Debates of Oct. 25th, 2011

Natural Resources

[Kennedy Stewart, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Kinder Morgan is set to double the capacity of the Trans Mountain pipeline that runs from Edmonton to Burnaby. Residents and local municipalities are concerned about what this project could mean for the local environment, especially in the wake of the 2007 oil spill that forced the evacuation of hundreds of Burnaby residents and leaked oil into Burrard Inlet.

Will the minister agree to full public consultation on this project, including direct talks with affected municipalities and first nations?

[Joe Oliver, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, every major project is reviewed by a regulatory agency. Our government respects the regulatory process, and that will proceed in every case.

[Pierre Jacob, NDP, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

Mr. Speaker, for months now, people in my riding have been seeing leaks in the pipeline that crosses Brome—Missisquoi. This pipeline is close to a waterway, the Missisquoi River. In an inspection report dated May 20, engineers from the National Energy Board raised doubts about the company's ability to detect and stop the leaks, even though the company is responsible for them.

What does the government intend to do to reassure the residents about the safety of the pipeline?

[Joe Oliver, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, the National Energy Board is a strong, independent regulatory body. Its mandate is to ensure the safety and security of pipelines, from the moment they are proposed until they are abandoned.

Canadian Wheat Board

[Ray Boughen, Conservative, Palliser, SK]

Mr. Speaker, last week our government introduced the historic marketing freedom for grain farmers act in the House. Unfortunately, this past week has shown a desperate opposition willing to pull any underhanded trick in the book to try to undo last night's vote on the bill.

Yesterday the member for Winnipeg Centre said, “There are ways to reverse a vote”.

Can the Minister of Agriculture please explain why our government will not be bullied by the NDP on this very important legislation?

[Gerry Ritz, Conservative, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, the member for Palliser is absolutely right. The opposition will stop at nothing to try to intimidate farmers, whether they are sitting in the House or out in western Canada, not to move ahead with marketing freedom, but of course they do not represent them.

Having said that, the member for Winnipeg Centre also went out afterward and recanted, saying his actions are purely political and not grounded in reality. What he did then was actually say about the Conservative MPs, who he is trying to sideline, “They wouldn't be in a conflict of interest”, so I am not sure whether he is on or he is off, but we do know that he is wrong. We agree that farmers will never be intimidated by those kinds of ridiculous tactics.

Firearms Registry

[Massimo Pacetti, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

Mr. Speaker, certain provinces, like Quebec, have expressed concern about plans to abolish the gun registry and are considering creating their own registries. Now the government wants to throw out the baby with the bathwater and destroy all of the valuable information that has been duly collected and is ever so useful to police forces.

Will the government put an end to its completely irrational behaviour and hand over the valuable information from the Canadian registry, if the provinces ask for it?

[Peter Van Loan, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the answer is no. Our government refuses to treat law-abiding hunters, farmers and sport shooters like criminals. The provincial governments are free to act in their areas of jurisdiction, but we will not help them create another registry by the back door. The information in our possession will be destroyed and the registry will be abolished once and for all.

The Economy

[Matthew Dubé, NDP, Chambly—Borduas, QC]

Mr. Speaker, although all Canadians are feeling the adverse effects of economic uncertainty, students are also being hit hard by the high rate of unemployment and an average student debt in excess of $25,000 and rising. Using the excuse that the Conservatives are doing better than the previous government is insulting. The reality is they are not doing enough.

When will this government truly help the next generation, which is being crushed by debt?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development]

Mr. Speaker, let us look at the balance sheet as to who has done what.

Our government brought in the Canada summer student grants program to help students access post-secondary education at a lower cost and without debt. We overhauled the Canada student loan program to streamline it, to make more students qualify and to help them repay it earlier.

We also increased the numbers of jobs available to students, so they could help finance their own way through university.

That is our record. What is the record of the NDP members? They voted against every single one of those ways to help students. Shame on them.

National Defence

[Joyce Bateman, Conservative, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, our Conservative government has made unprecedented investments in Canada's armed forces. Our commitment to rebuilding their capacity, after a decade or darkness, is ensuring that our brave men and women have the tools they need.

