Debates of April 27th, 2010

Firearms Registry

[Earl Dreeshen, Conservative, Red Deer, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal leader is forcing his members to vote against their conscience and to support the wasteful long gun registry. He refuses to listen to rural Canadians or anyone calling for the end of this boondoggle. Why will he not listen to what is being said about the registry?

Chief Hanson from Calgary has called the long gun registry a placebo, and said that it creates a false sense of security and does nothing to stop gun violence between Calgary gangs. The Saskatchewan justice minister has called the long gun registry a nuisance.

Could the minister update this House on our measures to scrap the wasteful long gun registry?

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal leader has whipped his members to support the wasteful and ineffective long gun registry by promising to implement unconstitutional amendments to Bill C-391.

I hope those Liberals who voted for Bill C-391 previously will not deceive their constituents by changing their vote merely to satisfy the false promise of the Liberal leader.

As the justice minister in Saskatchewan has said, for rural Canadians the long gun registry is a nuisance.

We hope the NDP will support the bill in the original form instead of following the Liberal-led—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order. The hon. member for Winnipeg Centre.

Ethics

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, under the Liberals there was so much traffic between the PMO and well-connected lobby firms that they had a revolving door installed.

The Conservatives promised they would tie a bell around lobbyists' necks when they were skulking around in the corridors of power. But still the most powerful lobbyists in Ottawa are the most senior operatives in the Conservative Party.

The Federal Accountability Act was supposed to clean up the undue influence of well-connected lobbyists. Why did the Conservatives not just send Rahim Jaffer packing when he showed up with his hand out? Why did they continue to meet with him, continue to take proposals and then cover it all up?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I say to my friend from Winnipeg Centre that the Lobbyists Registration Act is an incredibly important piece of legislation.

Everyone, every Canadian who lobbies under the act, is expected to follow the law. If the member has any evidence to suggest someone has not, he should send it to the independent commissioner of lobbying that this government established.

I should be very clear that no government money was given to any individual with respect to the allegations he raises.

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, getting to the truth about Rahim Jaffer has been like the dance of the seven veils. The Conservatives reveal tantalizing little tidbits of information about their contacts with Jaffer, but only when it is absolutely necessary and only the very skimpiest of details.

Today they submitted eight thin pages to the committee on government operations. Will they also table the flight log and the expense records of Jaffer's and Guergis' trip to Belize, including all of the costs associated with staff who went with them? If not, why not?

Why was the minister not fired when they learned about going rogue to Belize? Why did they cover up for another eight months until it hit the front page of the newspapers?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, here is what I do know.

When allegations were brought to the government's attention, the Prime Minister acted immediately. He forwarded all of those allegations to the relevant authorities so that they could make a determination as to their basis.

I say to the member opposite that this is a government of transparency. All of this cabinet's expenses are publicly available on the web. The member knows that. If the member has any allegations he would like to make with respect to anyone, he should take them to the independent authorities so that they can get to the bottom of them.

Forestry Industry

[Robert Bouchard, Bloc, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the new diversification measures for communities affected by the forestry crisis are a disappointment to both unions and the industry because they do not address companies' need for liquidity. Renaud Gagné, the CEP Quebec union representative, and Guy Chevrette, of the Quebec Forest Industry Council, have condemned the fact that loan guarantees are not among the measures that were announced.

When will the government offer loan guarantees? What is it waiting for?

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of State (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec)]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, I was extremely proud to announce that our government will invest $100 million in helping regions affected by the forestry crisis in Quebec. That $100 million will help projects like Trebio in the Pontiac, in the Outaouais region, where we made an announcement yesterday about major developments for other regions too. Together, we will succeed thanks to projects like these.

Everyone in Canada—except people belonging to branches of the same party as the member opposite—knows that markets are critical and that we have to work on developing new products. We will keep working on that.

[Robert Bouchard, Bloc, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, if the Minister of State for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec wants us to believe that his so-called plan does not include loan guarantees because company executives did not ask for them, he must be from some other planet. The truth is that all stakeholders in the sector, all of the unions, the Fédération québécoise des municipalités and the Bloc Québécois have been asking for loan guarantees for years.

When will the Conservative government give Quebec what it needs?

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of State (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec)]

Mr. Speaker, recently, the president of the Forest Products Association of Canada, Avrim Lazar, gave a speech in our region, Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean, in which he said that to survive the forestry crisis, the industry had no choice but to change its business model to extract maximum value from each tree and to integrate bioproducts and bioenergy into production.

Yesterday afternoon, in our region, the vice president of AbitibiBowater said that this could help people who have lots of ideas. We need more good ideas to reach new markets. That is difficult without clients, and there are not a lot of new clients out there these days. Investing money—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. member for Malpeque.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food in a set-up question misled Canadians. It is just more of the government's culture of deceit. At that same time, a 27-year-old B.C. farmer before the standing committee stated, “...our current programs agri-stability and agri-invest are not a solution.... The way agri-stability is set up, if you have two or three bad years in a row, that's it, you're done. It's not a helpful program”.

