House of Commons Hansard #40 of the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was sentence.
Lise Zarac Liberal LaSalle—Émard, QC
Mr. Speaker, we keep seeing these partisan dismissals and smear campaigns. They intimidated Rémi Beauregard of Rights & Democracy non-stop until the day he died, according to his widow.
In Copenhagen, Dimitri Soudas made false accusations against Steven Guilbeault. What happened? The Prime Minister made him his director of communications.
Enough is enough. When will these Reformers understand that Canadians will not put up with this systematic culture of intimidation?
John Baird ConservativeMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, we believe in open debate. We think it is important that members of Parliament, who are elected and who campaign on issues, should take the opportunity to stand in their place and to vote their conscience, and to keep their trust and bond with the people who elected them.
So, I say once again to the Liberal leader, do the right thing, take the muzzle off, stop bullying Liberal members of Parliament and let them vote on behalf of their constituents, and let them vote on behalf of their conscience.
Gilles Duceppe Bloc Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government cut funding for 12 women's groups that—as luck would have it—had protested the Conservatives' refusal to fund abortion abroad. It seems clear that these cuts were dictated by ideology.
Will the government admit that its real objective, in cutting funding to pro-choice groups, is to silence any opposition to its policies regarding abortions abroad?
Bev Oda ConservativeMinister of International Cooperation
Mr. Speaker, we are very proud of our G8 participation. I know that Canada hosting the G8 will make a difference in the lives of mothers and children in developing countries because we want to actually save lives and make their lives better.
We know what the prevalent causes of their deaths are, we know what the remedies are, and we have the tools. Therefore, when we gather in Muskoka this year, African mothers, and all mothers in developing countries, will be better off because we are going to ensure it happens.
Gilles Duceppe Bloc Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC
Mr. Speaker, the only thing that will separate Canada from other G8 countries is its backwards attitude.
Yesterday, the Conservatives expended a lot of energy on attacking and attempting to destroy the credibility of a Conservative senator, who said out loud what they have been trying to hide for weeks.
Will the Conservative government stop spreading falsehoods and finally admit that the Conservative senator said out loud what the Conservative caucus thinks about abortion and says about it when they are all alone?
John Baird ConservativeMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, that is not correct at all. Yesterday, we clearly stated in the House that the comments made the other day are completely unacceptable and that they do not represent the government's point of view. We do not wish to reopen the abortion issue. We cannot be any more clear than that.
Nicole Demers Bloc Laval, QC
Mr. Speaker, the executive director of MATCH, Kim Bulger, is saying that the cuts to women's groups are ideologically motivated and retaliatory because it is the Minister of International Cooperation who has blocked the funding. Rather than defending the legitimate work done by these organizations, the minister carried out the dirty work for the Prime Minister, who cannot stand criticism.
Since we obviously cannot count on the Minister of International Cooperation, will the Minister for Status of Women perhaps tell us what she has done to avoid needlessly penalizing these women's groups?
Bev Oda ConservativeMinister of International Cooperation
Mr. Speaker, I would suggest that Canadians do not want their money being used toward inefficient and ineffective use, and not being capable of managing programs.
Our government, in fact, has put forward more support for women than any other government in developing countries. We want to do this effectively. We want to ensure that these women, these mothers, and these babies, will stay alive and have a better life.
This is what all Canadians want to do. They work hard for their tax dollars and we will ensure that they get results.
Nicole Demers Bloc Laval, QC
Mr. Speaker, while the Prime Minister was cutting funding to a dozen women's groups that oppose his views on abortion, the only Quebec member of cabinet, the Minister for La Francophonie, who is supposedly pro-choice, was covering the government's actions by saying that she was unaware of these hypocritical and ideological cuts.
To paraphrase a Conservative senator, are we to believe that, henceforth, the government's policy on women is to “shut the females up”?
Bev Oda ConservativeMinister of International Cooperation
Mr. Speaker, this government wants to ensure that the G8 initiative is actually going to get results.
What I want to ensure is that that side of the House has done its homework. If members go to the U.S.A. website, they will find that the U.S.A. does not support the funding of equipment, the training of people who perform abortions, and neither does it support research into abortion.
They should do their homework. We know the facts and we know how to really make a difference in the lives of mothers and children.
Jack Layton NDP Toronto—Danforth, ON
Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities gave an incoherent response to a simple question. I will give him another chance. The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is destroying ecosystems. It has hit the coast of Louisiana and Florida is next. It is about to enter the Gulf Stream.
Why is the government not telling us what risks this poses for Canada? What plans will be put in place to ensure that Canada's coastlines are protected?
John Baird ConservativeMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, we have an important responsibility as the Government of Canada to ensure that the Canadian environment is protected, whether that is our air, our water and our soil.
I do not want to be an alarmist, like the leader of the New Democratic Party, but let me say this. What is going on in the United States is completely unacceptable. That is a made in the United States problem.
In Canada, we have a much stronger set of environmental protections to ensure that our air, our water and our soil is safe. This government will continue to stand up for the Canadian environment, and environmental protection in our north and throughout this great country.
Jack Layton NDP Toronto—Danforth, ON
Mr. Speaker, I would not be so sanguine if I were the minister because in the wake of the disaster in the gulf, we are seeing American legislators move very quickly to increase the liability to upwards of $1 billion in the case of these situations, but in Canada right now the liability falls somewhere between $10 million and $40 million, which is clearly inadequate.
