Debates of Sept. 27th, 2010

Caseus Selection Awards

[André Bellavance, Bloc, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, two companies in my riding distinguished themselves in the 12th annual competition for the Sélection Caseus awards, which recognize Quebec’s best fancy cheeses. The Fromagerie du Presbytère in Sainte-Élisabeth-de-Warwick was awarded the gold Caseus for the second time in as many years, this time for its Louis d'Or, an organic raw milk cheese. The Cendré de Lune and Cantonnier made by the Fromagerie 1860 DuVillage in Warwick also won awards in their categories.

Cheese makers from across Quebec outdid themselves. The silver Caseus was awarded to the Laiterie Charlevoix in Baie-Saint-Paul for its Hercule de Charlevoix cheese. The bronze went to the Fromagerie Au gré des champs in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu for Le Monnoir. The judging panel also gave special honours to the Fromagerie Blackburn in Jonquière, in the category of new business established for five years or less, for its Mont-Jacob cheese.

Quebec's cheeses are second to none in the world. The people who produce them do so with no shortage of passion and expertise.

On behalf of my colleagues in the Bloc Québécois, I extend to them our sincere congratulations and encourage everyone to try their excellent products.

Hornepayne's Town Centre Complex

[Carol Hughes, NDP, Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when the Liberal government sold CN, it refused to protect its investment in and responsibility to Hornepayne's town centre complex. As the centre prepares to close its doors for good on September 30, the ominous predictions of New Democrats have proven accurate.

Tenants of the complex, such as the high school, post office and public library, have been struggling to relocate, and the people of Hornepayne will soon be without a gym, swimming pool and their only hotel.

The Conservative government has been less than helpful in the fight to preserve the town centre. It would only offer money for marketing at the eleventh hour. It offered nothing from the stimulus spending that built rinks, gazebos and toilets in wealthy communities, but passed over Hornepayne in its hour of need.

The loss of the Hornepayne centre can be attributed in large part to the Government of Ontario. The half million dollars the provincial government gave the town to sever the apartments and close the centre could have been used to hold on to one of the investors. The province has certainly turned its back on this community.

Residents of Hornepayne will never give up on their community and will work to recover what they have lost. They will never forget how the federal and provincial governments shrugged their shoulders and walked away when they needed them the most.

Governor General Designate

[Harold Albrecht, Conservative, Kitchener—Conestoga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to thank Canada's Governor General designate for his decade of leadership in Waterloo region.

Canada's next Governor General, my friend David Johnston of Heidelberg, would tell us that Waterloo region is blessed with a barn-raising community spirit and a talent to reinvent its economy to adapt with changing times. Local citizens would tell us that David Johnston himself deserves much of the credit for our area's recent success.

He brought world-leading hubs in nanotechnology and quantum computing to the university, a school of architecture to Cambridge, and a digital media campus to Stratford. The schools of pharmacy and medicine that opened under his watch are revitalizing downtown Kitchener. Johnston worked with our community to further his university, his province, his country and the entire world.

On behalf of all citizens of Waterloo region, the students, faculty, staff and alumni at the University of Waterloo, I say to Canadians that one of the leaders who made Waterloo region so great will now be focusing his attention on all of Canada. We are proud to share him with the country.

Canadian Student Leadership Conference

[Bernard Patry, Liberal, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the 2010 Canadian Student Leadership Conference was held from September 21 to 25. More than 850 young people from across Canada took part in this conference in my riding of Pierrefonds—Dollard. This event was orchestrated by volunteers from the Lester B. Pearson school board and the Pierrefonds Comprehensive High School who did exceptional work.

The Canadian Student Leadership Conference encourages young people to develop their leadership skills through academic, extracurricular and cultural activities as well as sports.

We can all be proud of these young people and grateful for their involvement, which will help them to become responsible citizens who are able to positively influence their surroundings.

Our entire country benefits from the work done by the Canadian Student Leadership Conference and I believe that those responsible for the conference and all the young people who attend fully deserve the tributes I want to offer them today in this House.

Jean-Édouard Landry

[Royal Galipeau, Conservative, Ottawa—Orléans, ON]

Mr. Speaker, for 400 years, trees have been vital to the economic success and social fabric of this country, and they continue to be.

