Debates of June 17th, 2009

Medical Isotopes

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the minister knows the alternatives are not equally available across Canada. This is a crisis and it deserves to be treated as such.

Ministers must be accountable to Parliament and to Canadians during times of crisis. The minister and her medical adviser must appear tomorrow at the health committee and reveal her proper plan for the patients in Canada.

Will she agree to table the source and security of the isotope supply for all 240 nuclear medicine clinics in Canada, their access to the alternatives and their capacity to help the other areas that have no access to alternatives?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I will continue to work with the provinces and territories, which deliver health care, on this issue. I will continue to work with the medical experts on medical isotopes in identifying alternatives.

Yesterday I announced $6 million to be allocated for research. Canada is a world leader in research. This is the first of its kind. For the very first time, experts on medical isotopes are coming together to look at alternatives to Tc-99.

Forest Industry

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

Mr. Speaker, thanks to pressure from the Bloc Québécois, a few pulp and paper plants will be receiving assistance, but this is not enough. Only two Quebec companies will receive any of this support, with the rest going essentially to British Columbia. We must provide the other forestry companies whose need is also great with liquidity and loan guarantees.

What about the sawmills in Girardville, Roberval, Mistassini and other places in Quebec that have closed down? When will the government finally give them the loan guarantees they are asking for?

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

Mr. Speaker, once again, the Bloc Québécois is trying to take credit for the government's work. And once again, it is not the case.

Thanks to the work of the Minister of Natural Resources and of our government, we have successfully put in place a program that will support the pulp and paper industry and improve its competitive edge, as well as making it greener in response to market trends.

Once again, the only thing the Bloc Québécois wants is to again stir up a political crisis by pitting one province against another. Why do they not always give the full picture?

[Serge Cardin, Bloc, Sherbrooke, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the U.S. lawyers are using statements on loan guarantees made by the Prime Minister and his ministers in this House to undermine the case Canada's lawyers are trying to make in the London tribunal, which is that the loan guarantees are absolutely legal.

Would it not have been a better idea for the government to do and say what its own lawyers are proposing, and give loan guarantees to the forest industry rather than back up the U.S.?

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois members continue to focus on the lawyers' needs, while we focus on the workers' needs. That is why, with the cooperation of Export and Development Canada, we have put in place support in the order of $8 billion-plus to help Quebec forest industries to continue to operate during the financial crisis.

The Economy

[Mario Laframboise, Bloc, Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Works and Government Services said yesterday that, if the government were to fall, funds that have already been voted on would be blocked and that payments to municipalities would in turn be suspended, which is false. What is more, funds that were voted on in 2007 still have not to be spent.

Of the money earmarked for infrastructure in budget 2007, can the minister tell us how many projects have already begun, how many are about to begin and how many have been completed?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question.

We are working very hard with the Government of Quebec. We are in the midst of signing a detailed agreement. It is absolutely crucial that we continue to work with the Government of Quebec and make the necessary investments to create jobs, because economic growth in Quebec and Canada is our top priority.

[Mario Laframboise, Bloc, Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Allan Maslove of Carleton University has said that nearly 90% of the stimulus package funds would continue to be distributed, regardless of the political situation, and the Treasury Board has confirmed this.

So how can this government claim to be worthy of the confidence of the House, when it does not hesitate to brazenly twist the facts like that?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague is wrong.

It is absolutely crucial to have a real government to sign accords and detailed agreements. If the House is not sitting, if we do not have a real government, we cannot take action.

We are taking action; we are creating jobs across Canada and in all regions of Quebec. Quebec has a strong team working for it on this side of the House, one that is achieving real results for the province.

Lobster Fishery

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Beauséjour, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the lobster fishery in the Northumberland Strait is experiencing its worst slump in a generation. During the election campaign, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans promised to establish a licence buyback program to help fishers, which would be funded by the federal government. Although she made an announcement last week, the minister remained silent about the licence buyout program.

Has the minister forgotten her election promise?

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

Mr. Speaker, during the election campaign, I committed to helping the people in my riding. One of the issues they identified was the need for rationalization. That is why last week we announced $65 million to support the lobster industry, some of which will go to rationalization.

We are working on plans with the different fisheries organizations right now all across Atlantic Canada to assist them and to address their issues.

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Beauséjour, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the fishermen in the minister's riding were not expecting a loan from the government to pay for a rationalization program. What she was talking about was a federally financed licence buyback program. That is what she talked about in the election, that is what the fishermen in the Northumberland Strait were expecting, and that is precisely what is absent from the minister's comments now.

Why did the minister let down the fishermen in her riding and the fishermen in my riding on the other side of the Northumberland Strait?

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

Mr. Speaker, I would just like to clarify something. I did commit to working with the fishermen on a rationalization program. I never once said “a government funded rationalization program”.

