House of Commons Hansard #77 of the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was nahanni.
Bob Rae Liberal Toronto Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, fortunately, we have diplomatic relations with Iran. As such, our embassy can tell us exactly what is going on in Iran right now, and what further measures Canada and our friends, the United States and the European Union, among others, can take.
Can the government tell us what it plans to do to help bring true democracy to Iran?
Lawrence Cannon ConservativeMinister of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Speaker, everyone knows that this government has been very active on the Iran file, particularly in terms of condemnation and the commitment we made at the United Nations to condemn human rights abuses. We have also very strongly condemned the latest elections. We demanded that the elections be transparent and that every vote be counted. We are following up on this issue, and I hope that today, the opposition will support the motion outlining our next steps.
Gilles Duceppe Bloc Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC
Mr. Speaker, the newly formed Liberal-Conservative coalition is definitely against the interests of Quebec and the public. Having introduced and supported a budget that is inappropriate and inadequate for Quebec, now the new coalition is setting up a panel on employment insurance that will report in the fall. They are abandoning the unemployed to their fate for the summer at least.
Does the coalition realize that real action must be taken now to help the unemployed?
Stephen Harper ConservativePrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, this government has already introduced measures in Canada's economic action plan that have greatly benefited unemployed workers in this country. We have paid the unemployed an additional $5.5 billion in employment insurance. It is the Bloc Québécois that abandoned these unemployed workers by consistently opposing, at all cost, the reforms that benefited them.
Gilles Duceppe Bloc Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal-Conservative coalition agreement covers only two aspects of employment insurance: the Conservative election promise and eligibility. The Conservative election promise was only for parental leave for self-employed workers, and Quebec already has that. As for the 360-hour eligibility threshold, the Liberal leader is already willing to give in.
Do the Prime Minister and his new Liberal friend realize that what the unemployed need is a complete overhaul of the employment insurance system?
Stephen Harper ConservativePrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, this government and the Liberal Party have agreed to discuss future amendments to eligibility criteria and voluntary benefits for self-employed workers.
But if we talk about more comprehensive reform, I am sure that the Bloc Québécois will vote against measures to help the unemployed in this country in any case.
That is the problem with the Bloc Québécois: it can never deliver the goods.
Yves Lessard Bloc Chambly—Borduas, QC
Mr. Speaker, to undermine the 360-hour eligibility threshold that the Liberals have proposed, the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development is making a perverse calculation by adding together the 9 weeks of insurable employment represented by those hours, the 39 weeks of benefits and the 2 week waiting period to conclude that workers have one year of benefits. What a gross misstatement! Wages and a waiting period are not benefits.
Why does the minister refuse to understand that an immediate overhaul of the employment insurance system is needed?
Jean-Pierre Blackburn ConservativeMinister of National Revenue and Minister of State (Agriculture)
Mr. Speaker, I understand that this is a very disappointing day for the leader of the Bloc and his team because we again avoided a crisis that they wanted. They wanted another crisis, they wanted an election, they wanted to waste half a billion dollars of taxpayers' money on an election.
But no, we came to an agreement. We are working in the interests of the unemployed and workers and we will already be taking action this summer to improve the employment insurance system.
Yves Lessard Bloc Chambly—Borduas, QC
Mr. Speaker, the reform of employment insurance that the Prime Minister spoke about during the election campaign will provide parental leave to the self-employed, a limited measure already available to these workers in Quebec. Once again, there is no consideration for Quebec.
When will the Liberal-Conservative coalition realize that more than piecemeal changes are need, that employment insurance must be overhauled now?
Jean-Pierre Blackburn ConservativeMinister of National Revenue and Minister of State (Agriculture)
Mr. Speaker, once again I wish to remind them that, although they are disappointed, there is no crisis today. We have come to an agreement and we have avoided an election. The Bloc does not like it and only wants the downfall of the country. For our part, we want to make Canada thrive and we are attempting to contribute to the economic prosperity of the country.
We recently extended unemployment benefits by five weeks and they voted against it. This summer we will work on further enhancing the system. However, they might vote against it again.
Libby Davies NDP Vancouver East, BC
Mr. Speaker, the marriage of convenience between the Conservatives and the Liberals has blossomed into true love.
What is their message to Canadians? If they have H1N1, they should take an aspirin. If they need isotopes, they should use soap. Are people putting groceries on a credit card? The big fonts will show them just how deep they are sinking. If they have lost their job, there is a blue ribbon panel and they should sit tight till the fall.
When will these partners in crime get real? Instead of appointing panels, why will the Prime Minister not act for jobless Canadians today?
Stephen Harper ConservativePrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, we have already taken important action for the unemployed, but the NDP voted against it. NDP members decided they would vote against it before they even knew what it was. They have decided they will be against any further proposals before they know what they are. In effect, we have le Bloc anglais down there.
