Debates of April 13th, 2010

Afghanistan

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

Mr. Speaker, these allegations have been made previously.

I think it should be pointed out again that a new transfer arrangement was put in place by this government, almost three years ago now, to clean up some of the mess that was left by the previous administration. There is a better system in place and the hon. member should take some comfort in that.

[Claude Bachand, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Speaker, diplomat Richard Colvin, testifying this morning before the Military Police Complaints Commission, reiterated that there was a systemic risk of mistreatment of Afghan detainees by Afghan authorities.

How can the government reject the credible testimony of Richard Colvin, when the police are not investigating and take the word of the Afghan authorities, the very people accused of this torture?

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

Mr. Speaker, the individual in question is testifying again and this time before the Military Police Complaints Commission.

These allegations have been aired before. The commission will hear from other senior officials in the coming weeks. We should let the commission continue to do its good work.

Rights & Democracy

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the widow of Rémi Beauregard, the president of Rights & Democracy who died at work, has stated that the members of the board of directors appointed by the government have done everything possible to tarnish his reputation and take control of Rights & Democracy in order to align its policies with the government's pro-Israel stance. Ms. Trépanier is calling for a public inquiry.

Will the government rein in the board of directors of Rights & Democracy until an independent inquiry can shed some light on the organization's shift in mandate?

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

Mr. Speaker, let me remind my colleague again that the government is not involved in the day to day operations of Rights & Democracy. It is an arm's length organization.

Mr. Beauregard actually met with the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs last fall and also addressed the standing committee. He did not raise any concerns about the deteriorating situation at Rights & Democracy at either of those meetings.

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Mr. Speaker, these are the same people who, without any proof, invoked Rémi Beauregard's supposed poor management and who did not hesitate to award an accounting contract to their friends without a tender, while playing ignorant when asked about the contract and the price of it.

Does the government not feel that the farce has gone on long enough and that a public inquiry is needed?

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

Mr. Speaker, I can only say that this government is confident the board and the new president will ensure the long-term success of Rights & Democracy.

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is on the same subject and for the same minister.

The minister has a very negative report with respect to the performance of Mr. Beauregard to which he has taken the strongest of objections and which was raised again by his widow, Mme Trépanier, in her testimony today.

Could the minister undertake to allow that report to be expunged and eliminated from the record of the Privy Council precisely because it is so damaging to the reputation of Mr. Beauregard and has no basis in fact?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am not familiar with the details of that report but I think the short answer to that is, no.

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the minister's answer should have been wiser. I hope that he will have a chance to think about natural and fundamental justice when it comes to an employee like Mr. Beauregard.

I have another question for the minister. There was important testimony today about governance and the activities of the board of directors appointed by the government.

Why not launch a public inquiry into the important questions asked by the witnesses today?

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for allowing me to say once again that we have every confidence in the board and its new president. Rights & Democracy is an arm's length organization and the board of directors is responsible for the governance of the organization.

Afghanistan

[Ujjal Dosanjh, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in 2007, Chris Alexander, Canada's former ambassador and deputy UN special representative in Afghanistan, had warned the government that Asadullah Khalid was the culprit behind the murder of five UN workers and possibly behind other attacks on the internationals in Kandahar.

Why did the Conservative government continue to protect Khalid from being fired by Karzai? And, why did it continue to pay $12,000 per month to this butcher of Kandahar?

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

Mr. Speaker, allow me to reassure the House that there is nothing new here.

The Government of Canada does not appoint governors in Afghanistan. The independent Government of Afghanistan appoints its own governors. This is true today and that was true then. The individual in question, in fact, was removed as governor some time ago.

[Ujjal Dosanjh, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the government knew full well that Khalid was a torturer. Chris Alexander had told it that he was a killer of UN workers. This morning, Colvin testified that Khalid was an extortionist, drug smuggler and a torturer.

Knowing all of this, the government continued to support him and continued to pay him $12,000 per month.

