Debates of March 15th, 2010

P.E.I. Easter Seals

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Cardigan, PE]

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise in the House today to recognize the 2010 Easter Seals ambassador for Prince Edward Island. Twelve-year-old Colton Matheson from Montague, P.E.I. is an inspiration to all who know him.

Born with Down's syndrome, Colton has overcome his disabilities and has excelled at everything he has set out to do, including the Special Olympics golf team and a member of the Brooklyn-Heatherdale 4-H Club. Colton said, “My favourite activity is performing. I love to sing and dance and play guitar, drums and piano.” This young gentleman's motto is “feel the joy”.

On March 28, Colton will share the stage at the Confederation Centre of the Arts with well-known Canadian performer, Murray McLauchlan, for a major fundraising telethon.

Once again, I want to congratulate Colton on being chosen as this year's P.E.I. Easter Seals ambassador.

St. Patrick's Day

[Pascal-Pierre Paillé, Bloc, Louis-Hébert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this year, like every year, March 17 is when we celebrate St. Patrick's Day, the national day of the Irish people.

These celebrations include the traditional St. Patrick's Day parade, the oldest of which in North America is in Montreal. This year, after a hiatus of over 80 years, Quebec City is also having a parade.

It is estimated that up to 40% of francophone Quebeckers have Irish ancestors.

Let us take this opportunity to commemorate the men and women who, fleeing the potato famine, joined the largest wave of immigration from Ireland to Quebec. In fact, a monument has been raised in their honour on Grosse-Île, the island off Quebec that was the main gateway to Canada for the Irish.

In their memory and in honour of this important community's contribution to our society, I invite everyone to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

In closing, on behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I would like to offer condolences to the family and friends of the young man who died during the parade in Montreal.

Cougar Flight 491

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, last Friday, March 12, was the first anniversary of the tragic helicopter crash off the east coast of Newfoundland, which cost the lives of 17 men and women working in the offshore oil industry. Families, friends and the whole community continue to mourn the loss of the passengers and crew of Cougar Flight 491 and our hearts go out to them. These deaths remind us of the risks so many workers undertake every day to support their families and to build our country.

Sadly, there are still many unanswered questions about the cause of the crash and whether it could have been avoided. A helicopter safety inquiry is under way in St. John's, the Transportation Safety Board is conducting an inquiry and, recently, questions have been raised about whether Transport Canada could have acted more quickly and possibly averted this disaster.

The commissioner has already called for a search and rescue response time of 15 to 20 minutes and this standard has been adopted by the Offshore Petroleum Board.

We want these families to get the answers they need and to know that we are committed to improving the safety and protection of workers in the offshore and throughout the country.

The Environment

[Nina Grewal, Conservative, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

Mr. Speaker, our government is taking a prudent and responsible approach to climate change and environmental policy to achieve real environmental and economic benefit for all Canadians. It seeks to reduce energy consumption, facilitate the development of alternative fuels, clean water, air and land, reduce smog and open more parks.

Our action plan includes billions in green investments, including $1 billion for the clean energy fund to develop technologies, $1 billion for the green infrastructure fund to improve air quality and lower carbon emissions and $380 million for the ecoEnergy for home retrofit program. Year two of our action plan includes over $190 million in new measures to support a cleaner and more sustainable environment. There are $100 million to support clean energy generation in the forestry sector.

Our government is doing more to protect our environment than any other government in Canadian history.

Canadian Alpine Ski Team

[Martha Hall Findlay, Liberal, Willowdale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, of all the athletes who participated in the Olympic Games, one group in particular had high hopes. The entire country shared their personal hopes for success. I am talking about the members of the alpine ski team.

We know that these medal hopes were dashed. Erik Guay twice finished in fifth place. Those are two fantastic results in the alpine ski world, but we know that it is not the same as winning a medal.

Today I want to pay tribute to Erik Guay. After the Olympic Games he not only won the last two super-G races at the World Cup, but following those victories, he won the famous Crystal Globe in men's super-G. The Crystal Globe is awarded to the super-G world champion of the season.

