House of Commons Hansard #87 of the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was privacy.
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
There will be 10 minutes for questions and comments consequent on the hon. member's speech when debate resumes on this bill.
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
I have the honour to lay upon the table the fall 2010 report of the Auditor General of Canada.
Pursuant to Standing Order 108(3)(g), this document is deemed permanently referred to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts.
Barry Devolin Conservative Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, ON
Mr. Speaker, there is a special group of students here today. They are participating in a program I call “A Capital Experience”, where student leaders from each of the seven high schools in my riding come to Ottawa for three days each year to learn about career opportunities in public life.
They have visited Parliament, the Embassy of South Korea, Amnesty International, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Press Gallery and the University of Ottawa.
I wish to thank those who shared their time with these students and thank the businesses and service clubs who sponsored them.
Today I welcome to Parliament: Alex Jebson and Rebekah Lindensmith from Brock; Keagan Comber and Kelsey Priestman from Crestwood; Madison Frank and Devon Jackson from Fenelon Falls; Hayley Sullivan from Haliburton; Dan Lowe and Hayley Preston from I.E. Weldon; Emma Whyte and Brandon Remmelgas from L.C.V.I.; Paige Cleary and Paige Cooke from St. Thomas Aquinas; and Haley Roter from Apsley.
I ask my colleagues to join me in wishing these young people all the best as they make decisions regarding their future careers.
Bryon Wilfert Liberal Richmond Hill, ON
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize my constituent, Rebecca Vincent, who is a recipient of the Richmond Hill Good Samaritan Award for her outstanding leadership in our community.
A Girl Guides of Canada leader with the 1st York South Rangers, Rebecca has tirelessly dedicated her time to helping young women learn new skills, build friendships and gain leadership qualities.
Additionally, Rebecca is also known for her website, Becky's Guiding Resource Centre, which provides camping tips and team-building exercises for Girl Guide and Boy Scout units across the country.
A teacher with the York Region District School Board, Rebecca is also a camp co-ordinator at Camp Woolsey and an outdoor educator at Scanlon Creek. She is also an avid traveller who spent a year in the great Australian outback.
As we celebrate the 100th anniversary of Girl Guides of Canada, I congratulate Rebecca on her involvement as a Guide and in being a role model to our young women in the community and indeed around the world.
Pierre Paquette Bloc Joliette, QC
Mr. Speaker, I rise here today to congratulate Annette Harnois-Coutu, a Lanaudière woman from Saint-Thomas, in my riding of Joliette, who was named female farmer of the year at the Saturne gala on October 16, 2010. During her career, she operated a dairy and grain farm and a beef farm. She has also produced tobacco. This year her land is planted in potatoes, soy and oats.
She is a tireless worker and has devoted 30 years of her life to the farm union movement, including 15 years as president of the Fédération de l'Union des producteurs agricoles de Lanaudière. She has also served as president of the Lanaudière bio-food development board and the Ferme-école Desjardins, as well as vice-president of the Conférence des élus. Ms. Harnois-Coutu has recently stepped down as president and will be honoured next month.
On behalf of my Bloc Québécois colleagues, I warmly congratulate this remarkable woman.
Jim Maloway NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB
Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak about long-time Winnipeg city councillor and former deputy mayor, Lillian Thomas, who was first elected in 1989 and is now retiring after 21 years as the representative for Elmwood-East Kildonan.
In May of 1992 she began her fight for a Hansard record of council proceedings. Winnipeg is now one of the few municipalities in Canada with Hansard.
Lillian fought a hard battle for curbside recycling. Starting with her pilot project, it took years to implement the full scale recycling system we now recognize as an essential component of Winnipeg's infrastructure.
One of Lillian's last decisions was to allocate $108,000 for improvements to Roxy Park on Henderson Highway to fulfill its function and potential for the neighbourhoods of Elmwood and East Kildonan.
As my city councillor for 21 years, I am proud to say that Lillian Thomas worked hard to keep her promises and successfully represented our community and our city. We are indebted to her dedication and perseverance.
We wish her and her husband, Len Dalman, a long and happy retirement.
