Debates of Dec. 8th, 1995

Unemployment Insurance

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance and Minister responsible for the Federal Office of Regional Development-Quebec]

Mr. Speaker, it is customary to do what we call a rounding off of these premiums. It is clearly the case here, given the minimal difference between $2.93 and $2.95.

[Pierre Brien, Bloc, Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, since the minister said in his document that these premiums could have been lowered to $2.93, I assume he could have done it. But given the minister's estimation that lowering premiums by seven cents, in 1995, would result in the creation of 40,000 jobs, will he recognize that, by refusing to lower these premiums by two cents, down to $2.93, he is sacrificing, based on his own calculations, 12,000 jobs?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance and Minister responsible for the Federal Office of Regional Development-Quebec]

Mr. Speaker, first, the Minister of Human Resources Development clearly said that it was our intention to build a reserve, so as to preserve jobs should an economic decline occur. Indeed, we are well aware that the worst thing that can happen in a period of economic decline is to be forced to raise UI premiums. This is why we are building up a reserve and why we put the UI fund back on its feet by pouring $6 billion into it, over a period of just two years.

The hon. member is absolutely right when he says that lowering UI premiums helps create jobs. This is why the minister lowered the rate, for a total amount of $1.25 billion. This is the way to create jobs.

Banks

[Alex Shepherd, Liberal, Durham, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Secretary of State for International Financial Institutions.

The banks have reported profits of over $5 billion. In that same period of time, they have raised service charges and also reduced the number of people that serve the general public. What is the secretary of state doing to protect consumers from this oligopolistic practice?

[Doug Peters, Liberal, Secretary of State (International Financial Institutions)]

Mr. Speaker, that is a question in which a large number of Canadians have an interest.

The government believes that consumers are best served by an environment where financial institutions compete for business and where consumers have access to adequate information.

With regard to service charges, federal financial institutions have to disclose all fees applicable to an account at the time of opening an account. When there is a change in any fees they must give at least 30 days' notice. That is a requirement of federal legislation. I understand that Canadian banks charge substantially lower service changes than U.S. banks for comparable services.

The government is also working with the provinces to improve the consistency of legislation on the cost of consumer borrowing so that the consumer will have better information.

Finally, in our financial institution legislation that is going to be reviewed, we are looking very carefully at consumer issues.

Grains Industry

[Elwin Hermanson, Reform, Kindersley—Lloydminster, SK]

Mr. Speaker, results of the Alberta plebiscite on wheat and barley marketing are crystal clear. Two-thirds of Alberta producers voted in favour of having a dual marketing system, with the freedom to choose to market through the Canadian Wheat Board or outside of the board.

Would the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food tell the House if he agrees with the majority of Alberta farmers that choice for marketing of wheat and barley is a step forward? A yes or no answer would be appreciated.

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, it is interesting how the Reform Party seems incapable of understanding answers that amount to more than one or two words. I hope the hon. member will bear with me while I respond to his question.

As everyone knows, a plebiscite with respect to wheat and barley marketing was conducted recently in the province of Alberta. That plebiscite is not without some considerable controversy. I note that some farm leaders in Alberta, some agricultural reporters in Alberta, some pollsters in western Canada have all raised what appear to be serious questions about the process.

Approximately 16,000 producers participated in the process, out of perhaps 30,000, 35,000 or 40,000 who might have participated in the process. I point out again that this single vote within one province, on an issue that affects all of western Canada and as many as 130,000 prairie farmers, is obviously not a process that can be definitive with respect to this issue across western Canada.

The Government of Canada has established a process to deal with this issue in an orderly and logical way. That is the Western Grain Marketing Panel. It is very well known. I would urge all prairie farmers, including all of those in Alberta, to participate fully and fairly in the Western Grain Marketing Panel.

[Elwin Hermanson, Reform, Kindersley—Lloydminster, SK]

Mr. Speaker, farmers are not dumb. Maybe a lawyer thinks they are, but farmers understand very well what the question was and what it meant.