I invite my colleagues in the House to join me in congratulating Erik Guay and all the other skiers on the Canadian Alpine Ski Team for their excellent season.

Jenny Flett

[Brian Jean, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the constituency of Fort McMurray—Athabasca is home to many heroes.

One such lady died this month at the age of 101. She successfully delivered 487 babies, including two sets of twins, in the isolated community of Fort Chipewyan at a time when there was no electricity and no running water. Transportation to isolated trappers' cabins was generally by dog team, often at minus 20° or minus 40°.

Jenny Flett of Fort Chipewyan earned the respect and the love of the entire community. Jenny's large family, including her 113 grandchildren, have continue to contribute to the well-being of northern Alberta. Her wisdom, guidance, helping hand and commitment to her neighbours made Jenny Flett a legend in her own time.

I thank Jenny for making northern Alberta a wonderful place to live.

Israel

[Johanne Deschamps, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois wishes to join in the strong condemnation of the recent decision by the Israeli government to build 1,600 homes in East Jerusalem, which was unlawfully annexed by Israel in 1967.

The international community—the U.S., the European Union, Canada, and a number of countries, even Israel's closest allies—have condemned this decision.

The situation is even more critical given that, since the Oslo accords, the Palestinian authorities have made a freeze on colonization a prerequisite for resuming peace talks. The U.S. had just managed to obtain agreement for indirect negotiations.

Today, the Bloc Québécois is reiterating its position: we are opposed to any occupation and the colonization of Palestinian land, including East Jerusalem. Furthermore, there must be a satisfactory resolution with respect to the status of Jerusalem.

Israel Apartheid Week

[David Sweet, Conservative, Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Israel Apartheid Week promotes the one-sided, intolerant and unbalanced position that Israel is a racist state and Israel's friends are supporting apartheid. Last week the New Democratic Party blocked a Conservative motion condemning Israel Apartheid Week.

I fully agree with the Canada-Israel Committee, which said that the NDP's position demonstrates, “An utter disregard for the plight of students who are bullied and intimidated on campuses in Canada is staggering and unacceptable”.

The NDP Houses leader even sent a message to her political supporters, bragging about her role in scuttling the motion. This is the same NDP member who tabled before the House a petition about, “Elements within the U.S. government were complicit in the murder of thousands of people on 9/11, 2001”.

Why will the New Democratic Party not condemn the so-called “activists” on university campuses who use Israel Apartheid Week as a pretext to harass, intimidate and bully Jewish students?

Status of Women

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last week I spoke at the Geneva Global Summit on Human Rights, in a forum on the struggle for gender equality, commemorating the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day.

I noted that it was tragic that not only were women's rights still not seen as human rights, not only was their promotion and protection still not a priority, but discrimination against women remained, as UNESCO has characterized it, as a form of gender apartheid.

Violence against women persists as a pervasive and pernicious evil. Equal voice eludes women in our legislatures. Disparity of pay continues for work of equal value, fostering the feminization of poverty. Reproductive, maternal newborn and child health concerns remain acute. And underpinning all of these are the intersecting systemic inequalities of ethno-cultural, racialized, immigrant, disabled and especially aboriginal women.

Accordingly, we must ensure that the struggle for gender equality is a priority on the national and international agenda as a matter of principle and policy; that Canada, in its G8 presidency, continues the Italian G8 presidential initiative of combatting violence against women; and that the lived lives of women find expression in equality and security.

2010 Paralympic Winter Games

[John Weston, Conservative, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC]

Mr. Speaker, on Friday I had the great honour to attend one of the most magnificent events ever, the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games opening ceremonies, addressed by Canadian hero Rick Hansen, and Betty and Rolly Fox, parents of the icon we have shared with the world, Terry Fox.

I would like to congratulate Colette Bourgonje from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan for winning Canada's first ever Paralympic medal on home soil. She finished second in the 10 kilometre cross-country sit-ski event, to win the ninth Paralympic medal of her career.

