has spent many hours around the bargaining table advocating for his union brothers and sisters, and he continues the legacy of outspoken and community-driven Italians in Sudbury.

There is precedence for official apologies in the House of Commons. Given that official apologies in the House of Commons have been offered for past actions of the Canadian government to Canadians of Japanese origin, first nations, Canadians of Chinese origin and other communities, I urge all members to join me in voting in favour of sending Bill C-302 to committee.

The New Democrats have stood against internment and the War Measures Act for decades. We will stand again in support of this bill to ensure that Italian Canadians are given the formal apology that is so long overdue and that the wrongs committed nearly 70 years ago can be righted.

[Massimo Pacetti, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking the members who spoke in favour of my bill. The hon. member for Eglinton—Lawrence already mentioned a few of them. The member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie said he would be in favour of the bill, as did the members for Vancouver Kingsway, Beaches—East York, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, my colleague and friend, the member for Eglinton—Lawrence and, more recently, the member for Sudbury.

I would also like to thank the Bloc Québécois, the NDP and my colleagues in the Liberal Party who have indicated their support for this bill.

I have some prepared notes, but I am going to try to summarize this. I know it is an emotional bill for people of my origin. I am a Canadian of Italian origin. I was born in this country, so I have a different perspective on how this bill is going to affect my community.

There has not been any contradiction of whether the internment ever occurred, so at least that is clear in everybody's mind. We do not have the actual numbers of how many times they were actually interned because the record keeping was never properly controlled. We are not really sure how many were interned. We know how many were interned in Petawawa, but there were three other prison camps, and we are not sure of the numbers. There were various studies done by different organizations and the actual number never came to light. There were a lot of people arrested when the internment started. They were imprisoned in different jail cells around the country, such as in Hamilton and mainly in the area of Montreal.

This is a regrettable chapter in Canadian history, and basically the bill is to provide for an official apology in the House of Commons for the injustices visited upon persons of Italian origin and the Italian community in Canada during World War II.

I would be remiss if I did not point out that there is a precedent for the Government of Canada to offer apologies in the House of Commons for past injustices that have occurred under previous governments. The immediate examples that spring to mind are the apologies offered to Chinese Canadians for the head tax, to first nations Canadians for the treatment of their people in residential schools, and a strikingly similar example of the apology offered to Japanese Canadians for the internment of persons of Japanese origin in World War II. It is roughly in the same time frame and circumstances that persons of Japanese origin and Italian origin were subjected to similar persecution by the same government for the same reason, namely their ancestry.

In one case, that of Japanese Canadians, an apology was offered in the House of Commons for the transgression. In another, that of the Italian Canadians, we are still debating whether or not an apology in the House of Commons is necessary or desirable. What makes one group deserving of an apology and another group less deserving?

I was talking with a member of the Italian community, Dominic Campione, who worked quite hard, and he said, “All you have to say is that it is a double shame”. The issue is a double shame because it was a shame that this actually happened then, and it is a shame now if we do not recognize what happened and we do not come to terms with apologizing. I cannot choose any better words than saying it is a double shame. It was a shame then and it is a shame now.

I am requesting an apology. There is no dollar amount in the bill, so if people are scared about dollar amounts, I do not think they have to be afraid. There is a clause for some type of restitution for educational purposes. That is up to the Italian communities. There are representatives. We had an agreement that was signed by the four major organizations: the National Congress of Italian Canadians, the National Federation of the Canadian Italian Business and Professional Association, the Order Sons of Italy of Canada, and la Fondation communautaire canadienne-italienne du Québec.

[Joe Volpe, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

And the federal government.

[Massimo Pacetti, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

And the federal government.

Casa d’Italia is also quite active on this problem because of its involvement during the internment. It actually helped a lot of Italian families during the internment process.

I want to get to two quick points. The member for Peterborough mentioned the part about the Italian community forgiving. I understand that the Italian community has forgiven. The problem is that they have forgotten. The idea of this bill is to remind people that we can forget, and if we do not learn from our history we are not going to learn for our future.

Again, I want to thank the members for their support and the community for its support.

