House of Commons Hansard #32 of the 36th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was powers.

Topics

Foreign AffairsOral Question Period

2:45 p.m.

Reform

Bob Mills Reform Red Deer, AB

Mr. Speaker, yesterday we heard the Deputy Prime Minister say that they let the UN decide whether this was a good deal or not, whether trucks were all right and whether trucks could be used for humanitarian purposes or used by the military. That is the question.

We need to send a message to Iraq on where we stand and that we are with our allies, standing up for the sanctions the UN is going to impose.

Foreign AffairsOral Question Period

2:45 p.m.

Winnipeg South Centre Manitoba

Liberal

Lloyd Axworthy LiberalMinister of Foreign Affairs

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is clearly out in space on this.

The reality is that under the UN sanctions we first consider any application that comes to us and whether it meets the criteria. It is then referred to the UN and comes back to us to see if it fits our export and import laws.

I would suggest that before the hon. member asks those kinds of questions that he first learn what goes on in Canada and not making fabrications to try and suggest that something is happening which is not happening.

Canada PostOral Question Period

2:45 p.m.

NDP

Pat Martin NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Public Works angrily condemned the Canadian Union of Postal Workers for refusing to allow Canada Post to eliminate 4,000 jobs. His comments indicated a clear bias in favour of the corporation and an open hostility toward the working Canadians who are fighting for their jobs.

Will the minister withdraw his damaging statements of yesterday and let the parties conclude a new agreement free of interference and free of the kind of threats that we heard yesterday?

Canada PostOral Question Period

2:45 p.m.

Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel Québec

Liberal

Alfonso Gagliano LiberalMinister of Public Works and Government Services

Mr. Speaker, what I said before in French I will say now in English. The two parties have been in negotiations since yesterday. They negotiated and according to reports I have, they are doing very well. I hope that very soon we will have a negotiated settlement.

Canada PostOral Question Period

2:45 p.m.

NDP

Pat Martin NDP Winnipeg Centre, MB

Mr. Speaker, the biggest single obstacle in this round of bargaining stems from the Liberal government demanding that Canada Post pay dividends of over $200 million over the next five years. Canada Post wants to meet those demands by eliminating jobs.

Since when is Canada Post supposed to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in profits when its mandate is to put revenues into better service for Canadians?

Will the minister and his government withdraw this unreasonable demand for profits, take away the need to eliminate jobs and thereby move us toward a speedy settlement in this round of bargaining?

Canada PostOral Question Period

2:45 p.m.

Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel Québec

Liberal

Alfonso Gagliano LiberalMinister of Public Works and Government Services

Mr. Speaker, what this government and this minister want is a very viable postal service for all Canadians so that Canadians can continue to receive the mail and Canadian workers can continue to have jobs and create new jobs. That is what we are doing. That is what is on the table.

I hope that the hon. gentleman with his connection to the union will speak to his friends so that we can have a negotiated settlement as soon as possible.

HiberniaOral Question Period

2:45 p.m.

Progressive Conservative

Charlie Power Progressive Conservative St. John's West, NL

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

Yesterday was a great day for Newfoundland and, indeed, all of Canada as Hibernia oil flowed for the first time. A new industry was born which will produce billions of dollars for the Government of Canada.

On October 18, 1994 the Prime Minister stated in the House in response to a question on Hibernia financing “If we had to do it all over again, perhaps we should have not gone ahead”.

Will the Prime Minister now acknowledge that the Hibernia project was a great project for all the people of Canada?

HiberniaOral Question Period

2:45 p.m.

Saint-Maurice Québec

Liberal

Jean Chrétien LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, when I was minister of energy I worked very hard to make sure that we would proceed very quickly. I was trying to get an agreement which was denied by the then Conservative government of the Province of Newfoundland.

If that had happened, production would have occurred in Canada 10 years ago.

Employment InsuranceOral Question Period

2:50 p.m.

Progressive Conservative

Norman E. Doyle Progressive Conservative St. John's East, NL

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Human Resources Development.

Undoubtedly the minister will be aware—and if he is not aware, he should be—that his department has delayed the issuance of employment insurance payments in Newfoundland. These payments are due tomorrow, but because of a looming postal strike, they will not be issued until next week. He should know that these people are living from cheque to cheque and from week to week. They need their money now.

Will the minister give these people assurances that payments due this week will be issued this week, postal strike or not?

Employment InsuranceOral Question Period

2:50 p.m.

Papineau—Saint-Denis Québec

Liberal

Pierre Pettigrew LiberalMinister of Human Resources Development

Mr. Speaker, of course we hope very much that there will not be a postal strike but indeed for people who are to receive the benefits, my department will do its very best to deliver all payments as usual as we do as the posts are still working for the time being.

Post-Secondary EducationOral Question Period

2:50 p.m.

Liberal

Carolyn Bennett Liberal St. Paul's, ON

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Human Resources Development.

Young Canadians are increasingly aware that the most important criteria for whether they have a job when they are 30 is the level of their post-secondary education. They are also increasingly concerned that they might not be able to afford it.

I ask the minister what he is doing to ensure that all Canadians will be able to get this kind of education when they want it.

Post-Secondary EducationOral Question Period

2:50 p.m.

Papineau—Saint-Denis Québec

Liberal

Pierre Pettigrew LiberalMinister of Human Resources Development

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for her very timely question.

Our government does recognize the financial difficulties of students and it is taking action. Yesterday and today I have been hosting the first ever national conference of all stakeholders addressing student loans. We have had the students' associations and the association of the bankers. I can state that we have gained very good insights from these people. We will be taking these very good ideas and will be building these recommendations into good strategies for students.

