Debates of Feb. 10th, 1998

Aboriginal Affairs

[Myron Thompson, Reform, Wild Rose, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it has been 26 days since we heard about the letter sent by Bruce Starlight to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. Can we expect a report on the investigation soon or do we have to wait until the media frenzy dies down and the budget comes out so we can sweep it under the carpet?

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, I take the work of the investigator very seriously. I want to make sure that there is a full investigation done. We will report on the results when it is complete.

[Myron Thompson, Reform, Wild Rose, AB]

Mr. Speaker, there is one thing that should take no time at all. The letter has the minister's stamp on it. The letter was leaked, it ended up in the wrong hands and Mr. Starlight is being sued.

Will the minister announce today that her department will pay Mr. Starlight's legal fees? Yes or no?

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday, it is not the usual practice of the department to pay for such things. It would be absolutely inappropriate for me to make a determination of whether it would be the right thing to do until the investigation is complete.

Health Care

[Judy Wasylycia-Leis, NDP, Winnipeg North Centre, MB]

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

A woman died in an emergency room after a four hour wait. A woman raped at knifepoint was turned away from an emergency room. Canadians clearly favour an increase in medicare funding so these tragedies do not repeat themselves.

Will the Minister of Finance act on the advice enclosed in the alternative federal budget and other proposals for change and restore federal health transfers to 1995 levels?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, we acknowledge and we share the concerns of Canadians that we have quality health care when it is needed and where it is needed in this country. That is why this government supports the principles of the Canada Health Act. That is why this government just this year increased the cash floor in the transfers to the provinces to enable the provinces to reinvest in health services where they are needed most.

That reflects the priorities which this government puts on health care in this country.

Child Poverty

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the alternative federal budget also shows that the $1.9 billion needed to fight child poverty can be found. The Minister of Finance said in December and even today that child poverty is a priority. But it appears that the government is backing down and will recycle yet again last year's $850 million.

What hope is there for kids when the government's commitment is nothing more than headlines and recycled announcements? What new funds are being committed for the national child benefit?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, as of July 1 this year a further investment of $850 million will go toward child poverty. We are committed as a government to adding another $850 million to that during the life of this Parliament. We will do that because it is a commitment of our government.

We have restored and added to the CAPC program of my colleague, the Minister of Health. It is a very good program. There is the head start program in the department of Indian affairs.

We are doing our very best and we will do even more in the future.

Health Care

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

Mr. Speaker, perhaps to follow this line of questioning I will pose my question to the Minister of Finance.

Montreal and Toronto area emergency rooms are in a crisis situation. Patients are lying on gurneys in hospitals because they cannot get beds. Our health care system is in shambles because there was $6 billion ripped out of the federal transfers to provinces by this government.

Will the Minister of Finance assure this House that the $6 billion will be reinstated to health care before any new program initiatives are brought in by this government?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, as I have made clear, this government shares the concerns of Canadians that we restore and maintain the quality of health care in this country. It is to that end that we are committed.

The hon. member should remember that some of the emergency rooms that are overcrowded and some of the places which require reinvestment are in provinces that already have surpluses, that have money to reinvest. If some provinces choose to cut taxes instead of making those reinvestments, that should be taken into account.

For our part, we have increased the cash floor for the provinces and that signals our priority.

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

Mr. Speaker, we are getting the same old malarkey. They take dollars and give back pennies.

The crisis in health care funding is a result of the money that has been taken out by this government. Will this minister ensure Canadians that we will have standards in place to ensure that the quality of health care is not compromised? Will this minister agree today to work with the provinces to achieve a health care guarantee on standards of enforcement mechanisms so Canadians can enjoy the same standard of health care right across the provinces?

[Allan Rock, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, we are working toward that very objective daily. Next week I will meet again with my counterparts in the provinces and territories.

One thing I can tell my hon. friend for certain is that we will not pursue that quality the way he and his party suggested by removing cash transfers to the provinces and by removing altogether any influence on the part of the federal government. That is not the way to go. We shall do it the Liberal way. We shall do it the effective way.

Rural Communities

[Claude Drouin, Liberal, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.

