Debates of Oct. 18th, 2010

Small Business Week

[Andrew Saxton, Conservative, North Vancouver, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Small Business Week runs from October 17 to October 23. Owners of small businesses are entrepreneurial men and women who have put their dreams into action.

Through their hard work, dedication and vision, owners of small businesses are generating the jobs and economic growth that made Canada a competitive and modern economy. They are helping to ensure that our economy emerges from the global economic recession stronger than ever.

Small businesses are the backbone of the Canadian economy, accounting for 98% of all businesses and nearly half of all jobs in Canada. Our government has made it a priority to provide small businesses with the tools they need to succeed. This includes reducing taxes and regulations that inhibit growth and stifle initiative, helping to ensure they have ready access to financing and investors and expanding trade so they have the broadest possible access to international markets.

This government will continue to ensure small businesses have the opportunity to succeed and grow.

Foreign Affairs

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the government.

Instead of blaming the leader of the official opposition, blaming the members of the UN General Assembly and suggesting that having a seat at the Security Council is not important, when will the Conservative government take responsibility for a major defeat for Canada and for our reputation around the world?

[John Baird, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I want to say at the outset that our government is very proud of the principled foreign policy position that we have taken over the past five years. Our government makes foreign policy decisions based on what is right and not on what is popular, and we have nothing to be apologetic about.

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, let us look at the facts: a significant refusal on the part of the government to even talk to the Government of China over many years; a decision to exclude a number of African countries from being recipients of aid; freezing our entire CIDA budget into the indefinite future; and a complete abnegation of responsibility with respect to climate change.

When will the government take responsibility for a major diplomatic failure on the part of Canada?

[John Baird, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, right from the outset, the Prime Minister and this government have taken principled foreign policy decisions. We have nothing to apologize for. We are incredibly proud of the great leadership that the Prime Minister has exhibited, particularly this year when we were able to host both the G8 and the G20.

Again, we make foreign policy on this side of the House based on what is right and not on what is popular.

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, since when was incompetence a matter of principle? That is what we are faced with. We are faced with sheer incompetence. When we add to it ideology and neglect, that is what we have. It has nothing to do with principles. It has to do with incompetence.

There is no finer example than what the government has allowed to happen with the Government of the United Arab Emirates. How could we have sunk so low in our diplomatic capacity that the government would have allowed these negotiations to go completely off the rail, threatening our entire operation in Afghanistan? That is what we are faced with. It is incompetence. It has nothing to do with principle.

[John Baird, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, it is not the practice of this government to comment on operational matters of the Canadian Forces here on the floor of the House of Commons.

However, the government always chooses arrangements that are in the best interest of Canada and that provide value to our men and women in uniform. This government has shown an unprecedented commitment to our men and women in uniform.

I can say, for my friend from Toronto Centre, that thank goodness the dark decade, the 10 lost years of the previous Liberal government, is over, thanks to the leadership of this Prime Minister.

Government Priorities

[Martha Hall Findlay, Liberal, Willowdale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we now know that the deficit is even larger than what the minister himself said it was just a week ago. Once again, he was wrong. This Conservative government is the one that ran the biggest deficit in Canadian history. What for? For prisons and fighter jets? Those are its priorities. Why not families, youth and seniors?

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the priority is the economic action plan. In fact, I need to correct the member opposite. Our deficit this year is lower than anticipated in this fiscal year. We also have the lowest deficit in the G7 and the best overall fiscal record in the G7.

Since July 2009, with the economic action plan, we have created about 420,000 new jobs. Here is what members opposite would do. They would raise business taxes and kill about 400,000 jobs in Canada.

[Martha Hall Findlay, Liberal, Willowdale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this is the biggest borrowing and spending government in Canadian history. It has done so four years running and it started before the recession. What for? Where are the government's priorities? Biggest spending, biggest borrowing for what? For more prisons and stealth fighter jets?

Why are the government's priorities not on spending money on families, on learning, on home care and on pensions? Let the government answer that.

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I know the member for Willowdale and her colleagues like to bad mouth the Canadian economy but the Canadian economy is actually performing the best in the entire G7. Who said that? The IMF and the OECD said that.

Here is another opinion:

Everybody looks on [Canada] with envy in terms of our economy...our stability, the fact that we have…the room to spend because we paid down debt. Our debt to GDP ratio is the envy of the rest of the G7....

