House of Commons Hansard #149 of the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was quebec.

Topics

EthicsOral Questions

11:35 a.m.

Liberal

Michael Ignatieff Liberal Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON

How do you know?

EthicsOral Questions

11:35 a.m.

Conservative

John Baird Conservative Ottawa West—Nepean, ON

Mr. Speaker, I know because the member has not talked of a single dollar. He has not been able to table a single document in the House. If the member has these facts, what is he afraid of? Why is he hiding this information from Canadians?

EthicsOral Questions

11:35 a.m.

Liberal

Bob Rae Liberal Toronto Centre, ON

Mr. Speaker, it seems that this is a day of Cs: a day of Carson, of contempt, of corruption and of Conservatives.

It is very clear that the government has not given us a clear answer with respect to Mr. Carson. It has not told us the truth with respect to Mr. Carson.

I can only say to the government House leader opposite, if there were no serious problem with respect to Mr. Carson's behaviour, then could he please explain why the RCMP was called in to do an investigation?

One has to be consistent in one's answers.

EthicsOral Questions

11:35 a.m.

Ottawa West—Nepean Ontario

Conservative

John Baird ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, as I said, unlike the Liberal Party when it was in government, when $40 million ended up in the pockets of the Liberal Party and Liberal operatives, not a single dollar has been suggested that has gone missing in this regard.

Serious allegations were brought forward to the government. We did the responsible thing and turned the matter over to the relevant authorities. That was the right thing.

Why will the Liberals not talk about jobs and the economy? Why do they always want to push high taxes that hurt Canadian families?

EthicsOral Questions

11:35 a.m.

Liberal

Bob Rae Liberal Toronto Centre, ON

Mr. Speaker, I do not know why the government House leader has such a hard time saying the word “RCMP”. The government would not have called in the RCMP unless it realized there was a serious problem.

Not only have the Conservatives done that, but they have also used the procedures committee to filibuster to stop the investigation on the Speaker's ruling with respect to the Minister of International Cooperation.

It is the four Cs: Carson, contempt, corruption and the Conservatives.

EthicsOral Questions

11:35 a.m.

Ottawa West—Nepean Ontario

Conservative

John Baird ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, on a personal level, I have great admiration and respect for the member from Toronto Centre, but this coalition is all about him. He has been in both of these parties. He has made coalition deals in the past. However, it is wrong to bring the Bloc into a coalition arrangement. Canadians do not like that and they do not respect that.

Why will the Liberal Party not be open and transparent? Why does it not tell Canadians, before they vote, if it is not prepared to accept the result of the next election?

Sales Tax HarmonizationOral Questions

11:35 a.m.

Bloc

Daniel Paillé Bloc Hochelaga, QC

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have chosen to deny Quebec $2.2 billion for harmonizing its tax more than 6,500 days ago. The Conservatives have chosen to ignore the choices and values that we set out in our budget expectations. The Conservatives have chosen to dismiss Quebec, telling it to wait its turn. In short, they are forcing an election at Quebec's expense.

Does the Prime Minister realize that if his government falls today, it is because he is refusing to treat Quebec fairly?

Sales Tax HarmonizationOral Questions

11:35 a.m.

Macleod Alberta

Conservative

Ted Menzies ConservativeMinister of State (Finance)

Mr. Speaker, the demands that we listen to are the demands that come from Canadians, demands that come from Quebeckers who want help for their seniors and who want to be able to stay home and be caregivers to their elderly relatives. That is what is in the budget.

We refuse to negotiate with the Bloc on anything. It has been here for 20 years. I do not know why we would even waste our time with it. However, we continue to negotiate with the Government of Quebec.

Sales Tax HarmonizationOral Questions

11:35 a.m.

Bloc

Daniel Paillé Bloc Hochelaga, QC

Mr. Speaker, nothing is keeping the government from paying Quebec what it is owed right now. The Conservatives are slinking off like thieves, without paying their debts: $2.2 billion for tax harmonization, $1.5 billion for equalization, $800 million for post-secondary education, and $137 million for stabilization payments. That adds up to more than $5 billion.

Can the Prime Minister wipe the oil sands from his eyes and pay Quebec? If his government falls, it is because he is refusing to pay Quebec what it is owed.

