House of Commons Hansard #90 of the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was families.
Mark Eyking Liberal Sydney—Victoria, NS
Mr. Speaker, the numbers are out. The Prime Minister's office budget has ballooned by 30% to $10 million per year.
Residents in the Ingonish, Cape Breton area have been waiting for a new federal building, at a cost of $10 million. The building would house the RCMP, DFO and Parks Canada. Year in and year out the government has said no, resulting in increased costs and delay.
Why can the Prime Minister find $10 million for his own office when he cannot find $10 million for Ingonish?
John Baird ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, the Prime Minister has a very important responsibility to communicate with Canadians, to get off Parliament Hill and to travel the country and do a lot of listening.
Those Canadian voices that were heard led to Canada's economic action plan, a plan that has been incredibly successful in helping create some 400,000 net new jobs.
We are constantly reviewing the demands across the country. We will certainly respond in short order.
Gérard Asselin Bloc Manicouagan, QC
Mr. Speaker, the European embargo on seal products has been in effect since Thursday, when a European court reinstated it. This means that Quebec hunters are losing their primary export market. Some hunters make as much as 35% of their income from the sale of seal products.
Will the government recognize that it must fight harder to have this embargo lifted as soon as possible?
Randy Kamp ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans
Mr. Speaker, we, too, are very disappointed by the actions of the European Union, particularly this recent decision by the European General Court. The fact remains that the Canadian seal hunt is carried out in a humane and sustainable way.
Our government is firmly committed to defending the legitimate interests and livelihoods of Canadians and sealers in coastal communities. We are moving ahead with the WTO challenge.
Don Davies NDP Vancouver Kingsway, BC
Mr. Speaker, the G20 summit saw one of the most disturbing violations of civil liberties in Canadian history. The rights of citizens to assemble and express their opinions were trampled. The rights to counsel and to be free from illegal search and seizure were ignored.
Eleven hundred citizens were arrested, 900 of them with so little basis that charges were dropped immediately after the summit. Yet the government has been utterly silent on this mass violation of constitutional rights.
Given the approach of Remembrance Day, which marks the sacrifice of veterans who gave their lives so that we could have democratic freedom, why does the government refuse to defend the very rights for which they paid such a dear price?
Dave MacKenzie ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety
Mr. Speaker, as you know, Canada did host the G8 and G20 summits this summer and we had over 20,000 security personnel to protect Canadians, visitors and over 3,000 members of the press assembled. We are very proud of the work accomplished by our security partners in keeping Canadians and others safe.
Rick Norlock Conservative Northumberland—Quinte West, ON
Mr. Speaker, Imam Zijad Delic, whose organization, the Canadian Islamic Congress, is known for spewing hate, is now being defended and promoted by Liberals. The Liberal leader's spokesperson, the member for Don Valley West, defends the Canadian Islamic Congress' comment as being “about tolerance and understanding”.
Will the Minister of Public Safety comment on the Liberal support for an organization whose spokesperson has said that anyone in Israel over the age of 18 was a justifiable target of Palestinian attacks?
Dave MacKenzie ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hard-working member for Northumberland—Quinte West for all of his work.
As soon as the Minister of Public Safety learned about this event, he asked the RCMP to explain their involvement and asked them to immediately cease any participation. He has been clear. Canada's national police force must have no involvement in any event organized by those who promote extremism and hatred.
Why is the Liberal leader allowing the Liberal member to condone the actions of those who promote extremism and hate?
Mark Eyking Liberal Sydney—Victoria, NS
Mr. Speaker, this week in Timmins, the CRTC is holding hearings on the expansion of the Internet in rural Canada. What do we find out? We are way behind other countries such as Finland, the U.S.A. and Australia in getting rural Canadians connected.
The Liberal Party has been committed to bringing high-speed Internet to all rural Canadians.
The Prime Minister spends millions of dollars tracking 9,000 government signs by GPS but cannot find the money to help families and businesses in rural Canada get connected to the Internet. Why?
Tony Clement ConservativeMinister of Industry
Mr. Speaker, perhaps the hon. member is unaware, but the fact is that we had in our budget and we have been spending $200 million for rural broadband connectivity across this country, including in northern Ontario.
Of course, I cannot think of Timmins without noting that the member of Parliament for Timmins voted in favour of the long gun registry and many members of his own caucus over there did the same thing. That did not go over too well in Timmins, I can tell members that much.
We are here for rural Canadians on broadband and we are here for rural Canadians when it comes to the long gun registry.
Diane Bourgeois Bloc Terrebonne—Blainville, QC
Mr. Speaker, the public sector integrity commissioner, whose work was investigated by the Auditor General, resigned before the end of her term. Groups fighting for more accountability are calling for a review of the 170 allegations of wrongdoing by public servants and the 58 complaints of reprisals, all of which were dismissed, often without thorough investigation by the former commissioner.
Will the government use the opportunity provided by the commissioner's hasty departure to ensure that the next commissioner reviews all of these cases?
Andrew Saxton ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board
Mr. Speaker, we intend to work with opposition parties to appoint a new integrity commissioner as quickly as possible. Of course, we need to make sure we get the best possible person for the job.
Some individuals have brought forward concerns that will need to be addressed by the new commissioner. It would be completely inappropriate to interfere in the mandate of an independent agent of Parliament.