Who said that? The former Liberal deputy prime minister, John Manley, said that.

Foreign Affairs

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

Mr. Speaker, a few days after Canada’s stinging defeat at the UN, the Prime Minister had the gall to say that his government would stick to its principles and that getting a seat at the United Nations was not a popularity contest.

Does the Prime Minister realize not only that his government has learned nothing from this defeat at the UN, but also that he is stubbornly agreeing to policies that are contrary to a number of United Nations policies?

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, we are proud of our principled positions on foreign affairs. When it comes to foreign affairs, our government will do what is good for Canada, what is good in general when it comes to foreign affairs, not just what is popular.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian government's track record is hardly a glowing one when it comes to adhering to United Nations priorities. The government has opposed all United Nations initiatives in relation to the environment, aboriginal rights and fighting poverty, to name but a few.

Will the Prime Minister admit that he has only himself to blame for Canada’s stinging defeat at the United Nations?

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, that is false. As I said before, our government acts on principle when it comes to foreign affairs, not according to what is popular. In Copenhagen, for the first time, the major emitters sat down together to tackle environmental problems. Our government showed leadership in making sure that all the major emitters were involved in that discussion.

[Pierre Paquette, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, another example of how little regard the Conservatives have for human rights is the case of Canadian Omar Khadr. While all the other western countries have repatriated their citizens, the government has obstinately refused to assist him, in spite of rulings by the Federal Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, which have all said that the Canadian government has violated Omar Khadr's rights in Guantanamo.

Does the Prime Minister understand that unprincipled actions like these torpedoed Canada’s bid for a seat on the Security Council?

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas)]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know how many times this House has been told that Omar Khadr faces serious charges in the United States. These charges include murder. The serious charges must be addressed in the United States.

[Pierre Paquette, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Omar Khadr was 15 years old when he was captured by the Americans. That makes him a child soldier who should be protected by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, period.

Will the Conservative government finally acknowledge the reasons for its defeat at the UN last week and make amends by abiding by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and court rulings, and immediately do the principled thing: repatriate Omar Khadr to Canada?

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas)]

Mr. Speaker, Canada recognizes the independence of the U.S. proceedings. We are not going to speculate on the outcome of the process. Omar Khadr faces charges in the United States and these charges will be resolved in the United States.

Public Works and Government Services

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in 2006, five companies submitted bids for a $600 million contract. In November 2008, the bids from the three companies on the short list were declared inadmissible by Public Works. In January 2009, the minister met with Joseph Broccolini at a fundraising event. In February 2009, Anthony Broccolini complained to the Canadian International Trade Tribunal, but nothing came of it.

A new call for tenders was then issued, and the winner was Broccolini. Why was that?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, in relation to those particular contracts to which the member has referred, they were overseen by a fairness monitor who deemed them to be managed openly, transparently and fairly. The member is welcome to look at the website for the fairness monitor's comments.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we are obviously talking about the minister who remained seated, not about the one who stood up.

On August 4, 2009, Jason Downey was appointed to that same Canadian International Trade Tribunal.

Who is Jason Downey? He is none other than the minister's chief campaign organizer in his riding of Mégantic—L'Érable.

Does the minister understand that he is responsible for the apparent conflict of interest in that file and that he should be the one facing the consequences?

[John Baird, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, if the opposition is trying to suggest that irregularities arose in the context of that particular government contract, my answer is no, absolutely not.

Minister of Natural Resources

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Natural Resources has achieved a rare trifecta of sleaze: first, tampering with access to information requests, second, shaking down contractors for juicy plum contracts on our own Parliament buildings; and third, pure patronage pork in appointing his campaign manager to the trade tribunal that oversees the very government contracting that got him into trouble. That is three strikes. Surely the Prime Minister knows he has his next ambassador to Denmark right here or maybe even Hans Island.

Why is that minister still in cabinet?

[John Baird, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, it will not come as any surprise to my friend from Winnipeg Centre that I do not share his views on this matter.

I can say that the Minister of Natural Resources has always conducted himself with a high ethical standard. Canadians can be very proud of the record of this government in bringing the toughest ethics reform in the history of Canada to clean up the mess that we found before we arrived. Those reforms have worked and we are very privileged to have this minister contributing to Canada, contributing to Quebec and contributing to his constituency.