Brent Rathgeber Conservative Edmonton—St. Albert, AB
Mr. Speaker, from January 13 to 16, 2011, the Continental Cup of Curling will be held at Servus Credit Union Place in the great city of St. Albert.
The Continental Cup will see Team North America face Team World. Both Continental Cup teams will consist of three men's and three women's rinks that will battle for Continental Cup supremacy. Each rink will compete in traditional head to head games, mixed doubles, singles and skins game formats, with points awarded for virtually every shot.
Representing Team North America on the men's side will be Olympic Gold Medallist Kevin Martin and defending Brier and World Men's Champion Kevin Koe, both residents of Edmonton. Our women's rinks will include Olympic Silver Medallist Cheryl Bernard and four-time Scotties Champion Jennifer Jones.
Since 2002, there have been six Continental Cups with the series currently tied at three cups apiece. St. Albert therefore will play host to the “Game 7” tiebreaker from January 13 to 16.
St. Albert will welcome curling fans from around the globe to this prestigious event featuring the greatest curlers in the world. I wish to extend an invitation to all hon. members to join us in St. Albert in January for the Continental Cup of Curling.
Hedy Fry Liberal Vancouver Centre, BC
Mr. Speaker, two weeks ago, I met a number of veterans who were involved in past and present wars, as well as health professionals who look after them.
What I heard made me sad and angry. These men and women who have been physically and mentally injured, who have served our country and who are considered heroes by this House, return to Canada and face new trauma, frustration and shame when they try to obtain assistance from the government that should protect them.
They say the new charter is a farce. The lump sum payment, a cost cutting measure, is insufficient to meet their needs. Their wounds, visible and invisible, are minimized by departmental staff. Everything is a fight.
The younger vets feel betrayed and those from World War II, in their eighties, give up in despair. All are afraid to speak up publicly, fearing reprisals.
What a bum way to treat our vets. The government should be ashamed.
Harold Albrecht Conservative Kitchener—Conestoga, ON
Mr. Speaker, I rise to share the words of Dr. John Tibbits, president of Conestoga College: On time and on budget.
Business owners tell me one of their biggest barriers is the lack of sufficient talent to support their growth. Canada's economic action plan met this challenge and addressed the role of community colleges for the first time in Canada's history.
Through this government's knowledge infrastructure program, Conestoga College received almost $50 million to expand its capacity to offer diplomas, degrees and to train skilled tradespeople. Conestoga's capacity will grow by half, meeting the need for health professionals, roofers, new media designers and engineers.
It is worth noting that Conestoga College was the first college in Ontario to have its engineering degree program professionally certified.
All these projects are progressing on time and on budget. We are blessed to have partners like Conestoga College, and I am grateful to be part of the first government to recognize the vital role colleges play in building Canada's economy.
Roger Pomerleau Bloc Drummond, QC
Mr. Speaker, I would like to pay tribute to Bernard Bergeron who, on August 13, retired after practising law for 33 years, including 10 years as the director of the Drummond and Arthabaska legal aid office.
After a short stint in private practice, Mr. Bergeron went to work for the Sept-Îles legal aid office and then joined the Drummondville and Victoriaville teams. He built a solid reputation, especially in criminal law and youth justice.
As a result of his commitment to defending the rights of the disadvantaged, in 2008 he was awarded the Robert Sauvé award for his significant contribution in that area. Among other things, he has fought for the right of accused persons suffering from mental illness to be given adequate resources.
On behalf of my constituents, I thank you, Mr. Bergeron, for your work and dedication, and I wish you a happy and serene retirement.
Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal-NDP-Bloc coalition is attacking a key pillar of the Canadian economy. Bill C-300 would, among other things, subject Canadian mining companies to grievances lodged by foreign interests.
If the coalition has its way, many Canadian jobs will be lost in an industry that contributed $40 billion to Canada's economy in 2008 and which employs 351,000 workers. During the thick of the global recession, overseas contracts kept the mining industry afloat. At a time when the economic recovery is still fragile, why does the coalition want to make life harder for Canadian companies?
