Dan McTeague

[June 7th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, consistent with the issue of poverty, I want to point out that I have asked the Minister of Natural Resources to clarify why his party did an about face within a very short period of time. It accepted Bill C-66, which extended the EnerGuide program to help individuals, particularly those on low incomes and seniors, like my constituent Maggie Robertson who, over a month after the announcement was made, had been told she would not be eligible for the program as a result of a cut in the budget. It has still not been confirmed whether she has in fact received this.

I find it unacceptable that a government that campaigned on transparency and accountability would be so callous as to axe the EnerGuide program for low income households of $550 million as well as deep cuts to the EnerGuide house retrofit incentive program.

It is important for people to understand that this is not just a question of helping people make the updates that are good for them in terms of bringing their costs down as a result of energy costs that are spiralling out of control. It is also about putting these individuals in a position where they can actually contribute to reducing greenhouse gases and to try to find ways in which to help Canadians who have done so much to build this nation.

It seems to me that for the minister to somehow suggest that because of the audit process being some 50%, which it is not--it is 12%--that we should not have some kind of accountability to measure what is being invested, is, in my view, an abdication of the government's responsibility to taxpayers.

I am waiting for the Minister of Natural Resources to tell the House if he is prepared to live up to the commitment and tell Canadians why, in the first instance, he broke a promise and why he was not prepared to stand up for Canadians and, despite the unanimous consent of the hon. members in the Conservative Party, why the government felt it was important to cut this program.

I have more items I would like to introduce which go hand in hand with the 85¢ a litre and the cut in the GST but I will give the Minister of Natural Resources or his representative, the hon. parliamentary secretary, the opportunity to answer. I think they have some explaining to do and they have to explain that to the 150,000 Canadians who are basically left in the dark and left in the cold.

[DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE ACCOUNTABILITY ACT, June 7th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I want to echo the comments made by colleagues in the House in support of what is a very important initiative, an initiative that I believe unites Canada in a common purpose and focuses in an accountable and transparent way its aid development around the world.

I thank the hon. member and my colleague, who once shared part of my riding or I shared part of his, the member for Scarborough—Guildwood. He has taken a very important step toward focusing Parliament toward commitments that have been made, not only by colleagues in my party, but very clearly, as suggested by the hon. member for Halifax and earlier by the member himself, by Parliament. Parliament should proceed at the earliest opportunity.

Based on the letter from February 17, 2005, all three then opposition leaders, now one Prime Minister and two opposition leaders, made it abundantly clear where they stood on ensuring that CIDA moneys were focused on poverty elimination. It is not lost on Canadians, on civil society and on the efforts made in the past that on this day alone one-third of the people who will die in this world will die as a result of poverty, the result of neglect and starvation.

It is extremely important that Canadians understand what this debate is about. It is not at this stage increasing the funding. It is targeting the funding.

I also want to compliment not only my colleague, the member for Scarborough—Guildwood, but also the hon. member for Halifax who quite rightly, in what was a tornado of events in June 2005, brought Parliament together to ensure that the government and Parliament would agree to the target of .07% in terms of our obligations of international development. We know where this Parliament stands.

I want to point out that the letter was signed by the leader of the Bloc Québécois, who is still here, the leader of the New Democratic Party, who is still here and the leader of the opposition of the Conservative Party, who is now Prime Minister. There are two points that the now Prime Minister, then opposition leader, made. I will read this into the record.

We are writing to urge you to introduce legislation which establishes poverty reduction as the aim for Canada's Official Development Assistance (ODA). A legislated mandate for Canada's ODA would ensure that aid is provided in a manner both consistent with Canada's human rights obligations and respectful of the perspectives of those living in poverty.

To reiterate that, the Prime Minister also said:

We are not however simply urging more dollars be spent. Those dollars must also be spent effectively and in ways ensuring more accountability. In our view, this legislation should include an unequivocal statement of purpose that poverty reduction is the central lens through which Canada's aid program should be delivered.

That does not just bind us in the House of Commons. I respectfully submit that it binds the Prime Minister. Regardless of the procedural tactics not to deal with this and concerns about who is going to handle this or that, I can tell the hon. parliamentary secretary this. He sat on the same foreign affairs committee that recommended this a little earlier and he is now the parliamentary secretary responsible for CIDA. He will remember the RADARSAT issue in which we could not figure out who would be responsible for making decisions.