Parks CanadaOral Question Period

2:50 p.m.

Reform

Cliff Breitkreuz Reform Yellowhead, AB

Mr. Speaker, since the Heritage Minister shut down Banff and Jasper airstrips, pilots have been ticketed. Last week a plane loaded with Parks Canada officials landed in Banff and was not ticketed. Why were they not ticketed? Why are they flying above the law?

Parks CanadaOral Question Period

2:50 p.m.

Parry Sound—Muskoka Ontario

Liberal

Andy Mitchell LiberalSecretary of State (Parks)

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member should know that Parks Canada has regulations that govern those airstrips. Part of those regulations are that emergency landings can be made. This was an emergency landing. It was under the regulations and it was an appropriate use of that airstrip.

Parks Canada follows the law and this was part of following the law.

EgyptOral Question Period

2:50 p.m.

Bloc

Maud Debien Bloc Laval East, QC

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Yesterday's attack in Egypt sent shock waves around the world. The safety of tourists and foreign travellers is at risk throughout the country.

Could the minister tell us what measures he has put in place to guarantee the physical safety of Canadians currently in Egypt?

EgyptOral Question Period

2:50 p.m.

Winnipeg South Centre Manitoba

Liberal

Lloyd Axworthy LiberalMinister of Foreign Affairs

Mr. Speaker, first I should indicate to the hon. member that for several months now we have been issuing travel advisories demonstrating that there could be some problems in Egypt. In fact, I was in Egypt just last week and met with the officials. We did talk about those kinds of issues.

What we will be doing now is reviewing very distinctly what kind of other measures we might take to ensure safety. In this case the primary responsibility is to issue the advisory and to ensure that people understand what kind of problems there might be.

Self-GovernmentOral Question Period

2:50 p.m.

NDP

Gordon Earle NDP Halifax West, NS

Mr. Speaker, the lack of this government's leadership on aboriginal issues was shown once again as courts were left to make controversial rulings about logging rights on crown land.

As aboriginal leaders and premiers meet today to discuss constitutional issues, will this government now show leadership and state support for both ongoing formal participation of aboriginal leaders in constitutional talks and for constitutionally recognizing aboriginal peoples' inherent right to self-government?

Self-GovernmentOral Question Period

2:50 p.m.

Brant Ontario

Liberal

Jane Stewart LiberalMinister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development

Mr. Speaker, this government's position on self-government is very clear.

We introduced a policy recognizing the inherent right to self-government and our government is working in partnership with First Nations to ensure the development of those self-governing bodies that will allow for better and more timely application of programs and strategies for our aboriginal people.

Halifax AirportOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Progressive Conservative

Bill Casey Progressive Conservative Cumberland—Colchester, NS

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Transport. Yesterday at the aviation conference, he said that he would like to have the opportunity to refute some of the negative remarks in the newspapers about the devolution process regarding the Halifax airport. I am pleased to give him the opportunity.

I wonder if he could give assurance to the Halifax airport people that Halifax airport will get the same investment, the same facilities and the same consideration as the airports in Winnipeg and Ottawa got under their devolution process because they all have about the same volume of traffic.

Halifax AirportOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Don Valley East Ontario

Liberal

David Collenette LiberalMinister of Transport

Mr. Speaker, I can unequivocally guarantee the hon. member that Halifax will be treated the same way all other cities in the country have been treated in the negotiations.

I do not propose to negotiate in public. This is a matter between my officials and the Halifax Airport Authority but we have appointed a management consulting firm of accountants to give a third party opinion. I hope that all sides can be bound by the results of that study.

Via RailOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Liberal

John Cannis Liberal Scarborough Centre, ON

My question is for the Minister of Transport. There has been speculation in the press lately that the government is considering restructuring VIA Rail in order to accommodate partnership with the private sector.

Can the minister clarify what the government's intentions are regarding the privatization of VIA Rail?

Via RailOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Don Valley East Ontario

Liberal

David Collenette LiberalMinister of Transport

Mr. Speaker, I think all Canadians have a commitment to the continuation of the passenger rail service. I think VIA's management has done an outstanding job at reducing costs over the last few years.

With the level of subsidy that VIA has at its disposal, it does not have the money to refinance for new equipment. We have to find other ways. What I said in a speech yesterday is that we should look at bringing in the private sector, perhaps with some kind of franchising arrangement.

I will be asking the Standing Committee on Transport to look at all these matters in the new year so that it can give us its advice and so that there is a wide spectrum of opinion for the government to make its decisions on.

AirbusOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Independent

John Nunziata Independent York South—Weston, ON

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

Brian Mulroney and indeed every Canadian is entitled to due process of law. It is obvious to everyone, to the RCMP and to every Canadian that the case against Brian Mulroney is frivolous and vexatious.

Brian Mulroney is an innocent man and the Prime Minister knows it. For that reason, his government approved a settlement in the case that Mr. Mulroney brought against the Government of Canada.

To allow the investigation to carry on, the Prime Minister is suggesting that there is—

AirbusOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

The Speaker

The hon. member for Nanaimo—Alberni.

The EnvironmentOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Reform

Bill Gilmour Reform Nanaimo—Alberni, BC

Mr. Speaker, last week in Regina the provinces reached an agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2010.

However, the federal government has not said what its position will be, whether it will be going with the provinces' position or take something else to Kyoto.

My question is what is the position of the government in Kyoto? Secondly, what is the plan to achieve these targets? What is the position? What is the plan?