Debates of Sept. 28th, 2009

Nelly Arcan

[Christiane Gagnon, Bloc, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, Nelly Arcan, a young author, who made her mark with her provocative writing, tragically passed away.

Ever since the publication of her first novel, Whore, she defied conventions by adopting a feminist style, critical of the tendency of women to be slaves to beauty, advertising, image and society. Her writing is sometimes angry, sometimes disenchanted, and often directly tackled the topic of suicide.

Ironically, she was the epitome of what she stood against. She was a childlike woman obsessed with her image, a prisoner of what she called the burka of the flesh. Her writings sometimes seemed like a cry for help, an attempt to break free.

She leaves behind her works, which include, in addition to Whore, Folle, L'enfant dans le miroir, À ciel ouvert and the yet to be published Paradis clef à main.

I offer our sincerest condolences to the family, friends and loved ones of Nelly Arcan.

Community Leadership

[Bill Siksay, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

Mr. Speaker, on October 19 in Montreal, Svend Robinson, the former MP for Burnaby—Douglas, will be honoured by the Conseil québécois des gais et lesbiennes with its Grand Prix. This honour recognizes Svend's outstanding and courageous leadership over many decades in support of the full equality of members of the GLBTTQ community.

On September 18 at a fundraiser for the Qmunity Centre, Vancouver's GLBTTQ community centre, the Canadian Queer Hall of Fame was launched. Founded by Paul Therien, the Queer Hall of Fame's first five inductees were the Right Hon. Pierre Trudeau, marking the 40th anniversary of the decriminalization of homosexuality, Olympic gold medallist Mark Tewkesbury, freedom of speech activist Janine Fuller, Dogwood Monarchist Society founder ted northe, and Vancouver fundraiser and entertainer extraordinaire, Robert Kaiser, better known as Joan-E.

Congratulations to all these great community leaders.

Police and Peace Officers' National Memorial Day

[Lois Brown, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the federal government proclaims the last Sunday of each September as Police and Peace Officers' National Memorial Day.

Yesterday here on Parliament Hill, thousands of police and peace officers gathered to honour their colleagues who had died in the line of duty and made the ultimate sacrifice in keeping our communities safe and secure.

This was the 10th year I have had the privilege of participating in this very moving and emotional memorial.

I commend the officers who attended yesterday. Police and peace services throughout all of Canada came together to honour their fallen, including York Regional Police Chief Armand La Barge, Deputy Chief Bruce Herridge, and Deputy Chief Eric Jolliffe from my own area.

Police and Peace Officers' National Memorial Day is a lasting tribute to the sacrifice of those brave men and women. They are our heroes. We shall not forget them.

Michèle Asselin

[Lise Zarac, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Fédération des femmes du Québec has a new president, Alexa Conradi, but we would be remiss if we failed to mention the contribution of the outgoing president, Michèle Asselin.

Ms. Asselin has been at the helm of the Fédération des femmes du Québec for six years. During her tenure, she ensured that the voices of Quebec women were heard when it came to issues that mattered to them, such as poverty and violence against women.

Ms. Asselin worked very hard to reach out to first nations women, a commendable goal that should be of particular interest to this House.

She was also very sensitive to our society's ever-increasing cultural pluralism, and she worked to bring women from all of the cultures that make up our society together.

Today my colleagues and I would like to thank Ms. Asselin for her hard work.

Firearms Registry

[Garry Breitkreuz, Conservative, Yorkton—Melville, SK]

Mr. Speaker, if there ever was living proof that the long gun registry must expire, we have it now. Once again, the registry has placed firearms owners in harm's way. The breach of national security perpetrated by the RCMP-affiliated Canadian Firearms Centre abuses a private database that should never have existed in the first place.

The CFC gave the public polling firm EKOS Research this top secret list of firearms owners on a silver platter for a so-called customer satisfaction survey. The names and addresses of Canadian hunters, sport shooters and farmers have been leaked, and they could be targeted by criminals as a result.

Fortunately, private member's Bill C-391 to scrap the long gun registry received second reading in the House today. Surely in light of this unforgiveable security breach there can be no one left who can honestly justify retaining the registry for even one more day.

Also, according to the RCMP's own files, there have been hundreds of confirmed breaches of the firearms registry. The registry has become a shopping list for criminals. Does that explain why gun owners have been the target of robberies after they were forced to register? The gun registry is not gun control, it is the opposite.

Ingrid Betancourt

[Johanne Deschamps, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last week, during a visit to Quebec, Franco-Colombian Ingrid Betancourt was honoured by Reporters Without Borders and the Université de Montréal. She also received the medal of honour from the National Assembly of Quebec for her commitment to democracy, human rights and freedom of expression.

Elected as a member of Colombia's Parliament in 1994 and its Senate in 1998, this grande dame of politics was running in Colombia's presidential election when she was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia on February 23, 2002. She was released by her captors on July 2, 2008. Ms. Betancourt is an example of perseverance and resistance.