I would also like to congratulate Viviane Forest of Edmonton, Alberta, and her guide, Whistler's Lindsay Debou, for winning silver in the women's slalom for the visually impaired, and Josh Dueck of Vernon, B.C. for his silver medal in the men's slalom sit-ski.

On behalf of the people of my riding, the members of this House and all other Canadians, I wish our Paralympians continued success at the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games.

Pensions

[Fin Donnelly, NDP, New Westminster—Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are worried about their pensions. With more than a quarter million seniors living in poverty and countless workplace pensions failing, people want action now.

Sarah Colquhuon, a constituent of mine, worked for an Ontario-based company which has since gone out of business. The plan was underfunded when it wound up, which means it cannot pay 100% of the pension benefit that she earned working for that same company for 37 years. She can now only expect 48% of her earned pension benefits. She never thought this could happen to her, but it has.

New Democrats have a retirement income security plan that will strengthen and secure pensions, get seniors out of poverty and ensure better futures for families. Our plan would see that workers got first priority for payment, ahead of other creditors; anew national agency could adopt orphaned pension plans; and self-financing national pension insurance would guarantee pension payouts of up to $2,500 per month.

The Budget

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, how does the Bloc explain its opposition to a budget that is focused on jobs and economic growth, and that is paving the way to a balanced budget?

The Bloc falsely claims that this budget contains nothing good for Quebec.

Our government presented a budget with a number of measures that can benefit Quebeckers.

The Bloc voted against these measures.

These measures include continued investment in infrastructure. There is assistance for the fisheries, agriculture and forestry industries; there are measures for reducing the tax burden, resources for innovation and commercialization, millions of dollars to revitalize communities, and a number of research and development and green energy initiatives. In addition, we were very clear: we will not raise taxes and we will not cut the main transfer payments to individuals and the provinces.

Unlike the Bloc Québécois, which remains seated when the time comes to take action, our Conservative government is taking concrete action for Quebeckers and Canadians.

The Prime Minister

[Paule Brunelle, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last week the Prime Minister decided once more to control how one of his speeches would be broadcast, to thumb his nose at traditional media and to post his response to the Throne Speech on the popular website, YouTube.

Citizens are now being invited to ask the Prime Minister questions, and he will answer the questions that receive the most votes from Internet users.

We hope that he will respond to questions from Quebeckers who, like us, are pressing him to explain various things, such as his government's position in Copenhagen, where it won several fossil awards. Others are asking him when he will stop giving subsidies to companies mining the tar sands and when he will finally stop big business and banks from evading taxes.

We hope that the PMO's apparent decision to provide unfiltered information via YouTube will also give us answers to these questions.

Economic Zones

[Jean-Claude D'Amours, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Speaker, after excluding seasonal workers from additional weeks of EI benefits, the Conservatives are about to eliminate a pilot project on economic zones introduced by the Liberal government.

In 2000, changes to the economic zones would have penalized the Madawaska and Lower St. Lawrence regions. In order to ensure that the workers of those areas would not suffer, the Liberals introduced two pilot projects.

The Conservatives plan to eliminate those pilot projects in the next few days. The solution proposed by the new Conservative member for the Lower St. Lawrence area is that those workers find more than one job. Clearly, that member understands nothing about what workers need.

Why are the Conservatives forcing workers and their families into the unacceptable position of not knowing what their future holds?

At this time, the only thing the Conservatives should be doing is reversing their decision and renewing those pilot projects. They must stop taking the families of Madawaska and the Lower St. Lawrence hostage.

The Economy

[Scott Armstrong, Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley, NS]

Mr. Speaker, as we move into year two of the economic action plan, Canadians know that our government is taking care of what matters most to them: the economy. Our plan for the economy is clear. We will keep taxes low to protect the jobs of today and create the jobs of tomorrow. This is what Canadians want.

