House of Commons Hansard #73 of the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was agreements.

Topics

Instruction to Standing Committee on Procedure and House AffairsPrivate Members' Business

7:25 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

No.

Instruction to Standing Committee on Procedure and House AffairsPrivate Members' Business

7:25 p.m.

Conservative

The Deputy Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer

All those in favour will please say yea.

Instruction to Standing Committee on Procedure and House AffairsPrivate Members' Business

7:25 p.m.

Some hon. members

Yea.

Instruction to Standing Committee on Procedure and House AffairsPrivate Members' Business

7:25 p.m.

Conservative

The Deputy Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer

All those opposed will please say nay.

Instruction to Standing Committee on Procedure and House AffairsPrivate Members' Business

7:25 p.m.

Some hon. members

No.

Instruction to Standing Committee on Procedure and House AffairsPrivate Members' Business

7:25 p.m.

Conservative

The Deputy Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer

In my opinion, the yeas have it.

And five or more members having risen:

Pursuant to Standing Order 93, the recorded division stands deferred until Wednesday, October 6, 2010, immediately before the time provided for private members' business.

Shall I see the clock as 7:41 p.m.?

Instruction to Standing Committee on Procedure and House AffairsPrivate Members' Business

7:25 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

A motion to adjourn the House under Standing Order 38 deemed to have been moved.

7:25 p.m.

Liberal

Joyce Murray Liberal Vancouver Quadra, BC

Mr. Speaker, on May 11 I rose in the House to get a clear answer from the government respecting the Pacific north coast oil tanker ban in place since 1972. Instead, the minister talked about a plan for offshore oil and gas drilling. In response to subsequent questioning on the same matter, various ministers talked about drilling, and talked about a tanker exclusion zone, which is a completely different policy. At times they said yes and at times they said no. Their answers were very confusing. I had to wonder whether we were witnessing deception or incompetence on this issue.

The government finally acknowledged that it has absolutely no intention of honouring this important policy which has been protecting B.C. and north Pacific inland waters for 40 years.

The Liberals believe it is important to end the ambiguity. We have made a clear commitment to a permanent legislated ban on tanker traffic in the Pacific inland north coast waters. That would cover Douglas Channel, Dixon Entrance, Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound. This is a very important area to protect.

Supertankers can carry up to 140 million hectares of crude oil. There is a possibility of a major spill. Modelling shows a spill from a tanker at the wrong time of the year could foul the coastline from the northern tip of Vancouver Island up to Alaska. The habitat of birds, fish, herring, marine mammals and endangered species could be fouled by crude oil from a tanker spill. Human errors do happen. Spills do take place.

The Liberals believe it is important to be clear. We would not allow tanker traffic along that part of the coast. The leader of the Liberal Party stated, “Canada has the longest coastline in the world, and our quality of life is closely connected to our oceans. The disaster in the Gulf of Mexico is a grim reminder that we must always be vigilant. While the Conservative government has left our coastal communities and oceans vulnerable, the Liberal Party is proposing innovative, decisive action that would make Canada a world leader in protecting our oceans and our coastal communities”.

This is an economic policy, not simply an environmental and social policy, respecting the wishes of all of the coastal first nations in that area.

I want to talk for a moment about jobs. Jobs and the economy always have been important to the Liberal Party of Canada. A proponent that has a project that would require supertanker traffic in that area has proposed that 560 long-term jobs could be created in British Columbia. That is important because jobs are important for that coastal area.

I want to point out that 100 times that many jobs would be at risk. In B.C.'s fishing industry, 26,000 jobs would be at risk. Thirty thousand jobs in B.C.'s burgeoning ecotourism sector depend on a healthy marine environment and those jobs would be put at risk by supertanker traffic in that area.

It is not acceptable to entertain that risk. We call on the Conservative government to join with the Liberals in supporting a moratorium on crude oil tanker traffic. British Columbians would support a policy like that.

I appreciated having this chance to clarify my question to which I have received such poor answers in the past.

7:30 p.m.

Fort McMurray—Athabasca Alberta

Conservative

Brian Jean ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport

Mr. Speaker, first, we need to be clear about current provisions that protect British Columbia's coast. Tankers do not move unabated along the coast. In fact, a voluntary tanker exclusion zone, mutually agreed to by both Canada and the United States, does exist off the coast of British Columbia.

First, the member should apologize for suggesting that the minister has been deceptive in his answers. The minister is very hard-working. He is honest and works hard for the people of Canada. She should apologize for that remark. I am sure it was not meant at all as intentional.