Today, she is careful to point out that a number of her companions are still being held captive in Colombia and that we can help them by continuing the dialogue and denouncing their situation, the same way Quebeckers did for her.

The Bloc Québécois commends this symbol of female courage who continues to stand up for human rights and freedoms.

Yom Kippur

[James Lunney, Conservative, Nanaimo—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, known as the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur is the second of the high holidays and conclusion of a 10-day period specifically set aside to focus on introspection and repentance. It is a time of rest, reflection and renewal for Jewish people as they observe the day by fasting, praying, attending synagogue and refraining from work.

Prime Minister Harper said that pluralism is the principle that binds our diverse peoples together. For Canadians, this important holiday provides an excellent opportunity to reflect on the tremendous contributions that members of the Jewish community have made to Canada. It also affords an opportunity to renew our commitment to expose and oppose anti-Semitism in all its forms, including the new and virulent anti-Semitism surfacing around the world.

Yom Kippur is about getting relationships right, man-to-man and man-to-God. May this season be a blessed experience for all who take note.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

I would remind the hon. member for Nanaimo—Alberni that using an hon. member's name is not in order, and I know that with his experience he would not want to repeat that mistake in a subsequent statement.

The hon. member for Eglinton—Lawrence.

Iran

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

Mr. Speaker, how low Canadian foreign policy has dropped. In a week when world leaders turned their attention to the Iranian threat to world peace, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs opted for a local show as opposed to making a substantive contribution to world stability. Yet every day Iran is getting closer to backing up its vicious vitriol with nuclear weaponry. Responsible western nations need to stop Iran's steady march toward its goal and consequent regional destabilization.

Iran's military politics are a global threat, a threat that extends beyond the Middle East and should be treated as such. We need to act now. We need to back up talk with action.

My colleague from Mount Royal has introduced Bill C-412, An Act to combat incitement to genocide, domestic repression and nuclear armament in Iran, a bill which I proudly seconded.

If the government is serious about the Iranian threat, it should adopt the bill, make it law and prove that it can walk the talk.

Liberal Party of Canada

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

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have been trying to bring down the government for no good reason, and now the Liberals' political lieutenant is realizing that it is better to retreat from the spotlight and adopt a lower profile.

But we know that is not his style, and it shows that the new Liberal leader is like his predecessor: he lacks leadership and cannot be trusted.

This Liberal leader is like a weather vane spinning around in the wind. He has no vision and is even losing the confidence of his veteran members. It is quite funny to see the Bloc Québécois leader wanting to support a non-confidence motion. Is the Bloc Québécois leader still prepared to support a Liberal motion that no longer has any roots in Quebec?

This Liberal leader, who was foolishly starting to recruit candidates for an election that Canadians do not even want, has nothing better to propose to Canada to address the crisis.

We will not let Canadians down. We will not let the Liberals hold up the economic recovery. We will stay on course. Our economic action plan is producing results, and the Conservative government is working hard for Canadians.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Jean Crowder, NDP, Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC]

Mr. Speaker, on September 25, at the close of the G20, the Prime Minister told reporters that Canada has no history of colonialism. That came as a surprise to many Canadians, especially aboriginal peoples.

Maybe the Prime Minister has a different definition of colonialism. My dictionary says that it is control by one power over a dependent area or a people, or a policy advocating or based on such control.

The Indian Act was a colonial piece of legislation passed by Canada. It legislated that the Government of Canada would have power over Indians living on reserve. The numbered treaties were signed with Canada, not Britain or France, and those numbered treaties took control of the resources and land that aboriginal peoples had lived on for millennia. The land involved is from western Ontario to the Rockies.

In court cases today, the government uses a remnant of colonial expansion, the right of discovery, as a defence to explain why it will not honour agreements. Bands in B.C. have to prove that indigenous people are living in their communities using archeological evidence going back thousands of years because the government still argues terra nullius, or land empty of people, as a reason not to sign fair treaties with first nations.

Canada does have a history of colonialism. Reconciliation—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. member for Elgin--Middlesex--London.

Tim Hortons

[Joe Preston, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last week a Canadian institution came home. After more than a decade of being based in the United States, Tim Hortons has decided to reorganize its Canadian company.

Yet it is not simply its bond with Canadians that has prompted the return. It is our government's economic policies, specifically our commitment to lower taxes, that has brought Tim Hortons home. The company itself stated that it was returning to “take advantage of lower Canadian tax rates”.

This government recognizes the link between low taxes and economic growth. Increasing Canada's competitiveness is crucial to creating jobs, and this decision makes the point clear. Shockingly, Liberals were dismissive of this government's support of the return of this Canadian icon. It is not surprising. After all, given the chance, Liberals would raise taxes which would stop growth and investment in its tracks.

