Debates of June 22nd, 2011

Afghanistan

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP has spent the last two years professing its concern for the treatment of Taliban prisoners. Yet, as soon as there was a process in place where it could examine thousands of documents, it immediately headed for the door. If the members were that worried about Taliban prisoners, I would have thought they would have shown up for work.

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

Mr. Speaker, almost two years have passed since the former Speaker of the House of Commons ordered the Conservatives to find some means of providing MPs with access to documents concerning allegations of torture of Afghan detainees, all the while bearing in mind national security issues.

One year after a lame committee was established, it seems that the government is preparing to table a boatload of documents that, unfortunately, are not available in both official languages.

How much time do they need to do the job properly?

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, that is exactly what we did. We put in place a process whereby their other colleagues in the opposition, the Bloc and the Liberals, examined thousands of documents over the months, but the NDP members did absolutely nothing.

NDP members say they are concerned about Taliban prisoners, but let us face it, with friends like the NDP who needs enemies.

Infrastructure

[Olivia Chow, NDP, Trinity—Spadina, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's bridges are falling down and the minister responsible is falling down on the job.

Four times in the last six months basketball-sized chunks of concrete have fallen down from Montreal's bridges near Champlain and Mercier, and just last Monday, a few days ago, from Toronto's Gardiner Expressway. It is a miracle that no one has been seriously injured.

Instead of cutting the infrastructure stimulus fund, why does this minister not do something to stop the concrete from falling down on innocent drivers and pedestrians?

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, like my colleague and the Leader of the Opposition, I was also in municipal politics. No government has ever put as much money into infrastructure to help municipalities across the country as this government. Our government has invested the most money to improve road networks, drinking water systems and waste water treatment. We will continue to do so.

[Jamie Nicholls, NDP, Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister can blame the provinces, or the cities, or even the Liberals, but the fact remains that this government has no long-term plan for maintaining and replacing Montreal's bridges.

Even worse, by reducing corporate taxes, it is mortgaging our ability to meet future needs.

The people of Montreal will suffer greatly this summer because of horrible bottlenecks.

What is the minister waiting for to take action?

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the new NDP member should know that investing $680 million in Montreal's bridges takes a plan and requires working with people who have carried out studies. It means investing in the right place, as we always do.

It is common knowledge that responsibility for managing city traffic rests with the municipal authorities. We will continue to ensure the safety of federal structures and do the required work.

[Hoang Mai, NDP, Brossard—La Prairie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, by investing only $228 million over three years on infrastructure in the greater Montreal region, the minister is clearly ignoring the crisis that people there are experiencing.

The Premier of Quebec was clear: the federal government must make a commitment now to replace the Champlain Bridge.

The studies have been done. The Government of Quebec is ready. Montreal and the south shore are ready.

What is the minister waiting for to announce a new bridge right now?

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. We cannot keep having standing ovations after every question. We will be here until 4 o'clock.

The hon. Minister of Transport.

[Denis Lebel, Conservative, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the preamble to the question is untrue. The $228 million in the budget we just passed, thanks to the Minister of Finance, is only for the bridges in Montreal. We have invested $600 million in Highway 30 alone. This highway will be ready in 2012, and it is our government that did the work.

G8 Summit

[John McCallum, Liberal, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the law is very clear that spending government money is “subject to there being an appropriation for the particular service”. The Auditor General was very clear that there was no appropriation for the service of building G8 gazebos. The money was supposed to be for border infrastructure.

If the government is so confident that it spent the money wisely, why does it not invite the Auditor General to do a value for money audit?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General, in releasing his report, said two things. He said there was no deliberate attempt to mislead Parliament. He also said that he did not know any law that had been broken.

The Auditor General did make some observations, which the government fully accepts, on how we can be more transparent and clearer to Parliament. We fully accept those recommendations and will adopt them on future initiatives.

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Speaker, let us try again.

