Jim Maloway

[Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, March 25th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, once again I guess we cannot address often enough the fact that we are here today, and the bill is still viable, entirely because of the Liberals. The bill was completely dead and the government would never have reintroduced it had it not been for the agreement that was cooked up between the government and the Liberal critic.

We know that it was only last year that the House Standing Committee on International Trade recommended that a human rights assessment impact be undertaken.

Under the former Liberal leader, the critic of the day was 100% on side with doing that. Then there was this coup in the Liberal Party. It changed leaders overnight and appointed a new critic, and now the critic has taken the Liberal position from the left over to the extreme right. Now its position is indiscernible from that of the Conservative Party.

As a matter of fact, the Liberal critic has been quoted as saying that Colombia has more robust labour rules than Canada does, and there are other quotes that would certainly question our understanding of what this deal is all about.

I would ask the member once again to give us some ideas as to why he thinks the Liberals flip-flopped back and forth so fast in such a short time.

[Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, March 25th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, we now know what the government was doing while it was recalibrating after proroguing Parliament. It was basically cooking up a deal with the Liberals to support Bill C-2. Make no mistake, this agreement could not pass in the House if it were not for the Liberals' changing sides and cooking up a deal with the government to support it.

In 2008, the Standing Committee on International Trade recommended that a human rights impact assessment be undertaken, but that was under the previous Liberal leader and the previous Liberal critic. There was a change of leader and a change of critic, and the new critic has been quoted as saying that Colombia has more robust labour rules than Canada does. I could go on. We have numerous quotes from the member.

We know that Colombian labour laws stifle workers' rights. The rate of unionization is less than 5%, the lowest of any country in the western hemisphere. It seems to me that the Liberal Party has turned completely 180^o in its position on this issue in the last year.

Could the member somehow enlighten us as to what is going on with the Liberals?

[Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, March 25th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, in 2008 the House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade passed a recommendation that the human rights impact study be undertaken to determine the real impact of a trade agreement, which the government has totally ignored.

Curiously, at that time the Liberals were in favour of this impact study under their former critic. Then they had a change in leaders, and the new critic, the member for Kings—Hants took over. Now we see a virtual marriage on this issue between the Liberal Party and the Conservatives. They are working in lockstep. We see no speakers from the government or from the Liberal Party speaking to this bill at all. They are joined as one.

Could the member explain why this has developed?

[Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, March 25th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the member for the Bloc and the member for Welland talked about getting behind the real reasons for this trade deal because we know Colombia does not provide a big market for Canada. There must be other reasons why this agreement is being pushed to the fore. The suspicion is, of course, that it has to do more with mining companies and big business interests than anything else.

As the member mentioned, not only is the EU withdrawing support from its deal but Britain has cut off military aid agreements to Colombia. In addition to that, congressional leaders in the U.S. have as recently as a month ago indicated to us that there is absolutely no chance that this agreement would pass Congress.

Since the Conservative government always wants to follow the United States, why is it trying to lead in this case?

[Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, March 25th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, given that the United States Congress has yet to pass its own legislation, which has been before it now for a number of years, and given that Republican members of Congress said as early as last month that they did not feel the legislation had any chance of passing Congress with the Democratic majority in control, the question is: Why is the government, which normally likes to follow the United States in everything it does, trying to be a leader on what is basically a very unpopular piece of legislation?

[Petitions, March 25th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition, signed by many Canadians, calls on the Canadian government to match funds personally donated by the citizens of Canada for the earthquake victims in Chile. On February 27, an 8.8 magnitude earthquake occurred in southern Chile. The Chilean Canadian community has mobilized. It had fundraising events in Winnipeg, on March 6, where $10,000 was raised. This past Saturday, March 20, 1,000 people attended a social event to raise money.

The question is, when will the Prime Minister give the same treatment to the earthquake victims in Chile as he did for the earthquake victims in Haiti and match funds personally donated by Canadians to help the earthquake victims in Chile?

[Petitions, March 25th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to present two petitions this morning.

Thousands of Canadians are calling on Parliament to adopt Canada's first air passengers' bill of rights. Bill C-310 would compensate air passengers on all Canadian carriers, including charters, anywhere they fly.

The bill would also provide compensation for overbooked flights, cancelled flights and long tarmac delays. It would also address issues such as late and misplaced baggage. It would require all-inclusive pricing by airlines in all their advertising.

The legislation has been in effect in Europe for five years. Why should an Air Canada passenger receive better treatment in Europe than in Canada?

The airlines would have to inform passengers of flight changes, either delays or cancellations. The new rules must be posted in the airport and airlines must inform passengers of their rights and the process to file for compensation. If the airlines follow the rules, it would cost them nothing.

The petitioners call on the government to support Bill C-310 that would introduce Canada's first air passengers' bill of rights.

[Quebec Bridge, March 24th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, specifically dealing with the resolution, I do not see any reason why members in the House would not support the resolution and vote for it.

The member mentioned that 120,000 people used the bridge every day. We know it is a storied bridge with a storied history that began in 1907. In fact, its collapse killed about 80 people a number of years ago.

The fact is this bridge was transferred by the Liberals to CNR a number of years ago and then it was privatized. A private company now owns it. The member mentioned that the bridge included a bunch of land worth millions of dollars.

The issue is this. Are we in a position to unravel the Liberal mess and get this bridge back without compensating CN for the millions of dollars of land it received with the bridge? Then when we take responsibility for the bridge, we have to pay to fix it, while CN gets the benefit of the land.

[Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, March 24th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the agreement between Colombia and the United States has been before Congress now for a considerable amount of time. I know that the President mentioned it in his speech in January, the state of the union address.

A group of us were down in the United States on Congressional hearings on February 19 and the member for Kings—Hants was there. Although we were in different groups, we did meet with a number of senators and members of Congress. On at least two occasions Republicans told us that this deal had absolutely no chance of making it through Congress. If the member for Kings—Hants knows that, then why is he and his allies in the government so bent on forcing this agreement through, when the Americans, as I have said, have had it before Congress now for several years and they have no intention of doing anything about it this year.

[Petitions, March 24th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the second petition is signed by Canadians calling on the Canadian government to match funds personally donated by the citizens of Canada for the earthquake victims in Chile.

The Chilean community has been mobilized in Canada. A fundraiser was held on Saturday, March 6, in Winnipeg where it raised $10,000. This past Saturday, March 20, at the University of Manitoba, over 1,000 people showed up for a fundraiser there.

The petitioners ask, when will the Prime Minister give the same treatment to the earthquake victims in Chile as he did for the earthquake victims in Haiti, and match funds personally donated by Canadians to help the earthquake victims in Chile?