Debates of June 4th, 2010

G8 and G20 Summits

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, again, as the hon. member knows or should know, always, when we host summits, we try to capitalize on touristic and economic benefits associated with hosting summits.

It is not any different in this case, as was the case in 1995 in Halifax. The Liberal government of the day spent money on infrastructure, gateway signage, marketing campaigns, a community centre, and $3 million spent after the summit was over. That is okay on the Liberal side, but it is not okay to capitalize on the summits to make sure we have more jobs and more opportunity for people here in Canada?

Committees of the House

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's director of communications, Dimitri Soudas, is playing hide and seek with a bailiff who is trying to serve him a summons to appear before a House committee.

The question is, where is Dimitri? His attitude is not only ridiculous, it demonstrates his disrespect and that of his boss for Parliament and the Speaker of the House's rulings.

Instead of undermining the committee's work, would it not be better for the Prime Minister's director of communications to appear before the committee?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the committee has ignored all rules of fairness by announcing the summons to the news media before it was even delivered. The committee knows the rules for summonses. The committee should follow those rules and respect the ancient principle of ministerial responsibility.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives say that political staff should not appear before committees because of ministerial responsibility, as though ministerial responsibility were incompatible with staff testifying in committee.

Is the government aware that such logic would also mean that public servants could no longer testify in committee about a bill, a program or an expenditure?

[Jay Hill, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, this question or a reasonable facsimile has been asked many times in question period in this House. I have always answered the same, that we believe in ministerial accountability and responsibility.

Our ministers will not only be answering questions, as they do every day, in this chamber but at committee as well. Ultimately, it is they who are responsible for the actions of their staff and for their departments.

As to the hon. member's assertion about public servants, we are not talking about public servants and departmental staff. We are talking about political staff and they will no longer be appearing.

Forest Fires

[Jean-Yves Laforest, Bloc, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec has criticized the Conservative government's bureaucratic attitude and is calling on the government to acknowledge that the Atikamekw communities of Manawan, Obedjiwan and Wemotaci are facing an extraordinary situation with these forest fires.

The assembly chief, Gislain Picard, is calling on the government to take action to respond to this situation, which is considered a humanitarian crisis.

Does the government realize that during a humanitarian crisis, the government must take appropriate action?

[John Duncan, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]

Clearly, Mr. Speaker, this is a tragedy for the affected communities and their members. Our officials have been working with the first nations and with the province of Quebec, which is primarily responsible for the required evacuations and related work.

We have been actively involved since the beginning with emergency measures. Our officials were on site this week. We will continue to be engaged with the safe and orderly return of residents to their communities, and for required disaster financial assistance.

[Jean-Yves Laforest, Bloc, Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the response of the parliamentary secretary proves that the Assembly of First Nations is right: this is a bureaucratic attitude.

The unexpected costs of these forest fires are adding up for local authorities. The band chiefs of Manawan and Obedjiwan have asked the federal government for help as they face this crisis. The Manawan band council, for example, is stuck with an unexpected $80,000 bill.

Can the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development assure the Atikamekw authorities that it will cover the unexpected expenses?

[John Duncan, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, the member knows that there are agreements in place which take care of all of these situations. This is no different than previous examples.

Contrary to media reports, we have been actively engaged in this emergency and the weather has now cooled. We can expect an orderly return to the communities.

Terrorism

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has been characterized as the leading international sponsor and perpetrator of global terrorism, responsible for the commission of more than 100 terrorist acts spanning every continent, while engaged in the massive domestic repression of its own people.

Will the government list the IRGC as a terrorist entity and thereby sanction this epicentre of international terrorist threat and massive domestic repression?

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas)]

Mr. Speaker, this is a matter of ongoing concern obviously for this government. We continue to consider the possibility of such sanction.

Human Rights

[Irwin Cotler, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government has been considering this for three years. The time has come to act.

On another matter, international law authorities and experts in genocide have determined that Iran has already committed the crime of incitement to genocide, prohibited under the genocide convention and international law.

Therefore, will Canada, as a state party to the genocide convention, undertake its mandated legal responsibilities to prevent such incitement and undertake the modest step of simply referring the matter of the state-sanctioned genocidal incitement to the UN Security Council for deliberation and account?

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas)]

Again, Mr. Speaker, Canada's words and actions at the United Nations and in other world bodies are very clear. We have censured the behaviour of Iran in these areas on any number of violations of human rights. We will continue to participate in international bodies working against these continuing violations by the Iranian regime.

