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Wednesday, November 25, 2009 · sitting No. 117
Commons advances bill on mandatory reporting of child pornography online
The House spent the largest share of its time on second reading of Bill C-58, the child protection act, which would require Internet service providers to report suspected child pornography to a designated agency. Minister of State Helena Guergis said the measure would strengthen protections for children, while Liberal MP Brian Murphy and NDP MP Jim Maloway questioned whether the offences should be placed in the Criminal Code and whether new police resources would be provided.
Question period was dominated by exchanges on Afghanistan. Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff pressed Prime Minister Stephen Harper to release reports of torture in Afghan jails that reached the minister of foreign affairs and the prime minister's national security adviser, and Harper replied that the documents contained only second-hand evaluations and that Canadian officials had acted on credible evidence of abuse.
Other exchanges in question period concerned violence against women, climate change targets for Copenhagen and missing gold at the Royal Canadian Mint.
Decided that day
- Human resources committee motion passed
- Motion urging swift government action passed
- Bill read a third time and passed
- Amendment to motion defeated
From the Hansard record of the sitting. Full Hansard
No CPAC Question Period upload is on file for this day. CPAC’s channel goes back to December 2019.
Who held the floor · 2009-11-25
63Bills pass amid evasive answersThe House devoted most of its time to Afghanistan and online child exploitation, advancing one bill through first chamber and passing three motions. Question Period produced few direct answers and six calls to order interrupted proceedings.AI-rated Score out of 100; the verdict and the answer ratings behind it are a model’s reading. How the AI rates this
AI-rated The sitting score and the rating of each answer come from a language model reading Hansard. How the AI rates this
Other moments
Climate Change
Bloc Québécois MP Bernard Bigras asked Environment Minister Jim Prentice whether Canada would support Quebec's position at Copenhagen, and Prentice said Canada would harmonize targets with the United States.
Read the exchangeRoyal Canadian Mint
Bloc Québécois MP Mario Laframboise asked whether the minister knew what happened to more than $15 million in missing gold and silver, and Minister of State Rob Merrifield said an external review had been sent to the Auditor General.
Read the exchangeConsumer Product Safety
NDP MP Judy Wasylycia-Leis asked why Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq had not issued a voluntary recall of drop-side cribs until the United States acted, and Aglukkaq said the government lacked authority for a mandatory recall until Bill C-6 passes.
Read the exchangeVancouver Olympic Winter Games
Bloc Québécois MP Richard Nadeau said French was absent from Olympic preparations, and Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore said the government had allocated funds to ensure both official languages would be respected.
Read the exchangePoverty
Liberal MP Michael Savage said Human Resources Minister Diane Finley had misled the House on child poverty rates, and Finley replied that Statistics Canada data showed the low-income rate for children had fallen from 18.4 per cent in 1996 to 9.5 per cent in 2007.
Read the exchangeQuestion Period, exchange by exchange
AI-rated Each answer’s rating (answered, partly answered, deflected, answered something else) is a model’s reading of the exchange. How the AI rates this
- deflectedAfghanistanMr. Michael Ignatieff (Liberal) asked Stephen Harper (Conservative). loaded question.Answer counters premise on reports but ignores direct request to turn over evidence.
On the contrary, they are evaluations of the prison system in Afghanistan based on indirect observations and evidence.
- deflectedAfghanistanMr. Michael Ignatieff (Liberal) asked Stephen Harper (Conservative). loaded question.Answer disputes credibility of reports but does not address why no investigation occurred for 18 months.
Whenever Canadian officials or soldiers have received credible reports of abuse, they have reacted and responded.
- deflectedAfghanistanMr. Michael Ignatieff (Liberal) asked Stephen Harper (Conservative). loaded question.Answer defends actions taken but evades question on how categorical claim is possible without investigation.
Any such slander of soldiers and Canadian officials without evidence is without basis.
- partly answeredAfghanistanIrwin Cotler (Liberal) asked Peter MacKay (Conservative). loaded question.Answer addresses focus on Canadian-transferred prisoners and notes cooperation but sidesteps call for documents.
What we are seized with and what we are responsible for are prisoners transferred by Canadian Forces.
