Debates of Nov. 18th, 1998

[The Speaker]

As is our practice on Wednesday we will now sing O Canada, and we will be led by the hon. member for Saint John.

Multiple Sclerosis

[Joe McGuire, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

Mr. Speaker, there certainly are times when perseverance pays off. A classic example of this is Margaret Penwarden from Victoria West, which is in my riding of Egmont in Prince Edward Island.

Margaret was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis almost three years ago. She started taking Betaseron in July 1996. This drug produced a substantial improvement in her condition. The problem, however, was that Betaseron was a very expensive drug, with an average annual cost of approximately $17,000. Even with a drug plan she had to pay $6,000 out of her own pocket.

Many P.E.I. MS sufferers had no drug plan and therefore could not afford the drug. Margaret, supported by the Atlantic division of the MS Society of Canada, started a crusade to have these drug costs covered by the provincial health plan.

While it was a long and arduous fight, ranging from a letter writing campaign to an actual sit-in at the provincial legislature, Margaret and her MS sufferers eventually prevailed. In October of this year the provincial government finally announced that the cost of Betaseron and three other MS treatment drugs would, in part, be covered under the provincial plan.

Employment Fund

[Monte Solberg, Reform, Medicine Hat, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I recently received the following letter from the owner of Toby Theatre & Video Rental in Invermere, B.C.: “Regarding this EI fund that our government thinks it has a right to use however it sees fit, what really upsets me is the fact that high school students who work for me have to pay EI even though the government admits that they are eligible to collect EI but do not qualify as long as they are going to school. Doing this to a group of Canadians that do not even have a vote is, if not legal fraud, certainly moral fraud. As to the rest of the EI fund, it belongs to the workers and business people of this country and not to the federal government. I think that it should be given back to the people that it is”—euphemistically—“borrowing it from, especially our young people”.

It is signed by Ron Peters, Invermere, B.C., and it is well said.

[The Speaker]

I would remind all hon. members that we cannot use words in here which are used by someone else which we ourselves are not permitted to use. I would caution all members in their statements.

National Child Day

[John Godfrey, Liberal, Don Valley West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Friday, November 20 marks the sixth anniversary of National Child Day, a day to increase awareness and understanding of healthy child development.

As chair of the National Children's Agenda Caucus, I believe that by providing a warm, loving and responsive environment for young children our society can provide a better and more promising future for children.

November 20 was chosen as National Child Day because it is the anniversary of two historic events for children: the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child in 1959 and the United Nations adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989. The convention recognizes children's basic human rights, protects them from harm and addresses the important role of the family in bringing up children.

But National Child Day does something else. It reminds us that all children need love and respect to grow to their full potential. That is why healthy child development is everyone's concern and responsibility.

Holocaust

[Elinor Caplan, Liberal, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured today to pay tribute to the 50 holocaust survivors seated in the gallery of the House of Commons. They are here representing all Canadian holocaust survivors.

These distinguished men and women who survived unimaginable horrors have contributed to making Canada the greatest country in the world.

These heroes in the gallery today and other holocaust survivors living throughout Canada have moved forward to help us learn from the past. They have seen, firsthand, the consequences of discrimination and have pledged to do their part to see it is erased forever.

While many would have simply given up, these brave Canadians are working to eradicate discrimination, bigotry, hatred and violence that we still face today.

They want us to learn from our mistakes so that we may enter the next century free from the intolerances of the past.

I would ask all members of the House to join me in thanking these heroes in our presence. Only if the horrors are never forgotten can we say “Never again”.

[Joe Volpe, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I too today rise to honour these survivors of the holocaust. The Canadian Society for Yad Vashem today honours these survivors.

Canada has been enriched by the decision of those survivors who have made our country their home. Theirs has been no mean contribution. After a dehumanizing challenge unparalleled in history, after losing property, family and friends, these men and women, survivors of the worst infamy perpetrated by humanity on its own kind, came to Canada to seek out a society wherein they could help build regard for tolerance, respect for diversity and the elimination of discrimination and bigotry.

Their lives in Canada read like a model of good citizenship. In short, they came, they saw and they made a difference, in business, in education and in community building.

I am proud to be associated with true heroes like those in the gallery and like my constituents, Alex Grossman, Elas Chandler, Fanny Silberman and my good friend Michael Rosenberg. Like all other Canadians, I thank them.

Rights And Freedoms

[Jake Hoeppner, Reform, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, on November 11 Canadians honoured and remembered the sacrifices that veterans made to protect our freedom.

