House of Commons Hansard #66 of the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was funding.
Vic Toews ConservativeMinister of Public Safety
Mr. Speaker, the long gun registry is wasteful, inefficient, and criminalizes hard-working farmers and hunters.
Our Conservative government knows that criminals do not want to register their guns. It is interesting that the Bloc says do not put criminals in prison, but register their guns. It is an amazing philosophy of crime.
The choice is clear for all MPs. They can either vote to keep the wasteful and inefficient registry, or vote to scrap it.
Maria Mourani Bloc Ahuntsic, QC
Mr. Speaker, instead of negotiating with the NRA, the Conservative government should listen to the vast majority of Quebeckers who are calling for the gun registry to be maintained. The National Assembly, police, families of victims of crime and public health experts all want the control of long guns to continue.
Why does the government choose to listen to the NRA and not to Quebeckers?
Vic Toews ConservativeMinister of Public Safety
Mr. Speaker, in fact, we are listening to victims, and victims want dangerous repeat criminals in prison. They want safe streets. They do not want the dangerous criminals on the streets. They want laws that target the criminals.
They do not believe that the long gun registry targets criminals. In fact, it targets law-abiding hunters, farmers and sportspeople right across this country. It is not a law we need in Canada.
Jack Layton NDP Toronto—Danforth, ON
Mr. Speaker, making Parliament work is really going to require, and could benefit from, the co-operation of the Prime Minister. U.S.-style wedge politics does not have any place in this place, in Parliament. That is why I would like to ask a question about the gun registry and public safety.
Jack Layton NDP Toronto—Danforth, ON
I see the new commitment to decorum is working out well on the government side, Mr. Speaker.
My question is very simple. The Prime Minister does not have the votes. Will he listen to both urban and rural Canadians who want to see a solution and fix the registry?
Stephen Harper ConservativePrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, obviously the smooth functioning of Parliament depends upon the willingness of all of its members.
In terms of the registry, our position has been very clear. I think on this side of the House members of Parliament can be very proud of the fact that they have gone out in elections and in their ridings and have said and done exactly the same things there that they are prepared to do here.
I would urge the leader of the NDP and the members of the NDP to expect to implement the same level of integrity.
Jack Layton NDP Toronto—Danforth, ON
Mr. Speaker, I am going to give the Prime Minister another opportunity to work with us in a respectful manner. Let us talk about the middle class. Some 60% of Canadians are having a hard time making ends meet every month because of the recession. Many workers' pensions are in danger. The unemployment rate rose last month, and the government put an end to special employment insurance benefits.
Will the government work with us to extend those benefits in order to help the unemployed?
Stephen Harper ConservativePrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, the government's economic action plan has created 16,000 projects across Canada to help combat the global recession. Employment insurance benefits are part of our temporary measures. These measures, such as the five additional weeks, will be available for unemployed Canadians until August 2011. I encourage the New Democratic Party to support the economic action plan and its measures for Canadians in the future.
Jack Layton NDP Toronto—Danforth, ON
Mr. Speaker, that is zero for two so far in working with other parties like us on trying to help out the unemployed. Let me try again.
What about protection of resource industries? We are talking here about key strategic industries in our country. We have seen the case of Xstrata. We have seen the case of Vale and the disastrous consequences that have flowed from the carte blanche approvals given by the government to those takeovers. Now we have the situation involving Potash.
Will the government work with us to make sure that the Potash takeover is not approved, or that it benefits the people of Saskatchewan who own the resource?
Stephen Harper ConservativePrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, once again, whether it is employment insurance or infrastructure projects, I would continue to urge the NDP to support the government when it actually does favour these measures that help the Canadian people.
Mr. Speaker, in terms of foreign takeovers, as you know very well, this government's position has not been to give a blank cheque to foreign takeovers. There is a law in place. I have spoken about the particular case that the leader of the NDP raises with the premier of Saskatchewan. Obviously, we will examine his concerns as we do the review that is required under the Foreign Investment Review Act.
Scott Brison Liberal Kings—Hants, NS
Mr. Speaker, the Governor of the Bank of Canada has joined a growing list of voices opposed to the government's census changes. Mark Carney has said that the changes will make his data, the data he uses to make his decisions, less reliable. This will harm his ability to know where the economy is going.
Will the minister listen to the Governor of the Bank of Canada and restore the long-form census and give the chief architect of Canada's monetary policy the reliable information he needs to make good decisions to do his job?
Tony Clement ConservativeMinister of Industry
Mr. Speaker, what I can say to this House is that I have indeed spoken with the Governor about his concerns and am quite confident that we can find a way to work together so that his concerns are met.