[The Acting Speaker, Barry Devolin]

The question is on the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

No.

[The Acting Speaker, Barry Devolin]

All those in favour of the motion will please say yea.

[Some hon. members]

Yea.

[The Acting Speaker, Barry Devolin]

All those opposed will please say nay.

[Some hon. members]

Nay.

[The Acting Speaker, Barry Devolin]

In my opinion the yeas have it.

And five or more members having risen:

Pursuant to Standing Order 93, the division stands deferred until Wednesday, June 3, immediately before the time provided for private members' business.

A motion to adjourn the House under Standing Order 38 deemed to have been moved.

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, on May 6th, my question to the Minister of Agriculture was quite direct and clear: will the minister commit today to cash payments to Canadian hog producers so they can have some financial security? Sadly, the minister's answer was the usual mishmash of misinformation and hyperbole and of course no commitment to the ad hoc payments.

Why would Canada's hog producers, who have long opposed ad hoc payments due to their concern over trade issues, request an immediate payment of $30 per hog based on 2008 numbers? The answer is quite simple: it is a matter of economic survival. This industry is on its knees. We are losing the hog industry in this country. This is about economic survival, nothing more, nothing less.

Hog producers are ending up in financial ruin. They have spent their life doing this work. Generations of hog producers have done this work. Businesses are destroyed. Lives are ruined. Their economic future is in tatters because of events beyond their control, and the Conservative government has failed to address this economic reality.

Let us take a look at the numbers. In 2009, 8,310 farms reported having hogs. That is down nearly 30% from 2006. In Canada, 70,000 jobs are a direct result of hog production. Pork exports alone generate 42,000 jobs, $7.7 billion in economic activity, and $2.1 billion in wages and salaries. The whole industry is on the line.

In my province of Prince Edward Island, 80% of the producers have left, in 18 short months. In the province of Manitoba, exports of weaner pigs to the United States have come to a halt because of a labelling law in the United States that is nothing less than a non-tariff barrier.

Even the American Meat Institute, in testimony last night before the subcommittee on food safety, confirmed it shares our opinion that the United States country of origin labelling is a trade restriction. It agrees with a challenge to the WTO. The government, I will admit, is moving on that challenge. However, a challenge to the WTO, even if it gets off the ground, will take years. By that time our pork industry and its tremendous economic potential will have been cut in half and the dreams of many will be destroyed.

If the government wants to stand up against the illegal actions taken by the United States, it would immediately announce funding requested by producers. It is a justified payment based on the trade action itself.

Such money, reluctantly requested by Canada's pork industries, would assist in their survival, but it would also send a message to the United States that Canada is not going to blatantly stand by while it performs illegal acts. Canadians are behind our pork industry. They are willing to put money into it to see that the industry survives.

I ask the minister again whether he will commit to that money today.

[Ed Komarnicki, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and to the Minister of Labour]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to restate some facts to deal with the issues the member has raised.

There is no question the Government of Canada is committed to supporting the Canadian hog and pork industry as it continues to face challenges with respect to its competitiveness.

Industry stakeholders understand that competitiveness is key to the survival of the Canadian hog and pork industry. In response, the industry, provinces and the Government of Canada are taking the necessary steps to the adapt to the new market realities at home and abroad. We are finding new marketing opportunities around the world to help Canadian farmers weather the storm and to strengthen export markets.

The Minister of Agriculture continues to promote our safe, top-quality pork to the many countries around the world. At the Canada-United States border, our Conservative government continues to defend the interests of the hog sector by launching a WTO consultation regarding the country of origin labelling. That was commenced in April.

Let me address the one point raised by the member opposite regarding a per head payment.

Let me be clear. Per head payments run a high risk of trade retaliation, not only against the hog industry, but against all other livestock and agricultural sectors. Is that what the member wants? Additionally it would be very counterproductive to our current COOL challenge.

Instead of such a counterproductive way forward, let me tell members what we are doing for hog farmers. At home, we are offering more support than ever for hog farmers. Last spring, we offered emergency cash advances to livestock producers. Now we are giving producers an additional 12 to 18 months to repay their advances. The first $100,000 of each producer's advance will also continue to be interest-free. It is estimated that only 44% of all hog producers in Canada have participated in the advance payment program for the 2008-09 production year. More than $450 million in advances are eligible for the stay of default.

