Debates of May 7th, 2010

Firearms Registry

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

Mr. Speaker, the minister called this a red herring, but I will give him a concrete example.

Suzanne Laplante-Edward, the mother of one of the victims from École Polytechnique, spoke about the importance of the firearms registry in preventing crime. With the Conservative bill, the semi-automatic gun used by Marc Lépine to kill this woman's daughter and 13 others would no longer be registered.

How can the Conservatives, with the help of the NDP and the Liberals, propose that we dismantle the firearms registry? Why are they refusing to remember the 14—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. Minister of Natural Resources.

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, that is ridiculous. My colleague is confusing the issue for purely partisan purposes. When someone purchases a firearm, it is automatically recorded, because that individual needs a possession and acquisition licence.

My colleague comes from a rural riding. He wants to criminalize the honest hunters in his riding who have not registered their firearms. He will vote to criminalize these honest citizens in his own riding. That is what is shameful.

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

Mr. Speaker, here is proof that a Conservative minister, a token Quebecker, refuses to acknowledge the consensus in Quebec.

The Quebec National Assembly, police officers, women's groups, advocacy groups for victims of crime, the families of École Polytechnique victims, and public health experts all want the gun registry to be kept as is.

When will this self-styled law and order government realize that when it keeps pushing to dismantle the firearms registry, it is putting the safety of Quebeckers in jeopardy?

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be a Quebecker who cares about all Quebeckers, and not a Quebecker who cares only about Quebec sovereignty.

He wants to destroy the federation and criminalize honest citizens in his riding. If there is a consensus, all Quebec has to do is create a registry if it wants one. My colleague knows very well that the registration of goods and property is a provincial jurisdiction. We do not want to criminalize honest citizens who do not register their long guns. He must stop confusing the issue.

International Co-operation

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have turned Canadians against each other on an initiative that could have united the country. There is no question that access to safe abortion saves lives. The Lancet, one of the world's most respected medical journals, said in an editorial:

Canada and the other G8 nations could show real leadership with a final maternal health plan that is based on sound scientific evidence and not prejudice.

Why will the current government not accept the evidence and include safe abortions in its maternal health initiative?

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

Mr. Speaker, the facts are what World Vision tells us. It tells us that every day, as we sit in this chamber, 24,000 children will die under the age of five. Our government is bringing the world together in June with a goal to save the lives of women and children.

We also know that development leaders tell us:

Every year nine million women around the world watch as their children die from painful, preventable illnesses that often cost dimes, not dollars, to treat.

We have a responsibility to act to save these children. It is the right thing to do. It is something all of us can get behind. We ask the opposition to support this great initiative.

Government Appointments

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the credibility of Canada's reputation continues as we see international foundations, NGOs and even the WHO shunning Canada's highly regarded International Development Research Centre.

The IDRC has undertaken exceptional anti-smoking work in developing countries. However, the Prime Minister's appointment of former Conservative minister Barbara McDougall, while she was also a member of Imperial Tobacco's board of directors, has tarnished IDRC's reputation.

Will the Prime Minister finally admit his mistake, stop the erosion of our reputation and ask Ms. McDougall to step down, as she should?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the member raises the issue with respect to the IDRC board. I think Canadians will know that the Hon. Barbara McDougall is an outstanding Canadian who has made a great contribution not just in Canada but, as a former foreign minister, around the world. I think she will do, and continue to do, an excellent job in chairing this important board, both in Canada and abroad.

National Security

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, why would the RCMP have been conducting surveillance on an elected official who served as a premier and later as a federal leader? That is what Tommy Douglas was subjected to during his long and outstanding political career.

The Saskatchewan legislature voted unanimously this week for Mr. Douglas' surveillance files, which are now held by CSIS, to be released. Will the government respect this request from the Saskatchewan legislature and release these files?

[Dave MacKenzie, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, as the member opposite is aware, the matter is before the courts. As such, it would be inappropriate for me to comment on the specific case. There are, however, some points I am sure will be of interest to the House.

First, CSIS is an arm's-length agency, and the case in question predates its creation. In addition, all access to information requests are processed by officials of the public service. Finally, this matter has been reviewed by the Information Commissioner, who supported the redactions on national security grounds.

Status of Women

[Lise Zarac, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government launched a general attack on women's organizations, telling them to shut up or else it would attack women's right to control their own bodies. The next day, the government cut funding to two dozen groups, some of which Canada has funded for 30 years.

Why attack the Réseau des tables régionales de groupes de femmes du Québec? Why attack the Conseil d'intervention pour l'accès des femmes au travail?

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

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to tell the House that our government has increased the funding for women's groups to the highest level ever in the history of the Government of Canada.

In fact, we now have projects we are funding in every province and territory across the country. Let me tell the member about one right in Montreal where we are helping low-earning women from slipping below the poverty line, helping female entrepreneurs build projects and give young, old and immigrant women access to jobs.

