Debates of May 27th, 1996

Canadian Wheat Board

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

Mr. Speaker, I do not think that the minister of agriculture understands that all prairie farmers are getting less money than they should right now. Prairie grain farmers are paid two to three dollars less for their wheat than American farmers.

The minister might have avoided the problem if he had acted promptly to correct it. He continues to tell farmers to wait for the Western Grain Marketing Panel report. We have heard it hundreds of times. We are missing opportunities for these premium prices.

Will the minister of agriculture give his word in this House that he will act decisively to correct the problems in the marketing system rather than make cosmetic changes or delay decisions that will continue to hurt all prairie farmers, hurt the prairie economy and kill jobs on the prairies?

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

Mr. Speaker, the question contains within it some fundamental fallacies.

If, for example, there were a whole flood of individual sales across the U.S. border aimed at certain specific spot prices that might exist for the temporary time being at certain specific delivery points, within a very few days those spot prices would disappear, the price would be depressed overall and all western Canadian farmers would suffer as a consequence.

I have indicated repeatedly that the Western Grain Marketing Panel process is one that is fully credible and legitimate. I expect the panel to produce a very valuable report. I expect that report to be available toward the end of June and it is the government's intention to respond to that report very quickly.

Social Housing

[Gilbert Fillion, Bloc, Chicoutimi, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the minister responsible for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

Three months ago, the minister responsible for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation told us she was about to negotiate with the provinces the transfer of all federal social housing programs.

Can the minister tell us what is the status of these negotiations and whether the federal withdrawal will come with fair and realistic financial compensation?

[Diane Marleau, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, talks are under way with the provinces. We have already announced that the amounts currently spent would be transferred to the various provinces. That is what is on the table.

[Gilbert Fillion, Bloc, Chicoutimi, QC]

Mr. Speaker, during the election campaign, the Minister of Finance promised housing co-operatives that there would be secure, stable funding for social housing.

Can the minister give us a guarantee that her government will continue to honour its financial commitments to existing social housing by transferring the amounts that were promised to the provinces?

[Diane Marleau, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, we have been very clear that we are proposing to transfer the administration of social housing to the provinces.

At this point the federal government spends approximately $2 billion a year on social housing. Our proposal is to continue to spend that amount. All contracts are binding whether they are with the federal government now and transferred to the provinces as they are today.

It is important to note that we hope the provinces will have considerable savings and therefore will have dollars to devote to social housing if there is only one administration. We think it is very important to work together on this.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

[Jim Abbott, Reform, Kootenay East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, let us put an end to the myth about the Liberals protecting programs. In 1993 the Liberal Party vilified Reformers because we proposed a $365 million cut in CBC funding. However, once in power the Liberals cut $377 million.

The Liberals say one thing and do another. They stand for nothing, they believe in nothing. It is no wonder their CBC policy amounts to nothing.

Who is to blame for the mess over at the CBC? Is it the Prime Minister for another broken promise, or Sheila Copps for not keeping her promises either?

[Lucienne Robillard, Liberal, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and Acting Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the hon. member did not hear the latest news about an agreement having been reached at the CBC and programming continuing undisturbed on our national network.

It is very clear that, like any other government agency, the CBC has undergone budget cuts, but it is very capable of managing cuts of this extent while continuing to offer quality programming to the Canadian public.

[Jim Abbott, Reform, Kootenay East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, that was a great answer, too bad it did not relate to the question.

The Liberals vilified the Reform Party for wanting to cut $365 million from CBC funding. We were honest with Canadians. Our position was consistent. We said the CBC should be privatized. Why does the minister go along with the fact that her predecessor slagged the CBC by $377 million? Why will she not admit that the government has no idea of what the program for the CBC is going to be? She has no concept.

[Lucienne Robillard, Liberal, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and Acting Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, clearly the Reform Party and the Liberal Party of Canada fundamentally differ in their view of what Canada's public television policy should be.

While the Reform Party may be intent on privatizing-its electoral platform calls for privatizing Canadian television-neither the Liberal Party of Canada nor the Government of Canada have any such intentions. We will maintain a public television network from coast to coast.

Agriculture

[John O'Reilly, Liberal, Victoria—Haliburton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians in the agriculture and agri-food section are concerned with jobs and the economy overall.

Can the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food give the House any assurance that this vital section of our economy will meet the target of $20 billion in exports by the year 2000?

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

Mr. Speaker, when the Canadian agri-food sector established that target of $20 billion in agri-food sales by the year 2000, the trade amounted to about $13.5 billion per year. That was in 1992-93.

All of the trade figures are in for 1995 and they are $17.4 billion. That is up 12.6 per cent from the previous year and nearly 30 per cent over that period of 1992-93. The figures are up in the United States, in Asia and in many markets around the world for Canadian agri-food products.

The goods news is that every $1 billion increase in our agri-food sales abroad translates into at least 7,500 jobs for Canadians.

Cuba

[Suzanne Tremblay, Bloc, Rimouski—Témiscouata, QC]

My question is for the Minister for International Trade.

The 1984 Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act enables the federal government to force Canadian companies and American subsidiaries operating in Canada to disregard any foreign government measure adversely affecting our economic interests.

Could the minister tell us whether or not he intends to use this legislation to counter the implementation of the Helms-Burton law in the U.S.?