During the G8 summit, $50 million that should have been used to reduce congestion at the borders was spent in the minister's riding. The Auditor General said that he had “not encountered” anything like that. This use of public funds is so controversial that the RCMP has decided to investigate.

Will the government ask the Auditor General to conduct a value for money audit?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the preamble to that question is in fact not true. That is not the case, the member's assertion and I would suspect she knows it is not true.

Public Safety

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Mr. Speaker, thousands of Canadians are not able to work because the RCMP does not have the resources to process criminal record checks in a timely fashion.

A company known as DASCH has 51 people waiting on criminal record checks alone. This is a company that serves Manitobans with disabilities.

The RCMP does not have the resources it needs in order to get the job done.

Will the government provide the resources necessary that would enable people to get back to work?

[Vic Toews, Conservative, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, we support law-abiding Canadians who selflessly give their time to coach, to volunteer with vulnerable groups, such as children, people who need to go to work.

That is why we are pleased to announce that live scan technology will reduce waiting times for these vulnerable sector checks. It is good news for volunteers, it is good news for employees, and it is good news for vulnerable Canadians who deserve the best protection possible.

The Environment

[Philip Toone, NDP, Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board requested an environmental assessment of the Old Harry deposit. The Minister of the Environment needs to do his job and let the people concerned have their say. The gulf is an important source of revenue for coastal communities.

Is the minister willing to set up a federal review panel to examine the impacts on the entire gulf?

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to ensuring that environmental effects of offshore oil and gas activities are considered so that these resources can be developed in a sustainable manner.

The minister received a request from the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board to refer the project to the review panel. The minister will consider this request and make a decision with respect to the next steps for the environmental assessment of this project.

[Fin Donnelly, NDP, New Westminster—Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, a shocking report came out yesterday warning our oceans are on the brink of unprecedented mass extinctions.

Climate change, pollution, over-fishing and habitat destruction have brought this on.

However, instead of protecting our oceans, the Conservatives are cutting over $56 million from the department's budget.

Will the minister reverse these cuts, immediately act on the report's recommendations and start protecting our oceans?

[Keith Ashfield, Conservative, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway]

Mr. Speaker, we are committed to responsibly managing Canada's oceans.

Our government has shown unprecedented leadership on this matter. As a matter of fact, we have invested in science as to better understand our oceans and have created new protected areas to conserve them, eight since 2006.

We are also pursuing protection status for an additional seven Oceans Act areas of interest, including three new areas announced on World Oceans Day.

Canada is actively involved internationally to ensure the adoption of science-based marine conservation programs by the United Nations and by various regional fisheries management organizations.

Libya

[Jack Layton, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, New Democrats proposed and secured amendments regarding the mission in Libya, including an increase in humanitarian aid and that there would be a focus on strengthening our diplomatic role.

The House also made it very clear that the UN mandate would focus on protecting civilians, as the UN calls for, and working toward a ceasefire.

In light of the Italian foreign minister's call for an immediate suspension of hostilities to establish humanitarian corridors to deliver that aid, can the Prime Minister tell us if he has been in contact with our Italian allies to work toward that kind of a ceasefire?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I spoke to Prime Minister Berlusconi at the G8 and I know that our governments have been in contact since. Obviously we would like to see opportunities to deliver humanitarian aid.

To this point the Gadhafi regime has been unwilling to stop its attacks on certain areas of the country. We would urge it to do so.

[Jack Layton, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, it is critical that the people of Libya receive humanitarian aid. For that to happen quickly, it is essential that a ceasefire, even a temporary one, be called.

What concrete action has this government taken to ensure that humanitarian aid is actually getting to the Libyan people? What aid has Canada given to Libyan civilians to date?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, this government has contributed to international humanitarian efforts in Libya. However, it is sometimes impossible to deliver this aid to certain areas of the country because Gadhafi's military is attacking the Libyan people. We urge the Libyan government to stop these attacks on its own people.