Geoff Regan

[Energy Efficiency Act, March 30th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I know the hon. member took part in the study in a previous Parliament of Bill C-30 which included some of the measures that are proposed in this bill on energy efficiency. However, what I would like to ask him about are the things that we do not see in this bill.

I know he worked with other opposition parties and members on the committee to make considerable improvements to what the Conservatives called the so-called clean air act, which it clearly was not when it started but by the time it had been amended and revised considerably by the committee, it was actually beginning to look not so bad.

I wonder if the member would like to comment on what has been left out here, what we do not see here.

He talked a bit about ecoENERGY which was gutted in the recent budget. Perhaps he would like to comment again on what is missing in the budget in relation to energy efficiency.

[Purple Day, March 26th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to recognize the outstanding accomplishment of nine-year-old Cassidy Megan, a constituent in my riding of Halifax West.

Last year, Cassidy founded Purple Day, an international awareness campaign about epilepsy. Cassidy lives with epilepsy and started Purple Day as a way of educating the public. She also wanted to let other kids with epilepsy know that they are not alone. Today people around the world mark this special day by wearing purple and talking and learning about epilepsy.

I know all members will want to join me in congratulating Cassidy Megan.

[Forestry Industry, March 25th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, in Quebec and the Atlantic provinces, forestry sector workers are anxiously waiting for this evening's decision on the Abitibi-Bowater restructuring. Analysts predict that it will be difficult to reach an agreement on its debt and that its employees will suffer the consequences. One worker at the Laurentide plant in Shawinigan stated that it is as though they have an axe over their heads.

Will the Conservatives help these workers before the axe falls?

[Forestry Industry, March 25th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, family run small businesses form the foundation of our economy but too often they are forgotten when discussing the economic crisis. In the forestry sector over 400,000 family forest owners are struggling with a decrease in demand and have received little to no support from the government.

Why have the Conservatives not come up with a coherent and targeted plan to assist small woodlot owners and help save their businesses before it is too late? They have had three years.

[Business of Supply, March 10th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, I congratulate my hon. colleague for his speech today and for his answers. I noticed that after the first question came from the NDP, the member for Skeena—Bulkley Valley, who asked the question, did not listen. He is not listening now. He was then and is again engaged in a discussion with Conservative colleagues across the way. I think it is important that if one asks a question, one listens to the answer, and perhaps if the second NDP questioner had heard the answer to the first question, he would not have asked the same question.

I would like to ask my hon. colleague this question. What does he think of the idea that was proposed by the natural resources committee last June which talked about the need for a national summit, led by the Prime Minister, of the forestry industry to look at the problems that were already existing? We still have not seen that summit.

[Business of Supply, March 10th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, I will try to make it short. I appreciated the comments by my colleague from Abitibi—Témiscamingue. I agree that the government should have done more for the industry, not only to help it through these rough times, but also to help the people.

Does the hon. member agree with the recommendation of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources, whereby there should be greater investment in research and development? He touched on new technologies. Last year, I read an article in L'Actualité magazine about all the work and research currently being done in Quebec.

[Business of Supply, March 10th, 2009]

Madam Speaker, I would like to congratulate my colleague on his remarks and comments.

I would like to hear what he has to say on this topic. They have described the situation the forestry industry is in and talked about it. I agree with many of my colleague’s remarks about the subject. But we also notice that the government is suggesting that this is a new problem caused by the economic situation, when we know the industry has been struggling for two or three years or even longer.

Does my colleague agree that the government should have been doing more, much earlier?

In the 2007 budget that was approved by this House and Parliament, $4.6 billion was set aside by the government for investment in infrastructure, but it spent only $1 billion. This goes to show how little it cares about these problems. Does my colleague agree with me on this?

[Business of Supply, March 10th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I think we all know the situation in relation to the budget. There are certainly elements about it that we are not at all pleased with. On the other hand, it is clear to me from Canadians that they want to see stimulus get out the door. There is no sign the government is doing anything so far in terms of stimulus. Of course, as the Conservatives know, their own proposal is not to spend a dime of the budget money until April 1 or perhaps later. There are reasons for that, as the member knows.

