Debates of Feb. 14th, 2011

Rights & Democracy

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the law provides for consultations with the leaders of the opposition parties. We complied with the provisions of the law and sent the opposition leaders correspondence informing them that we had decided to appoint these individuals, who have carried out their duties in a professional manner to date. Clearly, the government is going to reappoint them.

Foreign Affairs

[Jean Dorion, Bloc, Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it took less than 24 hours for Switzerland to freeze Mubarak's assets. Europe and Switzerland also dealt quickly with the assets of Tunisian dictator Ben Ali and his entourage. Members of the Ben Ali family have been in Canada for weeks now and we still do not know whether Canada has frozen their assets.

Is anyone in this government able to tell us whether or not Canada has frozen the assets of members of the Ben Ali entourage?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, there is a condition that needs to be met, as I have told my colleague many times: the request has to come from the Tunisian government. For example, in the case of Egypt, the request was made to the various countries my colleague mentioned. However, before we can take action, this request has to come from the Tunisian government. We have worked and continue to work closely with government authorities. My colleague, the Minister of Justice, is weighing all the options, and we will pursue this matter with the same intention I have already identified.

[Jean Dorion, Bloc, Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher, QC]

Mr. Speaker, these dictators are experts at tax evasion, and Canada is not doing anything about it. The more time passes, the greater the risk is that these assets are disappearing in tax havens, where they will be practically impossible to trace.

Does the government realize that by doing nothing, not only is it being complicit, but it is also abandoning the Tunisian people by preventing them from getting their hands on the money that was stolen from them?

[Lawrence Cannon, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, we are working with Tunisian government authorities to come up with a solution to freeze the assets of these people. I want to remind the hon. member that the goal is simply to ensure that we can support any initiative the Tunisian government might take.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Larry Bagnell, Liberal, Yukon, YT]

Mr. Speaker, this weekend, low-income northerners were shocked at massive price increases in food prices caused by the government's removal of subsidies.

Arctic Bay residents say that the price of shipping these foods to the poor, the vulnerable and the elderly has risen from 80¢ to $13 a kilogram, leaving the price of a Cranberry Cocktail at $38, Cheez Whiz at $29 and a whopping $77 for a bag of breaded chicken.

What is the government going to do to end the suffering it has caused?

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

The nutrition north program is not yet in effect and is already being blamed incorrectly for high prices. The nutrition north program has been renovated to ensure that the federal subsidy applies to healthy food, and the more remote the community the greater the subsidy.

In May of last year we announced the end of subsidies for non-food items, non-perishable foods and some perishable foods of little value nutritionally, effective in October to give retailers and the public the opportunity to use the sealift or other transportation.

In addition, we have a--

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order.

The hon. member for Yukon.

[Larry Bagnell, Liberal, Yukon, YT]

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to hear the member thinks cranberries, cheese and chicken are not nutritional.

The minister has not justified why he is putting the most vulnerable, the poor and the elderly through his horrendous cost-cutting situation.

He is right. The program has not come in to reduce the subsidies. However, the costs went up on October 1. He implemented that.

The Conservatives could only find $60 million for this program while they found $130 million for shameless, self-promotional advertising.

The vice-president of Northern stores says the air freight price has gone up 600% in some cases and is not likely to be offset by the minor 5% to 7%--

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order.

The hon. Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.

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

Mr. Speaker, the food mail program was in effect since the 1960s. The Liberal government never made any changes. It became very inefficient.

This is not a cost-cutting exercise. We are spending more than was ever spent under the Liberals. This program is designed to deliver healthy food to isolated communities. it will do a good job when it comes into effect.

National Defence

[Frank Valeriote, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is fighting his own defence minister to have one of only five Canadian Forces transport planes repainted white and red for exclusive VIP use.

One officer wrote:

...to have an Airbus permanently configured for VIP use in a colour other than the standard grey would have an impact both financially and on operations as essentially it would leave you with one less air resource.

Despite this warning, why is the Prime Minister insisting on having this plane repainted instead of deferring to the informed opinion of people at National Defence and his own defence minister?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the member has it wrong. There has been no decision taken with respect to the repainting of transport aircraft. In fact, the repainting of military assets occurs on a regularly scheduled, established maintenance cycle. It is done when the operational tempo will not be affected.

I can assure the hon. member and members present that we would never do anything that would interfere with the operations of the Canadian Forces, or that would negatively impact the forces in any way.

[Frank Valeriote, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is clear from access to information that the defence minister is wrong.

The defence minister has rejected the Prime Minister's attempt to repaint the aircraft at least three times and senior members of the Canadian Forces, including the Chief of the Defence Staff, also have rejected the idea. The Prime Minister's personal meddling is robbing the forces of a valuable air resource for his own personal vanity.

