Debates of May 27th, 2010

Maternal Health

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

Mr. Speaker, we are listening to care agencies, such as World Vision Canada, who say that 24,000 children under the age of five will die today in the developing world. This June we have a historic opportunity to make a difference in the lives of women and children in the developing world. That is exactly what we are going to do. We have a responsibility to act to save the lives of women and children.

It is the right thing to do. We ask the opposition to please join us and our G8 partners in doing that and to stop this divisive debate.

Securities

[Daniel Paillé, Bloc, Hochelaga, QC]

Mr. Speaker, according to the Quebec business coalition, the quality of the regulatory framework under the jurisdiction of the provinces and Quebec was what helped us get through one of the worst crises ever better than most other countries. Now, the Conservatives, who wanted to deregulate banking as other countries had done, are saying that we should follow other countries' lead and have a single regulatory authority.

Why dismantle a system that helped us weather the financial crisis better than other countries?

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, we have been clear from the start on this: participation in the Canadian commission is voluntary. Provinces that do not want to join will not join. It is as simple as that.

Setting politics aside, I would like to quote Joey Davis of the Earl Jones victims committee, who just today said that a Canadian securities regulator holds the best potential to make a difference in preventing and deterring white collar crime.

I repeat: if Quebec wants its own system, it can keep it.

[Daniel Paillé, Bloc, Hochelaga, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Earl Jones is a criminal who was not registered anywhere.

This morning, the National Assembly unanimously condemned this proposal, as all of Quebec's business communities have done. A single securities regulator has nothing to do with efficiency and everything to do with a minister from Ontario who is determined to steal our jobs and our powers for Ontario's benefit. Quebec's finance minister calls this an invasion.

The bottom line is that the Conservatives and the Liberals are colluding to invade our jurisdictions. In Quebec, we call that a barbarian invasion.

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, we have been clear. We are going to ask the Supreme Court to rule on whether we are respecting jurisdictions. Let them stop making insinuations. The Supreme Court will hand down its decision, and we will act within our jurisdiction.

That said, I am looking at the Bloc, which has apparently been standing up for Quebec for 20 years. For 13 years, it did nothing as the fiscal imbalance was created. It was our finance minister who corrected that imbalance less than two years after coming to power. That is action.

Firearms Registry

[Maria Mourani, Bloc, Ahuntsic, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Institut national de santé publique du Québec believes that, since the Firearms Act came into effect, the number of suicides and homicides committed with firearms have decreased on average by 250 and 50 respectively per year. Over the course of seven years, the registry has saved 2,100 lives.

Why does the government want to eliminate the gun registry, a registry that saves lives?

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday at committee we heard from front-line police officers with real experience. Officer Dave Shipman said that the long gun registry is not working to prevent gun crime. Criminals do not register their stolen or smuggled guns that are being used to wage war in our cities.

I think this indicates that there is a failure of that long gun registry. Front-line officers are saying that.

I would encourage those who voted for Bill C-391 to vote that way at third reading.

[Maria Mourani, Bloc, Ahuntsic, QC]

Mr. Speaker, a Quebec delegation led by the Quebec public safety minister is in Ottawa calling for the firearm registry to be maintained in its entirety. Quebeckers support controlling guns, including long guns. On three occasions, the Quebec National Assembly unanimously came out against dismantling the registry.

Why does the government want to eliminate the firearms registry, which is supported by Quebeckers and saves lives?

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I wish the member would stop misleading the public.

Let me be clear. While we support licensing of individuals, we do not support the long gun registry. It is wasteful, and it is time to end the criminalization of our hunters and outdoor enthusiasts once and for all.

A police chief recently called the long gun registry a placebo and said that it creates a false sense of security.

We hope that members of the Liberal Party and the New Democrats who voted for Bill C-391 vote again to end the wasteful registry.

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Mr. Speaker, supported by police forces and a unanimous National Assembly, Quebec's public safety minister is calling on the Conservatives and New Democrats to save the registry. Why? Because the registry saves lives.

According to a study conducted by the Université de Montréal, the registry has saved over 2,000 lives over the past seven years. That means 300 lives every year.

Does this mean nothing to the Conservatives and NDP? It is too expensive to save the lives of 300 Canadians every year?

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, we want to begin by eliminating the long gun registry. This registry has the negative effect of making criminals out of everyone who does not register a long gun.

Members like the hon. member for Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord represent ridings where many of their constituents are hunters. That member wants to turn them into criminals if they do not register their long guns. He should ask them what they think. I do not think those people would be so proud of him.

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the President of Mexico respects the RCMP more than our own Prime Minister does, since he refuses to listen to our police officers.

The Prime Minister's partisan desires and his incompetence are going to cost us $1 billion for three days of security during the G8 and G20 summits.

This billion dollars would pay for the registry until 2260, thereby saving 300 Canadian lives every year for the next 250 years.

Where are their priorities? How can they say that, at a cost of $4 million a year, the registry is too expensive?

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I have addressed the issue of the gun registry.

I want to deal again with the G8 and G20 matter. Canadians were shocked last week over the firebombing at the Royal Bank in Ottawa. This is a prime example of why we need to be prepared to face thugs and terrorists who would threaten our safety. We are on track to host safe and secure G8 and G20 summits.