Those are decisions that could be made with the expertise that we have in committee and the engagement of civil society and of witnesses. it seems to me to be abundantly clear and plain to everybody who is listening today that all parties have agreed in one form or another to the need to pass the bill. It is my view that the initiative by the member, supported by so many members of the House of Commons and now supported by the right hon. Prime Minister, make it incumbent on the Prime Minister to accept this.

However, let me go one step further. The Conservative Party in a number of initiatives agreed, not only obviously with their leader, but if I am not mistaken with their own policy platform, their resolution of March 2005, a mere month after. I know many hon. colleagues in the Conservative Party, who are here today, will remember that they voted for the following:

A Conservative Government will introduce legislation that will...define a legal framework for Canada’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) envelope of spending. This legislation will include a clear mandate for development assistance; mechanisms for policy coherence, monitoring, accountability and reporting to Parliament; and enhanced public transparency.

We are not debating that. We agree with that, but we find now that the Conservative parliamentary secretary has argued against himself, not only against the wisdom of his leader, who is now Prime Minister, but apparently against the convention of his own party.

I would suggest that as opposed to simply pointing fingers, we could get a whole lot more done if Parliament were prepared here and now--I am not going to do it, but I want acknowledgement from hon. members--to refer this to the committee immediately. We are allowing this to go an hour in a month and another hour in another month, and we may not even get to this until November. Who do we betray? Who do we hurt? We are hurting people who know that one of the strongest elements of how Canada presents itself in the world is with respect to how it treats the most vulnerable people, regardless of their credo, their nation and their circumstances.

We cannot do everything. It has become abundantly clear, certainly in my time in foreign affairs, that our greatest talents, our greatest efforts, and ones which we are greatly acknowledged for, lie in our ability to help the people in the world who are vulnerable, regardless of their circumstances, and who, through no fault of their own, may very well die today or in the next few days, poverty being the basis on which other diseases and problems occur.

It seems to me that Parliament must debate but it must also act. The wisdom provided by my hon. colleague, the member for Scarborough—Guildwood, cannot be gainsaid. I think we all have an obligation to remind Canadians of the things we want to accomplish. Considering the spirit of the bill, not only is it about focusing, but it is also about transparency, accountability and input from the NGOs and organizations that do so much.

We can obviously take time to amend this bill in committee, as that is of course the purpose of committee, but I would launch a challenge to all members of Parliament to find it within themselves to see this bill for what it is. It is a true testament to an issue whose time has come, not in terms of engagement of hostilities but in fact to offer to the rest of the world, as some other leading nations are today, the issue of putting a priority on the reduction of poverty first.

Not nine months ago, Parliament did indeed do that. Regardless of the political circumstances that existed at the time, we made it abundantly clear on all sides of the House that it was important, thanks in many measures to the member for Halifax, to support a resolution to ensure that we look at global poverty reduction but that Canada also respect its commitment.

As for working in the department, I understand that there may be concerns about protecting certain interests within the department and having the flexibility of saying that we use CIDA to obtain different policies which might have the effect of furthering Canada's interests. One person talked to me a little earlier about the questions of security. Some talked to us about questions of Canada's priorities, which have nothing to do with poverty reduction or security, necessarily, but which might somehow encumber the government in terms of its flexibility.

I realize that this is an important imperative, but it is not an imperative that stands in the face of dying children and people who, through no fault of their own today, by the misfortune of living in another part of the world as a result of war or strife, or as a result of nations that fail to protect people's human rights and dignity, are left in the position where they have no alternative but to hope that the Parliament in Ottawa, Canada, today will get it act together collectively and make sure that its best efforts in terms of resources are placed on the people who need it most.

I do not know what credos we share, and I do not know what backgrounds we have, and I am not exactly sure of differences in terms of our policies and philosophies, but helping the most vulnerable and ensuring that Canada puts its best foot forward is, I believe, something that we all share in common and that we as a Parliament have a duty to do and to enact.

