Debates of April 24th, 2013

Foreign Affairs

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it was a lockout in 2011. All the Conservatives had to do was make a phone call and the labour dispute would have ended.

On Monday, Qatar announced a proposal to move the International Civil Aviation Organization from Montreal to Doha. ICAO is a powerful international organization that is vital to the city of Montreal.

After the fiasco with the UN Security Council seat and the ludicrous decision to pull out of the UN convention to combat desertification, will Montreal pay the price for the Conservatives' indifference?

How are the Conservatives planning on keeping ICAO in Montreal, in Quebec, in Canada?

[Deepak Obhrai, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, our government is working very hard to keep the ICAO in Montreal. The minister is personally ready, willing and keen to work with the Government of Quebec and the City of Montreal to keep ICAO in such a world-class city as Montreal.

We have reached an agreement with ICAO that is good for all involved. That is why it was supported by the ICAO council. We believe the presence of its headquarters in Montreal represents an economic benefit of more than $100 million each year.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, there is a never-ending list of bad Conservative decisions that could cost us dearly. It includes Canada's decision to pull out of the Kyoto protocol and the Prime Minister's decision to deliberately skip a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly.

In its sales pitch, Qatar offered to construct a new building, cited the difficulty delegates have obtaining Canadian visas and mentioned that diplomats are very unhappy with the services provided. We have a problem.

I will ask again. What is the Conservative government's strategy for keeping ICAO in Montreal and attracting new international institutions?

[Deepak Obhrai, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I am going to tell the hon. member again that the presence of the headquarters in Montreal is very important for Canada, and we are working very hard to keep ICAO in Montreal.

The minister is personally ready and willing and keen to work with the Government of Quebec and the City of Montreal to keep ICAO in such a world-class city. As a matter of fact, the Minister of Foreign Affairs has spoken to the Prime Minister of Qatar twice in the last two days on this issue. We will continue working very hard to keep ICAO in Montreal.

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Thank you for recognizing me, Mr. Speaker.

My question is for the Prime Minister. I would like to touch on ICAO again. Qatar is clearly mounting a shameless offensive. They are obviously willing to do whatever they can to get ICAO out of Montreal.

Has the Prime Minister struck an interdepartmental committee to address this situation? Who is really in charge of this file? Has he worked with his ministers—immigration, revenue, finance, foreign affairs—to fix this? There is too much at stake for Montreal.

[Deepak Obhrai, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I will only agree on one thing that he said. ICAO staying in Montreal is very important for Canada.

That is the reason the minister is personally ready and willing to work with the Government of Quebec and the City of Montreal to keep ICAO in such a world-class city. We will do everything we can. In fact, the Minister of Foreign Affairs has spoken to the Prime Minister of Qatar twice in the last two days about this issue.

Let me say again, once more, that we will work very hard to keep ICAO in Montreal.

Agriculture and Agri-Food

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, if people are disposing of any business, they will get more for it if they sell it in good shape as a going concern, rather than dumping the assets in a fire sale.

Well-respected western organizations are trying to avoid a hasty fire sale of the federal tree farm at Indian Head, Saskatchewan. They want it to service prairie agriculture for a long time into the future.

They ask only that the government ensure the tree farm's full operation through 2013, protecting its integrity and value so it can be properly transferred as a viable business in 2014.

Will the minister agree?

[Gerry Ritz, Conservative, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate the member for Wascana is several months behind on this file.

We have done exactly that. I have had meetings, face to face, with APAS members. I have had other interventions from other groups that are interested in picking up the facility. We have offered it on two or three different levels to two or three different competitors. There is quite a demand for it.

We have also said we will continue to run it through 2013, and that is exactly what we intend to do.

National Defence

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians might be wondering what the Minister of National Defence's record was on spending before he was the minister.

We went and checked. Lo and behold, it turns out he repeatedly voted against the military.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

No, no, it is true. In 2004, he voted against $792 million for military operations in capital. He voted against $17 million for the St. Anne's veterans hospital and against $600,000 for war veterans.

Can the minister not see through his own tortured logic so that he can finally admit that MPs can be opposed to his government's agenda and still support Canada's military?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, it is somewhat passing strange to hear members of the NDP defending the Liberal decade of darkness.

What I voted against and what many Conservatives voted against when we were in opposition was the unmitigated disaster that was the Liberal Party and the dismantling of the Canadian Forces.

What we have seen as a government is unprecedented investment in the Canadian Forces, improved morale, new equipment, and investments in bases and programs. This member and his party have been against all of those.

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, his answer to the decade of darkness was to cut danger pay to our troops in Afghanistan—fascinating.

