Debates of April 12th, 2010

Taxation

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, these issues are obviously tremendously important not just to the government of Quebec but indeed to the Minister of Finance as well. I think he has spoken very clearly to this issue with respect to working with his counterpart in the province of Quebec in order to make compensation for harmonizing the tax. It actually has to be harmonized, though.

Health

[Carol Hughes, NDP, Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last week doctors reported that people in Grassy Narrows who were exposed to levels of mercury deemed safe by Health Canada still show signs of poisoning. Pulp mills that used the mercury cell process operated in Thunder Bay, Hamilton and Saskatoon. Potentially over a million Canadians might have been exposed to levels of mercury that Health Canada considers safe.

Will the health minister demand that Health Canada change its guidelines? Will the minister initiate a study of the health of those who have been exposed to this mercury pollution?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the department responds to requests of that nature on a regular basis. This is one of those projects that we had reviewed and determined was safe, but I will follow up further with departmental officials to see what we can do to address the concerns.

Oral Questions

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Mr. Speaker, during question period when the member for Toronto Centre was asking his question, the Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women had her BlackBerry and took a picture in the House of Commons which I believe is against the rules of the House.

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, in fact that did happen. It was an accident. I can assure the member that the picture showed them hard at work, but it has been deleted.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Accidents will happen.

The hon. minister of state is rising.

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas)]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. In my answer to the member for Toronto Centre, I added an unnecessary modifier. My answer should have said that Canada's military mission in Afghanistan will end in 2011, period.

Death of Poland's President and Other Officials

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

I believe there is unanimous of the House to have a moment of silence at this time in honour of the losses sustained in Poland in the death of its president and other officials.

[A moment of silence observed]

Business of the House

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

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 66(2), I would like to designate tomorrow to conclude the debate on the motion to concur in the first report of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage.

Health

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, today I have the honour to table, in both official languages, Health Canada's proposal to Parliament for user fees and service standards for human drugs and medical devices program. I look forward to hearing the views of parliamentarians on this very important proposal.

Government Response to Petitions

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the government's response to 18 petitions.

Fairness for Military Families (Employment Insurance) Act

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-13, An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Aboriginal Affairs

[Larry Bagnell, Liberal, Yukon, YT]

Mr. Speaker, it is not often a petition results in a news story, but I think this may very well. Members of the Daylu-Dena council in the Watson Lake area in southern Yukon and northern B.C. are shocked that the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development has left them in the unbelievable position of having their programs conducted out of a former residential school. This is even more incredible based on the fact that the Prime Minister just made a major apology about these residential schools.

They say the building is essentially unfit for human habitation and a source of horrible haunting and painful memories of abuse for those who have to go to their first nation to get services and for those who work in the building. The petitioners call on Parliament to call on the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development to assist in the demolition of this residential school and replace it with new offices and community facilities for the Daylu-Dena council and the community of Lower Post.

Air Passengers' Bill of Rights

[Jim Maloway, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, thousands of Canadians are calling on Parliament to adopt Canada's first air passengers' bill of rights. Bill C-310 would compensate air passengers on all Canadian carriers including charters anywhere they fly in the world.

The bill would provide compensation for overbooked flights, cancelled flights and long tarmac delays. It would address issues such as late and misplaced baggage, would require all inclusive pricing by airlines in their advertising.

The airlines would have to inform passengers of flight changes, either delays or cancellations, and new rules would have to be posted at the airports. Airlines would have to inform passengers of their rights and the process to follow for compensation.

This type of legislation has been in Europe now for actually a lot longer than five years but certainly five years in its current form. The question is, why should Air Canada passengers receive better treatment on flights in Europe than in Canada itself? In fact, if the airlines follow the rules, it will cost the airlines nothing.

The petitioners call on the government to support Bill C-310, which would introduce Canada's first air passengers' bill of rights.

Earthquake in Chile

[Jim Maloway, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition, which is signed by Canadians, is calling on the government to match funds personally donated by the citizens of Canada for the victims of the earthquake in Chile.

As the Speaker knows, the earthquake in Chile occurred on February 27, 2010. It was an 8.8 magnitude earthquake, which was huge. It occurred in southern Chile and the Chilean Canadian community has been holding fundraising events across the country and more particularly in Winnipeg where it has raised $10,000 in the last event.

As well, the people are getting very concerned that time is going by. They want the same treatment given to the earthquake victims in Chile as the Prime Minister did for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti and match funds personally donated by Canadians to help the victims of the earthquake in Chile.