Given the recent challenges in the hog industry, significant payments are being made under the business risk management programs, covering between 60% to 70% of the losses of producers.

These are the facts.

In 2007, $235 million went to hog producers through agri-invest, $20.8 million, kickstart, $60 million, and agristability, $254 million. Approximately 84% of hog farmers participated in agristability in 2007. Those are significant figures. In 2008, an estimated $213 million went to hog producers through agri-invest, $18 million, and agristability, $195.4 million. In 2009, an estimated $182 million has gone to hog producers through agri-invest, $19.6 million, and agristability, $162.9 million.

Eligible producers who submitted 2007 agri-invest applications have access to their benefits and they can now apply for the 2008 agri-invest program.

Further, the Government of Canada is working closely with the National Pork Value Chain Roundtable to develop and implement a strategy that addresses the competitiveness issues facing the industry and to succeed in the future. In support of this strategy, the Government of Canada is responding to industry priorities, including market access, market development, innovation and animal health.

To give Canadian livestock producers even greater access to global markets, the minister has concluded several successful trade missions to Asia, South America and the Middle East. These market access initiatives are reinforced with significant market development funding directed to the hog and pork industry and have been further supported through the introduction of the Canada brand promise for export trade.

I see my time is up.

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, on what planet does the government live? The fact is farmers are going out. He said that he is out of time here tonight. Pork producers are out of time and the government sits on its haunches and talks about trade challenges. Trade challenges will not solve the problems of producers in our country.

He talks about agristability. The fact is hardly any hog producers this year will qualify for that.

If the government would put money directly out there, that would add to the trade challenge. It would tell the Americans that it is high time, that this country will stand up against this illegal trade action and non-tariff barriers that they put in place, and then we wait three years to get a ruling at WTO and elsewhere.

These people need cash. The Americans will win by default if the government does not step up to the plate and meet the $30 per hog 2008 numbers that the Canada Pork Council has requested.

I call upon the government to just do it, do it now and save this industry.

[Ed Komarnicki, Conservative, Souris—Moose Mountain, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the facts are, according to a Statistics Canada report, released on May 25, farm cash receipts for hog producers have increased to over 27% in the first quarter of 2009 from the first quarter 2008. Lower feed, fuel and interest costs are improving the bottom line for hog producers.

The Government of Canada is working with the sector to address issues of increased global competition. Through the Canadian Agriculture and Food International Program, the Government of Canada has contributed $2 million annually to Canada Pork International to support the implementation of the sector's export market development plan.

Markets are being opened up, and that is where we should be proceeding. Dollars are being spent to ensure that a future is there for the hog producers. However, having a trade action is not something we want to encounter in a negative way.

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, 40 years after the adoption of the Official Languages Act, 143 years after the creation of the Dominion of Canada, after more than four centuries of the French presence in America, the Canadian federal government is as disdainful as ever of the French fact in Quebec, in Acadie and in Canada. A new example of this: the preparations for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Once again, the French fact is merely being given lip service.

For the Canadian federal state, bent as it is on assimilation, the concept of two official languages is just that: a concept,with no real commitment behind it. Ministers are not even obliged to be bilingual, nor Supreme Court justices, nor ambassadors, nor deputy ministers, nor even the Prime Minister. Even a number of public service positions that are designated bilingual are staffed by unilingual anglophones. When the higher echelons of a G8 country like Canada do not even require their representatives to be able to function in one of its official languages, namely French, one cannot help but conclude that Canada is most certainly not preaching by example. Canada is a country that is, in fact , promoting the gradual disappearance of the French fact. The rate of assimilation proves this.

VANOC, the acronym for the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic Games, is yet another example. Subsidized by the federal government, VANOC has made a mockery of the francophone cultural component of the games. At the countdown ceremony on February 12 of this year, the only francophone representation was a single musician who admitted that he had likely been chosen at the last minute because of his French name.