Rural communities make an important contribution to our country, but they often feel neglected and forgotten. What is the government doing to make sure the challenges confronting Canadians living in rural areas all receive the same consideration as the issues that concern those who live in urban centres?

[Lyle Vanclief, Liberal, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague has certainly pointed out the importance of rural Canada in the strength of this country. I am pleased to state that every program and policy that comes before this government and the cabinet will be scrutinized through a rural lens by the minister and the ministry so that they can be fully applicable to rural Canada and rural communities.

Aboriginal Affairs

[Preston Manning, Reform, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the minister of Indian affairs attempts to deflect these criticisms of her department by saying that Reform would cut the spending of her department. I want to tell her why we want to cut the spending. It is because we do not believe that a fraction of the money put in the top of that department ever gets to grassroots aboriginal people.

Will the minister tell this House how much of the money poured in the top of her department gets to ordinary aboriginal people and how much gets sucked off by consultants, Liberals—

[The Speaker]

The hon. minister of Indian affairs.

[Jane Stewart, Liberal, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition drew these concerns to my attention some months ago. Indeed, I have called his office on at least two occasions asking him to come and join me and identify these specific allegations. I have yet to hear from him. I am truly wondering if he is interested in these files or not.

Millennium Fund

[Paul Crête, Bloc, Kamouraska—Rivière-Du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on Friday, the Minister of Human Resources Development made the following comment regarding the Millennium Fund: “We will strive to avoid any duplication of the services provided by the Government of Quebec”.

Will the minister admit that the only way to avoid any duplication of Quebec's financial assistance program is simply to give directly to the Quebec government the moneys that it is entitled to, instead of setting up any new structure?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources Development]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the Bloc Quebecois member for giving me another opportunity to remind the House and our fellow citizens that the Quebec student loans program is funded to a large extent by the Canadian government. Should any improvements be made to the Canadian student loans program, the Quebec government will get its share for that province's student loans program.

As for the Millennium Fund, we will make sure there is no duplication because we want to work in partnership with the Quebec government.

Labour Sponsored Investment Funds

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, labour sponsored investment funds are an important source of venture capital for small businesses that wish to grow, expand and create jobs. In Manitoba the crocus fund was responsible for 80% of all the venture capital issued in that province last year.

Will the Minister of Finance ensure the survival of these funds by restoring the tax credit and the contribution ceiling to their previous 1996 levels?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, first of all I would like to thank the member for giving me notice of this question.

As the hon. member knows, the tax credits for LSVCCs were originally brought in by the federal government and the provincial governments in order to make sure that these funds had the initial impetus to get going. Since then they have raised large sums of money and by and large have been successful. It was deemed at that point by the provincial finance ministers and federal finance minister that the generosity of the credit should be cut back.

We are in the process of monitoring the situation.

Research And Development

[Gilles Bernier, Progressive Conservative, Tobique—Mactaquac, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the president of the Medical Research Council of Canada, Dr. Henry Friesen, recently wrote that the health of the health research enterprise is in serious jeopardy. Its funding has been slashed back to the 1987 levels, and it is now forced to reject 80% of its research requests. Canada is the only member of the G-7 to have cut support for medical research.

Is this the minister's great vision for the future of health care in this country?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, when the government took office there was no doubt that this country's financial back was against the wall. A number of very important decisions had to be taken, none of which we wanted to do, thanks in fact to the terrible mess that we inherited.

The fact is since then we have created the Canada Foundation for Innovation and have put some $800 million into it.

We are very cognizant. The Minister of Health has been very articulate on the importance of medical research and we will continue to support it.

Citizenship And Immigration

[Sophia Leung, Liberal, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. Many people in B.C. and across Canada are concerned about the report and recommendations of the Citizenship and Immigration Act and how it will affect the lives of Canadians. How will the minister ensure that the opinions of Canadians are heard and will affect the decisions of this report?

[Lucienne Robillard, Liberal, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, the report of this advisory group was made public on January 6, 1998.

In one way, the consultations can be said to have already started because several Canadians have already responded and are writing us daily and consulting our Internet site.

In addition, I am going to conduct a broad national consultation, from Vancouver to Halifax, beginning in late February so as to hear from the largest possible number of stakeholders interested in immigration policies. We have even added consultation days, and parliamentary committees—