Shipbuilding Industry

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the defence minister made an announcement that took four and a half years to plan, about a shipbuilding policy taking 30 years to implement. So forgive us if we are just a little big skeptical.

Thus far, no specifics about joint support ships, nothing about Arctic patrol vessels. The only boat built is a showboat for Steamboat Tony.

What are the specifics, how many supply ships, at what costs, and when will this happen?

[Gordon O'Connor, Conservative, Minister of State and Chief Government Whip]

Mr. Speaker, our national shipbuilding procurement strategy will help us establish a long-term relationship with Canada's shipbuilding industry to renew Canada's federal fleet.

Just to cover some of the points that were mentioned by the opposition, the joint support ship project remains a key priority. The department is currently considering next steps and developing affordable options to replace the navy's current fleet of replenishment ships. Funding for the JSS project is identified within the departmental spending limits and the project will be moving forward this year.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL]

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure which is the bigger farce: this or the fixed wing search and rescue. It is just becoming identified with no answers. It is a long-term answer that never seems to be coming.

Two years for the government to decide where to build the new ships. After that, we know next to nothing: joint supply ships, a four year wait and counting; steamboat for the industry minister paid for with G8 money, not delivered until after the summit. Priceless.

Can the government at least tell us, will it prioritize the building of the joint supply ships, which are so urgently needed in our coastal waters?

[Gordon O'Connor, Conservative, Minister of State and Chief Government Whip]

Mr. Speaker, I find it quite rich that this is coming from the Liberals, who are known for the decade of darkness. They allowed the ships to rust. Airplanes were in a state where they could not fly. Vehicles were rusting out. There was no money to the military. The manpower went down. Yet they are talking about procurement policies?

To answer the specific question, in terms of the Arctic offshore patrol vessels, the project is now in definition stage and the project continues to advance to meet first delivery in 2015.

The Economy

[Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the only economic policy the Liberals ever talk about is their plan to raise taxes. We now have independent confirmation that Liberal tax hikes would destroy 400,000 jobs. Canadians know lower taxes help create jobs.

That is why Canada's economic action plan is getting results. We have witnessed our plan fuel job creation and stronger economic growth.

Could the parliamentary secretary please inform the House about the latest news on the economic front?

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Kitchener Centre for his work in the House and for helping us deliver the economic action plan, of which we are seeing results.

Statistics Canada today announced that we have created over 24,000 new jobs in the country in the month of May, the fifth straight month in a row. That is 310,000 new jobs since July of last year.

Canada's economic action plan is working. It is leading the way in the G7. This is no time for the opposition to delay the implementation of our budget bill.

The Environment

[Joe Comartin, NDP, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

Mr. Speaker, for years, experts have questioned the government's estimates of how effective their climate change policies are. The evidence is in. Canada's climate change record is a disaster. In a report completed last month and hidden on the departmental website, Environment Canada admitted that emissions had been cut 10 times less than they were projected to be cut.

Despite a global consensus on the urgency of cutting greenhouse gases, Canada has no plan to substantially reduce greenhouse gases. When will the Conservatives join the rest of the world and actually get a plan tabled in the House?

[Mark Warawa, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, that question was asked about a half hour ago. Unfortunately, the member was not listening.

For the first time in Canada, under this government, greenhouse gas emissions have stabilized and they are going down. They went down 2.1%. Under the previous Liberal government, emissions went up 26% with the help of the NDP.

[Joe Comartin, NDP, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

Mr. Speaker, that is what a recession will do. The government projected a 52 megatonne drop and we had a five megatonne drop.

At the same time, that report also talks about the way the Conservatives are misspending money. They have a $1.5 billion trust fund for clean air. That fund, this report notes, is for the provinces. There is no way of knowing how the money is going to be spent and what results are being achieved. We have another boondoggle on our hands.

When will the government get serious about climate change, set real targets for greenhouse gas reductions and ensure that policies are in place to get the—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment.

[Mark Warawa, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, what has the NDP proposed? Bill C-311, a publicity stunt on climate change, would drive Canada back into recession and isolate Canada internationally.

We are working with the Obama administration. We are working with our international partners. We are moving forward and are already seeing positive results. We have a cleaner environment, emissions are going down and we have more jobs in Canada. What do those members not understand about that?

Copyright

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative bill, which is meant to protect copyright, is deeply disappointing to creators, who want to see a levy imposed on MP3 players. This levy is simply a recognition of the work done by artists.

How can the government justify granting compensation to artists for copies made on blank CDs but not for copies made on MP3 players?