The francophone component of the pre-Olympic concert events is non-existent. VANOC has defended itself by saying that there will be performances by Beast, a group from Quebec that sings in English, Bell Orchestre, a Quebec instrumental group whose website is in English only, and Manitoba Metis Music and Dance, which does not sing in French. In continued attempts to justify the unjustifiable, VANOC pointed out that one of the choreographers was a francophone. However, French is a language, not a dance step.

In light of this situation, on March 31 at the Standing Committee on Official Languages, I asked Ms. Marie-Geneviève Mounier, the Assistant Deputy Minister, International and Intergovernmental Affairs and Sport, if the federal government could cut VANOC funding for failing to provide adequate French programming for the cultural component. Ms. Mounier replied, and I quote: “We can do that. If the contribution agreement conditions are not complied with— ”

Therefore, it is evident that the minister responsible for the Vancouver Games and, furthermore, the Minster of Official Languages, is attempting to cover up VANOC's lack of respect for the French fact rather than taking it to task right here, in the House of Commons. Furthermore, he is not taking concrete action to ensure that VANOC remedies the situation. That is shameful but so representative of the federal contempt and indifference towards the French fact.

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

Mr. Speaker, we take our responsibility to respect and promote Canada's official languages very seriously. Our government is firmly committed to official languages, as demonstrated by our roadmap, which includes a record $1.1 billion in funding.

In addition, our contribution agreements with organizations that receive funding include provisions guaranteeing a number of things: communications with the public will be carried out in both official languages; services will actively be offered in both official languages; members of both official language communities will be encouraged to participate in the organization's activities.

The Government of Canada supports the festival, and the organizers are aware of our linguistic requirements.

Canadian Tulip Festival organizers recently clarified their position on services in Canada's two official languages. They explained that the reason behind having two separate festival launches, one for the English media and another for the French media, was to emphasize programming highlights for both anglophone and francophone audiences.

Festival officials said that they regretted any misunderstanding arising from this decision to communicate as well as possible with both French and English media. I think that, over the years, the Canadian Tulip Festival has proven that it respects both official languages, and naturally, we will keep encouraging the organizers to continue doing so.

We have mentioned the Canadian Tulip Festival, but I know my colleague also mentioned many things about the Olympics and Paralympics. I want to touch on a couple of things that our government is doing with regard to that. It has to be clear that we are engaged in promoting both officials languages at this event. It is going to be a fantastic opportunity for both our Francophone and Anglophone citizens to see the Olympics and Paralympics.

To point out some of the things that have been done, our government is actively participating in the funding of Cultural Olympiad. The whole Canadian Francophonie will be represented with all her diversity. This is a praise-worthy initiative that will foster the vitality of Francophones in both majority and minority communities. This will develop the production network among both language groups and promote exchanges between them.

Canadian Heritage and VANOC are working with the Canada Council for the Arts and equivalent provincial organizations to allow groups that were selected in 2009 and 2010 to use their trips to Vancouver to put on a series of shows in British Columbia and other provinces to maximize the benefits of their participation in the Cultural Olympiad.

I want to stress one more time that we believe in ensuring that all citizens of Canada have the opportunities to really take advantage of both the English and French languages. We are committed to that. We will continue to support these initiatives. We will do our very best to ensure that our partners also follow our lead as a role model.

I recommend that my colleague opposite engage in celebrating the successes, while also being mindful of places where we need to improve. For once, I would like to hear a celebration of the fact that Canada is one of the most wonderful places to live in this world and that we do celebrate the French and English languages alike.

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, why is the minister not cutting funding to VANOC, which is not meeting the official language conditions of the funding agreements?

VANOC is totally removed from the francophone reality needed to represent the Vancouver 2010 Olympics and Paralympics. It has still not called for translators for French signage in the host city and neighbouring cities. According to the Commissioner of Official Languages, the Toronto and Vancouver airports are not yet ready, eight months before the international event takes place, to welcome francophone visitors from Quebec, Canada and around the world.

With French being one of the official languages of the International Olympic Committee, the present situation speaks volumes about federalist Canada—a country claiming to have two official languages, English and French, but which treats French with contempt.