World War II veteran, Stuart Scott, a Radville, Saskatchewan farmer was fined $1,500 on November 6 and was ordered to surrender his 1988 car to Canada Customs for moving four bags of hulless, waxy barley into the U.S. According to Mr. Scott, “While I was fighting for the freedom of my country, my country took my freedom away”.

Students have been pepper sprayed for protesting against a dictator and farmers have been jailed for selling their own grain. History can only judge this government harshly for neglecting to protect the freedom for which so many Canadians fought and died.

Election Campaign In Quebec

[Marlene Jennings, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt about it now: a PQ government would keep working for another four years at preparing the next referendum and promoting Quebec's separation.

It is clear. The leaders debate enlightened Quebeckers on the future of Quebec. On the PQ side, there is this will to hold a referendum and to work hard to make it happen. They want to expend time, effort and money to this end and ultimately achieve separation, even if it goes against the interests of Quebeckers, who object to a referendum.

So, let us be clear: a vote for the PQ is a vote for holding a referendum. And a vote for the Liberal Party is a vote for economic growth and a better quality of life in Quebec.

Marguerite-Rose Pesant-Bédard

[René Laurin, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to congratulate Marguerite-Rose Pesant-Bédard of Notre-Dame-des-Prairies on being awarded the Governor General's Caring Canadian Award at an official ceremony held last Sunday at the Quebec Citadel.

The founding president of the Quebec fibromyalgia association, Mrs. Pesant-Bédard has conducted research, participated in television programs, helped her members stand up for their rights, organized funding drives, published a newsletter and performed other most helpful tasks to bring hope and comfort to persons with fibromyalgia.

Mrs. Pesant-Bédard deserves our admiration for her remarkable dedication and exceptional community spirit, which do the citizens of my riding of Joliette, and indeed all Quebeckers, proud.

Election Campaign In Quebec

[Yvon Charbonneau, Liberal, Anjou—Rivière-Des-Prairies, QC]

Mr. Speaker, two days ago I was wondering which Lucien Bouchard would be turning up at the leaders' debate, which was held last evening.

Now we know. We were treated to a Lucien Bouchard who repeated his commitment to a referendum, provided he would win. First ambiguity.

We were also treated to a Lucien Bouchard who did not dare remind people that his party's reason for being is sovereignty and independence. Not a word on that. Second ambiguity.

We were treated to an ambiguous Bouchard, one who was on the defensive and, if re-elected, promises another period of political uncertainty and unproductive confrontation.

On the other hand, we saw very clearly that a vote for the Liberal Party is a vote for a strong Quebec, one that is open to the world, a Quebec which believes that the best way to develop fully is within Canada.

Canadian Wheat Board

[Charlie Penson, Reform, Peace River, AB]

Mr. Speaker, Canada sends observers to third world countries to make sure elections are fair and above board.

Canada recently supervised elections in Chiapas to ensure, among other things, the principle of a secret ballot. Yet in Canada the Canadian Wheat Board is holding elections for board members and every single ballot is identified with a number on the return envelop.

Stephanie Mainil, who lives in Saskatchewan, is No. 8-8948. Her father is 8-8938. If this happened in Mexico everyone would suspect intimidation and tampering. Added to this problem is the matter of ballots being sent to people who have been dead for several years.

Now we hear that the minister is going to appoint the scrutineers for this election. In a democracy it is the candidates who appoint the scrutineers. Is it any wonder why farmers are complaining that this whole process is corrupt?

Election Campaign In Quebec

[Claude Drouin, Liberal, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Lucien Bouchard finally showed his true colours last night. He did not hesitate one second in announcing that, in a coming PQ mandate, the Government of Quebec would do everything possible to hold another referendum on Quebec independence.

If the PQ received another mandate, the separatists would again set to work to convince the people of Quebec that separation is the way to go, and they are prepared to use any means to achieve it.

The problem is that the people of Quebec do not want this referendum. In order to fend off this threat, the people of Quebec should give a majority vote to the Liberal Party so that attention can finally be focussed on the real priorities, which are health, education and employment.

The Economy

[Chris Axworthy, NDP, Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar, SK]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's economy is falling behind. We are drifting to the bottom of the class in innovation and R and D investment.

Our productivity growth in recent years has been the lowest of the G-7 and we have the second lowest investment in R and D of all the G-7.

The Liberals have presided over an economy that has failed to invest in new skills and technologies that are the basis for success for the future, thus handing Canada's economic competitors a huge advantage.

The time has come for this government to recognize that we cannot afford as a country to continue with the policies that deepen our innovation and productivity gap. Canadians are asking why this government has presided over this travesty and when it will do something about it to improve the lives of Canadians and ensure they have the resources to pay for the social programs we all need.