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
Order, please. I think the Prime Minister will have to wait for the next question.
Libby Davies NDP Vancouver East, BC
Mr. Speaker, workers need help now, not months from now.
When New Democrats negotiated budget 2005, we delivered. We turned $4.6 billion in corporate tax breaks into billions for housing, post-secondary education, transit, and more.
After all that tough talk from the Liberal leader, all Canadians get is a blue ribbon panel. That is cold comfort for laid off workers.
When will the Prime Minister stop playing at his opponent's low level and start acting to help those Canadians who are jobless?
Stephen Harper ConservativePrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, the problem for the NDP is that the lowest level game being played in this Parliament is by the NDP.
The NDP does not seem to accept that the people of Canada re-elected this government, and this government wants to work with other parties. As long as the NDP decides it will oppose everything before it even knows what the proposals are, it will remain completely irrelevant to Canadians.
Thomas Mulcair NDP Outremont, QC
Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Liberals were yelling that unemployed workers were going to starve. Today, the Liberal deputy prime minister is effectively saying, “Let them starve!” The worst is that the Liberal-Conservative coalition offers no hope to the hundreds of thousands of unemployed workers caught up in the economic crisis. It is shameful and tragic.
Why does the Prime Minister insist on spreading falsehoods to the detriment of unemployed workers? Is it possible that he does not know that 60% of those who lose their jobs are not eligible for employment insurance? Or, like the Liberal deputy prime minister, does he just not care?
Diane Finley ConservativeMinister of Human Resources and Skills Development
Mr. Speaker, if the NDP had read our economic action plan, they would know that we have done many things, and we continue to do so, to help unemployed workers in Canada. For instance, we have provided five extra weeks of benefits and expanded the work sharing program, which is protecting over 130,000 jobs at this time.
No matter what we propose for employed workers, the NDP votes against it.
Geoff Regan Liberal Halifax West, NS
Mr. Speaker, the former president of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission said yesterday that the MAPLE reactors could have been working and producing isotopes. She said that the government's decision to prematurely shut down the MAPLE reactors a year ago was shocking.
Why did the Conservatives abandon the MAPLE project, when the reactors were still being audited? Was it because producing isotopes did not fit into their privatization plans?
Lisa Raitt ConservativeMinister of Natural Resources
Mr. Speaker, the testimony of the former president of CNSC has actually turned up something else which I find very interesting. Indeed, she indicated to the Globe and Mail, not more than three weeks ago, that she was told that the MAPLEs had problems in 2001, which I presume she told the member for Wascana. As well, the quote was, “You know, we are going to be bringing out the cement machines to fill that in”.
Now, is that something the member for Wascana actually knew about? If so, why did it take him so long to alert the world that Canada was not in a position to provide—
Geoff Regan Liberal Halifax West, NS
Mr. Speaker, Canadians know the government refuses to explore every possible solution to the isotope crisis.
The government prematurely shut down the MAPLE reactors. It did not treat a proposal to create isotopes at McMaster University as a priority. It denied, for months, there was even a crisis. Then it made matters worse by announcing isotope production would die on its watch.
Why does the government believe Canadian cancer patients should be dependent on other countries for isotopes when it is clear we can be world leaders in this field?
Lisa Raitt ConservativeMinister of Natural Resources
Mr. Speaker, indeed, the one thing that the hon. member said that was, in fact, a fact is that we are world leaders.
We are absolutely world leaders in leading the globe in coming together to come up with contingency planning with respect to reactor schedules to ensure that we have a global supply of medical isotopes.
With respect to McMaster, this government has funded McMaster, both on the side of research with respect to the reactor as well as the infrastructure side of the reactor. Indeed, on May 28 of this year we announced an expert panel to review the call for proposals for alternate ways to produce medical isotopes for the long-term.
Carolyn Bennett Liberal St. Paul's, ON
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has finally admitted that there is an isotope crisis.
Canadians urgently need a triage system where the most urgent cases go to the front of the line. The nuclear medicine community yesterday criticized the research announcement for doing nothing to calm the fears of anxious patients waiting for tests, like in Saskatoon, Windsor, Kitchener and Kingston, where there are no alternatives to technetium bone scans.
When will the Minister of Health provide an actual plan for the worried patients in Canada?
Leona Aglukkaq ConservativeMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, back in 2007 the medical isotope experts, in partnership with the provinces and territories, established contingency measures. Those measures have been implemented and the provinces and territories continue to work with them. Part of that plan was to identify alternatives. Alternatives were made available to the provinces and territories and are available now.
The Tc-99 shortage is being managed by front-line health care providers and we will continue to work with them.