However, they are more than that. They help us to correct the environmental damage that each of us causes on this planet. In a lifetime, each of us produces enough carbon dioxide to feed 15 trees. The best way to even things out is to plant at least 15 trees. Our young Canadian scouts do it. We should all do it.

So, each year to celebrate National Tree Day, I plant a tree in honour of a champion in our community.

On Friday, October 1, at 3 p.m., I will be planting a maple tree in the seniors' park in Orléans, in memory of the late Jean-Édouard Landry, a humble servant of his community whose sense of duty continues to inspire the people of Orléans.

He gave his all for those less fortunate than himself. He was a staunch champion of seniors. He and his spouse Jeannine are my friends.

I wish to pay tribute to him on behalf of the community.

Police and Peace Officers

[Maria Mourani, Bloc, Ahuntsic, QC]

Mr. Speaker, police and peace officers from Quebec and Canada gathered on Parliament Hill yesterday to pay tribute to their colleagues who have died in the line of duty.

In memory of these men and women, we should remember that of the 16 police officers who have died while on the job in the past 12 years, 14 were killed with long guns. In their memory and to prevent other tragedies, it is time we gave full effect to the firearms registry by ending the amnesty, which has lasted too long, and implementing the firearms marking regulations, which were supposed to take effect in April 2006.

On behalf of all my Bloc Québécois colleagues, I wish to pay tribute to these men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for their communities, and I would like to say to their surviving families that we will never forget them.

Canada's Economic Action Plan

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today the government told Quebeckers and Canadians about the progress made through Canada's economic action plan.

The plan is producing results: 98% of the funds have been committed, 22,000 projects have begun or have been completed across Canada, taxes have been reduced, and the list goes on. Thousands of new jobs have been created, which is good news for Canadian families and communities. In fact, in little more than a year, Canada has created 430,000 new jobs.

However, the global economic recovery is fragile, which is why the government is focusing on the economy. That is why we are supporting Canada's economic recovery by delivering $22 billion in stimulus funding in 2010-11 and continuing to lower taxes for families and businesses that are creating jobs.

Unlike the coalition, which would impose taxes and spending, we know that lowering taxes creates jobs and economic growth.

That is why we are opposed to the coalition's plan to get rid of 400,000 jobs and significantly increase taxes. We remain focused on Canada's economic action plan.

Newfoundland and Labrador

[Judy Foote, Liberal, Random—Burin—St. George's, NL]

Mr. Speaker, seeing images on TV of the destruction that hurricane Igor inflicted on Newfoundland and Labrador is one thing but seeing it first-hand, as I did this weekend, hits home the seriousness of the situation.

As rivers and ponds overflowed and the rush of water could not be handled by the culverts, homes flooded, cars were submerged, roads disappeared, bridges collapsed and some people lost everything. We must learn from this tragedy.

As people try to rebuild their lives and local governments replace infrastructure that failed the onslaught of the hurricane, it is crucial that all levels of government agree to put in place infrastructure that improves on what previously existed and failed.

The issue is that, under the present cost-shared agreement with the province, should a municipality want to put back a larger culvert, for example, the agreement will only cover to have that culvert replaced to its pre-disaster condition. The municipality will be responsible for the cost of the upgrade.

This needs to change. Rural communities, in particular, cannot afford this cost and cannot afford to replace failed infrastructure with more of the same.

[Gerald Keddy, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margaret's, NS]

Mr. Speaker, Newfoundland and Labrador has been devastated by hurricane Igor: a death, roads and bridges washed away, loss of power, communities cut in half and shortages of food and gas in affected areas.

We salute the community spirit of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians where neighbours help neighbours to rebuild following a storm described by Environment Canada as the worst to hit in modern times.

Last Friday, the Prime Minister, Premier Williams and Senator Manning toured the hard-hit communities of Trouty and Britannia. The Prime Minister noted that he had never seen such damage and immediately offered the province the assistance of the Canadian military. By Friday evening, Canadian Forces dispatched three ships and several Sea King helicopters to affected areas, bringing equipment and supplies to help the hard-hit communities.

Today, the Minister of National Defence and the chief of the defence staff join Canadian Forces members working in Newfoundland and Labrador to see first-hand the hard job of rebuilding these communities.

The Government of Canada and all Canadians are standing in solidarity with our family and friends in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Peter Leibovitch

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

Mr. Speaker, on September 18, the Canadian community lost a courageous fighter for social justice. Peter Leibovitch was a principled and determined man. He brought a message of hope that both collective and individual effort could change the world for the better, and his whole life was dedicated toward that end.