I want to say this and I encourage members on this side of the House to do the same. I agree with what the Prime Minister said on February 17, 2005. I agree with the leader of the Bloc Québécois. I agree with the leader of the New Democratic Party. It is good to talk about these things, but I think we have come to a point where we must act now, we must act purposefully and we must act in the most important crisis facing the world today, which is clearly the reduction of poverty.

[DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE ACCOUNTABILITY ACT, June 7th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I want to make it abundantly clear that I support the comments made by the member for Mississauga South and the advice you gave at the outset of this session that royal recommendations would be stayed until at least third reading. I understand the position taken by the government. I sat in that position not too long ago. We did not have a problem with this issue.

I think the House should be guided by the wisdom of your initial decision, Mr. Speaker.

[Business of Supply, June 1st, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to ask a question of my good friend and colleague from Crowfoot. We have worked on a couple of other files in the past and dare I say, with some success.

I agree with the hon. member with respect to the proposition about the surtax. As he now knows, our party will not be supporting the motion unless it is amended. There are two other important areas within that suggestion by the Bloc that require further study.

I know that his constituents including many others in his province would agree with some of the concerns that have been raised by his own premier, that there is a lower refining capacity.

As of about 50 minutes ago, we learned that the wholesale price in my region in Toronto is about 17¢ wholesale margin for refined product. It costs 3¢ or 4¢ a litre to turn crude into refined product. The American average for similar gasoline is about 13¢. In Toronto it is 17¢.

I am wondering if the hon. member could enlighten the House as to whether he believes what many people in Alberta certainly do when they see the gas prices are a little higher with less tax than they are in Toronto in some locations. Could he indicate whether or not the premier of Alberta is correct that attempts have to be made to restore not only competition in the industry but more importantly, as he quite readily recognized, that we have to build more capacity in order to serve the domestic market more adequately?

[Foreign Affairs, June 1st, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member may impugn any type of motive he wants, but the reality is the minister has failed to put pressure on and to ask consistently of the minister of foreign affairs of that country the standing of that investigation. What the minister has done amounts to an abject failure.

The question has to be put to the minister. Dominic and Nancy Ianiero and their family deserve answers. Could the minister, at this time, take this matter more seriously and put pressure on the Mexican government to devote more energy in locating the person or persons responsible for these brutal murders and stop playing politics with this very important and serious issue?

[Foreign Affairs, June 1st, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, during a March 1 visit to Canada by his Mexican counterpart, our Minister of Foreign Affairs was told that the Mexican government wanted to assure Canadians that there would be a complete, transparent, open and very professional investigation into the murders of Nancy and Dominic Ianiero.

The murders occurred over three months ago. We still have no knowledge of who was responsible or if anyone has ever been brought or has been suggested to be brought to justice for this horrific crime.

Would the Minister of Foreign Affairs inform the House if he has raised any concerns with foreign minister Derbez about the lack of results in finding and prosecuting the killer or killers who were responsible for this horrific crime?

[Business of Supply, June 1st, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, the member for Oshawa recognizes the question of consumption and just how much of an effort the company in his riding is making toward energy efficiency in the automobile industry.

However, it does not really matter how much energy efficiency we are talking about. The hon. member seems content to view the status quo as acceptable. We on this side do not believe that. I think the hon. member would be hard pressed to point out that many of his own constituents, who I have dealt with over the years, do not like the status quo either.

There is wide evidence, including the Competition Bureau itself, that the bureau believed that there was a need for changes in the Competition Act, particularly as it deals with pricing provisions. That is why it supported Bill C-19 proposed by the government in 2004.

I do not want to keep doing this in terms of a lesson to the hon. members, certainly the newer members in the Conservative Party, but one of the reasons Canadians will never find a Competition Bureau that can actually find conspiracy or price fixing is not because of the structure of the market being highly concentrated but because the test required in the Competition Act is really set up in such a way that we will never be able to determine whether or not there has been anti-competitive activity, and not because it is a criminal burden but because the threshold of determination has to pass something called the undue test and be discussed in the House of Commons.

When the hon. member is referring to changes to the Competition Act, he only has to look at the recommendations of his own committee. Could the hon. member tell the House if he is prepared to live up to the former recommendations of the committee and recognize that the Competition Act, written by the oil industry in many respects, does need to be finished and would he square that with the position taken by the Competition Bureau itself only a year ago?

