Debates of June 14th, 2010

G8 and G20 Summits

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois leader may not be interested in economic recovery and economic issues, but this government has decided that the G20 meeting of heads of government and heads of state will focus on the economy. Canada has an excellent story to tell about its economic performance. Other issues will also be addressed and, as I said, climate change will be among them.

International Co-operation

[Johanne Deschamps, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, hundreds of women carrying coat hangers demonstrated in Montreal against the Conservative government's refusal to include abortion in the G8's plan for maternal health. The Fédération du Québec pour le planning des naissances, the Fédération des femmes du Québec, the CSN and the FIQ all denounce the Conservatives' backwards ideology.

Why is the government so keen on reopening the abortion debate, when this issue has been resolved in Quebec?

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Minister of International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, as we have clearly articulated, the Prime Minister and Canada at its G8 will be focusing on saving the lives of mothers and children. We have support for that initiative from many.

What did Melinda Gates say? She said that the number of dying is “atrocious” and she added:

The truth is, we can prevent most of these deaths -- and at a stunningly low cost -- if we take action now.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that 2010 is “a year when the world decided that no woman should die giving life and no children should die when we know how to save them”.

[Johanne Deschamps, Bloc, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, maternal and child health are part of the commitments made by Canada at the Millennium Summit in 2000. Instead of respecting the commitments we made, the Conservative government has frozen international assistance.

In light of the Conservatives' broken promises, how can we believe that they will respect the commitment they claim to have made to maternal and child health?

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Minister of International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, this government, since its 2006 election, has met its commitments to the international world. We have retained our commitment to doubling our international assistance. We have met our commitment to doubling our aid to Africa. We have not only met but surpassed our commitment for food aid and food assistance.

We have a record on which we will stand, unlike the previous government, which had 13 years to fulfill commitments to those in poverty.

Afghanistan

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

Mr. Speaker, it seems to us that the Conservatives are trying to run out the clock to prevent members of Parliament from getting access to documents that would tell the truth about torture in Afghanistan. But time has run out. Enough is enough.

Can the Prime Minister commit today that he will instruct his negotiators that this will be the last meeting and that an agreement will be reached today so Canadians can finally learn the truth?

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

Mr. Speaker, if the hon. member is prepared to commit to signing the document that we will present today, this in fact will be the last meeting.

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

Mr. Speaker, the documents that have been presented so far would not allow Canadians to get to the truth. That has been the problem.

The Prime Minister still has not understood that he is the leader of a minority government, and that the members in this House have complete authority and every right to obtain, read and examine all of the documents related to torture in Afghanistan.

The opposition is prepared to be flexible on the terms and conditions, but the Speaker's ruling was clear.

Does the Prime Minister understand, yes or no?

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

Mr. Speaker, we understand that we are working in a minority Parliament, every day.

That being said, we have a responsibility. Any documentation has to be consistent with our international obligations. We cannot compromise national security and we can do nothing to jeopardize the men and women who serve us in Afghanistan and around the world.

That should be abundantly clear to the hon. member and he should not have any problem with that.

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

Mr. Speaker, we need the Prime Minister to be crystal clear as to what we are saying. We are done with the foot-dragging. We are done with the cancelled meetings. We are done with the lame excuses that there are no meeting rooms available. We are done with the countless efforts to circumvent your ruling, Mr. Speaker.

The fact is that Canadians must be told the truth about torture in Afghanistan. If his ministers fail to conclude an agreement this afternoon, is the Prime Minister ready to take it to the next level, leader to leader, tonight?

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

Mr. Speaker, I do not think the hon. member has to wait that long. If he wants to hook up with his coalition partner the Leader of the Opposition, why do not both of them come to the meeting this afternoon and they can append their signatures to the document we will be presenting at 4 o'clock?

G8 and G20 Summits

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's fake lake and the Conservative's billion dollar boondoggle have made Canada a laughingstock on the world stage, but Canadians are not laughing. They are outraged at the Conservatives' incompetence and they do not understand why they have to pay for the Prime Minister's whims.

Does the Prime Minister still believe that his $2 million fake lake will restore Canada's international reputation?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I totally disagree. When we look at Canada's economic performance over the past few months, there is no doubt that the eyes of the world are on Canada. We will take every opportunity to promote Canada's position with regard to banks, managing the economy and job creation. This will be an excellent opportunity for Canada.

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

Mr. Speaker, the world is laughing at the Conservatives' incompetence and the world is criticizing the Prime Minister's biased and partisan agenda.

The UN, Nobel laureates and prime ministers visiting Canada are all calling on the Prime Minister to include climate change on the agenda. Everyone is asking him to reverse his decision to condemn African women to resorting to illegal abortions.