He also voted against $6.3 million for a Canadian Forces health information system, against $2 million to upgrade the Goose Bay airfield, against $22 million for disability pensions and against $49 million for public security and anti-terrorism measures—fascinating.

I could do this all day, but I will allow the minister one more opportunity. He must now understand that we can hold the government to account, vote against its bad budgets and support our brave men and women.

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, let me get this straight. This member is now suggesting that because, while in opposition, this NDP government continues to oppose the unprecedented and—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. I have asked several times for the members to wait until the minister is finished answering the question. Then they can applaud.

The hon. Minister of National Defence.

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Central Nova, NS]

While in opposition, while they are continuing to oppose these unprecedented investments in the Canadian Forces, somehow this justifies their ongoing resistance to investments in programs, in equipment, in personnel. Somehow that twisted logic justifies their opposition to all of the wonderful things we have done for the Canadian Forces.

Justice

[Scott Armstrong, Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to express our sincerest condolences to the family of Rehtaeh Parsons for the tragic loss of their daughter. There is no greater loss any parents can experience than that of their child.

This week, we welcomed Rehtaeh's family to hear about their daughter's life and what the federal government can do to prevent such tragedies from happening in the future. Can the Minister of National Defence and Regional Minister for Nova Scotia please update this House on the work being undertaken by this government to strengthen Canada's criminal laws?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. friend from Nova Scotia for that timely and important question. I can speak for members here in the House when I say, again, that our hearts and prayers are with the family and friends of Rehtaeh Parsons as they cope with this tragic loss of their beloved daughter, Rehtaeh.

Our Minister of Justice is currently meeting with provincial ministers of justice. He has asked that an expedited review of the Criminal Code occur in order to identify gaps related to the non-consensual distribution of intimate images. As the Prime Minister has said, and his members present have repeated, this case goes well beyond bullying. What is being alleged is criminal, and our government will continue to push forward with our practical and comprehensive justice reviews.

We have all known a Rehtaeh. Some have been a Rehtaeh. The pain has to stop.

Agriculture

[Frank Valeriote, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have gathered across the country expressing their concerns about Roundup Ready alfalfa. A pervasive crop spread by pollination, GMO alfalfa rightly has organic and non-organic farmers alike concerned that cross-contamination will compromise organic integrity and affect international markets not open to GMOs.

Will the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food undertake a study on the impact of GM alfalfa, and will he place a moratorium on its release until its results are known publicly?

[Gerry Ritz, Conservative, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board]

Mr. Speaker, it is too bad the member for Guelph was not here in 2005 when his counterparts actually did this without those types of studies being done. It was the Liberal government in 2005 that first authorized trials for Roundup Ready alfalfa.

We, as a government, continue to rely on the sound science that will allow this type of product to be introduced, or not. It will be based on a scientific decision, not on a partisan political decision. Farmers ultimately will decide whether they will grow this crop. Certainly we take the concerns to heart, but at the end of the day, it will be science rulings that will carry the day.

Quebec City Artifacts

[Denis Blanchette, NDP, Louis-Hébert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after 43 Parks Canada employees were laid off, some five million artifacts are still being stored improperly. For nearly a year now, we have been asking the Conservatives about this utter mismanagement of artifacts in the Parks Canada heritage collection. They still have done nothing to rectify the situation. Yet the minister did tell the House that he had begun a dialogue with Quebec's minister of culture at the time.

What happened to that dialogue? When will the artifacts be stored properly in Quebec City?

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, I can assure my hon. colleague—again today, the same as last year—that the Quebec collection will remain in Quebec. The collection of historical artifacts, which Parks Canada will continue to preserve, manage and present, will remain available to institutions, communities, organizations and researchers.

Our government fully recognizes the cultural and historic importance of these objects.

National Defence

[Ryan Leef, Conservative, Yukon, YT]

Mr. Speaker, since the government of Prime Minister Diefenbaker, no other government has done as much as we have to promote and protect Canada's sovereignty in the north. We have and continue to make key investments in our troops to ensure that they have the equipment and training they need to operate successfully in Canada's north.

Operation Nunalivut has just concluded in the high north. Can the Minister of National Defence please provide the House with an update on whether this operation can be considered a success?

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, Operation Nunalivut is concluding today. It is one of our major sovereignty exercises conducted by the Canadian Armed Forces to ensure our readiness and our protection and projection of Canadian values and interests in the north.

This year's successful exercise took place in the northwest portion of the Arctic Archipelago. It included long-range patrols by air, land and sea ice. The operation demonstrated that the Canadian Armed Forces are more than ready and able to take on the many challenges of operating in the High Arctic.

I would like to congratulate all members of the Canadian Armed Forces and their families for taking part in this exercise, and especially our Canadian Rangers, whose unique knowledge and ability makes them so effective in protecting the Arctic.