Debates of June 3rd, 2010

Securities

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for once again asking a very obvious question. He lists off a whole number of organizations that he says support the passport system, but we have a much larger list of people who support the voluntary system which is a Canadian system that protects Canadians. I have a list so long I do not think I can do it in 35 seconds, but if he asks another question, I will start the list. It is many organizations both national and international.

[Daniel Paillé, Bloc, Hochelaga, QC]

Mr. Speaker, let him give us his list from Quebec and then we will talk.

A columnist from the Financial Post points out the absurdity of this plan. He said, “Canada is the only developed country without a national regulator and the only country not to be burned by the global financial crisis, therefore Canada will create a national regulator”.

It is ridiculous. It is not broken, but they want to fix it.

The OECD, the World Bank and the IMF all support our passport system and say it is superior to that of the U.S., Britain and—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance.

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

Mr. Speaker, obviously the member is mistaken in some of his suggestions that the OECD supports the passport system. I read out a quote just the other day that says the OECD supports a Canadian single securities regulator. But who is more important than a list of corporations? Those victims of Earl Jones, those Canadians who lost money. I will quote Joey Davis, “We support the idea of a single national regulatory body overseeing financial organizations”.

Young Offenders

[Serge Ménard, Bloc, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the National Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution denouncing Bill C-4. The conclusion of the resolution reads as follows:

That the National Assembly reaffirm the validity and the importance of maintaining the Quebec model for treating young offenders, which has been unanimously accepted in Quebec and has allowed Quebec to achieve one of the lowest rates of youth crime in America in the past 25 years.

Does the Minister of Justice also acknowledge that Quebec has one of the lowest rates of youth crime in America?

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

Mr. Speaker, we are responding to concerns that we have heard right across this country. Changes to the Youth Criminal Justice Act are as a result of extensive consultations, including with the Province of Quebec.

If the hon. member were to take a reasonable and impassioned look at this, I think he would realize that these are very reasonable steps that we are taking and should be supported by every member of the House.

[Serge Ménard, Bloc, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

Mr. Speaker, with all due respect, I believe that the minister avoided answering my question. However, his refusal or inability to answer are nonetheless significant.

In addition to the National Assembly, the Association des centres jeunesse du Québec, the Barreau du Québec, the Canadian Bar Association, the Association québécoise Plaidoyer-Victimes and many other witnesses have indicated that Bill C-4 would undermine the Quebec method, which gives such good results.

Will the Minister of Justice, who says he cares about the victims, agree to amendments to his law in order to avoid this risk?

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

Mr. Speaker, the amendments that we are proposing in no way impede provincial jurisdiction and management of this file.

The member was good enough to mention a number of organizations. He perhaps forgot to mention that the Quebec provincial police association and many victims in Quebec are very interested and very supportive of this. However, I am sure at his next opportunity he will want to acknowledge all the support that we are getting from the Province of Quebec.

Offshore Drilling

[Keith Martin, Liberal, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we have all seen the devastation that is taking place off the coast of Louisiana but our government has failed to articulate any emergency response plan to address an oil spill catastrophe if it were to occur on our shores. The fact that we do not have a plan is beyond irresponsible. It is actually downright negligent.

When will the government show all Canadians its plan to prevent an oil drilling catastrophe, as well as its emergency response plan, and what will it do if an oil spill occurs in our waters?

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, this government has been clear from the very beginning. We expect Canada's regulators to enforce this country's strong environmental standards across the board.

In the case of offshore drilling, Canada's regulators are doing the prudent thing by conducting reviews and putting special oversight measures in place following the incident in the Gulf of Mexico. For example, the NEB is carrying out a comprehensive review of its drilling requirements, which will be open to the Canadian public, and incorporate information from other regulators, as well as the ongoing U.S. investigation.

[Keith Martin, Liberal, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

Mr. Speaker, reviewing something and doing something are two entirely different things. This House and Canadians want to see a plan as soon as possible.

My other question relates to oil tanker traffic off the coast of northern B.C. The minister was correct when he said that there was a moratorium, but Canadians want to know when he will ban oil tanker traffic off the pristine and ecologically sensitive waters of northern British Columbia.

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, once again, there is a moratorium with respect to oil and gas exploration in British Columbia and there is no plan to change this. The government has no plans to reopen the voluntary tanker traffic zone.

Taxation

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the parliamentary secretary said that the opposition intends to increase the GST—which is untrue—and increase corporate tax rates—which is also untrue. He completely overlooked the fact that it is the Conservatives who are increasing employment insurance premiums, which will result in a loss of 200,000 jobs.

