Debates of Oct. 21st, 1998
House of Commons Hansard #139 of the 36th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was board.
Topics
- National Space Day
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police
- The Late Frank Dowling
- National Co-Operatives
- Canadian Economy
- Foreign Fishing
- Women's History Month
- The Late Kenneth K. Carroll
- Agriculture
- Madeleine Gagnon
- Com Dev International
- Volvo
- Women's History Month
- Youth Centres
- Child Poverty
- Accueil Bonneau
- Apec Inquiry
- Employment
- Immigration And Refugee Board
- Apec Inquiry
- Employment Insurance
- Immigration
- Employment Insurance
- Agriculture
- Employment Insurance
- Centres Of Excellence
- Aboriginal Affairs
- Apec Inquiry
- Transport
- Environment
- Hepatitis C
- Employment Insurance
- Health
- Child Poverty
- Environment
- Greenpeace
- Standing Orders Of The House Of Commons
- Committees Of The House
- Order In Council Appointments
- Interparliamentary Delegations
- Committees Of The House
- Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act
- Income Tax Act
- Petitions
- Holidays Act
- Questions On The Order Paper
- Motions For Papers
- Canada Customs And Revenue Agency Act
- Canadian Wheat Board Act
Transport
Oral Question Period
2:50 p.m.
Progressive Conservative
Bill Casey Cumberland—Colchester, NS
Mr. Speaker, the FAA report goes on to say that current maintenance practices do not adequately address wiring components and there is currently no systematic process to identify and address potential catastrophic failures caused by electrical faults in the wiring systems.
Considering that the FAA has determined that inspections do not address the wiring failures adequately, will the minister now appoint a group or committee to focus on this very issue of aging wires?
Transport
Oral Question Period
2:50 p.m.
Don Valley East
Ontario
Liberal
David Collenette Minister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, we do not have to appoint a committee to deal specifically with this. We have working committees at Transport Canada engaged in all facets of airline safety, every day, every week of the year.
Safety is the number one priority for Transport Canada. We are trying to ensure that all the planes that fly meet the safety standards. We believe that they do. That does not mean to say there cannot be new methods of insulation, or new wiring that would be better in newer aircraft.
All the commercial aircraft that are flying in Canada today have been certified by Transport Canada, the FAA or other regulatory agencies. They are certainly safe to fly in.
Environment
Oral Question Period
2:50 p.m.
Liberal
Sarkis Assadourian Brampton Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of the Environment.
The Canada-wide acid rain strategy signed on Monday has been criticized for lacking specific solutions. What is the federal government doing to reduce acid rain and its devastating effects on our lakes and forests in Canada?
Environment
Oral Question Period
2:50 p.m.
Northumberland
Ontario
Liberal
Christine Stewart Minister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, acid rain continues to be a very serious issue in Canada and the continent. It has a very serious impact on our natural resources, our forests, our fisheries and our human health.
At a meeting this week with ministers of the environment and energy, we agreed to develop a strategy for further reductions of acid rain in the post 2000 period. I look forward to working with my colleagues to set targets and timelines.
Hepatitis C
Oral Question Period
October 21st, 1998 / 2:50 p.m.
Reform
Grant Hill Macleod, AB
Mr. Speaker, on the hepatitis C compensation the health minister used the figure of 22,000 victims in the period 1986 to 1990. Through access to information we found out that that is not correct. The very maximum is 11,700 and it could be as low as 6,600.
Could the health minister explain to all Canadians why he used these numbers that were absolutely false?
Hepatitis C
Oral Question Period
2:55 p.m.
Etobicoke Centre
Ontario
Liberal
Allan Rock Minister of Health
Mr. Speaker, while the member was looking through access to information, there were public documents published this summer for all the epidemiologists representing all the interested parties. It went through a public process to estimate all those infected through the blood system.
All those numbers are published through newspapers. Perhaps the member ought to look up the local newspaper instead of worrying about the access to information.