Sales Tax HarmonizationOral Questions

11:40 a.m.

Macleod Alberta

Conservative

Ted Menzies ConservativeMinister of State (Finance)

Mr. Speaker, transfer payments have never been higher to the people of Quebec, no thanks to the Bloc. We would like to continue our discussions with the Government of Quebec but. unfortunately. the Bloc has chosen, along with its coalition partners the Liberals and the NDP, to tell us that we cannot continue that. It wants to force an election.

We would like to continue governing and we would like to continue those negotiations.

Shipbuilding IndustryOral Questions

11:40 a.m.

Bloc

Christiane Gagnon Bloc Québec, QC

Mr. Speaker, instead of doing his job as an elected official and defending the interests of the Davie workers, the Conservative member for Lévis—Bellechasse has lambasted the shipyard, urging its administrators to find a serious investor. This is unbelievable.

While it is his government that is hurting Davie's recovery, he has the nerve to blame the shipyard's management.

How can the Conservative member for Lévis—Bellechasse and his government abandon the Davie workers like this? Have they written off the shipyard, just as they have written off Quebec?

Shipbuilding IndustryOral Questions

11:40 a.m.

Edmonton—Spruce Grove Alberta

Conservative

Rona Ambrose ConservativeMinister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women

Mr. Speaker, that is entirely false. In fact, it was the member for Lévis—Bellechasse who worked very hard last year to ensure that we were able to support a $270 million loan on behalf of the parent company, Davie, to keep it alive and keep jobs alive in this region.

The issue here is that Davie is insolvent. It has some very difficult financial issues. We are all hoping across the country that a shipyard of this magnitude and of this importance will find a buyer as soon as possible so it will be able to bid on the national shipbuilding strategy.

Shipbuilding IndustryOral Questions

11:40 a.m.

Bloc

Christiane Gagnon Bloc Québec, QC

Mr. Speaker, while Davie is simply asking for the opportunity to bid, the Conservatives changed the time frame, forcing bidders to prove their solvency 50 days before submitting their proposal. However, during negotiations, the government was talking about 30 days.

Why did the Conservatives tighten the requirements in the middle of the process, knowing very well that this would penalize the Lévis shipyard?

Shipbuilding IndustryOral Questions

11:40 a.m.

Edmonton—Spruce Grove Alberta

Conservative

Rona Ambrose ConservativeMinister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women

Mr. Speaker, in January, at the request of the shipyards, including the Davie shipyard, the time frame for the request for proposals was extended to 50 days, which gave all of the shipyards more time to prepare their bids. We gave an additional time frame of 30 days to shipyards that were changing ownership.

Let me be very clear: the change the Bloc member referred to actually gave the shipyards an additional 30 days to become solvent.

Government AppointmentsOral Questions

11:40 a.m.

Liberal

Francis Scarpaleggia Liberal Lac-Saint-Louis, QC

Mr. Speaker, last December 18, the Prime Minister gave Larry Smith a patronage appointment to the Senate. The Conservatives like that word. He was paid for almost two months before even stepping foot in the chamber. Since the day he was sworn in, he has done very little there. As a member of the official languages committee, for example, he attended zero out of five meetings.

Would the Prime Minister like to take the opportunity, on this last day of his government, to come clean and admit that Mr. Smith's patronage appointment was merely a manoeuvre to subsidize a Conservative candidate's election campaign?

Government AppointmentsOral Questions

11:40 a.m.

Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia Manitoba

Conservative

Steven Fletcher ConservativeMinister of State (Democratic Reform)

Mr. Speaker, all the appointees to the Senate are excellent and very well qualified Canadians. They have all agreed to our government's agenda of eight-year term limits. Also, we have legislation to encourage Senate elections.

What is disappointing is that the opposition coalition of Liberals, Bloc Québécois and NDP want to overturn the democratic rights of Canadians.

Government AppointmentsOral Questions

11:40 a.m.

Liberal

Francis Scarpaleggia Liberal Lac-Saint-Louis, QC

Mr. Speaker, on the radio, Mr. Smith claimed that the cost of the F-35s went from $16 billion to $30 billion because of inflation. That is quite the inflation rate.

Did the Minister of Finance suddenly change his forecasts because of inflation? Did the Governor of the Bank of Canada change his inflation targets or is Mr. Smith making this up?