Montreal Economy

[Benoît Sauvageau, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, a number of federalists even among Quebeckers take pleasure in disparaging Quebec's and more specifically Montreal's economic potential.

These federalists envisage the worst possible scenarios, which they link to the so-called political uncertainty in Quebec.

Ironically, it was a Toronto paper that brought the doomsayers back into line.

Last week, the National Post reported that Montreal had resumed its role as Canada's business capital. While Toronto lost 119 head offices in 10 years, Montreal increased the number of big businesses in its environs by 6%.

The evidence speaks for itself: business people, investors and Quebeckers are no longer impressed by alarmist and apocalyptic talk.

I would therefore like to congratulate the PQ government on its efforts to revitalize Quebec and Montreal's economy.

I too am confident.

Drugs

[Greg Thompson, Progressive Conservative, Charlotte, NB]

Mr. Speaker, November 15 to 22 is Drug and National Addictions Awareness week. Ironically, it is also the week that the Minister of Health brings into this place the bill allowing tobacco manufacturers to lure our young Canadian people into a lifestyle of addiction, specifically tobacco usage.

The tragic use of tobacco and illicit drugs by young Canadians is clearly on the rise. For example, in Nova Scotia the number of students using illicit substances has doubled in the past seven years. In my home province of New Brunswick a survey conducted last spring of 3,925 public school students reported that 31% had used cannabis and 56% had used alcohol. What is even more frightening is that most of the students when asked said they did not need help.

The Government of Canada must take a leadership role in combating youth addiction. We can begin today in this—

[The Speaker]

The hon. Leader of the Opposition.

Health Care

[Preston Manning, Reform, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about the Liberal assault on health care: thousands of hepatitis C victims hung out to dry, 188,000 sick people on the waiting list, 1,400 doctors have left the country in the last two years, and $7 billion in transfer cuts to the provinces.

How bad does the record have to get before the health minister acknowledges that he has a problem?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians across the country are concerned about the future of medicare. They have seen changes in recent years. They have seen cutbacks. The government has made it clear that the era of cuts is over.

The Prime Minister has made it clear that health care will be the subject of our next major reinvestment. We have said that in the next budget the government will reinvest the dividends that we have earned through years of fiscal discipline.

[Preston Manning, Reform, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, no one believes these Liberal stock answers any more. Canadians are looking at what the Liberals have done to health care, not what they say.

Financial transfers from the health minister to the provinces are at an all time low. Federal funding for Ontario hospitals alone has fallen from 50% of federal funding to 11.5%.

With $10.4 billion in the bank why have the Liberals not done anything to follow up on their so-called number one priority?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, we have done a great deal, from the health transition fund to the $1.5 billion increase in the transfer last year, to increases in health research in the last budget. I urge the Leader of the Opposition to await the next budget to see proof of our commitment to this reinvestment.

On the subject of transfers, since he refers to Ontario let the record show that the tax cuts which Ontario chose to implement instead of paying off its deficit have cost $4 billion in revenue. That is the real source of the problem that Harris and his crew are having.

[Preston Manning, Reform, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the minister defends his own abysmal record by attacking others, but it was the Liberal government that cut the $7 billion in transfers. This minister is the one who is responsible for 188,000 sick people being on waiting lines.

I want to know how long those waiting lines have to get—250,000, 300,000 or 500,000—before the minister acknowledges he has a problem that he is not fixing.

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, quite apart from the errors in the numbers cited by the leader of the Reform Party, I think there is something more significant that Canadians should focus on, which is the irony of the leader of the Reform Party standing in the House to ask about the state of medicare.

Canadians will remember that he is the man and that is the party which promised to amend the Canada Health Act to provide for what they call a choice. We know what they mean. They want American style health insurance. They want American style health care. We are here to say that we shall never throw away medicare like the Reform would do.

[Grant Hill, Reform, Macleod, AB]

Mr. Speaker, talk about mixing up numbers. Does the minister not know that the Harris government raised finances for medicare? I am sure he knows that.

The government is sitting on a $10 billion surplus and yet we have the longest waiting lines in Canadian history. The government is sitting on a $10 billion surplus and yet we have doctors leaving the country.

How big does the surplus have to get and how long does the waiting line have to get before the minister will act?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, it is hard to take the member seriously because we know he has no commitment to medicare and no commitment to the Canada Health Act.

It was the Liberal government that introduced the Canada Health Act. It was the Liberal government that invented national medicare in the country, and it is this Liberal government that will show once again its commitment to the principle of the Canada Health Act when it tables its budget next year and follows through on the Prime Minister's commitment to demonstrate that health care will be the subject of our next major re-evaluation.