Debates of Sept. 18th, 2009

India

[Devinder Shory, Conservative, Calgary Northeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, in the 1990s, before the present Liberal leader returned to Canada to be crowned by party elite, the Liberal government was pursuing an isolationist policy toward India.

However, I am happy to say that Canada-India relations are at an all-time high under our Conservative government.

With trade, for example, exports to India in 2008 totalled $2.4 billion, more than double the last year the Liberals were in power. We have also begun talks on an economic partnership agreement which could be worth billions; started discussions on a nuclear cooperation agreement; advanced negotiations on a FIPA; and expanded our trade network in India to eight offices, making it one of Canada's largest networks worldwide.

Our Conservative government recognizes that isolating important partners is not the way to do business. We want to build on our successes and create even more opportunities for Canadians and Indians alike.

Rosh Hashanah

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

Mr. Speaker, this evening, blasts of the shofar will ring in the new year, 5770, for Jewish communities everywhere. Around the world, and here in Canada, our fellow citizens of the Jewish faith will celebrate Rosh Hashanah. This is a period of great celebration and as importantly of honest self-reflection.

Over the weekend, families and friends will gather across Canada to share in this most special of holy days, celebrating the passing year and ushering in the new. I know that all members of the House will join me in wishing our Jewish friends, colleagues and neighbours a Shanah tovah u’metukah. May their year and ours be blessed with peace, joy and good health.

I would like to offer a very special good Yom Tov to the Jewish community in my home riding of Eglinton—Lawrence.

Firefighters

[Mike Wallace, Conservative, Burlington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last Sunday I had the privilege of attending the memorial service on Parliament Hill, held each year to honour the brave men and women of our country's firefighting ranks who have given their lives in service to protect our communities and families.

It was an important opportunity to show our support and our thanks to the families and friends of fallen firefighters. It is important to reflect on the fact that over 940 Canadian firefighters have given the ultimate sacrifice in the history of our country. We can never take the safety and security of our families and communities for granted.

I was proud to join the Burlington Firefighters Pipes and Drums band at the service. Burlington firefighters have the respect and admiration of all the citizens of Burlington. They are committed to the safety of our families and committed to the well-being of our community.

My message today is simple. Each and every one of us in the House want to extend a very heartfelt thanks to all the men and women of the fire services across Canada.

Climate Change

[Bruce Hyer, NDP, Thunder Bay—Superior North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we will soon be voting on Bill C-311, the climate change bill, in its third reading. In just 79 days, 6 hours and 11 minutes, Canada will be in Copenhagen to sign the world's next major climate treaty. However, we still do not know what the Conservative or Liberal policies actually are on climate change.

When will we get Canadian leadership and Canadian action on climate change? The people in Thunder Bay—Superior North are ready, willing and able to do their share, but Thunder Bay and north shore towns like Nipigon, Schreiber, Terrace Bay and Marathon are about to lose their intercity buses. We have already lost VIA Rail.

These were our most fuel-efficient ways to travel, plus their loss is making tough times in northwestern Ontario tougher still. Whether we are talking about regional hardships or national policy, our government must start taking action to protect our citizens and our planet.

Child Care

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Party continues its assault on the judgment and integrity of Canadian families. At the finance committee, the member for Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel had this to say about giving money directly to parents to help pay for child care. He said, “the problem that I'm seeing is that the parents don't provide. They may have the money, but they use it for their own purposes”.

To even suggest that parents would ignore their own children's needs is offensive, yet the Liberal leader himself agrees. He has called the $100 per month child care benefit “wasteful” and “a terrible use of public funds”.

The Liberal leader should apologize for his party's attack on Canadian parents, but he will not because he and the Liberals truly do not trust parents to decide what is best for their children. On this side of the House, we will always stand up for Canadian parents and families.

International Day of Peace

[Meili Faille, Bloc, Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC]

Mr. Speaker, September 21 has been declared International Day of Peace, established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1981. This day has been set aside to commemorate and strengthen the ideals of peace within and among all nations and people, as well as to promote a day of global ceasefire and non-violence.