Unlike the Liberal leader, who has said he is embarrassed of Canada, we are proud and ready to showcase Canada on the world stage. We will make sure that there are secure and safe surroundings.

Offshore Drilling

[Judy Foote, Liberal, Random—Burin—St. George's, NL]

Mr. Speaker, President Obama has announced a moratorium on deep water oil wells and halted all drilling in northern waters.

Meanwhile, this government has taken no action to ensure that all current drilling is safe or that a disaster off one of our coasts would not result in the same catastrophic scenes we have seen in the Gulf of Mexico, with oil gushing on and on for more than five weeks.

Will the Conservatives follow the lead of President Obama and ensure all precautions are taken to avoid a tragic spill in Canadian waters?

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, the National Energy Board announced on May 12 that it would begin a review of all rules and regulations.

First of all, I would remind the House that no such authorization has been granted. No drilling is taking place at present in the Arctic or the Beaufort Sea. We are pleased that American authorities have decided to suspend all drilling that was planned for this spring, because they have reached the same conclusions as we have here in Canada. They want to examine what happened in the Gulf of Mexico to better understand and improve the regulations to ensure the future safety of workers and to protect the environment.

[Hedy Fry, Liberal, Vancouver Centre, BC]

Mr. Speaker, as the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico threatens to spread to the east coast of the U.S. and Canada, in B.C. a recent poll shows that over 80% of British Columbians oppose oil tanker traffic and drilling on the west coast.

Prime Minister Trudeau set a moratorium in 1972 that was honoured by subsequent governments until 2006, when this government violated that moratorium to allow tankers with toxic condensate to travel off the coast.

Will the Conservatives now commit to making the 1972 ban permanent?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, we all take our environmental responsibilities incredibly seriously. The coast of British Columbia is one of the most beautiful places on the planet. We have tough regulatory regimes in place and we are always prepared to make them even tougher.

Taxation

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

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the OECD praised Canada's economic performance, noting that we will have the fastest growing economy in the G7 this year and next. An official said, “I think Canada looks good; it shines, actually”.

Clearly Canada's economic action plan, which includes lower taxes, is working. In fact, since last July, Canada has created some 285,000 new jobs.

Could the transport minister please tell the House what the experts think about the Liberal leader's tax hike plan?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, there has recently been released an independent University of Calgary study that has confirmed what we have been saying all along, that the Liberal leader's tax plan would kill jobs.

In fact, the study that was released today says that the Liberal tax hike would lead directly to the loss of some 233,000 jobs. It called the Liberal plan to raise taxes “seriously misguided, putting Canada's tax competitiveness at a disadvantage among OECD countries”.

In a period of economic uncertainty, Canada's economy cannot afford Liberal tax hikes.

Ethics

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, it seems the Minister of Industry has a new sideline doing infomercials for his friend's business. All that is missing is the headset and he could be the ShamWow guy. Vince the Slap Chop guy has some new competition.

Celebrity endorsements are not part of a cabinet minister's job description. In fact, they are a blatant conflict of interest. The former minister for status of women got fired for a lot less.

Is the Prime Minister going to make room over there in the hall of shame for the Minister of Industry, or is he safe hiding in the Conservative good old boys' club?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is clear the member has taken on his own part-time job as a stand-up comic. I would encourage him not to quit his day job, though.

The reality is that this government continues to work hard to promote and support small business right across this land. We have lowered taxes for small businesses. We are creating jobs for small businesses. Small business across this country has never done better than under this government. We will continue to be a government of low tax and a friendly economic environment for our entrepreneurs from coast to coast.

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, one cannot use one's public office to further the private interests of one's personal friends and nobody should have to tell one that. This is not an isolated incident. In fact, these lapses in ethical judgment are becoming the hallmark of the whole Conservative regime. We have not seen such an arrogant disregard for ethics since the Chrétien years.

Will the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister stand up if he agrees with me that the Minister of Industry should be fired?

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

Mr. Speaker, the member has gone too far. He has lobbed a lot of accusations and we have accepted in the spirit of democracy to have a discourse with him. We have defended the integrity of this government at every step of the way, but for him to compare this Conservative government to the previous Liberal government goes beyond any standard of proper etiquette in this House of Commons.

Committees of the House

[Michel Guimond, Bloc, Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has announced that, from now on, ministers will answer for their staff's actions. The Minister of Natural Resources demonstrated the government's bad faith when, on the one hand, he denied a committee request that he testify as a minister and, on the other, he invited himself to different committee to answer for an employee's actions, where he stated that he had nothing to say because he knew nothing about the incident.

Does the Minister of Natural Resources's ridiculous behaviour not prove that this government has no intention of being held accountable?

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

Mr. Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, as I answered the same member yesterday on this very same issue, this is the government that holds itself accountable and that is why we have decided we will ensure that our ministers attend committees to answer the questions. We will not allow our political staff to attend committees and be subjected to the abuse, intimidation and bullying tactics of the coalition opposition parties.

I note that in an ultimate display of hypocrisy, the Liberal Party filibustered at the government operations committee today to prevent the member from—