Unlike the coalition parties that simply want to score political points and jeopardize Canadian jobs, our government will continue to fight hard for Canadian working families.
Irwin Cotler Liberal Mount Royal, QC
Mr. Speaker, the recent sentencing of seven members of the Baha'i leadership in Iran to a decade in prison is a looking glass into the plight of human rights in Iran in general and the targeting of Iran's largest religious minority in particular. While the world is necessarily focused on Iran's nuclear pursuits, the massive domestic repression in Iran should be an equally compelling concern as well as a call for action.
This persecution and the accusations against the leaders of the Bahá'i community constitute a classic case of the denial of justice in Iran.
This includes arbitrary arrests and incommunicado detention, false charges, coerced confessions, denial of the right to counsel and a show trial devoid of any due process before a politicized judiciary.
Most alarmingly, the last several years have been witness to a resurgence of more extreme forms of persecution and assaults targeting the Baha'i community and the repression has only escalated in the aftermath of the fraudulent Iranian elections of June 2009.
In sum, the sentencing of the Baha'i leadership and the attendant violations must serve as a wake-up call for the international community to sanction and hold Iran accountable for its ongoing violence and assault.
Jacques Gourde Conservative Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC
Mr. Speaker, yesterday the minister responsible for the Quebec City region announced the next important phase in continuing the reconstruction of the armoury for the Voltigeurs de Québec, by launching a call for tenders in order to obtain architectural concepts and drawings for the new building. This call for tenders follows the work that has already begun to clean up and rehabilitate the existing structure, and to create a detailed program for optimum allocation of the armoury’s interior space. This shows that we are on schedule to meet the deadlines established in June 2010 for the completion of the Quebec City Armoury's reconstruction.
Since April 2008, with the Bloc Québécois voting against all our actions to date, our Conservative government and the minister responsible for the Quebec City region have been doing all we can to ensure the success of this project. Once again this shows that the true defenders of the interests of Quebec are the Conservative members, and not the Bloc Québécois members.
Glenn Thibeault NDP Sudbury, ON
Mr. Speaker, this past weekend in my riding of Sudbury, I took part in the first annual “Walk for Justice”. The event was organized by Claudette Lalonde, a local resident whose 32-year-old son was murdered last November, and Christine Rivard, the director of the local VCARS chapter.
As a father myself, I understand that losing a child at any age is a parent's worst nightmare, especially in such tragic circumstances. Claudette and her family organized the walk to send a message: Canadian families want justice when one of their loved ones is taken from them.
We need to ensure that our communities and streets are safe, to ensure that other families do not have to deal with the pain and suffering that the Lalonde family has endured over the past year. One of the best ways to do this is to ensure that the Canadian justice system is a world leader in rehabilitation. Releasing offenders without adequate training and skills is a recipe for reoffending.
We cannot just be tough on crime. We need to be smart about crime. Only then can families like the Lalondes have real justice.
Colin Carrie Conservative Oshawa, ON
Mr. Speaker, it is clear that Canada's economic action plan is getting results for Canadians. While other countries around the world continue to lose jobs, Canada has created net new jobs. Both the IMF and the OECD project Canada to have the strongest growth in the G7 over 2010 and 2011. That is economic leadership.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce says it best:
Canada’s economy weathered the financial and economic crisis better than most industrialized countries...the economy recouped all the real output and net jobs lost during the recession. No other G8 country can make such a claim.
That is evidence that the economic action plan is working well for Canadians, creating net new jobs.
The people of Oshawa and all Canadians have definitely benefited from our government's action and commitment to protecting the Canadian economy.
Tenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological DiversityStatements By Members
Bloc
Bernard Bigras Bloc Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC
Mr. Speaker, this morning Canada won the dodo award in Nagoya at the Tenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
This award, which is named after an extinct bird from Mauritius, highlights a government's lack of effort and failure to help discussions evolve toward an agreement. It was given to Canada because of its behaviour and its insistence on blocking any reference to the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The Convention on Biological Diversity was signed at the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992. The goals of the convention are conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of biodiversity and “the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources”.