- deflectedAfghanistanIrwin Cotler (Liberal) asked Peter MacKay (Conservative). loaded question.Answer lists actions taken and blames prior government instead of addressing independent inquiry request.
The reality is we inherited a bad situation left by the hon. member's government.
- deflectedAfghanistanMr. Gilles Duceppe (Bloc) asked Stephen Harper (Conservative). loaded question.Answer repeats claim of action on credible proof but ignores question on document release and responsibility.
In the end, we entered into a new agreement on transfers over two and a half years ago.
- partly answeredAfghanistanMr. Gilles Duceppe (Bloc) asked Stephen Harper (Conservative). substantive question.Answer states documents have been released and witnesses are available but does not confirm specific meeting.
this government has released thousands of pages of documents in this matter.
- deflectedAfghanistanMr. Claude Bachand (Bloc) asked Peter MacKay (Conservative). loaded question.Answer asserts cooperation and document turnover but does not commit to releasing all requested documents.
We are turning over documents.
- deflectedAfghanistanMr. Claude Bachand (Bloc) asked Peter MacKay (Conservative). loaded question.Answer denies premise then pivots to praising Canadian efforts instead of addressing muzzling claim.
We continued cooperating in this matter.
- deflectedStatus of WomenJack Layton (NDP) asked Stephen Harper (Conservative). substantive question.Answer gives general statement on violence but ignores call for public safety emergency declaration.
That is why this government has made a reform of the criminal justice system a major priority
- deflectedAfghanistanJack Layton (NDP) asked Stephen Harper (Conservative). loaded question.Answer restates government actions and accuses opposition of partisanship rather than addressing inquiry request.
If the opposition is serious about being non-partisan in its inquiry, it will hear all witnesses who want to testify and not try to censor their testimony.
- deflectedAfghanistanJack Layton (NDP) asked Stephen Harper (Conservative). loaded question.Answer claims officials acted on credible evidence but avoids confirming or denying specific torture reports.
when there is credible evidence of cases of abuse, Government of Canada officials have always acted responsibly.
- misdirectedAfghanistanBob Rae (Liberal) asked Peter MacKay (Conservative). substantive question.Answer accuses member of feigned outrage and pivots to Liberal reluctance to hear Mulroney instead of addressing document withholding.
It is interesting to note that David Mulroney is prepared to testify but the member and his party do not seem anxious to hear from Mr. Mulroney.
- misdirectedAfghanistanBob Rae (Liberal) asked Peter MacKay (Conservative). substantive question.Answer blames prior Liberal government and accuses Liberals of fundraising on the issue rather than addressing passive recording of allegations.
The action began to clean up the mess that we had inherited from the party opposite.
- partly answeredAfghanistanDominic LeBlanc (Liberal) asked Peter MacKay (Conservative). loaded question.Answer states action was taken two and a half years ago but does not explain the 18-month delay after the 2006 report.
We acted two and a half years ago.
- deflectedAfghanistanDominic LeBlanc (Liberal) asked Peter MacKay (Conservative). loaded question.Answer lists actions taken but sidesteps whether minister contacted UN or Arbour about the 2007 report.
We got to work with our officials on the ground in Afghanistan to improve the transfer arrangement.
- deflectedClimate ChangeMr. Bernard Bigras (Bloc) asked Jim Prentice (Conservative). loaded question.Answer ignores the House motion and Quebec position to restate US harmonization.
We will harmonize our targets with those of the United States with respect to the regulatory system and a North American emissions trading system.
- deflectedClimate ChangeMr. Bernard Bigras (Bloc) asked Jim Prentice (Conservative). loaded question.Answer repeats US harmonization and prerequisites without addressing Quebec's position.
As we said, our government will harmonize its targets with those of the United States, as the president announced today.
- partly answeredRoyal Canadian MintMr. Mario Laframboise (Bloc) asked Rob Merrifield (Conservative). substantive question.Answer states the review is with the Auditor General but does not explain what happened to the gold.
the external review that has been taking place over the last period of time has accounted for that unaccounted for gold, and it is in the hands of the Auditor General at the present time for validation of the numbers
- partly answeredRoyal Canadian MintMr. Mario Laframboise (Bloc) asked Rob Merrifield (Conservative). substantive question.Answer notes the review is nearing completion with the Auditor General but gives no results on the recommendation.
the external review that has been ongoing over the summer is nearing completion.
