Debates of June 19th, 2009

Foreign Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated yesterday, we take these cases very seriously. We get the very best legal advice in the country.

With respect to the particular case, I indicated to the House that the government will comply with the court order. What is the hon. member's problem?

Cluster Munitions

[Mark Eyking, Liberal, Sydney—Victoria, NS]

Mr. Speaker, it has been over a decade since Canada led the way in the signing of the Ottawa treaty to ban landmines.

On May 30, 2008, last year, the Convention on Cluster Munitions was adopted at the UN, including by Canada.

The world needs to rid itself of cluster bombs, weapons that destroy many lives.

Would the Minister of Foreign Affairs commit Canada to be among the first 30 countries to ratify the convention, and if not, why not?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has played a leading role in the establishment and the implementation of the Ottawa convention on anti-personnel mines. Our government was also active in the negotiations of the new Convention on Cluster Munitions in 2008 and was pleased to be among the 91 countries that signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions in December 2008.

Preparations are under way to seek ratification of this treaty. Ratification of protocol No. 4 of the convention, which addresses the explosive remnants of war, was approved by cabinet in November 2008. We intend to formally ratify the protocol in the future.

Gasoline Prices

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

Mr. Speaker, as citizens struggle to cope with the crisis, the Liberal-Conservative coalition is not even lifting a finger to deal with the rise in gasoline prices. On the contrary, the coalition is defending the tar sands and their friends, the oil companies, while consumers are stuck with the unjustifiable price hikes.

How many unjustifiable price hikes will consumers have to swallow before this government decides to give the Competition Bureau broader powers of investigation?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, of course, all consumers are concerned about gas prices. That is why this government, in our economic action plan and our budget, passed new rules and laws for the Competition Bureau to enforce. That will allow the Competition Bureau to have the tools that it needs to enforce our rules to ensure that there is better competition among the deliverers of gasoline and our gas stations and so forth. Those tools are available to the Competition Bureau. I am sure it will be using those tools at the earliest available opportunity.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Industry says that there is not a problem with the Competition Act. However, a CAA study shows that prices often rise just before holiday periods or long weekends. According to the CAA, there is no explanation for five out of seven recent price increases.

Can the minister explain then how, in the space of five minutes, the price can go up at four different gas stations on the four corners of the same intersection? Does he think that is normal?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, living as I do in Muskoka, I understand the member's frustration. We all have the same frustration as to how these things happen. Because of the Competition Bureau's actions in Quebec earlier last year, it found the chisellers, found the people who were colluding, and went after them like a ton of bricks. We have given it even more powers to do that because we believe in a fair marketplace and we believe in protecting consumers.

Death Penalty

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Foreign Affairs confirmed this week that his party feels that the death penalty is acceptable. However, the minister said he wanted to decide on a case-by-case basis.

What is the difference between being put to death by lethal injection in the United States, shot in China and decapitated in Saudi Arabia? Does the Minister of Foreign Affairs realize that he will now be determining who lives and who dies?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, once again, this statement is completely out of proportion.

An individual who is judged in a democracy that subscribes to the rule of law should not necessarily expect the Canadian government to intercede on his behalf, especially when he has been found guilty of serious or violent crimes.

The strong measures the government has taken to combat violent crime in Canada are based on these Canadian values: respect for freedom, democracy, human rights—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. member for Jeanne-Le Ber.

Immigration

[Thierry St-Cyr, Bloc, Jeanne-Le Ber, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the media are reporting the case of John Plecko, who was born in Croatia and came to Canada at the age of five. After living here for 40 years, he now faces the threat of deportation because neither he nor his parents applied for his Canadian citizenship. Although he has served time in prison in the past, he is now a law-abiding citizen who has married and had children.

The minister has discretionary authority and can cancel the deportation order on humanitarian grounds. Will he do so?

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, the obligation of the Canada Border Services Agency under law is to enforce the law. When the Immigration and Refugee Board or the courts find that people are not permitted to be in Canada, that they are not legally here, then we are required to remove them.

Medical Isotopes

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

Mr. Speaker, the MAPLE team leader, Dr. Harold Smith, and three other nuclear scientists told the natural resources committee yesterday that abandoning the MAPLEs would be a tragic loss of scientific and engineering accomplishment, similar to Mr. Diefenbaker's decision to cancel the Avro Arrow. Medical leaders have called this decision a “horribly short-sighted” decision that makes no sense.

Will the government recognize that it is making a catastrophic mistake and work with the National Academy of Sciences and other experts to keep isotope production in Canada where it belongs?

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, as I announced earlier, we have now populated the expert review panel and it is actually going to be taking a look at all the options in order to have a steady, reliable supply of medical isotopes for Canadians in the long-term. We truly understand that this is a very serious concern for all of us in the long-term.

