Debates of May 28th, 2009

Aboriginal Affairs

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Madam Speaker, for centuries before Samuel de Champlain's arrival, the Chaudière Falls and Victoria Island were a sacred meeting place for indigenous peoples. The area has been the site of cultural convergence, political evolution and influential innovation.

Today the land sits in the shadow of Parliament Hill awaiting the building of a national aboriginal centre envisioned by Algonquin elder William Commanda. The island would host an aboriginal centre, a peace building meeting site, an eco-park, a research institute and a historic interpretive centre.

World-renowned Canadian architect, Douglas Cardinal, has captured the land's heritage in a masterpiece.

The government must review its 2004 and 2006 commitments to the materialization of the national aboriginal centre. Let us prepare for a grand opening in June 2013 to showcase and celebrate the heritage of this sacred site on the 400th anniversary of de Champlain's arrival.

Boissevain and Area 4-H Rally

[Merv Tweed, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Madam Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to bring special attention to an organization in Canada that is celebrating a milestone in educating rural youth in my constituency. Next week the Boissevain and Area 4-H Rally will be celebrating its 75th year. Its long history of recognizing the achievements of youth from dozens of local 4-H clubs and communities is to be applauded.

Over the years, beef, calf and home ec clubs and others have converged at the Boissevain Rally to compete with other 4-H'ers in the region.

The 4-H pledge says it all about the basic principles of the organization:

I pledge my head to clearer thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to larger service, and my health to better living, for my club, my community, my country, and my world.

I congratulate the volunteers and organizers of the Boissevain and Area 4-H Rally for inspiring leadership, citizenship and life skills to our youth for the last 75 years. I wish them success and many more years.

Children's Wish Foundation of Canada

[Dan McTeague, Liberal, Pickering—Scarborough East, ON]

Mr. Speaker, tragically, thousands of Canadian children between the ages of 3 and 17 are diagnosed every year with a life-threatening illness.

The Children's Wish Foundation, which was founded 25 years ago in 1984, is celebrating an important milestone this year. Incredibly, it will be granting its 15,000th wish this spring.

Each wish is as unique as the child who makes it. The magic of a wish provides children and their families with an opportunity to share the joy of a special experience and escape from the day-to-day challenges of a serious illness.

I want to remind hon. members that as we sit here in this place today, the Children's Wish Foundation is hard at work granting every child their wish.

I am very proud to note that the foundation is headquartered in my riding of Pickering--Scarborough East.

On the Hill today is wish child Justin Ernst. Justin is here with his family and members of the foundation here in Ottawa.

I would like to congratulate the Children's Wish Foundation for reaching out and making this incredible milestone a reality for all Canadians.

New Generation Prayer Team

[Tim Uppal, Conservative, Edmonton—Sherwood Park, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise in the House today in recognition of Reverend Elaine Baillie, a resident of my riding and founder of the New Generation prayer team.

The New Generation prayer team, made up of students from Fort Saskatchewan Christian School, have positively impacted the riding of Edmonton--Sherwood Park.

Over the past several years, Reverend Elaine Baillie and the New Generation Prayer Team have brought together citizens in our community to honour our Canadian Forces through the power of prayer.

Every year at our local Remembrance Day ceremony, in conjunction with the Royal Canadian Legion, they invite members of our community to recognize family members or loved ones who are serving with the Canadian armed forces.

These names, bound together in our Book of Remembrance, are then brought to the team's weekly school meetings where they use the power of prayer to ask for their safety and recognize the brave soldiers we have lost while they were serving this great nation.

I ask that the House recognize Reverend Elaine Baillie, who is in Ottawa with her husband Reverend Ray Baillie, for her leadership, compassion, and commitment to youth.

Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement

[Claude Guimond, Bloc, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, with the United States still opposing the ratification of a free trade agreement with Colombia and all social and labour groups denouncing such an agreement, the Conservative government remains determined to ratify a treaty with a country where the number of assassinations of labour representatives is constantly on the rise.

Since 1986, Colombia's rate of union membership has gone from 13.5% to 4%. In 2008 alone, there were 46 murders and 157 death threats targeting union members.

Coming from the agricultural labour movement myself, I find this government's lax attitude towards the protection of Colombian workers' rights unacceptable.

The government must drop its planned trade agreement, which makes us a party to human rights violations. We need to send a clear message that we will not sign trade agreements at any cost.

Children's Wish Foundation of Canada

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Nepean—Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Children's Wish Foundation is celebrating its 25th anniversary.

The group grants wishes to children diagnosed with high-risk, life-threatening illnesses. As I read this statement today, the group will be granting its 15,000th wish to a child in a community somewhere in Canada.