Claude Gravelle NDP Nickel Belt, ON
Mr. Speaker, winter is almost here and Canadian families are worried about the cost of staying warm. The eco-energy home retrofit program helped families save money and our environment too, but the government cancelled it with little notice and even less rationale. Now the HST forced on Canadians will raise the cost of home heating this winter.
This is Canada. Home heating is not a luxury, it is a necessity. Will the government help Canadian families and take the 5% federal tax off home heating fuel?
David Anderson ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and for the Canadian Wheat Board
Mr. Speaker, our home energy retrofit program has been incredibly successful across Canada. Over 300,000 people are still eligible in accessing this program. But the real concern is that on each of these eco-energy initiatives that we have taken, the NDP has opposed every single one of them. So today when we hear that our GDP has gone up another 0.3%, it is not due to the NDP. When we hear that there are 400,000 jobs that have been created across this country, it is not due to the NDP. It is due to the good actions of this government.
Leona Aglukkaq Conservative Nunavut, NU
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-50, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (interception of private communications and related warrants and orders).
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Judy Foote Liberal Random—Burin—St. George's, NL
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition on behalf of MS patients throughout the country. There are 75,000 such MS patients in the country and over 1,100 in Newfoundland and Labrador.
These patients are asking for the federal government and all provinces to look at providing the liberation treatment that is now being offered in other countries of the world. For them to travel to these other countries costs an exorbitant amount of money, money that these patients just do not have. Of course, it is also a hardship on them just to travel, with some of them in very difficult circumstances and some of them in wheelchairs.
One such patient is Perry Goodyear of Grand Bank in my riding. Perry in fact just returned from New York where he had the liberation treatment. He is doing so much better than before he went, which again is an indication that these patients, if they want the liberation treatment, should have access to it and not have to depend on others to provide the funding for them to travel to other parts of the world.
John McKay Liberal Scarborough—Guildwood, ON
Mr. Speaker, I have been asked to present a petition on behalf of a number of constituents in support of Bill C-544.
The petitioners call upon the House of Parliament to assemble to bring forward and adopt into legislation Bill C-544, An Act to amend the Health of Animals Act and the Meat Inspection Act.
Jim Maloway NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB
Mr. Speaker, my petition calls on the Canadian government to negotiate with the United States government to reduce the United States and Canadian passport fees. The number of American tourists visiting Canada is at its lowest level since 1972. It has fallen by five million visits in the last seven years alone, from 16 million in 2002 to only 11 million in 2009. Passport fees for an American family of four can be as high as more than $500 U.S. While 50% of Canadians have passports, only 25% of Americans do.
At the recent Midwest Legislative Conference of the Council of State Governments, attended by myself and over 500 elected representatives from 11 border states and three provinces, the following resolution was passed unanimously, which reads:
RESOLVED, that [the Conference] calls on President Barack Obama and [the Canadian Prime Minister] to immediately examine a reduced fee for passports to facilitate cross-border tourism; and be it further
RESOLVED, that [the Conference] encourage the governments to examine the idea of a limited-time two-for-one passport renewal or new application;
To be a fair process, passport fees must be reduced on both sides of the border. Therefore, the petitioners call on the government to work with the American government to examine a mutual reduction in passport fees to facilitate tourism, and finally, promote a limited-time, two-for-one passport renewal or new application fee on a mutual basis with the United States.
Questions on the Order PaperRoutine Proceedings
Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre Saskatchewan
Conservative
Tom Lukiwski ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.
The House resumed consideration of the motion that Bill C-36, An Act respecting the safety of consumer products, be read the third time and passed.
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
Before statements by members, the hon. member for St. Paul's had for the floor for questions and comments consequent upon her speech. There are six minutes remaining in the time allotted for questions and comments.
I therefore call for questions and comments and recognize the hon. member for Kitchener—Conestoga.
Harold Albrecht Conservative Kitchener—Conestoga, ON
Mr. Speaker, I will resume the question that I began just before question period.
I agree 100% with a statement that was made by the previous speaker. She said that partisan politics deserve no place when we are discussing the safety of Canadians. I want to applaud her for acknowledging that fact.
If she really believes that, why would she have used 99% of her speaking time to engage in partisan politics? In fact, roughly 98% of her time was spent reading a letter that was written by someone else who was pointing out some previous actions. Why would she not instead have used her time to point out some of the positive elements of the bill: a general prohibition against the manufacture, importation or advertisement for sale of consumer products that pose an unreasonable danger to human safety; orders for corrective measures or recall; mandatory reporting of incidents, all of these positive attributes of the bill? She failed to inform Canadians about those actions.
Why would she not have used her time to let Canadians know about what this government is doing to improve the safety of Canadians?
Carolyn Bennett Liberal St. Paul's, ON
Mr. Speaker, the role of the official opposition is to comment on not only what we do but how we do it.
The minister went into tremendous detail about what the bill would offer Canadians. We are concerned about the lack of timeliness in terms of what the government had at its disposal and in terms of being able to get this bill done much more quickly. Ten months later, from the time it had passed, we were still waiting for the bill.
For the minister to be heckling throughout the whole of my speech was totally inappropriate. It behooves the minister to take this much more seriously in that she knows the allegations in the letter from Senator Cowan are absolutely true. He is still waiting for a result from her. It is inappropriate for the minister to blame the other House for the government's inability to get this important piece of legislation through both Houses and implemented for the safety of Canadians.