In relation to the minister's comment previously, and I think my colleague will find this worthwhile as well, we did not see in this budget anything to really change the employment insurance system to ensure that people in communities that are affected by mill closures, et cetera, can more easily get access to that program.

I agree with my hon. colleague that there are many problems with the softwood lumber deal, and the fact that those funds were not invested in mills to help them thrive was an important problem.

[Business of Supply, March 10th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, there is no question that we agree it is important to have funding to support communities that are in need, which have had shutdowns, but what we have been talking about primarily here is how to prevent those shutdowns, how to invest in the industry to keep it alive and thriving. That is what we have not seen.

I was talking a moment ago about the $1.5 billion committed by the previous government, the Liberal government, in November 2005. That $1.5 billion program was cancelled by the Conservative government.

I talked a few minutes ago about the kind of funding that the government had available, even in this fiscal year, the $4.6 billion it has not been spending. It is very disappointing to people across this country that in an economic downturn like this one, the government has not responded and has not foreseen what was needed. Many Canadians could understand and foresee certainly by last fall what was happening, and the Conservatives were still denying it.

[Business of Supply, March 10th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure the hon. minister wants to hear the points I am making and I am sure that he will settle down and listen quietly.

The announcement of the $1 billion community development fund that she made in Sydney looked suspiciously like the same announcement made a year earlier. That is not good enough.

Instead of investing in a stimulus package over a year ago, the Conservatives sat on that $4.6 billion, that I mentioned earlier, that was approved in the 2007 budget for this current fiscal year that ends at the end of this month. Canadians cannot understand why the government was so incompetent that it spent less than $1 billion of that money, especially if, as it claimed, it foresaw all these economic problems. How is that possible? It certainly makes no sense to me and I am sure my hon. colleagues on this side of the House would agree.

In New Brunswick, there is a shovel-ready project that could put 400 people to work for a nominal cost. It is called silviculture. The New Brunswick Forest Products Association has made a request to the federal government but still has not received a decision from Ottawa. The association hopes that someone in the government across the way recognizes that this is important for an industry that has endured thousands of job losses in the past three years. It is warning all of us that time is running out to get that money flowing for the 2009 planting season. I do hope that someone in the Department of Natural Resources or in the government is listening, and that they will get moving on this request and others from across the country.

Is it any wonder that people do not trust the Conservative government when we hear of things like that? The latest performance report for natural resources shows the Conservatives have a history of not getting the job done that goes well beyond its infrastructure investments or the lack thereof.

The NRCan performance report states that “funding for the Forest Industry Long Term Competitiveness Initiative in the amount of $10.4 million was deferred for future year spending”.

That is a little hard to imagine. I was just talking about, and we heard it earlier today, what is happening in the forestry industry. The recent economic problems have added to it, but it is not a brand new problem. There have been problems and difficulties in the forestry industry for the past number of years, and yet here we see that the government, rather than using the money that it has allocated and promised to use to support the industry, has put it off for later. What the heck is that about? How is that competent management of the industry or of our economy? Why would any competent government defer spending on an industry that was obviously facing severe challenges?

I believe this speaks volumes about the government's lack of commitment to a vital sector of our economy and the thousands of families who keep asking why the government has abandoned them in their hour of need. As I said earlier, it is no wonder that Canadians do not trust the government.

Unfortunately, Canadian forestry workers, whether they live in Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia or elsewhere, are the ones suffering as a result of a government that failed to invest in their futures, that failed to understand the importance of research and development, and a government that negotiated a sellout softwood lumber deal, about which my colleague from Westmount—Ville-Marie will speak further.

The fallout from the Conservative softwood lumber sellout continues to plague the sector. Saw mills in four provinces are now subject to a 10% export tax. Even in the face of mill closures in Quebec and Ontario, the Conservatives refuse to admit this is a bad deal. Ontario companies will have to pay in excess of $68 million to meet the 10% export charge imposed because of bad decisions by the Conservatives. It is why we are here today.

Canadians know the Conservative government abandoned the forestry sector by not preparing the industry for the current economic downturn several years ago. In contrast, in November 2005, the Liberal government committed $1.5 million for the strength and sustainability of Canada's forestry industry. This strategy included new funding for workers, the industry, communities, long-term innovation, and provided immediate assistance as well.

I see my time is at an end. I look forward to comments and questions.