The initial estimates of the cost to the U.S. on tourism is $3 billion and on fishing it is $2.5 billion.
Does the government agree with us that the limit of $40 million is inadequate?
John Baird ConservativeMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, this government has two important tenets with respect to its environmental policies: first, we support strong and effective environmental legislation that protects the great country that we know as Canada; and second, this government strongly supports a polluter pays principle. Those have been the hallmarks of our policies.
It is wrong to simply look at how we clean up a mess like this after the fact. This government is committed to enforcing strong Canadian regulations to ensure that type of American problem never finds its way into Canadian waters.
Jack Layton NDP Toronto—Danforth, ON
I guess that is why we are gutting environmental assessments according to the government's legislation, Mr. Speaker. It is shameful.
The government does not seem worried about potential accidents here in Canada. The same companies that are responsible for the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico want to explore for oil in Canada's arctic waters using the same technology.
The potential for accidents is real. We see the effort these companies are making to lobby the Conservatives, who are all ears.
Why is there a $40 million limit to their liability?
John Baird ConservativeMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, let me answer the question of the leader of the NDP very directly when it comes to our Arctic.
Canada has an especially important responsibility to protect our Arctic. It is an incredibly sensitive ecosystem. It is a pristine, clean part of our great planet and we cannot allow the same mistakes that have been made in the United States to be made there.
That is why this government will ensure a full environmental review of any exploration that takes place. We will ensure that no permits are issued whatsoever unless we can ensure that our pristine Arctic is saved for this generation and for future generations to come.
Judy Foote Liberal Random—Burin—St. George's, NL
Mr. Speaker, intimidation is not a sign of strength but rather one of weakness.
The Conservatives have used it to cut funding and silence critics just to get their way. Linda Keen, Paul Kennedy, Bernard Shapiro, Arthur Carty, and Robert Marleau were all fired or pushed out because they did not toe the Conservative line.
What is it that scares the Conservatives so much about others speaking up?
John Baird ConservativeMinister of Transport
That is a bunch of rubbish, Mr. Speaker. We live in a great democracy. We live in a great place where we can debate the issues of the day.
I say to the member from the Liberal Party, let us bring the type of democracy that she preached just now in question period. Let us bring that to the debate with respect to the future of the long gun registry. Let us let members of Parliament honour the sacred trust, the promises that they made to their electorate. Let us let them stand in this place, let us let them vote their conscience, let us let freedom reign.
I say to the leader of the Liberal Party to allow his caucus members to vote their conscience on the long gun registry.
Judy Foote Liberal Random—Burin—St. George's, NL
Mr. Speaker, it is not only individuals the Conservatives have targeted. No group is too large or too small to escape the intimidation of that government: KAIROS, the Wheat Board, police chiefs from across the country, witnesses at the Afghan torture hearings, and the list goes on. Now the president of the European Council is criticizing Canada's agenda for this summer's G8 meetings.
For the sake of Canada's international reputation, will the government refrain from using its thuggish tactics on this latest critic?
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs
Mr. Speaker, this government will indeed condemn the thuggish tactics that the Liberal Party has imposed to silence honest, law-abiding farmers, hunters, anglers, even police chiefs who oppose the wasteful billion dollar Liberal gun registry.
We also oppose the intimidation that the Liberal leader has imposed upon his own members who want desperately to keep their promise and vote against the gun registry as they promised to do.
We also oppose the hypocrisy that has the Liberals demanding more rules for lobbyists but less rules for themselves.
Bob Rae Liberal Toronto Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, another question about the STFU strategy of the government. Given the treatment of the individuals that we have named today, given the treatment of the groups that have come forward to say that they have been silenced, how can Canadians draw any other conclusion other than a very simple one, if they toe the line, they will be funded? If they criticize the government, they will be cut off at the throat.
How can any other conclusion be drawn from the behaviour of the government?
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs
Mr. Speaker, I do not know what the hon. member finds so intimidating about following the same rules on lobbying as he is purporting to impose on everybody else.
The Liberals have been screaming and hollering about how parliamentary secretaries should be covered by the Lobbying Act and we say, sure, why not all members of Parliament? Why not the leader of the Liberal Party and his entire office?
It seems that the Liberals are willing to throw the flashlight around, but they are not willing to have it shone upon them.
Bob Rae Liberal Toronto Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, the only conclusion we can draw from the government's actions is very clear. There are groups across Canada that are well aware that if they do exactly what the government wants, they will receive funding. However, if you criticize the government, the response is clear: your funding will be cut. That is what the government is doing. That is the Conservative government's authoritarian approach. We cannot draw any other conclusion from the government's activities.
Pierre Poilievre ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs
Mr. Speaker, I would encourage that member to impose upon himself the same rules that he purports to impose upon others. He has demanded that there be more rules for parliamentary secretaries as it relates to lobbying.
We have said sure, why not allow all members of Parliament, including that member, all the Liberal members, and the leader of the Liberal opposition's office? In fact, every single coalition MP and every single Conservative MP would be covered by exactly the same rules.
We are prepared to live up to those high standards. Why will they not?
Pierre Paquette Bloc Joliette, QC
Mr. Speaker, on three separate occasions, the Quebec National Assembly has unanimously called for the firearms registry to be maintained in its entirety. However, the Conservative government and several Liberal and NDP members are determined to dismantle what police describe as a very valuable tool in the fight against crime.
How can Conservative members from Quebec claim to represent Quebec when they are defying the broad consensus in Quebec that the firearms registry should be maintained in its entirety?