Citizenship and Immigration

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Mr. Speaker, this is a somewhat special anniversary. The earthquake in Haiti took place three months ago today.

I am presenting this petition on behalf of citizens on both sides of the river. They are asking the government to show more flexibility in its definition of the people who can be included in the family class. More specifically, Canadian citizens are asking the government to establish a special immigration measure enabling Canadian citizens or permanent residents to sponsor members of their families who have been personally and directly affected by the Haiti earthquake of January 12, no matter their age.

This is a very important point for this community and I hope the government is listening.

Foreign Takeovers

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am rising to bring the concerns of hundreds of citizens in northern Ontario who believe that we need some accountability in the House of Commons toward the actions of companies like Xstrata and Vale.

Three years ago the Conservative government rubber stamped the sale of Falconbridge and Inco, and we received no commitments in return. Xstrata immediately began showing its true colours. It fired hundreds of workers in Sudbury. It shut down operations. It moved to begin the hygrading of the deposits at Nickel Rim. Now, it is shutting down the copper refining capacity of Ontario. At the Kidd Metallurgical Site, we have tried to meet with the officials. They are not interested. The ore is being moved out

We are concerned that this will be a long-term move to ship copper resources to places like China and other jurisdictions.

The petitioners are calling on the government to change section 36 of the Investment Canada Act, so that we can see the secret agreement that was signed by Xstrata and the agreement that was signed by Vale, so we can have some accountability as citizens. We are nine months into this brutal strike with Vale. It is trying to turn our workers in Sudbury into third world workers. We are seeing what is happening with Xstrata in Timmins and what is happening in Sudbury.

We want to have some commitments that the government will be working with the people of the north and with our mining industry to make sure that this debacle will never be enacted in another industry in Canada again.

Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement

[Bill Siksay, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table a petition today signed by many people from Ontario, Nova Scotia, British Colombia and Saskatchewan who are calling on Parliament to reject the Canada-Colombia free trade agreement.

These petitioners are particularly concerned about the level of violence in Colombian society, particularly that directed toward members of civil society and workers in Colombia by the paramilitaries who are closely associated with the current Uribe regime, and which has seen over 2,200 trade unionists murdered since 1991.

These petitioners are calling on Parliament to reject the Canada-Colombia deal until a full human rights impact assessment has been carried out and these concerns have been addressed.

They are also calling for a deal based on the principles of fair trade and not necessarily free trade, which would take environmental and social impacts fully into account while respecting labour rights and the rights of all affected people.

Foreign Takeovers

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I too have petitions from dozens and dozens of citizens from Nickel Belt who are concerned about what is happening in my community. They are presently being held hostage by a company called Vale Inco, a company that was allowed by the government to purchase our natural resources, resources that belong to Canadians. This company has tried to bring a third world mentality to Canada.

The petitioners request that the Minister of Industry and the House of Commons amend section 36 of the Investment Canada Act in order to make details of undertakings made by foreign companies during trial acquisitions public.

They further request that the Minister of Industry make the undertakings made during the acquisition of Inco and Falconbridge public. They support Bill C-488, Bill C-489 and Bill C-490.

Questions on the Order Paper

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the following question will be answered today: No. 35.

Question No. 35

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Beauséjour, NB]

With regard to First Nations and bluefin tuna fishery: (a) how will the Department of Fisheries and Oceans accommodate the First Nations with regard to fair and reasonable access to bluefin tuna; (b) will the Department develop a plan to correct the current situation; and (c) is the Department planning any adjustments to the 2010 fishing season to accommodate First Nations?

[Gail Shea, Conservative, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, the answer is as follows: a) The Government of Canada has increased first nations access to the bluefin tuna fishery through the Marshall response initiative by acquiring approximately 55 commercial licences and providing them to first nations groups. The bluefin tuna licence is just one part of a package of licences that also includes other species such as lobster, crab, or scallops, aimed at providing first nations with a means to achieve a moderate livelihood from the fishery.

b) First nations licence holders in the bluefin tuna fishery receive fair and reasonable access. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans has worked with the various inshore fleets to ensure that first nations licence holders are integrated into the fleet, can provide input into the fleets fishing plan, and have the same access to the fishery as all other commercial licence holders in the fleet.

c) While the Gulf New Brunswick inshore bluefin tuna fleet did receive an increase in its allocation a couple of years ago to assist with the integration of first nations license holders, there are no further changes expected for the 2010 fishing season.

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns

[Tom Lukiwski, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, if the answer to Question No. 36 could be made an order for return, this return would be tabled immediately.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Is that agreed?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.