I would like to ask the member if she is suggesting that we not support these groups. I would also like the opposition to stop pitting women's groups against each other and work with the government to support women.

[Lise Zarac, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the minister why the government is attacking the Association féminine d'éducation et d'aide sociale. Why cut funding to Action travail des femmes? What do the Conservatives have against the Centre de documentation sur l'éducation des adultes et la condition féminine? Why is the Prime Minister interfering in African women's medical decisions? Why is this government intimidating women?

Canadians want to know: what is next on the government's reform agenda?

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

Mr. Speaker, as I said, this government has increased funding to the highest level, to record levels, more than any other government in the past. In fact, more women's groups are applying than ever before because our program is working so well.

Let me tell members about another project in the Korean Canadian Women's Association where family and social services is running a 24-month project in Toronto to help the community face violence against women.

We are now funding 40% new projects that have never received funding before and almost 40% of our projects are going to end violence against women. It is something we are all proud of, and I ask the member to support this.

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on Monday a Conservative senator told women's groups and rights organizations to shut up, apparently too late. Twenty-four hours later, the government cut funding to a dozen women's organizations. The New Brunswick Coalition for Pay Equity, the Alberta Network of Immigrant Women, the Canadian Research Institute on the Advancement of Women, and Womanspace Resource Centre are just some of the groups that the government is punishing.

Will the Prime Minister agree to put an end to this campaign of intimidation and restore funding to these groups?

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

Mr. Speaker, I repeat again that this government has increased funding to record levels to women's groups. We are funding projects in every province and every territory across the country.

Through violence prevention workshops in Winnipeg, we are assisting aboriginal women and young girls in the inner city to help them understand and overcome the barriers that face them. In Lower Mainland B.C., we will be reducing the isolation of refugee and new immigrant women.

All of these are great projects. All the projects that come into our department have merit. We cannot fund all of them. I would ask the member to stop pitting women's groups against each other and work with us to support women.

Maternal and Child Health

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I ask the minister to stop intimidating women's groups and restore their funding.

This week a top British medical journal, The Lancet , joined these very same groups by criticizing the government for its harmful change in policy and its approach to the G8. The editorial calls Canada's position “hypocritical and unjust” and says “this stance must change.”

When will the Conservative Party and the government stop silencing their critics and start listening to them and their call for evidence-based policy?

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

Mr. Speaker, let me share with the hon. member what World Vision tells us. World Vision tells us that 24,000 children under the age of 5 will die today and every day in the developing world.

In June our government will have the opportunity to do something historic. We are bringing the world together on an initiative to save the lives of women and children. In fact, the president and CEOs of World Vision, UNICEF, Results Canada and CARE Canada have said, “It is time to focus on the hope and opportunity that this G8 initiative on maternal, newborn and child health presents”.

[Monique Guay, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the list of people who condemn the ideological cuts to funding for women's groups is growing. Quebec's status of women minister, Christine St-Pierre, and Ontario's health minister, Deb Matthews, are publicly criticizing the Conservatives and their brutal cuts, which are threatening the survival of organizations that help women here and in developing countries.

How can the government be so blinded by its Conservative ideology that it cannot see that it is threatening the health of women here and elsewhere?

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

Mr. Speaker, I will just remind the opposition again that every day as we sit here, 24,000 children under the age of five die in the developing world. We are bringing the world together in June in Muskoka to talk about how we can save the lives of women and children.

Let me tell the House what Sharon Marshall, the head of World Vision Canada, said. She said:

World Vision is outraged that... [this] debate is being raised in order to distract from the real issue on the table ... 8.8 million children dying every year from causes that we could easily prevent with interventions that cost pennies.

We have a responsibility—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order. The hon. member for Rivière-du-Nord.

[Monique Guay, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, if the government helped women's groups, children here and in other countries might not die.

The Conservative government has cut funding to women's groups that do not share its ideology on abortion, a decision that the prestigious medical journal The Lancet has criticized, yet it has loosened the purse strings for evangelical groups. No doubt about it, this government is under the thumb of religious fundamentalists.

When will this government stop imposing its backward ideology on women here and elsewhere?

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

Mr. Speaker, whom we are listening to when it comes to the issue of saving the lives of women and children in the developing world is World Vision. It is telling us that every day, 24,000 children under the age of five will die and we can make a difference. We have a responsibility to act. We ask the opposition to stop playing politics with this issue.

Leading presidents and CEOs of all development agencies around the world have said to us, “It is time to focus on the hope and opportunity that the G8 Initiative on maternal, newborn and child health presents and end the suffering of millions” of women and children.

Agri-Food

[Mario Laframboise, Bloc, Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the priceless Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture announced an umpteenth consultation process to solve the problem of labelling products as “Made in Canada”. If the government had waited for the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food's hearings on the subject to end before imposing the 98% rule, it would have avoided making our food producers and processors pay additional fees.

Why is the minister imposing a new industry deadline when everyone agrees on the 85% rule?