[Business of Supply, June 1st, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I am sorry I have a bit of a smile on my face, but, yes, I do not rely on the bureau, as some do. We hear some pounding their chests and saying that the Bureau has investigated this. We heard the Minister of Natural Resources say that everything was just fine.

The bureau recognizes itself that it is in need and that it has an act that is no longer applicable to the needs and expectations of an enterprising marketplace of the 21st century. That act was written over 20 years ago now, based on the Macdonald Royal Commission. As members may recall, the idea was to bulk up against and compete internationally. I do not put a lot of faith in the Competition Act as currently written. The Competition Bureau itself recognizes that.

As for the second point, I suppose the aligning of the various planets in one perfect straight line could also be another excuse . We heard Jeff Ruben of the CIBC speculate that gas would reach $1.30 this summer. Any excuse can now be trotted out, not only because of the strategic nature of crude. We cannot lose sight of the fact that, while there are international circumstances at play with crude, and listening to any radio station we know what the cost of crude is every 15 seconds, we do not put enough emphasis on what has happened on the refinery side of things.

We have our own little cartel here. It is a dangerous one. It is making us unproductive and hurting small business. As long as the Competition Act is not amended, will continue to have these problems without giving people the answers they need, particularly because we have no price monitoring information.

It should not be left to me. It should be left to the government to do due diligence, to provide transparency and honesty when it comes to gasoline prices, and it is not doing that right now.

[Business of Supply, June 1st, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is correct and I do not for a moment underestimate the amount of productivity and economic vitality created by a burgeoning and soaring oil industry, which is good for all Canadians in general. However, I think the hon. member may fail to appreciate what I have tried to say.

When purchasing gasoline, those same constituents are still buying wholesale gasoline. They cannot put crude in their tanks. They put gasoline in their tanks and they buy it with surcharges of 5¢, 6¢ and 7¢ a litre above international mediums.

We can argue about the standards of gasoline from state to state, but I think most people recognize this, particularly hard enterprising types in my riding, in his riding and across the country. If I could sell a million litres of gasoline in the next week and beat my competitor by having a lower price at the wholesale level, I would be in business. However, the moment I would do that, the oil industry would simply respond by dropping the price to zero, to the point where it would be impossible for me to enter the industry or get out of the industry.

More than anything else, this is a signal that we have a very sick industry, not the players, but a Competition Act which allows that.

The United States has not only the Clayton and the Sherman Antitrust acts, it has triple damages as well. All the lawyers who would defend those small companies that want to come in and compete, because their overhead is smaller and they are more enterprising, rely upon legislative tools to protect them against large companies that try to predate against them. If they do that, it is triple damages. Every lawyer worth his or her weight in gold will side with the small guy. Try to find a small company in Canada that can defend or fend off a large company that has deliberately costed below its acquisition costs and puts it out of business.

I want more competition in our country. Jobs come from more competition. We are talking about the same thing, but the hon. member, like others on that side, has to do a better job of understanding just how sick this industry has become at the wholesale level. That is why I agree with the hon. member from the Bloc in terms of amending the Competition Act. I do and this party does not agree with a surtax.

[Business of Supply, June 1st, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the hon. member again on his comments and remarks. I know that this is something he has had an interest in for a very long time.

If there is any way to ensure that oil companies give back more than they take from consumers, it is through a competition tax, which is currently lacking. As far as I am concerned, the best thing to do, and I think that the member suggested it in earlier remarks, is to amend the Competition Act.

Together, NDP, Bloc and Liberal members can be a force to be reckoned with and can push legislation through. I have spoken with several Conservative members who are also interested. These are mainly members from my region, Toronto, who are very familiar with the situation. In order to give back the profits these companies are making, the refinery margin has to be cut back. The best way to do that is by amending the Competition Act. Let us adopt former Bill C-19 in spite of the objections the lawyers representing the big oils have.

I should tell the hon. member that the best approach is to have a more competitive, more productive economy. I think that a distinction has to be made between the refining sector and the crude oil sector. The member knows very well that the intention is not to pit region against region. Efforts should be made to ensure that consumers will not be negatively impacted by a simple tax. The best thing to do is to improve the Competition Act.