What we do have here is a contribution agreement to help the fishers carry out their plans, which I must point out is $75 million more than the Liberals ever put on the table for the lobster industry.

Manufacturing and Forestry Industries

[Alexandra Mendes, Liberal, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, a Conference Board study showed that medium-sized cities are bearing the brunt of the current recession. In Quebec, cities like Saguenay, Trois-Rivières and Sherbrooke are dealing with it every day, and we are all worried about their weakening economies. Since 2006, this government has done nothing for the manufacturing industry. Nor has it done anything particularly good for the forestry industry.

When will the Conservatives give us specific answers about the stimulus package funds that are supposed to go to these crucial sectors of our municipalities' economies?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, federal and provincial governments are working very hard in all regions of Canada and Quebec.

Our budget included major measures, such as the gas tax. We have increased the municipal refund by 200%. We have already begun paying that money out to every municipality because we know that municipalities are at the heart of this country. It is critical that we support municipalities.

[Alexandra Mendes, Liberal, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we do not have to look far to find specific examples. In Saguenay and Trois-Rivières, the forestry crisis has decimated sawmills and paper mills. In Sherbrooke, the Conservatives stood by while the manufacturing industry took a nosedive. In every one of those cities, behind all of the Conference Board numbers, there are families struggling to survive.

When will the Conservatives offer a little hope instead of empty political slogans?

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

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague said, Canada is not an island. Economic turmoil is affecting the whole world.

Our government's economic action plan, with billions invested in infrastructure, training and renovation credits, is generating economic activity, and we are beginning to see a recovery. We do not need rose-coloured glasses to see that things will get even better. We are hard at work. We must be given the opportunity to keep working. Thank you for allowing us to keep working to stimulate this country's economy.

Justice

[Brent Rathgeber, Conservative, Edmonton—St. Albert, AB]

Mr. Speaker, as we approach the summer months, all members of the House are anxious to return to their ridings and speak with their constituents about the performance of their respective parties and their leaders.

I know that members on this side of the House will be seeking the opinions of their constituents with respect to our crime agenda, an aggressive agenda that would ensure that the rights of law-abiding Canadians and victims trump the rights of criminals.

Would the Minister of Justice explain this government's most recently tabled crime legislation and how it would help victims of crime in this country and how it would fit into the government's overall crime agenda?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, those who commit serious crimes should serve their time behind bars and not in the comfort of their homes. This is why we introduced legislation to make sure that those who have house arrest for something will not be able to go home if they have committed a serious crime.

I hope we get a change of support from the opposition parties on this. They have not supported it up to this point. I have said this in view of the fact that the NDP last week did not support our drug bill. Now they have problems with identity theft. What is it about the NDP that they can never stand up for victims in this country? Would it be so bad for them to, for once, support victims of crime?

Employment Insurance

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the leader of the Liberal Party just changed his mind. He just duped workers.

The 360-hour threshold is no longer necessary. What a sad spectacle. The people responsible for misappropriating funds from the employment insurance fund are agreeing with the Conservative insults about a “45-day work year”.

This new coalition between the people who sabotaged the employment insurance system and those who see EI as lucrative is disturbing.

Why is the new coalition hiding behind a phoney panel and not taking action now to help the unemployed, as the Liberal leader suggested two days ago?

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

Mr. Speaker, as promised, we are trying to provide self-employed workers with employment insurance benefits. These people currently do not have access to employment insurance. What is more, the NDP promoted this.

Why has it changed its position, and why is it now against the efforts of the Liberals and the Conservatives to create a system of access for self-employed workers?

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

Mr. Speaker, workers do not want a summer of talks. They need action now.

More and more workers across Canada are falling off EI and onto welfare. In the past year, B.C. has seen a 25% jump in social assistance claims. Ontario has seen an increase of 225,000 single people or families on welfare, the largest in its history.

We know the problems. We know the answers. Why is the government hiding behind another blue-ribbon panel when workers will continue to suffer this summer?

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

Mr. Speaker, we have been taking very strong action to help all those who have been unfortunate enough to lose their jobs, by adding an additional five weeks and by protecting jobs through our work sharing program.

Now we are taking it one step further by working with the Liberals on this panel this summer to develop a program that will help those who are self-employed get access to EI benefits.

This is a group that has been largely ignored. We are working to help them. I do not understand why the NDP members are against that. It is not something that can be done overnight, but I am glad we are going to have the input from the Liberals to make this a viable program.

Medical Isotopes

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

Mr. Speaker, the government thinks it is dealing with the medical isotope shortage by suddenly freeing up $6 million for research. But an expert in the field, Dr. Lamoureux, says that this announcement is nothing but a media diversion and that it will do nothing to solve the crisis immediately.

Will the government limit its action to spur-of-the-moment announcements, or will it come up with a real plan to deal with the isotope shortage?