Marc Garneau

[Business of Supply, May 11th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, my interpretation of the situation with respect to the leader of the Bloc's tour of the country is that the Bloc is in a very painful situation. It has been 20 years since it began its quest. I do not doubt its members' sincerity and hard work in trying to achieve that quest, but it is a painful situation in which they find themselves. On the one hand, they would like to celebrate being around for 20 years and on the other hand, they would like to not celebrate being around for 20 years.

I believe that the leader of the Bloc is at loose ends as to finding a new strategy to make the quest of the Bloc relevant. He fell upon the idea of doing a tour of the country, perhaps hoping this might revive emotions in Quebec. However, the reality is that Quebeckers have moved on to other things. I think the leader is getting tired. I think he would like to do other things, perhaps provincially, but the door is not open to him there either.

[Business of Supply, May 11th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his comment. I find it regrettable that, after so many years, the Bloc is at a standstill. The Bloc plays the same record over and over again, and its members must get tired of it from time to time because they cannot stop complaining. The Bloc refuses to see that Canada has evolved over the last 20 years. My colleague might not exactly be pleased with the way things have changed, but there has been an evolution nonetheless. However, 20 years later, the vast majority of Quebeckers recognize that this is something that must be pursued if we want federalism to thrive.

My colleague from the Bloc, sadly, strives to attain something that is less and less relevant, but he does not seem to realize it.

[Business of Supply, May 11th, 2010]

Madam Speaker, I will share my time with the member for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine.

I would like to start by rereading the motion presented by the member for Joliette. It states:

That this House acknowledge that federalism cannot be renewed, since 20 years after the failure of the Meech Lake Accord, Quebec still does not have the power to choose three justices on the Supreme Court of Canada, or to opt out with compensation from federal programs in its areas of jurisdiction, nor does it have a real veto over constitutional amendments and its status as a nation still has not been recognized in the Canadian Constitution.

That is what the motion says.

I have no doubt that the Bloc member was sincere in presenting this motion. I want to make something clear, however. The member wants Quebec to become independent, but he wants all the advantages that come from being part of the Canadian federation. In other words, the member wants to have his cake and eat it too.

Over the past 20 years, the Bloc consistently rejected Meech or any improvement to federalism. Some Bloc Québécois members have been here ever since their party's inception. Even now, 20 years later, they are bent on working against anything that would improve how federalism works. The fact is that federalism is a system that can evolve and, with a minimum of good faith on the part of everyone, it can improve. But my colleagues from the Bloc have no interest in that, hence my criticism. Instead of being constructive, they want to destroy. Instead of contributing, they want to withdraw. Separation is their goal. That would mean zero senator, zero member of Parliament and zero minister in Ottawa. It would also mean zero judge from Quebec at the Supreme Court. It would mean zero dollar in equalization. Frankly, it is sheer hypocrisy to feign ripping up his shirt now.

Equalization is constitutionally guaranteed and it has allowed Quebec to receive tens of billions of dollars during the past 20 years, which is no small contribution to the province's budget. On the subject of separation, both sides of the issue have to be presented, and the truth has to be spoken. They cannot have their cake and eat it too. Every speech from the Bloc since its arrival here has contained demands. All we have been hearing are complaints about injustice and inequity. We have not heard a word about the great benefits Quebec is drawing from the Canadian federation. Not a word either about the efforts made by the Canadian federation to accommodate Quebec by recognizing its uniqueness. No, for the Bloc Québécois, there is only injustice and inequity.

My party, the Liberal Party, shares Quebec's values of mutual help. That is why, for example, Paul Martin entered into an asymmetrical agreement on health care with Quebec. My party, the Liberal Party of Canada, also shares Quebec's view of the environment. We agree that 1990 should be the reference year for greenhouse gas reduction targets. My party recognizes the need to invest like never before in green technologies. In that regard, we are seeing eye to eye with Quebec.

But the Bloc keeps working to divide instead of unite. The Bloc wants to tear down instead of build. The Bloc is refusing to work together in good faith towards a solution that would be acceptable to all of the provinces, including Quebec, thus building a stronger, more united country.