I always find it humorous when a Liberal stands and says, “If only we get to be the government, we have an innovative and decisive plan”. The Liberals were in government a very short time ago. I am sure if they were the government again, they would implement all those things they never had the chance to do time and time again.

Let us be clear. This Conservative government is keeping the coast of British Columbia clean and pristine. We protect all the coasts of Canada with real action, with real decisions and with real environmental policy and the funds to back it up.

The exclusion zone applies solely to loaded oil tankers moving between Alaska and the west coast of the United States. For example, tankers transporting U.S. crude oil from Alaska to Cherry Point in Washington State would remain west of a line that roughly parallels the coast of British Columbia. This line defining the zone varies between 25 and 85 miles off the British Columbia coastline.

This zone was designed to keep these tankers at a very safe distance from shore so in the event that a loaded tanker became disabled, there would be sufficient time for a salvage tug to reach the tanker and provide assistance before it could possibly drift and risk running aground.

Canadians know they can count on a Conservative government because of the great initiatives we have taken over the last few years while in government to set aside huge lands and national parks, to set aside money so our Coast Guard and other officials, including Transport Canada, can guard and keep safe our coastlines and have a plan in place to ensure we can clean up a spill if something happens.

While there is a federal moratorium in place that applies strictly to oil and natural gas exploration and development activities, this moratorium does not extend to the storage or the movement of tankers. I suggest the member is a little confused on this issue.

Tanker traffic is permitted along the British Colombia coast. In fact, oil tankers have been trading safely and regularly along our west coast for many years. I understand there has not been one incident of crude oil leakage thus far from any ship. We have a track record and clearly our laws are becoming better and more onerous for those tankers. I will get into that later on in my speech. Measures exist to ensure the safe transportation of petroleum products to and from Canadian ports.

The lead federal agency is Transport Canada and it strictly enforces pollution prevention regulations through ship inspection for compliance with international pollution prevention provisions and through incident investigation. Clearly Transport Canada is vigorous in its inspection and in its enforcement. Operators must maintain a minimum level of preparedness at all times and must have oil pollution prevention emergency plans in place.

7:35 p.m.

Liberal

Joyce Murray Liberal Vancouver Quadra, BC

Mr. Speaker, this is a perfect example of exactly the obfuscation that has gone on by the Conservative government on this issue all along. Once again, the member talked about the tanker exclusion zone in an attempt to confuse the matter. Yes, the tanker exclusion zone is on the exterior of Haida Gwaii and it is for supertankers going from Alaska to Washington. That has absolutely nothing to do with the policy of a moratorium preventing tanker traffic on the inland waters inside Haida Gwaii in the areas I mentioned. This is just more deception on the part of the member opposite. Sadly, we cannot have an honest answer.

In talking about oil tankers trading oil to the east, of course they have, through the Port of Vancouver, the southern part of British Columbia, not the north coast water. We support the strong economy in Canada. We support the ability to export oil products from Alberta to Asia, which occurs through the port of Vancouver—

7:35 p.m.

Conservative

The Deputy Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer

The hon. parliamentary secretary.

7:35 p.m.

Conservative

Brian Jean Conservative Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB

Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, the line defining the zone varies from between 25 and 85 miles off the British Columbia coastline.

In addition, both the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships and the Canada Shipping Act regulations for the prevention of pollution from ships and for dangerous chemicals contain requirements. These requirements include, among other things, the double hulling of tankers, which further reduces the risk.

Finally, operators must contribute to Canada's national ship-source oil pollution fund, which will actually pay compensation for spills from ships of all classes, including the tankers the member speaks of. The fund is liable to pay claims for oil pollution or damage, even anticipated damage, which is amazing, at any place in Canada or in Canadian waters, including the exclusive economic zone of Canada.

Clearly, all Canadians can count on the Conservative government to keep Canadian shorelines safe and secure, just as they can count on us to keep all Canadians safe and secure.

7:40 p.m.

Liberal

Rodger Cuzner Liberal Cape Breton—Canso, NS

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to stand in the chamber this evening and speak on a topic that I have brought to the floor of the chamber on a number of different occasions, that being a tax credit for volunteer firefighters.

Anybody who lives in a rural community understands that volunteer firefighters stand apart from the rest.

I have a world of respect for those who volunteer. Whether they canvass or coach, if they put in time with any of the community groups within their communities, that is important and it is noble. These volunteer firefighters, however, stand apart. They do a lot of the same things the Kinsmen, the Kiwanis Clubs, and Lions Clubs do, which is provide opportunities for people within their communities. Where it is different is when that alarm goes off, when that pager goes off.

