Debates of Oct. 24th, 2011

Foreign Affairs

[Deepak Obhrai, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I really do not know where the NDP lives. The Prime Minister went to the United Nations to work with his allies for post-Libya transition and to help with democracy. The Minister of Foreign Affairs just went to Libya about two weeks ago to promote women's rights. Perhaps the NDP should look at what the record of this government is and then ask some questions that are more relevant.

The Environment

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, here is a relevant question. The hypocrisy of the government continues. It has—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. Once again I would ask members to hold their applause until the end of the question and not at the beginning.

The hon. member for Nickel Belt.

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the hypocrisy of the government continues. It heralds free trade with the European Union, yet is threatening to take the European Union to the WTO to protect big oil companies and the oil sands.

The international community is concerned about the environmental costs of the oil sands. Instead of acting to address this, the Conservatives just keep giving larger and larger subsidies to these highly profitable companies.

How many more black eyes before Conservatives finally wake up and take action on the environment?

[Joe Oliver, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, I am disappointed and amazed that the opposition is taking the side of European bureaucrats against the interests of Canadian workers, the Canadian economy and a key Canadian resource.

The European Commission would unfairly single out the oil sands without taking into account the actual GHG emissions coming from crude oil from countries like Russia, Nigeria and others, which have the same or higher levels—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. The hon. member for Nickel Belt.

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, that answer clearly shows that the Conservative government does not understand the consequences of its inaction. The Commissioner of the Environment and a number of unions fighting to protect jobs in Alberta have called the government's plan for the oil sands inadequate.

Instead of supporting a pipeline that exports our bitumen and our jobs abroad, why does this government not address international concerns about its management of the oil sands?

[Joe Oliver, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, the EU position is unscientific and discriminatory. I have written to the EU Commission for energy and I presented Canada's strong case, as I have with several of my European counterparts.

Furthermore, if it is an objective of the EU to reduce GHG emissions, its position is also illogical since it discriminates against oil it does not import and gives a free pass to oil it does import.

Foreign Affairs

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, York West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last week Libyans cast off more than 40 years of autocratic rule, and much of the success is owed to the women of Libya.

In keeping with this legacy of nation-building and at a recent international conference, Libyan women declared that they wanted to be talked to, not about.

In light of the recent debates about Sharia law and the rights of women, can we count on the government to support the desire of Libyan women to be part of the National Transitional Council and any future Libyan governments in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 1325?

[Deepak Obhrai, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, let me make it very clear. As I said before, human rights is the cornerstone of this government's policy, including rights for women. We made that very clear when the Minister of Foreign Affairs was in Libya.

I can assure the member that we will stand up for those rights when we talk to the NTC as it moves ahead post-Gadhafi in building up its new constitution.

Public Safety

[Francis Scarpaleggia, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government is about to undermine public safety by getting rid of the gun registry. While the government is rushing to turn its back on its responsibility to protect the safety of Canadians, some provinces seem ready to take on that responsibility.

Will the government help provinces, such as Quebec, that might try to create their own gun control system? Will the government give them the data already in the registry? Second, will the government allow police across the country to continue consulting the data already in the registry?

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, we have consistently opposed this wasteful, ineffective measure that does nothing to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. Our government has strongly and consistently opposed the prior Liberal government's $2 billion boondoggle.

Provincial governments are free to proceed as they wish, but we will not assist in setting up another registry. Records held by the Canadian firearms program will not be shared with the provinces.

G8 Summit

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Muskoka minister said:

If I was the decision maker, if I had set up a parallel process...and created a situation where the auditor-general did not know...I'd be resigning right now and turning myself into the local police office.

However, the minister managed applications from his constituency office. He evaded the AG and evaded access to information laws.

Will he stand now and take responsibility, or is he too busy looking for the address of the Huntsville police department?

[Deepak Obhrai, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the facts still have not changed. The Auditor General's appearance at committee confirmed that the issue has been totally aired. We have said that we have accepted the Auditor General's recommendation, so I do not know what the problem is.

I will join the Minister of Finance and talk about some good news. The good news is that every dollar was accounted for. All 32 projects came in under budget. The program itself was under-spent.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the spokespeople may change, but the broken record sounds the same.