Whether through his efforts with the labour movement, the NDP or a long list of social justice and community groups, Peter was unrelenting in the pursuit of fairness for all. He was a mentor to countless activists across Canada and an inspiration to all those with whom he came into contact.

He never feared taking on an issue or backing away from challenges because they were unpopular. He was always ready to skilfully argue a point with anyone.

Peter loved his six children and took great pride in them and their achievements.

We express our sincerest condolences to Jacob, Joseph, Steven, Danielle, Michael and Samuel, as well as to his parents, siblings and grandchildren on their loss. We will miss him greatly.

Economic Action Plan

[John Weston, Conservative, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC]

Mr. Speaker, today, our government released the sixth report on Canada's economic action plan. This detailed report highlighted our government's aggressive response to the worst global recession since World War II.

Our plan is working, with 98% of the funds committed and over 22,000 projects under way or completed.

Canada's economic action plan is revitalizing Canada's aging roads and bridges, such as the blue bridge in West Vancouver, while supporting job creation across the country.

Since July 2009, the plan itself has boosted our economy and has helped create 430,000 net new jobs.

Provincial, local and aboriginal leaders share the success with our federal government, together setting priorities and leading our country out of the recession.

However, the global economic recovery is still fragile. We are not out of the woods yet. We must stay on course. We must continue to implement the plan and we must lower the tax bill for Canadians. That is why we will stand up for taxpayers and against the tax and spend coalition's call for higher and higher taxes.

Maclean's

[Pascal-Pierre Paillé, Bloc, Louis-Hébert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on Friday, Maclean's published an amateur sociological analysis rife with intellectual shortcuts to justify its assertion that Quebec is “the most corrupt province in Canada”, claiming that nationalism is the cause.

So why would the majority of Quebeckers call for a public inquiry into the construction sector and party financing, if not because they want greater transparency?

As columnist Yves Boisvert said, it seems that Pierre Trudeau's old 1950s-era theories about the connection between nationalism, narrow-mindedness and corrupt political values are still alive and well. I should point out that Canada has had corruption scandals of its own.

Is it not intellectually dishonest to condemn an entire nation for the actions of a handful of individuals? Should we conclude, based on this one article, that all of Canada is xenophobic? We will not play that game.

The Economy

[Yasmin Ratansi, Liberal, Don Valley East, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today, the finance minister had another photo op that contained no new economic initiatives.

After five years of Conservative government, this is the economic reality that Canadians are familiar with: household debt is at record levels; 150,000 high-paying full-time jobs have been lost; and the unemployment rate is 1.9% higher today.

The Conservatives' imminent $13 billion employment insurance tax hike will cost Canada 220,000 jobs.

The Conservatives put Canada into deficit even before the recession began by being the biggest spenders. Canada's deficit apparently stands at $54 billion, higher than it has ever been in the history of our country.

If the Conservatives stay the course, they will bankrupt this country.

Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada

[Jeff Watson, Conservative, Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, wrapping up his just visiting express tour, the Liberal leader's recent actions raise questions with, as he calls us, “the Canadians”.

The Liberal leader asked himself out loud if Canada deserves a seat on the Security Council. His answer was that he was not “convinced” Canada does. Columnist Norman Spector said that the Liberal leader's words “unmistakably ooze with his hope for Canada to fail”.

Canada has more than earned its place on the world stage: we are a major foreign aid donor; we have led the way combatting AIDS and other diseases; we were most generous in response to the Haiti earthquake; and our troops in Afghanistan have fought and died heroically for freedom, justice, democracy and against terror. Tell them Canada has not earned its place.

Why did the Liberal leader come back to Canada? Was it to attack us on the world stage and run us down? He could have stayed at Harvard to do that.

The Liberal leader's effort to shame Canada shows that he is not in it for Canadians. He is only in it for himself.

The Economy

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, between 2006 and 2008, while the world economy was still strong, the government increased federal spending by a whopping three times the rate of inflation. It cancelled contingency reserves and made this country more vulnerable. The Conservative deficit began before any recession and now the economy is slowing again with 150,000 full-time jobs lost and not recovered.

Why does the government have nothing for ordinary families except bitter speeches and corporate tax cuts for the big and wealthy?