One of those children is 11-year-old Justin from Ottawa, who is getting ready to receive his wish, which is a beautiful rescue dog named Muffie. His dog will be arriving next week from Calgary, so Justin is going with his family today to get all the necessary pet supplies. Muffie will also be a great motivator for Justin, who will be doing exercises to help his muscles recover from the cancer treatment he has been receiving. His mom Patricia said that throughout the challenges of his treatment, Justin was able to keep himself preoccupied with thoughts and dreams of his new dog.

I congratulate young Justin, his whole family, and thank the Children's Wish Foundation for all the work it does.

Taxation

[Anthony Rota, Liberal, Nipissing—Timiskaming, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have become a single issue party. The issue is taxes. They want them higher and they will have more of them to pay for their staggering deficit. Their leader told the House two days ago that he will not bring in another budget, and I quote, “until we need to raise taxes”. It is now clear: taxes will rise under the Conservatives.

In these tough economic times, that is not what Canadians need. We need a stable and focused leadership that only the Liberals can provide.

The Conservative government is attacking hard-working Canadian families, and now it wants to make it even harder for Canadians to support their families.

Basically, we will have the Conservatives to thank for higher taxes.

Raising taxes to cover their incompetence is just plain wrong. I know it is wrong. The people of my riding know it is wrong. All Canadians know it is wrong. It is only the Conservatives who have not figured it out yet.

The Economy

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the opposition leader that the issue here is the economy, not the deficit. We are in the middle of a global recession, and we will do whatever it takes to protect Canadians and help them make it through this economic storm.

The measures we are taking are necessary, realistic and short-term.

We will not apologize for spending to stimulate the economy, for protecting jobs and for protecting the unemployed. If we have to do even more, we will.

The Liberals are so hypocritical. First, they criticize the size of the deficit, then they turn around and demand that we spend billions more. Clearly, the Liberal leader changes his mind depending on which way the wind is blowing.

Hamilton Olde Sports Slo-Pitch Association

[Chris Charlton, NDP, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today is opening day for the 2009 baseball season of the Hamilton Olde Sports Slo-Pitch Association.

Since I cannot be at Turner Park for the opening pitch this year, I thought I would rise in the House to wish this amazing group of ballplayers all the best for the upcoming season.

The Hamilton Olde Sports Slo-Pitch league has over 200 players. Men must be over 55 to play, and women, 45. The oldest player this year is an incredible 81 years young.

The calibre of the game is amazing. Although this league is all about friendship and good sportsmanship, there is absolutely no doubt that the competitive spirit is alive and well and the playoff title is hotly contested.

The league is made up of 12 teams, and each has a local sponsor. In these tough economic times, that cannot just be taken for granted. Therefore, I want to give props to Boomers Sports Bar, Scheiding and Associates, Tire Tech, Ace Family Restaurant and Sports Bar, West Hamilton Denture Clinic, Rees Plumbing and Heating, Dalbar Leisure Sportswear, John Carnahan, Legion Branch 163, Tim Hortons, Investors Group and Ringo's Automotive for their continuing support of this incredible league.

I wish all the ballplayers a safe, sunny and high-scoring season.

Liberal Party of Canada

[Rodney Weston, Conservative, Saint John, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal leader is leading the Liberal Party down the path of hypocrisy and they are losing credibility with Canadians. On one hand, the Liberal leader is in Toronto saying that he stands up for seal hunters; meanwhile, the Liberal Party's campaign boss is calling the hunt “appalling” and “more trouble than it is worth”.

Our Conservative government believes that seal hunters and their families are worth it. They are worth defending, and our Conservative government will continue to stand up for them.

The Liberal leader's biggest hypocrisy of all is on Canada's economy. On one hand, the Liberals are attacking the size of the deficit, and then on the other, they are demanding billions and billions more in spending. They cannot have it both ways.

While the Liberal leader and his party continue on this path of hypocrisy, our Conservative government will continue to support and help Canadians during these tough economic times.

Official Languages

[Christiane Gagnon, Bloc, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, when we were voting on the bill to appoint bilingual judges to the Supreme Court, a measure that has received the support of the Commissioner of Official Languages and Quebec's National Assembly, we were dismayed and offended to see francophone Conservatives from the greater Quebec City area oppose it.

How shameful it was to see those members congratulate themselves on voting against a measure, to see how proud they were to be undermining the right of francophones to be heard in their own language. What does it mean for linguistic equality when francophones are forced to use simultaneous translation in the highest court in Canada to plead their case, when one single judge's unilingualism forces all of the judges to deliberate in English?

Are those francophone Conservative members from the greater Quebec City area so ashamed of their language that they are all too eager to kowtow to party ideology even though it clashes with the linguistic realities of Quebeckers, Canadian francophones and Acadians?

We believe that nothing could possibly justify their opposition.

The Prime Minister

[Scott Andrews, Liberal, Avalon, NL]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Prime Minister admitted to the House that he is spending hours holed up in his basement, going through old tapes that he has collected on the Leader of the Opposition.

