Debates of April 17th, 2013

Natural Resources

[Joe Oliver, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, I am really surprised that this member would repeat the ridiculous question that was asked during the hearing yesterday and take up the time of the hon. members attending the session.

We are committed to a robust National Energy Board review and every person with a direct interest must be heard by the NEB, and everyone with relevant expertise may be heard. This is consistent with the public policy objectives. Any other individuals who want to be heard can of course make their views known to their member of Parliament.

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there is no such thing as a ridiculous question, but there certainly are some ridiculous answers and they are coming from that minister over there.

Let us try again. Can he explain his advice to Canadians?

...refer to the Board’s Guidance Document on Section 55.2 and Participation in a Facilities Hearing attached to the Hearing Order OH-002-2013 as Appendix VI, and again as Appendix III of Procedural Update No. 1 for OH-002...

Now is that clear? Well—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. The hon. member is out of time.

The hon. Minister of Natural Resources.

[Joe Oliver, Conservative, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, anyone with a direct interest in a hearing can, by looking at three pages, fill out that form in five to ten minutes without getting mired in the detail that the member opposite would like to perpetrate.

However, let me just say that there is an implication of muzzling, and all this talk of muzzling reminds me of the NDP leader's muzzling of the embattled socialist majority of his party. Why not “let a thousand flowers bloom”?

The Environment

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is obvious the minister is mired and he expects Canadians to figure it out on their own, when he could not understand the forms even with an entire department helping him. On top of that, the minister has not retracted his comments denying climate change. He said, “I think that people aren't as worried as they were before about global warming of two degrees...scientists have recently told us that our fears (on climate change) are exaggerated.” Unbelievable.

Is it appropriate for the Minister of Natural Resources of a G8 country to be a climate-change denier?

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, our government takes very seriously the reality and the science of climate change. That is why we are taking urgent sector-by-sector regulatory action to reduce GHGs.

This House will recall that under the previous Liberal government GHG emissions grew by over 30%. By their incoherent and costly proposed policies, there is no reason to expect that the New Democrats would do any better. I remind this House again, this is the first Canadian government to actually reduce GHGs.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the minister is doing a fine job of re-clarifying the denial of his colleague's retraction.

The Minister of Natural Resources said that he and Canadians are not worried about global warming of two degrees. The editor-in-chief of the newspaper that reported these comments responded that the minister's ignorance was astounding. Global warming of two degrees marks the point of no return.

Why is the minister claiming that the threat of climate change is exaggerated?

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, that answer has been offered to the previous member, but I would remind the opposition of budget 2013 and all of the good environmental news that is contained therein: strengthening the Meteorological Service of Canada by fully one quarter of a billion dollars, supporting clean technologies, supporting the Nature Conservancy of Canada, and new tax support for clean energy generation.

I would urge my colleagues on the other side of the House to support this budget.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, this is very simple. The minister told a newspaper that he is not concerned about a 2° Celsius increase in global temperatures and to back that up he attributed comments to scientists who do not exist. Since then he has proudly stood by his comments and his imaginary science.

This is about the future of our planet. Will the Minister of Natural Resources acknowledge that a 2° increase in global temperatures will cause feedback effects that cannot be reversed, yes or no?

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Again, Mr. Speaker, I would reiterate that our government clearly and tangibly takes very seriously both the reality and the science of climate change and that is why we are achieving through our sector-by-sector regulatory approach, by investing in adaptation as well as mitigation. We are taking very seriously climate change where past Liberal governments have not and there is no indication that the NDP through its proposed $21 billion carbon tax, which would go into general revenues, would reduce a single megaton of GHGs.

Taxation

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government is inconsistent. It is bragging about lowering certain tariffs, but at the same time it refuses to acknowledge that the increased tariffs on hundreds of products will mean more than $300 million in additional taxes per year.

Unlike what this government would have us believe, foreign companies are not the ones who will have to pay these additional taxes. Canadian consumers will.

Why not simply cancel this tax on the middle class?

[Ted Menzies, Conservative, Minister of State (Finance)]

Mr. Speaker, obviously the Liberals do not understand and do not support tax reductions that we have put in every successive budget since we formed government. We continue to reduce taxes while the Liberals and the NDP want to create special breaks for companies that are operating in China and India. We will continue to stand up for Canadians. We will continue to reduce their taxes and pay no attention to what the Liberals and the NDP want to do.

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the government is conveniently in denial about its hidden tax hike on thousands of everyday items. It is middle-class Canadians who are being hit hardest by these price increases and parents are paying more now for school supplies, for playpens, and even bicycles.

Could the Minister of Finance explain why, and could he explain why he is hitting small businesses and our border towns by sending their customers across the border to shop in the U.S.? The government should admit these are tax hikes, apologize, and cancel them.

[Ted Menzies, Conservative, Minister of State (Finance)]

Mr. Speaker, it is very interesting that the Liberal Party members oppose every tax reduction that we have put in place, from reducing the GST from 7%, to 6%, to 5% and they stand in the House and want special services to be brought in from these different countries. These are competitive countries. We would rather that Canadian companies be able to compete internationally. We would hope that the opposition would kindly understand that.

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, these taxes are not hurting China, they are hurting middle-class Canadian families. Yesterday, the Bank of Canada joined with the IMF in downgrading the Canadian economy. This is after Canada lost 55,000 jobs just last month. Yet the Conservatives are hiking taxes on everything from toothbrushes to kids' bikes. With the economy getting weaker and with it becoming even more difficult for Canadians to make ends meet, why are the Conservatives attacking middle-class Canadian families with higher taxes?

[Ted Menzies, Conservative, Minister of State (Finance)]

Mr. Speaker, the question should be: Why do the Liberals want to give a special break to companies that are operating in China and India?

We need to remember what the IMF said just yesterday and that is, “...Canada is in an enviable position....The policies that are being deployed are, in our minds, broadly appropriate...” In fact, the Bank of Canada, if the hon. member had read the budget, knows those GDP growth numbers are in line with what is in the budget.

International Trade

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Europeans have asked that any new trade agreement signed with Canada include major changes to our system for the protection of intellectual property, which would raise the cost of medications by about $2.8 billion.

However, last week, the Europeans announced that they had dropped this demand in their trade negotiations with India.

Can the Minister of International Trade confirm that Canada will receive the same treatment?

[Gerald Keddy, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, I may not have heard all of the question. The member started out on the CETA with the European Union and then started talking about a free trade agreement with India. I am not quite certain which answer she would like. We will negotiate both agreements in the best interests of Canadians.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in 2015 Canadians look forward to rejecting the premise of the government.

Let me clarify this for the hon. member. The fact is, Canada already has one of the strongest patent protection regimes in the world. There is no justification for acceding to European demands. In tough economic times the last thing we need is Conservatives negotiating a trade deal that would benefit large European pharmaceutical companies at the expense of Canadian seniors. India stood up to the pressure and Europe dropped its demands.

Will the minister commit to doing the same for Canadian seniors?

[Gerald Keddy, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, you have to ask yourself a question. Why would the NDP--

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[Gerald Keddy, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margaret's, NS]

Because we speak through you, Mr. Speaker.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[Gerald Keddy, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margaret's, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I ask myself the question, and I am sure every member in the House does, why does the NDP consistently--