My party, the Liberal Party of Canada, shares Quebec's cultural values. My party is committed to doubling the funding for the Canada Council for the Arts, which would be of great benefit to Quebec.

My party is committed to restoring programs that have been eliminated by the Conservatives and that would share Quebec's culture with the world. My party has committed to ensuring stable, long-term funding for CBC/Radio-Canada because it truly recognizes the essential role that this institution plays in the preservation and growth of Quebec's language and culture.

My party, the Liberal Party of Canada, recognizes the importance of preserving the vitality of Quebec's regions. We know that our beloved Quebec is not only defined by its cities, but also by its rural communities. That is why my party wants to work with Quebec to ensure that development is province-wide.

That is why we have committed to maintaining and increasing the vitality of Quebec's rural regions through the following: a forestry sector strategy that will revitalize the sector and allow us to benefit from increased processing of raw materials and from research and development; a national food strategy, which would have a major impact on our agriculture producers; a commitment to encourage more doctors and nurses to move to the regions; a refundable tax credit for volunteer firefighters in the regions in recognition of their important contribution to rural infrastructure; a commitment to broadband Internet access for all regions in Quebec and in other provinces; and a moratorium on the closure of rural post offices in recognition of the need to offer the same services to all citizens, whether they live in cities or rural communities.

Although few Quebeckers realize it, there is a major federal presence in Quebec with respect to science and research. I know this from personal experience because I had the honour and privilege of serving as president of the Canadian Space Agency for several years. I know that Quebeckers are proud of the agency. Based in Saint-Hubert, the agency is helping to create a world-class aerospace cluster in Quebec.

We all know that the Canadian Space Agency and more than a dozen other Quebec-based federal research and development institutions, including Natural Resources, Fisheries and Oceans, Agriculture and Agri-food, the NRC and others, would have to shut down in the event of separation. The Bloc never talks about those significant consequences, but Quebeckers are aware of them and do not want to lose these important assets.

My party shares Quebec's values in terms of culture, regional economic development, health care and freedom of association. My party wants to work with Quebec because it believes in a convergence federalism with federal and provincial jurisdiction and shared responsibilities. This kind of federalism is possible, and we invite Quebeckers to join us in creating the kind of Canada that reflects who they are. Our vision is very different from the Bloc's, which is all about separation, destruction and isolation.

It is time for the Bloc to face the facts. After 20 years, the Bloc needs to think about whether it is still relevant. Its founder, Lucien Bouchard, has raised this issue openly and publicly in the past few months. Lucien Bouchard understands that Quebec is no longer headed for separation, independence and the destruction of our country. Yes, Quebec has demands, but that is normal. All of the provinces have demands. We can work on these issues in a federalist structure. Quebec can develop within Canada with its language and culture, its vibrant rural regions and an environment in which air and water quality meet its standards. It can work with Canada to achieve that.

As I said at the beginning, I do not doubt my Bloc colleagues' sincerity. They have their vision of the future and are focusing their efforts on making that dream come true. At the same time, I want to tell them that in life, it is better to work together, to share one vision, to try to accommodate one another and get along. That is what the majority of Quebeckers want.

[Fairness at the Pumps Act, May 10th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I have no comment on why odometers were not mentioned specifically in the bill. I hope the member for Elmwood—Transcona will keep plugging away at that issue.

However, after his presentation, the hon. member from the government, when asked the question about how much this would save consumers, said about $20 million. What he did not say was how much it would cost in extra money to put in place the new legislation and the inspectors who would come from it.

I would like to ask the Conservative government what the net benefit will be. When people have to pay the extra taxes to cover the extra inspectors, I am doubtful we will be that much further ahead.

[Fairness at the Pumps Act, May 10th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad my colleague from Yukon brought that point up about a Liberal initiative that was very important during the time we were in power.

I will also pick up on the point he made, which is the government talks about it being a friend of the consumer and yet its actual actions belie what it says. It came out with some great statements about what it would do and never did anything. It is sheer hypocrisy on its part to today pretend that it will do something important for the consumer when in fact it has renegued on many of its promises with respect to the consumer at the pumps.

[Fairness at the Pumps Act, May 10th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, we, as a party, are very fortunate to our colleague from Pickering—Scarborough East, who has always been an unabashed and strong defender of the consumer. He has done some great things in the time he has been in Parliament. I am sure he will very adequately address the comments of the member.