- deflectedAfghanistanUjjal Dosanjh (Liberal) asked Peter MacKay (Conservative). loaded question.Answer lists investments and improvements instead of addressing legal obligations on torture.
We invested in the prison system, Afghan's justice system, $132 million in fact.
- deflectedAfghanistanUjjal Dosanjh (Liberal) asked Peter MacKay (Conservative). loaded question.Answer focuses on timeline of knowledge and evidence quality rather than fulfilling obligations.
I was updated on a site visit from Foreign Affairs officials in June 2007 after the enhanced arrangement was put in place.
- partly answeredClimate ChangeMr. David McGuinty (Liberal) asked Stephen Harper (Conservative). substantive question.Answer conditions attendance on major leaders meeting and notes Obama has not confirmed.
If there is a meeting of all major leaders involving climate change, I will of course attend.
- misdirectedClimate ChangeMr. David McGuinty (Liberal) asked Jim Prentice (Conservative). loaded question.Answer attacks the Liberal vote on European targets instead of addressing Copenhagen attendance or policy.
Yesterday he stood in the House, along with his party, and voted for European targets that would isolate this country, damage our economy and would not achieve environment outcomes.
- deflectedConsumer Product SafetyMs. Judy Wasylycia-Leis (NDP) asked Leona Aglukkaq (Conservative). substantive question.Answer shifts to bill delays and lacks authority instead of addressing the timeline and notification failure.
the government does not currently have the authority to order a mandatory recall.
- deflectedConsumer Product SafetyMs. Judy Wasylycia-Leis (NDP) asked Leona Aglukkaq (Conservative). substantive question.Answer repeats bill promotion and senator blame without explaining use of existing voluntary recall powers or testing.
Current legislation does not give us a mandatory recall.
- partly answeredVancouver Olympic Winter GamesMr. Richard Nadeau (Bloc) asked James Moore (Conservative). substantive question.Answer directly denies the claim and lists measures taken but does not address specific examples of French absence.
Our government has allocated the necessary funding to ensure that the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be completely respectful of both of Canada's official languages.
- misdirectedVancouver Olympic Winter GamesMs. Monique Guay (Bloc) asked James Moore (Conservative). substantive question.Answer pivots to Air Canada responsibility and past funding promises rather than addressing airport announcements.
Air Canada has responsibilities and it is the responsibility of Air Canada to deliver the goods.
- answeredStatus of WomenMrs. Lise Zarac (Liberal) asked Helena Guergis (Conservative). substantive question.Answer directly states that individual MP opinions are not government positions.
It does not mean it is the opinion of the government.
- deflectedStatus of WomenAnita Neville (Liberal) asked Helena Guergis (Conservative). loaded question.Answer avoids denouncing the comments and instead lists unrelated government achievements on women.
- misdirectedTax HarmonizationMr. Fin Donnelly (NDP) asked James Moore (Conservative). substantive question.Answer congratulates then attacks the member's party choice instead of addressing HST concerns.
However, with respect, if he wanted to join a political party that believes in lower taxes for Canadians, he should have joined the Conservatives.
- partly answeredSalmon FisheryMr. Fin Donnelly (NDP) asked Gail Shea (Conservative). substantive question.Answer acknowledges the inquiry but provides no details on immediate actions beyond the inquiry itself.
We realize how important salmon is to British Columbia and British Columbians.
- misdirectedPovertyMr. Michael Savage (Liberal) asked Diane Finley (Conservative). loaded question.The answer corrects statistics but attacks the asker and demands apologies instead of addressing the policy question on poverty reduction.
The Liberal member needs to withdraw his comments, apologize to Canadians, and apologize to this party as well.
- answeredPoints of OrderMr. Michael Savage (Liberal) asked Diane Finley (Conservative). rhetorical question.The response accepts the apology but adds criticism of its timing and restates the speaker's position.
I do accept the apology from the member opposite. However, I do find it very unfortunate that a member of the House can make a slur against any other member of the House and then only retract the following day after damage has been done.