Employment Insurance
Oral Question Period
2:55 p.m.
Bloc
Christiane Gagnon Québec, QC
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Human Resources Development.
The minister claims that his reforms sought to adapt the employment insurance program to the new realities of the labour market.
How can the minister make such a claim, considering that he is forcing parents who have decided to stay at home to raise their children to work 30% to 117% more hours to qualify for EI benefits, when they go back to work? What are we to think of a program that penalizes women in particular?
Employment Insurance
Oral Question Period
2:55 p.m.
Papineau—Saint-Denis
Québec
Liberal
Pierre Pettigrew Minister of Human Resources Development
Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, women were at the core of our reform, and we are helping them more by using a system based on the number of hours worked.
Earlier, someone alluded to maternity leave, but forgot to point out that access to active measures and training was extended to five years for women on maternity leave.
We made all kinds of improvements for women, and we are absolutely confident that our system will continue to serve Canadians well. We will continue to monitor its implementation, and we will report in January, as—
Employment Insurance
Oral Question Period
2:55 p.m.
The Speaker
The hon. member for Winnipeg North Centre.
Health
Oral Question Period
2:55 p.m.
NDP
Judy Wasylycia-Leis Winnipeg North Centre, MB
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the finance minister.
Last week in Toronto, 17 of 19 emergency rooms were turning patients away. Today in Ottawa paramedics warned that overloaded hospitals are putting patients at risk. One nurse said the emergency department is like the canary in the mine, the first place you see the problems from funding cuts.
The finance minister would not commit to health care funds at the finance committee last week. Will the minister put $2.5 billion in transfers for health care in the coming budget before any more lives are put at risk?
Health
Oral Question Period
2:55 p.m.
Etobicoke Centre
Ontario
Liberal
Allan Rock Minister of Health
Mr. Speaker, we have made clear that health care is one of the central priorities of the government.
The Prime Minister has said plainly that health care will be the focus of our next major reinvestment, and that is a commitment on which we intend to follow through.
Child Poverty
Oral Question Period
2:55 p.m.
Progressive Conservative
Diane St-Jacques Shefford, QC
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Finance.
Today, the Canadian public education movement known as Campaign 2000 met with the national caucuses of all parties in this House, in order to raise awareness of the alarming rise in child poverty in Canada.
What measures does the minister plan to take in order to reverse this extremely alarming trend with its disastrous effects on the most vulnerable members of our society?
Child Poverty
Oral Question Period
2:55 p.m.
Papineau—Saint-Denis
Québec
Liberal
Pierre Pettigrew Minister of Human Resources Development
Mr. Speaker, our government is well aware of the problem of poverty in Canada.
Later this afternoon, I myself will be meeting with the Campaign 2000 representatives, who are doing an excellent job of raising Canadian awareness of the importance of poverty, child poverty in particular, which is a priority for our government.
This is why we, in conjunction with the Minister of Finance, have designed a new national child benefit which will, over the next two years, mean an additional $1.7 billion investment in the battle against child poverty.
Environment
Oral Question Period
2:55 p.m.
Liberal
Carmen Provenzano Sault Ste. Marie, ON
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Natural Resources.
Federal, provincial and territorial ministers of energy and the environment have just finished two days of meetings in Halifax.
Would the minister tell the House what progress has been made to enable Canada to meet its Kyoto commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?
Environment
Oral Question Period
2:55 p.m.
Wascana
Saskatchewan
Liberal
Ralph Goodale Minister of Natural Resources and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board
Mr. Speaker, it was a very positive, cordial and productive meeting.
Ministers reviewed the progress being made by 15 analytical groups that involve 450 Canadian experts representing every province and every sector of the Canadian economy. They are all working on every aspect of the climate change challenge.
We also worked on credits for early action, on international negotiations and on public outreach and engagement. We also announced the details of Canada's climate change action fund. That fund brings our federal investment toward climate change solutions to more than $200 million annually.