Why does the minister continue to make excuses and fail farmers? Will he at least commit to market price insurance as requested for the cattle industry?

[Gerry Ritz, Conservative, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, unlike the Liberals who make profound statements from the greater Toronto area, we work with the provinces and territories in a consultative way to conform with farm programs. That work continues to go on. We consult with industry as to the best way forward. We will continue to work with industry and the provinces to bring forward programs that are in the best interests of us all.

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, not only does the minister need a lesson from farmers, he needs a lesson in geography. Holland Marsh is in the country in another minister's riding.

Let us get specific. The risk management program in Ontario is designed by farmers to help their cost of production. Our party, the Liberal Party, is committed to agri-flex as originally intended to provide assistance to farmers. Instead, the Conservatives cut funding.

Why is the Conservative government turning its back on Ontario farmers and not supporting the RMP?

[Gerry Ritz, Conservative, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, the province of Ontario brought forward the RMP some years ago. It ran it as a pilot project. It was not able to trigger money in a substantive way building on top of agri-stability and now agri-recovery. Of course that program is completely countervailable. We will never put farmers at risk by making programs that are countervailable. Ontario does have provisions to move forward with that if it wants. Under growing forward it has a 25% allotment of moneys that it can put into those types of programs. There is nothing stopping it.

All the noise from the member for Malpeque about agriculture would certainly be shadowed by a carbon tax that his party wants to bring in.

Oil and Gas Industry

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, since the Deepwater Horizon oil platform caught fire and sank within sight of Louisiana, 160,000 litres of crude oil is being spilled directly into the Gulf of Mexico each and every day. British Petroleum is now desperately trying to drill a relief well to contain this unmitigated disaster. These same oil companies are now asking Canada's National Energy Board to exempt them from having to do the exact same thing in Canada, drill relief wells for their increasingly risky oil drilling in the Arctic.

Will the government ensure the rules will not be bent or broken for any of its friends in big oil?

[Chuck Strahl, Conservative, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, the way it works in the Canadian Arctic is that areas are opened up for exploration. The companies are allowed to put forward proposals to drill in those areas. They go through a bidding process in order to get access to that area. They have to adhere not only to the rules that we might build into it in this Parliament, but they also have to work with the Inuit organizations in the area to make sure that we have the best system in the world.

Employment Insurance

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

Mr. Speaker, New Brunswick's labour minister recently asked the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development to help workers in the crab fishery. Her answer came yesterday. She is refusing to change the employment insurance eligibility criteria to help the 2,500 workers. She is refusing to set up special programs for workers 55 and older and, for over a year now, she has been refusing to meet with New Brunswick's minister.

On April 12, the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development told the House she would work with the provinces. Will she keep her promise and agree to meet with New Brunswick's labour minister who is here today? Yes or no?

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

Mr. Speaker, I spoke with Premier Graham this morning and told him that while it is always unfortunate when we are forced to reduce catch rates in a fishery, conservation must be our priority. DFO science advises that if we adopt a conscious approach today, the chances of the stock recovering in 2012 are good.

In the meantime, we will work with the province to help all those affected by this measure.

Automotive Industry

[Dean Allison, Conservative, Niagara West—Glanbrook, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last year, in addition to financial support, the federal government took steps to support the auto industry as a whole, including investing in communities hardest hit by the recession, building on corporate tax reductions and enabling further investments in productivity-enhancing machinery and equipment.

Last week we heard encouraging news regarding GM's loan repayment. Could the Minister of Industry please inform this place of the progress GM Canada is making today?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, today General Motors announced a further investment of $235 million in its plant. This follows its third shift in Oshawa and other investments in the CAMI plant as well.

Truly, the auto sector is on the rebound and Canada is taking its rightful place at the forefront.

Afghanistan

[Ujjal Dosanjh, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, on the detainee torture scandal, the government has been obstructing, hiding, redacting and obfuscating. It is turning, twisting and contorting in the Conservative culture of deceit.

It only released 7% of the requested documents to the commission, while hiding others from some censors, censoring the censors, for God's sake.

It is the Conservative culture of deceit run amok. If not, why not call a public inquiry?

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

Mr. Speaker, in all circumstances, as indicated, we will provide all legally available documents.

On the bigger question, the government has respected and will respect the laws of the land that were passed by the Parliament of Canada. Why is that always such a problem for the Liberal Party?

Securities

[Daniel Paillé, Bloc, Hochelaga, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the CEO of the Autorité des marchés financiers, Jean St-Gelais, has strongly condemned the federal government's plans to establish a Canada-wide securities commission in Toronto. This unfortunate plan would deprive Quebec of an important development tool. Mr. St-Gelais sees only one possible conclusion: Ottawa is trying to control all regulation of Canada's financial sector. Yet the recent agreement with China very clearly shows that the system is working.

Why does the Minister of Finance want to sabotage the AMF? Why does he want to divest Quebec of its financial sector for the benefit of Toronto? Why—