Why did the current government not sever all ties with this butcher of Kandahar?

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

Mr. Speaker, those allegations have been aired before and have been addressed in the past. Military and diplomatic officials spoke to those allegations last fall before the special committee on Afghanistan.

The Government of Canada regularly questions the Government of Afghanistan on those and other human rights issues.

Nuclear Proliferation

[Phil McColeman, Conservative, Brant, ON]

Mr. Speaker, one of the stated goals of this week's nuclear security summit in Washington is to ensure that terrorists never get their hands on nuclear weapons.

Would the Minister of State of Foreign Affairs explain how Canada is responding to this summit?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is true. This government recognizes that the prospect of nuclear material falling into the hands of terrorists is a threat to global security.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister announced that Canada would send Canada's weapon grade uranium to U.S. plants where it will be rendered unusable for bombs. By doing so on the first day of the summit, the Prime Minister was sending a strong example for other countries to follow.

Afghanistan

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

Mr. Speaker, we now have new reports that Asadullah Khalid, the governor of Kandahar, and his agents regularly tortured and abused civilians, that Canadian officials were aware of these atrocities and yet Canadian generals and the Canadian government, even the Prime Minister, supported and worked with the governor while all this took place.

Perhaps most shocking is the news that the governor allegedly ordered the bombing deaths of five United Nations workers. This comes from former Canadian ambassador, now Conservative candidate, Chris Alexander.

When will the current government stop avoiding and covering up the truth and call a full public inquiry?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I just told my hon. colleague in the official opposition, those allegations have been fully and widely aired before the Special Commission on Afghanistan and the Canadian government continues to press the Government of Afghanistan with regard to the respect of human rights.

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

Mr. Speaker, the murdering of UN workers is news that came out publicly yesterday but was known to the government years ago.

Back in 2007, when the Afghan president offered to replace him, the Conservative government defended the governor of Kandahar. Then, in 2008, the Minister of Foreign Affairs at the time suggested that he be replaced. Clearly, the member for Beauce knew what was going on, so why did Canada continue working with Khalid and support his hideous gang?

Why will the minister not acknowledge his government's responsibility, do the right thing and call a public inquiry so we can get to the bottom of all this?

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

Mr. Speaker, let me say again that the Government of Canada does not appoint governors of Afghanistan. This is true today and it was true then. In fact, the governor in question was removed some time ago.

Telecommunications

[Serge Cardin, Bloc, Sherbrooke, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the chair of the CRTC appeared before the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology. He is concerned that raising foreign ownership levels above 49% could have negative repercussions on the telecommunications industry and the government's ability to protect broadcasting of Canadian content.

With yet another witness speaking out against the government's proposed deregulation, will the Minister of Industry take this opposition into account?

[Mike Lake, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, I was at those meetings as well where we also heard from a witness from the OECD who talked about how Canadians were paying more for their telecommunications services than people in other countries and about the great need for competitiveness in those industries.

Arts and Culture

[Carole Lavallée, Bloc, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Amazon case is a perfect example of how little this government cares about culture.

The Union des écrivaines et écrivains québécois, or UNEQ, which is Quebec's writers' association, and the Association des libraires du Québec, the booksellers' association, have condemned the Conservative government's decision to allow Amazon to set up a warehouse in Canada. The UNEQ is concerned that Amazon, with its hegemonic approach, will end up dictating its own terms and conditions to authors, publishers and distributors.

Why is the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages allowing measures intended to protect culture to be systematically undermined and trampled by his government's ideologues?

[James Moore, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, our decision regarding Amazon.ca is a responsible one and it is good for Canadian culture.

We received over $20 million. We will create new Canadian jobs in Mississauga. We will have new positions for Canadian authors. This decision was made following a process that complied with all of the regulations. Canada's culture will definitely be protected.

I also want to point out that our government is investing in authors, in magazines, in the Canadian economy and in the francophone economy. We are keeping our promises to protect Canadian culture.