Debates of June 1st, 2010

Public Safety

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, let us be very clear. Of course, everybody wishes that security costs for these major summits were less. However, the reality is that we have more delegates at these summits than we had athletes at the Olympic Games. It is of enormous scale. The risks are immensely greater. The costs we are incurring are in line with what summits, unfortunately, today cost, and we will make the investments necessary to ensure the full security of the summits.

[Michael Ignatieff, Liberal, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, again, the Olympics went on for three weeks. This is going on for a weekend. Nobody can understand how the costs got out of control, and nobody can understand how to explain that to Canadians who are facing a mortgage squeeze.

Household debt is already the highest on record. The interest rates will make it harder for Canadians to spend on child care, on training, and on learning. Instead of helping these Canadian families, we have a government that does not know how to manage public money.

Again, I ask the Prime Minister, how does he justify these charges to hard-pressed Canadian families?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the costs of these summits are in line with what summits cost today. This is the reality of the situation. We used the best security expertise to develop our plans. We would be utterly irresponsible, it would be utterly indefensible, if we did anything less than that for the world leaders who are coming to this country and the tens of thousands of people who are accompanying them. That is the truth.

When it comes to economic management, this government has the best growth rate in the developed world because of the policies of this government and because we do not listen to the irresponsible--

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order, please.

The hon. member for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine

Ethics

[Marlene Jennings, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in 1996, Brian Mulroney denied, under oath, having any business dealings with Karlheinz Schreiber. He claimed that they had a coffee once or twice. What he failed to mention was that his coffee was sweetened with envelopes stuffed with cash.

Justice Oliphant called Mr. Mulroney's testimony patently absurd.

Given Justice Oliphant's report, why has the Conservative government not undertaken legal proceedings to recuperate that $2.1 million, plus interest, paid to Mr. Mulroney?

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

Mr. Speaker, we thank Justice Oliphant and all those who worked with him in producing this report.

The report is now with the appropriate authorities, who will study it. The government will respond to any recommendations, indeed, any recommendations, in this area in due course.

[Marlene Jennings, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians paid Mr. Mulroney $2.1 million based on testimony that has been called absurd.

Any other citizen would be held accountable. After all, that is taxpayers' money. The same is true for Mr. Mulroney's legal costs, which were paid for by Canadians.

Based on Justice Oliphant's conclusions, will the government ask Mr. Mulroney to also pay back the $1.6 million, plus interest, that Canadians had to pay in legal fees?

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

Mr. Speaker, we did move forward with a public inquiry. The questions were drafted by an independent individual. The recommendations were tabled yesterday. They are now with the appropriate authorities, and we will look at any or all recommendations that come out of that process.

Foreign Affairs

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, following the Israeli army's assault on a humanitarian flotilla bound for Gaza, the United Nations Security Council called for an impartial, transparent investigation conforming to international standards to shed light on this terrible tragedy. The Security Council also called on Israeli authorities to free the prisoners.

Will the Conservative government wholeheartedly support the UN Security Council's demands?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's position is clear. We expect all the parties involved in this incident to come forward with the facts.

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is specific. I am asking whether this government, which aspires to sit on the Security Council, will support the Security Council's clear demand for an impartial, transparent investigation conforming to international standards and for the release of prisoners by Israeli authorities.

Will he support the Security Council's demand, yes or no?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again, I have answered that question clearly. There was an incident, and we expect all the parties involved in that incident to present the facts in a transparent way.

Ethics

[Pierre Paquette, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney received more than $2 million in an out-of-court settlement in his libel suit against the Canadian government, maintaining that he did not have any business dealings with arms dealer Karlheinz Schreiber.

Now that we know that Mr. Mulroney lied during pre-trial questioning, will the government undertake legal proceedings to recover the taxpayers' money, even though there is no recommendation about that in the Oliphant report?