This year, a multiplatform campaign under the slogan “WMD – We Must Disarm” is meant to raise awareness of the dangers and costs of nuclear weapons, and to promote nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. Although the cold war era has long since passed, it is important that we continue reducing nuclear arsenals.

With that goal in mind, Canada must live up to its international reputation and take on the task of promoting peace, by showing leadership in nuclear disarmament and the reduction of nuclear arsenals.

Political Parties

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

It is official, Mr. Speaker, pigs have flown. Not only that, hell has frozen over. The opposition parties who said they would never in a million years vote confidence in a right wing Conservative government, have just united in an unholy alliance.

The marriage has been consummated. All that is left to do now is to figure out what to call this political ménage à trois. A suggestion would be the hypocrisy alliance. How about socons? That is short for socialist and conservative. The conservative lapdog triplets, how about that one? The train wreck trio. How about an acronym, BURN Canada, as in bloc united with reform conservatives and new democrats. Let us try Jack and Gilles crawl down from their hill. The possibilities are endless.

Whatever we call it, Canadians know full well they will never call it “coherent”, and they sure as heck will not call it “principled”.

Child Care

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary for Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals continue to attack the child care benefit.

The spokesperson for the Leader of the Opposition and member for Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel recently said: “I think the problem is that parents are not providing for their children's needs. They have money, but they spend it on their own needs.”

Questioning the integrity and the judgment of Canadian and Quebec parents and accusing parents of ignoring the needs of their own children is shameful.

The Liberal leader thinks that these benefits are useless and a very poor use of public funds. In March he even hinted that he plans to scrap them.

This only goes to show that this leader and his party are not really concerned with the interests of Canadians and Quebeckers.

Canadians and Quebeckers will remember that.

Health

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Beauséjour, NB]

Mr. Speaker, while European countries will start H1N1 vaccinations in September, and the United States in October, this government is telling us that we may have the vaccines in mid-November. Doctors are saying that vaccines must be ready as soon as possible, but because of the Conservatives' incompetence, we could have them at best in two months.

How can Canadians have confidence in this government to protect us against H1N1?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, we support the health department's action plan.

We support what the health and public safety departments and the Chief Public Health Officer are doing. They have a plan of action based on a plan that this government has put in place in conjunction with our North American allies and the World Health Organization.

This plan aims to protect the Canadian public as best we can. Working with our international partners, we are doing just that.

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Beauséjour, NB]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the other health minister.

While some countries, like Australia, are only a week or two away from getting their populations vaccinated, we still do not know when Canadians will be protected against H1N1. Now the World Health Organization is saying that vaccine production will be substantially less than forecast.

With one outbreak already this month and the growing risk of more, could the government guarantee that even one Canadian will be vaccinated two months from today?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, I thank Dr. Kildare over there.

We rely on the advice of public health professionals and on the advice of the Chief Public Health Officer, all of whom are medical physicians. We have a plan that can protect the Canadian public. It is based on the best advice of public health officials and epidemiologists. I will take their advice over that member's advice any day of the week.

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Beauséjour, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I thank Dr. Seuss.

In the isolated Dehcho First Nation community of Wrigley in the Northwest Territories, two-thirds of 175 residents have fallen ill with flu-like symptoms. The residents feel as though someone “has shut off the light”. There is no plan and they have no idea when help will arrive. Federal health officials have been muzzled and will not comment.

What is the government's plan to help the people of Wrigley? Why can an entire community be left in the dark at a time like this?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth.

British Columbia health officials, who are working with the Public Health Agency of Canada, have indicated that the hon. member's statements are based on an inflammatory article that is not accurate.

Health officials in British Columbia are aware of these cases. We are working with British Columbia first nations and first nations communities across the country to protect citizens of our country, and we will continue to do so.

[Ujjal Dosanjh, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, researchers at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute in the U.S. have said that vaccination needed to start this week to be effective in slowing the spread of H1N1. The Conservative government is too late.

The Ahousaht First Nation on Vancouver Island is suffering from Canada's first H1N1 outbreak. The government does not have a plan that gets vaccine into our communities today.

