House of Commons Hansard #28 of the 36th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was children.

Topics

EnvironmentOral Question Period

2:50 p.m.

The Speaker

The hon. Minister of the Environment.

EnvironmentOral Question Period

2:50 p.m.

Northumberland Ontario

Liberal

Christine Stewart LiberalMinister of the Environment

Mr. Speaker, I and my colleagues are in constant dialogue with all the partners on this important agenda, including the provinces. Yes we will be meeting with the energy and environment ministers next week in Regina. The agenda for that meeting is known to them.

Customs Tariff ActOral Question Period

November 5th, 1997 / 2:50 p.m.

Liberal

Janko Peric Liberal Cambridge, ON

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Finance.

The Customs Tariff Act is currently before the House. Concerns have been raised by many, including Toyota in my riding of Cambridge, whether any changes will be made to the current tariff policy on imported automotive parts.

Can the minister assure this House a level playing field for all auto manufacturers in the country, including Toyota—

Customs Tariff ActOral Question Period

2:50 p.m.

The Speaker

The hon. Minister of Finance.

Customs Tariff ActOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

LaSalle—Émard Québec

Liberal

Paul Martin LiberalMinister of Finance

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has been an extremely strong advocate for the interests of the auto makers in his riding. I can assure him that the government will not remove the provision that permits duty free entry for auto parts used in vehicle assembly in Canada from the tariff simplification bill.

I can also assure him, as he has asked, that we sent a letter last week to the Canadian Motor Vehicle Manufacturers' Association confirming this commitment.

IraqOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Reform

Bob Mills Reform Red Deer, AB

Mr. Speaker, Saddam Hussein is asking Canada to drop trade sanctions against Iraq. The minister has two choices. He can go with France and Russia and drop the sanctions, or he can go with the U.S. and stick with the sanctions.

Does the minister have a position, or is he going to waffle like this government does on most issues?

IraqOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Winnipeg South Centre Manitoba

Liberal

Lloyd Axworthy LiberalMinister of Foreign Affairs

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that we stand four square behind the United Nations' decision to have sanctions against Iraq.

BilingualismOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Bloc

Louis Plamondon Bloc Richelieu, QC

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the President of the Treasury Board.

Yesterday, the Commissioner of Official Languages stated that budget constraints had resulted in a 20% reduction in the number of federal offices designated bilingual.

How can the President of the Treasury Board, himself a francophone, justify this kind of doublespeak on the part of his government, which claims to support French-speaking minorities while continuing to cut services?

BilingualismOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Hull—Aylmer Québec

Liberal

Marcel Massé LiberalPresident of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for Infrastructure

Mr. Speaker, quite the contrary. Last year's report by the official languages commissioner shows steady improvement in the use of French in French-speaking groups and in offices serving Canadians in both official languages.

Veterans AffairsOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

NDP

Peter Mancini NDP Sydney—Victoria, NS

Mr. Speaker, for over 50 years the men and women who bravely served in Canada's wartime merchant navy have been treated as second class veterans, deprived of many of the benefits accorded veterans of other services.

The Minister of Veterans Affairs when questioned on this in the House yesterday referred to Bill C-48, which he knows full well excludes members of the merchant marine from many of the benefits received by others.

Will the government show the veterans of the merchant marine the honour and respect they deserve before it is too late?

Veterans AffairsOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Bonavista—Trinity—Conception Newfoundland & Labrador

Liberal

Fred Mifflin LiberalMinister of Veterans Affairs and Secretary of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency)

Mr. Speaker, the bill was C-84. It was passed in July 1992.

The hon. member, when he refers to this government, should know that the main agitators for that bill were three members of the opposition party, which was the Liberal Party, and a member of the NDP. It was the initiative of those members which caused the government of the day to come across with a bill which basically allowed those brave merchant seamen to receive the same benefits as those veterans in uniform, including a veterans independence program—

Veterans AffairsOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

The Speaker

The hon. member for Sherbrooke.

FisheriesOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Progressive Conservative

Jean Charest Progressive Conservative Sherbrooke, QC

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister. It has to do with the west coast fishery. I see he has just stepped out of the House. I hope he will be able to join us again.

FisheriesOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh.

FisheriesOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

The Speaker

If the hon. member for Sherbrooke has a question, I would like him to put it now.

FisheriesOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Progressive Conservative

Jean Charest Progressive Conservative Sherbrooke, QC

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans in question period referred to envoys Ruckelshaus and Strangway. Both envoys met with Premier Clark last week and his advisory committee. Both envoys said they were ready to submit an interim report when there is a bilateral meeting between the Prime Minister and the President during the APEC conference.

Will the government accept their offer and finally do something for the people on the west coast who want some action on this issue?

FisheriesOral Question Period

2:55 p.m.

Victoria B.C.

Liberal

David Anderson LiberalMinister of Fisheries and Oceans

Mr. Speaker, it was the hon. member's party which signed a treaty which is so defective that the annexes ran out after seven years. There was no provision in it for continuing those annexes or for settling disputes. His party signed that defective treaty which is the cause of our current problems.

Strangway and Ruckelshaus are able to report when they wish. However, we will not make the same mistake that the Conservative Party made in putting on artificial deadlines. That led the treaty to come forward to the shamrock summit when it was not ready.

Presence In GalleryOral Question Period

3 p.m.

The Speaker

I have two groups to introduce to hon. members today. I wish to draw to your attention the presence in our gallery of the members of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources Protection of the National People's Congress of the Republic of China.

Presence In GalleryOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Some hon. members

Hear, hear.

Presence In GalleryOral Question Period

3 p.m.

The Speaker

Second, not in my gallery but in the public galleries, we have a group of teachers from all parts of our country who are participating in the second annual Teachers' Institute on Canadian Parliamentary Democracy. The objective of this forum is to promote a greater understanding of the Canadian political process.

Let us welcome, dear colleagues, these teachers who are educating future generations of Canadian citizens.

Presence In GalleryOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Some hon. members

Hear, hear.

Points Of OrderOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Reform

Randy White Reform Langley—Abbotsford, BC

Mr. Speaker, according to citation 347 of Beauchesne's and according to the reference within that section to Standing Order 32, there are two methods in this House by which documents can be tabled.

Today during question period, documents were passed from the health minister to the leader of the third party and vice versa. I would ask that those two documents be properly tabled in the House so that all of us can be aware of the contents. I hope that that process does not occur again.

Points Of OrderOral Question Period

3 p.m.

Glengarry—Prescott—Russell Ontario

Liberal

Don Boudria LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, I know of no provision for tabling a document coming from an opposition member but in so far as the government document is concerned, I will endeavour to have it tabled before the end of the day.

Points Of OrderOral Question Period

3:05 p.m.

The Speaker

The hon. House leader for the Reform Party is accurate in what he says. If ministers quote from documents, they should be tabled. I would not like to see any minister using one of the pages during question period to bring a document across the floor of this House. The pages are here to help us and they should not be brought into our debates or battles.

I take the word of the hon. government House leader that the documents that were quoted from will be tabled. I urge him to have these tabled before the end of today's session.

Interparliamentary DelegationsRoutine Proceedings

3:05 p.m.

Liberal

Bill Graham Liberal Toronto Centre—Rosedale, ON

Mr. Speaker, I rise pursuant to Standing Order 34(1). I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the report of the Canada European Parliamentary Association to the sixth annual meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization of Security and Co-operation in Europe, the OSCE, which was held in Warsaw, Poland from July 5 to July 9, 1997.