[John Baird, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, this government came forward with a comprehensive plan two years ago. Canada's economic action plan is a plan designed with one thing in mind: jobs. Jobs have been created right across the country from coast to coast to coast. Some 430,000 people got the call and the voice on the other end of the phone said, “You got the job.”

We are working hard. We remain focused. The job is not done yet. This government has more work to do as long as there is a single Canadian looking for work.

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's large corporate tax rate has already been cut by 35%. It is already the lowest in the G7, except for that in the U.K. It is already 10 points lower than that in the U.S. All of that was accomplished affordably and sustainably while Canada ran a decade of Liberal surplus budgets.

Times have changed. There is now a $50 billion Conservative deficit. The recession killed 150,000 full-time jobs. Families are using half their income to pay their mortgage. Why is there nothing to ease the cost of living for average Canadians?

[John Baird, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I say to my friend from Wascana, that was the initial focus of our government. We are right to work for hard-working middle-class families. That is why tax freedom day comes two weeks earlier than it did just five years ago.

The first thing this government went to work on was to cut the GST, and the Liberals fought us tooth and nail. We cut it from 7% to 6%. We cut it from 6% to 5%. What did the Liberal Party say? The Liberals said that we had to raise it back to 7%.

The Liberals talked about a plan to raise taxes that would hurt Canadian families. We are focused on making Canada a magnet for jobs, investment and opportunity.

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, make corporate tax cuts on borrowed money: $6 billion. Glow sticks, bug spray and fake lakes for the G20: $1.3 billion. Untendered contracts for stealth aircraft, but no job guarantees: $16 billion. Bigger jails to fight unreported crime: $10 billion. There is nothing for child care, nothing for access to university, nothing for home care, nothing for pensions and nothing to help make ends meet for ordinary families. Why not?

[John Baird, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, those of us on this side of the House know one thing the Liberal Party will never know and it is the dignity of a job. A job is the very best social program we can ensure that Canadian families have. That is why we are focused on cutting taxes. That is why we brought in a whole series of tax cuts targeted at Canadian families.

We believe that Canadian families can make choices for themselves. That is the centrepiece of our government's economic policy. We initiated the $1,200 a year so that families will have more money in their pockets to help raise their children. That is why we are working to create jobs and opportunity.

The job is not yet done. We are committed to going even further and creating even more jobs.

[Alexandra Mendes, Liberal, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives' economic record has been disastrous. Examples of their wastefulness continue to accumulate. With their fake lakes and glow sticks, they have managed to create the biggest deficit in Canadian history: a Conservative deficit. Yet the Minister of Finance says he wants to stay the course, a course that promises to be dangerously reckless.

When will he give up on this strategy, especially since we are already in the hole for $54 billion?

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

Mr. Speaker, our priority, of course, is Canadians. When we came to power we realized there was too large a debt facing Canadians. One of our priorities was to pay down the debt that the Liberals had run up.

We have continued with cutting taxes. We have cut taxes in every way possible, over 100 taxes. The result is that an average family of four in this country pays $3,000 less in taxes.

[Alexandra Mendes, Liberal, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we have seen the debt go through the roof under the Conservatives. The government is up to its neck in red. The cost of living continues to rise.

Yet the Conservatives waste money as if it were nothing: 71,000 chocolate bars for three days; 57,000 bottles of Coke; 42,500 bags of potato chips; all for a total cost of $85,000. And all that for three days, and all at taxpayers' expense.

We can only imagine what that would have meant for the families of the workers laid off by AbitibiBowater. Where are the Conservatives' priorities?

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, actually we are proud of our accomplishments at the G8 and G20 summits. Canada is leading the global economy and economic recovery as well as international efforts.

I wonder why members opposite continue to put down Toronto. Its hockey team may disappoint from time to time, but a new study was released stating that of 90 cities around the world, Toronto is the most attractive place for employers. That is what we are focusing on, getting jobs for people in Toronto, instead of criticizing Toronto the way the member just did.

Infrastructure

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

Mr. Speaker, in his progress report on the economic recovery plan, the Minister of Finance boasted that 97% of the infrastructure projects are underway or have been completed. However, in Quebec, one-third of the projects may not be completed by March 31, 2011. As a result, they will not receive the funding promised by the Conservative government.

Does the Prime Minister realize that by refusing to extend the March 31 deadline, he is penalizing Quebec as a whole while the economic crisis marches on?