As well, it is important to make a clarification regarding the MAPLEs. Once again I have to stress, that after 12 years, after over half a billion dollars, not a single usable medical isotope was produced, and the reason why is that they could not operate safely.

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

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the minister would like to listen to the engineers who worked on the project. This is what they had to say. They said that the reactors were only four months away from being able to effectively produce medical isotopes and that just one of these generators would have been able to produce the entire world's supply.

The government has a solution at its fingertips. Will the government work with the National Academy of Sciences and other nuclear scientists to get the MAPLE reactors up and running, to effectively and safely produce isotopes?

[Lisa Raitt, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, in this country there is a division of power between those who build and operate nuclear reactors and those who licence them in terms of safety. The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission indicated to AECL that this was not a licensable reactor. In fact, in 2001, Ms. Linda Keen, who was the president of the CNSC, indicated that it was an inherently flawed design.

That being said, we understand the issue and we are taking action. We have an expert panel in place that will review the way to ensure Canadians actually get medical isotopes.

Social Programs

[Michael Savage, Liberal, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Mr. Speaker, today I sent a letter to the Auditor General, requesting an inquiry into the enabling accessibility fund.

There are too many troubling questions surrounding this program, including the fact that of $36 million allocated, $34 million went to ridings held by Conservatives, and the fact that of 89 applications for major funding, only 2 were approved, both to Conservative ridings, including $15 million to the riding of the Minister of Finance, who once sat on the board approving project applications.

If there is nothing to hide, will she release all relevant information pertaining to the application process?

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

Mr. Speaker, the enabling accessibility fund is a great program. It is great because it particularly helps small communities get the facilities, make them accessible, and provide services to the disabled, something that the previous Liberal government could not be bothered with.

This is a great program. We are very pleased that the projects were value-based on their merit. We are going forward with it. It is a good program. I am surprised that the hon. member thinks that the program that was funded in his riding was not worthy.

[Michael Savage, Liberal, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Mr. Speaker, it may be a great project if one lives in a Conservative-held riding, but there are people with disabilities who live across this country who are being shut out of the process.

This fund was supposed to help persons with disabilities throughout Canada, not just in Conservative ridings. All these unanswered questions suggest the fund was created to help Conservatives and also suggest serious political interference, including the $15 million sent to the riding of the finance minister.

Will the minister do the right thing and release all information about this program, or will she admit that this has become a political slush fund?

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

Mr. Speaker, we are helping the disabled get access to facilities to which they never had access before. That is a noble thing. We are very proud of that. A number of groups were not able to get funding because the program was so popular. It was over-subscribed.

I would note that one program that was funded was in that Liberal member's riding, the Iona Presbyterian Church in Dartmouth. Is he saying that is a Conservative riding? It should be.

Justice

[Dona Cadman, Conservative, Surrey North, BC]

Mr. Speaker, our government has taken real action to combat crime and to punish sex offenders. We introduced a bill earlier this month that would fix the Liberal's national sex offender registry that experts say has never solved a single crime.

There is an additional strain on the laboratories that analyze DNA. We must ensure that the strong laws we have brought forth are able to catch sex offenders and other criminals.

Could the Minister of Public Safety outline our government's plans to give these labs the funding they need?

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for Surrey North for all her outstanding work on justice issues.

She is quite correct that we are the only party that has taken real action to tackle crime. The use of DNA analysis by our police is important in solving crimes, and ensuring offenders are off our streets and in prison where they belong.

That is why our government put an additional $32 million into our RCMP forensic laboratories to do exactly this kind of DNA work. Our government is serious about tackling crime. This means giving law enforcement the tools it needs to get the job done and keep Canada safe.

Foreign Affairs

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, a secret document from the Privy Council Office indicates that in 2006 officials from the Bush administration were contacting our ministers directly to provoke suspicions against Canadian citizen Abdelrazik and to request Canada's help in putting together a criminal case against him.

Clearly, many questions need to be answered regarding the role of the previous Liberal government and the present Conservative government.

Will the government hold a public inquiry into the case of Mr. Abdelrazik, so that Canadians can finally learn the truth about Canada's involvement in this case, yes or no?

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

Mr. Speaker, I agree with one part. It would be just about impossible to answer all the questions pertaining to the previous Liberal government.

That being said, all issues in this matter were completely investigated. We received good legal advice and we made a decision based on that.

National Defence

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, Canada helped to create the Montreux document outlining obligations under international law and best practices for the use of private military and security contractors. Yet, the government is not forthcoming when questioned about what steps have been taken to comply with this document in Afghanistan.

We understand that Afghan civilian guards are provided weapons only while on duty, with an uncertain level of training, and soldiers have complained of guards sleeping on the job.

Will the government commit to greater openness on this topic and issue a public report outlining how we are meeting our obligations under the Montreux document?