[Fairness at the Pumps Act, May 10th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for a very good point. I could not have said it any better. There are absolutely no provisions in Bill C-14 for the situation that he described; that is, the retailers in small communities, particularly those in rural Canada and up north where my colleague comes from.

Even though the government likes to say it is concerned about the consumer, and it certainly pretends to care about rural and regional communities, it is very clear that it has not done its own analysis of the consequences of Bill C-14 on retailers in many of the small communities that they represent. The fact is that Bill C-14 contains absolutely nothing.

Bill C-14 is just an example of the government trying to play catch-up after it reneged on what it promised concerning the elimination of the GST above a certain price and also reducing the diesel excise tax. The government never did any of that, and now it is panicking and trying to play catch-up.

This is just like the broadband area. The Conservatives have been in power for four years and they have not done anything. Now that we in the Liberal Party have announced that we are going to do something to connect all Canadians, the Minister of Industry is out making emergency announcements to show that he understands it as well.

[Fairness at the Pumps Act, May 10th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad to have the opportunity to speak to Bill C-14, the so-called fairness at the pumps act. To paraphrase the Bard, the bill is full of sound and fury, or should I say full of a certain amount of self-righteousness, signifying nothing or very little.

The issue of gasoline pricing has been at the top of the minds of Canadians for many years. However, it appears to be an issue the Government of Canada has largely forgotten about. Bill C-14 proposes to amend the rules regarding retail gasoline pump calibration, such that retailers will be legally required to have their pumps inspected regularly.

This is the response, two years after the Prime Minister made an election promise to help Canadians with higher fuel prices. As all hon. members are aware, during the 2008 election, gasoline prices spiked in some cities by more than 12¢ per litre, and then the Prime Minister was forced to make an off-the-cuff policy announcement. Back then the government promised to crack down on inaccurate pumps. It took almost two years to finally get action from the government.

This delay begs the question, how important are consumers to the government? With all the pomp and circumstance of a major government announcement, the Minister of Industry suggested that the government was coming to the aid of Canadians all across the country who were being ripped off by greedy gasoline retailers. Then the minister went on to explain that only 6% of pumps were actually inaccurate, and in 2% of the 6%, they actually favoured the consumer.

Is this the best that we can expect from the government? If the government were truly concerned with helping Canadians at the pumps, it could turn its attention to any number of issues, including automatic temperature compensation, refinery closures, and the anemic state of competition at the refinery level.

I would like to take a moment to speak specifically about Bill C-14. Bill C-14 will attempt to solve the problem of inaccurate gasoline pumps by shifting the onus of inspection from the government to individual retailers. The bill will also create an administrative monetary policy regime as a means to enforce these new regulations. The bill will also codify the practice of licensing private inspectors for the purposes of performing these inspections.

The Liberal Party has a number of concerns with the bill. First, most gasoline retailers are small, independent businesses, which in fact operate on very small margins, as we know. The additional cost of these inspections may very well hurt their bottom line and force some of them out of business.

We also have concerns with the private inspector regime. Right now, Measurement Canada uses a blend of both private licensed inspectors and government employed inspectors. This allows retailers to have their pumps checked by accredited inspectors, while allowing Measurement Canada to continue verifying the calibration of pumps on its own.

In switching the onus of inspection to the retailer, the demand for private inspectors will increase drastically. I and many of my Liberal colleagues are concerned that retailers in northern and rural communities may not have access to the private inspectors required to ensure that they can stay within the letter and the spirit of the law. This is a critical point.

Pumps in rural and remote communities are often not the newest, best pumps. These are the pumps that are most likely to lose calibration. Can we really expect private inspectors to set up shop in these communities to ensure that these pumps are inspected regularly when the market would be so small, or would these retailers face much higher costs to bring in non-government inspectors?

There is another concern with this new provision of the Weights and Measures Act. The amendments made to section 15 of the Weights and Measures Act do not just apply to gasoline retailers. In fact, they apply to “every trader who uses a device in trade”.

This means that everyone from gasoline retailers to a local deli will be affected by these new regulations. Without seeing these proposed regulations, we have no concept of what burden is being placed on thousands of other retailers and businesses across the country.

