House of Commons Hansard #24 of the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was senators.
Leona Aglukkaq ConservativeMinister of Health and Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency
Mr. Speaker, as I stated earlier, our government believes that spending more money on treatment and support to help people get off drugs is the best investment we can make.
As I also said earlier, we will be reviewing the decision. In fairness, the decision was made two hours ago. I stated that we will be reviewing it, and we will be reviewing it.
Anne Minh-Thu Quach NDP Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Supreme Court's unanimous ruling is clear. Insite saves lives without compromising public safety. Nonetheless, instead of looking at the facts and scientific studies, this government has spent years in court, at the taxpayers' expense, trying to shut down the Insite clinic.
Will this government finally put aside its ideology and act in the best interest of the health and public safety of all Canadians?
Leona Aglukkaq ConservativeMinister of Health and Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency
Mr. Speaker, as I stated earlier, we are disappointed with the decision but we will comply. I also stated earlier that we believe the system should be focused on preventing people from becoming drug addicts in the first place.
The key pillar of our national anti-drug strategy is prevention and treatment for those with drug dependencies.
I said earlier that we will be reviewing the Supreme Court decision, and we will be doing that.
Scott Simms Liberal Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL
Mr. Speaker, I read the news this morning and took delight in what I saw. It was basically a bad Austin Powers movie in which I saw Dr. Evil and Goldmember deciding how to order around government resources.
What possesses the Minister of Foreign Affairs to actually order around Treasury Board as such?
The irony is that the Conservatives just put forward a private member's bill in the House frowning on getting rid of the flag or the word “Canada”, and that is exactly what he just did.
Would the hon. Goldmember please rise and answer to this?
John Baird ConservativeMinister of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to inform the member and pleased to inform the House that the word “Canada” is on my business card.
John McKay Liberal Scarborough—Guildwood, ON
Mr. Speaker, it is bad enough that the defence minister has become a frequent flyer, abusing both government jets and search and rescue helicopters, but it is completely unacceptable that the Prime Minister uses our courageous men and women of the armed forces to justify that minister's abuse.
Repatriation ceremonies are planned days in advance. It is no wonder he is so “highly regarded”. He is on the frequent flyer program.
How can other ministers manage to use commercial flights, while that minister uses the government fleet as his own personal airline?
Peter Van Loan ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, the attendance at ceremonies for the repatriation of soldiers who have fallen in Afghanistan is a serious affair. They are not planned well in advance. Obviously, they are a product of unfortunate events abroad.
The Minister of National Defence has felt it important to attend those ceremonies. The use of government jets by him, notwithstanding that those events did not occur so much in the past under the Liberal government, has still been significantly lower than that of the Liberal government.
In 2004-2005, from August to August, the member for Wascana used government jets for 135 hours. By comparison, in 2010, the entire Conservative cabinet used them for 136 hours, almost exactly the same amount.
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Minister of the Environment suggested that I do my own research instead of listening to the media.
Did the minister do his own research and consult with scientists about the impact of his proposed cuts to ozone research?
If the minister doubts the reports of an international witch hunt in the media, will he either unmuzzle his scientists or at least state that there will be no cuts to the ozone monitoring network?
Michelle Rempel ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, the minister and myself have said repeatedly in the House that we are not cutting our ozone monitoring program. We will continue to monitor ozone. I invite the member opposite to review those statements as well.
Olivia Chow NDP Trinity—Spadina, ON
Mr. Speaker, Canadians spend, on average, 75 minutes a day getting to work, which is 32 working days a year. Days wasted being stuck in traffic is costing the economy $5 billion a year. Traffic gridlock and crumbling roads are all around us and Canada is the only G8 country without a national transit strategy.
Does the minister agree with me that Canada is falling behind on public transit?
Denis Lebel ConservativeMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, I have to correct the facts. Like all other G8 countries, Canada assigns responsibility for public transit to the provinces and municipalities.
Since 2006, we have invested $5 billion into public transit across Canada, and we will continue to do that.
Olivia Chow NDP Trinity—Spadina, ON
Mr. Speaker, it is time to get Canada moving. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities, big city mayors, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Urban Transit Authority have all been calling for a national transit strategy.
My bill sets a plan for all levels of government to work together to establish a national vision for public transit.
Will the government get Canada moving and join together with the New Democrats to finally establish a national transit plan?
Denis Lebel ConservativeMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, our Conservative government recognizes the value of modern and efficient urban transit. We have been a strong partner with the provinces and municipalities to help them build some of the best transit systems in the world. However, it is not the role of the federal government to tell cities how to run their transit systems.
Isabelle Morin NDP Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC
Mr. Speaker, in all of the country's major cities, workers are encountering frustrating traffic congestion every day. Our road infrastructure is crumbling. In Montreal, people are afraid to cross the Champlain Bridge. In Toronto, there is no longer any such thing as rush hour; every hour of the day and night is rush hour.
Is the government going to respond to the unanimous demands of cities and business people and provide public transit that is reliable, accessible and affordable?
Denis Lebel ConservativeMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, never in the history of this country has a government invested more in the development and repair of infrastructure than this government has. We have invested a significant amount of money in the Toronto Rocket project in the greater Toronto area, among other things.
What has the NDP done? Today, they will talk the talk but then, when it comes time to act, they vote against the projects.
Isabelle Morin NDP Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities can try to defend himself, but Canada is still the only G8 country that does not have a public transit strategy. There are needs in every major Canadian city. The mayors of these big cities have been asking for a public transit strategy since 2007. I believe that the Conservatives were elected in 2007.
When will this government listen to the needs of the people of Canada and provide an accessible public transit system?
Denis Lebel ConservativeMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, I disagree with the hon. member's preamble. Canada, like all G8 countries, lets the municipal and provincial governments handle public transit in all areas of the country.
In any case, her party wants to centralize everything in Ottawa. On our side, we think that municipal and provincial representatives are much more aware of the needs of their people and that we, here in Ottawa, are not in the best position to tell Montreal, Quebec City, Toronto or Vancouver what is right for their municipalities.
Russ Hiebert Conservative South Surrey—White Rock—Cloverdale, BC
Mr. Speaker, our government's national anti-drug strategy aims to prevent Canadians from starting to take drugs and to provide treatment for those with drug dependencies.
This morning, the Supreme Court of Canada rendered a decision that may have an impact on those with drug dependencies.
I wonder if the Minister of Health would like to provide further comment to the House on that decision.
Leona Aglukkaq ConservativeMinister of Health and Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency
Mr. Speaker, as I stated earlier, although we are disappointed with the Supreme Court of Canada's decision this morning, we will comply.
We have always believed that the system should be focused on preventing people from becoming drug addicts in the first place. Our government believes that spending more money on treatment and on support for individuals to get the help they need to get off drugs is the best investment we can provide to Canadians.
As part of that strategy, we have made significant investments to strengthen existing treatment efforts through the treatment action plan.
Andrew Cash NDP Davenport, ON
Mr. Speaker, it has been 113 days and still no response from the Muskoka minister--
Andrew Cash NDP Davenport, ON
Mr. Speaker, the President of the Treasury Board is responsible for implementing the rules on access to information, but here he is conducting government business on the side from his personal Blackberry account so that he can cover his tracks.
Why is the minister using every trick in the book to hide? Why will he not agree to be accountable in the House?