We knew the government was a bit shaky when it came to scientific novelties like the greenhouse effect and the theory of evolution, but who knew they missed the digital revolution as well?

The Prime Minister seems to be stuck in another political era. Who does the Prime Minister think he is, Richard Nixon?

What are these tapes the Prime Minister is talking about? Is he bugging the phone lines again, just like when they eavesdropped on the NDP? Are there microphones in our offices and cameras in the potted plants?

It is time for the Prime Minister to wake up, throw away his little spy cameras and start focusing on the mess that he and his government have made of this economy, or else he may be remembered in political history as fondly as Richard Nixon.

The Economy

[Daryl Kramp, Conservative, Prince Edward—Hastings, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are off in dreamland again. The issue is not the deficit, it is the economy. We are in a global recession, and the Conservatives will do whatever it takes to protect Canadians and help them weather this economic storm.

The measures we are taking are necessary, they are affordable, and they are short term, unlike the Liberal hypocrisy where, on the one hand, the Liberals attack the size of the deficit, and on the other, demand billions more in spending.

As the Liberal leader revealed, their plan is to raise taxes on Canadian families and businesses. On April 14 he said, “We will have to raise taxes”. He declared that a GST hike is on the table.

They support billions more on an east-west power grid, another $1 billion-plus on EI, $5 billion to bring back the Kelowna accord that was written on the back of a napkin. The world economy is in a difficult position. Canada is a leader in this G8, but the Liberals are trying to spend us into oblivion. Canadians do not need tax and spend Liberals with their hands in the cookie jar.

In these times, only the Conservative government's steady leadership can keep us on the right track.

[Michael Ignatieff, Liberal, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, 37 days ago the Minister of Finance said we were on track, and now we know we have gone right off the rails. Thirty-seven days ago the deficit stood at $32 billion. Now the finance minister says it has ballooned to over $50 billion. He did not say how much more over $50 billion. Canadians are tired of these sorry guesstimates. They want to know the truth.

When will the Prime Minister tell us the truth? How much more?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, at the end of this year, the deficit will depend obviously on the performance of the economy, but what Canadians are wondering about when it comes to more is the leader of the Liberal Party.

He comes here and tries to criticize the deficit, but day after day he is here demanding literally tens of billions of dollars of new spending from this government, new spending, permanent spending, unaffordable spending to be paid for by tax increases. Everyone knows his position on the deficit. It is just hypocrisy.

[Michael Ignatieff, Liberal, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, my party has an unimpeachable record in fiscal responsibility. Liberals left them the record that they squandered.

The Prime Minister made a second claim yesterday, which was that the deficit will be “short term”. There is not a Canadian who believes that is true.

He got us into this mess. How does he propose to get us out?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the record of the Liberal Party is this: Liberals got this country into deficits when borrowing was at record levels, and then when recession came, they were cutting the unemployed and raising taxes right in the middle of a recession, something this party will never do.

[Michael Ignatieff, Liberal, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, six months ago, the Prime Minister predicted a budget surplus—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order please. The hon. Leader of the Opposition has the floor.

[Michael Ignatieff, Liberal, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

Mr. Speaker, six months ago, the Prime Minister predicted a budget surplus.

On Tuesday, it became a deficit of more than $50 billion. This government's credibility is at stake.

With the unemployment rate reaching record levels and municipalities still waiting for the money promised in the budget, how can Canadians believe this government after so much incompetence?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I could even quote the Toronto Star, a Liberal newspaper, which asks what the opposition wants to do about the deficit. Do they want the government to start slashing its spending? No, quite the contrary, the opposition is demanding that the government spend more.

The editorial in the Toronto Star goes on to say it is time to have a real conversation. It says:

[The Liberal leader] has said he would be open to the idea of raising taxes. [The Prime Minister] isn't.

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives dismissed the recession and their $50 billion deficit as just “temporary”, just “cyclical”. Not to worry, they say, it is not “structural”, but Chrysler is in bankruptcy, and GM almost. The auto sector is down to a fraction of its former self. Manufacturing is chopped by 20%, and forestry has been devastated. This is big-time structural change.

Why did the Conservatives put Canada into a deficit before any recession and cripple the ability to help vulnerable Canadians now?

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, as the member opposite knows, since he voted in favour of Canada's economic action plan, we brought in a deficit this year in order to respond to the global recession. There is a serious global recession that is deeper and broader than had been anticipated by anyone, and the hypocrites on the other side come in every day and ask for more spending, more deficits--

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order, please. Members do enjoy freedom of speech, but calling names of other hon. members, I think the member knows, is out of order. We do have hypocritical things happen in the House from time to time, but there is no hypocrite sitting here.

The hon. member for Wascana.