Debates of Nov. 17th, 1997

The Environment

[Dave Chatters, Reform, Athabasca, AB]

Mr. Speaker, if you in fact have consulted and made progress—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker]

Put your question please.

[Dave Chatters, Reform, Athabasca, AB]

Mr. Speaker, this is an outrage. If you have made progress in Regina, if you have business on side, why in the world can you not announce the government's position going to Kyoto?

[Christine Stewart, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, we suddenly do have an issue upon which we can agree: that the opinion of the Reform Party does not matter.

Our Canadian partners recognize the importance of Canada playing a role to make sure that we have a success in Kyoto. Therefore, we have to negotiate in the international forum to make sure we have a success in Kyoto.

Other parties in this country, provinces, territories and municipalities recognize the important role that—

[Yvan Loubier, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know why Reformers and Liberals argue with each other. They have the same position, the same reduced Kyoto position.

The federal government drastically reduced its social transfer payments to the provinces. For each dollar cut from federal expenditures between 1994 and 1998, 54 cents, or more than half, where taken out of social transfers to the provinces, that is to say out of the health, education and social assistance budgets.

Now that he knows for sure that the budget will be balanced this year, does the Minister of Finance intend to return to the provinces at least part of what he stole from them instead of taking this money—

[The Speaker]

The Hon. Minister of Finance.

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows full well that these figures are wrong. Tax points must also be taken into consideration.

That being said, the Prime Minister himself answered the hon. member last June when he increased transfers to the provinces by $6 billion over five years.

Oas Firearms Convention

[Colleen Beaumier, Liberal, Brampton West—Mississauga, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on Friday, November 14 in Washington, Canada signed the OAS firearms convention. Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs tell me how this agreement will help to control the international trade in arms?

[Ted McWhinney, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, this OAS convention addresses longstanding concerns about the free flow of illicit firearms, ammunition and explosives in this hemisphere. The convention will reduce the illicit trafficking of firearms, ammunition and explosives across our borders. It will assist our police and law enforcement officials in the fight against violent crime, illegal drugs and terrorism in Canada and in the United States.

Prisons

[Chuck Cadman, Reform, Surrey North, BC]

Mr. Speaker, this past weekend a supervisor at Milton's Maplehurst jail condemned the prison system as being rife with illegal drugs. He said that inmates have easy access to “heroin, cocaine, crack, marijuana, hash, hash oil, Valium, pills and steroids”.

All our government appears to be doing is providing bleach to clean needles to reduce the risk of HIV.

Will the solicitor general please explain to Canadians why he will not or why he cannot eliminate illegal drugs from our prisons?

[Andy Scott, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, first of all I would remind the hon. member that the jail in question is provincial.

Secondly, since we introduced urine analysis in the penitentiary system the incidents of drug usage have diminished from 39% to 12%.

[Chuck Cadman, Reform, Surrey North, BC]

Mr. Speaker, drugs have been a problem in every jail and prison across this country for years.

In Mountain federal prison in my province of British Columbia, significant quantities of heroin, marijuana, cocaine and prescription drugs were reported smuggled in over a 46 day period in 1996.

I ask the solicitor general to please tell Canadians how, with crime this rampant inside our penitentiaries, they can be expected to feel safe in their own communities.

[Andy Scott, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I can only repeat the fact that the correctional service has taken action very successfully over the last two years.

Canada Post

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS]

Mr. Speaker, according to a leaked memo by the President of the Canadian Direct Marketing Association last August, the Minister of Public Works indicated to the CDMA that a national postal stoppage would be very short and back to work legislation would be quickly introduced.

My question for the minister is what will the position of the government be if Canada Post locks out its CUPW employees this evening?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Minister of Labour]

Mr. Speaker, I have indicated previously what the government supports and what the government wants is a collective agreement.

We urge both sides to get back to the table and I understand they are. If we have an agreement it is much better for CUPW, the post office and for the people of Canada.

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the threat of back to work legislation is the reason the parties are no longer talking. We are in this fix because the government refuses to confirm or deny that it is going to introduce back to work legislation.

For the sake of all Canadians, will the minister withdraw the threat of back to work legislation and allow the union and management to sit down and seriously negotiate the collective agreement that he seriously talks about?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Minister of Labour]

Mr. Speaker, that is what I have indicated. That is what the government wants. I am not going to speculate on what might happen or what is going to happen.

The parties, I understand, are meeting today. What we want is a collective agreement. I urge you to urge your colleagues to sit at the table and come up with an agreement that will be better for the people of Canada.

[The Speaker]

My colleagues, I would encourage you to address all of your questions and answers through the Chair.

Airbus

[Peter MacKay, Progressive Conservative, Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough, NS]

Mr. Speaker, in light of the millions of dollars and the forced red faced apology of the Liberal government for the mishandling of the Airbus affair, will the Deputy Prime Minister, in keeping with his promise and his government's promise of accountability and openness, tell this House who exactly is responsible for this debacle and what does it plan to do short of waiting for the lawsuits to roll in and then say it is saving us millions of dollars?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I think that my hon. friend should read Brian Mulroney's explanation. He signed it, he knows what is going on. Therefore, I think you ought to take what he says in the signed minutes of settlement seriously.

[Peter MacKay, Progressive Conservative, Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough, NS]

Mr. Speaker, my supplementary. You ask a simple question, you get a convoluted answer.

Can the Deputy Prime Minister tell us in a straightforward way who is responsible, who is at the bottom of this and, speaking of letters, when is the government going to withdraw the accusation it made and sent to the Swiss authorities?

[Herb Gray, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, in the minutes of settlement signed on behalf of Brian Mulroney he says “the parties acknowledge that the procedure used in sending the request for assistance to the Swiss in this case was the same as that which was followed in numerous previous requests for mutual assistance under both the current and previous administrations”.

I think my hon. friend ought to study these minutes of settlement. It will help him in phrasing his questions in future.

Technologies Partnerships Canada

[Roy Cullen, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Technologies Partnerships Canada or TPC is a vehicle for our government to invest in Canada's high technology industries.

Firms in my riding have praised TPC and have urged me to support additional funding for this program.

Can the Minister of Industry please explain to this House how TPC benefits Canada or is it just another handout to business?

[John Manley, Liberal, Minister of Industry]

Mr. Speaker, TPC is anything but a handout. It is a risk sharing investment that the government makes to support the development of new technology and products that are sold and exported throughout the world.

So far, the $491 million that the Government of Canada has committed in TPC investments has leveraged $2.17 billion in private sector investments, generating up to $52 billion in sales of Canadian goods and has created or maintained over 11,500 jobs in the Canadian economy.