Why?

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

Mr. Speaker, it is in Hansard now. The Liberals want to raise corporate taxes. We understand, by a report just this week, that it would cost 233,000 jobs.

We have it in Hansard that the Liberals want to raise the GST by two percentage points, another 162,000 jobs. I guess it is on the record. We wonder if the rest of the coalition is supportive of that.

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, he still does not get it. No opposition party wants to raise the GST. No opposition party wants to raise the corporate tax rate. What is clear is that the only major tax plan that is actually happening is that the Conservatives are raising EI premiums, thereby destroying 200,000 jobs. In reality, that is the only tax measure.

Will the member stand in his place and just acknowledge that is the basic truth?

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

The basic truth, Mr. Speaker, is that not only do we have it in Hansard, we have it on the record all across the country. The leader of the Liberal Party, who we assume will be the leader of the coalition, said, “Federal taxes must go up and we will have to raise taxes”. I do not know how much clearer that can be.

We have cut taxes in every way possible. Since we came to power, we have cut taxes for an average family of four by $3,000.

Shipbuilding Industry

[Rodney Weston, Conservative, Saint John, NB]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's shipbuilding industry plays an important part in several Canadian communities.

Today the Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women made a very important announcement about our national shipbuilding procurement strategy.

Would the minister tell the House more about this important announcement?

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

Mr. Speaker, today the government made a historic commitment to Canada's shipbuilding industry by committing to build the ships for the navy and Coast Guard right here in Canada. This will result in more than 75 million person hours of work and will inject $35 billion into the Canadian shipbuilding industry. It will reinvigorate and rebuild the industry while using Canadian sources to meet Canadian needs of the shipbuilding industry.

Our government is buying smarter and maximizing value--

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. member for Timmins--James Bay.

Copyright Legislation

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have been reading through the government's latest copyright bill and I do not see anywhere in the legislation where it is okay to rip off songs from copyright holders to use in commercials.

The industry minister starred in a commercial for Lord & Partners in which two songs were used but apparently neither of these songs was cleared for commercial licence, which meant that these songs were pirated for commercial gain with the endorsement of a crown minister.

It is not just a question of copyright. It is a question of ethics.

Does the government not understand that having a ShamWow minister in the role of the Minister of Industry undermines what little credibility the government has on key files?

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

Mr. Speaker, I will answer the serious part of the question, which is that we are very proud to announce that we have tabled Bill C-32, Canada's efforts to modernize Canada's copyright laws.

This is important legislation. It means jobs, it means protecting consumers and it means modernizing Canada's copyright legislation that is long overdue. This has been well received by a broad cross-section of groups across the country.

As my colleague might be interested to know, the Canadian Independent Music Association said, “Thank you for protecting the rights of artists to earn a living from their work”.

This is in the best interest of all Canadians.

G8 and G20 Summits

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am concerned that another minister does not know the difference between right and wrong. It is a government that promised to do things differently.

Let us look at the G8. Canadians are justifiably outraged that our tax dollars are being blown by drunken sailors on a binge. Now we know where the money is going. The industry minister has been siphoning off money to build gazebos at rural intersections in his riding under the pretense of G8 infrastructure.

Will the minister explain why the billion dollar boondoggle is picking up the tab for pork-barrel projects for ShamWow Tony?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, it will not surprise the member opposite but I do not agree with the premise of his question.

We will have literally thousands of journalists and thousands of delegates from around the world visiting one of the most beautiful places in Canada, the Muskoka region. They will fan out in the entire region, and not just in Huntsville. We are spending some resources on public infrastructure to help spruce up the area so that a beautiful part of Canada will be that much nicer.

Copyright

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

Mr. Speaker, the government's Bill C-32, which is supposed to protect copyright, will allow people to copy any legitimately acquired work onto the device of their choice for personal use, without fear of repercussions. However, the ADISQ, UDA, Canadian Private Copying Collective and SPACQ would have preferred a levy on digital players like the one on blank CDs, which a House majority recently voted for.

Why is the government refusing to ensure that creators receive fair compensation?

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

Mr. Speaker, the real question is this: why is the Bloc Québécois against updating the Copyright Act? We have to update our laws for artists and industries across the country.

The Retail Council of Canada said it was “encouraged by the proposed Copyright Act amendments... [They] are a positive step towards modernizing...copyright laws”.

The Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec said, “C-32 is a critical measure that will help maintain a stable and competitive business environment in Canada and Quebec”.