The Liberal leader does not believe in jobs and growth. He rarely speaks about the economy, and the odd time that he does, the story is always the same. Huge spending promises lead to promises of higher taxes. Canadians know that higher taxes do not create jobs; they kill jobs, and the new tax-and-spend road show the Liberal leader has initiated will not change that. No matter where he goes, it will not change the fact that his alternative to our jobs and growth budget is job-killing taxes. While the Liberal leader is trying to sell his job-killing tax scheme across this country, we will be here in the House working to keep our economy strong.

Afghanistan

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last week the Prime Minister of Canada said in the House that Justice Iacobucci would conduct a thorough inquiry into the issue of Afghan detainees. At the end of the week, we learned that Justice Iacobucci does not even have the power to subpoena new documents.

Why did the government not do what the Prime Minister promised last week?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, here is what the Prime Minister did say in this place last week. He said that he had requested Justice Frank Iacobucci to undertake an independent, comprehensive and proper review of all the redacted documents related to Taliban prisoners. Justice Iacobucci will look at all the relevant documents going back not just with respect to this government but even to the previous government.

He will report on the proposed redactions, how they genuinely relate to information that would be injurious to Canada's national security, national defence or international interests. We should have confidence in a man of this gentleman's esteem.

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we have the utmost confidence in Justice Iacobucci; that is not the question. It is not him that we have a problem with, it is the government. There is a difference between starting a public inquiry and simply finding a new lawyer who does not have the power to do the necessary work.

I have a very simple question: why not have a public inquiry to finally get to the bottom of things?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Let me be very clear, Mr. Speaker. Justice Iacobucci will have access to all relevant documents. He will be able to review them. He will be able to undertake his activities in an independent fashion. He will be able to do it comprehensively. He will have the ability to review all of the documents and report back not just to Canadians but to this House.

We should trust Justice Iacobucci and let him do his work.

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we trust Mr. Iacobucci. We do not trust the government. That is the difference, and there is a big difference.

Mr. Iacobucci does not have the power to subpoena the documents. The test of relevance is a test that the government itself will apply. It is not Mr. Iacobucci who determines what relevance is.

Again, I ask the minister, why not have a public inquiry and give Mr. Justice Iacobucci the powers that he so richly deserves to do the job that Canadians want him to do? That is the question.

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, we have said Justice Iacobucci will be able to look at all relevant documents. How does one find relevant documents? Exactly from the motion the Liberal leader put forward. He can also look at all documents related to this issue.

Also, he will not need to subpoena documents because the government has been incredibly clear that we will provide him with all of the relevant documents. Let Justice Iacobucci conduct his review, let him report back to Parliament, let him report back to Canadians who have confidence in a man of this character.

[Ujjal Dosanjh, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, instead of being asked to conduct a full public inquiry, a respected jurist has been hired as yet another lawyer by the government. He will only see what the government gives him. He will report to the government. He will not be able to release his report to the public if the government claims solicitor-client privilege.

If the government really wanted answers, it would give Mr. Iacobucci the mandate to conduct a full public inquiry, or are there horrible secrets that the government is trying to hide?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, that is completely untrue. As we have indicated and as was indicated in the terms of reference, Mr. Justice Iacobucci will have access to all relevant documents. He will complete a proper review and he will report those general findings to the public. This should have the support of the hon. member.

[Ujjal Dosanjh, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, according to the terms of reference, the government will decide what is relevant and give it to Mr. Iacobucci. He will not have the power to subpoena other documents or the authority to release his opinion publicly. He will not be able to reveal the whole story to Canadians and there is no end date for his work to be completed. We are right back where we started.

Why will Mr. Iacobucci not “conduct a thorough inquiry”, as the Prime Minister said last week? What damning secrets is the government trying to hide?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, we are providing all the documents that are of interest to the members of the House, and we are going beyond that. We are going back to 2001, which was the beginning of our involvement in Afghanistan.

Mr. Justice Iacobucci will have complete authorization to have a look at those. Again, he will report those general findings back to the House.