House of Commons Hansard #116 of the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was haitian.

Topics

Foreign TakeoversOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken

The hon. Minister of Industry.

Foreign TakeoversOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Parry Sound—Muskoka Ontario

Conservative

Tony Clement ConservativeMinister of Industry

Mr. Speaker, before the hon. leader gets on his soapbox too far, I do not know what the hon. member is talking about. It did not break any of its preconditions or any of its undertakings. Therefore, the report he relies on and his excellent research for question period is absolutely flat out wrong.

HealthOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Liberal

Ujjal Dosanjh Liberal Vancouver South, BC

Mr. Speaker, the views of the Prime Minister on the health care system are well known. Instead of defending our public health care system, the Prime Minister has argued for the scrapping of the Canada Health Act. Last year he had a chance to defend our system against Republican attacks in the U.S. He stood idly by and let the lies persist.

The federal government has a role and the jurisdiction, along with the provinces, in health care. Therefore, the federal government must track its path into the future.

Why are the Conservatives missing in action?

HealthOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Nunavut Nunavut

Conservative

Leona Aglukkaq ConservativeMinister of Health

Mr. Speaker, the statements are ridiculous. Our government is committed to a universal public health care system that respects the Canada Health Act. The provinces and territories are responsible for ensuring the delivery of insured health services in compliance with the act. They are responsible for investigating any infractions to the Canada Health Act.

Our government will continue to make investments to the provinces and territories. This year alone we have increased the transfers by 6%.

HealthOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Liberal

Ujjal Dosanjh Liberal Vancouver South, BC

Mr. Speaker, since 2006, the Conservatives have not given one extra dime to health care. The scary thing is not just their inaction, but their opposition to a kind of plan which would improve our health system.

A national family care plan would do just that. Instead, the Conservatives say that easing the load of the hospitals would be reckless, that improving the financial stability of our public system would be reckless and that helping 600,000 families care for their loved ones at home would be reckless.

Not having a plan is what is reckless. Where is their plan?

HealthOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Nunavut Nunavut

Conservative

Leona Aglukkaq ConservativeMinister of Health

Mr. Speaker, we continue to make health care a priority. Under the Liberal government, I recall cuts to health care to provinces and territories. We have increased transfers to the provinces by 6% every year to $25 billion this year alone. Additional investments were made with H1N1, medical research, food and product safety, wait times, electronic health records and aboriginal health.

We are committed to supporting our provinces.

Millennium ScholarshipsOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Liberal

Alexandra Mendes Liberal Brossard—La Prairie, QC

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are taking $121 million away from students, money that was intended for the millennium scholarship fund. This $121 million disappeared without a trace, wasted by this government without governance.

Now that artists, women's groups and seniors have been targeted, it is students' turn to pay the price of the Conservative government's fiscal incompetence.

Why did the Conservatives put an end to the millennium scholarship fund, a program that has proven to be beneficial to Canadian students?

Millennium ScholarshipsOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Haldimand—Norfolk Ontario

Conservative

Diane Finley ConservativeMinister of Human Resources and Skills Development

Mr. Speaker, that is exactly what we did. We took the money in the fund that had not been spent and we used it to increase the donations given to students, donations that benefit 280,000 students or nearly twice as many as the Liberal program did.

Millennium ScholarshipsOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Liberal

Michael Savage Liberal Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS

Mr. Speaker, every government in the world seems to know that education is the cornerstone to the new economy, except the Conservative government, which has no plan.

The Canadian Council on Learning was building an educational road map. The government killed it. The Millennium Scholarship Foundation was doing world-class research and helping students. It killed that. It took the $120 million and put the exact same amount into government propaganda. Instead of giving students a hand, it gave itself a hand.

How does that prepare Canada for the new economy?

Millennium ScholarshipsOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Haldimand—Norfolk Ontario

Conservative

Diane Finley ConservativeMinister of Human Resources and Skills Development

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member should be given a hand for his distortion of the facts.

Let us face it. There were $120 million that was not spent by the millennium scholarship fund. We took that and invested it in our Canada grants program, which now is benefiting 280,000 students with grants. That is almost double the number that were benefiting under the millennium scholarship fund. These are grants that they do not have to pay back. We want to ensure that they graduate with the lowest possible debt load and that we have the best educated, most skilled flexible work force in the world.

Guaranteed Income SupplementOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Bloc

Claude DeBellefeuille Bloc Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC

Mr. Speaker, the government is sitting on a report that recommends improving the lives of seniors by making access to the guaranteed income supplement automatic. It was about time the government woke up. The Bloc Québécois has been calling for this measure since 2001, when we learned that nearly 70,000 Quebeckers were being deprived of the guaranteed income supplement even though they were entitled to it.

What is the government waiting for to automatically grant the guaranteed income supplement to older people who are entitled to it?

Guaranteed Income SupplementOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Haldimand—Norfolk Ontario

Conservative

Diane Finley ConservativeMinister of Human Resources and Skills Development

Mr. Speaker, no government has done as much as this government to help our seniors, who built this country. That is why we expanded the GIS program. We are making renewal of this program automatic through the filing of income tax forms. This measure will help seniors, which the Conservative Party is already doing very well—better than the other parties.

