House of Commons Hansard #9 of the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was percenters.
John McCallum Liberal Markham—Unionville, ON
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are raising payroll taxes, airplane taxes, income trust taxes and researcher taxes, and these are only the ones we know about so far, yet the Prime Minister says repeatedly he is not raising taxes.
This is a question of truth and honesty and character. For once will the government tell the simple truth: “Yes, we are raising airplane taxes, income trust taxes, researcher taxes and, most important, job-killing payroll taxes”.
For once will it just tell the truth?
Ted Menzies ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, that is a Liberal message if I ever heard one. They are suggesting they would raise all of those taxes. That is exactly what they are saying.
Might I remind the member that when he is talking about his taxes, his increase in the GST would actually take 162,000 jobs out of Canada. That is not what we want to have happen.
Alex Atamanenko NDP British Columbia Southern Interior, BC
Mr. Speaker, news from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is not good. Despite its promises, the government has not yet hired inspectors. The minister promised to invest $75 million in the Canadian food safety system. However, no monies were announced in the latest budget. Listeriosis has surfaced again and has already caused five deaths in Ontario this year.
What will it take for this minister to do something to protect Canadians?
Canadian Food Inspection AgencyOral Questions
Battlefords—Lloydminster Saskatchewan
Conservative
Gerry Ritz ConservativeMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board
Mr. Speaker, we have moved forward within the budget framework and outside the budget framework to give CFIA the resources it needs, both monetary and human. The CFIA is in the process of training and getting on the front lines a number of new inspectors. Of course they do not grow on trees. The CFIA has to actually train these folks and get them ready for the important work they do.
The unfortunate truth in all of this is that every time we do this, the NDP votes against it.
Malcolm Allen NDP Welland, ON
Mr. Speaker, the audit they proposed, which Sheila Weatherill asked for, has not been done yet. That is why they do not know how many they have.
In Ontario, there have been 14 confirmed cases of listeriosis, and 5 deaths are being investigated. After the 2008 listeriosis outbreak, the government's own special investigator said Canada needs more inspectors. Meat shipped to the U.S. is checked daily; meat shipped to us, weekly.
The last outbreak killed 22 Canadians. How many more have to die before this government fixes the food safety system?
Canadian Food Inspection AgencyOral Questions
Battlefords—Lloydminster Saskatchewan
Conservative
Gerry Ritz ConservativeMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board
Mr. Speaker, there were a couple of inaccuracies in there. Saying that somehow we test less for domestic food than we do for exports is absolutely not true. It is done on a 12-hour cycle, the same for both. The front line inspectors are there to do that important work.
We do continue to move forward with the recommendations from the Weatherill report. We work with our provincial colleagues in this particular listeriosis outbreak. The province of Ontario is the lead. We are supporting it with offering recall expertise that we have and getting the job done to make sure the products on the store shelves are safe.
If Canadians have concerns, they should go to our website, foodsafety.gc.ca, and they will find out for themselves.
Bruce Stanton Conservative Simcoe North, ON
Mr. Speaker, while the economy is showing signs of recovery, many Canadians are still seeing the negative impacts of the global recession, so it is encouraging to see that work is under way and in fact has been completed on more than 3,000 infrastructure projects, creating jobs in every province and territory.
I wonder if the Minister of Transport could please inform the House what a recent report by the Conference Board of Canada said about the effects our stimulus program has had on job creation in Ontario.
John Baird ConservativeMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, we were all pleased by the report by the Conference Board of Canada, which showed that in the province of Ontario some 70,000 jobs were created as a result of Canada's economic action plan.
This was not all about the efforts of the Minister of Finance and the economic action plan, but was all about partnerships. We work well with the provincial government in Ontario and we work well with municipalities across Ontario. Step by step we are making progress in the economic recovery.
My premier and my Prime Minister are delivering great things for this country, and we have only just begun.
Rodger Cuzner Liberal Cape Breton—Canso, NS
Mr. Speaker, when Canadians receive the bad news from the Conservative government it will be delivered by Canada Post, not by email, because the minister has shut down their access to the Internet.
Thirty-seven hundred CAP sites across this country have been shut down. More Canadians are on the Internet, but those in rural and remote communities still have challenges getting access.
Why is the government shutting down access to the Internet for Canadians who need it the most?
Gary Goodyear ConservativeMinister of State (Science and Technology) (Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario)
Mr. Speaker, let us look at the facts. The Liberals have been trying to shut that program down since back in 2004-05. We extended the program until 2010, and 80% of Canadians now have Internet in their homes.
We are also providing Internet services, which are now available, to 93% of public libraries. As well, we are putting $200 million toward broadband services for all communities across Canada.
Johanne Deschamps Bloc Laurentides—Labelle, QC
Mr. Speaker, on March 11, Vues d'Afrique learned that, after a 25-year partnership, CIDA will no longer be funding its activities, including the renowned PanAfrica International film festival. CIDA's decision to abandon such a proven organization is deplorable.
Can the Minister of International Cooperation explain in what way the activities of Vues d'Afrique no longer align with the government's priorities?
Bev Oda ConservativeMinister of International Cooperation
Mr. Speaker, as you know, this government is about making Canada's international assistance more efficient, more effective and more accountable.
As the Minister of Finance said in the budget, programs are being reviewed to get results. When we looked at this program we saw that it did not guarantee complete and maximized access to all Canadians for them to be aware of the product. We believe that our tax dollars can be used more effectively by actually helping people in developing countries.
Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB
Mr. Speaker, the government has replaced its climate scientists by appointing deniers to its scientific councils, has severely cut funds to climate research, and now we learn it is muzzling its own climate scientists.
Are these regressive moves because the government does not want its climate actions based on science, or because the government does not like what the scientists are telling it?
The EnvironmentOral Questions
Calgary Centre-North Alberta
Conservative
Jim Prentice ConservativeMinister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, this government supports scientific research, research empiricism, wherever we find it.
These are dated allegations that go back to 2007. I would encourage the member to focus on some of the investments that are laid out in the budget most recently, for example, the dollars that are allocated for new meteorological and navigational services in Canada's Arctic and the investments being made there, and the very large investments being made as well for the RADARSAT constellation mission that will have Canada leading the world in terms of northern meteorological and navigational climate change research, all things that are important to this government.
Tilly O'Neill-Gordon Conservative Miramichi, NB
Mr. Speaker, for generations Atlantic Canadian fishermen have looked south to sell their products in the lucrative New England market. Today, a lobster pulled from a trap on the Miramichi in the morning could be on the menu in Boston later that evening.
Could the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans inform this House about the recent work at the International Boston Seafood Show and our government's support for Canadian fishermen?
Gail Shea ConservativeMinister of Fisheries and Oceans
Mr. Speaker, I was very pleased to attend the International Boston Seafood Show. I can say that I was certainly very proud to be a Canadian.
There I heard firsthand not just from Americans but also from global buyers that there is increasing demand for our Canadian seafood, because it is high quality and our fishers have a reputation for producing the best seafood in the world.
It was also evident that Canada is a leader in the emerging trend of traceability and eco-certification. With our historic investments in lobster marketing and new initiatives such as traceability and catch certification, our Canadian fishing industry stands to emerge from this global recession stronger than--
Fisheries and OceansOral Questions
Rodger Cuzner Liberal Cape Breton—Canso, NS
Mr. Speaker, I know the government believes that all Canadians have to know is the stuff that is included in the wasteful partisan ten percenters that it sends out, but that is not true.
What the minister said about the 80%, that might be so in urban Canada, but in rural and remote Canada, people are getting cut off their services, and they deserve access to the Internet. They have to know about government services and government jobs.
For a 15 year program, at 40¢ a pop for each Canadian, can we not stand up for it and allow Canadians to have access to the Internet? I think we should. Why is the government gutting this program?
Gary Goodyear ConservativeMinister of State (Science and Technology) (Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario)
Mr. Speaker, that is high energy coming from a member who voted to cut this program away back in 2004.
This government decided to extend that program. We extended the program until the time came when public libraries had Internet, and most people live very close to a public library, within 25 kilometres. That is number one.
Number two, today in 2010, 80% of Canadians have the Internet; and the member might remember, although he might not have been here for the vote, that the government put $200 million toward providing broadband to every community in this country. That is what we are doing.
Carol Hughes NDP Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON
Mr. Speaker, tuberculosis is on the rise among aboriginal peoples, while rates of infection are declining among non-aboriginals.
The incidence is 200 times higher in the four Inuit regions of Canada than in areas further south in the country.
Tuberculosis is a danger to the health of those infected and their families.
Last week, my colleague from Winnipeg North requested an emergency debate so that the government could take action, but the request was refused.
Does the government realize that this situation is unacceptable?
What does it plan on doing to combat the high incidence of tuberculosis among these populations?
Leona Aglukkaq ConservativeMinister of Health
Mr. Speaker, the stakeholder groups used parts of the statistics of the Public Health Agency report of 2008 in their own interpretations.
I can say that our government has invested significant funding to support the management of tuberculosis, including disease prevention. We will continue to work with the provinces and territories to curb the spread of TB.
André Bellavance Bloc Richmond—Arthabaska, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is setting a dangerous precedent by refusing to recall ready-to-cook foods that are potentially contaminated with salmonella. According to the agency, it is up to the consumer to follow to the letter cooking instructions that allow the bacteria to be killed.
Will the Minister of Agriculture do his job by requiring food processors to offer healthy products and by immediately having any products that pose a risk to consumer health, including ready-to-cook products, removed from the shelves?
Jean-Pierre Blackburn ConservativeMinister of Veterans Affairs and Minister of State (Agriculture)
Mr. Speaker, I want to tell the hon. member what is most important in our country: food safety together with public health. The two go hand in hand.
When the Canadian Food Inspection Agency learns about a problem, it responds immediately. It removes any potentially dangerous product from the market. When the problem comes from the U.S., we work together with our counterparts to protect the public.
Lawrence Cannon ConservativeMinister of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Speaker, on March 8, in response to a question from the member for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine on the nomination of Gérard Latulippe, I said:
Ironically, the Bloc and Liberal opposition, while simultaneously decrying the government's continued partisanship, have rejected Mr. Latulippe's appointment on almost purely political grounds...While I don't share Mr. Latulippe's political orientation, I don't believe that stated political views and career path are reasons to question a person's capacity to act in a principled manner.
I attributed that quotation to former NDP strategist Brian Topp. In fact, I should have attributed it to Leslie Campbell, former chief of staff to Audrey McLaughlin. I apologize to Mr. Topp for any inconvenience this may have caused him.
2010 Paralympic Winter GamesRoutine Proceedings
The Speaker Peter Milliken
Pursuant to order adopted last week, there will be eight minutes allotted for statements by ministers to each of the parties. I therefore call upon the hon. Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, who I understand will have four minutes for her remarks.