Government AppointmentsOral Questions

11:45 a.m.

Central Nova Nova Scotia

Conservative

Peter MacKay ConservativeMinister of National Defence

Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. member is feeling the heat.

Let us consider one fact. The previous Liberal government actually spent more money on the development of the F-35s than the current Conservative government and yet we intend to buy it and they want to cancel it.

Does the Liberal Party really believe that we would invest millions of dollars into an aircraft to build it for other countries and not to buy it? I think it secretly would buy it.

However, the reality is that our government intends to support the men and women in uniform and give them the equipment they need to do the dangerous jobs we ask of them.

Government AccountabilityOral Questions

11:45 a.m.

Liberal

Marlene Jennings Liberal Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC

Mr. Speaker, two Conservative senators, Irving Gerstein and Doug Finley, are the very definition of Conservative insiders. Now they are facing jail time for election fraud.

As close advisors to the Prime Minister, they were in charge of every last dollar spent in the 2006 election. Clearly the Prime Minister keeps these fraudsters in his caucus because they had his full blessing for their election fraud.

How can Canadians trust a Prime Minister who holds our democratic elections in such contempt?

Government AccountabilityOral Questions

11:45 a.m.

Nepean—Carleton Ontario

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Party is holding democratic elections in contempt. It ignored the results of the last election when voters spoke and gave this party increased seats and increased votes. It formed a coalition with the Bloc Québécois and the NDP.

The Liberals have an opportunity now to support a low tax plan for jobs and growth. We have put forward that plan. The Canadian people support that plan. Why will they not rise with us today, put the country first and vote for that low tax plan?

Government AccountabilityOral Questions

11:45 a.m.

Liberal

Marlene Jennings Liberal Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC

Mr. Speaker, it is that party that has members under criminal investigations. It is that party that faces charges of electoral fraud and face jail time.

Mike Duffy, a colleague of Mr. Finley and Mr. Gerstein, has said that senators who face charges should have their senate salary docked. However, now that his Conservative friends face jail time, he is singing a different tune.

Why do the Conservatives think that they are better than every other Canadian? Why do the Conservatives think they are above the law?

Government AccountabilityOral Questions

11:45 a.m.

Nepean—Carleton Ontario

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs

Mr. Speaker, I do not know why that member thinks that her party is above the democratic process.

After the last election, which the Liberals lost, they then tried to overturn the result by forming a coalition with the Bloc Québécois and the NDP, a coalition that would dramatically raise job-killing taxes and destabilize our economy.

We have put forward a low tax plan for jobs and growth. It is the responsibility of every member of this House to support measures to improve our economy and bring about a great recovery. That is what we have done with our low tax plan. Why will the Liberals not support it?

The EconomyOral Questions

March 25th, 2011 / 11:45 a.m.

Conservative

Kelly Block Conservative Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar, SK

Mr. Speaker, since July 2009, Canada's economic action plan has helped create over 480,000 new jobs. We have had six straight quarters of economic growth and we have had one of the strongest fiscal positions in the G7.

Would the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development tell this House how our government is working to help keep our economic recovery on track?

The EconomyOral Questions

11:45 a.m.

Kenora Ontario

Conservative

Greg Rickford ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development

Mr. Speaker, our government was proud to introduce the recently tabled phase of Canada's economic action plan.

This budget includes a hiring credit for small businesses. It would reduce red tape. It would legislate permanent gas tax funding for municipalities and would allow for the construction of a cyclotron to produce medical isotopes in Thunder Bay.

However, the reckless coalition is trying to force an unnecessary and opportunistic election that will kill these important measures for northern Ontario and for Canada. That is unfortunate.

HealthOral Questions

11:45 a.m.

NDP

Megan Leslie NDP Halifax, NS

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Industry wrote to the unelected Conservative senators and directed them to kill the medicine for all or drugs for Africa bill despite the fact that Bill C-393 was passed by the majority of elected members of this House, including 26 Conservatives. The minister's contempt for democracy is appalling.

The Conservatives may be in the pockets of big pharma but Canadians did not elect big pharma. They also did not elect the Senate.

Why is the minister putting the interests of Conservative insiders and big pharma ahead of saving lives?