Guaranteed Income SupplementOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Bloc

Claude DeBellefeuille Bloc Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC

Mr. Speaker, they are talking about making initial access to the guaranteed income supplement automatic. Automatic payment of the GIS is a good start. However, if we want the guaranteed income supplement to really fulfill its role, it must be improved.

Will the government increase the guaranteed income supplement by $110 per month in the next budget, as called for by seniors and by the Bloc Québécois?

Guaranteed Income SupplementOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Haldimand—Norfolk Ontario

Conservative

Diane Finley ConservativeMinister of Human Resources and Skills Development

Mr. Speaker, a few years ago, we offered seniors who receive the guaranteed income supplement an increase in the exemption from $500 to $3,500 in order to put more money into their pockets, and the Bloc Québécois voted against that initiative.

It voted against seniors. How shameful.

Canada Revenue AgencyOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Bloc

Robert Carrier Bloc Alfred-Pellan, QC

Mr. Speaker, while the government is refusing to disclose the facts about the scandal at Revenue Canada, we have learned that an official working in the investigations unit was beaten up. It seems that the investigation into collusion between Canada Revenue Agency officials and construction companies is bothering the criminal element.

Can the minister tell us how many officials at the Montreal office are being targeted by the investigations, how many were laid off and what level of responsibility they had?

Canada Revenue AgencyOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Fredericton New Brunswick

Conservative

Keith Ashfield ConservativeMinister of National Revenue

Mr. Speaker, due to privacy concerns, I cannot comment on the specific employees. However, I can tell the hon. member that we take the safety and security of our employees very seriously, and we will ensure that they are safe at all times.

Canada Revenue AgencyOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Bloc

Robert Carrier Bloc Alfred-Pellan, QC

Mr. Speaker, two of Tony Accurso's companies and numerous smaller companies created specifically to generate false invoices have been caught so far. It is not known how many other businesses outside of this network were able to benefit from the complaisance of corrupt individuals plaguing the Canada Revenue Agency.

Can the Minister of National Revenue tell us how many businesses like Tony Accurso's benefited from this fraudulent system?

Canada Revenue AgencyOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Fredericton New Brunswick

Conservative

Keith Ashfield ConservativeMinister of National Revenue

Mr. Speaker, as I said before, these are ongoing issues of investigation, and I cannot comment on that.

Canada-U.S. BorderOral Questions

December 13th, 2010 / 2:40 p.m.

Liberal

Rob Oliphant Liberal Don Valley West, ON

Mr. Speaker, as members of Parliament, we have been elected to represent our constituents in discussions on the big issues affecting our country, like Canadian sovereignty.

Yet the government is engaged in secret backroom negotiations on the so-called perimeter security proposals that could result in vast changes to our sovereign right to determine who gets in and who gets out of our country.

After softwood lumber, climate change and F-35s, how can Canadians trust this government to negotiate anything and maintain control of our own borders?

Canada-U.S. BorderOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Thornhill Ontario

Conservative

Peter Kent ConservativeMinister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas)

Mr. Speaker, I know my hon. colleague does not expect me to answer a question based on media speculation. However, I can say that our government always puts the interests of Canada first.

Since we took office, we have been focused on creating jobs and promoting economic growth through free, open and secure trade. That means our shared border is open to trade and investment but closed to security and terrorist threats.

Canada-U.S. BorderOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Liberal

Rob Oliphant Liberal Don Valley West, ON

Mr. Speaker, just because the government cannot manage our foreign policy does not mean that it should simply abandon it.

The American government continues to believe that Canada is a haven for terrorists, which is untrue.

Will this myth limit the rights of Canadians to determine their own border policies and their right to cross this border as they please?

Canada-U.S. BorderOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Thornhill Ontario

Conservative

Peter Kent ConservativeMinister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas)

Mr. Speaker, I will not answer a question based on media speculation, but I will say that, contrary to the Liberal leader's coalition with the Bloc Québécois, this government will always stand up for Canada and for Canadians.

I will say again that Canada is the top export destination for 34 American states. More trade flows between Windsor and Detroit than through any other border crossing in the world, and we intend to keep that border crossing open and secure

HaitiOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Liberal

Anita Neville Liberal Winnipeg South Centre, MB

Mr. Speaker, the suffering in Haiti continues to grow as cholera continues to spread and a disputed election holds the country's future in the balance. In particular, the women of Haiti have experienced incredible misery. Since the earthquake, rape and gender-based violence, already a crisis for Haitian women, has become an epidemic.

What has the status of women minister done to prioritize the needs of Haitian women in discussions with her cabinet colleagues?

HaitiOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Durham Ontario

Conservative

Bev Oda ConservativeMinister of International Cooperation

Mr. Speaker, I can assure the House that there is always a concern about the protection and safety of women in all the countries where Canada is working, particularly in Haiti.

We have set up protection centres, not only for women but also for their children, as well as ensuring that senior women have access to needed food and medicines and ensuring that women's access to food and basic necessities is always foremost in the minds of those we work with.

HaitiOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Liberal

Denis Coderre Liberal Bourassa, QC

Mr. Speaker, Haiti is in a major political stalemate. This morning there was a meeting between the Mexican foreign secretary and Secretary of State Clinton. Cholera is another part of the reality. I know that there is talk of a resolution through a recount, but the main candidates are against that idea. Ms. Manigat and Mr. Martelly are against it.

What role does Canada intend to play in resolving this political stalemate?