How can Canadians have any confidence in the government's ability to protect us in this situation?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, we have a plan that we adopted back in 2006.

Our goal is to ensure that there is a balance between speed and gathering as much information on the vaccine's safety and effectiveness before we start distributing it across the country. We are on target. We have confirmed that we will be distributing the vaccine to provinces and territories the first week of November. We have been saying that all along.

That plan was endorsed by all the provinces and territories yesterday at the FPT meeting in Winnipeg.

[Ujjal Dosanjh, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister and the government are on target and late. The study also concluded that this pandemic was most likely to be similar to the Asian influenza pandemic of 1957 and that children would experience the highest illness attack rates.

Vaccinations should have started already. The government cannot even guarantee that a single Canadian will be vaccinated within two months. How can Canadians ever have confidence in the government to protect our children, to protect the most vulnerable Canadians?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, I want to be very clear that every Canadian who wants to receive the vaccine will receive the vaccine. Unlike other countries, Canada is very fortunate to have a plan in place that is being implemented, and we are on track. The vaccine will be available the first week of November for every Canadian. Unlike other countries, we are very fortunate to have a plan in place that is working for Canadians.

Employment Insurance

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, workers at AbitibiBowater, which is due to close, will not be able to take advantage of the additional weeks of employment insurance benefits the government has announced. Like many other workers, those at AbitibiBowater have been laid off intermittently, which means that they are not eligible for the new measures. Even Quebec's labour minister is calling on the federal government to consider forestry workers.

Does the minister realize that her bill does nothing to address the real problems facing the unemployed, starting with eligibility for EI?

[Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Conservative, Minister of National Revenue and Minister of State (Agriculture)]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois is getting to be as bad as the Liberals. While they refused to remain part of our committee and abandoned the unemployed, long-tenured workers would now like to benefit from five to 20 additional weeks of employment insurance, but the Bloc Québécois is raising objections to this bill and holding it up. Who will pay the price? The unemployed workers that the Bloc is holding hostage today.

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, what a nerve. We proposed going to committee right away, in order to hear from unemployed workers. They are afraid to hear from the unemployed, afraid to hear from the experts. And all the minister can tell us is that the regular system is good enough for forestry workers. In other words, he is telling them to be happy with the system they cannot qualify for. That is this minister's meaningless and painful logic.

[Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Conservative, Minister of National Revenue and Minister of State (Agriculture)]

Mr. Speaker, that is the Bloc Québécois policy: all or nothing. The government has to give everyone everything, otherwise the Bloc does not want the government to move forward.

What have we done? We have added five weeks of EI benefits for the unemployed because of the global economic recession. We have extended job sharing to assist employers and help employees keep their jobs. We have committed $1.15 billion so that workers can spend two years learning a new trade while being paid. Furthermore, today we are adding five to 20 weeks of benefits for long-tenured workers.

Forestry Industry

[Michel Guimond, Bloc, Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I invite the minister to come and say that to the 340 workers in Beaupré who lost their jobs. We will see if that suits them. That plant will lose 340 jobs.

Quebec's minister of economic development, Clément Gignac, a federalist, not a separatist, a banker, not a socialist, has criticized the federal government for sitting back and doing nothing. He has been clamouring for assistance for the pulp and paper industry, similar to that of the auto sector.

When will this government wake up?

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

Mr. Speaker, of course it is important on this day to think about the workers who have temporarily lost their jobs. I would remind the House that these closures are temporary. We must think of those families today.

I spoke with Quebec's minister of economic development a few times in the past few days. We have been working with the Quebec government in recent months to improve the state of the Quebec forestry industry, and of course we will continue to do so.

The only thing the Bloc can ever do is whine about what we are doing, while we, on the other hand, continue to work on behalf of our workers.

[Michel Guimond, Bloc, Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the measures needed to assist the forestry industry are well known. The Canadian Paperworkers Union reminded us: the closures could have been avoided if the company had been granted loan guarantees. Is that clear?

When will this government face the facts and grant loan guarantees, as everyone in Quebec has been calling for?