The Prime Minister ignored his defence minister before and it cost Canadians $300 million to move Camp Mirage.

When will the Prime Minister put the needs of our forces before his own ego?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, it is passing strange that a member of the Liberal Party would somehow hold himself out as a defender of the Canadian Forces; this from the party that gutted the Canadian Forces. It took assets away from the Canadian Forces when it needed them dearly going into Afghanistan. It cancelled the Sea King helicopter program at an expense of $1 billion.

Guess what? The Liberals are doing it again. They are promising to cancel the F-35, an aircraft critical for the protection of Canada's sovereignty. There are no lessons to be learned from the Liberals when it comes to the military.

The Economy

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Speaker, while the Conservative government is focusing on the economy, the real priority of Quebeckers, and continuing to support our families and businesses, the leader of the Bloc Québécois wants to trigger an election before even reading the budget.

Can the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Minister of State for Agriculture tell this House what the Conservative government has been doing recently for the economy in the regions of Quebec?

[Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Conservative, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Minister of State (Agriculture)]

Mr. Speaker, what government took action that helped to stimulate the economy and has fared the best among all G7 countries? The Conservative government.

What government took action that successfully created 450,000 jobs? Once again, the Conservative government.

And what government is closest to the regions of Quebec? Once again, the Conservative government.

And who has the nerve to vote against our budget measures? The Bloc Québécois, Mr. Speaker.

National Defence

[Jack Harris, NDP, St. John's East, NL]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister wants to commandeer a military transport jet for his personal use, complete with a stateroom and sleeping quarters. Yes, Mulroney's notorious flying Taj Mahal flies again.

Conservatives want an expensive makeover while needs suffer, like improved search and rescue, which goes begging while Conservatives tell fishermen to save themselves when lost at sea.

Our military says the Conservative plan is too expensive and would hurt operations.

Will the Prime Minister drop his airplane makeover vanity project, which is designed solely to enhance his image?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the member should press rewind and watch the tape. The answer is the same. It is not happening.

There is a regularly scheduled maintenance program that occurs when an aircraft is in need of repainting. There has been no decision taken with respect to that.

I can assure the hon. member and members present again, nothing this government will ever do is going to impact negatively on the forces and their operations, their families, the work they do that brings so much pride and purpose to our country. The forces have a great friend in the Conservative Party when it comes to giving them assets.

Shipbuilding Industry

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS]

Mr. Speaker, Britain's Under-Secretary of State for Defence is quoted as saying in the British House of Commons that they are having “close discussions with the Canadians” on a new global combat ship. These discussions have shipbuilders in this country very nervous.

Is the government having discussions with the British government regarding the new global combat ship? Will the government tell this House of Commons and all Canadians that all vessels for the Canadian military, now and in the future, can and will be built in Canada?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, the government made a historic announcement last year by committing to procure all of our ships here in Canada.

This is a massive undertaking that will provide 75 million man-hours of work to the shipbuilding industry in Canada, but the member voted against it anyway. I know the member's riding is very excited in Halifax, as are shipbuilders from coast to coast to coast.

Quebec City Arena

[Michel Guimond, Bloc, Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government is refusing to do its share for the Quebec City multi-purpose arena. According to a survey taken last weekend, 79% of those polled are in favour of federal funding for the arena.

Can the minister responsible for the Quebec region explain why her government has decided to disregard the will of Quebeckers? Will she make a decision only after the arena is built?

[Josée Verner, Conservative, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, our position has not changed. We are still waiting for a business plan indicating a substantial contribution by the private sector.

Allow me to read the following quote: “From the beginning, we have indicated our support for the arena, but always with the same expectation—and we are not the only ones—a contribution from the private sector. I believe that is imperative.”

That is a quote from Pauline Marois in the January 30 edition of Le Soleil.

[Michel Guimond, Bloc, Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have a quotation, too.

The current Minister of Finance, when he was a minister in the Ontario legislature, announced in a press release, “...four projects for priority action in support of Toronto's bid for the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games”, to which the federal government contributed $500 million.” Ten years later, Quebeckers are still contributing to this $500 million through their taxes.

Why are the reasons given to justify funding the Toronto bid not applicable to funding for the Quebec City arena. Is that fair?

[Josée Verner, Conservative, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to set the record straight.

I have been told by my fellow ministers that most of the investments made at that time were for the purpose of redeveloping the lakeshore.

Having said that, at this time, there is no possibility of making a bid for the 2022 Games. Nevertheless, our position remains the same, and we are waiting for a complete file from the mayor of Quebec City.