John Baird

[Ethics, May 4th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, let me say two things. One is that Mr. Jaffer received no government funds as a result of any meetings or any mail that was sent in to the government. I say to the member opposite, who is the justice critic of the Liberal Party and would present himself as a future justice minister, if he has any evidence as a lawyer to suggest that anyone has violated the important Federal Accountability Act, the tough ethics legislation passed by this government, he should forward it on to the appropriate authorities and follow the example of the high ethical standards of the Prime Minister.

[The Environment, May 4th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I cannot be any clearer than I was when I stated that the government has no intention to revisit the 1988 deal with respect to tanker traffic. We have no intention of making any changes. I think it serves Canada very well and serves our environment well.

[The Environment, May 4th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, back in 1988, an exclusion zone was established between the various American interests and the Government of Canada that does not allow tankers carrying crude from Alaska to go to the United States either through the strait on our west coast or through Canadian waters. It must be at least 25 to 85 miles. The member for Vancouver South should know that the government has no intention of revisiting this issue.

[The Environment, May 4th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I think all Canadians are disturbed about what they see going on in southeastern United States in the Gulf of Mexico. It is an environmental tragedy.

The Government of Canada's job is to focus on ensuring those types of disasters do not happen in Canada. We have strong environmental protections. We have absolutely no intention of changing or weakening any of these important environmental protections in the far north.

[The Environment, May 4th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are custodians to one of the most pristine natural environments in the world in our far Arctic. This government gives great priority to that file, which is why, just in this Parliament alone, we extended the environmental laws in our transportation sector to an additional 100 nautical miles offshore. We accord it a great priority.

This government has established whale sanctuaries in our far north and have quadrupled the size of Nahanni National Park.

We have no intention whatsoever of reducing environmental protections in the Beaufort Sea.

[The Environment, May 4th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, we have strong environmental laws to protect our air, water and soil. The National Energy Board and this government would only allow any resource extraction projects to go forward if there were strong environmental protections.

I want to indicate very directly for the leader of the NDP that this government has no plans and no intention to reduce the environmental standards in this regard.

[Maternal and Child Health, May 4th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has always been very clear. The government has no intention of reopening the abortion debate. We cannot be any clearer than that.

[Maternal and Child Health, May 4th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Party wants a culture war and it is determined to do it. One need only look at what it is doing now on this issue.

The Prime Minister comes forward with an initiative to help maternal health, to help support newborn and children's health, and what does the Liberal Party do? It sends out fundraising emails, like the one I have in my hand, encouraging Canadians to contribute anonymously.

I would advise the Liberal Party that anonymous campaign contributions are illegal. This government changed the election financing laws to stop those types of terrible practices. The Liberal Party should immediately distance itself from this outrageous letter.

[Maternal and Child Health, May 4th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, nothing could be further from the truth.

What this is, on behalf on the Liberal Party, is its effort to engage in a culture war with Canadians to try to further its political cause. It wants to divide Canadians, rural from urban, east from west, big city from small farm. That is wrong.

What the Prime Minister is doing on this important initiative is championing the cause of maternal health, of the health of newborn children in the developing world. That is something all Canadians can unite behind and be very proud of the Prime Minister's efforts.

[Maternal and Child Health, May 4th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, let me say again the language is unacceptable and in no way, shape or form represents the views of the government.

We had a good debate, with different points of view, in this House. When the Liberal Party tried to politicize a noble cause, this House had a good debate, and Parliament has spoken on this issue.