Regardless of the Liberal dismissal, we all join Canadians in raising our mugs and saying, “Welcome home, Tim Hortons”.

Pierre Falardeau

[Carole Lavallée, Bloc, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the filmmaker and pamphleteer Pierre Falardeau, a man committed to the sovereignist struggle from the beginning of his involvement in the early 1960s, lost the ultimate battle, the battle against cancer, last Friday night.

All of his films, including 15 février 1839, Octobre, Party and the renowned Elvis Gratton, indeed, his entire work is marked not only by his full and total commitment to this ideal of sovereignty, but also by the fear of seeing his fellow Quebeckers completely Americanized.

An uncompromising man, a crusader for freedom, known for speaking his mind and for his strong opinions, he refused to be described as an intellectual, although Camus, La Boétie and Memmi, to name a few, were sources of inspiration for him.

One may not agree with all the opinions of this free-thinking man or how he chose to express them, but we must commend his efforts to remind Quebeckers that they are a nation.

Pierre Falardeau's work, which is now part of history, will always be there to remind us.

Yom Kippur

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today the Jewish community in Canada and around the world is celebrating the most important holiday of the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur.

It is a day set aside for atonement, a day when those of Jewish descent refrain from work, fast and attend synagogue. They come together to remember the year that has passed and to reflect on the year that is to come.

The traditions of Yom Kippur have been celebrated by Jewish Canadians for generations. It is an occasion that has enriched Canada's diversity and given pause to all Canadians to reflect upon the remarkable contributions that the Jewish community has made and continues to make to the Canadian mosaic, to its social, cultural and economic fabric.

On behalf of all Liberals, I extend my warmest wishes to all Jewish Canadians celebrating Yom Kippur today. May good health and happiness be theirs in the year ahead and always.

The Economy

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, our government's number one priority is the economy.

Now, more than ever, as a government and as a country we must stay focused and let Canada's economic action plan work.

Indeed today we are providing our third report to all Canadians on the implementation of our plan. From Sault Ste. Marie to Victoria to Pangnirtung, our plan is working.

Working with our provincial, territorial and municipal partners, we have reached a level of 90% for 2009-10 funding committed to and being implemented in specific projects.

Only six months into our two-year fiscal plan over 7,500 infrastructure and housing projects are moving forward. Our plan is now projected to create and maintain 220,000 jobs by the end of 2010, even more than the number projected in January. That does not include over 164,000 Canadians benefiting from our expanded work-sharing program.

Now, when the economy is starting a tentative recovery, is not the time for an opportunistic election. Now is the time to stay on course.

[Michael Ignatieff, Liberal, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, in the report released today, the government claims that 90% of its infrastructure projects are under way, but if we were to ask—

[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, in the report released today, the government claims that 90% of its infrastructure projects are under way, but if we were to ask premiers and mayors across Canada, they would say that this is not true.

We now know that only 12% of the projects are under way. So why the chicanery?

How are Canadians supposed to believe what today's report says?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, what the Prime Minister was very proud to announce on behalf of the Canadian government and to report to all taxpayers is that 90% of the initiatives contained in the economic action plan are indeed under way.

When it comes to measures to allow more credit for Canadians, when it comes to tax cuts for Canadians, when it comes to infrastructure projects, this government is working hard to get the job done. Our number one job is to focus on the economy and to focus on jobs. The Liberals' number one job seems to be to focus on an unnecessary election. That is disgraceful.

[Michael Ignatieff, Liberal, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, okay, let us talk about jobs.

In January, the government made one of its empty promises about creating 190,000 jobs. Instead, we lost 450,000.

Today, in this report it is promising again, incredibly, to create another 250,000. What is the OECD and the Royal Bank telling us? They are saying we are going to lose 250,000 next year. This dog will not hunt.

When will Canadians be able to trust a government that does not tell the truth?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I will tell the House what is happening right across the country.

Infrastructure projects are being tendered; contracts are being issued; shovels are in the ground; engineers and architects are at work. We are working hard with the provinces, with the territories, and with the municipalities in every corner of this country to get the job done.

What Canadians expect is for all of us on this side of the House and that side of the House to work hard, to focus on the economy, to create jobs, and not plunge Canada into an unnecessary and self-interested election, which is what the leader of the Liberal Party would have us do. That is not in the best interests of Canadians. That is only in the best interests of the Liberal Party.

[Michael Ignatieff, Liberal, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about infrastructure.

According to the Conservative candidate in Markham, infrastructure funds are being spent to help Conservative ridings instead of helping families in need. Canadians actually want a government that helps all Canadians in time of need.

How can Canadians trust a government that is running an infrastructure program that is basically a rewards program for Conservative candidates?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to report that in the great riding of Markham—Unionville, the city of Markham applied for 14 infrastructure stimulus grants and does anyone know how many were approved? All 14 were approved.