Debates of March 26th, 2010

Political Activism

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the darling of the reform-conservative-republican movement really outdid herself last night in Calgary. By addressing Canadian diversity, Ann Coulter said that diversity is not an advantage to a country like Canada. “It's not a strength”, she continued. Then she went on to compare diversity to cancer. From organizing speeches to putting on cocktails, the Conservative Party's dirty little fingerprints are all over her Canadian tour.

Will the Prime Minister immediately and publicly condemn Ann Coulter's outrageous and intolerant views?

[Jay Hill, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, you and the hon. member would know that his question has absolutely nothing to do with the business of government and should be disallowed.

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the office of the member for South Shore—St. Margaret's organized a Coulter cocktail. The member of Parliament for Calgary West led the applause last night from his front row seat.

The Prime Minister's mentor, Rainer Knopff, who co-authored the reckless and divisive firewall letter, co-sponsored the speech and sat there while his guest savaged mainstream Canadian values.

Silence is acquiescence. Either the Prime Minister supports it or he does not. Which is it?

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. I do not see that that is a business of government administration. I do see the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister rising, so I will give him a chance to answer, but I caution members to keep their questions--

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Which is it?

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, order. The member for Ottawa South will come to order.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Go ahead.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The member for Ottawa South will come to order.

I see the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister rising to answer the question. I will allow him to do so.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the member has raised a very important question about an American commentator who has come to this country with some outrageous comments: comments supporting the Iraq war, comments supporting the use of torture, and comments referring to Israel as a war criminal. But enough about the leader of the Liberal Party.

I want to take a moment to commend the Liberal leader for one decision that he made. Originally, I thought he made the right decision by not inviting the member for Ottawa South for the great--

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, order. If members want to keep talking like this, we can drop a few questions off from question period. It does not matter to me. Order, please.

The hon. member for LaSalle—Émard.

Pensions

[Lise Zarac, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives obviously take retirees for fools.

Almost a year ago, they promised to do something about pensions in the next 90 days. Now they want to conduct a cross-Canada tour before doing anything.

Retirees have lost confidence in the Conservatives' good faith.

Why does the government continue procrastinating, when retirees are calling for immediate reforms?

[Ted Menzies, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, that is rather harsh and rude language from a party that thought enough about retirees to hold one half-day session talking about the future of retirement income in this entire country.

I welcome the Liberals to the issue. But they should know that we have consulted already with Canadians on federally-regulated pensions. I know they do not understand the difference between federal and provincial. We are now discussing with our partners in the provinces how we can help maintain retirement income for seniors.

[Lise Zarac, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, pension plans need to improved and retirees must be protected. Everyone agrees on that. Why not give pensioners preferred creditor status immediately? Nortel pensioners are now facing bankruptcy because of the minister's failure to act. These people need help today. The time for consultations ended a long time ago.

Why does this government continue to ignore the needs of our retired workers?

[Ted Menzies, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, when they are talking about protecting pensions, we on this side of the House would be very interested in their position of pensions to Clifford Olson. They seem very unclear about that. They tend to protect people, to try to keep them out of jail.

Our important issue on this side of the House is protecting seniors. That is why we are actually going out across Canada, the finance minister, myself, and other members of this party, speaking to Canadians about the impact on their lives. That is consulting with Canadians.

Research and Development

[Peter Braid, Conservative, Kitchener—Waterloo, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's commitment to science and technology is beyond dispute. The Minister of State for Science and Technology recently made a great announcement regarding Canada's research chairs. This news will boost research at universities and strengthen the economy across our country.

Would the minister please tell this House how this support will help to develop, attract and retain the world's best researchers in Canada?

[Gary Goodyear, Conservative, Minister of State (Science and Technology) (Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario)]

Mr. Speaker, I can tell members we have had a great announcement this morning. This government is supporting 187 newly-awarded and renewed Canada research chairs at 44 Canadian universities to the tune of $165.5 million.

This government has created historic investment in buildings and laboratories, in equipment, in research, from basic to applied and to commercialization, and now we are furthering our commitment to the people and scientists.

We are getting it done to create jobs, secure our economy and--

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, the hon. member for Halifax.

Maternal and Child Health

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the latest reports released by the United Nations Population Fund and the Alan Guttmacher Institute prove that access to birth control saves lives and reduces pressure on health care systems in developing countries. By meeting the contraceptive needs of people around the world, we can reduce the maternal mortality rate by 70%.

Will the government commit to saving lives, yes or no?

[Deepak Obhrai, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, Canada will lead the discussion in the upcoming G8 summit on child and maternal health. We are focused on how to make a positive difference and save the lives of mothers and children in the developing world.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, why is it so hard for the government to be clear? If the Prime Minister is serious about making maternal and child health Canada's signature initiative at the G8, why can he not tell Canadians exactly what he means?

Now that the UN has proven funding for contraception saves billions on health care costs and, more important, saves lives, I ask again, will the government pursue a family planning policy that will save lives? Yes or no?

[Deepak Obhrai, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, as I stated, Canada will lead the discussion in the upcoming G8 summit on child and maternal health. We are focused on how to make a positive difference and save the lives of mothers and children in the developing world.

Transportation

[Mario Laframboise, Bloc, Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the television show Enquête reported that, while pilots and companies lied about actual flying hours, the Canadian government did nothing to prevent extreme fatigue in pilots. The government is turning a blind eye to this problem which affects the safety of passengers.

How can we believe that the government cares about air safety when it is giving itself another two years to deal with the issue?