We know that the minister was involved in 32 projects, that he implemented a parallel process that was hidden from the Auditor General and administered from his constituency office, and that he did not submit a single document to the Auditor General even though senior federal officials were at the meetings. After being promised transparency and openness, Canadians are disappointed and for good reason.

When we will have a complete parliamentary investigation to shed some light on all the abuses of ethical and financial trust involved in the G8 funding?

[Deepak Obhrai, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I agree with the member. It is the same old story. The facts have not changed. How many times do I have to tell him that the facts have not changed?

The Auditor General has aired this issue thoroughly. What else can I say? She came in front of the committee and said this very clearly. If he were a member of the committee, he would have known what the Auditor General said. I will repeat again that the facts have not changed. The answers will remain the same.

Foreign Affairs

[Joe Daniel, Conservative, Don Valley East, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the situation in Egypt continues to deteriorate for Coptic Christians. Copts, who make up 10% to 15% of the population in Egypt, are being targeted and persecuted for ethnic and religious reasons by hateful enemies. Countless murders of Copts have been reported in Cairo and across Egypt, and many others are going unreported.

My question is for the minister. What is our government doing to address this unprecedented violence toward the largest religious minority in the region?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Minister of Citizenship]

Mr. Speaker, last Friday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and I met with some 30 leaders of Canada's Coptic community to express Canada's solidarity with that community, particularly their loved ones in Egypt, to express once more this government's condemnation of the violence, particularly that by, apparently, members of the Egyptian military two weeks ago, killing innocent Coptic civilians.

The Prime Minister led the inclusion of an expression of concern about vulnerable religious minorities in the Arab Spring declaration of the G8 at Deauville. We have called upon the United Nations Human Rights Council to investigate the most recent killings. We are creating an office for religious freedom to, in the words of the Prime Minister, make the promotion of religious freedom a key pillar of Canadian foreign policy.

We will always stand in solidarity with those who face this kind of persecution.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it has been five full months since the terrible flooding in Manitoba and the evacuation of the first nations. The community of Lake St. Martin First Nation is still devastated. There were 727 citizens evacuated, most still occupying rooms spread across six hotels in downtown Winnipeg at a cost of $1 million per week. Children are not in permanent schools and families have no hope in sight.

Will the minister commit today to rebuild Lake St. Martin First Nation on the higher ground that is right next to that community?

[John Duncan, Conservative, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, yes, Lake St. Martin is a very tragic story and we know that the community has been relocated. The children are now getting their schooling and we are working with the Province of Manitoba. I sent a special representative to look into the situation. We will be working with the province and looking at a relocation of the community.

Canadian Air and Space Museum

[Mike Sullivan, NDP, York South—Weston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are again planning to dismantle the Avro Arrow, this time in Downsview, Ontario, and literally cutting it apart with torches, just like in 1959.

The Air and Space Museum has been evicted and is on a growing list of our heritage buildings facing the Conservative government's wrecking ball.

Last week, Rob Cohen, the CEO of the museum, said, “It is all pass the buck politics”. When will the Conservatives stop passing the buck and step in to save this historic museum?

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

Mr. Speaker, first, even though it is called the Canadian Air and Space Museum, it is, in fact, a private museum and a private collection. The museum had a fundraising campaign, but it was not as successful as it had hoped it would be. This was a decision by Downsview.

The museum has not been paying its bills and it has not been paying the taxes, I understand. This was a responsible decision made by Downsview and by the Department of Public Works.

I have asked my department to work with our national museums and to ask the management of that museum what in their collection they would like to save, and to work with the government to make some of the collection available to some of our national museums.

We are showing leadership, both to the museum and to the collection, but also to taxpayers.

International Co-operation

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

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are concerned about the situation in Pakistan.

While that country was recovering from the 2010 floods, monsoon rains, which began in August, have battered Balochistan and Sindh provinces.

Could the Minister of International Cooperation please inform the House how Canada is responding to pleas for relief?

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Minister of International Cooperation]

Yes, Mr. Speaker, Pakistan is once again suffering from a flood this year. Last year, when I visited Sindh province, I saw how floods can devastate families and children.

Canada did its part last year and will do so again, with $11 million this year to help Pakistan.

Canadians know that our government will ensure that victims get the food, clean water and health care they need.