Why is the Prime Minister using these summits to promote his party instead of his country?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, the Prime Minister has indicated that we will discuss climate change. What is more, three weeks ago, the President of Mexico, Mr. Calderón, addressed the members of the House of Commons. He had a meeting with the Prime Minister, who indicated to the Leader of the Opposition and the leader of the Bloc Québécois that climate change would be on the agenda. Many issues will be discussed. The economy will top the agenda, but climate change will be discussed as well.

[Siobhan Coady, Liberal, St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL]

Mr. Speaker, the government has given the excuse that the G20 was too big to meet in Muskoka, so it moved it to Toronto, at an extra cost of $400 million at least. Now it appears that the Prime Minister has invited another 10 countries to the G8. Apparently the government could not quite handle the G20 in Muskoka, but it can handle the G18 just fine.

Was the Prime Minister not satisfied with having the G8 only? What is all this costing? There is no limit to what Canadians will have to pay for the Prime Minister's ego.

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, as you know, the majority of the costs are related to the security of the G8 and the G20. In that regard we are following the advice of a number of consultants who have indicated to us that the costs are in line with all the summits that have been held previously. This is exactly what needs to be done to be able to protect not only Canada's incoming visitors but to be able to protect and celebrate our reputation as well.

Government Expenditures

[Siobhan Coady, Liberal, St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives seem to think they can get rid of the $56 billion deficit by giving out prizes. Here is the latest from the Treasury Board president: “find government waste, get a $10,000 reward”.

Since he has offered, I can give him an idea to save money. The government should scrap the fake lake and that will save $2 million. The government should give that $2 million, plus the $10,000 prize, I would think, to offset the cuts to women's groups and get on with the real plan to fight the deficit.

[Stockwell Day, Conservative, President of the Treasury Board and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway]

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted that my friend has made a pre-announcement of an announcement I am going to make in about two hours, to indicate to all of our public servants that if they come up with a business plan that shows how a certain service can be delivered and money will be saved over a six-month period, they will receive a cash award. We think our public servants are up to this task.

I had not anticipated providing it to MPs, but the hon. member has offered a suggestion. I guess I could put that forward to the Auditor General to see if MPs could be part of this too, but it is mainly directed toward our good public servants.

Securities

[Daniel Paillé, Bloc, Hochelaga, QC]

Mr. Speaker, following the lead of France and the United Arab Emirates, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Ontario Securities Commission entered into an agreement with Quebec's AMF during the financial meetings that were held in Montreal.

These three authorities signed a comprehensive arrangement concerning the supervision of financial operations between the United States and Canada.

Given this international recognition of Canada's regulatory structure, why does the Minister of Finance not do likewise?

[Ted Menzies, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, as has been mentioned in here many times, this is a voluntary process that we are encouraging the provinces to take part in. We have had advice from all around the world that the system that Canada is adopting, a voluntary system where provinces can opt in, will actually protect investors and it will increase investment into our country.

If that is such a bad thing, then why are the OECD, IMF and World Bank suggesting it is that good a system? We have made it voluntary, which makes it that much better.

[Daniel Paillé, Bloc, Hochelaga, QC]

Mr. Speaker, all of these organizations are signing with the AMF and the Ontario Securities Commission.

Instead of this nonsense, why have serious people, like the governor of the Bank of Canada or the Associate Deputy Minister of Finance reiterated the urgency to improve—not destroy, but improve—the regulatory system?

Now is not the time to reinvent the wheel or the zipper.

Why is the Minister of Finance trying to take away our autonomy? Why make a big mess of something that works very well?

[Ted Menzies, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, once again, a voluntary system would not deprive anyone of the opportunity of being part of a Canada-wide system, a system that the investors who were caught in the Earl Jones debacle suggest to us would have helped them.

That is what we are trying to do, protect good investors in this country, people who are trying to save for their futures. But we are also encouraging companies that want to come to Canada that they do not have to go through 13 separate regulatory processes, simply one.

Copyright

[Carole Lavallée, Bloc, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, artists and creators are very critical of Bill C-32, the copyright bill. The bill's new digital lock will not help, because they will have to play the part of investigator, detective and lawyer—just like Claude Robinson—if they want their rights to be respected.

Does the minister understand that by forcing creators, artists and artisans to enforce their rights themselves, he is not giving copyright holders enough protection?

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

Mr. Speaker, Bill C-32, which we introduced in the House of Commons, is fair to both consumers and creators.

The Canadian Film and Television Production Association applauds the government’s proposed copyright reform. Film, television and online content creation is responsible for more than 160,000 jobs in Canada.

The government’s actions play an important part in ensuring that those jobs are maintained and that new jobs are added. We kept the promises that we made to creators and consumers.