The minister has been pinning all of his hopes on the Western Grain Marketing Panel. In a statement he has slammed the producer vote as being merely academic. He has no respect for farmers who democratically expressed a common sense position.

Why is the minister insulting the intelligence of farmers by thumbing his nose at the clear message he received from over 16,000 plebiscite participants, 16,000 voters?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, again I point out to the hon. gentleman that those votes represent about 12 per cent or 15 per cent of the total number of farmers affected by this process.

The arrangement that the Government of Canada has put in place in order for this issue to be fully ventilated in western Canada is a logical and orderly process. It will provide farmers through the Western Grain Marketing Panel with full, fair, balanced, accurate information about all of the issues respecting grain marketing in the west.

It will also provide farmers with the opportunity to debate all of the issues related to grain marketing in a way that is totally transparent, with all of the facts on the table. They can consider not only the pros of the marketing debate but also the cons and the consequences so this issue can be dealt with fairly in the interests of all western Canadians.

Human Rights

[Philippe Paré, Bloc, Louis-Hébert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Deputy Prime Minister.

A Canadian citizen, Tran Trieu Quan, has been a prisoner in Vietnam for close to two years now, despite the fact that the Canadian government believes he is imprisoned on trumped up charges. The Prime Minister promised to look into the case personally upon his return from Vietnam in November, 1994.

What explanation does the Deputy Prime Minister have for the fact, that more than a year after the Prime Minister's Asian mission, the situation remains unchanged, despite a recent commitment by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Mr. Tran Trieu Quan still remains a prisoner in Vietnam?

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, the treatment of the gentleman in question is, of course, unacceptable to the government of Canada. That is why the Prime Minister himself raised the issue, as did the Minister of Foreign Affairs. We continue to tell the government of Vietnam to respect the fact that this Canadian citizen must be released, because the present position of the government of Vietnam is not reasonable.

[Philippe Paré, Bloc, Louis-Hébert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, considering the lack of success of government interventions to date, does the Deputy Prime Minister intend to ask the Prime Minister to personally bring up the case of this Canadian citizen with the authorities in Hanoi once again and to demand his immediate release?

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, I believe that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, when asked this same question some weeks ago, gave his word that he was pursuing this matter at the highest diplomatic level possible.

You can be sure that the Prime Minister himself, having been involved in this case, continues to be concerned, and wishes to do his utmost to continue pressures on the government of Vietnam.

Fisheries

[Mike Scott, Reform, Skeena, BC]

Mr. Speaker, during my recent visit to Atlantic Canada I heard a lot of criticism of the Tobin tax. One criticism above all the rest is that fishermen are distressed that the licence fees are to be based on gross landed value rather than on net profit. The minister knows very well there is a large difference between gross and net profit.

Is the minister going to listen to fishermen on at least this one small point and ensure that fees are based on net profit, not gross landed value?

[Brian Tobin, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, during the member's visit to Atlantic Canada he certainly was able to generate some reaction from the fishermen, there is no doubt about it.

The executive director of the Maritime Fishermen's Union in reference to the member opposite said words to this effect: Please take your garbage back where it came from. We are not interested in your politics of division. The president the fishermen's union, a Newfoundlander, Earle McCurdy, in essence said to the member that they are not going to be fooled by these crocodile tears and they certainly will not accept a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Yes, the member made quite an impression on the fishermen of Atlantic Canada and yes, they have an inordinate amount of common sense in dealing with the kind of nonsense proposed opposite.

[Mike Scott, Reform, Skeena, BC]

Mr. Speaker, it is easy to see this minister gets high on his own exhaust.

I have in my possession a Department of Fisheries and Oceans document which shows that not only is the minister proposing a $50 million tax grab in 1996, but more startling is planning to increase this by a further $20 million in 1997. This will mean that Canadian fishermen will be faced with a $70 million tax bill in 1997.