The work to supply this equipment is also providing an incredible boost to the Canadian economy. Could the Minister of National Defence please inform the House of recent developments on the economic benefits of the F-35 program?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, my friend from Winnipeg is right. Our government has committed to provide the air force with the F-35 and has enabled Canadian companies to compete for large-scale contracts to help build the aircraft for the global supply chain.

Today, Bristol Aerospace in Winnipeg celebrated the opening of its new advanced composites manufacturing centre, which will house the production lines for parts as well as the assembly of the horizontal tail structure for the F-35.

This work at Bristol, we are told, will create 100 new jobs. Our government is proud to stand with Canadians and for the Canadian economy and the Canadian Forces.

We wish the opposition would stop fearmongering and support—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The hon. member for Acadie—Bathurst.

Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Mr. Speaker, according to the Minister of State for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, the positions being eliminated by the Conservatives within the agency do not constitute “reckless cuts”.

For months now, we keep hearing the Conservatives say that their priority is the economy, yet now they are making cuts to an agency that promotes the economy.

Can the minister tell us what he would call responsible cuts within the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency?

[Bernard Valcourt, Conservative, Minister of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency) (La Francophonie)]

Mr. Speaker, I am surprised, because I thought the NDP member from Atlantic Canada was going to rise to congratulate the government on its shipbuilding strategy, which will create thousands of jobs across the country.

This surprises me, but I want to reassure the member that the jobs that will be eliminated at the agency will not affect services to businesses and communities in Atlantic Canada, and that is what matters. Only the employees' union is complaining, while businesspeople and job creators continue to applaud us.

Auditor General

[Maria Mourani, Bloc, Ahuntsic, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in addition to opposing the Bloc Québécois's bill on the application of Bill 101 to companies under federal jurisdiction, the government, with the help of the NDP, appointed a unilingual anglophone judge to the Supreme Court. Now, the government is at it again with the appointment of an auditor general who does not speak French.

When will the Prime Minister respect our language, French, and stop treating Quebeckers like second-class citizens?

[Christian Paradis, Conservative, Minister of Industry and Minister of State (Agriculture)]

Mr. Speaker, as always, our government makes appointments based on merit, and the top priority is to provide Canadians with the best service.

Presence in Gallery

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

I wish to draw the attention of hon. members to the presence in the Ladies Gallery of Mr. Rick Hansen, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Man in Motion World Tour.

[Some hon. members]

Hear, hear!

Oral Questions

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I noted your admonition in question period, with respect to a question and my response. Certainly, in the presence of such an esteemed Canadian as Mr. Hansen, and out of respect for you and this House, I want to withdraw that word.

However, I did look the word up. “Goblin” refers to a small, mischievous supernatural creature that makes trouble for human beings.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

I thank the minister for his withdrawal. However, I would caution him that the comments that followed were certainly unhelpful.

I understand the hon. member for Ottawa—Orléans is also rising on a point of order.

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

Mr. Speaker, I understand that what we say here is covered by immunity, especially on this day when you had warned members on a few occasions about being careful regarding their language. I would invite you to look at the blues for the question that was asked by the member for Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte, where he, twice, attacked a very serious servant of this community.

As a former municipal councillor myself, I know how hard municipal servants work. This man across the way, probably in the noise of all the others from that third party, attacked the mayor of an Ontario municipality by calling him names. It was not a lapsus linguae. He did it twice.

I invite you, Mr. Speaker, respectfully, to read the blues.

[Gerry Byrne, Liberal, Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte, NL]

Mr. Speaker, no such attack occurred on any mayor.

In fact, the mayor of Huntsville was very forthcoming in providing information to this Parliament, to Canadians, through the Access to Information Act.

We have not been able to get much information out of the government quarters about anything related to the G8 summit and the spending therein. However, it has been noted that as a result of the exchange of information, the emails that were produced in accordance with the request that was put in through the Access to Information Act, we learned--

[Dean Del Mastro, Conservative, Peterborough, ON]

Just say sorry, Gerry.