[Lloyd Axworthy, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we have indicated in the House on several occasions that when we see exactly what the United States does to implement the Helms-Burton law, which is simply a law that has not been given

regulations, we will then take a look at all the appropriate and necessary measures to ensure that Canadian interests are fully and adequately protected.

[Suzanne Tremblay, Bloc, Rimouski—Témiscouata, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I will ask another question to try to get the specific information we are looking for.

Does the minister intend to use the Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act in support of those Canadian companies doing business in Cuba, which, like Redpath Sugars for instance, may wish to maintain business relations with that country?

[English]

[Lloyd Axworthy, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we would certainly apply any Canadian law to any Canadian company that deals with extraterritorial measures.

I should point out to the hon. member that sugar was exempted under the Helms-Burton law because of strong Canadian pressure and lobbying. That part of the Helms-Burton law does not apply to sugar at all and, therefore, it does not apply in this case.

Haiti

[Bob Mills, Reform, Red Deer, AB]

Mr. Speaker, this weekend the UN Secretary-General asked Canada to extend its peacekeeping mission in Haiti to the end of the year. The Prime Minister's office indicated that there would have to be significantly wider international support for the mission and that the UN would have to pick up the tab for this to be considered.

The minister and I both know from personal experience how much it would cost to fulfil the mission to Haiti to really make a difference. Will the Minister of Foreign Affairs state clearly to the House that Canada will not consider renewing the Haiti mission unless these two criteria are met?

[Lloyd Axworthy, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, to begin with I would like to thank the hon. member, along with several other members of the House, who accompanied me to Haiti last week on a fact finding mission to determine what the future of the mission should be. I very much appreciate the involvement of members of Parliament in that very important task.

In saying that, it is not possible to answer the question because at this point we do not know specifically what will be recommended. Options are being considered to substantially reduce the size of the force. Before that happens the Haitian government has to make a request to the United Nations security council. Until we know what the request is and what the security council decides it is not our position to say what our responsibility will be.

What I can say to the hon. member-and he knows this-was that part of my mission to Haiti and other Latin American countries was to ensure that they understood that Canada does not participate in missions such as this by itself. We want the full participation of other countries and the full mandate of international organizations.

[Bob Mills, Reform, Red Deer, AB]

Mr. Speaker, this is the exact point. Our peacekeeping missions seem to be made up with knee-jerk reactions at the last minute.

This option is up at the end of June. Boutros Boutros-Ghali visited the Prime Minister on the weekend. He definitely said he would like Canada to participate in extending this mission.

The Prime Minister then said that we need two things. Can the minister not assure the House that at least we will have an answer to those two questions: international involvement and the UN finds a way to pay the bill.

[Lloyd Axworthy, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, it is hardly fair to say it is an ad hoc reaction when I spent five days last week travelling to a number of countries in Latin America to talk to them specifically about what would be required.

We asked a parliamentary delegation to come along with us. I invited the UN special representative to come to Ottawa in early June to brief Parliament on what might be required. We have undertaken a wide variety of consultations with countries around the world in order to determine what will be required.

Canada is taking a lead in helping to define what the UN will be recommending. We are putting together a consensus of other countries to make it happen. What we need to have before we can make a formal response is a request. One cannot stay if one is not asked. Until they ask, we cannot give the right answer.

Employment

[Chris Axworthy, NDP, Saskatoon—Clark's Crossing, SK]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for whomever is speaking for the Prime Minister today.

The Liberal government was elected on the promise of creating jobs, jobs, jobs and offering hope to unemployed Canadians. Last week the Prime Minister said that Canadians will have to accept and get used to high unemployment, another broken promise.

Today the Minister of Human Resources Development says he does not really know why Canada's unemployment levels are so high. Will the government please explain to all Canadians, espe-

cially to those who are out of work, why this government has broken yet another promise?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, a couple of times today people have cited the Prime Minister. I would like to read what the Prime Minister said in a speech within the past week. "The Canadian economy has managed to create more than 600,000 jobs since the time we were elected". This is very significant.

The Minister of Human Resources Development talked about the problems of the global economy and the problems that other countries have creating jobs.

The Prime Minister went on to say: "Believe it or not, Canada, not the government, but mainly the private sector has created more jobs in Canada than in Germany and France together". That is an indication of what this government has done. Those countries have four times our population and we are creating far more jobs than they are.

First Ministers' Conference

[Jean Charest, Progressive Conservative, Sherbrooke, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and concerns the first ministers' conference that will take place at the end of June.

It is the fourth time I put a question in the House regarding the agenda of the conference. The minister says that the throne speech alludes to some elements, but the provinces were consulted and we can only presume that this consultation process resulted in decisions being made regarding the agenda.

I would like to know what are at least the starting points of this discussion, this federal-provincial conference, if the official agenda is still not available.

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question. However, I can only give him the answer I gave to the Leader of the Opposition, namely that the agenda has still not been drawn up and that the major points of the process to reform our federation are outlined in the throne speech.

Jaswant Khalra

[Herb Dhaliwal, Liberal, Vancouver South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific.

On September 6, 1995, Mr. Jaswant Khalra, a prominent human rights activist, disappeared from his home in Amritsar, India. When Mr. Khalra visited Parliament Hill last year, he expressed fear for his life to many parliamentarians. Mr. Khalra's family believe that he was forcibly taken by the police.

Could the secretary of state give the House an update on Mr. Khalra's fate and what action the Canadian government is taking on this issue?