When is the minister going to start listening to fishermen instead of the self-serving bureaucrats in his department who are advocating this tax so they can preserve their own jobs?

[Brian Tobin, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]

Mr. Speaker, it takes a special kind of stamina, one that is clearly exhausting this member's credibility, to stand in the House to ask these kinds of questions.

This is the party-

[Grant Hill, Reform, Macleod, AB]

You are exhausting.

[Jack Ramsay, Reform, Crowfoot, AB]

When are you going to take the billboards down, Brian?

[Brian Tobin, Liberal, Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte, NL]

Listen up, fellows. You might learn something for a change.

This is the party whose leader went to Atlantic Canada and said that it only takes 90 seconds of study to know that the fishery is finished. This is the party that complained about the EI reform which is now under way because the cuts were not deep enough. This is the party that said of the TAGS program, which assists tens of thousands of fishermen who have been hit by the fisheries failure, that the program ought to be cancelled. This is the party whose obvious lust at a shot in a byelection in Labrador has driven it beyond the bounds of decency and common sense. And this is the party that will be slam dunked in that byelection with the kind of negative results it deserves.

Trade

[Reg Alcock, Liberal, Winnipeg South, MB]

Mr. Speaker, when one listens to what comes across the floor of the House, Canadians might get the feeling that Canada is not doing so well in export markets.

I would like to ask the Minister for International Trade if he could share with the House Canada's performance in international trade and demonstrate clearly to Canadians how we are winning markets every day.

[Roy MacLaren, Liberal, Minister for International Trade]

Mr. Speaker, in the first nine months of 1995 Canadian merchandise exports grew by 20 per cent, compared to the same period last year. Exports to the United States rose 17 per cent, but the United States is far from our fastest growing market. Sales to Latin America, including Brazil, have increased by some 29 per cent, to Japan by 32 per cent, to the European Union by 42 per cent, to China by 44 per cent and to all other Pacific nations by 47 per cent.

In 1992 our exports amounted to only 26 per cent of our gross domestic product, but today exports constitute 37 per cent of our gross domestic product.

Air Transport

[Paul Mercier, Bloc, Blainville—Deux-Montagnes, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is directed to the Minister of Transport.

On October 30, Canadian Airlines International stopped all its international flights originating in Montreal, preferring to concentrate its operations in Toronto. As a result, Montreal and its very substantial Italian community are deprived of direct connections with Rome. The minister's policy for awarding international routes prevents other carriers from offering this service.

Since Canadian Airlines International no longer offers a service from Mirabel, would the minister agree that his policy for allocating international air routes is discriminatory, since it deprives Montreal of direct connections with all countries for which Canadian has been given exclusive access?

[Douglas Young, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I agree that our policy for allocating international routes has had the exact opposite effect of what the hon. member wanted.

I realize this is a drawback. The hon. member will probably say so in his supplementary. When Canadian Airlines International decided to stop their service from Mirabel, at the same time, and I am sure the hon. member was aware of this, Alitalia, the Italian airline, made the same decision. The problem at Mirabel is that there is not enough passenger volume to support a service either by Canadian Airlines International or Alitalia.

What we are trying to do, and negotiations are now under way, is to see how we can solve the problem so as to provide an adequate service from Mirabel to Italy.

Immigration

[Val Meredith, Reform, Surrey—White Rock—South Langley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, as this government continues its adversarial approach with the western provinces over the transfer of federal funds, it ignores the gross inequities it has created through the Canada-Quebec accord.

Under the accord the province of Quebec receives $90 million a year, 35 per cent of all federal funds being transferred for the settlement programs for immigrants and refugees when Quebec is currently only taking 12 to 13 per cent of the immigrants and refugees.

If the government is going to continue the funding program, will it consider renegotiating the Canada-Quebec accord so that the money is going to the provinces that are receiving the immigrants and refugees?