People from larger centres, such as downtown Toronto or Vancouver or any of the cities across this country, are protected around the clock by full-time firefighters. However, in rural communities, a volunteer may be a mechanic, a guy who just did a motor job in the local garage. It may be a lady who teaches school during the day but has the pager on, because she has made that decision to volunteer. Volunteers come from all walks of life, but when the pager goes off, that is when they stand apart and leave their jobs to attend to the emergency within that community. That warrants some kind of special recognition.

These are people like the carpenter who responds to the head-on collision out on the highway. He takes off his tools, he responds to the call and goes out, and when he gets there, he has to know just as much as the full-time, professional firefighters. He has to be trained. He has to be prepared. He comes with the jaws of life. He cuts open the car and scrapes an 18-year-old kid off the dash of the car.

Mentally, physically, and emotionally, these are volunteers who stand apart from others. These are the guys who are running into the building when everybody else is running out. It is incumbent on us as lawmakers to recognize that and to show that we appreciate the exceptional commitment these men and women make.

If we want to retain them and bring new firefighters in, rewarding those firefighters we have is the least we can do as a nation. The least we can do as a country is recognize the special contribution they make to their communities.

That is why I asked the Minister of Public Safety whether he would be willing to support a tax initiative or a tax credit for volunteer firefighters in this country. I was not pleased with the answer.

7:40 p.m.

Oxford Ontario

Conservative

Dave MacKenzie ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to discuss how collectively we support the brave men and women who work as volunteer firefighters in rural communities across Canada.

First responders, such as firefighters and auxiliary police officers, play a valuable role in ensuring the safety and resiliency of our communities. As the term suggests, in emergencies first responders employed by municipal, provincial or territorial governments across Canada are often the first on the scene. These brave men and women place themselves in harm's way to serve Canadians in times of need.

We also understand that the provinces and territories have a legal framework in place for occupational health, safety and workers compensation and provide benefits to the families of workers who are injured or killed in the line of duty.

Benefits received under these workers' compensation programs may also be supplemented through union agreements or group insurance plans that provide compensation for losses incurred due to workplace accidents or death.

Faced with an emergency, Canadians expect all governments to act. Under the Emergency Management Act, Public Safety Canada, on behalf of the Government of Canada, coordinates activities of government institutions related to emergency management with those of the provinces and, through the provinces, those of local authorities.

Public Safety Canada also conducts emergency preparation exercises and provides education and training related to emergency management. The Canadian Emergency Management College in coordination with provinces and territories provides training to emergency management workers from across the country.

Under budget 2007, Public Safety Canada is contributing $2.5 million over five years to the Canadian arm of the International Association of Fire Fighters to implement a new hazardous materials training program. This initiative will make hazardous materials training available to all first responders throughout Canada. This contribution agreement is also a tremendous opportunity in that it provides a mechanism for Public Safety Canada to build a stronger working relationship with the first responders community.

7:45 p.m.

Liberal

Rodger Cuzner Liberal Cape Breton—Canso, NS

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the response by my colleague but what frustrates me most is that I once presented a private member's bill on this particular issue, on the tax credit for volunteer firefighters, back when we were in power, when the Liberals held government, and I remember the Conservatives at the time were very much in support of this. I remember the member for Lethbridge sitting shoulder to shoulder with me to defend this at the finance committee. There was a great deal of excitement about it on the Conservative benches then but it seems to have totally disappeared now.

What I am pleased about is the fact that our leader has pledged that he would proceed with such a tax credit for volunteer firefighters. I think it is the least we can do. As I said before, I think it is the least we can do for this very special group of citizens.

7:45 p.m.

Conservative

Dave MacKenzie Conservative Oxford, ON

Mr. Speaker, it is almost a repeat of the last group here. If the Liberals had only had one more term they would have got it done.

When my friend speaks about having all of the support back in the day when the Liberals were the majority, I am rather surprised that they did not get it done. There is obviously a reason and I am sure my friend, if he had more time, could explain to everyone why they did not get it done in those 13 years.

As I have stated, first responders are primarily employed by municipal, provincial or territorial governments and all the provinces and territories have some legal framework in place for first responders.

We have made it obvious that this government has taken measures to work collectively with our provincial and municipal partners to ensure that these brave men and women are well prepared to help Canadians when needed.

I just wish that if my friend had felt so strongly during those 13 years he would have got it done then and we would not be debating it today.

7:45 p.m.

Conservative

The Deputy Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer

The motion to adjourn the House is now deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m., pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 7:48 p.m.)