This booby prize will be added to a long list of such prizes that Canada has won, including the fossil awards from the climate change conference in Copenhagen.
There is nothing to be proud of when it comes to this Conservative government's performance on the world stage.
Maria Minna Liberal Beaches—East York, ON
Mr. Speaker, yesterday in municipalities across Ontario voters spoke up by casting ballots to choose their next mayor, councillors and school board trustees.
Today I want to congratulate three former Liberal members of Parliament who have earned the confidence of their local communities and gone on to serve them in new capacities: Maurizio Bevilacqua, the newly elected mayor of Vaughan; Joe Fontana, the newly elected mayor of London, Ontario; and Ken Boshcoff, elected as councillor at large for the city of Thunder Bay.
We wish our former colleagues well as they go on to tackle new challenges. We look forward to working with them and everyone elected yesterday across Ontario as we seek to build a progressive, responsible and compassionate Canada together.
Cathy McLeod Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to say that Canada's economic action plan is delivering results for Canadians. Our investment in 23,000 projects has created over 420,000 jobs. Canadians are working.
Just last week in the community of Clearwater I chatted with a number of workers who had been impacted by the mill shutdown. They were so pleased to have employment with a community adjustment fund project.
Because of our government, Canada is leading the recovery with an economic and fiscal record that is stronger than other industrialized nations. While other countries struggle, Canada has been creating jobs.
The economic action plan is protecting the interests of Canadian families.
Michael Ignatieff LiberalLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, Canadians are losing confidence in this government's economic management. Canadians want to retain control over our strategic natural resources, the corporate headquarters, and the jobs that go with them. When I asked the Prime Minister to put a stop to the sale of PotashCorp, he said that he did not care whether it was under American or Australian control.
When will the Prime Minister start caring, and when will he rise to defend Canada's interests, to say no to the PotashCorp deal?
John Baird ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, Canadians can always count on the Prime Minister to stand up for Canada and to do what is best in our national interests.
Any foreign takeover of more than $299 million in new investment has to be reviewed by the Minister of Industry and Canadians can count on the Minister of Industry to only approve a deal if it is a net benefit for Canada and Canadians.
Michael Ignatieff LiberalLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, what is the government waiting for? Four former leaders of the province of Saskatchewan are against the deal. The current Premier of Saskatchewan is against the deal. Even the wide-eyed radical, Peter Lougheed, is against the deal. The only people in favour of this deal, selling out Canadian interests, are on that bench in the House of Commons.
When will the government to do the right thing and say no to the PotashCorp deal?
John Baird ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, we always welcome the advice and counsel of Peter Lougheed and we will on this case.
The government will follow its legislative responsibilities. It will take the time with officials and the minister to review what is an incredibly large transaction and then make an assessment as to whether it is in the best interests of Canada.
I would remind the Leader of the Opposition that in 13 long years and 11,000 applications, the Liberal Party never said no to a single takeover in Canada.
Michael Ignatieff LiberalLeader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, this is about the Conservative government taking responsibility. When it had the chance to do the right thing on Nortel, Stelco and Inco, it reacted with indifference and incompetence. That is why nobody has confidence in the government on the issue of foreign takeovers.
When will the government decide, act and say no to the PotashCorp deal?
John Baird ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, the government's handling of the recent economic downturn through our economic action plan has been acknowledged right around the world for doing a lot to create jobs. We have seen in the last 16 months the creation of some 420,000 net new jobs.
With respect to foreign investment in Canada, the Minister of Industry and his officials will take the time necessary and then will make a decision only if it is in the net best interest to Canada and Canadians.
Siobhan Coady Liberal St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL
Mr. Speaker, today the Auditor General has revealed that the Conservatives caused an avalanche of problems, delays and cost overruns in acquiring 15 Chinook helicopters.
They essentially sole-sourced the deal without telling Public Works why. They identified the operational requirements only after announcing the procurement. They provided a cost estimate to Treasury Board that they knew was too low. As a result, the Auditor General is warning of a billion dollar operating budget crunch at DND.
The Conservatives broke every rule in the book. Why?