If one stops to think about the number of scales or pumps we encounter in trade, it quickly becomes apparent how much commercial and industrial activity will be affected by these legislative changes. All of this to correct a problem that by the minister's own numbers affects only 6% of pumps in Canada.

Anyone who has spoken to gasoline retailers will say that gasoline pumps are very hard to tamper with. In fact, the tight inventory control regimes that these retailers utilize make it very difficult for these retailers to even consider tampering with their pumps. They actually check their pumps often. It is in their best interest to do so.

The government is also not being honest about how long it will take for this bill to have any effect on the ground. With the summer break approaching, I think it is fair to assume that this bill will not receive royal assent until fall at the earliest. On top of that, the government will have to bring forward the associated regulations, which will take months as well. Even after all that effort, there will still be a phase-in period. It will take time to train and accredit enough inspectors to enforce the law.

This means that it will take years before this regime is up and running. The Liberal Party believes firmly in consumer protection and any measure that will ensure gasoline pump accuracy is a good measure in principle. However, I fear that this bill is designed to be nothing more than political cover. Let us be perfectly clear. This bill does nothing to help lower gasoline prices or to encourage competition in the gasoline industry in Canada.

In fact, when it comes to higher gasoline prices, the Prime Minister himself has said that there is nothing the government can do to help Canadians. In the three elections since the Prime Minister has been leader of the Conservative Party, he has made no less than three specific commitments to help Canadians with ever-increasing fuel prices. This is the first that the government has followed through on.

In 2004, lest we forget, the Conservatives promised to eliminate the GST on gasoline prices above 85 ¢ a litre when they came to power. I do not think that happened. In 2008 they promised to lower the diesel excise tax. I do not believe that happened either. I think the real reason behind this legislation being introduced right now is so that the government can pretend to be helping consumers while they complain that prices are rising.

A government interested in helping Canadians combat high gasoline prices would be examining the Competition Act and the state of competition at the refinery level in this country, among other things. Even as prices rise and the industry claims that supply is down, refineries continue to be closed. This is a problem for the industry.

A government concerned about high fuel prices would examine automated temperature compensation so that its full implications to consumers could be explored. Automated temperature compensation means that the volume of gasoline pumped is automatically compensated as if the outside temperature was 15°C. This makes no sense in a country where the average annual temperature is only 6°C.

If the government were serious about helping Canadians, it would be looking at these issues and not parading around legislation that is going to do nothing to help Canadians burdened by high fuel prices. I also have serious concerns with some of the unintended effects that this bill may have on other industries.

For these reasons, I am looking forward to the opportunity to examine and amend the bill at committee and to hear from a variety of witnesses about how we can ensure we protect consumers without putting an excessive burden on Canadian industry.

However, I have concerns that yet again the government is using consumer protection legislation to try and change the channel or as political cover. We have seen this time and time again with legislation designed to protect consumers, for example, the Consumer Products Safety Act, which died on the order paper when the Prime Minister prorogued Parliament last December. None of this legislation has been seen all the way through to assent. Unfortunately, a fairly common pattern with the Conservative government.

In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that the Liberal Party is not against measures designed to protect consumers. However, we have serious concerns with this bill, its unintended effects, and the very real possibility that the government is using this to obscure the real issues related to fuel pricing in Canada.

[Firearms Registry, May 6th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the fact of the matter is that the Quebec Conservatives follow their leader like sheep. As for the leader, he follows the pro-gun lobbyists.

What other explanation is there for the comments by the member for Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup to the effect that the firearms registry has nothing to do with the Polytechnique tragedy?

What do the Conservatives have to say to the Polytechnique graduates who have come to Ottawa today? What do they have to say to police, other than accusing them of belonging to a cult?

[Firearms Registry, May 6th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, Polytechnique students are in town today. I am sure that the member for Outremont would like to introduce them to his leader, given that the NDP is still waffling on keeping the registry. Will he do it?

However, my question is for the Conservatives' Quebec lieutenant. He knows that the consensus in Quebec is that the registry should be kept. The Liberal Party agrees with that consensus.

Why is he voting against the will of his constituents?