House of Commons Hansard #94 of the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was company.

Topics

National DefenceOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

National DefenceOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken

Order. The Minister of National Defence has the floor. We will have some order. The hon. minister.

National DefenceOral Questions

2:50 p.m.

Conservative

Peter MacKay Conservative Central Nova, NS

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to respond to the question. We have made alternative arrangements now to continue the operations in support of the Canadian Forces through Germany and through Cyprus. This is continuing with the whole of government effort in Afghanistan.

What we do not need though in the future is the inability to scramble, to scramble aircraft. When we have unidentified aircraft coming into our airspace, to not have the ability to scramble when we have threats to North America—

National DefenceOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken

Order. The hon. member for Trinity—Spadina.

G20 SummitOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

NDP

Olivia Chow NDP Trinity—Spadina, ON

Mr. Speaker, after sinking a billion dollars into gazebos and fake lakes, not a single penny has been given out to the downtown Toronto businesses who suffered huge losses from the Conservative G20 photo ops.

There is nothing for broken windows, nothing for damages, nothing for lost sales, absolutely nothing for these business owners and their workers, not even an apology.

When will the government pay up and apologize for the mess it created in downtown Toronto?

G20 SummitOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Thornhill Ontario

Conservative

Peter Kent ConservativeMinister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas)

Mr. Speaker, there is a compensation policy in place and it is exactly the same as used by previous governments in past summits.

This is on the website. All claims must be submitted by November 18 of this year to be eligible.

The assessment of these claims will be made in close co-operation with Audit Services Canada, and payments will be administered in accordance with Treasury Board policy.

G20 SummitOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

NDP

Olivia Chow NDP Trinity—Spadina, ON

Mr. Speaker, the so-called process the Conservatives have set up is slow, complicated, expensive, bureaucratic and does not even guarantee anything. Many business owners just gave up. Ninety-three per cent of downtown businesses suffered staggering losses in sales.

They tell me that the boundary for compensation must be expanded. They want a fast, fair and transparent application process. They want to be compensated.

When will the government cut the red tape and get the compensation done?

G20 SummitOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Thornhill Ontario

Conservative

Peter Kent ConservativeMinister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas)

Mr. Speaker, I would suggest that my hon. colleague get the complaining companies to get those claims in in the next two weeks. There are still two weeks.

For the member's benefit, I think that she and any other Canadians who have questions about the mechanism or who feel they may be eligible for compensation should consult the g20.gc.ca website.

Protection of ChildrenOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Conservative

Scott Armstrong Conservative Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley, NS

Mr. Speaker, sexual exploitation of children is a serious crime. Our Conservative government is getting tough on those who take advantage of our innocent children.

Today we introduced legislation that proposes mandatory jail sentences for those who commit these deplorable and heinous acts.

Can the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada please inform us on this serious and important new bill?

Protection of ChildrenOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Niagara Falls Ontario

Conservative

Rob Nicholson ConservativeMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

I want to thank the hon. member for an excellent question, Mr. Speaker.

I am proud to be a part of a government that stands up for protecting children in this country. We have already raised the age of consent to protect 14- and 15-year-olds from adult sexual predators. We currently have a bill requiring the reporting of Internet child pornography.

Yes, I am proud to announce that today we tabled a bill that imposes, across the board, mandatory jail time for the sexual predators of children.

I call on the coalition to get behind this bill. As I said in Toronto earlier this morning, a minority Parliament is no excuse not to stand up for victims and law-abiding Canadians.

Canadian HeritageOral Questions

November 4th, 2010 / 2:55 p.m.

Liberal

Borys Wrzesnewskyj Liberal Etobicoke Centre, ON

Mr. Speaker, the City of Edmonton, the Province of Alberta, Ukrainian Canadian organizations and many individual Canadians have come forward with generous donations totalling almost $8 million for the Ukrainian Canadian Archives and Museum.

There is just one missing partner, the federal Conservative government.

Will the Prime Minister commit to giving this museum national museum status, respecting the deep historical imprint of Ukrainian Canadians upon Canada, and provide the full $8 million of matching funding the community has requested?