What I do find shocking though is that the Liberal Party and its coalition partners so willingly are sanctioning the idea that we could sanction Canadians with jail time or with fines to pursue what they think is right. We think there is a reasonable and balanced approach and that is what we are doing.
Scott Brison Liberal Kings—Hants, NS
Mr. Speaker, fear-mongering is not a balanced approach.
Charitable organizations also object to the changes to the census. Those organizations use census information to ensure that their assistance reaches those who need it most.
Why are the Conservatives attacking the very organizations that work to help those who are most vulnerable?
Tony Clement ConservativeMinister of Industry
Mr. Speaker, as I have already said, we do not feel it is appropriate to force Canadians to provide personal and private information by threatening them with sanctions.
I have made it very clear. We believe that there is a better approach, a fairer approach, a balanced approach that can get the information that is useful and usable for Canadians and at the same time not threaten Canadians with the coercive power of the state with jail time or other sanctions.
Siobhan Coady Liberal St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL
Mr. Speaker, in May the Conservative government promised there would be an open competition for Canada's next generation of fighter jets. Then over the summer, the Conservatives said it was not necessary. Then they said it had actually taken place in 2001, but in the United States.
Why is the Conservative government throwing the rule book, for fear of competition, out the window? Why would the government do it for Canada's largest military purchase, a $16-billion purchase, instead of trying to save taxpayers' money and ensuring industrial benefits for Canadians?
Rona Ambrose ConservativeMinister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women
Mr. Speaker, it is great to be back in the House. It is good to see you, and it is good to be back representing the good people of Edmonton—Spruce Grove.
On the issue of a competition, there was an international competition. In fact, the Liberals were part of that competition, so they should know it very well. Holding another competition would risk the future of our aerospace industry because any delays, frankly, would be slamming the door shut on Canadian jobs and Canadian companies.
I would ask the member opposite, why would the Liberals take such a risk?
Siobhan Coady Liberal St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL
Mr. Speaker, this is an open competition. On access to information requests by me, they uncovered a truth from the secretive Conservative government: a plan written by DND called for a competitive process that would run in 2010. It needed a competition to find a fighter jet that would suit its needs.
Instead, the Conservative government decided to proceed without competition, arbitrarily making this decision.
I ask the Minister of National Defence, when exactly did the open competition he promised change and who exactly made the decision to do so?
Peter MacKay ConservativeMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, what the member opposite has said is patently false. That is absolutely not the position that was taken by the Department of National Defence.
However, let us take it out of the realm of the partisan. Let us take it away from individuals without credibility who are criticizing this. Let us listen to the chief of the air staff, Lieutenant-General André Deschamps, himself a pilot, himself a member of the Canadian Forces and the air force for many years. He said:
Analysis of our mandatory requirements for Canada's next fighter jet made it clear that only a fifth generation fighter could satisfy these requirements in the increasingly complex future security environment. The Lightning II is the only fifth generation aircraft available to Canada. Not only that, but the F-35 offers the best cost value--
Robert Bouchard Bloc Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC
Mr. Speaker, the government is determined to get rid of the long-form census for ideological reasons. This decision will result in extra costs for Quebec, the provinces and businesses. What is more, the voluntary census is so unreliable that an American demographic database will refuse to use the data.
How can this government uphold a decision that compromises the reliability of the data and will run up extra costs?
Tony Clement ConservativeMinister of Industry
Mr. Speaker, as I said, our approach is quite fair and reasonable. It consists in finding a better balance between collecting necessary data and protecting Canadians' right to privacy. Our position is that a balance needs to be struck between rights and necessary data.
Robert Bouchard Bloc Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne feels that the government's decision to abolish the long-form census violates the Official Languages Act because there will no longer be any reliable data on official languages to help properly serve francophone communities.
Why does this government not overturn its senseless ideological decision to abolish the long-form census?
Tony Clement ConservativeMinister of Industry
Mr. Speaker, last summer, we announced two additional mandatory questions in the census. The purpose of this decision is to protect the rights of official language communities.
We have acted. We have done what is fair and reasonable in the circumstances, and we will continue to do so.
Yves Lessard Bloc Chambly—Borduas, QC
Mr. Speaker, the forestry crisis is far from over. The closure of the AbitibiBowater plants in Gatineau and Dolbeau-Mistassini shows us that workers in the regions need help to get through the crisis. But on September 11, this government put an end to the pilot project that provided an extra five weeks of benefits.
How can this government be so insensitive as to make cuts to the employment insurance program in the middle of a crisis?