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

Mr. Speaker, there are quite a few recommendations, and Justice Oliphant responded to questions that were put to him by an independent individual, Dr. Johnston. The report was just tabled yesterday. The appropriate authorities are having a look at it, and of course, the government will respond in due course.

Former Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec

[Christiane Gagnon, Bloc, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, speaking of recovering money, both Quebec's and Canada's auditors general have calculated that former Lieutenant-Governor Lise Thibault racked up $711,000 in unjustified expenses from budgets made available to her by both governments.

Now that the Government of Quebec is suing the former Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec to recover the money, does the federal government intend to do the same and file its own suit against Mrs. Thibault?

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

Mr. Speaker, the federal government has already taken steps to recover the money that was spent inappropriately. A criminal investigation is under way and Mrs. Thibault is facing criminal charges. We are awaiting the court's ruling, but let us be clear that the federal government has already shown leadership in this matter.

Foreign Affairs

[Jack Layton, NDP, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, following a deadly raid on a convoy of ships off the Gaza coast, we learned that three Canadian citizens appear to have been imprisoned by the Israeli authorities. Has our embassy in Israel made contact with these citizens?

Could the Prime Minister update this House on the whereabouts of these individuals, and can he confirm that they will be repatriated to Canada at the earliest opportunity?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, while I obviously do not discuss individual consular cases, the government obviously has full consular access and is providing consular services to these individuals.

International Aid

[Jack Layton, NDP, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on another topic, with just a fraction of the billion dollars he is spending on the G20, the Prime Minister could fund NGOs that are losing their funding and can no longer help women and children throughout the world.

Is that not what the Prime Minister wanted to do: improve maternal and child health?

So why spend $1 billion on a summit to discuss the issue, but make cuts to organizations that help women and children on the ground?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, Canada is a very generous country when it comes to humanitarian aid. We now have an initiative to save the lives of mothers and women in developing countries. We are very optimistic and believe that we will receive more funding from the international community to support these efforts.

[Jack Layton, NDP, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, CIDA funding for the Canadian Council for International Cooperation is in jeopardy. Just like the cuts to KAIROS and the cuts to so many other NGOs, these are politically motivated and punitive. The cuts will mean that the CCIC's 90 member organizations are going to lose the voice that speaks for them all.

It is a powerful message to the NGO community: “Watch what you say or you are going to lose your funding”.

Is that not what this is all about, muzzling the organizations that speak for the world's poor?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again, Canada has an extremely generous record when it comes to humanitarian and development aid. In fact, the financing of those activities has been increasing.

I know that CIDA has been undertaking steps to ensure that the money goes to services to help people in developing countries with the challenges in their lives. We want to make sure that those aid dollars are spent as effectively as possible. That is the basis on which money is given to organizations.

Offshore Drilling

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the U.S. has imposed a six-month moratorium on Arctic oil drilling to prevent another oil-spill disaster. Our minister has stuck his head in the sand, pretending that there is no activity going on in our north. He must have misplaced his PMO briefing note about seismic testing at exploration leases.

Inuit groups are calling for public hearings and consultation on a federal proposal to do seismic testing in a planned marine park. Why will the minister not listen to Canadians and suspend oil and gas activities in the Beaufort and Lancaster Sound until a full review is conducted?

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, the situation is clear. No authorization has been granted for any drilling in the Beaufort Sea or for deepwater drilling in the Arctic.

On May 11, the National Energy Board announced plans to review the regulations. The public will be invited to participate. The board will have to apply a strict legal framework under the Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act and related regulations. The industries will have to submit substantial emergency response plans as well as guarantees.

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Speaker, someone should tell the minister about the economic and ecological disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Yesterday, the minister admitted that his government had no budget to respond to a spill in Canada. Yet they are fast-tracking exploratory permits in the Beaufort Sea and conducting seismic studies in a marine conservation area.

For the sixth time, why are they refusing to disclose their emergency response plan for oil spills at sea?