Canadian HeritageOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam B.C.

Conservative

James Moore ConservativeMinister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages

Mr. Speaker, of course all Edmonton area residents and certainly the members of Parliament are very proud of the great philanthropic work that has gone on in the city of Edmonton to support this institution.

However, let us be clear. Our government has already created two new national museums in the term of our mandate.

We created the museum of immigration at Pier 21 in Halifax and we also have created the Museum of Human Rights in Winnipeg. So we have created two new national museums. That is a large capital and operational investment of this government, and we are not going to be entertaining new offers for new national museums.

Air CanadaOral Questions

2:55 p.m.

Bloc

Monique Guay Bloc Rivière-du-Nord, QC

Mr. Speaker, in his last report, the Commissioner of Official Languages recommended that the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities “table a new bill as quickly as possible to protect and uphold the language rights of the travelling public and Air Canada employees, and make Jazz directly subject to the Official Languages Act.”

With another minister in this role, does the government intend to introduce a bill that would subject Air Canada, its subsidiaries and its partners to the Official Languages Act, as is being called for by the Commissioner of Official Languages and the committee?

Air CanadaOral Questions

3 p.m.

Chilliwack—Fraser Canyon B.C.

Conservative

Chuck Strahl ConservativeMinister of Transport

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member and the committee for their work on this. They made a strong representation as did members of the government.

The government is working on legislation that will address this issue, and we hope to have it tabled very soon.

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

3 p.m.

NDP

Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of the Environment.

Last spring this House voted unanimously for a complete review of Canada's rules and regulations around risky oil and gas projects. Since then the Minister of Natural Resources has continually passed the buck to the National Energy Board. But on Tuesday the head of the NEB directly contradicted the minister, saying it is not responsible for this review and does not even have the mandate to do so.

I understand the minister is living under a cloud of controversy, but will he finally take responsibility, quit passing the buck and do his job?

Natural ResourcesOral Questions

3 p.m.

Mégantic—L'Érable Québec

Conservative

Christian Paradis ConservativeMinister of Natural Resources

Mr. Speaker, what the member is saying is completely false. First, last May, the National Energy Board was proactive following the incidents in the Gulf of Mexico. It began a review of regulations concerning offshore drilling in the Arctic to better understand what happened in the Gulf of Mexico, draw conclusions and improve our regulations.

This is just the member from Skeena—Bulkley Valley trying, yet again, to discredit the National Energy Board, which has 50 unblemished years of experience in this area. This is shameful.

Employment EquityOral Questions

3 p.m.

Conservative

Candice Bergen Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB

Mr. Speaker, this past summer Canadians were shocked to learn that a woman in the Ottawa area was prevented from applying for a job within the federal government because the job was open only to applicants from an identified employment equity group.

In July the President of the Treasury Board and the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism announced that the government would review the rules on employment equity.

Could the President of the Treasury Board tell the House what this government is doing to ensure that hiring decisions are based on merit?

Employment EquityOral Questions

3 p.m.

Okanagan—Coquihalla B.C.

Conservative

Stockwell Day ConservativePresident of the Treasury Board and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Portage—Lisgar for her interest and her work on this file.

A review has been done. We have asked that the rules relating to employment equity be looked at. As a result, all departments are continually being encouraged to reach out to those who are from unrepresented groups.

We have also communicated that all department postings must not shut out any specific groups and must be open to all qualified candidates. Final decisions must be based on merit and on qualifications.

The EnvironmentOral Questions

3 p.m.

Independent

Helena Guergis Independent Simcoe—Grey, ON

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission held public hearings on Bruce Power's proposal to ship radioactive materials on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River system.

Three of my communities are situated along the largest body of surface freshwater in the world. Mayors Anderson, Patterson and Cooper have expressed opposition and serious concern about the commission's reluctance to discuss this matter with them. To quote the town of Blue, “It's because of this lack of openness that the general public has lost trust in government and their agencies and their commissions”.

Will the ministers responsible commit to ensuring community leaders are fully included in the process so they may be in a position to address the real risks these shipments present to our constituents and the environment?

The EnvironmentOral Questions

3 p.m.

Mégantic—L'Érable Québec

Conservative

Christian Paradis ConservativeMinister of Natural Resources

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has received an application from Bruce Power for a licence to transport 16 steam generators to Sweden in order to recycle the metal. Public hearings were held in September. Following deliberations, additional analysis from CNSC staff was required and has been sent to every participant. They have until November 22 to provide their comments to the commission.

I am confident that the CNSC will make a decision that will safeguard the health, safety and security of Canadians.

Presence in the GalleryOral Questions

3 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken

I would like to draw to the attention of hon. members the presence in the gallery of Mr. Phillip Bradbourn, Chairman of the Delegation for Relations with Canada of the European Parliament.

Presence in the GalleryOral Questions

3 p.m.

Some hon. members

Hear, hear!

Business of the HouseOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Liberal

David McGuinty Liberal Ottawa South, ON

Mr. Speaker, my question is of course directed to the government House leader.

Could the government House leader give us an idea of what the balance of work is for this week, before we return to our constituencies for our constituency work, and for the week that is forthcoming afterwards, including a good idea of the nail-down date for the next opposition day motion for the official opposition? That would be very helpful so that we could adequately prepare.

Business of the HouseOral Questions

3:05 p.m.

Ottawa West—Nepean Ontario

Conservative

John Baird ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, today we are debating the NDP opposition motion.

Pursuant to any order adopted by the House earlier today, the vote on that opposition motion will take place on Tuesday, November 16 at the end of government orders.

Tomorrow the House will have the occasion to debate at second reading Bill C-32, Copyright Modernization Act, and the backup bill, should debate conclude at second reading, will be Bill S-9, Tackling Auto Theft and Property Crime Act, which I know is a key priority of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada.

Next week, as the member opposite said, is a constituency week. I encourage all members to remember and recognize the sacrifices made by the men and women of our armed forces, on November 11.

When we return on Monday, November 15, we will call a number of bills, including Bill C-3, Gender Equity in Indian Registration Act, Bill C-31, Eliminating Entitlements for Prisoners Act, Bill C-35, Cracking Down on Crooked Consultants Act, Bill C-20, An Action Plan for the National Capital Commission, Bill C-28, Fighting Internet and Wireless Spam Act, Bill C-22, Protecting Children from Online Sexual Exploitation Act and Bill C-48, Protecting Canadians by Ending Sentence Discounts for Multiple Murders Act. We would also consider calling other bills that may have returned from committee by the time we return.

Thursday, November 18, shall be the next allotted day.

In closing, I wish all members a productive constituency week.

Resignation of MemberRoutine Proceedings

3:05 p.m.

Calgary Centre-North Alberta

Conservative

Jim Prentice ConservativeMinister of the Environment

Mr. Speaker, after meeting with the Ethics Commissioner today, I have informed the Prime Minister that I am resigning from cabinet effective immediately. Furthermore, I will be resigning as the member of Parliament for Calgary Centre-North by the end of 2010.

When I entered federal politics in 2001, I made a commitment that my time in politics would last 8 to 10 years. It has now, remarkably, been 9 years, and it is time for me to pursue new opportunities outside of public life.

I have, therefore, today accepted a position with the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce as the vice-chairman of the bank and as the senior executive vice-president of the bank effective January 1, 2011.

This career opportunity will enable me to continue having an impact on Canadian society, but in a different way. My decision to leave was made in part because of the unique opportunity I was offered, and I am very excited to take up this challenge.

My continued support for the Prime Minister and for the government and my lifelong support of the Conservative Party of Canada, like my commitment to our country, is unwavering. I am proud of the accomplishments of Prime Minister Harper's government. I am proud of my contributions as Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Minister of Industry and Minister of the Environment.

I want to extend my sincere thanks to the people of Calgary Centre-North for their faith and support since 2004 and to all those who have contributed their efforts to my campaigns.

I thank the Prime Minister, in closing, for the opportunity to have served the people of Canada and to have been in his cabinet. It has been my honour to work with the Prime Minister, with my cabinet colleagues, my caucus colleagues and indeed with all members of the House of Commons.